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Tag: accuses

  • Customer accuses bank of complicity in alleged ATM fraud

    A customer of the Union Bank Plc, Mrs Tejumade Adeyemi, has accused the bank of complicity in the alleged illegal withdrawal of the sum of N251, 447 from her account with the Oba Akran, Ikeja branch of the bank.

    Adeyemi threatened to take legal action against the bank, if her money was not refunded.

    She said that she received sms alerts from the bank on May 4, 2015, notifying her of unauthorised withdrawal of the sum of N30,000 from her account through ATM.

    She said she immediately rushed to the Iju branch of the Union Bank to report the matter and was advised by officials of the branch to further report the incident at the Oba Akran, Ikeja branch where her account was domiciled.

    On her visit to the Oba Akran branch on May 5, Adeyemi said she was shocked to discover that the illegal withdrawals actually started on May 2 and May 3 and that she was not notified by the bank to date.

    Adeyemi explained that even after she instructed the bank to suspend further transactions on her account, she was utterly shocked to receive sms alerts indicating that the remaining balance in the account had been withdrawn by unknown persons.

    She said:” On May 4, 2015, I received an alert indicating that the sum of N30,000 had been withdrawn by unknown persons from my account. I quickly went to the nearest branch of Union Bank at Iju Road, Ifako-Ijaiye, from where I was advised to visit the branch where I opened the account on Oba Akran Road, Ikeja, after I explained to the officials of the bank that my ATM card was with me and that its details were not in anyway compromised by me. The next day, May 5, I visited the Oba Akran branch and I asked that further transactions be suspended on the account until further notice. When I asked for the details of the transactions, I was shocked to discover that the illegal withdrawals started between May 2 and May 3, wherein about N45,747.35 had been taken from my account and no alert or notification was sent to me till date. I also discovered that there were other illegal withdrawals totaling N180, 000 made on May 4, yet the bank did not notify me.”

    “I was assured by both the manager of the bank and the Head of Customer Service that further transactions on my account will be suspended including ATM. As at then, I was having about N25,190 as balance in my account. The money was still in my account as at May 14, when a statement of account was given to me and I was surprised to receive further notification concerning illegal withdrawal of the remaining balance a few days later. I immediately called the secretary to the manager of the branch on his mobile phone and I was assured of prompt remedy that has not been fulfilled to date. In all, N251, 447 was illegally withdrawn from my account and I strongly suspect an insider in the bank is behind the illegal withdrawals from my account. The bank has refused to take blame for its complicity in this fraudulent withdrawal of my money and I am going to consider a legal option if the bank refuses to refund my money.”

    When contacted, the Head of Media and Special Projects of Union Bank Plc, Francis Barde, via an email, initially said, “Thanks, Kunle for your patience and understanding on this issue. I will thoroughly investigate and revert to you.”

    Barde, however, did not make categorical comment in his official response via another email he sent to our correspondent on Wednesday.

    He said:”Kindly note that Union Bank values the relationship of every customer and it is our goal to handle all customer relationships with utmost integrity. Therefore, Union Bank does not divulge details of customer relationships and transactions to third parties for privacy issues. The bank has a clear and documented process for investigating and resolving claims of fraud on customers’ accounts and will work to ensure that all claims are addressed and resolved in an expedient manner.”

  • APC accuses Yuguda of plotting crisis

    APC accuses Yuguda of plotting crisis

    The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCPCO) has accused Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State of plotting to  cause the cancellation of Saturday’s election in the state with a view to provoking a state of emergency.

    Director of Media and Publicity of the campaign Organisation, Mallam Garba Shehu said in a statement in made available to newsmen in Daura that it has intelligence reports that the Bauchi governor was planning to cause crisis across the state.

    He said that the crises is meant to give the impression that elections across the state which put the APC in clear lead in all layers of election was inconclusive and therefore call for an outright cancellation of all the elections held on Saturday in Bauchi State.

    The statement said: “We have it on good authority that Governor Yuguda is planning to engineer violence across Bauchi State in order for him to provoke a state of emergency so that elections across the state which put the APC in strong lead in the state would be seen to have been marred by violence.

    “We make bold to state that this plot by the Bauchi State governor to write off the electoral wishes of the people is anti-democratic, pernicious, subversive and absolutely unacceptable.

    “In the light of this development we call on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to be railroaded by the Governor Yuguda and all other anti-democratic forces into taken actions that may jeopardise the tranquillity we have so far enjoyed in the course of this election.

