posted
The weight of public opinion has forced OBJ to take action on the case of corrupt ex IG Tafa Balogun. To the extent that the Ex IG is privy to confidential and sensitive information concerning a lot of top shots including OBJ himself it would be extremely hazardous and messy for balogun to be prosecuted publicly. He is already being kept strictly incomunicado with no access to his lawyers. I hope Balogun will be able to survive this incarceration and open the can of worms for all of us to see. But the way it is now Balogun seems to be a good candidate for a Brief illness... Let his doctors examine him now and tell us if he is suffering from heart problem or any other ailment which could lead to his untimely demise... You can’t see Balogun, EFCC tells lawyer ACHILLEUS UCHEGBU, Deputy News Editor
EMBATTLED former Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Tafa Balogun, may have started feeling the other side of power as his captors, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday barred his lawyer’s access to him.
Mr. Balogun, was picked up Monday by operatives of the commission from his Ikoyi residence and detained at Lagos Office of EFCC on Awolowo Road, also in Ikoyi.
Though he was removed from office on January 17, after he was accused of lodging over N1 billion in his bank accounts, the former IGP has since then enjoyed his freedom and had access to his lawyers, though his international travel documents were reportedly seized.
However, attempts by his lawyer, Mr. Tunji Abayomi to have audience with him yesterday was rebuffed by operatives of the commission.
Abayomi, who spoke in a chat with Daily Champion, said he arrived office of the commission about 8.00 a.m. hoping to confer with Mr. Balogun on the next line of action, adding that officials of the commission ignored him and his request, allowing him to stand in the sun for about six hours.
According to him, two operatives of EFCC approached him about 1.00 p.m.
ith information that there is a standing order from Abuja not to allow the ex-super cop see any lawyer, even though they had denied knowledge of his whereabouts initially.
"I arrived their office on Awolowo road, Ikoyi at 8.00 a.m. and said I wanted to see my client. They told me that he is no longer with them. I insisted he was there and that I wanted to see him. They refused.
"Later, I saw his brother bringing food to him and I sent words to him through his brother, telling him that I was outside and would want to see him.
"He sent words back to me that he also wants to see me. So I insisted on seeing him, they still did not allow me.
"Then at about 1.00p.m., two officials of the commission came to me and told me that they are under instructions from Abuja not to allow any lawyer to see him. All I know is that for now, they have denied him access to his lawyers," Mr. Abayomi narrated.
The lawyer also dispelled rumour over possibility of arraigning Balogun in court this week, reminding that the courts are still on Easter break.
" I do not know when they will arraign him, but certainly not this week. May be next week. The courts are still on vacation," he said.
Meanwhile, effort to get EFCC’s reaction to the development proved abortive as the commission’s spokesperson, Osita Nwajah, was said to be unavailable for comment.
Daily Champion which kept a tab on Mr. Nwajah was informed by a lady who constantly answered his personal phone that he had been in a meeting since 10 a.m.
‘My name is Toyin. I do not work in this department but he left his phone here. He has been in a meeting since 10.00 a.m.," the lady said.
Mr. Balogun’s latest agony began 70 days after he was forced to resign by President Olusegun Obasanjo in the renewed onslaught against corruption.
The ex-crime burster who officially disengaged from the force on March 6, has about N2.7 billion, allegedly belonging to him frozen by a federal high court in Lagos at the instance of EFCC.
The amount was allegedly found in five different bank accounts, traced to him.
Several bank accounts, with huge deposits have also, allegedly, been traced to him by the commission, which sources disclosed, while more than 10 landed property, within and outside Nigeria, bear his name.
posted
Maybe Balogun may not have to exit permanently after all? The Guardian article Obasanjo's idea of a war by Okey Ndibe brings up an even simpler and time tested method and raises questions that put the Balogun vs osujigate scandals into perspective.
quote: One can give, literally, hundreds of reasons why the president's huffiness on the Osuji scandal is simply rehearsed theatre. One can demonstrate that this latest gesture shares kinship with the government's earlier arrest and "prosecution" of the late Chief Sunday Afolabi and some other officials over the identity card bribery scandal. One can safely predict that none of the men named in President Obasanjo's cause celebre will be in any significant jeopardy. In fact, it is not far fetched to suggest that several of the men named by the president can look forward to being named into rosier public offices--and in the near future. All they have to do is maintain a studied silence, or mutter such blather as "God is in control." President Obasanjo's decision to make a spectacle out of this particular case is of curious value. While the misuse of even one naira of public funds should be unacceptable, the Nigerian public nevertheless has a right to wonder why the president did not hurry to national television in January when it was leaked to the press that billions of naira were discovered in a single bank account allegedly owned by former Inspector-General of Police Tafa Balogun? Why was Tafa Balogun not publicly "outed" and disgraced? Instead of firing the police boss, why did the president permit him to retire? And why did the president, armed with allegations of Balogun's graft, elect to praise the officer for "meritorious" service? Nor should it be forgotten that Balogun remains decorated with an exalted national honour, one bestowed by this president shortly after a national magazine's expose on the officer's illicit accumulations of real estate and funds.
