Strange ways of the third world.

[Celticologist]

This piece is from today's Guardian. 04/07/04. Will some Nigerians be filing class action law suit against Mantu or BA to compensate for the delayed flight?.
Quite funny though how things work in Nigeria. But the Mantu episode is just one of the many things to expect in societies where law and order are perceived "european".
They just keep it real don't they?.

================================================

In Defence Of Mantu
By Reuben Abati

I was at a dinner on Friday evening (one of the perks of this job is that you get to eat a lot of free food, drink free beer, and grow a massive pot belly in the process) when someone brought up the reported case between Deputy Senate President, Alhaji Ibrahim Mantu and the British Airways. The story as outlined in the Nigerian Tribune of Friday July 2, is as follows: Alhaji Mantu wanted to travel out of Nigeria on a British Airways (BA) flight the other Tuesday, but because he had an unconfirmed First Class ticket, the BA officials could not get him a seat in the First Class category.

They then offered him a Business Class seat which he declined. "The Deputy Senate President caused a stir by delaying the take off of the flight for more than five hours. Angered by this arrogant display of power, British Airways management through the Home Office, petitioned the Presidency demanding for compensation. Nigerian Tribune gathered on Thursday that the Presidency in a bid to get to the root of the matter, summoned the airport commandant, Group Captain A. B. Chizhe to Abuja..."

This was the story that riled some of the persons at dinner that evening. One man thumped the table, protesting that what Mantu has done is a national embarrassment and that he owes all Nigerians an apology. Another fiery commentator opined that Mantu is clearly guilty of "gross misconduct" and as soon as possible, he should be impeached as Deputy Senate President. From another side of the table came the opinion that holding an unconfirmed ticket of any category is as bad as not being on the flight at all, and that the BA officials were even too kind to Mantu to have offered him a Business class seat.

One fellow, who used to have Marxist inclinations before he too began to enjoy the "dividends of democracy" asked a rhetorical question seeking to know why anybody would consider a Business Class seat infra dig. I did not quite express an opinion on that occasion, but I have since taken a second look at the story. My conclusion is that Mantu is not to blame. I propose to defend him against the sadistic protests of those who are trying to politicise what is clearly a straightforward matter.

I think the editor of the Nigerian Tribune put his fingers on the matter by titling his paper's report, with an undisguised opinion: "British Airways maltreats Mantu", even if this does not quite agree with the somewhat ambivalent reference to "arrogant display of power" in the body of the story. What arrogance is British Airways talking about

*One basic principle in business is that a company has to be environment-friendly and this clearly involves an understanding of the culture, habits and values of the people that you are serving. British Airways officials through the British Home Office, are said to have petitioned the Nigerian Presidency. Do these people know who Mantu is

* Please let us not be ridiculous. British Airways is handling this matter inappropriately. Those officials who denied Mantu a First Class seat do not understand Nigeria and they should be given tutorials about the Nigerian way of life.

Mantu is what in Nigeria we call, a "big man". The rule in this country is that a big man gets whatever he wants. He is not bound by rules, conventions or values. His "bigmanism" means that he can open all doors and do as he wishes. And nobody must challenge him, not even the law courts or government. He is a sacred cow. He is above the law. BA officials are complaining that Mantu had an unconfirmed ticket. Well, they need to be told that Mantu is not just a big man, he is Nigeria's No 5 or No 6 citizen. To be No 5 or No 6 in a country of over 120 million people

* Come on, a man like that in the understanding of the average Nigerian does not have to worry himself about confirming tickets before he travels. Once he gets to the airport, he expects any airline at all to obey his commands. By complaining about an unconfirmed ticket, the BA officials were challenging the authority of the Deputy Senate President of Nigeria.

They did not stop at that. They went on to commit the blunder of offering him a business class seat. Even Mantu's dog will not sit in the Business Class cabin. In this country, high office confers certain privileges. The Distinguished Deputy Senate President, the Rt. Honourable Alhaji Ibrahim Mantu to take a business Class seat

* If the British Airways people had done their home work very well, they would have known that such a lawmaker of high repute would not want to mix with business people. They were going to expose him to the risk of sitting next to contractors and all kinds of persons looking for government favours.

