The day after the state curfew in Rivers State was dropped 18 people died in attacks in Port Harcourt. Supporters of Tom Ateke, one of the most powerful militant leaders in Port Harcourt and self-styled leader of the New Niger Delta Revolutionary Army, attacked 2 police stations, a nightclub and the Presidential Hotel
MEND has now declared that it will resume violent attacks on oil installations and its kidnapping campaign after talks with the federal government have broken down. They have said that they will extend their kidnapping campaign to Lagos and Abuja. As previously, they have also called on all white men to leave the region.
Meanwhile, it is becoming apparent that former governor of Delta State, James Ibori is running the Nigerian Police force from his prison cell as evidenced in the latest article from Abuja-based newspaper, Leadership':
The popular saying that "he who pays the piper dictates the tune" is evidently manifesting in the policies and programmes of the Yar’Adua Administration.
A senior staff of the presidency told LEADERSHIP last night that though the former governor of Delta State, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, was still cooling off in Kaduna prison over alleged corrupt practices, he, to a very large extent, still dictates some crucial policies and programmes of the Federal Government.
"Former governor James Onanefe Ibori of Delta State may be at Kaduna prison but his influence on the Federal Government is even more formidable today than it was before May 29, 2007," said the source.
Chief Ibori is widely believed to have invested close to N9 billion in the electioneering campaign of the Yar’Adua/Jonathan presidential ticket. And immediately after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) successfully picked him up in Abuja he had vowed that he would teach Malam Nuhu Ribadu, the executive chairman of EFCC, the lesson of his life, even before hearing on his case against the anti-crimes agency starts.
"Those of us who know the huge influence Chief Ibori wields on President Yar’Adua were not shocked over the problems Ribadu is going through. It was Ibori who influenced the appointment of the minister of justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, and Sir Mike Okiro, the inspector general of police," our source added.
The source said Ibori was virtually running the police force through Okiro, adding that the police boss was carrying out the former governor’s order that all policemen should be withdrawn from the EFCC.
Apart from working in line with the dictate of President Yar’Adua and Chief Ibori, LEADERSHIP checks revealed that Sir Mike may have acted very fast to avoid the kind of treatment a former inspector general of police, Tafa Balogun, suffered at the hands of EFCC.
Our correspondent gathered that Sir Mike might have got an inkling that Ribadu was preparing a stinking massive dossier on him as a prelude for his arrest.
The police boss was said to have unsuccessfully attempted several times to lobby Ribadu against prosecuting some suspected financial criminals.
Our correspondent who visited Kaduna prison during the week also, confirmed Ibori’s dominion over the affairs of the Delta State government.
With several Delta State owned Jeeps parked in the premises of the prison, serving commissioners in the state pay frequent visit to the prison.
"Ibori lives like a king in that prison," said the source, adding, "Because of the sheer number of VIPs who troop to visit him, you have to book for an appointment through his aides."
Recently, the embattled Oghara-born politician was reported to have procured for the prison a generator set to ward off the nuisance of power outage in the prison yard.
"But for the steadfastness and integrity of Justice Lawal Shu’aibu of the Federal High Court, Kaduna, Chief Ibori made an attempt to infiltrate the judiciary recently," a senior security officer attached to the Kaduna judiciary said.
A well-known political associate of the former governor was heard bragging at the Federal High Court, Kaduna, recently that the Federal Government is their government because, according to him, "Ibori spent billions of naira to help Yar’Adua come to power."
But our source was emphatic that President Yar’Adua may not be fully aware of the schemings going on.
"They are just using the fact that they sponsored his campaign," the source said.
In his current seeming battle to save his political career, LEADERSHIP investigation revealed, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, governor of Delta, has proven to be a loyal political son of Ibori.
With a deep pocket, Dr. Uduaghan, a first cousin of Ibori, was said to be oiling every move to get his predecessor out of the prison.
It will be recalled that the Uduaghan-led Delta State government recently instituted a legal action against EFCC, with the aim of restraining the anti-financial crimes agency from prosecuting Ibori.