Christians Caught Attempting To Bomb Own Church In Bauchi-Premium Times

By Aliyu Tilde & Sani Tukur

Nine bombers, believed to be christians, were apprehended this morning when they attempted to bomb a COCIN church at Miya Barkate, 20 kilometres along Jos-Bauchi Highway in Bauchi State.

The suspected bombers are Lamba Goma, Filibus Danasa, Joshua Ali, Danjuma Sabo, Joseph Audu, Simon Gabriel, Bulus Haruna, Yohanna Ishaya and Daniel Ayuba (who was the immediate past Secretary of PDP at Tilden Fulani Ward, Toro LGA, Bauchi State).

The suspects are members of the same COCIN church, Unguwar Rimi, a new and small Christian settlement between Tilden Fulani and Shere Hills. The suspects who were thoroughly beaten by the public were rescued by police and then detained at the Toro Divisional Police Division before they were transferred to Bauchi State Police Command, Bauchi.

At about the same time this morning in the neighbouring Plateau State, a bomb explosion was reported at the headquarters of the same COCIN church during a Sunday service. The number of casualties are not certain. The pastor of the targeted COCIN Church in Bauchi is Ishaya Izam, who recently arrived on posting from the Cocin headquarters in Jos, which was bombed this morning.

It is not clear if the two bombings are related. A statement on the event in Bauchi state is yet to be issued by the Police.
Spokesperson of the Bauchi State police command, Hassan Mohammed, confirmed the incident but said he would only provide details later.
"The suspects are in the police headquarters but we give full details after investigators have ascertained the full situation could not be reached for comments," Mr. Mohammed said.
 

Christians Caught Attempting To Bomb Own Church In Bauchi-Premium Times | Sahara Reporters

EFCC drags ex-gov Sylva to court over N7b fraud

Barely a month after he was unceremoniously removed from office as governor of Bayelsa State, the Federal Government yesterday slammed a six-count criminal charges against Timipre Sylva, alleging that he stole about N7 billion belonging to the state government while in office. The charge, with No. FHC/ABJ/CR/23/2012 and filed by Festus Keyamo on behalf of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), accused the ex-governor of infringing the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act), 2004. 
The charge sheet reads:

•That you, Timipre Sylva, as governor  of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, sometime between October, 2009 and February, 2010, at various places in Nigeria, including Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court did conspire to commit a crime to wit: conversion of properties and resources amounting to N2,000,000,000.00 (Two Billion Naira) belonging to Bayelsa State Government and derived from an illegal act, with the aim of concealing the illicit origin of the said amount and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 17(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act), 2004 and punishable under Section 14(1) of the same Act.

• That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor  of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, on or about the 22nd of January, 2010, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, converted the sum of N380,000,000.00 (Three Hundred and Eighty Million Naira), property of the Bayelsa State Government, through the account of one Habibu Sani Maigidia, a Bureau De Change Operator with Account No. 221433478108, in Fin Bank, Plc, which sum you knew represented the proceeds of an illegal act with the aim of concealing the nature of the proceeds of the said illegal act and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14(1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act) 2004 and also punishable under section 14(1) of the same Act.

•That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor  of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, on or about the 5th of February, 2010, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, converted the sum of N50,000,000.00 (Fifty Million Naira), property of the Bayelsa State Government, through the account of one Enson Benmer Limited with Account No. 6152030001946, in First Bank, Plc, which sum you knew represented the proceeds of an illegal act with the aim of concealing the nature of the proceeds of the said illegal act and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14(1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act) 2004 and also punishable under section 14(1) of the same Act.
•That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor  of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, on or about the 5th of February, 2010, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, converted the sum of N20,000,000.00 (Twenty Million Naira), property of the Bayelsa State Government, through the account of one John Daukoru with Account No. 04800250000418, in United Bank for Africa, Plc, which sum you knew represented the proceeds of an illegal act with the aim of concealing the nature of the proceeds of the said illegal act and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14(1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act) 2004 and also punishable under section 14(1) of the same Act.

•That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor  of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, sometime between October, 2009 and February, 2010, at various places in Nigeria, including Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court did conspire to commit a crime to wit: inducing Union Bank, Plc, with the intent to defraud, to deliver to Bayelsa State Government the sum of N2,000,000,000.00 (Two Billion Naira), under the false pretence of using the amount to augment salaries of the Bayelsa State Government and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8(a) and punishable under section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2004.