He would not have been allowed to enjoy his flight. Business people would have been coming to him with requests. And this is at a time when some banks are floating their shares in the capital market, and others are looking desperately for deposits. What if Mantu runs into one of those types from the banks and he is berated with details that can distract his attention from state business

* I even understand that those who travel in Business Class are always going about with proposals for contracts, and that any important government official who finds himself there could be exposed to a lot of harassment. Besides, Mantu is the Deputy Senate President. Even ordinary Senators do not travel Business Class. Why subject him to the indignity of a Business Class

* We have to understand that Mantu is not alone in this regard. Big men in Nigeria do not joke with that thing called "class". And this extends to their wives, children and countless concubines. They do not do all the things that we, ordinary people do. They always try to differentiate themselves. And the more uppity ones are those who came from very poor backgrounds. They will do everything to forget their own roots. I am not moralizing, but it just occurred to me that Mantu could not have sat in the Business cabin because again, it is too close to the economy class, that section of the aircraft reserved for the poor pretending to be rich and all sorts of wannabes. I am a veteran of the economy section. When you are there, people are coughing, sneezing, and rubbing their bodies off you. In fact, you share the section with all kinds, including deported illegal immigrants from Europe, drug couriers and drunkards. The economy section actually smells, and that is why now and then, the cabin staff fumigate the section with air fresheners.

A big man in Nigeria does not want to stay close to that kind of reality. The First Class cabin takes him far away, putting a distance between him and the people. And this reinforces the myth of his personality. I know that Prime Minister Blair sometimes travels economy with his family. Even the Queen once boarded a commercial flight to Asia. But that is Britain. We are talking about Nigeria, please. In this country, the leaders run away from the people. They keep us at an arms length. Again, asking Mantu to travel Business Class would have amounted to asking him to help the Nigerian Government, which bought the ticket for him in the first place, to save some money. Public officials in Nigeria do not help government to save money. They love to spend. After all, Nigeria is an oil producing country and the cost of crude oil in the international market is rising and the country is having problems determining how best to spend its excess crude oil revenue. So, why blame Mantu

*British Airways is also complaining that Mantu held up the flight for more than five hours. Please, let us be reasonable. There is something in Nigeria called VIP Movement. When a VIP is moving, it does not matter where or in what direction, the standard practice is that everything else is held up. Other human beings are stopped from moving. Their right to freedom of movement is temporarily suspended. I once spent five hours at the local airport because of VIP movement. Our plane could not move because a big man or may be his child or mistress was going to travel on that same flight. When a VIP in Nigeria wants to travel, he simply calls the airport and asks that any available flight to his destination should be delayed. After making this call, he then begins to prepare for the journey. Other passengers are kept waiting until he arrives some four hours later. They don't behave in this manner in neighbouring Ghana. But that is Ghana. This is Nigeria. Whoever wants to do business here should respect our culture. Mantu even did well. He came to the airport. The flight was delayed only because he did not get the seat he wanted. What if he had phoned at take-off time that he was still in the bathroom and the BA flight should be delayed for him

*Would British Airways have defied the Deputy Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

*How should British Airways have handled the situation

* Instead of accusing Mantu of "arrogance" (who is being arrogant here by the way), they should have asked one of those 419 people who also like to travel First Class to give up his or her seat for the Deputy Senate President of Nigeria. This does not require much effort. All they needed to do was to announce specially that the Deputy Senate president of Nigeria would like to travel First Class, would someone be kind enough to give up his seat

* I want to bet that there would have been very enthusiastic volunteers. The only stubborn ones perhaps would be one or two people who think that the likes of Mantu are upstarts. But don't worry about such people.

They are always outnumbered by those who are ready to play ball who would not only give up their seats, they would also request for a handshake with the Deputy Senate President, just for him to know that they would like to be his friends. In fact, if care is not taken, they will offer to buy Mantu drinks. If British Airways does not understand these nuances, then they have no business doing business in Nigeria. Now, come to think of it. They have asked the Home Office to petition the Presidency because of Mantu. They are asking for compensation. Are we still a colony of Britain

*Is the Home Office going to dictate how Nigerian public officials should behave

*Sorry, we are a sovereign nation, and Alhaji Mantu happens to be one of those in whom according to President Obasanjo himself, sovereignty resides!

