An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court has sentenced a 41-year-old car cleaner, Ezekiel Udoh, to life imprisonment for defiling and impregnating his neighbour’s granddaughter, aged 12.
“A child was forced to bear a child, forever altering the course of her life,” Justice Rahman Oshodi said, while imposing the sentence.
He judged that prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Udoh committed the offence.
Three kingpins and 16 other offenders have been convicted and sentenced to a total of 302 years in prison for trafficking and dealing in illicit drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, cannabis and opioids.
Director, Media and Advocacy NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, made this known in a statement yesterday.
Babafemi said this followed their arrest and diligent prosecution by the agency.
According to the statement, the 19 convicts top the list of 414 drug traffickers and dealers convicted by the Federal High Court in Benue, Bauchi, Edo, Lagos, Ogun, Gombe and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Abuja between July 1 and 31, 2024.
This, the statement indicated, was based on charges filed against them by the anti-narcotics agency.
Babafemi said one of the three kingpins, 50-year-old Bolanle Lookman Dauda, was arrested in an intelligence-led raid by operatives of a special operation unit in NDLEA at Ibiye, along Lagos-Badagry Expressway.
The spokesman said Dauda was trying to cross the land border to deliver the consignment in Ghana on Saturday 25th May, 2024 before he was nabbed.
“At the point of his arrest, 42 blocks of cocaine weighing 47.5 kilogrammes were found on him. A swift follow-up operation in his residence at Plot 24/25 OPIC extension, Petedo Road, Agbara, Ogun State, led to the recovery of additional eight blocks of the same drug weighing 10kg, bringing the total weight of the cocaine seized from him to 57.5 kilogrammes.
“He was subsequently arraigned before Hon. Justice Ambrose Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Lagos in charge number FHC/L/537C/2024. In his judgment delivered on 19th July 2024, Justice Allagoa convicted and sentenced him to 21 years imprisonment or payment of an option of N30 million fine,” the statement reads.
According to the statement, the second kingpin who was put behind bars is 34-year-old Ikeh Stanley Ifeanyi who was arrested at the popular Idumota market in Lagos Island.
It indicated that no fewer than 1,100 ampoules of lethal synthetic opioid, fentanyl, weighing 6.480kg were recovered from him.
“The dangerous opioid is 100 times more potent than heroin and currently responsible for over 70% overdose deaths as well as a major contributor to fatal and non-fatal overdoses in the US.
“He was later arraigned before Justice Kehinde Ogundare of the Federal High Court Lagos in charge number FHC/L/433C/2024.
“Delivering his judgment on 4th July 2024, the trial judge convicted Ifeanyi on the two counts charge and sentenced him to 14 years in jail or an option of N2 million fine,” Babafemi said.
He said in the third case, one Christian Anyanwu was arrested on Saturday 26th November, 2022 with 1.4 kilogrammes of methamphetamine concealed inside custard tins packed among cosmetics and foodstuffs going to Brazil via Doha on a Qatar Airways flight.
According to the statement, he was subsequently docked before Justice Yellin Bogoro of the Federal High Court Lagos, and later convicted on 12th July 2024.
The statement indicated that in his ruling, the trial judge sentenced Anyanwu to 16 years in jail, four of which is a mandatory imprisonment without an option of fine.
The statement reads: “Others who bagged mandatory imprisonment in July for drug trafficking include: Moses Yakubu sentenced to 25 years in prison on 22nd July by Justice Rita Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court Abuja; Oluosun Okikiola who was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in jail on 17th July by Justice A. A Okeke of the Federal High Court Abeokuta, Ogun State.
“In the same vein, Justice R.J Abubakar of the Federal High Court, Makurdi, Benue State convicted and sentenced Chanchan Terpase to seven years in prison on 9th July while Justice C.O. Obiozor of the Federal High Court, Benin, Edo State convicted and sentenced Beauty Gani to 30 years in prison or payment of an option of N8 million fine on 3rd July 2024.
“While commending the officers and men of the various commands involved in the arrest and prosecution of the cases as well as the judiciary for speedy adjudication, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) said the sentencing of the convicts will further give bite to the drug supply reduction efforts of the agency.”