    “We, however, call on the teeming supporters of the APC presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari in Bauchi State and across the country to be abreast of this development and never fall for the demonic plot to write off their franchise as clearly expressed in the Saturday, March 28 Presidential and National Assembly Election. We urge them to be resolute, vigilant, peaceful and law abiding”.

  • Chad president accuses Nigeria of failing to help fight Boko Haram

    President Idriss Deby of Chad has accused Nigeria of downplaying the threat from Boko Haram.

    He also believes Nigeria has failed to cooperate with the regional coalition battling the terrorists , saying there has been zero contact between their armies.

    “The whole world is asking why the Nigerian army, which is a big army… is not in a position to stand up to untrained kids armed with Kalashnikovs,” Deby told French magazine Le Point, in an interview published this week.

    Chad, Cameroon and Niger have joined forces since January to battle Boko Haram, whose insurgency has claimed more than 13,000 lives in Nigeria’s northeast 2009.

    But Deby said he was baffled by the Nigerian government’s lack of cooperation with the offensive.

    “Two months after the start of this war, we have not had any direct contact with the Nigerian army units on the ground,” he told the French weekly.

    “We would have hoped to have at least one Nigerian unit with us. It was even a direct request to the Nigerian government, but for reasons that escape us, up to now we have been unable to work together.”

    Not wishing to be seen as foreign occupiers, Chadian troops have had to abandon towns they have taken from Boko Haram forces, letting the terrorists return.

    “The Chadian army is fighting alone in its part of the Nigerian interior and that is a problem. We have had to retake certain towns twice,” Deby told Le Point.

    “We are forced to abandon them and Boko Haram returns, and we have to go back. That has a human and material cost.”

    Deby also criticised President Goodluck Jonathan for downplaying the Boko Haram threat and attempting doomed peace talks in October.

    “I told President Goodluck not to open negotiations with terrorists … but it was a political choice,” said Deby, adding that Boko Haram were only using the talks to buy time and regroup.

    “It has become something too serious for Nigerians to ignore. The blood of the dead that we have been counting every day for the past few years demands attention.”

    Deby said Boko Haram’s actions now amounted to “genocide” and estimated the group had some 20,000 fighters.

    He told Le Point he was not surprised by Boko Haram’s recent swearing of allegiance to the Islamic State group, saying they had been working together for some time.

    “(IS) has always trained young people from Boko Haram in the use of explosives, the use of heavy weapons and armoured vehicles. They are trained by (IS) in Libya… and are then sent to Nigeria,” he said.

    “I’m not surprised that (Boko Haram leader) Abubakar Shekau, who has difficulties at the moment… is trying to make people believe that he only just made contact with them.”

    He called for a mixed multi-national force to be established as quickly as possible, with UN and African Union backing, and said he hoped a conference of central and west African countries in early April would lead to a larger coalition.

  • APC accuses PDP of sewing fake uniforms for thugs

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State has said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is sewing fake police uniforms and those of other security agencies for its thugs,  alleging that it was a ploy to rig the elections.

    But the police command said the allegation was false.

    APC alleged that PDP packaged 1kg bag of poisonous garri, branded with APC logo and the photograph of Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, in large quantity, for distribution across the state.

    The party’s spokesman, Alhaji Sulyman Buhari, decried “PDP’s desperation”, assuring the people that “the evil plans of the PDP will continue to fail.”

    He said: “It is necessary to alert the people that the leadership of the PDP, Kwara State chapter, held a meeting on Wednesday where the party reviewed the activities of its thugs and discussed its rigging plans.

    “At the meeting, among other decisions, the leadership of the PDP resolved to sew police uniforms and those of other security agencies for its thugs, with the hope of using the thugs to manipulate the polls in favour of the PDP.

    “Another set of armed thugs will also be dressed in black suits and babariga,  according to a credible source.

    “The desperation of the drowning PDP knows no bound. This is a party with no manifesto, no ideology, no developmental plans for the indigenes, except desperation for power through violence.

    “Thugs sponsored by the PDP intend to impersonate security agents before and during the elections to harass APC leaders and members, to kidnap and pick up our officials, to intimidate voters at the polling units and manipulate the electoral process in favour of the PDP.

    “We have raised this alarm with the hope that security agencies will forestall it.

    “PDP also intend to distribute bags of poisonous garri.

    “We warn the people against taking such gifts because it is an attempt to kill as many Kwarans as possible and attribute it to the APC.

