The Nation Newspaper

Tag: attempt

  • Attempt to remove aircraft sparks row at Lagos Airport

    AttemptS by some aviation agencies to smuggle out two aircraft parked at the tarmac has sparked a row at the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airpoirt, Ikeja, Lagos.

    At the centre of the controversy are the aircraft lessor, SEA Gold Investment Limited; local aviation regulatory agencies- Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN); domestic airlines- Aerocontractors and Topbrass Aviation.

    The objects of the controversy are two 50-seater Bombardier DHC 8-315 aircraft with registration marks 5N- TBB and 5N TBC.

    Topbrass Aviation, which brought the aircraft into the country under “finance purchase” agreement from SEA Gold Investment Limited, said it was being challenged by  a firm represented by  a pilot in the Presidential Air Fleet.

    Topbrass Aviation said it paid higher lease rentals for 30 months for the two aircraft and was seeking to repossess them because of the residual paid for ownership.

    The airline said it was not bound by the conditions of Cape Town Convention, whereby airlines enter into operating  lease using the mobile asset as collateral.

    Topbrass Aviation contends it  has a court order restraining FAAN, NAMA, NCAA and AeroContractors from taking the aircraft out of the country, but a top source in the industry insists that SEA Gold Investment Limited has the right of attorney over the aircraft.

    Investigations reveal that unresolved issues concerning the conclusion of payment of lease rentals amounting to over $12 million by Topbrass Aviation to  SEA Gold Investment Limited it procured the aircraft from is the bone of contention.

    Topbrass Aviation was negotiating with SEA Gold Investment Limited for the renewal of its contract agreement for the finance lease of the two aircraft, because it did not default in the payment of the lease rentals. The NCAA, ordered it to handover the documents to the firm represented by the pilot in the Presidential Fleet .

    A source hinted that while the Ministry of Aviation and other agencies were trying to mediate between Topbrass Aviation and SEA Gold, the NCAA was allegedly working with some individuals to hand over the aircraft to the highly placed person in the industry.

    Efforts by Topbrass Aviation to prevail on the NCAA to re- register the two aircraft, while the matter was being resolved did not yield fruit as the aircraft  registration numbers were erased and the airplane towed from the tarmac of the general aviation terminal into Aerocontractors hangar.

    Speaking in an interview, President , Topbrass Aviation, Captain Roland Iyayi, said the NCAA, FAAN, and Aerocontractors have  been colluding with the firm to take possession of the two aircraft, even after Topbrass had concluded an agreement with SEA Gold Investment Limited.

    Iyayi alleged that NCAA, had since 2015 de-registered the aircraft from its data base.

    Sensing surreptitious moves to ferry the aircraft out of the country, Iyayi said Topbrass went to court to secure an order restraining concerned parties from tampering with the two aircraft.

    He regrets that despite the court order asking the parties not to tamper with the aircraft , NCAA and FAAN, and others are still perfecting plans to ferry the aircraft out of town.

    Sequel to this,Iyayi said Topbrass Aviation had filed contempt proceedings charge against the affected parties.

    A source close to Aerocontractors,said upon receiving the court papers, it has resolved to have nothing to do with the aircraft in contention.

    The Aerocontractors official said  the airline was  only approached by a third party to carry out maintenance check on the disputed aircraft.

    He denied that Aerocontractors was part of the plot to ferry out the aircraft.

    The Aerocontractors official said the aircraft will be towed out of its hangar to the tarmac of the GAT, as evidence of its non involvement in the matter.

    Officials of NCAA declined to comment on the matter because the issue is before a court of competent jurisdiction.

    Investigations revealed that FAAN, despite orders of the court restraining it from tampering with the aircraft has communicated its security personnel to release the aircraft to SEA Gold Investment Limited.

    In a letter with reference number FAAN /1600/OOT331, the authority said : “We write in respect of two aircraft (Bombardier Dosh 8 Q300 series) parked at the General Aviation Terminal of Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja.

    “You are hereby directed to grant Messrs SEA Gold Investment Limited access to the aircraft and release same to the company accordingly.

