- Nigeria ex-president’s daughter charged with graft
- Deadly bombing marred attempt at Nigerian poll, killed eight
- Bomb killed at least 16 in a car bomb blast outside a church in Kaduna
According to Gore Vidal, history is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.
In a sense, history acts as a moral compass. It can also be seen as a guide for historical occurrences that, if attentively read, could serve as a lesson for any errors or flaws that might have happened.
WITHIN NIGERIA highlighted three notable historical events that happened on April 8 in the history of this country, Nigeria in an effort to increase awareness for educational purposes.
Here are the flashbacks:
Nigeria ex-president’s daughter charged with graft
On this day, April 8 in 2008, a daughter of former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and two former health ministers were charged in court with embezzling around 470 million naira ($4 million) of public health funds.
Many requests for the former president to be brought as a witness in the investigation have grown as a result of a parliamentary inquiry looking into claims that during Obasanjo’s administration, billions of dollars were allegedly wasted on dubious unfinished power projects.
The Senate health committee’s chair, Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, was charged with the first offense against a member of Obasanjo’s family since he resigned by prosecutors at the High Court in the nation’s capital, Abuja.
Adenike Grange and Gabriel Aduku, two former ministers accused of misusing funds from the Health Ministry, were forced to quit last month as a result of the scandal. They were the first members of the new administration’s cabinet to lose their jobs; they were the minister and minister of state for health.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which alleges that a total of 471 million naira was embezzled, filed 54 counts of charges against the former ministers and nine top health officials, and they all entered not guilty pleas in court.
Obasanjo-Bello, who was not present in court, was charged with receiving $10,000 of the money illegally.
Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello denied wrongdoing and said she only intended to use the funds to cover the senators on the Senate health committee’s trip to Ghana’s travel costs.
The judge mandated that the remaining 11 defendants be detained by the EFCC. He set the trial date of April 29 and continued the matter until Friday, when he would consider the bail requests. (Credits: Reuters).
Deadly bombing marred attempt at Nigerian poll, killed eight
On this day, April 8 in 2011, a bomb blast ripped into INEC office which led to the killing of 10 people and wounded a dozen more just hours before a new attempt to hold a delayed ballot.
The explosion, and a political shooting in which four people died, shattered hopes of a smooth start to elections in Africa’s most populous nation, holding its parliamentary ballot a week later than planned on Saturday because of logistical chaos.
According to emergency workers, at least 10 people were killed in the explosion in Suleja, on the northwestern edge of the capital Abuja.
Ambulances ferried dozens of wounded to local hospitals, but there were not enough medics to treat them.
“That is my cousin,” said customs officer Zayyed Saidu, holding back tears and pointing to the barely recognisable remains of a corpse at Suleja’s General Hospital. The families of the dead and wounded wept and prayed outside.
“Nigeria has become a place where no one is safe. No we can’t have elections. If elections should go ahead how will anyone know they are safe?” said Said. (Credits: REUTERS).
Bomb killed at least 16 in a car bomb blast outside a church in Kaduna
On this day, April 8 in 2012, a car bomb killed at least 16 people and wounded dozens more in the northern Nigerian town of Kaduna on Easter Sunday, after security officers stopped the vehicle carrying it from approaching a church.
According to the national emergency management agency, there was also an explosion around 200 km (125 miles) southeast in the central town of Jos on Sunday evening.
A military spokesman said it was a “minor explosion” and nobody was killed.
No group claimed responsibility for the Kaduna attack, but the apparent targeting of a Christian place of worship will stir memories of a string of deadly assaults by Islamist militants Boko Haram on Christmas Day last year.
A spokesman for the Kaduna state emergency management agency said 16 people had so far been confirmed dead, while 35 more were critically injured and receiving treatment in hospitals.
Kaduna police commissioner, Mohammad Jinjiri Abubakar, said police were pursuing a suspect vehicle when it crashed into another car and caused a massive explosion.
Abubakar did not say whether they knew who was behind the attack or what the bomb was intended for. Local residents said the bomber had tried to approach a church with his vehicle but was turned back at a police roadblock and then pursued.
“A suicide bomber in a vehicle was moving towards the ECWA Church and the All Nations Christian Assembly,” said Tony Udo, a Kaduna resident.
“Security agents accosted and repelled him. While he was driving away, the bomb went off at Junction Road, near the Stadium roundabout, killing the bomber and some commercial motorcyclists,” Udo told Reuters.
He said the blast shattered windows in the church and nearby houses and vehicles.