___________________ Biafra is inevitable.Illegitimis nil carborundum. Posts: 760 | From: europe | Registered: Jan 2005
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posted
Tafa Balogun must not and should not die. He has the right to meet with lawyers. Granted he is feeding off his own type of justice but he must be allowed access to his lawyers. After all, he is innocent until proven guilty in the court of law. Obasanjo must ensure that nothing happens to Balogun because his death will lead to another story. Poor Balogun, only if he had known, only if that baba alfa that prepared that juju for him had told him. It is now time for Balogun to spill all he knows about the Bola Ige murder and all other political motivated killings including all other attrocities committed by this government. He must as a matter of urgency do this beacuse AIG Ige died before he could tell his own side of the story as regards Ngige Abduction.
Things have surely fallen apart and no one can be at ease any longer
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posted
I know the human rights groups are taking note. If an ex IG of police could not have access to his lawyers after 3 days in detention, then what hope do mere mortals like you and I have of ever geting in contact with our lawyers or see justice done should we be arested in Obasanjos nigeria ?
___________________ Biafra is inevitable.Illegitimis nil carborundum. Posts: 760 | From: europe | Registered: Jan 2005
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posted
Brother Nwafor I couldn't agree with you more, but I am also afraid, Remember the AIG Ralph Ige, remember what happened to him after he hurridly retired. Balogun knows too much, I am nervous that something is about to happen, that man is about to get sick from unknown illness that will be too late to cure.
This should come as no surprise to Balagun or anyone else. I warned of this very thing when the scandal first broke. Too bad he(Balogun) didn't read my post.
quote:I won't go so far as to say Obasanjo is clever, but rather calculating and devious. Balogun is still too close to the raw power of the state for Obasanjo to make him an outright enemy. His expertise is in violence and deadly force. That makes him a special sort of adversary. Even now he has the means to form secret alliances and engineer plots against Obasanjo, something the Nigerian president would like to avoid. This explains why he is being allowed to "resign and retire," even with an award to boot. But when he(Balogun) is safely out to pasture and relieved of his influence, and Obasanjo has made new friends at Police headquarters, then we can look to see the former IG of Police be more forcefully and permanently dealt with. Ol' Tafa better watch his back; we don't want him to suddenly dissapear one day...or do we?
If Balogun had kept on his toes, he would have left a record of his days as IG and his dealings with OBJ. As it now stands, with him being locked up tight, and not allowed to see his lawyer, we may never hear from him again.
___________________ The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves... Posts: 660 | From: Valle del Sol | Registered: Nov 2004
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Your crystal ball was right on the morning, like you pointed out, did you see that OBJ waited until the new IG is solidly confirmed by National Assembly before Balogun was picked up. By now all Balogun boys must have been purged from Police Headquarters. Now Obj can safely eliminate Balogun.
Is this not Bola Ige all over again, Bola Ige as Attorney general would have investigated all the political killings that came after his death. What happened eliminated Ige first, then proceed to Eliminate the likesof Harry Marshall and Dukabo and others, so that nobody will ask questions. Obj knew all along that Balogun was stuffing his pocket, but like you said Balogun was valuable
posted
Tafa is threatning to fire and brimestone. He promises to reveal so many things that will make all in PDP and in Power look bad. He has said that there is no saint in governmnet. I believe him, but his cries is coming a little too late. Why did he not use his good office as IG to stop all illegal acts that were taken place then? Why did he have to wait till they have exposed him to now see the light. His is a cry of a drowning man and no matter how truthful what he has to say is, he has shown that he is a sissy. He can not go down gracefully and ask for forgiveness. Like i said earlier, his days may be numbered as those that are in the know will surely find a way to silence him.
Hear him:
Daily Independent Online.
Saturday, April 2, 2005 Balogun plans bombshell in court
sisaa agboh, News Editor, chris agbambu, Deputy Bureau Chief, Abuja
Details of how the Nigerian Police was allegedly used to rig the 2003 general elections, high profile murders and the real patrons of Okija Ogwugwu shrines may come to light when embattled ex-Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun begins his defence in the anti-graft charges brought against him.
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Balogun, who took ill soon after he was accused of high scale corruption, is now said to be healthy and has vowed to open a can of worms on the 2003 general elections which many believed, was manipulated in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), using the police and other security agencies.
However, the ex-IGP has been alleged to be a patron of the Okija Shrine by its chief priest Ogbueshi Ezike Okolie.
His resolve, according to a top aide of the ex-Number One cop is predicated on the fact that having been used to do the dirty job during the election, he should not have been humiliated and made to suffer over the alleged ill-gotten wealth.
The source revealed that the ex-IGP was “no longer bothered about his fate but is determined to squeal so that Nigerians will know that their leaders are not the saints they profess to be.”
