The Federal High Court Abuja yesterday fixed April 28 for Shamsudeen Bala, son of Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed to open his defence in an alleged fraud charge levelled against him.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had filed a 20-count charge against Bala bordering on money laundering, forgery and failure to disclose his assets.

However, in December last year, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba ruled that Bala had a case to answer regarding only nine of the charges and dismissed 11 of the 20 counts.

Justice Dimgba fixed the date after counsel to Bala, Mr Chris Uche, (SAN) prayed the court for an adjournment to enable his team to “deal with certain housekeeping issues” when the matter was called.

Uche acknowledged that the business of the day was ordinarily for his client to open his defence but that he had appealed to the prosecution to allow him to take an adjournment to prepare properly to defend his client.

The prosecutor, Mr Wahab Shittu, told the court that Uche had approached him on the matter and that he was “reluctantly” conceding to an adjournment.

Justice Dimgba had, in December 2021, dismissed 11 out of 20 counts preferred against Bala relating to money laundering for not being supported with credible evidence by the prosecution.

The judge held that only the nine charges relating to Bala’s failure to declare some of his bank accounts and the amount in them to the EFCC, identity fraud, and forgery warranted a defence from him.

He also discharged the four companies charged alongside Bala on the grounds that they were not indicted by the evidence led by the EFCC with respect to the money laundering charges.

The EFCC accused Bala of conspiring with four firms to make payments of huge sums in cash for the purchase of properties in different parts of Abuja without going through a financial institution.

The alleged cash transactions which summed up to about N1.2 billion according to the anti-graft agency violated the cash transaction limits stipulated in the anti-money laundering law.

The agency also alleged that Bala failed to declare his monetary assets in his accounts domiciled at Standard Chartered Bank Plc, when he was arrested and asked to complete the EFCC’s assets declaration form in June 2016.

He was also accused of forging documents relating to his acquisition of some properties in Abuja as well as committing separate identify fraud, by disguising his true identity to take possession of two properties in Abuja.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Bauchi State has identified drugs impairment among some drivers as responsible for the spate of road crashes in the state.

The Sector Commander, Mr Yusuf Abdullahi made the observation during a chat with reporters in Bauchi, yesterday.

Abdullahi, who said all the senses of a driver must be functioning properly, lamented the high number of lives lost to traffic accidents due to the consumption of hard drugs.

“Some of these drivers live on substances. They live on hard drugs either to keep them awake or to endure long distant movement, forgetting that one cannot cheat nature.

“Your senses must be fine, so as to drive within the limit of traffic rules and regulations. By the time the drug starts deceiving them, they overdo things and before you know it, something negative might have happened,” he added.

He also identified the non-installation of Speed Limiting Devices (SLD) by commercial drivers as another factor responsible for road crashes in the state.

He noted that the installation of the SLD device would go a long way in controlling speed and also reduce road carnages.

“Drivers are not adhering to the installation of the SLD instruction.

“Even people passing through Bauchi State from other states don’t install the speed limit device in their vehicles and mostly, they are the ones crashing here in Bauchi State,” he said.

He said that 90 per cent of the accident could be controlled with proper installation of the speed limit device, adding that the SLD was programmed in accordance with the Nigeria traffic regulations.

“The way in which vehicles are overloaded is overwhelming, and this is another factor responsible for road traffic crashes.

“It overtakes the entire mechanisms of the vehicle and for this reason, any slight thing, the vehicle would go off.

“Drivers lose control at the slightest mistake because the weight is contesting with the steering,” he said.

According to him, the Corps will strengthen partnerships with voluntary community organisations to scale up sensitisation activities towards promoting safety on the road.

He noted that the Corps had informed the Chief Imam and the Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the state on the need for sensitisation in churches and mosques to the need for adherence to traffic rules.

that the number of crashes is on the increase and there is need to change our attitude positively towards driving.

“This partnership with religious institutions and voluntary organisations will further enlighten the passengers to know that they have the right to caution any driver. This would tell the driver that the passengers truly know their rights,” he said.

Acute fuel scarcity has hit Yola, the Adamawa State capital as long queues of vehicles resurfaced at most filling stations.

Our reporter who monitored the situation yesterday reports that the situation worsened in Yola metropolis in the past few days.

Most of the service stations were under lock and key, while the few available ones were dispensing the product at N220 per litre instead of the N165 approved pump price.

At the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other major marketers, there were long queues of motorists who spent several hours on queues in order to refill their vehicles.

The situation also led to the resurgence of black market operators who sold the product at exorbitant prices.

Some of the motorists who spoke to reporters decried the situation, saying it had exposed them to difficulties.

Malam Auwalu Adamu, a commercial bus operator, said he spent about five hours in the queue to refill his tank.

“The situation is worrisome, and it affected my business because I waited for many hours on the queue to refill my vehicle,” he said.

Another motorist, Hussaini Isa, said he bought four litres of petrol at N1, 200 at the black outlets.

Alhaji Dahiru  Buba, Chairman, Independent Petroleum Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) in charge of Adamawa and Taraba states, attributed the scarcity to hikes in landing cost at the NNPC depot in Port Harcourt.

Buba said their members were lifting the product at N180 per litre at Port Harcourt deport, adding that they also spent N18 on transportation of the product from Port Harcourt to Adamawa.