I want to end this piece by offering British Airways some useful tips about how to do business in Nigeria. I am doing this free of charge on a Sunday morning as a true Christian. They don't have to send me a complimentary ticket in appreciation. I don't need it because I am not a government official. But talking seriously, British Airways has to learn to respect Nigerian public officials. I don't think that a delegation of BA officials went to pay homage to Mantu when he arrived at the airport wielding a BA ticket. That was error number one. If they had done this, may be the man would not have delayed the flight for over five hours! Then, when there is a Nigerian VIP on board, every BA pilot has to be instructed to announce the presence of the fellow and thank him specially for flying BA.

For failing to pay due courtesies to Mantu, British Airways is running great risks that even the Home Office in London would not be able to handle. What if Mantu's kinsmen decide to start an ethnic riot in protest against the "maltreatment" (thank you Tribune Editor) of their kinsman

*And what if Mantu organises a fresh legislation on the aviation industry which is meant strictly to curb the arrogance of British Airways

*In fact the Senate can pass a law withdrawing the licence of British Airways. This is certainly possible...
<img border=0 src="http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/roll.gif" />

[Celticologist]

140704 today:
10 feared killed as soldiers hunt militia in Rivers
From Kelvin Ebiri (Port Harcourt)

TEN persons were feared dead and many others displaced yesterday following a military operation in Amadi-Ama community in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area of Rivers State. The operation was ostensibly to dislodge and recover weapons from militiamen of Okrika extraction allegedly using the community as hideout.

The federal and Rivers State governments have vowed to exterminate those they described as hoodlums and cultists terrorising the people with illegally acquired arms.

For the residents of Amadi-Ama, it was indeed a reign of terror as soldiers broke into houses in search of militiamen who had earlier fled the community. In the process, unconfirmed report claim, at least 10 persons were killed either by the militiamen or the soldiers.

A source told The Guardian in Port Harcourt that about midday last Sunday, three unidentified persons suspected to be members of a faction of militiamen from Okrika had driven into Amadi-Ama, an Okrika community, in a black Mercedes Benz car and murdered a boy alleged to be a member of the Bush Boys militia group. The killing, according to the source, heightened tension in the community and as anticipated, there was a reprisal attack on Monday night.

Horrified residents who managed to escape from the terror recounted that they were jolted from their sleep by sporadic gunshots at about 1 a.m. yesterday. By 4 a.m., the intensity of the gunshots mainly fired from AK47, M16 and machine guns became exceedingly frightening.

A government source, who pleaded anonymity, disclosed that the military, which had been participating in mop-up of arms in crisis-ridden riverine communities of Rivers State got intelligence report that local militiamen residing in Amadi-Ama were planning a reprisal attack on Okrika mainland over their slain colleague. The military was subsequently drafted into the community to fish them out.

Unlike Ogbakiri where a joint military and police team stormed the community ostensibly in search of their kidnapped colleague, the source said the soldiers decided to act alone because of suspicion that information was leaking to the militiamen thus making it difficult to arrest them.

Residents said a large contingent of soldiers who entered the community in the early hours of yesterday cordoned the area and proceeded on a house-to-house search for the militiamen. A middle-aged man, who was drenched in his own blood through gunshot wounds bemoaned the alleged killing of his daughter by men in military uniform. According to him, several other people in Amadi-Ama suffered a similar fate. Locals told The Guardian that no fewer than 10 persons may have been killed in the military operation.

The road leading to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) jetty around the Eastern bye-pass area was cordoned off by the soldiers who turned back workers. It was not until 11.35 am that displaced persons, numbering over 200, mainly women and children, managed to escape from their houses through the NLNG road.

Journalists who visited the community to ascertain the situation were held by fierce-looking soldiers who persistently fired gunshots into the air. One infuriated sergeant wielding a sub-machine gun ordered the cameras of the journalists should be seized. The reporters were later taken to the commanding officer.

Satisfied that no photographs of his men had been taken, the commanding officer who refused to comment on the military operation, ordered that the journalists be released and their cameras returned to them. Two soldiers, who had earlier saved the journalists from the wrath of others, later escorted the journalists to the NLNG jetty.

