by Admin | Jul 25, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI Mike Okeme, the Special Adviser to Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa on Labour Relations and SERVICOM, last Friday escaped being lynched during an election of the state chapter of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) held at the La-Diva Hotel in Asaba. Okeme, a former state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), who was working round the clock to see that the governor’s anointed chairmanship candidate, Timothy Chukunwosa Umukoro, was delivered, invaded the venue with political thugs to smuggle in fake cartons of ballot papers to rig the election. A SaharaReporters correspondent who monitored the election observed that Okeme’s intention was to add up the smuggled fake ballot papers to votes that were being collated when the teachers pounced on him. He was swiftly whisked away by operatives to prevent him from being lynched. According to the teachers, Governor Okowa had tried all means to ensure his candidate prevailed over their popular and preferred choice, Titus Okotie. Speaking with our correspondent shortly after Mr. Okotie was declared the winner despite the governor’s script that was played by Okeme to impose Umukoro on them, a teacher who simply identified himself as Chukwudi, said that before the election, the governor had, through Chiedu Ebie, the commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, issued a series of threats and intimidation should they work against the governor’s choice. “Okeme thinks he smuggled fake ballot papers to rig election for Okowa’s candidate,” he said. “We all decided to show solidarity to our popular and well-accepted candidate and shunned all forms of intimidation from the state governor who has through his aide and...
by Admin | Jul 25, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI Convicted oil marketer Rowaye Jubril and his firm, Brila Energy, for the second time yesterday approached an Ikeja High Court asking for a stay of execution of its order. The court had ordered Jubril and the company to refund N963.7 million stolen subsidy money to the Federal Government. The company had been ordered by Justice Lateefa Okunnu to make restitution of the money, which it fraudulently obtained as subsidy. They were both found guilty on the 13 counts bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence, forgery and use of false documents. Jubril was sentenced to 10 years on the first count and eight years for counts two to 13. Justice Okunnu, on June 14, struck out an application filed by Jubril, through his lawyer, Lawal Pedro (SAN), seeking stay of the order that his company make restitution to the Federal Government to the tune of N963.7 million. The judge had held that “an order of stay of execution of a judgment must be based on a valid appeal” and that “it is only on that basis that a judgment cannot be executed until disposal of an appeal”. However yesterday, the convicts were back in court asking the court for a stay of proceedings regarding the monetary part of the judgment. Pedro in a 20-paragraph affidavit in support of his prayer pleaded with the court to restrain the respondents, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), from enforcing the monetary aspect of the verdict. “I appeal to the court to stay execution pending the outcome of an Appeal. If the monetary judgment is enforced that would be...
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...
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