Controversy has continued to trail the selection of a new Onu (king) of Abocho in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State.

The name of a new king to succeed the late Chief Tijani Okutachi, which was forwarded to the state governor by the Dekina Local Government Area Traditional Council, has already received approval.

The group, in a series of petitions, alleged that the Eje of Dekina and Chairman, Dekina Council of Chiefs, Alhaji Usman Obaje truncated the process of selecting a new monarch and wrongfully caused Jonah Okai Idris, who, according to them, is not eligible to be forwarded to the office of the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs as Onu designate.

They alleged that Obaje, alongside 15 beaded chiefs from Dekina, employed underhand tactics, including threatening the five ruling houses to not intervene in the screening process.

Obaje has, however, refused to be drawn into the controversy, saying it is already a subject of litigation.

In a telephone chat with The Nation, Obaje said aside from the matter being in court, it had become an affair for the state Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.

“You cannot find out anything from me. The government has given a letter of appointment to the Onu Abocho designate. Those who are opposed have gone to court, and so, if anyone wants to know anything more about the matter, they should go to the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, or to the commissioner.

Some of the aggrieved contestants later went to court to seek intervention against the presentation of staff of office to the Onu designate.

A spokesperson for the 19 contestants, Anaja Michael stated: “The Chairman of Dekina Council of Chiefs, Alhaji Usmann Obaje truncated the process of selecting the Onu… and threatened the five ruling houses not to intervene as he conducted the screening alongside 15 beaded chiefs from Dekina Local Government Area.

“There was no announcement of the said screaming result, no recommendation letter from the office of the Attah of Igala, but they took the name of Jonah Okai Idris to the office of the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and slotted it into the already prepared list of the upgrading of chiefs signed by Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello.

“The five ruling houses in Abocho met and agreed that it is the turn of Oko Oyi to produce the next Onu Abocho and Oko Oyi has three sub ruling houses, but the Eje of Dekina and his agents do not give the Oko Oyi breathing space to choose from the right ruling house. They went ahead and purportedly orchestrated the announcement of Jonah Okai Idris from Onyebe Okenyi while it is not their turn.”

The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has gone spiritual over the rising insecurity in the country, demanding an end to killings.

The church also prayed for an end to violence in the country.

About 1,000 youths of the RCCG – the Throne Room Parish, Abuja, embarked on a Global Prayer Walk to seek God’s intercession in restoring peace in Nigeria and the world.

The walk was led by the Pastor in Charge, RCCG the Throne Room, Pastor Tunde Benjamins-Laniyi, who is also the Pastor in Charge of RCCG Youth Province 11 with Provincial Headquarters in Abuja.

Addressing reporters during the prayer walk, Pastor Benjamins-Laniyi said: “We are praying for peace in Nigeria. Let war cease, let conflict cease, without peace, prosperity will be nothing, peace is the bond of prosperity, and peace is the seed of prosperity.

“When the peace is gone, prosperity will be far, so we are declaring in every state, in every nook and cranny of Nigeria, let the peace of God reign, we are praying and saying let God intervene, let the instrument of violence be broken.

“The Bible said Jesus Christ was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the pain of our peace was upon Him. So, we are praying that there should be peace on our streets. Let there be peace in our communities, let thuggery be a thing of the past, let killing be a thing of the past, let terror be a thing of the past.

“We say Lord let there be peace because we know God can do it for Nigeria because Nigeria is a great country, we walk for peace, we talk for peace, and peace is non-negotiable.”

The Federal Government in collaboration with the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS) is determined to reach 50 million women financially.

The project, which equally has the African Development Bank (AFDB), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and East African Community (EAC) as collaborators, aims at reaching the number of women in Africa through a dynamic platform via mobile app.

This is intended at improving their access to financial and non-financial information through the use of information communication.

The FG, through the Director, Economic Development, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Alhaji Idris Muhammed, said the project is through the 50 Million African Women Speak Platform Project (50MAWSP).

Muhammed said this in Abuja at a one-day validation meeting of the technical working group on Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) programmes in Nigeria organised by National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Ministry of Finance and attended by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA’s), Civil Society Organisations (CSO’s) and donors.

Muhammed, who was represented by the Assistant Director, Social Welfare of the ministry, Emilia Oti, said, “I am delighted to inform you of the achievements of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs through the 50 Million African Women Speak Platform Project (50MAWSP).

“The platform is a collaborative initiative of the FMWA, ECOWAS, African Development Bank, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Ainica (COMESA) and East African Community (EAC) aimed at reaching 50 million African women through a dynamic platform via mobile App and web with the goal of improving their access to financial and non-financial information through the use of Information communication.”

The validation meeting was organised by the NIPlSS, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and supported by the Development Research and Projects Centre (DRPC) under the Partnership for Advancing Women in Economic Development and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

In his remark, the Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr Zakari Lawal, said FG has prioritised women empowerment in its Medium-Term National Development Plan.

He said, “Every country produces a plan that guides its operations for a certain period and it entails the major policy objective that it wants to achieve and the detailed project it intends to achieve in the MDA’s. In line with that, the government put in place the Medium-Term National Development Plan which covers its operations within the period of 2021-2025.”