The national industrial court (NIC) in Lagos has ordered the Nigerian Army to reinstate 70 soldiers convicted by courts-martial in 2014 but later granted a presidential pardon by the late former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Sanda Yelwa, the presiding judge, held that the unconditional pardon granted under section 175 of the 1999 Constitution wiped out the soldiers’ convictions, sentences and dismissals, restoring their legal status and entitling them to reinstatement.

The judgement was contained in a statement issued on Monday by Tayo Soyemi of Falana & Falana Chambers, solicitors to the claimants.

The suit, marked NICN/LA/54/2023, was filed by the 70 soldiers against the attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and the chief of army staff (COAS) after the military authorities allegedly failed to act on their request for reinstatement following the presidential pardon.

According to the statement, the claimants sought declarations that the pardon nullified their convictions and dismissals, an order compelling their reinstatement, and payment of outstanding salaries and allowances from December 17, 2014.

The soldiers were tried before various courts-martial in 2014 over offences bordering on conspiracy and mutiny.

Although initially sentenced to death, their sentences were later commuted to 10 years’ imprisonment.

After serving their prison terms, Buhari granted them an unconditional presidential pardon through the Instrument of Grant of Pardon, 2022, published in the Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette dated July 29, 2022.

The statement said the soldiers, through Falana & Falana Chambers, wrote to the COAS on November 7, 2022, requesting reinstatement and payment of outstanding entitlements, but received no response despite an acknowledgement of their letter.

Photo caption: R-L: Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency Sir Siminalayi Fubara (right) presenting a plaque to the Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa after the MoU signing ceremony at Government House, Port Harcourt, yesterday.

The Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has reaffirmed his commitment towards the speedy execution of the Oyorokoto Beach Resort project, pledging to ensure that it is fully developed to make Rivers State a tourism hub in Nigeria.

Governor Fubara made the pledge on Monday at Government House, Port Harcourt during a ceremony where the Federal Government and the Rivers State Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) to advance the Renewed Hope Cultural Project, an initiative of the Federal Government designed to expand the creative economic sector in the country.

He disclosed that in the last three years, the Rivers State Government has invested a lot of resources in expanding the tourism sector in the state because of its desire to develop leisure spots, create jobs and diversify the local economy.
“We have invested in expanding the tourism sector of Rivers State. Some months ago, the project for the new Tourist Beach which we embarked upon in partnership with Landmark kicked off. They’ve already started their work and from what they promised, by this December the first phase will be unveiled and made ready for public use,” he said.

According to Governor Fubara, some aspects of the Renewed Hope Cultural Project were part of what his administration had in mind when it initiated the Ngô- Atlantic Oyorokoto Road project in Andoni Local Government Area of the state.

“It is a project that will open up that axis of Rivers State. The Oyorokoto Beach is one of the best beaches in this country. Today, I can tell you that all over the internet, I’ve been seeing pictures of elephants, lions and other sorts of wildlife that are being showcased as part of the tourist attractions on that new road,” he said.

According to a statement by Onwuka Nzechi, Chief Press Secretary to the River State Governor, Fubara observed that infrastructure development is not just about building roads, bridges and hospitals but also about building an economy for entertainment and relaxation. He said that in Europe and some of the Middle East countries such as United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, their economies are not just boosted by their good roads but also by the hospitality industry they have created to provide comfort and relaxation to tourists.
“If not for this crisis in Iran, the closest tourism destination that everybody yearns for is Dubai, to go to there and enjoy. So what we are trying to do here is, if we can’t go to Dubai, let’s provide our own Dubai in Rivers State. If we can’t go to Qatar, let’s provide our own Qatar or Spain in Oyorokoto,” he said.

Governor Fubara gave assurance that Rivers state will not just sign the agreement, but will make sure that it goes further to put up something visible in the next four months. He expressed appreciation to the Federal Government for picking Rivers State as one of the key states for the project, adding that both parties to the MoU will work as partners in progress.

The Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa signed the MoU on behalf of the Federal Government, while the Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Culture, Mr Ishmael Tomonialadeokuma, signed on behalf of the state.

In her brief remarks, the Minister of Arts Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa described the project as timely adding that it is in line with the desire of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ensure collaboration between the Federal Government and the various states on expanding the creative industry in the country.
According to the minister, the main goal of the project is economic diversification and expansion as well as job creation. She hailed Governor Fubara for what his administration has done in the area of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, describing it as been very vast.
” I’m very glad today that we have signed this Mou on the Renewed Hope Cultural Project. It is a project that spans across the Arts Culture, Tourism and Creative industry. It is really to catch up with what you have already done in the state. It is to see what we can do at the federal level to support you so that we can use it as a Tourism, Cultural and Creative hub as well as an Arts space.

“Mr President wants us not to work in silos but to work together with the different sub nationals to see how the Federal Government can support all your efforts in the state.
We have to collaborate and share our vision with the state. It is not complete if the FG does not collaborate with Rivers State. In fact it is one of the low hanging fruits.
“In coming into Rivers State, I can see that there is a huge diverse culture. Rivers State is one of the low hanging fruits. There is infrastructure, there is access, you have a number of international flights that come into Rivers State.
Our hope is that Rivers State, with the sort of idea and vision that you (Gov Siminalayi Fubara) have, that we can work together to make sure that Rivers State becomes a huge expression in making Nigeria the cultural and creative hub of Africa,” Musawa said.

…Say you need over 1bollion Dollars to win presidential election in Nigeria

…. Explains why Obi may never be president

Former Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential aspirant, Chief Mao Ohuabunwa has said elections all over the world are very expensive, adding that in the case of Nigeria, you need to buy many stakeholders, including INEC officials, Police and others to facilitate your victory.

Ohuabunwa revealed that he spent over N1billion in the past when he contested presidential primary of the PDP and ended up with only one vote, saying delegates demanded $8,000 each, after which they still voted the aspirant that paid the highest.

He described Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of National Democratic Congress, NDC as a good candidate, saying however that it would be very difficult for the former Anambra State governor to be president since he is not prepared to spend his money.

In an interview, ohuabunwa said logistics alone, purely to travel across communities in the country, took more than N500m from him, despite his commitment to be modest in spending, adding that aspirants that move with large convoys require more than N5billion to move around during primary election campaigns.