His is a typical case of friendship gone awry. An only child of his mother neglected by his father in a polygamous family of four wives and 12 children, Ismaila Lasisi felt like he had struck gold when he met Alfa Ganiyu Lawal while hustling for survival. But the friendship they struck became his undoing as it literally put his life in ruins.He had no inkling of the character he had bonded with until his friend and one other named Ganiyu Semiyu approached him with an evil proposal: sacrifice a human being for money rituals. Lasisi was not comfortable with the proposal but he could not say no for fear that Lawal and Semiyu could harm him if he did not cooperate with them.
Then then 28-year-old, now 52, did what he thought was the smart thing to do by keeping a distance with the duo, but that in itself became an offence for which they implicated him when they were arrested over the killing of a woman for money rituals. The distraught indigene of Abeokuta, Ogun State narrates to TOBA ADEDEJI the extraordinary circumstances that culminated in him and his then 30 but now 54-year-old innocent friend, Lukman Adeyemi, who merely accompanied him to the police station when they learnt that the police were looking for him, languishing in jail and awaiting execution for 24 years before a charity organization, the Centre for Justice, Mercy and Reconciliation (CJMR) founded by Pastor Hezekiah Olujobi, intervened in his matter and secured his release on June 14.
“It was on the day we were released that rain fell on me for the first time in 24 years. I saw the beautiful moon and the sunshine again and I cherished them. June 14, 2024 is a day I will never forget in my life,” he said. Excerpt:
What is your name and whatwas your childhood like?
I am Ismaila Lasisi, a native of Abeokuta, Ogun State. My mother hailed from Shaki in Oke-Ogun, Oyo State. I am the only son of my mother in a polygamous family of 12 children from four women. When I was seven, my mother left me with my father and later remarried before she died.
Growing up in a polygamous household, I lacked the needed support due to neglect from my father. So I turned to trading, dealing in pepper and raw beans in Ifo, Ogun State. It was there that I became friends with one Alfa Ganiyu Lawal and we became close. I often spent weekends with him and Ganiyu Semiyu, his friend with whom he shared the same name.
Over time, I developed an interest in bricklaying and eventually moved in with them. Seeking companionship as a lonely individual, I found comfort in their company. My friendship with Alfa Ganiyu had lasted about six months before the unfortunate incident.
What actually happened?
In February 2000, Semiyu came up with the idea that we should engage in money-making ritual. He also said they had found someone who could help them in this venture. He was the first to bring up the topic of ritual money to me. I felt uneasy with the idea, but I pretended that everything was fine.
Subsequently, we took an oath to keep it a secret. They asked me to contribute money for the ritual, and at that moment, I realised I was in the wrong company. I asked who was going to be used as sacrifice for the ritual and they responded that that had not been determined yet. Various thoughts began to trouble my mind, and I asked myself what if they decided to use me as the sacrifice? Who would come looking for me without any sibling, parent or mother who knew my whereabouts? I felt lost and considered abandoning the friendship.
Did you?
Yes. In March 2000, a situation arose where one of Ganiyu’s girlfriends stole money from their place, and I was wrongly accused of stealing it. A heated argument ensued and I decided to seek refuge elsewhere. Along the way, I met Lukman Adeyemi and asked him to help accommodate me until I could find my own place. I informed him about the conflict I had with the people I was living with but I did not disclose their plan for money rituals. I had known him through a childhood friend named Ismaila with whom I had grown up in Shaki, my mother’s hometown.
He welcomed me into his home, and since March 2000, I was been living peacefully with him and we worked together as bricklayers until August 27, 2000.
So when were you arrested and why?
On August 27, 2000, at about 7:00 pm, on returning from work, we were informed by a co-tenant that the police came looking for me. I immediately went to the police station and Lukman accompanied me to the place. On getting there, we were told that the police officer who had come looking for me was not around, and I was asked to come back the following day.
The next morning, we both went to the police station and surprisingly, we were detained. I had no clue of the unfolding events or why they were looking for me. When the SARS officers, led by one Bashiru and Agboola, arrived and identified me as the Ismaila Lasisi they were looking for, they descended on us like hungry tigers and subjected us to severe beating.
