The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigeria News

  • BREAKING: #BBNaija: Frodd wins Ultimate Veto Power

    Frodd has won the ultimate veto power in the Big Brother Naija game.

    This power gives him the ability to nominate five housemates up for eviction

    This win got him 200 Bet Naija coins, and each housemates got 100 Bet Naija coins.

    His win came as a result of his picture aligning with the one in the red box. It was the same box that caused pandemonium in the house during the week, as it got misplaced and a fight ensued, especially between Tacha, Mercy and Diane.

    Big Brother on Saturday issued a strike to Diane, Cindy and Elozonam, concerning the box.

    Reacting to his ultimate veto power win, Frodd shouted “Thank you Jesus”

  • Suspected yahoo boy runs mad, strips self naked in Ekiti

    There was drama on a major highway in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, when a young man suspected to be an Internet fraudster ran mad in full public glare on Sunday evening.

    The suspected Yahoo boy stripped himself naked completely and was making strange statements nobody could understand.

    The incident happened in Adebayo area near the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH) School of Nursing.

    Eyewitnesses revealed that he had earlier parked a Lexus Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) by the roadside, emerged from the vehicle and removed his clothes one after the other.

    Nobody knew where the guy, who is believed to be in his early 20s, came from before he started behaving abnormally.

    He went ahead to remove his singlet and boxers and was stark naked, a scene which drew bystanders and passersby.

    Read Also: Five die, many injured in Ekiti road crash

    At intervals, the young man would kneel down and stand up singing some songs and making incoherent statements.

    He later moved from one place to the other with some residents shaking their heads in disbelief while others were recording the drama with their mobile phones.

    His action cause disruption of traffic along the federal highway with some motorists and commercial motorcyclists parking their vehicles and bikes to behold the drama.

    A good samaritan had tried to save the young guy by trying to tie his hand but he broke loose again and ran forward to continue the show.

    An eyewitness said: “This is what we have been telling our young men that they should stop mad pursuit of wealth.

    “This guy that has just run mad showed traces of a Yahoo boy and the rituals they are into has backfired and the result is what we are seeing now.

    “A good number of them have run mad and died in places like Ado and Ikere and this is a lesson to others who are into Yahoo scam and Yahoo Plus.”

     

     

  • Group demands unconditional release of Sowore, others

    A group, Peoples Alternative Front (PAF) has demanded the unconditional release of Omoyele Sowore and Olawale Bakare detained by the State Service (SSS) for alleged terrorism and treason.

    They described as unfounded, allegations of terrorism, treason and money laundering against Sowore insisting he was arrested for insulting President Muhammadu Buhari.

    A statement released on Sunday by PAF secretary Alloysius Eze said Sowore had been detained for almost two months contrary to the 45-day granted by a Federal High Court, and the DSS was yet to substantiate its allegations against him.

    “After detaining Mr. Sowore for almost two months the SSS found no evidence to substantiate the reckless allegations. Instead of releasing him from illegal custody Mr. Sowore has now been charged with insulting President Buhari by criticizing him at Arise Television interview and treasonable felony by planning to stage protests against unpopular government policies on August 5, 2019.

    “Mr. Sowore has also been charged with money laundering for transferring the sum of $19,975 (N7.2m) from his personal bank account to Sahara Reporters, an online medium published by him!

    Read Also: Release Sowore now, Ondo Monarch tells Buhari

    “With respect to Mr. Olawale Bakare (aka Mandate) he was arrested in Osogbo, Osun State during the revolution protest on August 5. Other comrades arrested with him have been charged with unlawful assembly at the Magistrate Court, Osogbo, Osun State by the Nigeria Police Force.

    “All efforts to contact Mandate since then have proved abortive as the SSS had denied detaining him. Mandate who has been held incommunicado contrary to Section 2 of the Anti-Torture Act, 2017, has now been charged with treasonable felony along with Mr. Sowore.

    “Since it has been established that both patriots have been detained for several weeks for terrorism without any legal basis we hereby demand for their unconditional release from the illegal custody of the SSS.

    “We also call on the Inspector General of Police to release Messrs Agba Jalingo and Ekanem Ekpo being detained in police custody for terrorism for insulting Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River State by publishing allegations of official corruption in Cross River State.

    “We agree with Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) that there can be no legal or moral basis for harassing patriotic citizens by the Buhari regime which is currently negotiating with terrorists and bandits, bribing them with public funds and granting them amnesty for arson and looting, gang raping women, kidnapping and killing innocent people.”