•That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor  of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, sometime between October, 2009 and February, 2010, at various places in Nigeria, including Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court induced Union Bank, Plc, with the intent to defraud, to grant an overdraft facility of the sum of N2,000,000,000.00 (Two Billion Naira) to the Bayelsa State Government under the false pretence of using the amount to augment salaries of the Bayelsa State Government and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2004 and punishable under section 1(3) of the same Act.
No date has been given for the hearing of the case.

The Sun News On-line 
|http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2012/02/24/silva-fights-dirty-calls-jonathan-failure-disaster/

Ibori caves-in to plea bargain

There were strong  indications at the  weekend that former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, may have agreed to a plea bargain deal with the London Metropolitan Police (MET). In fact, barring any other last-minute hurdles, the deal may be signed as early as this week.

Sources conversant with the deal told Sunday Vanguard that the signal for the deal was first sighted when the London MET dropped its corruption charges against Ibori. Rather than rejoice over the development, a shocked Ibori was made to understand that the new case against him would dwell on money laundering.

One of the sources said: “Whereas it was decided that the corruption charges were dropped because proving the case was becoming challenging, resorting to money laundering provides an easier case to prosecute because a defendant could be found guilty once a  veritable inference could be made”.

Unconfirmed reports late yesterday suggested that most of the “finer details of the deal had already been agreed upon by both the prosecuting counsel and Ibori’s lawyers”.

Ibori, Sunday Vanguard learnt, having moved from Nigeria to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, UAE, before his extradition to London for trial, was said to “be showing signs of fatigue as the case appeared to have really dealt him a heavy psychological blow as well as punched a hole in his finances”.

Whereas the case was said to have cost the British authorities huge sums of money as a result of the global investigations involved in attempting to prove the case, sources said they were, nonetheless, prepared to convict Ibori on money laundering charges. “It was this new development that compelled Ibori’s lawyers to prevail on him to accept the plea bargain deal.

“Initially, he objected but when confronted with the full implications of going ahead with the case, the resources the British authorities would have to deploy again and the man hours, he faced a more damaging penalty should he be found guilty.  He was also told that since the corruption charges had been dropped, going for a plea bargain on money laundering was less opprobrious,” a source said.

“It was this line of argument from his lawyers that eventually made him to cave-in to the deal”.

http://omojuwa.com/2012/ibori-london-police-reach-plea-bargain-pact/

Boko Haram Gunmen Attack Kano Mosque Killing 5 Persons

Islamists militants from Boko Haram sect killed five persons at a mosque in the center of Kano city yesterday evening.

Five people died instantly and some people were injured after a brazen attack was carried out on the mosque  as muslim faithfuls were observing evening prayers.

An unspecified number of  gunmen arrived on motorbikes and began shooting indiscriminately according to police authorities in the state.

Boko Haram Gunmen Attack Kano Mosque Killing 5 Persons | Sahara Reporters

Nelson Mandela 'stable after surgery for abdominal complaint'

BBC's Andrew Harding: "Many people feel a very close connection with 
Nelson Mandela and they desperately want to know how he is doing"

Former South Africa President Nelson Mandela is in a stable condition after undergoing surgery, the BBC understands.

Officials said he was taken to hospital overnight for a "long-standing abdominal complaint" which needed "proper specialist medical attention".

A government spokesman said the former leader was "in good spirits and well".

The 93-year-old statesman and anti-apartheid icon has suffered declining health in recent years.

In a statement, President Jacob Zuma's office said the "love and good wishes of all South Africans and people throughout the world" were with Mr Mandela, and asked for his family to be given privacy.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

Andrew HardingBBC News, Johannesburg

This issue came out of the blue, which will alarm some people. But at the same time the presidency, which is trying to control the flow of information surrounding Nelson Mandela's health, has said it was a long-standing medical complaint, so that may reassure others.

The presidency frankly admits that last year - when Mr Mandela was taken to hospital with what turned out to be acute respiratory infection - the flow of information was very badly handled. It led to a lot of rumours and panic, here in South Africa and around the world.

So this time they are trying to control it more. They are, at this stage, ahead of Twitter and internet rumours.

The statement did not say which hospital he had been admitted to but there are suggestions it was a military hospital in the capital, Pretoria.

Mr Mandela had returned to Johannesburg last month from his rural home in the Eastern Cape and in January last year, he received treatment in the city's Milpark hospital for a serious chest infection.

"I can assure you that the former president is in good spirits and well," said Mac Maharaj, a spokesman for Mr Zuma.