The following day, we were transferred to Eleweran Police Station in Abeokuta, where I was confronted by Ganiyu and Semiyu, who accused me of being involved in the murder of a woman they committed for the ritual. I was shocked and rendered speechless. The SARS police again subjected me and Lukman to brutal treatment. I was hung in a torture room for hours and I had to endure unimaginable pains. My nerves were like they were going to cut. It was the worst day of my life. It was a day sweat mingled with blood.
The physical and emotional torture left me deformed and I lay on the ground for nearly five days before I could regain consciousness. Lukman and I were arrested on August 28 while Ganiyu and Semiyu were apprehended on July 20. We were remanded in prison on Friday, September 29, 2000. It took nearly two years for me and Lukman to have a conversation with Ganiyu and Semiyu to understand why we were falsely implicated in the case, because we were not held in the same cell.
And what did they say was their reason(s) for implicating you?
They said they felt I was the one who divulged the information to the police because I was the only one they had told about the mission. They also said they believed I must have told Lukman about it. I yelled at them and reminded that they did not even have a victim yet at the time they proposed the idea to me. How then would I know that you had committed the crime? I had heard the rumour about a missing woman, but I never knew the woman who was declared missing and it never occurred to me that they were connected with the missing woman. I had left the company of Ganiyu since March while the woman was declared missing in July. The arrest of Lukman and myself was on 28th August. I never knew anything about the woman, and it never occurred to me that her death could be linked to Ganiyu and Semiyu.
Ganiyu became the Alfa while in prison as he became the leading imam of the inmates at a time. I forgave them completely. I used to guide Alfa Ganiyu to the mosque because he became blind in prison and we became friends again. Despite all the torture I received from the SARS Police, it is belated to say I have forgiven them as one of them, Bashiru, has died. He was supposed to come as a witness in this case, and I was shocked when Adeagbo told the court of his death.
Did your parents pay you any visit while you were in prison?
I sent for my father to come and see me but he refused. My mother came twice to see me before I later learnt that she had passed away. I strongly believe that she died because of my predicament. How would you feel if you had only one child and that child is in prison? Can you survive the agony? I felt so bad at times and asked myself why my father brought me into this world when he knew he had no resources to cater for me.
While in prison, I forgave myself and my father. I forgave Ganiyu and Semiyu. At one point, I was sending money to my father from prison through the welfare officer, and he used to pray for me on the phone, telling me that I would survive it. I cried and cried when I heard the bad news of my father’s death. My father had 12 children from four women.
What was the intervention that came for for your release?
It was a ray of hope shining on us the day the Deputy Superintendent of Correctional (DSC) Alhaji AbdulHakeem Awesu, the welfare officer of Ibara Correctional, linked us with the founder of the Centre for Justice Mercy and Reconciliation (CJMR), Pastor Hezekiah Olujobi on the phone to explain ourselves to him. Like play, the man came to see us in Abeokuta in July, 2023 and we explained everything to him. The real perpetrators of the crime who had implicated us also begged him to try and look for ways to exonerate us. We all put our appeal to the Governor of Ogun State into writing through the organisation and we sent it to his office.
The truth is many people had come to listen to our story but we never saw them again. We had written several letters to the governor through the welfare department without results. But when Pastor Olujobi and his team came to us, they promised to take a step. We had been hearing about how CJMR had helped many inmates on death row but we never gave it a thought to approach them until when the welfare department helped to link us with them.
How would you describe your experience on death row?
On the first day I entered the death row cell, it was pitch black. I could not see anyone for about one hour, but they could see me. One of the inmates stood up and guided me to my designated spot. It was tormented daily, but I tried to stay positive. When it was night, they asked about the events that led to my conviction.
After nine years of awaiting trial, all hope seemed lost. For a whole week, I could not eat. Not because I was fasting but because hunger seemed to have disappeared. It took nearly six months before I could adjust to life on death row. The death row is a different world, where you spend your days in darkness. In our cell, there were seven of us crammed into a very small space. One of the inmates who welcomed me was one Sunday, also known as Sunday Chicken. Over the years, some of the people I met were released while others passed away due to illness.
During my 15 years on death row, there were no executions. We heard rumours about the government considering revisiting executions, which would send panic through us. The tension peaked when Oshiomole executed some inmates in Edo State, but the rumour eventually faded and the tension dissipated. Despite the uncertainty, we all on the death row remained cooperative with the prison authorities.
