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TIMIPRE SYLVA AND HIS PENCHANT FOR NOTORIETY: LIGHTING IS ABOUT TO STRIKE AGAIN
TIMIPRE SYLVA AND HIS PENCHANT FOR NOTORIETY: LIGHTING IS ABOUT TO STRIKE AGAIN
By: Jonathan Orumiebi Andabai
Lightening, they say, never strikes at the same place twice, but for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa, it appears this saying may not be the case. This is because the party’s candidate in the November 11 governorship election, Mr. Timipre Sylva and his running mate, Mr. Joshua Maciver are both tainted. A situation which forced political analyst in the state to ask: “Why is the APC self-inflicting yet another injury on itself? If that can of worm is opened it will be so toxic that it could extinct the political career of the Okpoma born politician”.
The 2019 gubernatorial debacle which lead to lost of the governorship seems to be unfolding again in even a worse dimension as Sylva has in a most controversial move picked Mr. Joshua Maciver, who was a jailbreaker as his running mate. Mr. Maciver has since confessed to breaking jail while servicing a ten years jail term over multiple felonies. The unrepentant felon has boastfully stated in a video he personally posted that should the situation arise; he will do the same thing again. “I have no regrets” he stated.
For Sylva, it has been established by a Federal High Court in Abuja that his candidature shall amount to a breach of the 1999 constitution should he contest and win the November, 11 2023 Governorship elections. The judgement further stated that apart from being sworn in two times he will be nine years in office having served five years in his previous spell as governor. The court accordingly ruled that Sylva was ineligible to contest the governorship election.
To most Bayelsans, Maciver was particularly remembered for his brutality against the people at the height of the militancy that rocked the Niger Delta between 1999 and 2007, after he break jail in Kaduna state and returned to Bayelsa.
To the people of the state, a Sylva / Maciver leadership will simply reenact the sad memory of the brutality that took place while Sylva was governor. It was the period of the notorious Operation Famu Tamgbe, a security outfit set up by the state government to combat insecurity, but ended up terrorizing the people more than the terrorists.
Most disturbing is the rhetoric of Mr. Maciver in the APC campaigns currently going on in the State. Could this be the reason why the national leadership of the party is not participating in the campaign of the party?
Maciver has made it a slogan that they will take government by force in the state which military parlance amounts to a coup. In a recent campaign Twon-Brass Mr. Maciver said “Let’s prepared, on the 11th, if anybody misbehave for Twon-Brass, chase am go enter the sea make him die. Ona dey hear? Chase am make him die. Afterall nobi that person go be the first person to die. So, let’s show them”. Such a man poses a very serious danger to our democracy and should be treated like the fugitive he is.
Very frightening is the debasing of our institutions by some persons we held in high esteem like Major General Barry T. Ndiomu (rtd), the head of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) who hastily wrote a very poorly worded letter to the Secretary to the Federal Government stating that Mr. Maciver was granted amnesty by late President Yar’dua after an initial letter he sent to him that Maciver wasn’t part of the amnesty programme. It is comic for the Nigerian Correctional Centre to write a letter claiming that this unrepentant felon was granted amnesty. Why is Nigeria drifting towards a joke?
A man who should have been declared wanted by the police, arrested and sent back to jail is not even hiding but throwing tantrums and threatening to kill people. Is this the kind of person the Nigerian State and Bayelsa deserves to be rewarded by a political party with such an exalted elective position as d Deputy Governor? Then what message are we sending to our children and the younger generation? That you can commit a crime, go to prison, break jail and be rewarded with an elective position?
For Mr. Sylva to pick him as running mate is a clear case of “show me your associates and I tell you who you are.” In other words, birds of the like feather flock together.
Aside from this, Mr Sylva is constantly and notoriously being accused of the culture of political exclusion. This alienation culture has driven almost all reasonable persons from the APC in Bayelsa State under him.
Therefore, every responsible politician in the APC. That could also the reason why a law-abiding national leadership of the Party is equally reluctant to join his campaign.
The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Senator Heineken Lokpobri has refused to associate with him. So is the former governorship candidate of the party, Mr. David Lyon. Even his former deputy, Chief Werininpre Seibarugu has left the party to return to the PDP.
The jail break case and the breach of the 1999 constitution is certainly another litmus test for the Nigerian Judiciary that has recently been accused of several controversial judgements. The world is also watching.
In the last four years, Bayelsa has made extraordinary political and developmental strides. Economic growth has been steady and the business landscape has been growing. Peace which hitherto eluded the state is manifest to the extent that people can now sleep with their eyes closed.