© 2003 - 2004 @ Guardian Newspapers Limited (All Rights Reserved). Powered by dnetsystems.net dnet®

[Oluwato]

Hmm! Nigeia is an enigma!

[Celticologist]

Guardian News Online. Thursday 15.

The Police-Air Force clash in Lagos

THE recent violent clash between policemen and men of the Air Force in Ikeja, Lagos is deplorable, and must be so condemned by the authorities. It is alarming, being a confrontation between two federal agencies charged with the maintenance of law and order, as well as protection of national integrity. Conflict of this nature is precisely what troublemakers, be they common criminals or political agitators, need as a source of inspiration. Indeed, social miscreants reportedly had a field day while the rumpus lasted.

They took sides in the conflict and went out hunting for policemen who they seized, brutalised and dumped at the Ikeja Air Force Base apparently for the Air Force men to finish the dirty job. An attempt by the Public Relations Officer of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Wing Commander Emeka Ozoemena to deny his men's complicity as well as explanations by the Police authorities should be taken with a pinch of salt. They seem to be more interested in defending their organisations, rather than unearthing the truth.

The incident is yet another evidence of the unnecessary rivalry between officers of two government agencies that are supposed to complement each other in security matters. This is not the first time that either the Air Force or the police would behave in this manner. Obviously, they are yet to imbibe the culture of democracy. Besides, when security agencies, saddled with lofty constitutional responsibilities behave like a mob, it is society at large that is placed at risk. Nothing can be more scandalous.

The story, as reported, is that policemen in pursuit of suspected armed robbers had gone to the Sam Ethinan Air Force Base, Ikeja but were allegedly prevented from arresting the suspected robbers by Air Force men. This resulted in a shoot-out in which an Air Force man was hit in the thigh. He was said to have bled profusely and later died, prompting a vengeance mission by armed Air Force personnel who subsequently stormed the Area F Police Command in Ikeja, beating up policemen around.

The Air Force, through Ozoemena, has denied that their men prevented the police from doing their job, while police spokesman, Mr. Emmanuel Ighodalo has said that the victim, Air Force Corporal B. P. Obochi, was hit when he tried to disarm one of the policemen. The Air Force position is largely that the police misused their weapons and that even after killing an innocent Air Force man, their men did nothing in retaliation but only took policemen who were injured, by aggrieved miscreants on the scene, to the hospital. No fewer than two persons were believed to have been killed; while 25 other policemen were seriously injured and hospitalised. For days, uniformed policemen could not pass in front of the Air Force Base as the area had been declared a no-go-area for policemen!

Whatever may be the true explanation, both parties are blameworthy. The police have quite regularly been indicted for their reckless shooting and killing of otherwise law-abiding and innocent citizens. Our position has always been that such incidents amount to extra-judicial killings for which the policemen at fault should be punished. A situation whereby policemen become trigger-happy at the slightest opportunity cannot be tolerated because this has led to too many untimely and unnecessary deaths.

The shooting of Corporal Obochi is one of such condemnable incidents. The usual police excuse is to make claims of "accidental discharge". Unfortunately for the police, Obochi being a military officer turned out to be their undoing as colleagues of the late corporal decided on a vengeance mission. The moral is simple and direct: the police have to carry out their duties with a greater sense of responsibility; and they need not kill in order to effect an arrest.

The Air Force men are just as guilty. Their resolve to embark on reprisal attacks bespeaks gross indiscipline. Why would they storm a police station and sack it

* If indeed the Air Force command cautioned its men as Ozoemena said, it is either the caution came late, or the men ignored it. Their reaction was totally out of proportion and therefore unacceptable. It is a vengeance mission that connotes jungle justice and undermines public order. Besides being an assault on due process, such action violates the democratic process which the Armed Forces have sworn to protect. It will be a disservice to the Air Force if its men end up portraying the institution as an outlaw outfit.

The Federal Government has ordered the authorities of NAF and the Police to set up a joint investigation with the aim of fishing out the culprits and punishing them as appropriate. We hope that this will be followed up with the seriousness that the incident calls for. We expect government to be more specific about the investigation, to name personnel on the panel and charge them with definite assignments. The major objective should be to prevent a recurrence of the incident and normalise relationship between the two agencies.

