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Tag: ‘extortion

  • Two soldiers get 10 years for extortion, abduction 

    Two soldiers deployed in Operation Lafiya Dole Sgt. Aliyu Hassan and Corporal Nasiru Bello – have been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for violations of human rights. They were tried by a military court martial.

    President of the General Court Martial (GCM), 7 Division Brig.-Gen. Olusegun Adesina, while delivering judgement yesterday, said the action of the soldiers was unlawful and against the ethics of the Armed Forces.

    The soldiers were charged for abduction and forceful collection of money from innocent victims, amounting to N1 million.

    Gen. Adesina said the accused were standing trial for a three count charge including abduction of Alhaji Hassan on November 19, 2017, from his home in Ruwan Shanfi, Maiduguri, Borno State, receipt of N1 million after he was threatened as Boko Haram sponsor.”

    The soldiers confessed to committing the offence, saying they invaded the victim’s house with a Honda 98 mode, dragged him out and took him to Railway Area, where he was threatened and tagged as a Boko Haram sponsor, and N3 million was demanded from him.

    But the victim begged and agreed to pay N1 million, and took the accused his shop at Banban line to give them the money.

    Gen. Adesina, in his judgment, said: ”Having considered all pleadings by the defence counsel on the first count charge, you Sergeant Aliyu Hassan and Corporal Nasiru Bello are hereby sentenced to five years in prison for abduction.

    “On the second count charge, your rank from Sergeant and Corporal has reduced to Corporal and private for illegal behaviour on uniform. On the third count charge of extortion of N1 million from victims, you are hereby sentenced to five years imprisonment respectively and service of term shall run concurrently.”

  • Lagos CP removes DPO, orders probe over alleged illegal raids, extortion

    The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command headquarters, Mr Edgal Imohinmi has ordered the removal of the Divisional Police Officer(DPO) in charge of Pen Cinema, Mr Harrison Nwabuisi, following alleged illegal raids carried out by the DPO and his men on a mosque where scores were arrested and bailed for a fee.

    Imohinmi also ordered for a probe of the DPO and operatives involved in the matter.

    In a statement issued yesterday, the police spokesman, Mr. Chike Oti said the CP had directed  the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in charge of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department(SCIID),  Yetunde Longe, to investigate Harrison and his men.

    The statement reads: ‘’The attention of the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Edgal Imohimi, has been drawn to The Punch newspaper’s publication of Friday, August 24, 2018, captioned ” Power-drunk Lagos DPO leads team to mosque, raid adherents, others.”

    ‘’The reporter mentioned that the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Pen Cinema Police Division, Lagos State, Harrison Nwabuisi, has been conducting raids during which he allegedly arrested innocent residents and extorted money from them.

  • Importer petitions Ali over ‘extortion’ at port

    An importer, Mr Emeka Afamefuna, has petitioned the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Col. Hameed Ali (retd.) over alleged corrupt practices and extortion by some offices of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) at the Lagos sea port, The Nation has learnt.

    The petition, it was learnt, followed a huge and un-receipted amount the officers allegedly collected from him through his clearing agent.

    In a May 31 letter, exclusively obtained by The Nation, the importer accused two officers of the NCS at the PTML Customs Command in Tin-Can Island Port, Lagos, of collecting over N10 million bribe from his agent.

    Afamefuna urged Col. Ali to probe the officers.

    The petition letter reads: “I wish to notify you of the corrupt and extortionate practices being perpetrated by (NCS officers) and their cohorts at PTML Customs Command, Lagos.

    “According to the clearing agent I engaged to clear the cars I imported from the United States of America (U.S.A), one would have to part with money, even before the Customs Duty to be paid is assessed. Anyone who refuses to play ball is slammed with a prohibitive tariff and would probably have to abandon the vehicles (or whatever other items) as it would not make economic sense to part with an amount that exceeds the face value of one’s goods.

    “In my particular case, (NCS officer) collected N2,000,000 for and on behalf of herself and the corrupt gang, before a total duty of about N20,000,000 was assessed and paid into government coffers.

    “Thereafter, she collected additional N8,000,000 cash that was not receipted (according to my clearing agent). One week after, she again demanded N4,000,000, ostensibly for Customs Area Commander, who she claimed demanded the cash to ‘settle the ogas in Abuja’.