     

     

  • Senior Naval Officer murdered in Kaduna military cantonment

    Decomposing body of a Senior Officer in the Nigerian Navy and Commandant of Command Secondary School of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, has been found in a well in a village close to the Jaji military cantonment, Kaduna State.

    The Officer identified as Commander Oluwayemisi Ogundana with service number NN/ 2367, was declared missing last Friday.

    She is however suspected to have been murdered by some known persons, including a staff of the college she presided over.

    Though, efforts to reach the spokesman of AFCSC, Major Umar proved abbortive, The Nation gathered that, two suspects, including a teacher at the Command Secondary School, Jaji and one other have already been arrested in connection to her murder.

    A source in Jaji told our Correspondent that, when the military officer was not seen, efforts were made to reach her via her telephone but it was discovered that the phone was left in her room which was locked.

    According to the source, “the door to her room was forced open because the phone was ringing inside the sitting room and efforts to reach her other numbers, failed”.

    READ ALSO: Murdered Ondo varsity lecturer buried

    It was further learnt that blood stains were observed on her beddings and clothes as well as on the floor from the bedroom to the bathroom. Her vehicle, a Toyota SUV was also missing.

    It was learnt that authorities of the military in Jaji kept some of her immediate staff and family members under close observation which finally paid off when two persons were arrested in Zaria while trying to dispose of her car.

    Upon interrogation, they confessed to participating in the gruesome murder of the senior military officer and subsequently led the investigators to Agwanloyo by the railway inside an abondoned shallow well near the Deeper life Church in Jaji cantonment.

    It was learnt that the corpse of the murdered Naval officer was dismembered and put in a big sack before being dumped in the shallow well.

    The deceased was married with three kids, who are in their Lagos residence with their father.

  • Hotelier bags seven years jail term over N29m fraud

    A hotelier, Mr Jimoh Eleyele has been sentenced to seven years jail term by an Igbosere High Court of Justice, Lagos for defrauding a Saki, Oyo state business man to the tune of N29.5million

    Eleyele was arranged before Justice Kudirat Jose by the officials of Economic Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) on a seven count charges.

    The offences bordered on conspiracy to defraud, defraud and fraudulently obtained millions of naira from one Jimoh Oyesiji as the cost for facilitating the release of his good’s which were seized by Nigerian Custom service which the respondent (Eleyele) knew to be false in year 2015.

    READ ALSO: ATM fraud: Heads to roll in NCS

    After about four years of legal proceedings, Justice Jose affirmed that the respondent , (Eleyele) and the second respondent, are guilty of all the seven count offences leveled against them, adding that the offences were contrary to sections 8(a) and 1(3) of the Advance Free Fraud and other fraud Related Offences Act No.14 of 2006.

    The judge thereby sentenced the accused to seven years imprisonment

    In his reaction shortly after the judgment, Counsel to the claimant, Mr Kunle Afolabi noted that despite the years the legal battle took, the judges have again rekindled the hope of the common man in the nations judicial system.

  • $9.6b judgment: Ex-CJN Belgore, others may face trial

    A former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Alfa Belgore may face trial for his alleged role in the $9.6billion debt judgment against Nigeria.

    Belgore is alleged to have provided legal consultancy service to the Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID) during the case that got it the debt judgement.

    He has already been quizzed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the matter.

    Also quizzed is his secretary.

    A team of legal giants left Abuja yesterday to hold talks with the nation’s offshore lawyers preparatory to the resumption of the legal battle to reverse the debt judgment on Thursday.

    The team left with a three-point agenda: seeking the leave of the court to set aside the $9.6b damages, seeking a stay of execution of the award and appealing the judgement.

    Several other people may also be arraigned with Ex-CJN Belgore, The Nation gathered yesterday.

    A total of 18 past and present government officials have been linked with the signing of the alleged agreement with P&ID.

    However, only one of them, a former Director, Legal Services of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Grace Taiga, has so far been taken to court.

    She was arraigned before Justice Olukayode Adeniyi of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory on Friday.

    Sources said the EFCC has concluded investigation on more suspects and recommended them for trial.

    One source said anyone who is implicated during investigation will face trial.

    Another source said: “The case at hand is serious. Many suspects conspired to create this problem for the country. We will arraign more people and companies in court.