    “The above is for your information and further necessary action.

    “Please ensure strict compliance and treat as very urgent.”

    Copies of the letter by FAAN were forwarded to Director General of NCAA, Director,  Security Services, FAAN ; Director, Airport Operations, FAAN and Terminal Manager, (GAT, FAAN).

    Speaking further on the matter, Iyayi said : “ It is sad that the NCAA as a regulator is allowing impunity to take over the aviation sector. Rather than seeking truce on issues affecting airlines and aircraft lessors, it is colluding with other agencies to allow people hijack, steal and smuggle out an aircraft out of the country.

    Despite court orders on the issue, the NCAA , not only re-registered the aircraft, it colluded with other agencies to issue documents to the highly placed personality in the industry to have access to the aircraft. What NCAA has done is pure promotion of anarchy  on the air side.”

  • Two in custody for ‘attempt to steal car’

    A Sokoto Magistrates’ Court has remanded Habibu Musa and Abdulaziz Rabin in prison custody for attempting to steal a Honda Civic car.

    Musa, 27 and Rabu’u, 26, of Sokoto metropolis had pleaded not guilty to a three-count charge.

    They are: criminal conspiracy, attempt to steal a car and being possession of a substance suspected to be Indian hemp.

    Chief Magistrate Nuraddeen Bello remanded the accused persons and adjourned the case till March 28 for hearing.

    The prosecutor, Monday Kennedy, had told the court that the accused persons were caught while unlawfully attempting to steal a Honda Civic car.

    He said the car registered as AA 383 GMM was parked in front of the complainant’s home, Peace Amoze of Tamaje in Sokoto.

    Kennedy said the complainant reported the incident on March 3 at Ungwuan Rogo Police Station, Sokoto.

    The prosecutor said the offences contravened sections 97 and 95 of the Penal Code.

  • PDP accuses opposition of attempt to stop bailout

    •Investigate banks over secret IGR accounts, Ekiti APC tells EFCC

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faction loyal to Fayose, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Jackson Adebayo, described the alleged petition “as wickedness manufactured in the name of politics without minding the consequences on the civil servants who are mostly the breadwinners in their families.”

    Adebayo described the APC petition as horrible and an open expression of hatred for the people of Ekiti state especially the workforce in the civil and teaching service, adding that those who proposed the idea should be stoned.

    PDP stressed that the reason adduced for the writing of the petition against allowing the fresh bailout for the state after all the conditions have been met by the government is not only pedestrian but outrageously callous.

    Adebayo however said that there is no amount of dangerous tantrum being thrown by the opposition in the state that can set back the developmental agenda of the PDP government led by an experienced Fayose.

    He said: “As a party we can only advise the leadership of the APC to desist from their evil plans against the people and government of the state all the time as no amount of dangerous tantrum being thrown by the opposition in the state can set back the developmental agenda of the PDP government led by an experienced Governor Ayo Fayose.”

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to beam its searchlight on some banks operating “secret accounts” where huge sums of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) are kept.

    The party also denied forwarding a petition to the Presidency to block a fresh application for bailout funds by the state government as alleged by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) faction loyal to Governor Ayo Fayose.

    In a statement on Sunday by its spokesman Taiwo Olatunbosun, the APC also dismissed Fayose’s allegation that it was behind last Friday’s anti-corruption rally by some Civil Society Organizations.

    Describing the allegation of working against a fresh bailout as blackmail and an attempt to set civil servants against the party, the APC said Fayose was confused on how to react to “a clearly criminal expose by the anti-graft agency on how he fraudulently diverted arms cash to win his election.”

    Olatunbosun said Fayose has discovered that he cannot meet the fresh conditions set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to access the bailout but now blaming the opposition in a “mischievous” manner.

    “We will continue to fight for the welfare and well-being of Ekiti workers who the governor has turned to paupers, beggars and petty thieves due to non-payment of salaries.

