THE president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chief Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), on Sunday, called for the removal of Inspector General of Police, Mr Ogbonna Onovo, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Abdulrahaman Dambazzau, and other top security men for their alleged ineptitude  over the handling of the recent ethno-religious crisis that left hundreds dead in Plateau State.

He also berated the continued absence of President Umaru Yar’Adua from the public scene, since his abrupt return from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, noting that the president’s action was a gross misconduct which should be punished by impeachment.

Chief Akeredolu said this at a luncheon party organised by Biyi Adesanya and Co, in honour of the president of Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), Mr. Olatunji Bolu, in Ibadan.

The NBA president said that the killings in Plateau State were an indictment on the Nigerian nation and the weak security apparatus in the country, adding that it was wrong for anyone to justify the condemnable act on economic grounds, but that it was a show of political and religious madness by the people responsible for the killings.

“The crisis is traceable to political and religious factors. The killers do not have any sophistry; they are individuals who could have been arrested and prevented from carrying out the nefarious act, but because the security apparatus of the country is bad, they came and maimed unhindered.

“It is an indictment on the security apparatus and the nation at large. The killings, the third of such in a couple of months, show Nigeria as a failed nation. This is why it is necessary to get the IG, Chief of Army Staff, Plateau State Police Commissioner and other security persons, who should have intervened to prevent the mayhem, but failed to do so, fired,” he said.

The NBA president said that President  Yar’Adua had assaulted and offended the sensibilities of the entire nation, adding that Section 144 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution should be invoked in order to ensure Yar’Adua’s impeachment.

“He should be given a few days to appear in public; if he fails to do so, section 144 of the constitution should be invoked to ensure his removal, because no section of the country can hold it to ransom. At the moment, we have no president. All these point to a fact that Nigeria is a failed state,” he added.

Chief Akeredolu, who described the actions of the 36 state governors for allegedly dictating to the acting president on  matters of state as unbecoming of true federalism, said the governors and members of National Assembly were interlopers who pursued their own interests at the expense of the nation’s. He

noted that the reluctance of the National Assembly to remove the ailing president was an indication of the insensitivity of the nation’s lawmakers to the crisis in the country.

Comments (14)

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Onovo&co
written by omeihe, March 15, 2010

Onovo ,sss chief,Dambazzu all should be sack for not knowing/doing their job but Nigeria will only transfer him to another state/post.

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Re:Sack Dambazzau, Onovo now - NBA President
written by Jamilu Bukar, March 15, 2010

This man does not know what he is doing. He is calling for the head of the Chief of Army Staff and the Inspector General of Police for what? What then will happen to an inept State Governor under whose leadership Plateau State has witnessed more crisis than peace? I expect him to know that you cannot judge people by heresy. No wonder the Bar is jumping from one crisis to another. Just like all well meaning Nigerians, we want all these wanton killings and destructions stopped and the only way to do that is to get to the root cause of the matter, trace and prosecute all those that have hands in all the crises in Plateau State regardless of their status.

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written by Femi, March 15, 2010

Yaradua should be impeach.we dont want him again.

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Sack Danbazzau and Onovo Now
written by Olajide Olakanpo, March 15, 2010

Those two guys are grossly overweight and physically unfit for the job they are hired to perform. They don't look busy at all. Onovo in particular lacks creativity. He has failed to come up with ideas and strategies for effective policing. The security situation gets worse by the day. The country is tired of his excuses about low incentives for affront with which these men extort money at check points suggests that gives the impression of a tacit approval by "powers from above". Government needs to tidy up the police, and forge a fresh new professional outfit. Though painful there is dire need for the present crop to go, not just Onovo. The are still "kola" mentality generation.
A case in point is the macabre Ijebu-Ode armed robbery saga. I find Mr Onovo's excuses unacceptable. Whether it happened July 2009 or January 2010 is hardly the issue, the facts remains that the police has come empty handed with results of an investigation, if there has been any investigation

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written by inyiagbaoku, March 15, 2010

The President of the Bar Association should just remain quiet. He has been dumb for the past 110days. Because your girl friend is invovled in the jos crises we are beginning to hear your voice. The President of the Bar Association has failed the Nation and should be removed.

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Army Chief & Ig to be removed for Jos crisis
written by Gasky Truth, March 15, 2010

Naive & useless good for nothing half baked lawyer "Chief" Rotimi Akeredolu calling for removal of Army Chief & IG for Jos crisis. Where were you since the sick Yar Adua imbrigolio?. What of the trouble makers & instgators in Jos like Domkat Bali, Seator Waku or Governor Jang. What of the sterile NBA & you too should resign. Kettle calling pot black. Nigerian half baked lawyers,419ers & bribe kings.