    “The final outcome of the investigation will determine the fate of ex-CJN Belgore. If he is found guilty, we might put him in the dock with others. The law is no respecter of anybody.”

    When contacted, the EFCC’s prosecution lawyer, Mr. Bala Sanga (a former Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice in Adamawa State), said: “We are going to give it everything to get to the root of this criminal conspiracy.

    “We will prosecute anybody found culpable after the conclusion of our investigation.”

    The Federal Government, it was also gathered, has perfected plans to register in London last Wednesday’s judgment in Nigeria against Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID) in line with UK’s law on Registration of Foreign Judgment.

    If the registration scales through, P&ID will forfeit all its assets in Nigeria and in the UK, including the $9.6billion damages to the Federal Government.

    Investigation showed that Nigeria’s legal team departed Abuja yesterday for consultations with the nation’s offshore lawyers in London.

    The Federal Government also rejigged the legal team by dropping some of those who appeared on its behalf in the past in the case.

    A reliable source said: “We have tinkered with the legal team; we now have a tighter group which will work with our offshore lawyers.

    “We will build our case on the conviction of P&ID by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court for fraud, money laundering, bribery and tax evasion among others.

    “The granting of an order forfeiture of assets of P&ID is more important to us. We will take advantage of the UK’s law on Registration of Foreign Judgments to register Justice Ekwo’s verdict on P&ID.

    “Once we succeed in registering the judgment, all assets of P&ID, including the so-called $9.6billion will belong to Nigeria.”

    Asked of what Nigeria would  be tabling before the court in London, the source said: “We have a three-point agenda including seeking the leave of the court to set aside the $9.6b damages; a stay of execution of the award; and going to an appellate court if Nigeria’s application is refused.

    “Seeking the leave of the court is not a matter of right, you have to argue for it on the point of law. This is why our team is battle ready.

    The founder of Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID), Michael Quinn admitted to have had audience with the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, ex-Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, a former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Shehu Ladan and 15 others over the Gas Supply and Processing Agreement (GSPA).

    He also said he wrote ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke and a former Special Adviser to President on Petroleum Matters, Dr. Emmanuel Egbogah on certain developments on the failed project.

    Read Also: Alleged N450m fraud: Belgore denies complicity

    He was silent on whether or not the ex-President, Diezani and Egbogah played any roles.

    But he admitted that the Arbitration, which led to the $9.6billion judgment debt, was entered into by the Jonathan administration with the knowledge of Diezani.

    He said on 19 September 2012 he wrote to the Minister for Petroleum Resources nominating P&ID’s choice of Arbitrator, the Sir Anthony Evans.

    He said on 30 November 2012 the Government wrote to inform P&ID of the appointment of Chief Bayo Ojo as the Government’s arbitrator.

    Despite the fact that he said there was a meeting earlier on 12 October 2012 at the “office of the Government’, he said he would not want to divulge what transpired.

    But Quinn included the list of the 18 key actors/ players in the contract in his in a witness statement tabled before the Arbitration Tribunal.

    He said the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for the project was done on July 22, 2009.

     

     

  • Obaseki’s former Aide petition Buhari over Edo crisis

    A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Chief Press Secretary to Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state, John Maiyaki has petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari over the lingering crisis within the party in Edo state asking him to intervene and address the issues before it is too late.

    In a letter to the President, Maiyaki said the President must fulfill his promise to address the issues in Edo state when the new cabinet is reconstituted, pointing out that party members in the state were getting more agitated over the delay in resolving the crisis.

    Maiyaki said “I write to refresh your memory, of the total breakdown of law and order in Edo state caused by the illegal and impermissible inauguration of the state House of Assembly under the administration of Governor Godwin Obaseki.

    “It can be recalled that pertinent to the dictates of the Nigerian Constitution/which states that, a sitting Governor shall upon the successful election of the state legislators, issue a letter of proclamation that will openly, in all fairness and transparency, invite the new lawmakers for the official swearing-in and ushering-in to state duties and functions.

    “But contrary to conventional practice, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo States, perhaps motivated by other ambitions, undercut this popular and legal practice, and through shoddy means invited and compelled a number of the new lawmakers who were by a far degree, a minority representation of the people elected by Edo electorates, and coercively swore them in at the ungodly and nocturnal hours of 9pm to 12 midnight on 17th June 2019.

