by Admin | Jul 5, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI The prosecutor for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Rotimi Oyedepo, in a cross examination session at the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja, grilled Joseph Nwobike on charges of perversion of the course of justice and unlawful gratification of public officials. Mr. Nwobike, who took the witness stand to give testimony in his own criminal trial on Tuesday, answered a series of questions that the prosecution asked to prove that the embattled senior advocate gratified justices and other court clerical staff of the Federal High Court. The EFCC also claimed that Mr. Nwobike engaged in sending illegal text messages to four registrars of the Federal High Court in a bid to unduly influence his cases being tried by the judges. Mr. Nwobike, however, denied all the allegations. The prosecutor asked the senior lawyer if he had forwarded some names to one Mr. Baruwa, a clerk of the Federal High Court, to monitor in the event that the commission preferred charges or instituted any action against them. Mr. Nwobike denied ever engaging the clerk in such a manner. To further prove the charges, Mr. Oyedepo showed the court an exchange of SMS texts between Mr. Baruwa and Mr. Nwobike. In one of the messages sent by Mr. Baruwa, he acknowledged receiving the “golden handshake” of the lawyer and prayed for “more grease on his elbow.” “You received and read a text from Mr. Baruwa saying, ‘Thank you sir, Kelani gave me your special package.’ On June 3, 2015 at 10:10 a.m., you received a text from Mr. Baruwa saying ‘Good morning sir, I just got a...
by Admin | Jul 5, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Kano State has seized 39,224.109kg of assorted drugs in the last one year, it was learnt yesterday. Commandant Hamza Umar, who spoke during the 2017 United Nations drug-free day, themed: “Listen First”, said the seized drugs included Cannabis Sativa (6,451.976kg); psychotropic substances (3,2715.166kg); cocaine (358.3g); heroin (8.5g); methamphetamine (31.8kg) and ephedrine (24.8kg). According to him, over 768 suspects were arrested, of which 505 were counselled, 68 rehabilitated and 240 convicted. He said: “The drugs are found there, the abusers and dealers are stationed there, while the resources to fight this monster are also based there. Therefore, the support and involvement of the various groups in the community is necessary. “Having reviewed our arrest and seizure statistics from January to June, we noticed a decrease in supply and consumption of the class “A” drugs, otherwise known as hard drugs (cocaine, heroin and cannabis sativa). “Ironically, we noticed an increase in the use of syrups and pentazocine injection. The command noticed there is serious increase in drug-related crimes, and has taken necessary and needed steps to curtail it. “It is also important to mention that the government has raised a 16-man committee to coordinate plans and strategies aimed at curtailing the trend.” SOURCE: THE...
by Admin | Jul 5, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, says the swap of Boko Haram prisoners to secure the release of the second batch of 82 abducted Chibok schoolgirls was a political decision, not that of the military. Featuring on BBC Programme, Hard Talk on Tuesday, the Army Chief said the Federal Government, at that time, believed that the decision to swap the prisoners for the girls was the best. According to Buratai, “As far as I am concerned, we performed our own role for the safe passage of the abducted Chibok girls. “The Boko Haram terrorists’ swap for the Chibok schoolgirls was a political decision, not a military decision. It is in the best interest of the nation and based on the circumstances, the government felt it was the best course. “Personally, I think it has its own advantages; the message is to rescue the Chibok girls. “I do not think anyone has said the Boko Haram has been eliminated. Terrorism is something that is resilient.” Buratai noted that the inability of the Boko Haram insurgents to attack the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and other northern states as they did before May 2015, showed they had been defeated. “Before May 2015, the Boko Haram insurgents were even in Abuja, Kano and Kaduna. They were operating even to the South. We had to stop them. “For the past one and a half years, we have not had any attack in Jos, Abuja, Kano and many other places, not even as close as Gombe State. “They are only concentrated within certain areas in Borno and Yobe states.” SOURCE:Daily...