    “Kwarans should not be deceived by the logo of APC and photograph of Governor Ahmed printed on the packaged garri. Our party has no hand in it, as it is purely the handiwork of the desperate PDP.

    “APC is not distributing packaged garri as souvenirs or gifts.”

  • Buhari campaign accuses Jonathan of using religion for polls

    Buhari campaign accuses Jonathan of using religion for polls

    THE All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCPCO) has accused President Goodluck Jonathan of using religion to gain sympathy and remain in office at all costs.

    The organisation asked the people of the Southwest to ignore the promises of the president to implement the report of the National Conference, saying it was incapable of protecting their interests.

    Its Director of Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said it was surprising that the President had turned worship centres into platforms for making official statements or announcing government policies.

    Shehu said the strategy defied the norms of government practices, stressing that the president was deliberately doing so “in the belief that the manipulation of religious sentiments would cover up the multitudes of his epic failures.”

    According to him, using worship centres as platforms for making major official statements could create precedents that the country could not handle in future.

    The campaign spokesperson added that if predecessor presidents did not use the mosques or churches to make official statements of public importance, it was wrong for Jonathan to start something that was already sending the wrong message.

    He noted that with the exploitation of religion for political gains, the president and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government have lost any basis to accuse its presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, of being a religious “bigot” or “fanatic”.

    The APC presidential campaign said it was scandalised by reports of money being allegedly shared to religious leaders by President Jonathan “to buy their conscience”.

    He said it was incredibly embarrassed as to why a government would allegedly seek to bribe religious leaders to cover up its misdeeds and win re-election, despite its “incompetence and non-performance”.

    It regretted that bribing religious leaders would not only bring them into disrepute, but also make nonsense of Jonathan’s claim to fight corruption.

    Asking the Southwest to ignore the promise by the President to implement the report of the National Conference, Shehu said while they were not averse to any group supporting any candidate for the rescheduled general elections, it was important to state that the purported endorsement of Jonathan by former Confab conferees from the Southwest was predicated on spurious and utterly dishonest reason.

    Shehu said: “It is necessary to state that all points of the Yoruba agenda that could have favoured the Southwest, in­cluding regional autonomy, restructuring, devolution of power and parliamentary system, could not sail through at the conference.

    “These people knew that though they deceived Nigerians, particularly the Yoruba people, with the ostensible reason, but the real reason for the endorsement was because of their personal economy. Some of them have had their personal finances transformed by way of juicy, but dubious security contracts and handsome cash largesse by the government of Dr. Jonathan at the expense of Nigerian people.

    “We consider it asinine that any group can predicate its support for Dr. Jonathan on his promise to respect any agreement. The antecedents of Dr. Jonathan speak eloquently of a serial promise-breaker, unreliable keeper of gentlemanly agreement and unabashed turncoat.

    “It would be recalled that the first real show of Dr. Jonathan’s immense capacity for not keeping to pacts was when he, in 2010, conveniently walked away from his party’s North/South zoning arrangement, of which he was signatory to, with indescribable villainy.

    “There is virtually a litany of reports from committees, which he empanelled, that have remained unimplemented in his four-year presidency thus far.  Dr. Jonathan, as President, who refused to assent to the Bill that will empower Nigerians with disabilities, is doubtful would ever contemplate supporting better life for Nigerians without disabilities.

    “It is a known fact that of all the four hundred and ninety two (492) members of the National confab, none was elected by the people. A comparison of this arrangement with that of the Constituent Assembly of 1977 revealed a conference that had most of the members elected by the people and which naturally brought on the 1979 Constitution.

    “We are appalled that despite the pretences of members of this group to democracy, they thought it fit to attempt to stampede a nation to giving assent to a piece of document that bore the imprimatur of a negligible minority. Truth be told, the conferees of the confab were not representatives of the people.

    “It is on the basis of the foregoing that we believe that the purported endorsement of Dr. Jonathan by members of this group was infernal, jejune, and meaningless. We urge the people of the Southwest to discountenance this as another distraction from the stable of the utterly despicable, but desperate regime of Dr. Jonathan”.

  • Dickson accuses pro-Jonathan group of destabilising Bayelsa

    Dickson accuses pro-Jonathan group of destabilising Bayelsa

    Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State yesterday drew the battle line between him and the state leadership of the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), the group in the vanguard of a second term for President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Seriake who has been locked in a power struggle with the group yesterday alleged ‘subversive tendencies’ which according to him “have almost been taken to a treasonable level.”

