by Admin | Apr 10, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI Former President Goodluck Jonathan probably received as much as $200 million to approve the controversial $1.3 billion sale of OPL 245 oil field, Italian prosecutors said in court documents. The documents, which were extracts of a thorough investigation by Italian authorities into the deal, also confirmed that Shell and ENI knew a good chunk of the $1.3 billion would be disbursed as kickbacks to Nigerian politicians, yet went ahead with the deal. The findings were obtained by BuzzFeed and Italian business newspaper, Il Sole 24 Ore. BuzzFeed released its own version earlier today. The prosecutors quoted Ednan Agaev, a Russian middleman who helped negotiate the transfer of the oil block to Shell and Eni, as saying that Dan Etete, the former Petroleum Minister at the heart of the oil scandal, said he intended to dole out as much as $400 million in bribes if the deal went through. If Mr. Etete actually paid out such an amount in bribes to Nigerian officials, “Agaev stated that he would think President Goodluck Jonathan got at least $200 million of this money,” BuzzFeed quoted an excerpt of FBI submissions to Italian authorities as saying. The revelations were made when the FBI interviewed Mr. Agaev, whom prosecutors also said met with Mr. Jonathan on more than one occasion in Nigeria during the OPL 245 negotiations. Mr. Agaev, who was Mr. Etete’s representative in the negotiation, said the convicted former petroleum minister told him of the $400 million bribe to Nigerian politicians when he approached him for his payment. When FBI detectives asked Mr. Agaev about payment of his commission, he “stated...
by Admin | Apr 10, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is trailing the owner of N448.85 million discovered in a shopping plaza in Lagos State, spokesman of the commission in Lagos, Mr. Sam Amadin said. In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday, Amadin said the agency was making efforts to reach the owner of the complex, with a view to knowing who rented the said shop 64. “The shopping plaza, from preliminary investigation, was built by estate developers. From the developers, we will get the owner of the money. “The people around the complex know the owner of the money. The place has not been in use for a long time, the owner only sneaks into the place and keep the money. We will find the owner very soon,” Amadin assured. The commission, on Friday in a statement confirmed the recovery of N448.85million in a shop at the LEGICO Shopping Plaza, in Victoria Island, Lagos. Operatives of the commission, acting on a tip-off by a concerned whistleblower, swooped on the shopping complex and sought the identity of the owners of two shops, LS 64 and LS 67, which were under lock and key. “The shops had the signage of a Bureau de Change. Inquiries about the owner of shop 64 indicated that he had not been seen for a long time, as neighbors claimed the shop had not been opened for business for close to two years. “The attention of the plaza’s Chairman and some traders were drawn in order to force the shops open. “There was no money found in shop 67, but in shop...
by Admin | Apr 10, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI Unidentified gunmen abducted Gabriel Odu-Orji, the Cross River Commissioner for Water Resources, at Effionawan Street on Mayne Avenue in Calabar South on Sunday. An eyewitness, James Ibri, said that five gunmen kidnapped Mr. Odu-Orji as he was about to enter a restaurant. “At around 12 noon today, I was in front of a restaurant waiting for a friend when the Commissioner for Water Resources stepped down and was approaching the restaurant,” Mr. Ibri said. “Before he could get into the restaurant, some five well-armed men came in a blue Audi, parked their car by the road side and ordered the commissioner into his car and drove away.” He added that the gunmen wore masks to conceal their identities. ASP Irene Ugbo, the State Police Public Relations Officer, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview. “We have received a complaint about the abduction of the Commissioner for Water Resources. He was kidnapped and taken away in his Prado Jeep today,” she said. “We have deployed our men from the command and those from the intelligence department to all routes in the state with a view to releasing him. “As we speak, all checkpoints are thoroughly manned by our men to ensure that he is released safely,” Ms. Ugbo...
by Admin | Apr 8, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, on Saturday announced the arrest of about 25 persons throughout the country for extortion and illegally selling registration materials to the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, candidates. The culprits, according to the Registrar/Chief Executive of JAMB, Is-haq Oloyede, were apprehended by a combined team of its Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit, ACTU, members of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, and the Nigeria Police Force, following a tip-off. He said that the e-Brochure and e-Syllabus which were meant to be free were being sold by the culprits as high as N800 each nationwide, while at the same time also extorting money and inflating cost of registration from candidates. Among the registration materials being sold by them include copies of the UTME e-Brochure and e-Syllabus. Speaking with journalists in his office in Bwari, Abuja, shortly after the arrests, Mr. Oloyede, a professor, said the people that were caught were those who were on illegal pilgrimage. He said, “Our quality assurance unit, particularly the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit had to go out to see what is happening, following reports of extortion. We were having reports that candidates are paying more than the N5,500 that is required. The perpetrators have been cautioned and are presently under surveillance. For many of them that have been caught, I don’t think they will want to be caught for the second time in the future after serving the severe punishments awaiting them. “We keep on telling people that they are to pay just N5,500, which is N5,000 to JAMB and N500 for the book (e-Brochure...
by Admin | Apr 8, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI A 55-year-old man in Gamawa Local Government Area of Bauchi State has been arrested along with his 20-year-old daughter for attempted murder. The man, Abdulkadir Mohammed, was said to have had sexual intercourse with his biological daughter, Dije Abdulkadir, and then threw the baby into a well after the girl had given birth. The Commissioner of Police, Bauchi State Command, Garba Umar, while speaking to journalists in Bauchi, said the suspects were arrested by police officers attached to Gamawa Division. Umar said, “The suspect gave birth to a baby girl and threw her inside the well with the intent to kill her. “However, the timely intervention of well-meaning individuals in the area, who helped and rescued the baby alive, saved her life. “The suspect confessed that her biological father impregnated her and they decided to do away with the baby. He further said, “The suspects confessed to the act and were charged to court.” Meanwhile, a 30-year-old worker at Dass Local Government Area of Bauchi State has been arrested for allegedly conniving to kill his best friend. The suspect, who gave his name as Yusuf Babangida, a resident of Yelwa Tsakanni area of Bauchi, while speaking with SUNDAY PUNCH at the police headquarters, said he killed his friend out of greed. He said, “We sat down in front of the house of the chief of Kuji in Yelwa and planned the whole crime. We drugged and dragged him to a friend’s house in Yelwa where we killed him. “After killing him, we carried his corpse to the bush, where we threw it away over the mountain. “He was my...
Recent Comments