New Jersey To Return $8.9m Looted Under Jonathan To Nigeria

Jersey’s Royal Court has ruled in favour of returning stolen assets valued at £6.9 million ($8.9 million) to Nigeria. The decision comes after Jersey’s Attorney General issued a forfeiture notice in November, asserting that the funds, deposited in a Jersey bank account, were likely misappropriated by Nigerian government officials in 2014. The illicit transfer of funds was reportedly disguised as government-sanctioned contracts for arms purchases during Boko Haram incursions in Nigeria between 2009 and 2015. Former President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was in power between 2010 and 2015. It will also be recalled that a lot of controversy had surrounded the purchase of weapons in the fight against insurgency with the then National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, being accused of diverting funds meant for security equipment. Also in late 2014, a private jet belonging to the-then President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, was arrested in South Africa with $10m cash, which was allegedly meant for the purchase of military weapons. The Jersey court found that most of the funds, initially intended for legitimate arms deals, had been diverted through foreign bank accounts and shell companies linked to the former ruling party in Nigeria.   Jersey’s Attorney General, Mark Temple KC, noted the collaboration between Jersey and the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the recovery process. Temple stressed the effectiveness of the 2018 Forfeiture Law in combating corruption and restoring funds to victims of crime. Plans are underway to negotiate an asset return agreement with the Nigerian government. He said: “This case again demonstrates the effectiveness of the 2018 Forfeiture Law in recovering the proceeds of corruption and restoring that money to victims of crime. “I now intend to negotiate an asset return agreement with the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Former President Jonathan Is Bereaved 

Madam Obebhatein Jonathan, the sister of former President, Goodluck Jonathan, has died at the age of seventy. Her demise occurred on Thursday at the Federal Medical Centre in Yenagoa, following a brief illness. The news of her passing was confirmed in a statement issued by Jonathan’s media office, which described the deceased as a retired teacher and businesswoman. Known affectionately as Amissi, she was celebrated for her life of dedication to God and service to humanity. Madam Jonathan was a devout Christian, praised for her virtuous character and her role as a model of integrity within and beyond her community. Her commitment to her faith and her exemplary life had a significant impact on those around her. The statement from the former president’s office also provided details about the funeral arrangements. The burial for Madam Jonathan has been scheduled for Tuesday, February 16, 2024, with the family expected to announce the full details of the funeral rites in due course. Madam Obebhatein Jonathan is survived by three children, siblings, including His Excellency Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, and her mother, Mama Eunice Afeni-Jonathan.

Bayelsa Guber: Off Season Elections Must Stop In Nigeria -Jonathan

Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has voiced concerns over off-season elections, urging the National Assembly to take action and harmonise the calendar for polls in the country.  Speaking after casting his voter in the ongoing off-season elections in Bayelsa, Jonathan emphasized that such elections do not align with global best practices. “I’m worried about this issue of off-season elections because it does not conform with global best practices,” Jonathan stated. Meanwhile Governor Douye Diri, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in Bayelsa State, has accused his major opponent, former governor Timipre Sylva, of being troublesome and blamed him for the reported threats to PDP members in Nembe.  He made the allegation shortly after casting his vote at Ward 6 Unit 4 Kalaowei Owei Sampou town in Kolokuma-Opokuma LGA of Bayelsa State around 8.40 am. Diri said PDP members were being chased out of the area notorious for electoral violence. The 64-year-old governor called on security agencies to intervene in Nembe and ensure a peaceful electoral process.

Kenneth Kaunda prophesied my emergence as president– Jonathan

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has revealed how the late Kenneth Kaunda prophesied his emergence as Nigeria’s president in 2006. Jonathan gave the revelation in a speech he delivered at the 2nd Kenneth Kaunda Memorial Public Lecture on Saturday in Pretoria, South Africa. It is titled ‘Kenneth Kaunda’s Lessons for Humanity’. Kaunda, who was the first President of Zambia served from 1964 to 1991 and died on June 17, 2021. Jonathan said this in the statement at the weekend in Abuja. He said though he was then Governor of Bayelsa State, he never had the dream of becoming Nigeria’s president as at that time. He recalled that during his time as Bayelsa Governor in 2006, he invited Kaunda to the state because of their shared interest in the protection of their people against HIV/AIDS. He recalled with relish the impressive pace displayed by Kaunda, then aged 82 years, at the symbolic Three Arms Walk for HIV/AIDS on the streets of Yenagoa. “My political journey was not the one which attracted much attention from spiritual leaders and seers because many then could not see me playing notable roles in the national affairs of my country, since I was not active in partisan politics back then. “However, I must say it now that Kaunda in the early days of my political career, captured my political trajectory to the presidency in an accurate prophetic revelation that has continued to amaze me till this day. “In 2006 when Kaunda had ended his visit to us in Yenagoa and was returning to Zambia, I remember seeing him off to the Port Harcourt Airport in neighbouring Rivers State. “As he stood up and was about to board a vehicle that would convey him to the aircraft, he turned back and said to me, “Young man, you will be the president of this country one day.” “I and my Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Amb. Boladei Igali, who was with me simply looked at each other in amazement, because the presidency was never in our dreams, at that time. “Farfetched as these words seemed to me then, I later saw his prophecy fulfilled in my life within a decade. “So I can say that KK was the man who saw tomorrow as it related then to my political future and fortune, as I eventually became the President of my country,” Jonathan said. The former Nigeria president also said that his political experience, in certain ways, mirrored that of Kaunda. He said that like Kaunda, he handed over to the opposition party after losing election. “I am glad I made that happen without any contestation in the interest of peace and sustainable democracy. “Let me end by saying that Dr Kaunda’s political profile as a leader and Pan-Africanist experienced varied fortunes, but in the end, he refused to be defeated and lived his life to show others that politics is about the people and that there is life after office. “He was a man of the people right to the end of his ripe old age of 97 years when he passed on. “This is what I am learning from him as I continue to devote my time to the pursuit of peace, good governance and sustainable democracy in Africa,” Jonathan said. He said that Kaunda was not only of very great significance to Africa’s struggle for liberation, he was also quite significant to him. He said that one of the reasons he accepted to assume the position of the Chancellor of Cavendish University, Uganda, two years ago was because Kaunda as well as Tanzanian former President, Benjamin Mkapa had served in the same position. He said that Kaunda would continue to serve as a propelling force for Africa’s struggle for independence and economic emancipation. “Kaunda’s voyage on Earth was an odyssey marked by many exciting milestones, the most significant being his role in nation-building and his passion for a just and peaceful society. “He was a foremost Pan-Africanist, who worked tirelessly with his contemporaries like Kwame Nkrumah, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Jomo Kenyatta, Julius Nyerere, Patrice Lumumba and Ahmed Sekou Toure to birth freedom for many of our countries. “They worked together to promote African unity and solidarity, and to advocate for self-determination and economic development. “Kaunda’s timeline was defined by courage, strength, and resilience, championing hope and freedom and good governance in Zambia, Southern Africa, and the entire African continent.” He added that Kaunda’s dedication to the causes of justice and African emancipation paid off, with the decolonisation and freedom of his neighbours and brothers in Malawi, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. “Kaunda was such a vociferous anti-colonialist that from 1954 he refused to drink tea and coffee in protest against British colonialism – a personal protest he kept up for the rest of his life.”