by Admin | Jul 4, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI The Federal Government has made public details of how two military personnel – Wing Commander Ishaka Yakubu and Lt.-Commander Akinbamidele Odunsi – worked with two bankers to allegedly divert N339m from the Military Pension Board (MPB) in February 2016. The bankers’ are Mrs. Violet Ogoegbunam (the manager of a bank on Kuforodua Street, Wuse Zone 2, Abuja) and Mrs. Abidemi Aderemi Kolade (a relationship manager at the bank). They were said to have diverted N339,374,478.58 from the MPB, under the pretext that the money represented payments to some “supposed next of kins to dead military pensioners as death benefits”. Wing Commander Yakubu is said to be a cashier with the MPB. Lt.-Commander Odunsi is described as an Assistant Director, Computer, with the MPB. This information formed the substance of a four-count charge filed on behalf of the Federal Government by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The charge, filed on May 31, 2017, was endorsed by Steve Odiase of the Legal and Prosecution Department of the EFCC in Abuja. The two bankers are named in counts 1 and 2, relating to conspiracy and obtaining by false pretence in respect of the alleged N339,374,478.58 fraud. Yakubu and Odunsi ar named in the four counts, and charged with obtaining by false pretence, and abuse of office in respect of N190m which they allegedly received from the N390m. According to the EFCC, the offences of obtaining money under false pretence were said to be contrary to section 1(i) (a) and punishable under section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud...
by Admin | Jul 4, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI YENAGOA— AUTHORITIES of the Joint Task Force, JTF, in the Niger Delta codenamed Operation Delta Safe, have said that their operatives have uncovered a local arms manufacturing hideout in Arhavwarien Kingdom, Ughelli South Local Government Area, Delta State, leading to the arrest of 18 suspects. In a related development, Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, yesterday, disclosed that about 500 illegal refineries were shut down in the Niger Delta in the last six months. •Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas He said that illegal refineries operating at various locations in the creeks of the Niger Delta region were traced and shut down within the period, just as he commended the efforts of his men for the feat. Ibas, who spoke in Abuja, while receiving the Managing Director of Nigerian Port Authority, Hajiya Hadiza Usman, who led her organisation’s top management team on a courtesy visit to the Naval Headquarters, Abuja, lauded naval personnel for their commitment to security and safety of the Nigerian maritime domain. He said that the number of the refineries shutdown by his organisation was far more than what was recorded in the past two years. He said, “What is happening is that once you focus on the activities of pirates and other criminals in the maritime sector, you see them run away and begin to struggle for survival in other areas. To some extent, we have been able to curtail them and their nefarious activities in the maritime sector.” “In the last six months, we have been able to shut down about 500 illegal refineries and this is more than what has...
by Admin | Jul 4, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI No fewer than 123 suspected drug dealers have been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Bayelsa State. According to the Bayelsa State command of the agency, illicit drugs weighing 81.95 kilogrammes were also confiscated from suspects in the state. This was disclosed by the NDLEA Commander in the state, Abdullahi Abdul, during a press conference at the agency’s secretariat in Yenagoa. Abdul, who said the arrests and seizures were carried out between January and June 2017, noted that 85 males and 38 females arrested were. According to him, a breakdown of the seizures indicated that cannabis was 74.615 kg, cocaine – 0.011kg, heroin – 0.059kg, and psychotropic drug – 7.265kg. The commandant revealed that during the period under review, they were able to convict three drug suspects – one male and two females – with various prison terms ranging from 18 to 20 months. He added that another seven suspects – two females and five males – were being remanded in prison custody for various drug trafficking offences. Abdul lamented that the major handicap of the Command was logistics that would enable the NDLEA to cover all the nooks and crannies of the state, particularly the coastal areas and the hinterland. The commandant, however, said that the agency was working assiduously with the Bayelsa State government to facilitate their operations in every part of the state. He said: “In Bayelsa State, the major thing that worries us here is the use of psychotropic substances which are mostly abused by youths. We are trying our best to curtail the usage of these substances and...
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