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EFCC Docks Ex-Naval Chief, Others For N600m Fraud

Follow @NigeriaPI The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arraigned a former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman O. Jibrin and two others for alleged fraud. Jibrin was arraigned before Justice A. S Umar of the FCT High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja on a 4-count charge bordering on criminal conspiracy. Others arraigned included  Rear Admiral Bala Mshelia (rtd) and Rear Admiral Shehu Ahmadu (rtd). They were docked alongside Habour Bay International Limited. According to the anti-graft agency, the naval chiefs whilst in office allegedly bought a house worth N600million from the account of Naval Engineering Services without the said purchase contract being captured in the budget. It was also alleged that, the documentation for transfer of ownership of the property was done such that a private company owned by the family of the first defendant (Vice Admiral Jubrin) became the buyer. source:...

NSCDC arrests fake army General in Niger

Follow @NigeriaPI The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Niger State on Saturday said it had apprehended a suspected fake army general in Minna on Monday. Commander Philip Ayuba, Commandant of NSCDC, in the state made the disclosure while presenting the suspect before newsmen in Minna. “The suspected fake army General you are seeing specialises in defrauding unemployed applicants by promising them job in either the military or paramilitary outfits in the country,’’ Ayuba said. He said the suspect, Mohammed Usman alias General Ishiaku is 41 years old and from Katcha Local Government Area of the state. Ayuba explained that the suspect was arrested by an undercover team of NSCDC in Minna metropolis after he had concluded plan to collect a balance of N450,000 bargained for a job in NSCDC. The NSCDC Commander said the suspected accomplice of the suspect, Abubakar Ibrahim, was at large. He said the suspect would be charged to court as soon as investigation was completed. The suspect, while speaking with newsmen, pleaded for forgiveness and said, “I will not do it again, it was the handiwork of the devil.” SOURCE:...

NJC sacks Enugu CJ, Appeal Court Justice, Kano judge for alleged corruption

Follow @NigeriaPI The National Judicial Council said on Friday that it had recommended to President Muhammadu Buhari, the compulsory retirement of Justice Mohammed Tsamiya from office- the Ilorin Division of the Court of Appeal. Justice Tasmiya was sanctioned over allegations that he met with a party to a case before him, Nnamdi Oji, three times and on each occasion, demanded the sum of N200m to influence the Court of Appeal panel in Owerri, which sat on election cases that arose from the 2015 general elections. In a statement by its Acting Director, Information, Mr. Soji Oye, the NJC said it also recommended the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice I. A. Umezulike, for compulsory retirement and Justice Kabiru Auta of Kano State High Court for dismissal. The NJC recommended Auta for prosecution over an allegation that he collected N197m from a man, Alhaji Kabiru, who wrote a petition to the NJC against him. The NJC said it recommended to Governor Lawrence Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, the compulsory retirement of the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Umezulike, for delivering judgment in a case 126 days after final addresses were adopted by parties, and for other instances of abuse of office. Justice Umezulike, during his book launch, allegedly received a donation of N10m from a businessman, Prince Arthur Eze, while two cases in which Eze was said to have had “vested interest”, were in the judge’s court. It also recommended to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, of Kano State, the dismissal of Justice Kabiru Auta. Kabiru was accused of collecting about N197m from a man, Alhaji Kabiru Yakassai, under the pretext that...

Police Arrest 238 ‘Drug Dealers’, Dismantle 15 Criminal Gangs

Follow @NigeriaPI A police raid nabbed 238 suspected drug dealers and dismantled 15 criminal gangs in 10 of Colombia’s 32 departments, authorities said Friday. Those captured “are not only linked to drug trafficking, but also the killing of 63 people,” police chief General Jorge Hernando Nieto told reporters. “Operation Temis II” was carried out over several hours in the departments of Antioquia, Boyaca, Caldas, Casanare, Cundinamarca, Huila, Narino, Santander, Tolima and Valle del Cauca, AFP reports. According to the authorities, who infiltrated the gangs with their agents, the suspects used minors, homeless people, cab drivers and street vendors to sell drugs. “Some of the dismantled organisations were formed by family clans who have devoted themselves to this illicit activity for generations,” authorities said. During the counternarcotics operation, authorities also found the suspects committing other crimes, such as murders, threats, extortion, robbery, illegal possession of firearms, criminal conspiracy and using minors to commit crimes. The world’s largest grower of coca, the plant from which cocaine is made, Colombia is also the largest producer of the drug, with an estimated 646 tonnes last year alone, according to the United Nations....

