Maj. Gen. Aniedi Edet has assumed duty as the 24th Director General (DG), Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON). The Chief Public Relations Officer of DICON, Mr Musa Yakubu, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Kaduna.

Yakubu said Maj.-Gen. Edet took over from Maj-Gen Hassan Tafida on July 11.
He said that Tafida had been posted as Corps Commander of the Nigerian Army Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (NAEME).

According to him, the former DG thanked the management and staff for their support throughout his tenure.
He emphasised the importance of maintaining the same level of support for the new DG. He expressed confidence in the abilities of the new DG to move DICON to even greater heights following his track record in the military.

He explained that the new DG acknowledged the trust and confidence placed in his appointment by the Chief of Defence Staff and the Chief of Army Staff, Maj.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja.

Yakubu said the new DG recognised the weight of responsibility of leading a critical national asset like DICON and pledged his dedication to duty and determined efforts to advance its founding mission and objectives.

“With the right environment, resources and collective will by all stakeholders, DICON can grow to meet Nigeria’s needs in defence materials. He said Maj.-Gen. Edet also acknowledged the efforts of past DGs, especially his predecessor Maj.-Gen. Tafida, for their leadership and accomplishments.

Edet pledged to consolidate and build upon the foundation and seek to propel DICON to new heights, emphasising the promotion of innovation, staff welfare and a business orientation as his priorities. He also promised to make DICON a viable and productive national asset.

He appealed for teamwork and collaboration to achieve the strategic goals of DICON and assured that he would lead with integrity, professionalism, and a relentless pursuit of excellence.
He said the new DG had a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering from the Nigerian Defence Academy Kaduna, a Master’s degree in International Affairs and Diplomacy, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

He also holds a Master’s degree in governance and leadership from Ghana Institute for Management and Public Administration, Accra, and Master of Science in National Security Strategy from the United States of America National Defense University. He was a Directing Staff member at Nigeria’s and Ghana’s Armed Forces Command and Staff Colleges.

He has attended several courses within and outside Nigeria, including Defence and Security Management Course organised by King’s College London.

He also attended the United States of America National War College as International Fellow in June 2016 and graduated in June 2017 as a “Distinguished Graduate”.
Yakubu said the handover ceremony was attended by senior management staff, military officers and staff of DICON.

Former President, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Joseph Daudu (SAN), human rights lawyers and a rights advocacy group – Centre for Social Justice and Accountability (CSJA), have at various fora, tasked the Federal Government to respect the principle of rule of law and justice in treating the case of former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele.

While Daudu expressed optimism that President Bola Tinubu, with his background as a democracy advocate, will not support arbitrariness, Maxwell Opara, Abdulazeez Tijani and Anthony Akpua of CSJA noted that the way the manner Emefiele’s case was handled will shape the way international business communities and related interests will relate with the new administration in Nigeria.

They spoke on Saturday in reaction to the various court pronouncements on the government’s continued detention of Emefiele and his planned arraignment by the Department of State Services (DSS) on a charge filed before the Federal High Court in Lagos.

Daudu said: “”I do not think that the President, who is a newly minted President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, will like to start his administration with the organizations under him disobeying court orders.

“He (Tinubu) was in the forefront as a NADECO man to chastise military governments for disobeying court orders.

“Now that power is in his hand, we will see whether he, himself will obey court orders,” the ex-NBA President said in reaction to Thursday’s judgment by Justice Hamza Muazu of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Justice Muazu, who gave the DSS seven days within which to either charge Emefiele to court or release him, noted in the judgment that the alleged offences for which he was being held were bailable because they were not capital in nature, adding that he was not accused of killing anybody.

On his part, Opara noted that from his experience, the DSS was creating the impression that it is above the law of the country.

He said he was not surprised about how the Emefiele’s case was being handled by DSS, “because the secret police has made disrespect to rule of law part of its life.

“Talking about the rule of law or tendering court’s judgment before the DSS irritates the management of the agency”, he said.
He consequently urged the President to ovehaul the agency.

Tijani said: “President Tinubu must prove and establish that he is a true democrat and not a semi-democrat like some of his predecessors.”

He argued that Emefiele was not charged to court for known criminal offenses within the time allowed by law.

“For more than four months, the DSS had sought to arrest Emefiele. Between that time and now, it ought to have completed its investigation. DSS cannot hide under Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 to hold a Nigerian citizen till eternity because ACJA is inferior to the 1999 Constitution”, he said.

Adding: “The 1999 is so specific and categorical on how long a Nigerian citizen should be held. It gave maximum of 48 hours. That is the Supreme Law on fundamental rights of citizens, and it must be obeyed to the letter.

” That aspect of the Constitution does not permit and arm of security agency to hold a Nigerian citizen down and unlawfully begin to fish for evidence, as in the instant matter, to charge him to court. That is not our law”, he said.

Tijani urged President Tinubu to take steps and establish that he is not taking side with any security agency that is disrespecting the rule of law.

“Tinubu, as a true democrat, who had used the larger part of his life to fight for human rights, must use his new position to compel institutions, especially security agencies, to operate within the ambit of law.

“Arbitrariness must be eradicated. It is safer to respect the rule of law and use the instrument of law to checkmate criminality without breaching the rule of law.

“Emefiele’s case will be a big test to President Tinubu in his avowed commitment to the rule of law. Emefiele’s rights must be respected until the law court says otherwise”, Tijani said.
Akpua noted that the whole world was watching the way the Fed Govt was handling the Emefiele case, with its capacity to shape the way the country is viewed by international investors in the area of respect of the rule of law.

In a two-count charge marked: FHC/L/437/2023, filed on July 13 at the Federal High Court in Lagos by the DSS, Emefiele is to face trial for unlawful possession of one single barrel shot gun (Jojeff Magnum 8371) without license, which is said to constitutes an offense under Section 4 of the Firearms Laws of the Federation 2004 and punishable under Section 27 (1) (b) (i) of the same act.

The suspended CBN Governor is equally accused of having in his possession, 123 rounds of live ammunition (cartridges) without license, which items were said to have been unlawfully kept at No.3B Iru Close, Ikoyi, Lagos “on or about June 15, 2023.”

Emefiele was arrested on June 10, a day after he was suspended by President Tinubu, and he is still being held in the custody of the DSS.