The investigation should provide opportunity to preach democratic norms and due process to the security agencies. They should be made to realise that what they did was a clear breach of public peace and order; and a criminal offence for which policemen and Air Force men could be charged. There should be no attempt at a cover-up.

[Big-K]

Panic at Nigerian 'killer calls'
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world...906607.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3906607.stm)

Nigerian mobile phone users have been anxiously checking who is calling them before answering them in recent days.

A rumour has spread rapidly in the commercial capital, Lagos, that if one answers calls from certain "killer numbers" then one will die immediately.

A BBC reporter says experts and mobile phone operators have been reassuring the public via the media that death cannot result from receiving a call.

He says that in such a superstitious country unfounded rumours are common.

A list of alleged killer numbers has been circulated but no-one is reported to have died from answering the phone.

The BBC's reporter in Lagos, Sola Odunfa, says that the current scare story is reminiscent of a rumour that spread a few years ago that a handshake could cause sexual organs to disappear.

That rumour turned to tragedy as mobs rounded on people accused of making organs disappear.

Despite the massive public interest, no-one was found to have lost their organs.

[Big-K]

odili.net/news/source/200...2/305.html (http://odili.net/news/source/2004/jul/22/305.html)

Robbers hold anti-robbery police men hostage, invade hotel

By Albert Akpor
Thursday, July 22, 2004

LAGOS—A GANG of armed robbers Wednesday held a team of anti- robbery police men attached to Babs Animasaun Police Post Surulere Lagos hostage and invaded Selinu Suites directly beside the post inflicting body injuries on lodgers and dispossessing them of cash and valuables.

Sources said the gang numbering six and heavily armed had trailed two expatriates to the Suites but on realising that there was a police post directly beside it they first made their way to the post where they held a few policemen on duty at the time hostage before shooting their way into the hotel where they raided all the chalets looking for the expatriates. However, sources said the foreigners were very lucky as they were not in the hotel as at the time the hoodlums arrived causing them to vent their anger on Nigerian lodgers and a few night crawlers.


The state police public relations officer Mr. Emmanuel Ighodalo could not be reached for comments over the raid as he was said to be attending the weekly security meeting with other senior police chiefs of the Command.

However, his deputy, ASP Ademola Adebayo who confirmed it said no arrest had been made yet in connection with the raid adding that he could not speak further on the incident.


When Vanguard visited the Suites on 50 Babs Animashaun Street Surulere Lagos at about 3.30pm, yesterday the Manager of the Suites who identified himself as Marcell Obi said he was away when the hoodlums struck stressing that the injured lodgers were being treated in an undisclosed medical centre.


“I was not around when the thing happened but all I can say is that those who received minor injuries from the bad boys are being treated somewhere and we are back on business; as you can see for yourself things are going on well; it is a small thing,” he said.


Meanwhile, a source at the Police Post who spoke to Vanguard on condition of anonymity described the attack as embarrassing stressing “nobody expected these boys to come here and raid knowing fully well that the Suites and our station share common wall.


"However, they (hoodlums) were lucky because our men had gone on patrol when the incident happened at 2130hrs if not there is no way they would have succeeded.” Sources further hinted that the Bode Thomas Division had been mandated to investigate the incident with a view to tracking down the bandits.


In another development, a gang of armed robbers Wednesday struck at United Spinners Company along Mile 2, Oshodi Apapa expressway killing one of the security guards identified as Ike Innocent on duty in the process.

[Pooky]

When Vanguard visited the Suites on 50 Babs Animashaun Street Surulere Lagos at about 3.30pm, yesterday the Manager of the Suites who identified himself as Marcell Obi said he was away when the hoodlums struck stressing that the injured lodgers were being treated in an undisclosed medical centre.


“I was not around when the thing happened but all I can say is that those who received minor injuries from the bad boys are being treated somewhere and we are back on business; as you can see for yourself things are going on well; it is a small thing,” he said.

Big K,

I laughed heartily with the second paragraph. Oh he thinks it is no big deal. I miss Lagos. It is time for a visit. :lol

[Acting Major Benbella]

"The BBC's reporter in Lagos, Sola Odunfa, says that the current scare story is reminiscent of a rumour that spread a few years ago that a handshake could cause sexual organs to disappear.