    “Due to the hurdles erected by these egregiously corrupt characters, the process of clearing my vehicles from the port took all of 30 days! Is this the Nigerian government’s idea of ‘Ease of Doing Business’? Is it not unconscionable that these unscrupulous personnel of the NCS made me incur needless demurrage? Is it not clear that the Muhammadu Buhari administration anti-graft war has not even begun in view of what transpires at our seaports everyday?

    “It is only the Nigerian government that does not know, or feigns ignorance, of the fact that officials of the NCS invest aggressively in landed property and keep their loot in foreign exchange as they cannot deposit money in bank accounts (even before the advent of BVN) lest suspicion is raised as to the source of millions (yes, millions) of naira they extort from importers like me everyday.

    “Sir, even after goods have been released from the ports, Customs officials still ambush importers and demand money from them before they are allowed to proceed to their destinations. For instance, right in front of Area “B” Police Station (opposite Leventis Stores), a Toyota Hilux with the number plate of the NCS painted in the green colour of the Service, is stationed on the road under construction (constituting a nuisance to other road users by disrupting traffic flow), for the sole purpose of extorting money from owners of goods that have been cleared from the seaports and are exiting Apapa.

    “It is also not uncommon for the officer to get to work after mid-day! There are days that work is capriciously grounded because Customs officers are in celebration mode. An example was when the subject was recently promoted and refused to do any work for one whole day with importers bearing the brunt of her irresponsible behaviour by incurring extra demurrage charges.

    “No work was done at PTML either, on the day the officer resumed duty! This is not to mention occasions when Customs officials claim they are experiencing network issues and, therefore, fail to process importers’ papers.

    “Posterity will judge us harshly if we fail to rein in the bribe-taking and extortionate appetite of men and women of the NCS (provided you are not one of the “Abuja ogas” they claim to send money to every Friday).

    “What obtains at all our seaports nationwide (but particularly in Lagos) is the grandest form of graft and corruption being perpetrated by Customs officers. And, for your information, sir, a good number of NCS officials also double as clearing agents in patent breach of the code of conduct for public officers.

    “Is it not unfortunate that this state of affairs is worsening considerably under an administration that is posturing to be waging a war against the twin vices of graft and corruption?

    “Lest we turn to those you preposterously characterised as ‘lazy Nigerians, please’, use your good offices to bring about a change of attitude in Customs formations around the country as the situation I have described above is being replicated nation-wide.”

    But NCS spokesman Muhammed Yakubu urged the importer to provide the ‘C’ number of the affected vehicles so that they would trace their history, know those involved in the release and conduct thorough investigation that will reveal the scam, if there was any.

    “We need to know the type of vehicles the petitioner is talking about, the amount that was paid by his agent and when the vehicles were released from the port so that the command can pin down those who collected the alleged bribe from them,” Yakubu said.

    Another senior officer of the command, who spoke in confidence, advised the importer and his clearing agent to tender the papers on the importation of the vehicles and the total amount the importer paid as duty.

    “Anybody can write a petition against anybody. But the fact remains that the petitioner must be able to substantiate his allegation with enough facts.

    “Before a man could be asked to pay N2 million with additional N8 million and he agreed to pay, something tells us that something must be wrong somewhere. This is because the amount we are referring to is not small money; it is not the money we use to buy biscuits. This is a big amount of money. We would like to investigate if the petitioner can provide us with the ‘C’ number of his vehicles,” the officer said.

    A clearing agent, Mr Segun Adesanmi, said the Association of the Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) was aware of the problems its members were facing at the command.

    The agent urged Col. Ali to address the problem.

    “Many of us have the same experience with some scrupulous officers of the command.

    “With the current allegation against the officers of the command, we have no iota of doubt that the anti-corruption crusade of Col. Ali is facing a big litmus test.

    “Importers, clearing agents and other stakeholders are waiting to see what Ali will do to those who committed the crime,” he said.

    Will officers involved be sacked or prosecuted, as promised by Ali, to boost the anti-corruption campaign of the Federal Government and deter others? This is the question industry watchers want the CGC to answer in the next few weeks.

    Investigation revealed that some of the vehicles were brand new, the duty paid and the amount collected as bribe may put the officers in trouble if the CGC re-open the file of his anti-corruption crusade.

     

  • Two ‘fake’ cops arrested for ‘extortion’

    Two persons identified as Jumoke Mutairu, 45 and Johnson Uzoma, 29, have been arrested by the police in Lagos for alleged impersonation, extortion.

    The suspects were said to have committed the offence on June 20, at about 1:30pm, extorting residents of Itire and Mushin.