Throughout my time in prison, I held onto hope until the day the prison doors finally opened for me. The daily advice and sermons from both Muslim and Christian leaders helped me to stay strong. It was on the day we were released that rain fell on me for the first time. I also saw sunshine and the beautiful moon for the first time. It is a day I will never forget in my life
How did they receive you at home?
Upon regaining my freedom, my immediate desire was to return home. I travelled to Mowe to celebrate Sallah with my younger brother, who is an Imam. Following the festivities, we journeyed to my hometown in Abeokuta the next Monday. My unexpected arrival at the family house elicited mixed reactions, with some displaying evident displeasure.
As I recounted my story of innocence, one of my younger sisters accused me of lying, claiming she had heard about the incident at the time it occurred and knew the truth. It became clear that not everyone believed I was innocent. Realising that there was no future for me in my father’s house, I returned to the Centre for Justice, Mercy and Reconciliation. I am grateful to Pastor Olujobi for foreseeing the potential challenges at home and offering me a welcoming return if needed.
What is your next plan?
My aspiration is to resume buying and selling. I aim to settle down, rent a house, marry a virtuous woman, raise children and contribute to societal development. With no parents, Pastor and the CJMR have become my pillars of support. During my time in prison, I acquired skills in cloth tie and dye and graduated from a Quranic school. I attribute my journey to the complete mercy I have received from God. I commend Governor Dapo Abiodun for the remarkable transformation of the state, evident in the improved infrastructure such as expressways, street lights, and pedestrian bridges.
Why their release could not be secured for 24 years – CJMR founder
The founder of Centre for Justice Mercy and Reconciliation (CJMR), Hezekiah Olujobi, speaks with TOBA ADEDEJI.
HOW did you get to know about the predicaments of Ismaila Lasisi and Lukman Adeyemi?
Our attention was drawn to their complaints and claim of innocence by the Welfare Officer DSC Awesu, who invited us to come and help them, assuring us on their innocence and the efforts made through the legal process without justice. We went down to Ibara Custodial Centre, Abeokuta to hear from them.
The two perpetrators of the crime confided in us that they were actually the ones who committed the crime and that the other two were totally innocent of the crime. We obtained their judgments from the trial court to the Supreme Court for review, and we noticed that the presentation of the state before the appellate court could never allow the court to shift ground.
Each of them filed separate appeals to the Court of Appeal and to the Supreme Court. We realised that none of the lawyers explored the way of arrest of each person in this case. This is what the lawyer at the trial court should have done, but very unfortunately, he couldn’t. Failure of the perpetrators to clear them of the innocence of the crime could not have helped them at that time.
Was that your first intervention in such cases?
The case of Ismaila Lasisi and Lukman Adeyemi was not the first victory. CJMR has helped more than 20 people to secure their freedom from wrongful conviction. This particular case makes it the 22nd.
Police evidence is considered sacred before the temple of justice but very unfortunate not all police evidence before the court is true and reliable. Some of them tell lies. Our judges are not perfect. They also have their flaws. That is why there is room for appeal.
What challenges did you face during your humanitarian service?
Our major concern now is how to make the future of this individual possible and how to make justice available to others who are still crying persistently on the claim of innocence of the crime they are suffering from.
Funding is key. That is why I am urging Nigerians to support us through the following Zenith Bank account number: 1012189729. I can be reached via 08030488093. The gesture will make victory possible for others in Lasisi and Adeyemi’s conditions.
Justice Ambrose Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Lagos, yesterday sentenced two persons, Moses Ifeuwa and Festus Emeka, to two years imprisonment over illegal importation of 1,570 firearms.
The convicts were also given the option to pay N1 million for each of the eight counts, making it N8 million.
The defendants were charged alongside a company, Great James Oil and Gas Ltd. Their trial started in 2018 before Justice Saliu Saidu. However, Justice Saidu retired and the case was reassigned to Justice Ambrose Allagoa.
The defendants were re-arraigned in 2021 on eight counts bordering on illegal importation of firearms.
They pleaded not guilty. They also opted for a plea bargain with the office of the Attorney-General.