“I Ran Away To Avoid Being Used For Rituals”– Divorce Seeking Wife Tells Court

Follow @NigeriaPI A housewife, Olayinka Adebayo has told an Akure Customary Court in Ondo State, that she deserted her matrimonial home for three years to avoid being used for rituals by her husband, Adeniyi. Olayinka, who made this known when she testified in a divorce petition filed by her husband, told the court that Adeniyi had once asked her to lie on a white apparel and be chanting some words. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), she recalled that she had to change her place of worship, which was the Redeemed Christian Church of God to Cherubim and Seraphim, having realised that her life recorded no positive impacts. The respondent said that she also approached a herbalist in the course of overcoming her life challenges. Adeniyi had told the court to dissolve his 15-year-old marriage to Olayinka for alleged desertion for three years, night outing, promiscuity and talkative’s trait. He noted that he would have forgiven her if the respondent had listened and corrected her perceived waywardness. In his judgement, Mr Ayodele Omotola, the President of the court, said that all efforts to resolve the lingering rifts failed and dissolved the marriage. Omotola ordered that the petitioner should be paying N10,000 to the court’s registry every month for educational and feeding need of the children. He added that both parties should be responsible for medicals and other needs of the children, saying that the respondent should give the respondent access to the...

Abducted Wife Of CBN Governor, Margaret Emefiele Has Been Released

Follow @NigeriaPI Wife of Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) Governor, Mrs Margaret Emefiele, kidnapped some 24 hours before, has been released by her abductors. According to family sources she was rescued “due to the gallantry of the Armed Forces, Police and Security Forces”, in Ugoneki near Benin City and is currently recuperating in Government House, Asaba. More details to follow. Mrs. Margaret Emefiele, the wife of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), who was abducted Thursday on Benin-Agbor road, has been released by her abductors. A family source said she and other persons taken were released in the wee hours of Saturday following a massive police operation in the area. Mrs. Emefiele was on her way from Lagos to her hometown in Agbor, Delta State when her convoy was attacked by heavily armed men, who overpowered her security detail. Her abductors later established contact with her husband and demanded a ransom. The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Ibrahim Idris, had deployed helicopters along the Benin-Agbor Road in a bid to track the abductors. The kidnappers had whisked Margaret, three other women and a male driver, to an unknown location. But in a move to pile pressure on the kidnappers, the IGP also flooded the area with hundreds of police operatives and sniffer dogs. The IG Special Intelligence Monitoring Team, headed by Abba Kyari, had commenced investigation into the incident. Kyari was the officer who arrested the suspects responsible for the abduction of Prof. Kamene Okonjo, the mother of ex-Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in...

I thought God had forgiven me – Suspect arrested for kidnap, murder of poly student

Follow @NigeriaPI It was supposed to be a clean grab, a few days underground and perhaps a short while negotiating ransom with the family of their victim, a young man identified by the police as Ikenna Osuji. But Ikenna, a student of the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Imo State, would never get out of it alive. On May 25, 2016, Ikenna, who was working as a taxi driver along to finance his studies, met his death in the hands of kidnappers when he drove into a land where 30-year-old Chinedu Azuazu was a security guard. Saturday PUNCH learnt that Ikenna was fairly known to Azuazu because he used to drive prospective land buyers to the large expanse of land guarded by Azuazu in his cab. But May 25 was the last day the young man would ever be seen alive. He drove into the land again that day and was never seen again. When Azuazu was nabbed on September 12, 2016 by operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Response Team, details of the gruesome end Ikenna met in the hands of his captors emerged. Azuazu, a father of one living at Omouku area Port Harcourt, Rivers State, said he was employed to guard the land in question, which belonged to the Alakahia community close to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. He said, “The man who employed us never paid us. He would rather take us to a bar and buy us drinks and then give us small money, like N3,000.  It was too small for me. When my wife became pregnant and I needed money to prepare for...

5 Internet Marketing Tactics That Will Never Go Out Of Fashion

Follow @NigeriaPI Different forms of internet marketing tactics appear and disappear online all the time. But when you’re managing an online business you need reliable internet marketing tactics that aren’t suddenly going to become redundant. for newbies in the house that still wonder what internet marketing is, Businessdictionary defined it as Marketing efforts done solely over the Internet. according to webopedia, internet marketing, or online marketing, refers to advertising and marketing efforts that use the Web and email to drive direct sales via electronic commerce. in a simpler term, according to Importexpert, internet marketing is any legitimate effort you make to earn online. it can be mini importation, affiliate marketing, ecommerce, blogging etc. The 5 internet marketing tactics below will never go out of fashion. In fact, the only way they will, is if people stop using the internet altogether. And how likely is that? 1. Content Marketing several years ago when i started learning about blogs, forums and websites in general, i was always told that content remains king. as true as it was then, so is it also true today. High quality website content material is essential if you want to make an impression on your target. The more quality content on your website, the more you will improve on the organic traffic from the search engines. Also, when websites are updated regularly with content that is useful, thorough and provides value, the more repeat visitors and customers you will have. take Nairaland as an example and you will understand better. it is the presence of regularly updated high quality content that makes you type “nairaland” on...