Already, Balogun has reportedly refused to co-operate with his interrogators as he blatantly ignored all requests to make a statement.
The aide who spoke on the basis of anonymity said that though Balogun felt betrayed by the action of the government, especially when traditional rulers, politicians and other well-placed Nigerians had pleaded on his behalf, he was now ready to battle the government to redeem his image.
Apart from exposing the alleged irregularities in that election by chronicling how the police were made to give support to the PDP, Balogun was also said to be ready to squeal on some high profile murders, which took place during his tenure and the original list of patrons of the Okija shrine which has been shrouded in secrecy.
When reminded that the former IGP’s proposed action may be that of a drowning man, the aide said “No, my Oga wants Nigerians, who have so celebrated his case to also know the dirty things some of these people who claimed to be saints do behind the scene.”
But the former Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, has hailed Balogun’s arrest and subsequent prosecution.
In applauding the arrest and possible prosecution of the ex-IGP, Tsav told Saturday Independent that “Balogun’s prosecution will bring disgrace to the exalted position of Inspector-General of Police but will ensure that other occupants of the position will be careful in the future.”
He said all other police officers should be ashamed and refrain from corruption, especially those who openly commended the ex-IGP through paid adverts.
His words: “I am one of the strongest advocates of the prosecution of Tafa Balogun for aggravated corruption to serve as deterrent to other thieves in police uniform.
“Prosecution of Balogun will bring disgrace to the exalted office of the IGP. All police officers should feel ashamed and refrain from corruption, especially those who commended Balogun through paid adverts for being the best IGP.
“They may even wear black attires to mourn his disgrace.”
Though it was not clear when the ex-IGP would be arraigned, sources from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said he may be arraigned in Lagos and Abuja over money laundering, official corruption, abuse of office, stealing and other sundry charges.
Balogun was forced to resign as the Number One cop in Nigeria on January 17 this year after intelligence reports by the EFCC indicted him of corruptly enriching himself.
He was subsequently picked up in Lagos last Monday by operatives of the commission and is still being detained.
In associating Balogun with Okija Shrine, the chief priest told Saturday Independent which was on a fact-finding-mission after the release of the 40 suspects earlier arrested in connection with Okija saga that the former IGP started to patronize the shrine when he was the commissioner of police in Abia State.
The chief priest who regretted that the former Inspector General who had been to the shrine on several occasion to seek protection and power had to pretend that he had never heard of Okija shrine before.
“I can tell you authoritatively that Tafa was brought to this shrine by one of his officers by name Sule, and Sule has always been coming here to seek protection”, he added.
Apart from the former IGP, he alleged that a number of other senior police officers thronged the shrine to seek protection and promotion but that when the shrine was exposed such persons turned their back and “accused us of killing people, when they knew the truth.
“Why did Tafa not interrogate us throughout our seven months detention? We could have told him to his face that he was a patron, but he cleverly avoided having any contact with us.”
He said that it was the acting IGP, Sunday Ehindero, then the D.I.G Administration, that spoke to them and gave them words of encouragement. “We are surprised at the behaviour of human beings,” he added.
The 165 years old chief priest who lamented the death of the former chief priest, Eddymuo Ndukwu who died seven hours after he was granted bail said that the late chief priest died of anger and humiliation, because” it is an abomination for a chief priest to be detained for no just cause”.
“But one thing, I can tell you is that Ogwugwu will fight and those that disgraced and humiliated it can never go scot free, because Ogwugwu must fight for its cause for the desecration of the shrine,” he stressed.
Ezikie, who said that, when Tafa Balogun visited the shrine last August at the wake of the saga, he was the one the ex-IGP questioned and he told him that he was 165 years old and that a shrine was handed over to him by his forefathers.
The chief priest reiterated the importance of the shrine, saying “because of its existence, there is nothing like robbery or any crime in Okija, because once you are accused, you must be administered with an oath and if you are guilty Ogwugwu takes its cause.”
He said that in the past the shrine had killed more than 300 Okija indigenes because of their atrocities, and “that is why there is sanity in the town. Ogwugwu kills anybody, indigene or foreigner once you lie before it.”
On the allegation that it is the worshippers of the shrine that kill people and attribute it to the shrine, Ezike said, “we don’t kill people here, you are here now on your own, has anybody threatened you? It is Ogwugwu that kills.”
“They say we kill people, did they find any gun or matchet with us, when they came to descrete our shrine? All these things are lies and rubbish. It is sad that even most of them that came here to commit this sacrilege were coming to the shrine to bathe and seek protection and power from Ogwugwu. So what are they talking about?” he noted.
Ezike maintained that it was the tradition that “once Ogwugwu kills somebody who lied before it, the corpse must be brought to it or it will continue to kill in the family until the family finds a solution to the problem.”