Justice Allagoa gave effect to the plea bargain agreement reached between the prosecution and defense, saying in such situation, the court is to consider the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), and should not impose the maximum sentence on the defendants, or impose consecutive sentence.
Anambra State Police Commissioner Aderemi Adeoye yesterday warned residents in possession of prohibited firearms to surrender the weapons or risk jail terms if caught.
The CP, who gave the warning while briefing reporters on the achievements of the command within three months of his posting, said the command would not spare anyone found with prohibited arms, regardless of his status or sponsor.
He expressed worry over proliferation of illegal arms in the region, restating his command’s commitment to fighting the menace to ensure safety and security of residents.
He said: “It’s common knowledge we have porous borders where arms come in illegitimately, which security agencies are working tirelessly to plug.
“I can also tell you that weapons are sold in Onitsha main markets. From experience, I’ve personally recovered weapons in the 90s. I think it has even worsened.
“Again, during endSARS, there were series of attacks in various police formations. Military checkpoints were attacked, officers killed and their weapons stolen.
“We’re not even talking of local fabrication, which Awka town is known for.
“Anyone we catch with illegal arms or manufacturing get a long jail term without compromise. I don’t care the person’s status or the backers.
“However, a period of amnesty has been declared by IGP for those in possession of prohibited firearms to willingly surrender them to the police.
“Anyone complying with this order has nothing to fear, as there won’t be arrest or prosecution for such submission of the weapons.
“All our area commanders and DPOs have been briefed on this directive and they won’t embarrass and intimidate those who voluntarily surrender their weapons.
“Once the grace period announced by the IGP is over, we’ll begin a massive clampdown such that has never been witnessed in this part of the country.”
Parading over 129 suspects, Adeoye disclosed that among them included 30 insurgents, 39 robbers, 38 cultists, 22 kidnappers, while 24 kidnap victims were rescued during the period in view.
He said 26 firearms, 93 ammunition, 25 vehicles, 14 tricycles, seven motorcycles, a roll of armoured cable and 16 iron grills were recovered during the period.
“Three persons were arrested for hijacking a commercial bus with 18 passengers on board. They took them to custody with a view to demanding ransom.
“A joint team of Police and Army, on a tip off, swooped on them and they abandoned the passengers and bus and fled.
“The vehicle was recovered, while the passengers were rescued and facilitated their journey to their destinations,” he said.
An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court yesterday sentenced a gateman, Happiness Sunday, to triple life imprisonment for sexually assaulting his employer’s children, ages 10 and eight.
Prosecuting counsel, Mrs. Olufunke Adegoke, had arraigned the convict on a three-count charge of defilement and sexual assault by penetration. She said the defendant committed the offences in 2020 on Jaye Oyedotun Street, Magodo, Lagos.
Justice Abiola Soladoye sentenced Sunday, who was the family’s steward and gateman, to life imprisonment on each of the three charges. The sentences would run concurrently.
The court noted that the defendant started assaulting the children and the older child reported to his grandmother to caution him as he was touching the sister inappropriately.
When the female child was asked, she told the grandma that the defendant was also touching her brother inappropriately.
“The matter was reported to CeCe Yara Foundation and subsequently to the police”, the judge held
Though the defendant denied touching the children, Justice Soladoye said his demeanour was cold and described him as ‘a pathological liar’.
“The defendant is a sexual terrorist who ravished children. He is also a disloyal worker, egoistic, a terrible person whose sexual perversion is unacceptable. His actions are beastly and he should be locked away for life because his conduct is utterly disgraceful,” she said.
She also ordered that the convict’s name be entered in the Lagos State Sexual Offences Register.
The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, has warned that the federal government is ready to send parents of school-age children, not enrolled, to jail. At a recent press conference, Adamu affirmed that it is a crime for parents not to enrol their children in school under the Universal Basic Education (UBE) scheme.
He also announced that the Buhari administration had spent, in the last four years, N350 billion on various aspects of UBE, adding that states which fail to provide their counterpart funding may start having their federal allocations deducted at source.