    “This negative development has since given rise to fierce contentions in Edo State as the marginalized lawmakers express their pains and disappointment at the devious exhibition of the governor. The consequent rancor came to epic decibel as the constituencies whose legislators were undermined reiterated their disaffection with the unfortunate turn of events.

    “Putting these activities in proper perspective, one finds the action of Governor Godwin Obaseki as unequivocally wrong, unwarranted and blatantly defiling the sanctity of the legislative arm of the state government.

    READ ALSO: Edo people opposed to Obaseki’s second term bid, says former aide

    “Worse, the directions given by the Federal Legislative Chambers, both from the Senate and House of
    Representatives, that the governor rescinds the process and issues a new letter of proclamation, hence, calling the legislators into service in the legal and upright way, has been flouted by the governor. In an ostentatious display of rebellion, Godwin Obaseki had gone ahead to obtain an injunction from a certain High Court in Port Harcourt, claiming to have his criminal inauguration validated.

    “My letter intends to remind you of your promise to look critically into the matter and arrest the situation when a new cabinet is formed and the Minister of Justice assumes office. I hope that your concerted actions help to contain the fracas that the imbroglio has set off.

    “The worst implication of Governor Obaseki’s errant action is that, if not checked, it will establish a precedence in the political history of Nigeria, and therefore create an official background for a future assault on the democracy we have strived to build for two decades now.

    “I remain hopeful while I anticipate your actions in response to this letter and towards the prevention of the death of our Nigerian democracy.”

  • Dickson in romance with Sylva for soft-landing, says APC stalwart

    Ex-militant leader and chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Eris Paul has alleged that Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, was in strange romance with the Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, to negotiate a soft landing for himself.

    Paul, who is fondly called Oguboss, in an open letter called on the APC leader to thread with caution in his dealings with Dickson accusing the governor of persecuting members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

    Addressing Sylva, the ex-militant leader said: “Your new friendship with Dickson is veined and not blue from the usual cool. Sealing my lips does not close my eyes, victories are not won by people on knees around you.

    “Peremabiri community is having a court case with Henry Dickson, our chiefs were forcefully arrested and taken to court in the night for not supporting him.

    “We vigilantly still stand threats from the almighty Dickson every day, when you think of soft landing for a man who never bears soft landing for his own state, please also consider the place of your followers.

    “13 persons were sacked in my family from the civil service, including my biological parents, my country home in Yenagoa was bombed. Attacks on my life have been ceaseless for over seve  years.

    “I am saying  that the scars of others should not be forgotten and teach us cautions. If we were not all loyal and forced to wear a bulletproof or distrust before now, we would have not been commanding so much respect from the people.

    “Your Excellency Chief Timipre Sylva Sir, can i ask for caution, or insist for some form of carefulness with Henry Sariake Dickson?  Henry Sariake Dickson visits you in your Abuja resident or has been on his knees begging for soft landing does not make him a loyalist or your friend

    ‘Having a normal knees would make life more easier for Dickson, but not like the knees of someone shedding crocodile tear.  Sariake Dickson is begging you but his supporters are pulling the hairs off your followers in Yenagoa.

    “Remember that some of us have left all the luxury of the state capital, including our families, to the village. Despite that Dickson is attacking us & our communities till date”.

    But the People’s Democratic Party Youth Network (PDPYN) described the claims of the ex-militant leader as untrue and called on Bayelsans to ignore the rumour peddled by unscrupulous characters.

    The Secretary-General of the PDPYN, Mr. James Oputin, urged Bayelsans to ignore the unfounded rumour which he described as a product of mischief.

    He said that the politicians behind the rumour were scared of the growing internal cohesion within the PDP ahead of the November 16 gubernatorial election in the state contrary to their expectations.

    Read Also: Dickson disengages special adviser

    Oputin also advised the members and supporters of the PDP to ignore the false story designed to malign the leadership of the party in Bayelsa.

    He said that the surreptitious design to put unnecessary doubts in the minds of well meaning supporters of the party in the state should be resisted.

    The PDPYN scribe said that Governor Dickson and the leadership of the PDP did not need any meeting with leaders of the All Progressives Congress to win the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the state.

    He stated also while it was possible for Governor Dickson to host Chief Timipre Sylva in his capacity as the minister from Bayelsa in the Federal cabinet, it was sad that some APC members were peddling deliberate misinformation to deceive Bayelsans about a meeting that did not take place.