Features of a Ponzi scheme

Follow @NigeriaPI A Ponzi scheme by definition is a version of a fraud that rewards early investors with massive returns from the cash invested by newer investors. Ponzi schemes typically do not have an underlying asset or enterprise upon which the investment is built; rather cash payout is sustained from the investment of investors who come in later. In this article, we will provide tips on how you can determine if a scheme is a Ponzi scheme or not. The returns are astronomic One of the most notable elements of a Ponzi scheme is that the returns investors get are astronomically high. A typical Ponzi scheme pays early investors as high as 20 per cent monthly in returns. Based on this, perpetrators of a Ponzi scheme promise early investors very high returns in the hope that the early investors will spread the “good news” thereby inviting more contributors to the scheme. Once new contributors join the scheme, their money will now be used to pay out high returns to older investors. Of course, investors/contributors to the scheme really do not care so far as they continue to get their returns along with the capital. Returns are consistently high and steady It’s almost impossible to see a business that promises to guarantee the same return, come rain or sunshine. When someone tells you he will pay you 20 or 30 per cent return monthly consistently and doesn’t break that promise, that should start to give you a cause for concern. It’s a bit ironic as no one expects not to be paid a return when they invest. But there are...

I didn’t confirm source of $4m Jonathan’s ex-aide gave me – Witness

Follow @NigeriaPI A Bureau De Change operator, Murtala Abubakar, has told a Federal High Court in Lagos that he did not confirm the source of the $4m cash given him at the Presidential Villa by a former Senior Special Assistant to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on Domestic Affairs, Waripamo-Owei Dudafa. Abubakar said this on Tuesday when he appeared as a witness before a Federal High Court in Lagos where Dudafa is being prosecuted for money laundering by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Standing trial on 23 counts with Dudafa is Joseph Iwejuo. The defendants are being prosecuted by the EFCC for alleged concealment, retention of proceeds of crime and failure to give information to the anti-graft agency. The witness, Abubakar, had on Monday told the trial judge, Justice Mohammed Idris, that Dudafa gave him cash sums running into N1.6bn through five companies. At the resumed trial on Tuesday when he was being cross-examined by Dudafa’s lawyer, Gboyega Oyewole, Abubakar told the court that he had no reason to think that the cash sums given to him by Dudafa to change were from an illegal source. Asked by Oyewole if the transactions he did with Dudafa were illegal, Abubakar said, “My Bureau De Change is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. I ensure the people I deal with are not criminals. My transactions with Dudafa were not in contravention of any CBN rules. If we know money is from a question source, we reject it.” Abubakar added that he had no reason to question the source of the currencies that Dudafa gave him. “I know that he is a...

Management tips for entrepreneurs

Follow @NigeriaPI Experts say companies with inexperienced managers often perform below expectation because they are unable to use good business strategies. They also point out that a proper understanding of business management techniques will prevent premature failure of start-ups. According to them, goal-setting and other fundamental business management skills can assist in decision making. They add that not all business management skills can be acquired in the classroom because most are learnt on the job. In order to build a sustainable business, there are management techniques that are indispensable. Monitor and measure performance Every business manager must make it a habit to monitor cash flow, especially when large amounts are involved. Though not all managers are accountants, they need to have a basic knowledge of accounting in order to identify loopholes. A business consultant, Mr. Caleb Makinde, suggests regular audits of a company’s finances and comparing them to the past financial statements in order to predict future expenses, revenue and cash flow. “In other departments as well, all employees’ performance should be benchmarked and incentives such as training can be provided where there are knowledge gaps,” he adds. Employ professionals for important tasks Business owner- managers often do not have all the skills needed for business operations, as such, they need people who have a track record of experience to work with them. Makinde says sometimes it is advisable to outsource some tasks that are crucial to the success of the business. He adds that it is important for experts in the areas of tax planning, procurement, quality control, accounting among others to work with budding entrepreneurs. Manage your...