    The governor  mentioned no names in a statement by his  Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, but he recently sacked his Commissioner for Local Government, Mrs. Marie Ebikake, and his special adviser, Mrs. Remi Kuku, for allegedly romancing with his detractors led by the immediate past deputy governor of the state, Mr. Werinipre Seibarugu.

    The state’s TAN is firmly in the grips of loyalists of the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, who are believed to be working hard to sack the governor or prevent him from getting a second term.

    Some members of the group were said to have joined in taunting the governor at the recent traditional wedding of the president’s daughter in his Otuoke country home.

    Iworiso-Markson in his statement yesterday accused the leadership of TAN in the state of causing division within the PDP.

    Although the governor reaffirmed his total support and commitment to the re-election of the President, he vowed that he would not allow enemies of the state to disorganise the ongoing restoration in the state.

    Dickson said that contrary to reports that he ordered his aides not to attend the president’s daughter’s wedding, he  as the leader of the government and PDP, personally mobilised women and youth groups from all over the state and also led the state delegation to attend the ceremony.

    He berated politicians led by Mr. Werinipre Seibarugu, Kuku and “their cohorts” for creating divisions among the women.

    He said Seibarugu and co were creating division mostly to serve their own selfish interest other than promoting the genuine objectives of TAN.

    He described their antics as childish and most deplorable and said their activities belie their claims of working for the success of PDP and President Jonathan in the forthcoming elections.

    Dickson said while Seibarugu and his group were operating under the aegis of TAN, they rallied senior members of the previous administration in the state to engage and promote the politics of subversion and needless divisions in the state.

    He said Kuku did not only create division among the women, but also displayed total disrespect for senior officials of the state government by her actions.

    He said such attitude of Kuku could no longer be condoned in his government.

    He said: “We want to sound a clear note of warning to all, that in the interest of peace, even as the elections draw near, that this state is bigger than every one of us and nobody, no matter how highly placed, will be spared from facing the wrath of the law, if found wanting.

    “Similarly, ahead of the 2015 general elections, we warn politicians in the state to eschew every form of subversive and divisive tendencies, capable of threatening the existing peaceful, harmonious, united and conducive environment the restoration government has worked hard to put in place that has also ushered in the rapid and massive development in the state.”

    He called on security agencies in the state to be alive to their constitutional roles and duties.

  • APGA accuses Okorocha of plotting to return

    The Imo State chapter of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) yesterday accused Governor Rochas Okorocha of plotting to return to the party.

    It alleged that he had been holding secret talks with the party for a return ahead of the 2015 governorship election.

    APGA’s Publicity Secretary, Mr. Tony Mgbeahurike, who briefed reporters at the secretariat, said the party’s door would be shut against the governor, adding that APGA cannot field a candidate who will abandon it after winning election.

    “Okorocha has been secretly approaching APGA for a return. I advise him not to waste his time because the party has shut its door against him. We don’t want to repeat the mistake we made before,” he alleged.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, described the allegation as unfounded and baseless.

    He said Okorocha could never return to the party he had dumped.

    His words: “If the governor wants to beg to return to APGA, he will not do so at the state level. He will go to Abuja. Why would he even beg the party? APGA will rather beg him to come back. The allegation is false and laughable.”

  • Fashanu accuses NFF of misleading FIFA

    Fashanu accuses NFF of misleading FIFA

    Ex-footballer,John Fashanu, has reacted to the suspension of Nigeria by FIFA from all football matters accusing the ousted board of the NFF of misleading FIFA.

    “What FIFA used in suspending Nigeria was correspondence from the dissolved board of the NFF, who in my opinion lied about what truly went down regarding the court order and the congress” he told SL10

    “The court dissolved the board on account of a stakeholder’s injunction, so why not slam the person who took a football issue to a civil court as contained in their rules?

    “But I guess the past board of the NFF misled FIFA by running to them with claims that Government influenced their sacking which isn’t true.

    “I doubt if FIFA is aware of the legality of extra ordinary congress because what the past board in my opinion told FIFA was misleading.”

    Fashanu advised football stakeholders in Nigeria to always carry FIFA along in their dealings with the NFF to avoid this type  of logjam in future.