    Oputin stressed that the same set of people from the All Progressives Congress were behind the story that Sylva supported David Lyon because he wanted to give the governorship to the PDP.

    He advised the uninformed people behind the fake story to focus their attention on their electoral campaign rather than the failed attempt to plant discord within the PDP.

    Oputin noted that the PDP and its followers would not be distracted by disgruntled elements of the APC who are battling to divert attention from the challenge of marketing a gubernatorial misnomer as their candidate in Bayelsa.

    He insisted that Bayelsa is the stronghold of the PDP and would continue to remain so.

    He challenged those behind the rumour to prove the veracity of their story by providing photographic evidence of the said meeting to convince Bayelsans or remain silent.

     

  • ‘How to stop Nigeria’s political haemorrhage’

    Former Dean, Faculty of Social Science and Professor of Sociology, University of Lagos, Prof Lai Olurode has said that Nigeria’s political system is witnessing political haemorrhage, which he blamed on voter apathy, disinterestedness in the political and electoral process, low voter turnout, vote buying, protracted legal tussles, stark transactions in freedom, electoral violence, among others.

    He also identified diverse electoral mythologies and malpractices, rapacious money culture, factions within political parties, generalised breakdown in party discipline, oligarchical tendency and absence of consensus building in the electoral process as factors responsible for the haemorrhage.

    The university don who spoke at the launch of a book The Bisi Akande Phenomenon? in Lagos last week, said that to avert the unfolding trend and reduce cost of conducting elections, there is need to ‘revive our embedded cultural and ethical assets and deploy them more in the service of our electoral process both at the front and back end’.

    “Rather than pointedly and frankly addressing these challenges as deriving from the failure and absence of strong ideological roots at party formation stage, drowning of dissenting voices within the party structure and absence of elite consensus in SW, they are being approached primarily from the monetary angle. Even then, the rage has not abated. The truth is that an average voter is becoming more confident, resilient and rebellious with the increasing deployment of technology in the electoral process,” he said.

    According to him, between 2015 and 2019, the total votes cast in the Northeast and Northcentral increased but Southwest suffered a decline. He recalled that in this year’s general elections, Southwest recorded the highest percentage of rejected and wasted votes and that voter turnout was 34 per cent in the region in 2015 whereas it was 50 per cent in Northwest.

    “In 2019, it was 27 per cent in Southwest but 44 per cent in Northwest; Southwest figure was far lower than those of Northcentral, Northeast and Northwest. Thus vote bleeding is severest in the Southwest. Fringe political parties had a noticeable outing in SW. Yet, in the market place of politics, votes are the main negotiating instruments,” he added.

    He however recalled that Pa Bisi Akande expended less than N100,000 in his election as Governor of Osun State in 1999, noting that it cannot be said that money answereth all things political.

    He stated that the future of Nigeria’s democratisation process should be anchored on a strong ethical foundation in the context of internal party democracy if robust participation by the people is to be induced in place of peripheral engagement with the electoral process.

    “My message to SW leaders is to plough more ethical assets to drive the electoral process and thereby terminate political bleeding. Unfortunately and sadly though, ethical voices have become greatly diminished. Yet, without strong foundations in cultural and ethical assets, a country’s development is doomed,” Prof Olurode warned. .

  • Ore fly over to be completed December, says Akeredolu

    Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu at the weekend said the Ore fly over will be ready by December this year.

    He maintained that his administration was committed to addressing infrastructural deficit across the state.

    The flyover project is one of the legacy projects initiated and embarked upon by the current administration.

    The project was flagged off by Governor Akeredolu in February last year as part of activities marking his administration’s one year in office.

    Speaking while receiving traditional rulers from Ikale area of Ondo state in his office, Akure, the state capital, Akeredolu said the flyover, first in Ondo state was aimed at ameliorating gridlock and frequent accidents in the axis.

    Akeredolu decried paucity of fund but emphasized that the State government would strike the balance to pay workers as and when due and end infrastructural deficit across the state.

    The governor who also promised to revive Okitipupa oil palm and accord priority to reaforestation added that the Ore power plant would soon be completed to create jobs for the citizens.

    The monarchs led by the Abodi of Ikaleland, Oba George Faduyile had earlier lauded the governor for the tremendous progress noticed across the state and urged him never to discontinue regular payment of workers’ salaries as well as retirees’ pension.