*Jonathan Orumiebi Andabai wrote from Yenagoa
TIMIPRE SYLVA AND HIS PENCHANT FOR NOTORIETY: LIGHTING IS ABOUT TO STRIKE AGAIN
War on Terror: NHRC Insists Protection of Civilians Must Be Top Priority
By: Michael Mike
The National Human Rights Commission has issued a strongly worded response to the recent surge in terrorist violence across Nigeria, warning that the country risks deepening insecurity if the protection of civilians is not made the central pillar of national security strategy.
In a statement released by its Executive Secretary, Tony Ojukwu, the Commission conveyed condolences to the Nigerian Armed Forces and to governments and citizens of states hardest hit by the attacks, including Borno State, Niger State, Benue State, Kaduna State, Kwara State, Sokoto State, and Plateau State.
The Commission said it is “deeply concerned” about the increasing frequency, coordination, and geographic spread of attacks, noting that both military formations and civilian targets—including markets, places of worship, and public institutions—have come under sustained assault. Particular concern was raised over coordinated attacks on military bases in the North-East, especially in Borno, and suicide bombings in civilian areas such as Maiduguri.
Ojukwu described the pattern of violence as a “grave and systematic assault” on fundamental rights, including the right to life, dignity, and personal security, as enshrined in Nigeria’s Constitution and international obligations like the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. He stressed that deliberate attacks on civilians and security personnel by non-state armed groups constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law.
Beyond condemnation, the NHRC raised alarm over what it described as an evolving and more dangerous phase of insecurity—marked by coordinated military assaults, mass village raids, suicide bombings, and a widening spread from the North-East into the North-West and North-Central regions.
While acknowledging the sacrifices of the military, the Commission argued that Nigeria must confront a critical gap in its security architecture. “The protection of civilians cannot remain incidental to security operations—it must be their central objective,” Ojukwu said.
To address this, the Commission called for the urgent development and implementation of a comprehensive national policy focused on civilian protection. It said such a framework must place human rights at the core of all security responses, prioritise the prevention of harm in vulnerable communities, enforce accountability for violations by both state and non-state actors, and provide effective support systems for victims and survivors.
The proposed policy, according to the NHRC, should also ensure strict adherence by security forces to the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution in military operations, while strengthening early warning systems and community engagement in high-risk areas.
Ojukwu emphasized that civilians must not be treated as “collateral damage” but as rights-holders whose protection and dignity are non-negotiable. He added that a human rights-based approach to national security is not a sign of weakness but a legal and strategic necessity.
“Global evidence shows that sustainable peace can only be achieved where the state consistently protects the rights of its people,” he noted.
The Commission reaffirmed its solidarity with affected communities and security forces, pledging continued collaboration with the Federal Government, state authorities, and civil society to ensure that Nigeria’s counterterrorism efforts reinforce, rather than erode, democratic and human rights principles.
War on Terror: NHRC Insists Protection of Civilians Must Be Top Priority
Troops recover pistol, arrest two suspects in Plateau
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops under Operation OPEP have arrested two suspects in possession of a pistol during a stop-and-search operation in Kuru, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau.
Security sources said the incident occurred at about 8:30 p.m. on April 11 while troops of Sector 6 OPEP were conducting routine checks in the area.
According to the sources, the suspects were intercepted with one pistol loaded with four rounds of 9mm ammunition, two mobile phones, a jackknife and the sum of N1,700.
The sources added that the suspects are currently in custody and undergoing interrogation to determine the source of the weapon and possible links to criminal networks.
Troops recover pistol, arrest two suspects in Plateau
Troops recover three kidnapped victims in Bauchi
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops of CSI Battalion have recovered three kidnapped victims during a patrol operation in Garin Bagobiri, Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State.
Security sources said the operation was conducted at about 11:30 a.m. on April 12 as troops exploited the general area following an air strike on suspected terrorist hideouts on April 10.
According to the sources, the victims were recovered during the patrol and subsequently profiled by the troops.
They added that the rescued persons were handed over to an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Futuk for further care and documentation.
The sources noted that ongoing operations in the area are aimed at consolidating gains from recent offensives and denying terrorists freedom of movement.
Troops recover three kidnapped victims in Bauchi
War on Terror: NHRC Insists Protection of Civilians Must Be Top Priority
Troops recover pistol, arrest two suspects in Plateau
Troops recover three kidnapped victims in Bauchi
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