He told the BBC that further information would be released once Mr Zuma and the Mandela family had received a full medical report from doctors, but that the 93-year-old's life was not in danger.

"This was a long-standing complaint - nothing that cropped up suddenly and needed emergency attention," said Mr Maharaj.

"But it is an issue that the doctors treating him felt needed specialist attention, and so arrangements were made accordingly."

He would not confirm reports that Mr Mandela had undergone overnight surgery for a hernia, and appealed for "co-operation from the public and the media so we manage this thing properly".

Nobel prize

The BBC's Andrew Harding in Johannesburg says the government is clearly keen to control the flow of information, after previous alerts about the former leader's health have been the subject of much speculation.

Mr Mandela retired from public life eight years ago - his last public appearance was at the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner is affectionately known in South Africa as Madiba.

He spent 27 years in prison for his actions against the apartheid regime before being released in 1990.

In 1994, he became South Africa's first black president, stepping down in 1999 after one term.

BBC News - Nelson Mandela 'stable after surgery for abdominal complaint'

Deprivation & Derivation Principles: Why The North Is Poor (I) – Elombah

“According to official figures, the leading oil producing state, Rivers, received N1,053 billion between 1999 and 2008 in federal allocations. By contrast the North-eastern states of Yobe and Borno, where the Boko Haram sect was created, received N175bn and N213bn respectively. Broken down on a per capita basis, the contrast is even starker.

In 2008 the 18.97m people who lived in the six states in the north-east received on average N1,156 per person.

“By contrast Rivers state was allocated N3,965 per capita, and on average the oil producing South- South region received on average N3,332 per capita. This imbalance is compounded when the cost of an amnesty programme for militants in the delta is included together with an additional 1 per cent for a special development body for the Niger Delta. To boot, the theft of oil by profiteers in the region diverts tens of millions more weekly from federal coffers.” – Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

Yes, forget these per capita figures! I agree the North is poor. Yes, I agree the poverty has bred millions of destitutes, who have become instant and easy recruits for Boko Haram. But my question is: Who impoverished the North?

A caveat: I am an unabashed capitalist who believes that every citizen has a right to do good business and make profit. I salute hard work and do not disparage honest efforts. However, uncompassionate capitalism driven by pulleys of aristocracy breeds a brutal class order worthy of condemnation.

In my last article titled – “Elrufai’s amnesia: The day Boko Haram Wore Jeans”, I categorically stated that greed and the senseless chase for power by the Fulani aristocrats and political elites of the North are responsible for the extreme poverty of the North. I still and will always stand by that. My position did not go down well with my targets; they responded with vituperations.

Mallam Sanusi’s statistics was intended to mislead us by ruffling the rudder of our common sense. See, Ekiti state has a 2012 budget 0f N88 billion; Kwara state, N90 billion; Cross River state, N144 billion; Anambra state, N82 billion; Enugu state, N74 billion. Now let’s look at the 2012 budgets recently passed into law by the four major Boko Haram occupied states – Kano state has a budget of N 210 billion; Borno state, 150 billion; Gombe, N94 billion; Yobe state, 80 billion.

A simple comparative analysis shows that Ekiti state has about the same revenue as Yobe and Gombe, but only 17 students passed WAEC and NECO in Gombe state last year, while Ekiti is known for its high literacy level. Gombe state has a bigger budget that Enugu and Anambra, why hasn’t MASSOB bombed anyone. Borno state has a budget twice that of Enugu state but the poverty and unemployment level in Borno state is more than thrice that of Enugu state. Borno has a bigger budget than a Niger Delta state- Cross River, while the leaders of that state over the last decade have transformed it into the Nation’s leading tourist destination; those of Borno have transformed it into a Somalia.

Kano state gets the highest statutory allocation from the FG, because on paper Kano is the most populated state in Nigeria, yet Kano has about 1.6 million destitute Almajiris. Kano has a budget almost thrice the budget of Enugu, twice the budget of Kwara, Anambra and Ekiti, but how come almost 90% of students in Kano fail WAEC? How come the poverty level in Kano is higher than all these states put together?

Why is the North so poor? From the figures above I have shown that Southern states with lesser budgets have shown better development performance than most North Eastern states with bigger statutory allocation and budgets.