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Re: Sack Dambazzau, Onovo now - NBA President
written by Sani, March 15, 2010

I think Jamilu Bukar has said it all. May Allah (SWT) reward you abundantly. The bottom line is that we only hear NBA’s outrage because this time it was the Christians who suffered in Jos and not the usual ‘BAKI’. I think the Fulanis are not as naïve as we thought. They are quite aware that nothing is coming out of the Committees set up by government. They have seen the outcome of Justice Rahila Cudjoe’s Committee Report in the aftermath of the Zangon Kataf Crisis in Kaduna and how it was swept under the carpet. The report identified key political figures from Southern Kaduna as culprits. The way and manner the report was neglected provided a milestone for future conflicts in the countries, for Christians discovered that they can do anything and get away with it, because they have a media that is ready to contrive and misrepresent issues. The thrust of Cudjoe’s report is the identification of key figures in Southern Kaduna such Zamani Lekwot and Isaiah Balat (one time Senator from the Southern Kaduna) for orchestrating the crisis. What happened to the culprits? They were released. On the issue of Jos, Jonah Jang must be blamed for not only orchestrating the crisis, but for fuelling the fires of the crisis. It is a fact that Jang never showed any concern or remorse at the massacre of Muslims. It is not surprising that he went ahead to swear-in the Chairman of the LG in the aftermath of the crisis that left numerous Muslim women and children (slaughtered in a Quranic school compound)dead for no reason. Jang rather went on a public relations jamboree, alongside his cohorts, making preposterous comments against the so-called ‘BAKI’. I am of the view that it is his comments that have exacerbated this recent reprisal. I think it is Jang that needs to shown the Red Card.

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Dambazau & IGP
written by Adekoya, March 15, 2010

The IGP has no case to answer here because, the Nigerian Army had already taken over the security of the state from the Police. The people complained about the GOC in Plateau state in January and in March, he demonstrated his complicity in the mayhem as the Governor of Plateau state said .Both the Chief of Army Staff and his GOC in Jos should go into retirement immediately, because they betrayed their uniform and the nation.They are no longeer fit to be in national service, as they are prosecuting religious Aljezeera agenda.

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Re- sack Danbazzau and Onovo now
written by ibrahim, March 15, 2010

The NBA Chairman is not objective in his analysis of the crisis. what of the naive statement of Gov.Jang that the villagers informed him of the movements of some people with arms and that after 'calling' theGOC he went to sleep only to be woken up by a call in three hours' time. That shows the Gov. was unconcerned about the problem of his people; that means he went to sleep while his house was on fire. Utill the root-causes of the crises which everybody knows are solved, peace in plateau will be a mirage.Those who where killed in January were human beings so also those killed in the reprisal attacks. Let us fear God and be objective in this matter so as not to witness more killinngs on the Plateau again

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Sack D & O
written by Save Naija, March 15, 2010

And this is the Chairman of NBA? Onovo jus took office 7 months ago. How many times has christians been butchered in the North? How many IDPs were fired because of that? It seems people are not hearing Onovo's cries. This man is telling people that he cannot even communicate with Commissioner of Police in other states due to lack of equipment. He has said that N21000 monthly pay for his men is not enough to motivate them to put their lives on the line. He has not received a single fund allocation since he took office.

Fixing Nigeria Police requires a complete overhaul from building up to date academies and better training. And then recruit university graduates as police men and women and pay them starting salary of N80,000 a month. The current crop of police men are ill equipped both physically and mentally to be policemen.

Mr. Chairman, you are wrong. You are one of the shameless lawyers in Nigeria who are very tribalistic. Nigeria civil war ended tens of years ago. People like you are still fighting the the Igbo man every chance you get. You ought to be ashamed of yourself!

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Mr
written by FEMI IGE, March 15, 2010

So many crazy people writing and rtesponding! WHAT HAS RELIGION GOT TO DO WITH INDICTABLE OFFENCES? Islam or Christianity, muslin or Christian,, they all should be prosecuted, and sentenced according to the laws of the feds if found guilty.

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written by inuwa abdul, March 16, 2010

am a muslim but i hate eXtremism. Why do our people always want to dominate without resspect to the culture of others. Why is dambazau using religion to divide the army (thru his deployments and posture) that has held us together. Am even more shocked that these things are being hatched during jumaat prayers. We should embrace each other and respect all cos the crises is purely religious. Allah abhors violence.

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Mr
written by Usman, March 16, 2010

Sack all those people for ineptitude. I don't care what religion you are or claim to profess. There is no excuse for what happened in Jos. If that is supported by Islam or Christianity and all of you who defend such acts for reasons of revenge or otherwise are the reason we cannot progress. Look at the poverty in Nigeria, particularly the North. How disgusting. Wake up Nigeria and stop being petty. We have a country to build not religious bigotry. To kill women and children in cold blood is no excuse. I'm sorry. As a Northerner, I feel sad for the North.

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Re: Dambazau & IGP
written by Sani Tukur, March 16, 2010

Response to Adekoya

I find your comments quite preposterous. What you have conjured is nothing other than sheer fraud. You said 'the people complained about the GOC in Plateau state in January and in March, he demonstrated his complicity in the mayhem as the Governor of Plateau state said'. I would like to ask you which people are you talking about and by the way who is Jang to make such an assertion? The only person who is culpable in all these is Governor Jang. He has used his office to not only orchestrate the conflict, but exacerbated it by making comments that are somewhat provocative to Muslims. Even with the recent reprisal by the Fulanis, the death toll on the side of Muslims is still higher than that of the so-called Native Christians. On this basis, if the GOC were to be complicit as a Muslim, we would have seen a different picture. Stop misrepresenting the facts, for we cannot be fooled by Jang's stupid comments. Kudos to the Fulanis for setting the pace to peace.

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