    Clad in black tees and berets having police insignia, they were said to have moved from house to house demanding ‘security alert’ levy.

    Read Also:Apc raises alarm over ‘plot’ to rig poll

    The suspects, it was gathered, were allegedly trained by the founder, Chosen Ministry Church, Ijeshatedo, Chief Johnson Oni, said to be at large.

    Police spokesman, Chike Oti, a Chief Superintendent (CSP) said the suspects confessed they have engaged in the act for about 15 years.

    He said: “They also claimed that they received six month training from the Pastor. Black T-shirt, black beret, N4, 300, various documents suspected to be fake were recovered from them. Effort is on to arrest the fleeing founder/pastor.”

  • Extortion: Task force to arrest council traffic officials

    Operatives of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit (TaskForce) will today commence a clampdown on illegal activities of local government traffic officials.

    Lagos State Task Force Chairman, Olayinka Egbeyemi, in a statement, said the clampdown was the directive of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi.

    Egbeyemi said the illegal activities of the notorious traffic officials on Lagos roads has been worrisome as cases of motorists being extorted were reported to his office daily.

    He said Imohimi was not comfortable with the rate of extortion of motorists by the traffic officials who claim to be enforcing the Lagos State Road Traffic Law of 2012.

    “As a responsive and responsible government, the right of Lagosians including motorists is paramount to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. The ban on all local government traffic officials from controlling or engaging in traffic duties by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode still stands.  Traffic management is not a responsibility of the third tier of government.

    “Indeed there are traffic units in all 20 local governments and 37 local council development areas. CP Edgal Imohimi has therefore said that only Nigeria Police, Federal Road Safety Corps, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) Taskforce and the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) can perform traffic duties in Lagos State,’’ he said.

    He urged motorists to always adhere strictly to traffic regulations and report illegal activities of notorious traffic officials to the nearest police station.

  • Stakeholders accuse Customs of extortion

    Stakeholders in the maritime industry have accused offcials of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) of extortion at the ports.

    The stakeholders which include importers, clearing agents and truck drivers allege that officials of NCS “extort” them and subject them to “second clearing.”

    The NCS has denied any such dealings, insisting that it is performing its job of securing the nation.

    Speaking at the second stakeholders meeting organised by the  Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) in Apapa, Lagos, yesterday, the stakeholders said what the Customs is doing is against the trade facilitation programme of the Federal Government and ease of doing business.

    An Assistant Controller of Customs at the forum Mr Yahaya O I A said the agency has resorted to the measure because most of the importers and clearing agents operating at the sea ports are not honest in their declarations.

    Yahaya said if there is information that there was manipulation in the document presented by any importer or clearing agent for the release of cargo from the port, other customs officers will look at the papers before allowing the truck to exit the gate.

    The Managing Director of NPA Ms Hadiza Bala Usman said the agency has received several complains from importers and freight forwarders  that officials of the NCS  are subjecting their cargo to ‘second clearing” an allegation that was randomly dismissed by Yahya.

    Represented by the Executive Director, Marine and Operations, Dr Sokonte Davies, the NPA chief urged the Customs to put in place mechanism that would eradicate re-examination of cargo at the gate, reduce time and boost the policy of the government on the ease of doing business.

    She also directed shipping companies to develop their holding bays to international standard to receive their empty containers and reduce the gridlock on the Apapa road.

    Some of the truck drivers at the event who spoke with The Nation on the side line of the event alleged that some of the Customs officers at the Tin-Can port demand between N20,000 and N40,000 and, at times, more before allowing them to go.

    The importers and drivers appealed to Transport Minister, Mr Rotimi Amaechi; his Finance counterpart, Mrs Kemi Adeosun and the Customs Comptroller-General (CCG) Col Ahmeed Ali (retd) to  eliminate what they called “open day extortion at port”.

     

     

  • FRSC warns officials against extortion

    The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has warned its officials against extorting those who come to renew their drivers licence.

    It said the procurement fees and system for drivers licence remains sacrosanct.

    The Lagos and Ogun States Zonal Commander, Assistant Corps Marshal John Meheux, addressed officers and marshals during the command’s parade at the corps headquarters in Lagos.

    The parade was held to clear the confusion on the process of obtaining a license.

    He warned officials against sharp practices, such as, unnecessary inflation and extortion at the Drivers Licence Centres, and other patrol activities.

    According to him, the price for procuring drivers licence is still as approved by the Joint Task Board (JTB). He added that the approved price for a three-year licence remained N6,350 while a five-year license cost N10,450.