    “We never wrote any letter to stop bailout to Ekiti government. However, we are of the opinion that a fresh bailout should be paid directly to Ekiti workers from Abuja so that it will not end up in Fayose’s private account just like the N9.6 billion he is yet to account for.

    “We believe that N4.7b poll fund fraud will be a child’s play by the time the EFCC hits some banks that Fayose has his cronies who help in keeping funds realised from IGR in secret accounts.

    “We call on EFCC to beam its searchlights on other banks and his so-called secret South Africa-made safe kept in his Afao home and Lagos where the governor allegedly keeps Ekiti money.

    “We have cried over time for the governor to declare IGR figures officially and disclose the accounts IGR cash is being kept, but he railed at us, telling all sorts of lies, the same way he bullied the civil servants when they demanded for the details of IGR kept in secret accounts being coordinated by his cronies through official conspiracy.

    “Fayose has no audited account for the past 18 months. His IGR has no records. He refuses to implement TSA. The debt profile of the state he sent to the CBN is inconsistent with official records in the Debt Management Office (DMO) while fake workers’ BVN numbers were discovered in records Fayose sent to CBN.”

  • Two arrested for attempt to defraud Fayose

    Two arrested for attempt to defraud Fayose

    •Police: we’re investigating

    The Ekiti State government has arrested two persons who claimed to be working in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) with the intent of defrauding Governor Ayo Fayose.

    The government alleged that an identity card marked “GMB Security” was found on one of the suspects.

    A statement yesterday by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, said the duo stormed Fayose’s Afao-Ekiti home, claiming that they had a copy of the preliminary report of the military panel, which investigated the role of soldiers in elections held in Ekiti, Osun, Rivers and Akwa Ibom.

    The names of the suspects, according to the statement, are Benedict Ola Idega and Abdulsalami Leader H, who  “claimed” they could manipulate the final report of the panel with Fayose’s cooperation.

    The duo added that “the report was aimed at targeting some top Army officers who the Federal Government wants to punish.

    The statement said: “Governor Fayose, who was suspicious of the men’s  intentions, had informed the  Commissioner of Police and Director of the Department of State Security.

    “The two men, in a meeting with the governor, presented what they called a photocopy of page three of the preliminary report to show that they meant business.

    The purported copy bore the Army’s logo.

    “The governor gave the impression that he was satisfied with all that they said and asked them to wait  for him.

    “He called in the police and DSS officials, who arrested the two men.

    “The identity card found on Abdulsalami Leader H bore “GMB SECURITY” and it was stated at the back that he (Abdulsalami) is the security of Gen. Mohammadu Buhari with Number 34, Lobitto Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja as issuer’s address and 088133636478 and 08057010255 as phone numbers.

    “Benedict Ola Idega was with a Federal Capital Development Authority identity card.

    “The two men, who lodged at a popular hotel on Bank Road, Ado-Ekiti, have been detained at the Police Headquarters, Ado Ekiti alongside another suspected accomplice, who was found in their hotel room.

    Olayinka said even though it had been established that they were impersonators, their real intention was yet to be ascertained.

    He said:  “We don’t want to pre-empt the security agents who are investigating the incident. But it is certain that they have ulterior motives.

    “We are also not ruling out the possibility of an attempt to set up the governor, defraud or even harm him.”

    Police spokesman Alberto Adeyemi said: “Investigation is ongoing to establish who they are and what their intentions are. That is what we can say on the matter for now.”

  • EX-PDP CHAIRMAN TUKUR ALLEGES ATTEMPT ON HIS LIFE

    EX-PDP CHAIRMAN TUKUR ALLEGES ATTEMPT ON HIS LIFE

    Former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, yesterday escaped what his aide described as “an attempt on his life.”

    The incident occurred along Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport area in Abuja while Tukur was on his way to Owerri via Abuja Airport to receive a doctorate degree award from the Federal University of Technology (FUTO) Owerri, the Imo State capital.

    Speaking on the incident, Prince Oliver Okpala, the Special Assistant, Media, to Tukur, said, “It happened as his convoy, made up of four jeeps were driving to the airport, and a tinted Hilux van emerged and attempted to break into the convoy  while heading towards Ambassador Tukur’s  jeep. But his security escort prevented this move.”