According to him, “when the 40 suspects arrested in connection with the saga returned home on February 22, after they were granted bail by an Ihiala magistrate court, the whole Okija people gathered in this compound to welcome them. When Eddymuo died, the same thing happened. The whole town came to mourn him.”
On why people still patronized the shrine despite the bad publicity, the chief priest said, “don’t mind them, the people coming here still believe that justice is easily gotten at the shrine without going through the long process of the law.”
Daily Independent Online.
Saturday, April 2, 2005 Balogun plans bombshell in court
sisaa agboh, News Editor, chris agbambu, Deputy Bureau Chief, Abuja
Details of how the Nigerian Police was allegedly used to rig the 2003 general elections, high profile murders and the real patrons of Okija Ogwugwu shrines may come to light when embattled ex-Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun begins his defence in the anti-graft charges brought against him.
advertisement
Balogun, who took ill soon after he was accused of high scale corruption, is now said to be healthy and has vowed to open a can of worms on the 2003 general elections which many believed, was manipulated in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), using the police and other security agencies.
However, the ex-IGP has been alleged to be a patron of the Okija Shrine by its chief priest Ogbueshi Ezike Okolie.
His resolve, according to a top aide of the ex-Number One cop is predicated on the fact that having been used to do the dirty job during the election, he should not have been humiliated and made to suffer over the alleged ill-gotten wealth.
The source revealed that the ex-IGP was “no longer bothered about his fate but is determined to squeal so that Nigerians will know that their leaders are not the saints they profess to be.”
Already, Balogun has reportedly refused to co-operate with his interrogators as he blatantly ignored all requests to make a statement.
The aide who spoke on the basis of anonymity said that though Balogun felt betrayed by the action of the government, especially when traditional rulers, politicians and other well-placed Nigerians had pleaded on his behalf, he was now ready to battle the government to redeem his image.
Apart from exposing the alleged irregularities in that election by chronicling how the police were made to give support to the PDP, Balogun was also said to be ready to squeal on some high profile murders, which took place during his tenure and the original list of patrons of the Okija shrine which has been shrouded in secrecy.
When reminded that the former IGP’s proposed action may be that of a drowning man, the aide said “No, my Oga wants Nigerians, who have so celebrated his case to also know the dirty things some of these people who claimed to be saints do behind the scene.”
But the former Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, has hailed Balogun’s arrest and subsequent prosecution.
In applauding the arrest and possible prosecution of the ex-IGP, Tsav told Saturday Independent that “Balogun’s prosecution will bring disgrace to the exalted position of Inspector-General of Police but will ensure that other occupants of the position will be careful in the future.”
He said all other police officers should be ashamed and refrain from corruption, especially those who openly commended the ex-IGP through paid adverts.
His words: “I am one of the strongest advocates of the prosecution of Tafa Balogun for aggravated corruption to serve as deterrent to other thieves in police uniform.
“Prosecution of Balogun will bring disgrace to the exalted office of the IGP. All police officers should feel ashamed and refrain from corruption, especially those who commended Balogun through paid adverts for being the best IGP.
“They may even wear black attires to mourn his disgrace.”
Though it was not clear when the ex-IGP would be arraigned, sources from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said he may be arraigned in Lagos and Abuja over money laundering, official corruption, abuse of office, stealing and other sundry charges.
Balogun was forced to resign as the Number One cop in Nigeria on January 17 this year after intelligence reports by the EFCC indicted him of corruptly enriching himself.
He was subsequently picked up in Lagos last Monday by operatives of the commission and is still being detained.
In associating Balogun with Okija Shrine, the chief priest told Saturday Independent which was on a fact-finding-mission after the release of the 40 suspects earlier arrested in connection with Okija saga that the former IGP started to patronize the shrine when he was the commissioner of police in Abia State.
The chief priest who regretted that the former Inspector General who had been to the shrine on several occasion to seek protection and power had to pretend that he had never heard of Okija shrine before.
“I can tell you authoritatively that Tafa was brought to this shrine by one of his officers by name Sule, and Sule has always been coming here to seek protection”, he added.
Apart from the former IGP, he alleged that a number of other senior police officers thronged the shrine to seek protection and promotion but that when the shrine was exposed such persons turned their back and “accused us of killing people, when they knew the truth.
“Why did Tafa not interrogate us throughout our seven months detention? We could have told him to his face that he was a patron, but he cleverly avoided having any contact with us.”
He said that it was the acting IGP, Sunday Ehindero, then the D.I.G Administration, that spoke to them and gave them words of encouragement. “We are surprised at the behaviour of human beings,” he added.
The 165 years old chief priest who lamented the death of the former chief priest, Eddymuo Ndukwu who died seven hours after he was granted bail said that the late chief priest died of anger and humiliation, because” it is an abomination for a chief priest to be detained for no just cause”.
“But one thing, I can tell you is that Ogwugwu will fight and those that disgraced and humiliated it can never go scot free, because Ogwugwu must fight for its cause for the desecration of the shrine,” he stressed.