    Meheux said applicants should consider the costs of training from approved driving schools and the range of drivers’ test by the Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) before starting the process of collecting drivers licence.

    According to him, driving schools and VIOs are private sector-driven and are at liberty to fix their prices, saying their costs are not included in the official rates of N6,350 and N10,450.

  • The extortion by DisCos

    It is an understatement to aver that Nigeria is running a primitive and ‘candlelight’ economy given the deplorable and miserable state of affairs in the power sector. When I was growing up in the late 50s and early 60s, power outages were rare in major Nigerian cities. Most power stations were driven with coal and power distribution was stable and regular until the military struck. Successive military governments, without the requisite knowledge and competence to run the nation’s political economy never visualized that with the growing population, the power needs of the country will comparatively increase. When the power deficit gradually manifested, the military was not prepared with any long-term plan to confront it, so it resorted to importation of generators of all shapes and sizes in its typical ad hoc approach to addressing national problems. Thus Nigeria became the world’s biggest importer of generating sets. All government offices, military formations, industries, banks, oil and gas companies, Small and Medium Enterprises and individuals spend a fortune to run their independent power units. The generating set market is still booming.

    For five decades, we have lived in darkness because of the lack of vision and corrupt disposition of our past leaders. In 16 years of PDP, billions of dollars were either misappropriated or misapplied in President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Independent Power Projects (IPPs) which produced nothing; the subsequent power reform programme of President Goodluck Jonathan gulped billions without any tangible improvement in generation, transmission and distribution. The privatization and unbundling of defunct Power Holdings Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and other power assets was not transparent and did not follow due process as it was politicized and blatantly flawed. Jonathan’s PDP government in its game of political intrigue to win the 2015 elections skewed the entire exercise to favour the party’s patrons. The result of this is the manifest lack of technical competence and financial muscle by the buyers of these national assets to drive the transformation of the power sector which privatization should have impacted.

    Contrast this with the reform in the telecom sector in 2001. Telecom firms who won the bids then were already in the business operating in other countries and could boast of their technical competence and expertise and tested corporate governance. In a jiffy, they set up their offices and installed their equipment and base stations and rolled out their services to subscribers. The result today is a tele-density of nearly 150 million Nigerian phone users, as against a pittance of only 500,000 analogue lines before the telecom reforms.

    Three years after Buhari’s APC government came on board, the power situation has deteriorated and Nigerians are now wondering why PHCN was liquidated. Popular opinion today is that the citizens prefer PHCN performance to what we presently have. Even the meagre 3000 megawatts (MW) then generated before the advent of APC was well managed in transmission and distribution by the erstwhile PHCN. Now that they claim generation has upped to 7000MW, most parts of the country are thrown into darkness for weeks if not months. From north to south, east and west, citizens are crying and lamenting over this abysmal and indigent power situation. We see protests every week against the now notorious “Estimated Bills” clamped on consumers by the DisCos with little or no power supplied. The cries and protests against this extortionist and fraudulent bills have fallen on deaf ears of our leaders and they do not care. They live in the comfort of their mansions powered by sophisticated generating sets and fuel, all funded by taxpayers.

    For instance, here in my community in Nkanu West LGA in Enugu State, the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) supplies power for less than five days in a whole month. As soon as they start handing out their infamous ‘crazy’ estimated bills, they will supply power only to withdraw same after they have collected substantial sums from consumers. Days later, they embark on mass disconnection. Several protests by citizens and even the Enugu State House of Assembly have been ignored by this fraudulent Disco. If this is not corruption and impunity by a commercial entity which should bill customers for services commensurate with the exact quantum of units consumed, then what is?

    The DisCos have conspired to abandon metering four years after they took over in order to sustain their profiteering agenda. It can only happen in Nigeria. The Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) have all abandoned the Nigerian people in this unconscionable and wicked extortion of the poor masses. Where are the likes of Gani Fawehinmi who alone fights for the masses?

    Now, where is the proof of the Change the APC promised to bring into governance and the economy if the party cannot fix the power sector in three years of its administration?  On assumption of office, the government stated that they will review the whole privatization exercise. The two chambers of the National Assembly also set up committees to look into this issue. But like all other critical national affairs that affect the masses, nothing has been heard or done to address a very fundamental resource that will drive the whole economy and improve lives. It is not late to do the needful and save Nigerians from this perennial darkness, misery and oppression by those who have been handed our national assets but have become rip-offs in the guise and name of DisCos and who are fleecing citizens of their hard-earned cash for providing little or no power. I can bet Buhari and APC all the crude oil in the bowels of Nigerian soil that if they had targeted and fixed power before the 2019 elections and provide uninterrupted supply of electricity to the teeming masses and our industries, they would have done half of the campaign needed to win a landslide at the polls.