That rumour turned to tragedy as mobs rounded on people accused of making organs disappear." - BBC

Not long ago, I read that a rugs trader in Khartoun, Sudan confirmed the type of activities. According to the him two West Africans came to his store and one of them shook his hand so vigoruosly he felt his "penis melt into his body". Immediatley, I read that story, it sounded familiar to me. Just the other day I felt the same way when I shook the hand of Rep Tammy Baldwin.

[Big-K]

odili.net/news/source/200...6/408.html (http://odili.net/news/source/2004/jul/26/408.html)
Group proffers solution to alleged killer GSM numbers

By Victor Ebimomi

If you are afraid of the alleged GSM killer numbers, what you need do is to put a solid rock otherwise known as Ako Okuta in Yoruba language in any pocket of the clothe you wear.

This seemingly simple therapy will not only protect you from the deadly effect of the so called killer numbers, but it might also lead to a boomerang effect on the evil callers.

A powerful Yoruba traditional society, Agbekoya, which is reputable for its traditional power has said that with the stone, subscribers are free to receive calls with confidence that no evil will befall them no matter what the caller at the other end plans.

Addressing the press on the efforts made so far by the society to unravel the mystery behind the alleged killer numbers, the society's National President, Kamoru Okiki Aremu asserted that the society believed such dangerous scenario is possible and as such it decided to look into the menace stressing that the efficacy of the proffered remedy is never in doubt.

According to him, the society was able to come out with the remedy after a thorough research, which was subjected to tests, adding that the members felt that was one way of contributing to the emancipation of the masses from evil forces.

"For the past few days now, the news of the GSM special killers numbers are said to be operation, we are not in doubt as to the power of words& We in our usual operations have gone through this killer numbers in our ways of finding out the root cause of the problem and have discovered that some powerful evil forces are at work and we have come out with counter force against the evil forces and solution is in Solid Rock', he said

He maintained that the society is still waxing stronger contrary to public perception that it has gone into limbo stressing that it has been doing a lot of fantastic things for the betterment of the people, particularly those who believe in the efficacy of the traditional power.

His words: "In this therefore, for the people to now appreciate our efforts, we now come out with this solution though it might look unrealistic hence ordinary stone'; it is tested and confirmed. Those who have faith in traditional healing and prevention should always have it with them no matter how small it may be and those powerful forces rendered in word shall never befall such a person".

The stone, according to the association, can be picked wherever it is seen once it is identified stressing that it would definitely work irrespective of whether it has been blessed from the shrine or not.

He also disclosed that plans are in the pipeline to build an ultra modern traditional hospital with state-of-the-art facilities where both seen and unseen ailments can be cured and prevented. He therefore solicited the assistance of well meaning Nigerians to be part of the "gargantuan project".

++++++++++++++

Nigeria we hail thee! :)

[Ebe2]

Large Women Terrorise Stores in South Africa (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3930375.stm)

[Celticologist]

This was on the opinion/letters page of today's Guardian.
I guess some have heard the rumors already about certain GSM lines that make people "drop dead".

‘Killer’ telephone numbers

SIR: The 'killer' GSM numbers rumour of the last couple of weeks once again showed the depth (the lack of it) of our understanding of technology.

It is very easy to show that the rumour is completely false; the numbers thrown about were not the same and most simply do not exist! One of such numbers would have emanated from the network of IILL, which did not even roll out! Others contain 12 digits instead of the 11 digits of normal GSM lines. Yet others simply do not belong to any Nigerian operator's numbering plan. The numbers do not exist.

For those who would still prefer to be misled, a few lines of technical analysis may put their mind at rest. The telephone is a telecommunication equipment. Coded information is the strength of telecommunication. If this was not so, it should have been possible to perceive the odour from the mouth of the fellow at the other end of the line! To be able to use the phone as a vehicle for distributing disease-causing agents would have required coding the complete DNA mapping of the agent, send the code down the phone line and decode and rebuild the agent at the receiving end. No telephones have been built yet with such a clearly futuristic capability. None may ever be built that way because there is clearly no need for such appliance.