The focus on jailing parents for not enrolling their children in school smacks of putting the cart before the horse. If after 19 years of UBE, there are still over 13 million children that should be in school but are not, it becomes logical for the Federal Government to take a holistic view of the laudable scheme, designed to make every child literate and numerate.
It is, therefore, important to tie, more holistically, analysis of problems of UBE to identification of solutions and goals of the scheme; and to methods for achieving goals via implementation, before rushing to prosecute parents who fail to enroll children in school.
Federal and State Education planners should consider the obvious problems of providing free education for every child up to nine years of schooling, along with understanding the role of parents in the success of UBE. For example, why were there quotas put on UBE enrolment for many years in the life of the scheme?
How much research has been done to understand perception of parents about the quality of UBE schools in different parts of the country? In which states and schools does UBE function favourably enough to attract parents and even children to UBE classrooms? What challenges face the states with respect to planning expansion of access, in the context of absence of formal registration of birth and death in the country, etc?
These questions are not to suggest that parents and guardians be left out of the task of encouraging children to enrol and stay in school. But full awareness of emotional, physical, psychological, and aesthetic dimensions of schooling need to exist and be seen to exist by parents and their children. Education and literacy are steps toward modernity. It may, therefore, be counterproductive for children to be put, as they often are across the country, in schools that even look worse than their homes—roofless, windowless, lacking modern toilet facilities, and basic learning tools.
Certainly, parents and guardians who deliberately exploit children for unpaid labour; or traffic in children for profit, need to be prosecuted. But governments—federal, state, and local—ought to look deeper and harder into implementation of UBE across the states, before heaping the problems of under-enrolment on parents. In short, we need to know where all the problems are before we start apportioning blame.
Any effort to make UBE function properly requires that all other conditions, apart from ensuring positive attitudes of parents to education of their young ones, are in place: guaranteed free access to school or availability of space for every child that wants to enrol; provision of conducive environment for sustaining children’s attention; provision of qualified staff for early childhood education; good teacher-student ratio; implementation in all states of free feeding for pupils; etc.
It is common knowledge that enrolment and retention have increased in states with school meal programme: Osun, Kaduna, and many others. It is only after there is empirical evidence that access, equity, and quality are assured for all children, that the government should resort to jailing parents, who fail to enroll their children in school.
But the decision of the Federal Government to deduct from statutory allocations to states, the latter’s counterpart funds to complement federal matching grants, is a rational policy. Many of the problems facing effective implementation of UBE are traceable to failures of states to fulfill their part of the bargain. However, the UBE Commission must ensure that states do their parts in full, before parents and guardians are prosecuted.
Further, such deductions-at-source ought to be covered by proper legislation, to prevent litigious states from frustrating the Federal Government’s efforts to achieve goals of UBE. Making public education free and compulsory does not have to start with threatening to send uncooperative parents and guardians to jail. Rather, it should follow provision of all that is needed to attract and sustain attention of children in the new environment of schooling.
We believe making free and compulsory schooling for nine years effective is the first step in moving Nigeria to the next level: the group of countries that ensure that no child is left out of free and compulsory access to primary and secondary public education in the 21st century.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday said that the sanctions of jail terms for illicit financial flow is no longer sufficient to fight the menace.
According to him, stringent actions should be taken against perpetrators of illicit financial flows, including crackdown on safe heavens and return of stolen assets to countries of origin.
He spoke while delivering his statement on “Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) and Corruption: The Challenge of Global Governance’’ at the Peace Forum attended by about 70 world leaders in Paris, France.
The Forum was organised by the French Government and a number of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
It was based on the simple idea that international cooperation is key to tackling global challenges and ensuring durable peace.
Buhari warned that continuous impunity will encourage more pilfering of countries’ resources to the detriment of poor and vulnerable populace.
Nigeria, he said, has strengthened its laws and institutions to fight corruption, fast-track recovery of stolen assets and punish offenders.
He called for more commitment from governments and international organizations.
He said that illicit financial flows pose a risk to the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as many countries grapple with the challenge of gathering resources to improve their Human Development Index, while a few privileged individuals continue to explore the weaknesses in financial systems.
He said “Our experience in Nigeria is that financial crimes, such as corruption and fraudulent activities, generate enormous unlawful profits which often prove so lucrative that the threat of a jail term is not sufficient to deter perpetrators.