    I appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Power, Works and Housing Minister Babatunde Fashola and the National Assembly to intervene urgently to review the entire privatization exercise and ensure that only competent and reputable electricity-compliant companies with cognate competences and experience with solid financial muscle to pour new investments into this very critical sector are handed the assets. We also need a robust regulatory and oversight agency to ensure the right corporate governance structure and check the DisCos from their profiteering and exploitative practices. Derelict and nonchalant in carrying out its statutory mandate, NERC has performed dismally as a regulator, virtually conniving with the oppressor Discos. It took the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) a long time to address the malpractices of the DisCos when in a recent indictment, the Executive Secretary Babatunde Irukera stated albeit belatedly that “the key complaints that we receive are arbitrary, unsupported  and unreasonable billing; … that you are asking them to pay for something that was not supplied.” For CPC that is the end of the matter. No mitigation or intervention on behalf of the consumers.

    Electric power is key, central, imperative and indispensable for any economy to develop and grow. The rate of growth is directly and indirectly proportional to the quantum of electric power available for industry, all social and economic activities and the comfort and welfare of citizens in their homes. Electricity is the livewire of industry everywhere in the world. To provide electricity is no rocket science.  It is hypocritical and languishing in self-deceit to talk about a growing economy with the present dearth of power in Nigeria. Smaller countries such as Ghana have power sufficiency and are still increasing capacity. It is a shame that with the enormous gas and coal resources coupled with abundant sun and wind energy available to us, we cannot solve this seemingly intractable and insoluble power nightmare once and for all. The verdict is failure of leadership and absence of governance.

     

    • Elder Okochi writes from Agbani Nkanu West LGA, Enugu State.

  • Farmers get one year each for theft, extortion

    An Upper Area Court in Kasuwan Nama, Jos, has sentenced three farmers, Suleiman Dahiru, Jafaru Musa and Tahiru Adam, to one year for theft, criminal conspiracy and extortion.

    The judge, Mr. Yahaya Mohammed, sentenced the accused after they had pleaded guilty to the three-count charge.

    He, however, gave them an option of N20,000 fine each.

    The prosecutor, Mr. A. Edwin, told the court that on January 7, Salisu Adams reported the case at Barkin-Ladi Police Station.

    He alleged that the accused attacked the complainant on his way from his village, snatched his red Boxer motorcycle and extorted N150,000 from him.

    Edwin added that the case was transferred from Barkin-Ladi Police Station to the State Criminal and Investigative Unit for further investigation on March 15.

    He said during police investigation, the accused confessed to have committed the crime.

    The prosecutor said the offences contravened sections 97, 287 and 292 of the Penal Code of Northern Nigeria.

  • Police parade extortion, abduction suspects in Ibadan

    Fifteen kidnap suspects have been arrested by the Oyo State Police Command.

    They allegedly abducted officials of West African Exam Council (WAEC).

    The suspects, who may be herdsmen, are teenagers. They spoke in Hausa.

    They confessed that they worked for a man, simply identified as Kire, a notorious robber from Zamfara State.

    Four locally-made single barrel guns, three cutlasses, seven phones, N67,000 and a Bajaj motorcycle: 607 WZ, were recovered from them.

    Leader of the kidnappers, Mohammed Kote, 25, and Kire Babuga, 20, were arrested on Kishi/Igboho Road and in the Old Oyo National Park, Igbeti.

    Top officials of the park yesterday met Police Commissioner Abiodun Odude at the command headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan.

    Twenty-eight suspects have been paraded by the police.

    They include a 40-year-old mother of two, who was dismissed from the police.

    She was alleged to have been going about in police uniform, extorting money from the public.

    Odude said the suspects and 13 others nabbed with them are assisting the police in their investigation.

    The Nation learnt that the teenagers were armed with AK47 rifles and had been terrorising residents of Igboho, Kisi, Igbeti and other areas in Oke-Ogun, Oyo State.

    On March 14, about 1730hrs, two workers of WAEC, Ibadan office, were kidnapped by hoodlums on their way from Saki.

    The commissioner said the command would rid the state of criminals through community policing, stop-and-search, intelligence gathering and public partnership.