It is clearly possible for someone who had been ill to expend his burst of energy talking on phone. The fact that he drops dead is not enough that the phone call, killed him. You need several instances to be able to rule out such coincidences and now suspect a link to the phone. People should learn to seek empirical proofs before believing. When in doubt, seek an educated explanation from people with relevant training. Even at that, do not restrict your search to a single person. Better still, search the internet.

N. Taiwo,
Lagos

[Big-K]

THE GUARDIAN
Thursday, August 05 2004
http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/news/article01

Horror: Police find 50 bodies, 20 skulls in Anambra shrine

Arrest 32 priests
From Uzoma Nzeagwu (Awka and Chuks Collins (Onitsha)

AND the police commissioner wept.

He did so quietly, with the dignified restraint of one accustomed to long years of the strictest discipline. But the tears flowed all the same.

The spectacle which brought the Anambra State Police Commissioner, Mr. Felix Ogbaudu,to tears was the stuff of which nightmares are made: Human bodies in various stages of decomposition, many of them with leathery skins gummed to their bones like mummies, human body parts; about 20 human skulls, countless human skeletons bleached white!

The stench was hellish; it hit the guts like a thousand punches delivered at once.

Nearby, the policemen who accompanied their boss retched.

Huddled in a corner of the shrine (Okija shrine) were its custodians, 32 in all. On sighting them, Ogbuadu wondered aloud: "... are these priests human beings or ghouls

"
Ogbaudu, assisted by the commander of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Mr. Gabriel Haruna (CSP), had stormed the "Evil Forest" site of the shrine in Ihiala Local Council of the State in a convoy of about 26 vehicles around 10.00 a.m. yesterday.

Tagged Liberation Raid, it followed a tip-off earlier in the week followed by two petitions channelled through the Inspector-General (IG) of Police.

Parading the suspects at the premises of the police command in Awka, a visibly shaken police commissioner recounted his experience: "I shed tears at the sight of human corpses, many completely severed of their skulls, bones of many years, coffins with corpses and ... I never believed that such a thing could happen in this country."

"Some of the corpses are not decomposed, but shrinking with their skin gummed to their bodies.

"It will be extremely difficult to give a figure of the corpses, but close to 50 looked like human beings and many have decomposed."

One of the suspects and a chief priest, Osita Ndukwu from Umuhu Okija who described himself as a native doctor and occultist, mentioned that several shrines were in existence, including his own called Ogwugwu-Isiala, while others were Ogwugwu Akpu, Idigo among others, stressing that Ogwugwu Akpu is the biggest shrine.

Narrating how they operate in the shrine, Ndukwu said aggrieved parties or a complainant comes to lodge a complaint, after which the Chief Priest sends for the accused who may or may not answer the call.

According to him, when disagreeing persons appear at the shrine, they administer oath on them and as a result, the guilty one dies.

Ogbaudu wondered what the suspects could have been doing with such large number of dead bodies.

"They were so many and the thick forest in which the shrines were located was inaccessible as these things appear to have been going on for many years," Ogbaudu added.

It was difficult, he said, to distinguish between males and females except where the dresses were still recognisable.

The commissioner also noted that as some of the corpses had their heads and or other parts missing, the priest could have been trading in human parts also.

He pointed out a striking observation that the flesh was discovered gummed to the skeletons even after so much rains.

He also expressed suspicion that the priests got their victims hypnotised, drugged them and when they eventually died, the families were ordered to bring the corpses back to the shrine where they were dumped to decompose.

He described the whole set-up as murderous.

"From what we saw there, it's evidence those people there were killed." Some of the operational registers at the two shrines were also recovered.

The Guardian's investigation revealed that adherents, including rich and influential people, who come there were poisoned to die and their corpses and property brought down to the shrines while the priests share the booty.

One of the chief priests, Osita Ndukwu, admitted that his family resides in Lagos where he owns houses and other businesses.

He stated that he had started "exporting" the deities and its priests to other states in the federation, and overseas.

A popular deceased businessman, was said to have been taken to the shrine after all the glamour of his high-society burial, because someone 'reported' him to the Ogwugwu-Akpu.

It was also alleged that prominent politicians in the state had gone from time to time to swear to an oath at these shrines.`


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