“A more powerful deterrent is to ensure that profits and assets generated from illicit financial flows and corruption are recovered and returned to countries of origin.
“This is not to under-estimate the value of strong institutions. It only indicates that asset recovery represents significant deterrence compared to the traditional focus on obtaining conviction by the law enforcement agencies of the countries of origin.
“As we take stock of the strengths and weaknesses of domestic, regional and international mechanisms against Illicit Financial Flows, I seize this opportunity to recall the Global Declaration Against Corruption made in London in 2016 and our commitment thereto.
“Among other things, the Declaration encapsulates our collective commitment to the principles of Open Government Partnership, especially the National Action Plans to actualize beneficial ownership transparency, enhance the capacity of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), reinforce Independent Reporting Mechanisms and support the activities of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. We should remain resolute in our commitment to the aforementioned goals.
“Similarly, we must crack down on safe havens for corrupt assets. I also advocate sanctions by professional bodies against transactional middlemen (lawyers, bankers, brokers, public officials, etc.) who facilitate Illicit Financial Flows.
“I would like to reiterate that the Government of Nigeria remains open and is ever willing to continue to identify and share experiences and strategies to give life to the ideas that will lead to winning the fight against corruption.” he said
He urged the world leaders and global institutions to remain resolute on the Global Declaration Against Corruption made in London in 2016, which encapsulates the collective commitment to the principles of Open Government Partnership, especially the National Action Plans to actualize beneficial ownership transparency and enhance the capacity of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs).
Buhari also called reinforcement of the Independent Reporting Mechanisms and support for the activities of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.
“As we take stock of the strengths and weaknesses of domestic, regional and international mechanisms against Illicit Financial Flows, I seize this opportunity to recall the Global Declaration Against Corruption made in London in 2016 and our commitment thereto,’’ he said.
According to him, tremendous progress has been achieved through the enactment of global instruments, adding that some fundamental technical issues have remained unresolved.
“These revolve around the formulation of policy and regulatory frameworks that cut across different jurisdictions. We must not lose sight of the role played by secret companies, banks and law firms, all too often based in developed economies and their related offshore centres.
“Recent studies reveal that flaws in the global financial system enable corrupt individuals to hide details of their financial dealings under the noses of governments and law enforcement agencies.
“This underscores the need to urgently address the issue of Mutual Legal Assistance, as well as continental legal frameworks, in the context of safe havens for illicit transfers,’’ he said.
The Whistle-Blowing policy in Nigeria, he said, has facilitated recovery of billions of naira from corrupt persons, which had been redirected to the development of critical infrastructure and programmes that will benefit all Nigerians and realisation of the SDGs.
At the continental level, the President said the African Union had bestowed on him the honour to champion the fight against corruption, which would be focused on strengthening international cooperation on asset tracing, recovery and repatriation, and enhancing cooperation between the African Union and the United Nations’ anti-corruption monitoring mechanisms.
“Finally, let me reiterate the importance of unity and collective action. It is only together that we stand a better chance to win the fight against the menace of Illicit Financial Flows and corruption.” he stated
The President is scheduled to meet Nigerians living in France on Monday.
President Muhammadu Buhari returned to Abuja last night at the expiration of his vacation in London with a vow to jail more of the thieves that brought economic problems to the country.
His plane touched down at the Presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at about 6.35p.m.
He alighted from the plane some five minutes later.
Speaking to reporters before heading to the Presidential Villa, Buhari said:”I think this is being expected of me, I will do it.”
On the defection of the Senate Minority Leader, Mr. Godswill Akpabio from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress, the president said it is one of the beauties of democracy as it affords individuals the choice of identifying with political party they are interested in.
He, however, advised politicians to provide the necessary dividends of democracy to the people and sensitise their constituents to get the permanent voters card to enable them freely vote for candidates of their choice.
He was received at the airport by Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, Service Chiefs, FCT Minister Mohammed Bello, and Chief of Staff of the President, Abba Kyari among others.
•’June 12 presidential poll presumed winner was happy plan flopped’
PERSONAL Assistant to the late Bashorun MKO Abiola, Olu Akerele, has revealed a grand plan to whisk the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential elections out of jail.