    Okpala explained further that the hilux had forcefully run into the convoy hitting and damaging three of the jeeps including that of Tukur in the process, adding, “Then the occupants of the hilux demanded that the door of the car should be opened and the occupant pulled out. The hilux’s occupants also fought to disarm the security aides of their guns and this met some resistance.”

    In the process, the occupants of the hilux, whoever they are, manhandled the policemen, but Alhaji Tukur and his driver cleverly escaped from the scene.”

    Okpala said further, “As my boss alighted to board the aircraft, the same people again tried to reach him, possibly to execute their motive, but the airport security now joined his security details to subdue them before Tukur was quickly rushed to the departure hall.”

    Okpala said they have notified the police of the development, but added that no arrest has been made.

  • Customs foils travellers’ attempt to smuggle out N1.3b

    The Customs yesterday said it foiled attempts by some travellers to smuggle out over $8,297,000 (about N1,327,531,520) through the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, in the last three months.

    The Customs Area Comptroller Eporwei Charles Edike told reporters that the latest suspect was arrested with $137,435 (about N21.3 million) at the international wing of the airport yesterday.

    The passenger, Mr. Chukwuonu Nnaemeka John, was travelling to China with textbooks published in Nigeria with the purpose of re-importing them back to Nigeria, contrary to the copyrights law.

    Edike said Chukwuonu only declared $70,000 but another $67,437 was found hidden in the books following a search.

    He said the area command would hand Chukwuonu over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), just as it did in similar cases in the past.

    The Customs chief said his office had been collaborating with the EFCC since September 24, adding that there is a working arrangement with the commission to fight the cash flight.

    The collaborative efforts, he said, were paying off as many travellers had been caught and handed over to the EFCC.

    “Also, in September, one Sheriff Abubakar Tijani was found with $4.5 million. He was also handed over to the EFCC’s Lagos Liaison office, which is working in tandem with the currency seat officer at the Lagos international Airport for further necessary action.”

  • ACN cries out over attempt to kidnap members

    ACN cries out over attempt to kidnap members

    •Petitions Ondo CP 

    The Director, Akeredolu Campaign Organisation (ACO) in Akure North/South Federal Constituency, Mr. Saka Yusuf Ogunleye, yesterday petitioned the Ondo State Commissioner of Police over an alleged plan by Labour Party (LP) thugs to kidnap Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) members wearing the party’s T-shirts and fez caps.

    The party also cried out over alleged unlawful arrest of some of its leaders in Ondo town where Governor Olusegun Mimiko hails from.

    It was learnt that a combined team of police and soldiers invaded Ondo town at the weekend and arrested the Ondo East Youth Leader of the ACN, Akintelure Akinsola (aka Jebutu) and Aloba Akindele along with two others.

    They were reportedly whisked away to an unknown destination as a fallout of the massive crowd that graced the redemption rally organised by ACN last Wednesday.

    Ogunleye said in the petition: “On October 4, at about 2.50pm, suspected hoodlums in a black unmarked Range Rover conveyed five hefty men wearing black suits and LP caps at the front gate of the Hospital Management Board (HMB), Alagbaka and attacked an ACN member, Mr. Segun Akinsote.

    “Immediately they alighted from the vehicle, they attempted to drag him into their vehicle, but he escaped.

    “They held horse whips, carried weapons and forced people to run for safety.”

    He said the offence of Akinsote was that he wore an ACN T-shirt and fez cap, adding: “We wish to inform the police and other security agents that LP members and their cohorts have concluded plans to kidnap our members found with ACN souvenirs.”

    The ACN chieftain noted that everybody has freedom to associate with any political party. He decried the attack on people for wearing the party’s T-shirts and fez caps.

    He urged the police to be unbiased and perform their duties in a professional manner that would not heat up the polity during the election.

    Copies of the petition were sent to security agencies including the State Security Service (SSS) and Divisional Police Officers (DPO) in Akure Division.