Now, I need to tackle the sensitive question of revenue allocation that has infuriated the Mallam Lamido Sanusi and Mallam Elrufai and their likes. Niger Delta states get higher revenue allocation because they contribute virtually all the eggs in the national crate. That is expected. Albeit the 13% remains grossly inadequate, the CBN Governor has suggested that his Boko boys are resisting the disparity.

I want to posit that the North-East through their aristocrats and ex-military rulers (except Gen. Mohammed Buhari) rake in more oil money (from the Niger Delta) individually than any Niger Delta state, and collectively more than twice the entire Niger Delta put together. In this disquisition, I have attempted to show that 80% of crude oil and gas produced by indigenous companies is controlled by the North-East. It is an area they have well conquered through General IBB, Abacha and Abdulsalami. However, the loots never get back home.

In this first part I will attempt to describe the very uneven nature of the distribution of the nation’s wealth among the Northern aristocratic families and their military generals who for decades looted Nigeria. They did so blatantly, and while Nigeria was weeping about oil windfall loot and others, Nigerians would wail if they know how much of the nation’s resources these folks allocated to themselves and their business fronts before they stepped aside.

Let us therefore begin.

To the state of origin of Boko Haram: Borno State. Enter Cavendish Petroleum, the operators of OML 110 – with good yielding OBE field. This oil block was awarded to Alhaji Mai Deribe – the Borno patriarch, who even in death will remain the richest man dead or alive in the history of Borno state- by General Sani Abacha on the 8th of July, 1996. OML 110 has a proven oil reserve in excess of 500 million barrels (More than the entire 300milliom barrels reserve of Sudan). As yet with the capacity to produce about 120,000 barrels of crude oil daily from its OBE 4 and OBE 5 wells. At current production levels, the Mai Deribes net circa N4billion monthly in crude oil sales (Using current oil price of $100pb). Cavendish Petroleum’s N4bn monthly net dwarfs the monthly statutory allocation of Borno which is about N3bn and its internally generated revenue staggers around N1billion.

See his mansion, a tourist attraction -

http://kyata.aminus3.com/image/2009-08-17.html

I will then shift to the centre of the Fulani aristocratic hegemony in the North East – Kano. Here. Enter the Fulani Prince Nasiru Ado Bayero, Mallam (Prince) Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s cousin. He is a Key shareholder and director in Seplat/Platform petroleum operators of the Asuokpu/Umutu Marginal Field with a capacity of 300,000 barrels monthly and A 30mmfcsd gas plant capable of feeding 100MT of LPG. The Ado Bayeros, Yar’Aduas and Atiku Abubakar are Nigerian holders of Intels. It is a private port that has grounded three Federal ports in the South. Intels is discussed later.

Enter South Atlantic Petroleum Limited (SAPETRO). South Atlantic Petroleum (SAPETRO) is a Nigerian Oil Exploration and Production Company that was created in 1995 by General T. Y. Danjuma. General Sani Abacha awarded the Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 246 to SAPETRO in February 1998.

The block covers a total area of 2,590km2 (1,000 sq. miles). SAPETRO partnered with Total Upstream Nigeria Ltd (TUPNI) and Brasoil Oil Services Company Nigeria Ltd (Petrobras) to start prospecting on OPL246. Akpo, a condensate field was discovered in April 2000 with the drilling of the first exploration well (Akpo 1) on the block. Other discoveries made on OPL 246 include the Egina Main, Egina South, Preowei and Kuro (Kuro was suspended as a dry gas/minor oil discovery).

In June 2006, General TY Danjuma divested part of its contractor rights and obligations to China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) for $1 billion (N160bn). Akpo exports about 230,000 barrels of condensate daily. Condensate export is not regulated by OPEC, so SAPETRO/TOTAL exports as much as possible each day. Egina exports about 75,000 barrels of oil daily.

Therefore, Akpo and Egina fields export just over 300,000 barrels of oil/condensate daily (three times what the country Ghana exports). SAPETRO (TY Danjuma) get 25% of this. Now, note I have not talked about the gas component – it’s about 2.5 trillion cubic feet. The money SAPETRO nets each month is more than the monthly statutory allocation of all the Niger states combined and also more than the oil revenue of Ghana. Do your math.

Enter AMNI (or is it AMIN?) International Petroleum Development Company. AMNI owns two oil blocks – OML 112 and OML 117. In the production sharing contract, AMNI gets 60% for owning the oil block and Total gets 40% for providing technical advice. OML 112 was awarded on the 12/02/1998 while OML 117 was awarded 06/08/1999 all by Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar. Operations started on both blocks 0n 26/02/2006. The licenses are due to expire 11/02/2018 and 05/08/2019 respectively. (Now you see why the next election is important?).