Akerele made the revelation on The Platform, a programme hosted by Sam Omatseye on TVC News on Saturday.
Revealing the details publicly for the first time, he said the plan was hatched by Abiola’s friends, when it became clear that the late dictator, General Sani Abacha, was bent on detaining the politician indefinitely.
He also said Abiola was reluctant about the whole plan and was particularly concerned about the safety of his family and the people who were guarding him.
He feared that Abacha could kill them, if he had escaped.
Akerele said: “At a stage when nothing was moving on again, the Supreme Court was not sitting, it’s like the man (Abiola) had been abandoned there.
“Then, some of his friends approached me, both in the military, retired and then civilians. They sent someone to me to meet them somewhere. Getting there, I saw an American diplomat that I knew had been coming to court. So, they now raised the issue of spiriting Abiola out of that place. And they thought it could be done.
“But, we need the support of then Big (Uncle) Sam, Abiola’s friends in America. So, we parleyed over it and it was decided that I should get in touch with his PA (Personal Assistant) in the United States (U.S.). There’s one Randy Echols. He was my opposite number in Washington. They now suggested that the man should get in touch with Abiola’s friends at the Capitol so they would work out the thing. So, they took me to a secret house (in Abuja) and gave me a secure phone. Surprisingly, I was on to Randy.”
At that time, the politician’s personal aide had just been released from jail because he was caught relaying messages for Abiola, who was in detention.
Akerele said: “We got Randy and the idea was that Randy should link with his friends over there – that’s Abiola’s friends and then with the military. There’s one ship mooring somewhere in the ocean. So, a small plane would come and land in Abuja. It’s a question of taking Abiola from that jail. Four, five hours, he’s into the plane. Then, the plane flies out. So, that was the idea. But when the thing was discussed with the late MKO through the window as usual, he said, ‘it’s a dangerous thing to do ooo’. And that if his friends or my friends insisted, we should leave out his children and members of his family out of it because the Abacha he knew would not hesitate to wipe out his family and the families of those people guarding him.
“But we thought it was fool-proof. We thought we could do it. Because they were not so popular, except those who were making money from them. So, we thought Randy would do the right thing. Then, just for him to ensure he was talking to the right person – me. I had met him twice when he came with MKO to Abuja when things were going okay. I now said, for him to confirm my identity with Doyin, our managing director (of Concord Press) and Alhaji Akinteye, that’s the PA to MKO in his office.”
Akerele said Randy Echols mistakenly spilled out the plan by calling Abiola’s children instead.
“This thing I’m going to say would embarrass some people, but they just have to take it like that. Instead of talking to Doyin or Akinteye, Randy now called Wuraola Abiola, that is Kola’s youngest sibling, to ask about me. He asked: ‘Who is this Olu?’ Then Wura now called Agbo, the MD of RCN, asking: ‘who is this Olu?’ Then Agbo now called Kola.”
The Abiola aide said Kola called him, asking: “Olu, what’s going on? They said there is one Olu making enquiries about some things?”
But Akerele feigned ignorance of the matter and denied involvement, responding: “Oh, is that so? I don’t know anything about it.”
The PA added: “That was the end of the thing.”
Blaming Randy Echols for the botched plan, Akerele said: “Maybe he (Randy) thought it was a family thing. He should have known from experience that it was not a tea party that we were planning.”
Upon reporting the development to Abiola, Akerele said the politician responded: “Alhamdulillah”, which means “praise be to Allah” in Arabic.
“If we had spirited him out, there would have been blood because Abacha would react violently and then more people would die.
“The plan then was that if we were able to get MKO out, those staffers around him would go with us, me too I would follow. It had to be a clean sweep. So, when the thing now failed, we said: ‘it’s from God’ and so we dropped the idea,” the personal assistant said.
Akerele said Abiola didn’t want to be part of the plan to whisk him out of jail but he “was asked to pressurise him”.
General Abacha died on June 8, 1998 and Abiola died on July 7, 1998 after drinking alleged poisoned tea.
And 20 years later, President Muhammadu Buhari honoured Abiola with the title of the Grand Commander Order of the Niger, which is the exclusive of past head of states and presidents and also declared June 12 as Democracy day in Nigeria.