Ezikie, who said that, when Tafa Balogun visited the shrine last August at the wake of the saga, he was the one the ex-IGP questioned and he told him that he was 165 years old and that a shrine was handed over to him by his forefathers.
The chief priest reiterated the importance of the shrine, saying “because of its existence, there is nothing like robbery or any crime in Okija, because once you are accused, you must be administered with an oath and if you are guilty Ogwugwu takes its cause.”
He said that in the past the shrine had killed more than 300 Okija indigenes because of their atrocities, and “that is why there is sanity in the town. Ogwugwu kills anybody, indigene or foreigner once you lie before it.”
On the allegation that it is the worshippers of the shrine that kill people and attribute it to the shrine, Ezike said, “we don’t kill people here, you are here now on your own, has anybody threatened you? It is Ogwugwu that kills.”
“They say we kill people, did they find any gun or matchet with us, when they came to descrete our shrine? All these things are lies and rubbish. It is sad that even most of them that came here to commit this sacrilege were coming to the shrine to bathe and seek protection and power from Ogwugwu. So what are they talking about?” he noted.
Ezike maintained that it was the tradition that “once Ogwugwu kills somebody who lied before it, the corpse must be brought to it or it will continue to kill in the family until the family finds a solution to the problem.”
According to him, “when the 40 suspects arrested in connection with the saga returned home on February 22, after they were granted bail by an Ihiala magistrate court, the whole Okija people gathered in this compound to welcome them. When Eddymuo died, the same thing happened. The whole town came to mourn him.”
On why people still patronized the shrine despite the bad publicity, the chief priest said, “don’t mind them, the people coming here still believe that justice is easily gotten at the shrine without going through the long process of the law.”
Daily Independent Online.
Saturday, April 2, 2005 Balogun plans bombshell in court
sisaa agboh, News Editor, chris agbambu, Deputy Bureau Chief, Abuja
Details of how the Nigerian Police was allegedly used to rig the 2003 general elections, high profile murders and the real patrons of Okija Ogwugwu shrines may come to light when embattled ex-Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun begins his defence in the anti-graft charges brought against him.
advertisement
Balogun, who took ill soon after he was accused of high scale corruption, is now said to be healthy and has vowed to open a can of worms on the 2003 general elections which many believed, was manipulated in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), using the police and other security agencies.
However, the ex-IGP has been alleged to be a patron of the Okija Shrine by its chief priest Ogbueshi Ezike Okolie.
His resolve, according to a top aide of the ex-Number One cop is predicated on the fact that having been used to do the dirty job during the election, he should not have been humiliated and made to suffer over the alleged ill-gotten wealth.
The source revealed that the ex-IGP was “no longer bothered about his fate but is determined to squeal so that Nigerians will know that their leaders are not the saints they profess to be.”
Already, Balogun has reportedly refused to co-operate with his interrogators as he blatantly ignored all requests to make a statement.
The aide who spoke on the basis of anonymity said that though Balogun felt betrayed by the action of the government, especially when traditional rulers, politicians and other well-placed Nigerians had pleaded on his behalf, he was now ready to battle the government to redeem his image.
Apart from exposing the alleged irregularities in that election by chronicling how the police were made to give support to the PDP, Balogun was also said to be ready to squeal on some high profile murders, which took place during his tenure and the original list of patrons of the Okija shrine which has been shrouded in secrecy.
When reminded that the former IGP’s proposed action may be that of a drowning man, the aide said “No, my Oga wants Nigerians, who have so celebrated his case to also know the dirty things some of these people who claimed to be saints do behind the scene.”
But the former Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, has hailed Balogun’s arrest and subsequent prosecution.
In applauding the arrest and possible prosecution of the ex-IGP, Tsav told Saturday Independent that “Balogun’s prosecution will bring disgrace to the exalted position of Inspector-General of Police but will ensure that other occupants of the position will be careful in the future.”
He said all other police officers should be ashamed and refrain from corruption, especially those who openly commended the ex-IGP through paid adverts.
His words: “I am one of the strongest advocates of the prosecution of Tafa Balogun for aggravated corruption to serve as deterrent to other thieves in police uniform.
“Prosecution of Balogun will bring disgrace to the exalted office of the IGP. All police officers should feel ashamed and refrain from corruption, especially those who commended Balogun through paid adverts for being the best IGP.
“They may even wear black attires to mourn his disgrace.”
Though it was not clear when the ex-IGP would be arraigned, sources from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said he may be arraigned in Lagos and Abuja over money laundering, official corruption, abuse of office, stealing and other sundry charges.
Balogun was forced to resign as the Number One cop in Nigeria on January 17 this year after intelligence reports by the EFCC indicted him of corruptly enriching himself.
He was subsequently picked up in Lagos last Monday by operatives of the commission and is still being detained.