The Okoro and Setu fields in OML 112 are operated by Afren Energy, a company substantially controlled by Rilwanu Lukman. The Okoro and Setu oil fields have about 50 million barrels in reserve and currently produce/exports just a little below 20,000 barrels per day. The chairman of AMNI International Petroleum and Development Company is Alhaji (Colonel) Sani Bello a Fulani from Kontagora, Niger State. Lest I forget, Alhaji Bello’s son- Abu, is married to General Abdusalami Abubakar’s eldest daughter.

Enter Oriental Energy Resources Limited, a company owned by Alhaji Mohammed Indimi, a Fulani and close friend of General Ibrahim Babangida. Also worthy of note is that General IBB’s first son is married to Alhaji Mohammed Indimi’s daughter – Yakolo Indimi-Babangida, who also serves as a director in the company. Alhaji Indimi hails from Niger State.

Oriental Energy Resources Limited runs three oil blocks: OML 115, the Okwok field and the Ebok field. OML 115 and Okwo are OML PSC, while Ebok is an OML JV. All of them crown offshore oil blocks. OML 115 on its own is 228 sqKm. On OML115 Oriental Energy Resources Limited has 60 per cent while Equity Energy Resources AS, which Alhjai Aliko Dangote’s oil and gas investment vehicle has 40 per cent (Aliko Dangote is from Kano). On Okwok, Addax has 40% and on the Ebok field, Oriental Energy Resources shares with none: its 100%. AMNI produces twice as much as Cavendish Petroleum.

Enter Express Petroleum and Gas Limited floated by Alhaji Aminu Dantata, solely for the purpose of fronting for winning oil block(s) even though he and the company are in no way qualified for the award. General Abacha awarded him OML 108 on the 1st of November, 1995. CAMAC Houston, a company owned by Kase Lawal bought 2.5% of Express Petroleum’s 60% holdings. The other 40% on OML 108 is owned Sheba E&P Limited an IBB tributary company. SEPCOL operates the Ukpokiti offshore field in Shallow water Nigeria, which was acquired from ConocoPhillips in May 2004.

Enter Shebah Exploration And Production Limited (SEPCOL) . It is the operator of the Oil Mining License 108 offshore Nigeria. Head office is in Lagos, but ‘head quartered’ in Minna.

Enter Consolidated Oil. Conoil Producing Limited is an integrated upstream oil and gas company. They are the operator of six blocks in the Niger Delta as well as 25% Equity holder in the Joint Development Zone (JDZ) Block 4. Corporate Head office is in Lagos, but its ‘Headquarters’ is in Minna, Niger State.

Conoil signed a technical operator agreement with Continental Oil and Gas Limited (CONOG) to provide 100% funding and technical service agreement to operate blocks OML 59 on a 40% (Conoil) / 60% (CONOG) basis. Conoil entered into a Production Sharing Contract with the NNPC by virtue of an agreement executed on 17th October 2008.

Conoil’s has overall potential hydrocarbon resources of over 1.0 Billion Barrels of Oil and 7.0 Trillion Cubic Feet of Gas. General Ibrahim Babangida awarded the first oil block to Conoil in 1991. The company produces about 100,000 barrels per day.

Enter Rilwanu Lukman, another Fulani multimillionaire with fronted controlling holdings in Afren, the operators of AMNI oil blocks and also with very key interest in the NNPC/Vitol trading deal, Vitol is a London based oil trading company. Vitol lifts 350,000 barrels of crude oil daily from Nigeria.

Enter Intels and the Yar’Adua , Ado Bayero family and Alhaji Abubakar Atiku. The Oil and Gas Free Zone and Oil Services Centres, as well as Support Bases, are operated from government-owned facilities, leased to Intels under long-term agreements. Intels runs a ‘private port’, a venture that has systematically killed the Calabar, Warri and Port Harcourt ports. There are over one hundred major companies operating at the Intel facility in Port Harcourt. The company makes more money in profit than the government of Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states put together. I shall give details and figures in the part two of this disquisition.