    He added: “The wise thing they should have done was to submit all document from the extra ordinary congress to FIFA as soon as it was over and even before convening it, they should have informed FIFA, in that way FIFA will not slam ban hearing from a drowning board”

    In conclusion he warned the football house to adhere strictly to FIFA’s directive to reach for an out of court settlement with aggrieved parties to ease talks with FIFA as to why Maigari and co were sacked from the board of the NFF.

  • Govt accuses protesters of encouraging terrorism

    Govt accuses protesters of encouraging terrorism

    The Federal Government yesterday accused the organisers of the #BringBackOurGirls protests of encouraging terrorism with their activities.

    The government also said some Nigerian politicians belonging to a top political party have also  been linked to terrorist activities. It said the last security operations at the Balmo forest in Borno state, led to the discovery.

    Coordinator of the National Information Centre, Mr. Mike Omeri, spoke yesterday during the routine briefing on the abducted Chibok schoolgirls and security situation in the country. He said the politicians are being interrogated following their link with the activities in the forest.

    He, however, did not mention the name of the political party and the politicians involved.

    “The politicians are being interrogated following the recovery of some sensitive registration cards and other materials of a prominent political party that were found in the possession of some of the suspects arrested,” Omeri said.

    He said investigation was ongoing to further unravel the identity  of others that might have been involved and that as soon as it is completed, the names of the culprits and political party shall be revealed.

    Speaking on the activities of the #BringBackOurGirls protesters, spokesperson of the State Security Service (SSS) Mrs. Marilyn Ogar, said the campaign had become a franchise with different divisions into groups, giving each other specific assignments.

    “I remember when we started the fight against insurgents, we said it that the group is more or less a franchise anybody can raise anywhere.

    Ogar noted: “If it is not a franchise but an ordinary movement seeking or act to put more pressure on government and security operations to release these  girls, there would be no need for the group to have tag, insisting that members must have a tag and be properly registered.

    “We know that they have bank accounts and also know that they want to go to Asokoro extension and simulate some force movement where they will have foreign media and say they are matching into Sambisa forest and Chibok.

    “We also know that they brought in some experts from outside to come and teach them how to beat security operatives when they are demonstrating.

    “We are waiting to see whether those things will work.”She said

    She added: “We hope that genuinely, you don’t go to hire people to come and claim the parent of the child you did not give birth to, so it is a franchise, if we want to fight for our right, let us genuinely fight it.

    “As for security forces, we are working very hard to ensure these girls are brought  back sound and safe,” she said.

  • PDP accuses Oshiomhole of instigating violence in Edo

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole are causing crisis to stop its rising popularity in the state.

    The party accused Oshiomhole of stirring up the political crisis in Edo State to prevent an official investigation into findings that he has been squandering the state’s resources “to finance his vice presidency campaign”, instead of settling down to develop the state.

    A statement by PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, said the governor was also embittered by the admittance of his aides, legislators and influential APC leaders into the “popular PDP train”.

    The statement said: “Having lost the confidence and support of the people, Oshiomhole has resorted to violence and blackmail to intimidate and subdue them in line with the APC agenda.

    “The macabre dance playing out in Edo Assembly is an expression of defeatism or rather a terminal symptom of a decadent regime.

    “What else would have prompted the relocation of the state legislature to the governor’s office on the stage managed renovation of the assembly complex if not a calculated plot to intimidate and compromise the lawmakers?

    “We however wish to inform the governor and the APC that their machinations will lead them to nowhere.”

    The government, in a statement, said: “We are not surprised at Olisah Metuh’s fabricated tales and his allegations against the comrade governor.

    “Nigerians know Olisah Metuh as a publicist who thrives on falsehood and propaganda.

    “The crisis in Edo Assembly is a product of PDP’s desperation for power in its attempt to capture anything in sight. It is the same theatre of desperation that is pervading the entire political landscape as a consequence of PDP’s show of raw power.

    “The governor’s record of performance has become a reference point in the history of performance and good governance in Nigeria.

    “His tremendous achievements across the state could only have been possible through prudent and transparent management of resources, especially in a state that was run aground by the PDP for 10 years.

    “We are not aware that the governor ever sought to contest for vice president. In fact we would have loved a situation where he would run for president to take us away from this regime of tactlessness.

    “But so far, the comrade governor has not indicated interest in any elective office for now. When he does indicate interest, we will inform Olisah Metuh.

    “The four lawmakers who tried to usurp the powers of the House only got a teaser of what they bargained for. To play around with a governor who was popularly elected by the people meant that they will incur the wrath of the people.”