In associating Balogun with Okija Shrine, the chief priest told Saturday Independent which was on a fact-finding-mission after the release of the 40 suspects earlier arrested in connection with Okija saga that the former IGP started to patronize the shrine when he was the commissioner of police in Abia State.
The chief priest who regretted that the former Inspector General who had been to the shrine on several occasion to seek protection and power had to pretend that he had never heard of Okija shrine before.
“I can tell you authoritatively that Tafa was brought to this shrine by one of his officers by name Sule, and Sule has always been coming here to seek protection”, he added.
Apart from the former IGP, he alleged that a number of other senior police officers thronged the shrine to seek protection and promotion but that when the shrine was exposed such persons turned their back and “accused us of killing people, when they knew the truth.
“Why did Tafa not interrogate us throughout our seven months detention? We could have told him to his face that he was a patron, but he cleverly avoided having any contact with us.”
He said that it was the acting IGP, Sunday Ehindero, then the D.I.G Administration, that spoke to them and gave them words of encouragement. “We are surprised at the behaviour of human beings,” he added.
The 165 years old chief priest who lamented the death of the former chief priest, Eddymuo Ndukwu who died seven hours after he was granted bail said that the late chief priest died of anger and humiliation, because” it is an abomination for a chief priest to be detained for no just cause”.
“But one thing, I can tell you is that Ogwugwu will fight and those that disgraced and humiliated it can never go scot free, because Ogwugwu must fight for its cause for the desecration of the shrine,” he stressed.
Ezikie, who said that, when Tafa Balogun visited the shrine last August at the wake of the saga, he was the one the ex-IGP questioned and he told him that he was 165 years old and that a shrine was handed over to him by his forefathers.
The chief priest reiterated the importance of the shrine, saying “because of its existence, there is nothing like robbery or any crime in Okija, because once you are accused, you must be administered with an oath and if you are guilty Ogwugwu takes its cause.”
He said that in the past the shrine had killed more than 300 Okija indigenes because of their atrocities, and “that is why there is sanity in the town. Ogwugwu kills anybody, indigene or foreigner once you lie before it.”
On the allegation that it is the worshippers of the shrine that kill people and attribute it to the shrine, Ezike said, “we don’t kill people here, you are here now on your own, has anybody threatened you? It is Ogwugwu that kills.”
“They say we kill people, did they find any gun or matchet with us, when they came to descrete our shrine? All these things are lies and rubbish. It is sad that even most of them that came here to commit this sacrilege were coming to the shrine to bathe and seek protection and power from Ogwugwu. So what are they talking about?” he noted.
Ezike maintained that it was the tradition that “once Ogwugwu kills somebody who lied before it, the corpse must be brought to it or it will continue to kill in the family until the family finds a solution to the problem.”
According to him, “when the 40 suspects arrested in connection with the saga returned home on February 22, after they were granted bail by an Ihiala magistrate court, the whole Okija people gathered in this compound to welcome them. When Eddymuo died, the same thing happened. The whole town came to mourn him.”
On why people still patronized the shrine despite the bad publicity, the chief priest said, “don’t mind them, the people coming here still believe that justice is easily gotten at the shrine without going through the long process of the law.”
Daily Independent Online.
Saturday, April 2, 2005 Balogun plans bombshell in court
sisaa agboh, News Editor, chris agbambu, Deputy Bureau Chief, Abuja
Details of how the Nigerian Police was allegedly used to rig the 2003 general elections, high profile murders and the real patrons of Okija Ogwugwu shrines may come to light when embattled ex-Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun begins his defence in the anti-graft charges brought against him.
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Balogun, who took ill soon after he was accused of high scale corruption, is now said to be healthy and has vowed to open a can of worms on the 2003 general elections which many believed, was manipulated in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), using the police and other security agencies.
However, the ex-IGP has been alleged to be a patron of the Okija Shrine by its chief priest Ogbueshi Ezike Okolie.
His resolve, according to a top aide of the ex-Number One cop is predicated on the fact that having been used to do the dirty job during the election, he should not have been humiliated and made to suffer over the alleged ill-gotten wealth.
The source revealed that the ex-IGP was “no longer bothered about his fate but is determined to squeal so that Nigerians will know that their leaders are not the saints they profess to be.”
Already, Balogun has reportedly refused to co-operate with his interrogators as he blatantly ignored all requests to make a statement.
The aide who spoke on the basis of anonymity said that though Balogun felt betrayed by the action of the government, especially when traditional rulers, politicians and other well-placed Nigerians had pleaded on his behalf, he was now ready to battle the government to redeem his image.
Apart from exposing the alleged irregularities in that election by chronicling how the police were made to give support to the PDP, Balogun was also said to be ready to squeal on some high profile murders, which took place during his tenure and the original list of patrons of the Okija shrine which has been shrouded in secrecy.
When reminded that the former IGP’s proposed action may be that of a drowning man, the aide said “No, my Oga wants Nigerians, who have so celebrated his case to also know the dirty things some of these people who claimed to be saints do behind the scene.”