N167m fraud: Ex-Gov Ngilari gets N1m bail

Follow @NigeriaPI A former Governor of Adamawa state, Mr. James Bala Ngilari, was on Thursday granted bail by Justice Nathan Musa of the Adamawa State High Court,  Yola, in the sum of N1m and a surety with a property in Yola who must provide a court affidavit of means to that effect. Ngilari was remanded in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission custody on September 21 following his arraignment on 19 charges bordering on alleged rigging of procurement process in the award of contract worth N167m. The court has adjourned till October 10 for commencement of trial. Ngilari is being tried alongside his former Secretary to State Government and his Commissioner for Finance and Budget, Ibrahim Welye and Sanda Lamurde respectively. Ngilari is the third former governor of Adamawa State to be charged for fraud after two former governors of the state, Murtala Nyako and Umaru Fintiri, who have been arraigned by the EFCC for alleged fraud. The EFCC had charged Ngilari for violation of procurement laws in the award of contract of N167m to one El-Yadi Motors Limited for supply of 24 units of Toyota Corolla vehicles. Source:...

N7bn contract scam rocks Benue, two cashiers arrested

Follow @NigeriaPI The Benue State Universal Basic Education Board, under the chairmanship of Dr. Philip Tachin, has allegedly awarded contracts worth N7bn without due process. Investigation by our correspondent revealed that the board chairman, in conjunction with key officials of the board, had awarded the multi-million naira contracts to cronies and friends without going through tenders and due process. It was also gathered that in the last three months, they hurriedly awarded contracts worth the amount mainly to politicians, their friends and associates without going through the necessary processes. According to investigations, it was alleged that in the awards of these contracts, 70 per cent was paid upfront  while 30 per cent was for kick-back after the projects had been inflated  above the norm. “Though they are doing everything possible to cover the illegal and shady deal but many people who are aware of what is going on are not happy with the whole deal. This is despite the zero tolerance of Governor Ortom-led administration for corruption”, a source said. Another source said the whole thing was being covered. He said, “They are doing everything secretly so that the governor may not know because if he knows, they are in big trouble.” Meanwhile, two cashiers of the SUBEB, Paul Mella (Cashier 2) and Jacob Agera (Cashier 1) have been arrested by the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigeria Police Force, Abuja, for hoarding financial information concerning the board. When contacted, the SUBEB Chairman, Tachin, said the two financial officers of the board were actually arrested and taken to Abuja for questioning. He said, “The police officers from Abuja came...

Police Nab Suspected Child Traffickers In Delta State

Follow @NigeriaPI The Delta State Police Command has nabbed suspected child traffickers of a seven-year-old boy who was reported missing since September 6, 2016. The kidnapped boy, Moses Ijoba, was said to reside in Okpanam, a community close to the State’s capital, Asaba, where various cases of child theft had been reported severally. According to Moses’ younger sister, he was lured by an unknown lady who pleaded with him to help her run some errands. The Delta State Police Command confirmed that it had arrested one Abigail Nwakama, also known by the syndicate as ‘Madam Cash’ as well as nine other members, in connection with child trafficking in the area. Parading suspects at the command’s headquarters in Asaba, the police said most of the suspects have admitted to the crime which in turn led to the recovery of about 12 children. The parents of the children have been asked to contact the police for immediate identification of their children. Among other reported cases where the arrest of one Chukwuma Ijoema who allegedly raped and killed one Blessing Ogammer, who prior to her death, was also reported missing. Suspected cultists, robbers, murderers and kidnappers were caught and paraded alongside recovered items – riffles, locally made guns, ammunition, cartridges and phones. The police have intensified efforts to achieve peace and order at all times in the state and re-unite seven-year old Moses, who was still declared missing, with his...

Court Jails Fraudster For N10.5million Fraud.

Follow @NigeriaPI The Lagos State High presided over by Justice Kudirat Jose on 21 September, 2016 convicted and sentenced one Michael Ugochukwu to five years imprisonment on a one count charge of stealing to the tune of N10,500,000 (Ten Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira Only) property of Patrick Ekeh. The convict was arraigned by the EFCC in early 2014 following investigation of a petition by one Patrick Ekeh who alleged that he imported a total of twenty eight vehicles for the convict from the United States of America sometime in January 2010 through the Lagos port. It was later discovered in April 2010 when the audit of the vehicles inventory was conducted that all the twenty eight vehicles were sold with the exception of one. But when confronted, the convict told the complainant that there were still five vehicles left to be sold whose total cost was N10,500,000. The petitioner did all he could to get his money but Michael refused to pay him which compelled him to report the matter to EFCC. Upon arraignment, Ugochukwu pleaded not guilty and full trial was conducted in which the prosecution led by Chidinma Anita called four witnesses. At the end of trial, the court found the accused guilty as charged and convicted him accordingly. Justice Jose sentenced the convict to five years imprisonment without option of fine. She also ordered that restitution of the stolen sum be made by the convict. Source:...