by Admin | Jul 25, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI The Federal Government has raised fresh alarm over an orchestrated plot by fraudsters to discredit the Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption (PACAC)-led by Itse Sagay. According to the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, PACAC’s letter head and stamp as well as the signature of its chairman were being forged and used to defraud people within and outside the country. Mohammed, who made this known in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, said Sagay and all the members of his committee were men and women of proven integrity who would never allow the committee to be used for any activity that is not within its mandate. He further said that the plot was also aimed at not only discrediting PACAC but also sabotaging the federal government’s anti-corruption efforts, using “419ers” and their ilk.” The statement said: “In a particular instance, a letter purportedly signed by the PACAC Chairman, Prof. Itse Sagay, entitled: ‘Presidential Investigation on Outstanding Federal Government External Contract Debts,’ and a form to be filled for that purpose, are being sent to unsuspecting persons to extort money from them and to portray the country’s highest advisory committee against corruption in bad light. ”For the avoidance of doubt, the President has not mandated PACAC to investigate and recommend for payment some outstanding contract debts, as contained in the letter in question, neither has the Federal Government approved the disbursement of $850 million in the 2017 budget for payment of the so-called external contract debt. ”We are therefore using this medium to inform Nigerians and foreigners alike to disregard such...
by Admin | Jul 25, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI Three persons have been charged to court for alleged conspiracy and murder of a motorcyclist, Cyprian Kumaorun, during the recent crisis in Idumuje-Ugboko, Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State. The trio, Ochei Nnamdi, 31, Wilfred Oyono, 68, and Ofonye Ufoh, 58, were accused of killing the deceased on May 24, 2017 at Idumuje-Ugboko community in the state. In a two-count charge number M1/44c/2017 preferred against the accused, it says they allegedly committed felony contrary to section 324 of the Criminal Code Cap C21 Volume 1 laws of Delta State of Nigeria 2006. The charges also read that they unlawfully killed the victim by shooting him with a gun and thereby committed an offense contrary to Section 316(1) punishable under Section 319 of the Criminal Code Cap C21 Volume 1 laws of Delta State of Nigeria 2006. After the charges were read to them, no plea was taken and the trial Chief Magistrate, Mr. Vincent Okonta, explained that the plea was not taken because the court lacked jurisdiction to try the case. He ordered that the case file should be duplicated and forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for legal advice and adjourned the case to August 8, 2017. SOURCE: THE...
by Admin | Jul 25, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI The police in Kano State have provided details of the gun battle with Boko Haram suspects in the state. PREMIUM TIMES reported the duel which occured in the early hours of Sunday. A special police task force set up by the Inspector General of Police led the battle that led to the arrest. The Kano State Police Commissioner, Rabiu Yusuf, told journalists that the battle occurred at about 2 a.m. on Sunday at Gaya in Ungogo Local Government Area. Mr. Yusuf said the police have been gathering intelligence on the suspects for a while. He said they were among Boko Haram members who escaped from Sambisa forest in Borno when the military took over most part of that large swath of land which used to be the base of the terror group. The commissioner noted two members of the terror group had been arrested earlier. It was those two that took the police to Gaya, where the gun battle took place. He said the gunmen were led by a dismissed military officer who was training the others. He said the suspect threw an improvised explosive device, IED, at the police and started to shoot before the police fought back. The leader, however, escaped at the heat of the battle, he said. “The police came under attack by the terrorists group at their location but were overpowered by the tactical task force. Three police officers sustained injuries and three of the Boko Haram gunned down.” One of the three police officers injured during the battle has been discharged from the hospital after treatment. The three shot Boko Haram...
by Admin | Jul 25, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI The court on Tuesday sentenced a journalist to three months in prison for “inciting” people to protest. The Moroccan court sentenced the Journalist for inciting people to protest in the north-eastern city of Al Hoceima. “Hamid El Mehdaoui, an editor of news site Badil.info, was arrested in Al Hoceima after a speech to a crowd in the city, in which he encouraged the masses to take part in the banned July 20 protest. “After a 15-hour trial, El Mahdaoui was convicted of “inciting people to commit misdemeanours through speech in a public place,’’ local authorities said. The Public Prosecutor in Al Hoceima announced his arrest on July 20, the protest day. In a statement following his arrest, the prosecutor said the speech was “incompatible with journalism as a profession dealing with collecting information and facts or investigating them in a professional way in order to write or make media material.” On July 20, police in Al Hoceima fired tear gas to disperse the massive protest to call for the release of detained activists. The police said in a statement that 72 policemen and 11 protesters were injured during the demonstration. The situation in Al Hoceima has been tense since October 2016, when fish vendor Mouhcine Fikri was crushed to death after climbing into a rubbish lorry to retrieve his swordfish confiscated by police. The demand for justice for Fikri in the north-eastern region has evolved into a major grassroots movement to require greater government investment to create more jobs. Morocco has not witnessed any protests of this size since the pro-democracy demonstrations during the Arab spring in...
by Admin | Jul 21, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI A human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, on Friday called on the Oyo and Osun state governments to set aside part of the newly disbursed Paris club refunds for the reopening of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, LAUTECH, Ogbomoso. Mr. Falana also called on the Osun state government to relinquish ownership of the troubled university as a long term measure, saying the state could not afford to ‘properly fund the university.’ Mr. Falana urged the Oyo state government to be prepared to take over the ownership of LAUTECH and provide the needed funds for it, adding that the government could abolish its new university of technology and deploy the funds meant for it to LAUTECH. The lawyer made the call at the memorial symposium held in honour of Funmi Adewunmi a former lecturer at the Osun State University, Ikire campus, Osun state. Rocked by crisis occasioned by the inability of the concerned states to pay salaries, the university has been under lock for many months. The Senate had on July 12 called on the Nigerian government to take over the university. Advertisement Although jointly owned by both states, the Senate said the federal government should release N4 billion to the school. Speaking about the deceased, Mr. Falana alleged that Mr. Adewunmi, a professor, was not promptly attended to by the management of the University College Hospital on June 13 when he was rushed there by his family after a brief illness. To prevent avoidable deaths in the country and equally stop the practice of flying Nigerian leaders abroad for medical treatment, Mr. Falana suggested that the bulk...
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