Finally, for the Part I of this disquisition, I introduce you to NorthEast Petroleum. The name is as clear as the message it sends. I do not need to write so much about NorthEast Petroleum registered as NorEast. NorthEast Petroleum Nigeria Limited is the holder of OPL215 license, covering an area 0f 2,564 square kilometres in water depths between 200 to 1600 metres. NorEast is the parent company of Rayflosh Petroleum Nigeria which got the 2005 bidding round and was awarded the blocks OPLs 276 & 283 closing thereupon a Joint Venture Agreement with Centrica Resources Nigeria Limited and CCC Oil and Gas.

Not surprising, NorthEast Petroleum is owned by another Fulani businessman from the North East, Alhaji Saleh Mohammed Jambo. The license was awarded to him by General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida in 1991 and then renewed in 2004. So far $50Million has been spent on the very promising Okpoi-1 and Egere -1 exploratory well.

In the Part II, we shall finish the discussion. We will table other North Eastern billionaires who make more money than their states of origin from Niger Delta oil blocks.

With all these oil blocks owned by ‘North- Easterners’ in the Niger Delta, it should be clear to Elrufai and Sanusi who really benefits from the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme.

Sadly, National Bureau of Statistics reports from 2010 show Niger State as the poorest state in the Federation, and the North East the poorest region.

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/front-page-news/35947-nigerias-poverty-level-rises-hits-715-sokoto-niger-top-list-of-poorest-states.

With these figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, I rest my case.

Ross Alabo-George  can be reached at imaginasion@gmail.com

The rich man’s wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty. Let us reason together.

Deprivation & Derivation Principles: Why The North Is Poor (I) – Elombah « TransformationWatch

Germans Loot Nigerian Artefacts

 


While the federal government is locked in a losing war with oil thieves, a professional group has raised the alarm about “artefact thieves” who are quietly plundering national monuments valued at millions of dollars yearly.

The president of the Archaeological Association of Nigeria (AAN), Dr. Zacharys Gundu, stated yesterday that artefact looting was third on the global scam scale after drugs and arms.

Visiting German archaeologists posing as researchers were mainly responsible for the crime, Gundu said during a visit to LEADERSHIP.

“At the moment,” he said, “there is large-scale looting and illicit digging in places like Kwatarkwashi (Zamfara State), Ife (Osun State) and other parts of the Nok valley (Kaduna State).”

German archaeologists funded by the German Research Foundation, Gundu noted, are promoting “unethical archaeological practices in the country”.

Gundu expressed regret that staff members of the National Commission for Musuems and Monuments (NCMM) are abetting the looting of Nok terracotta from Nigeria, adding that 50 per cent of artefacts currently in the country’s museums are fake.

“People in the museum commission have sold off 50 per cent of what you find in our museums. What remains are mostly fake objects,” he said.

He accused the German archaeologists and their local collaborators of undermining local communities by bribing them for access to artefact mines.

Nok is the name of the village in Jos, Plateau State, where clay shards that were found to be representations of human heads and animals were discovered in 1943.

At the time, no archaeologist was present in the region and reconstruction work was carried out by art historians. The disturbance caused by mining operations meant that the finds could not be dated with any accuracy.

The Nok culture terracottas are flaunted as prime evidence of pre-colonial civilization in sub-Saharan Africa, and it is speculated that the society eventually evolved into the later Yoruba kingdom of Ife. Brass and terracotta sculptures of the Ife and Benin cultures show significant similarities with those found at Nok.

According to the AAN president, the association has repeatedly drawn the attention of the NCMM to the unethical practices of the German archaeologists and their local collaborators but has not received any positive signal that the commission will tackle the problem.

The Germans are also cheating local communities and “knocking their heads” in the Nok valley, said Gundu.

The association, according to him, has received a written complaint from the Ham Community Development Association and spoken with the Kpop Ham who has confirmed concerns of the Ham community over the way the Germans have been carting away archaeological resources from his domain and treating his community.

“The Germans have literally joined the rush in the illicit digging of terracotta in the Nok valley and the association is calling on Nigerian authorities to stop them in their tracks before more damage is done here,” the AAN president said.

He called on the NCMM to wake up to its responsibility as the custodian of Nigerian heritage and antiquities and save Nigeria from “the arrogance and cultural imperialism of the Germans,” just as he appealed to the federal government to provide adequate funding for the archaeology departments in the three Nigerian universities still offering the course: University of Ibadan, Ibadan; University of Nigeria, Nsukka; and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

“We also call on government to strengthen the capacity of the NCMM to enable it discharge its oversight function as the chief steward of our antiquities and heritage more responsibly,” he said.

Germans Loot Nigerian Artefacts | Leadership Newspapers