But the former Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, has hailed Balogun’s arrest and subsequent prosecution.
In applauding the arrest and possible prosecution of the ex-IGP, Tsav told Saturday Independent that “Balogun’s prosecution will bring disgrace to the exalted position of Inspector-General of Police but will ensure that other occupants of the position will be careful in the future.”
He said all other police officers should be ashamed and refrain from corruption, especially those who openly commended the ex-IGP through paid adverts.
His words: “I am one of the strongest advocates of the prosecution of Tafa Balogun for aggravated corruption to serve as deterrent to other thieves in police uniform.
“Prosecution of Balogun will bring disgrace to the exalted office of the IGP. All police officers should feel ashamed and refrain from corruption, especially those who commended Balogun through paid adverts for being the best IGP.
“They may even wear black attires to mourn his disgrace.”
Though it was not clear when the ex-IGP would be arraigned, sources from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said he may be arraigned in Lagos and Abuja over money laundering, official corruption, abuse of office, stealing and other sundry charges.
Balogun was forced to resign as the Number One cop in Nigeria on January 17 this year after intelligence reports by the EFCC indicted him of corruptly enriching himself.
He was subsequently picked up in Lagos last Monday by operatives of the commission and is still being detained.
In associating Balogun with Okija Shrine, the chief priest told Saturday Independent which was on a fact-finding-mission after the release of the 40 suspects earlier arrested in connection with Okija saga that the former IGP started to patronize the shrine when he was the commissioner of police in Abia State.
The chief priest who regretted that the former Inspector General who had been to the shrine on several occasion to seek protection and power had to pretend that he had never heard of Okija shrine before.
“I can tell you authoritatively that Tafa was brought to this shrine by one of his officers by name Sule, and Sule has always been coming here to seek protection”, he added.
Apart from the former IGP, he alleged that a number of other senior police officers thronged the shrine to seek protection and promotion but that when the shrine was exposed such persons turned their back and “accused us of killing people, when they knew the truth.
“Why did Tafa not interrogate us throughout our seven months detention? We could have told him to his face that he was a patron, but he cleverly avoided having any contact with us.”
He said that it was the acting IGP, Sunday Ehindero, then the D.I.G Administration, that spoke to them and gave them words of encouragement. “We are surprised at the behaviour of human beings,” he added.
The 165 years old chief priest who lamented the death of the former chief priest, Eddymuo Ndukwu who died seven hours after he was granted bail said that the late chief priest died of anger and humiliation, because” it is an abomination for a chief priest to be detained for no just cause”.
“But one thing, I can tell you is that Ogwugwu will fight and those that disgraced and humiliated it can never go scot free, because Ogwugwu must fight for its cause for the desecration of the shrine,” he stressed.
Ezikie, who said that, when Tafa Balogun visited the shrine last August at the wake of the saga, he was the one the ex-IGP questioned and he told him that he was 165 years old and that a shrine was handed over to him by his forefathers.
The chief priest reiterated the importance of the shrine, saying “because of its existence, there is nothing like robbery or any crime in Okija, because once you are accused, you must be administered with an oath and if you are guilty Ogwugwu takes its cause.”
He said that in the past the shrine had killed more than 300 Okija indigenes because of their atrocities, and “that is why there is sanity in the town. Ogwugwu kills anybody, indigene or foreigner once you lie before it.”
On the allegation that it is the worshippers of the shrine that kill people and attribute it to the shrine, Ezike said, “we don’t kill people here, you are here now on your own, has anybody threatened you? It is Ogwugwu that kills.”
“They say we kill people, did they find any gun or matchet with us, when they came to descrete our shrine? All these things are lies and rubbish. It is sad that even most of them that came here to commit this sacrilege were coming to the shrine to bathe and seek protection and power from Ogwugwu. So what are they talking about?” he noted.
Ezike maintained that it was the tradition that “once Ogwugwu kills somebody who lied before it, the corpse must be brought to it or it will continue to kill in the family until the family finds a solution to the problem.”
According to him, “when the 40 suspects arrested in connection with the saga returned home on February 22, after they were granted bail by an Ihiala magistrate court, the whole Okija people gathered in this compound to welcome them. When Eddymuo died, the same thing happened. The whole town came to mourn him.”
On why people still patronized the shrine despite the bad publicity, the chief priest said, “don’t mind them, the people coming here still believe that justice is easily gotten at the shrine without going through the long process of the law.”
Posts: 380 | From: US | Registered: Dec 2004
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Brother, because of all the previous murders you mentioned which are yet "unsolved," Obasanjo will need to tread carefully now in order to get rid of Balogun; otherwise he will lose the last shred of credibility he may still have in the international arena, and be shunned as a murderer and a pariah among leaders of nations. For this reason, if Tafa is to be killed, it must not be while he is in custody. Look to see him released on bail or his own recognizance. After that, his demise may be more comfortably attained and afterwards blamed on unknown parties, the uncertainty of which is always a cover for political murders.
