Umar, the commanding officer of 114 TF battalion of the Nigerian Army was ambushed by 9. 30 am Tuesday alongside his troops between Bita and Piridang.

“His vehicle stepped on an improvised explosive device, but he was not hurt. He came out to assess the damage on the vehicle and Boko Haram opened fire and killed him in the process,” the source said.

Eight other soldiers were injured and evacuated to Michika, Adamawa State, for treatment.

The soldiers were said to be on their way to Yola in Adamawa State from Bita in Borno State when the incident occurred, sources said.
The full casualty from the attack is not yet clear.

Umar, who recently took over the command of the 114 battalion about three weeks ago, was a member of the 48 Regular Course in the Nigeria Defence Academy, NDA.

The killing of Umar occurs about a week after another Lieutenant Colonel, Muhammed Abu-Ali, and his troops were killed in another ambush by Boko Haram.

The attacks by the Boko Haram have continued despite ongoing negotiation with the federal government. The negotiations already led to the release of 21 of the over 200 Chibok girls kidnapped by the sect in 2014.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) said it has carried out a recent attack on Boko Haram insurgents’ location outskirt of Malkonori in northern Borno State.

The latest attack was a follow-up to the close air support operation that repelled the insurgents who attacked own ground forces at Kangarwa.

Survivors among the insurgents had fled to Dogochuku where they were also attacked by NAF fighter aircraft and forced to relocate to Malkonori.

Ground forces confirmed a number of the insurgents were killed and their vehicle destroyed from the latest air strike at Malkonori.

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In a piece entitled ‘The fight against anti-corruption agencies by NBA’, Falana alleged that some of these lawyers have placed the rich and powerful individuals above the law.

He said that in recent times, these lawyers, whom he also described as a “cabal” in the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), have shown the tendency to manipulate the criminal justice system to the detriment of the Nigerian society.

“…the NBA never challenged senior lawyers who have continued to frustrate the prosecution of corruption cases through frivolous objections, interlocutory appeals and stay of appeals as well as orders of interlocutory or perpetual injunctions in favour of treasury looters,” Falana said.

“In advanced capitalist societies, lawyers are duty-bound to ensure that the law is higher than everyone, no matter how highly placed. But in a peripheral capitalist society like Nigeria, lawyers have placed rich and powerful individuals above the law.

“In recent times, many senior lawyers have shown proclivity for manipulating the criminal justice system to detriment of the society by lending their expertise to clients outside the bounds of law in contravention of paragraph 15 (2) of the Rules of Professional Conduct in the Legal Professional.

“This stipulates that: In his representation of his client, a lawyer shall keep strictly within the law notwithstanding any contrary instruction by his client and if the client insists on a breach of the law the lawyer shall withdraw his service.”

He further expressed dismay that the NBA could kick against the decision of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to publish the list of criminal suspects who allegedly committed electoral malfeasance during the 2011 and 2015 general elections.

“It is rather unfortunate that the NBA has suddenly become the defender of electoral offenders when the reports compiled by its own election monitoring team had confirmed the violations of the Electoral Act 2010 by political thugs and other enemies of democracy in several parts of the country.

“In fact, the NBA had co-operated with the Professor Jega-led Independent National Electoral Commission in the prosecution of a number of electoral offenders in many states of the federation after the 2011 general election.

“Having been asked by the NBA to co-ordinate the prosecution team at the material time I have since dissociated myself from the baseless attack of the NHRC by the NBA.

“Convinced that the NHRC has rightly taken up the challenge of protecting the democratic rights of the Nigerian people, I have directed my law firm to defend the NHRC pro bono publico if it is sued by any of the indicted electoral offenders.”

He added that in the bid to save the NBA from self-inflicted destruction, the progressive extraction of the legal profession should stop bar leaders from giving the impression that “Nigerian lawyers are comfortable with the large-scale corruption in the country.

“As a matter of urgency, the NBA should be retrieved from the overbearing influence of a cabal of lawyers trying desperately to use it to frustrate the prosecution of criminal elements who have willfully inflicted eternal agony on the masses through the criminal diversion of the commonwealth.

“All patriotic lawyers should ensure that the anti-graft agencies have the autonomy to operate without intrusion from public institutions and private bodies. As corruption will always fight back to protect some vested interests, the anti graft agencies should be prepared to collaborate with the trade unions and other mass organisations in the fight against corruption.

“Finally, since the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 (ACJA) has done away with stay of proceedings and other delay tactics hitherto employed by senior lawyers to stall the prosecution of corrupt people trial courts are enjoined to prevent unending cross examination of witnesses and frivolous adjournments by lawyers,” Falana said.

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Abdulmalik Cheche (Niger), Zakari Ibrahim, Garba Umar (Kebbi) and Ibrahim Kamba (Kebbi), moved to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Wilson Nathaniel (Adamawa) defected to the Social Democratic Party, SDP, while Madueke Anthony went to Peoples Democratic Movement, PDM.

Benjamin Aboho (Benue) and Chukwuemeka Nwogbo defected to the All Peoples Grand Alliance, APGA.

The Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Victor Ogene (Anambra) and Forte Dike (Anambra) left APGA to the APC.

Mr. Ogene told journalists that defection figures were not made available to his office.

“The gale of defections started in 2013 when 37 legislators left the PDP for APC.

“Afterwards, there were periodic defections which also recorded the movement of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal from PDP to APC’’, Mr. Ogene said.

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