___________________ The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves... Posts: 660 | From: Valle del Sol | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
Well, well, well; people, the government now have a golden chance to snuff the life out of tafa balogun the thief who is currently said to be on hunger strike. The government should cease this rear chance to cancel him then claim his hunger adventure was responsible. If Ige could undergo this treatment for no known just reason, who then is a thief to be spared?
___________________ BIAFRA: The land of my ancestors now, yesterday and always. So it will be! Posts: 2482 | From: Ala Igbo | Registered: Apr 2004
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Pardon me for not using all your known titles to address you. I am not sure which is still tenable. But the one that will stick forever is that of Tafa the thief, all other titles, including the last one bestowed on you by your good friend Obasanjo; are no longer valid.
Tafa, how are the mighty fallen. Just a few weeks ago, you were riding high, so high that all criminals in nija were afraid of you. Did i say only criminals? Even several AIG's, DIG's, Commissioners, Inspectors, Sergents, coporals and ordinary recruits in police uniform. They all were afraid of you. Did i forget the journalist, Labor Unions, Maza maza, danfo drivers, okada riders and ordinary citizens. We all were afraid of you because of the tremendious power available to you.
What did you do with your power when you had it? Did you abuse the power you had? did you use your power to make sure that all accused are innocent until proven guilty? Did you demand egunje from Commissioners, Governors, and all other people, just because you can? did you carry out orders from above to arrest and detain journalist? did you give out orders to confiscate magazines that wrote about Obasanjo's son and how he milked the nation? Did you authorize an AIG of police to kidnap a sitting governor? Who told you what court order to obey, and did you withdraw a Governors police protection based on this order? (reminds of me of James Hadley Chase novel, 'Want to stay alive', when Poke Tohola turned Paradise City into Panick City, he told those he threatened to ask Mandy Lucas what happened to her police protection)
Oga Tafa, I truly sympathize with you. What type of shame have you brought on your family just because you want to be richer than all your predecesors put together. Did you think about the good name you will leave your children or were you thinking only about the properties,$$$ and naira you will leave them; do not tell me you never knew that one day you will die.
Now you are given a dose of what you gave others, do you now understand why we have activist? Do you now understand why it is important to use what ever power you have for the general good? If i were you i will not be worried, because the same people that are asking for your head are guilty of the same offence they are charging you with. You may well prove the proverb "he who laughs last laughs best" right. because today they are after you tomorrow it will be their turn.
Before the snuff out the life you still have because of all the secret you still keep for them, i will advise you to start singing. Secretly write down all you know, pass it on to your lawyers or wife, do not hold back. Tell it the way it is and give us instances and evidence. That is the only way you can redeem whatever is left of you tattered image.
Today people remember Ohara Airport in Chigaco as international airport, but they do not know the story behind it. Ohare was a the lawyer to Al capone (mafia boss). He knew all the secrets of the mobs. He was wealthy and hung out with the cream of the society. One day, he was thinking of what legacy he could leave his son. Wealth was not enough so he decided to leave him a good name. He turned an informant and exposed the mafia bosses. He knew this will cost him his life, but he never cared. Eventually, the mafia got him and killed him, but today the one act he did is remembered by all. His son was very proud of his father and today the whole of Chicago are proud of what he did. They named Ohara Airport after him.
So Tafa, what legacy are you going to leave for your children?
Forget about hunger strike, it will not redeem you, start thinking about what you want to be remembered for. Right now we all know you as Tafa the thief, Ole,Barawo, Onye ori.
The ball is in you court.
N.b: while on hunger strike watch out for the air you breath, Okadigbo inhaled his own potion.
Posts: 380 | From: US | Registered: Dec 2004
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quote:Today people remember Ohara Airport in Chigaco as international airport, but they do not know the story behind it. Ohare was a the lawyer to Al capone (mafia boss). He knew all the secrets of the mobs. He was wealthy and hung out with the cream of the society. One day, he was thinking of what legacy he could leave his son. Wealth was not enough so he decided to leave him a good name. He turned an informant and exposed the mafia bosses. He knew this will cost him his life, but he never cared. Eventually, the mafia got him and killed him, but today the one act he did is remembered by all.
Neither does this guy know the full story behind the naming of this airport after “Lt. Cmdr. Edward "Butch" O'Hare, a World War II fighter pilot from Chicago...” And so for the sake of knowledge, here is the real deal on the O'Hare airport name which does by no means remove my support for this open note to the thief known as tafa adebayo balogun.
___________________ BIAFRA: The land of my ancestors now, yesterday and always. So it will be! Posts: 2482 | From: Ala Igbo | Registered: Apr 2004
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Ironically I think Tafa needs the hunger strike, the fellow needs to loose that ugly gut. I don't expect him to learn anything in jail though, just look at Aremu and you will know what I mean.
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