The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigerian Newspapers

  • ‘How CMD was abducted in Edo’

    Details have emerged on how the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Prof. Sylvanus Okogbeni, was abducted.

    The Nation learnt that Okogbeni was kidnapped by gunmen, who blocked his car at the Ramat Park in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State.

    Two policemen were killed and their guns carted away, while drivers of the two vehicles in his convoy escaped with bullet wounds.

    The two policemen were identified as Sergeants Odion Jonathan Ajibola and Etinosa Erhuegbea, both of Irrua Police Divisional Headquarters.

    Read Also: ‘Nabbed suspected kidnapper of toddlers is a specialist’  

    An eyewitness, who was controlling traffic at Ramat Park, said the attackers wore police uniforms and T-shirts.

    He said the operation lasted for about six minutes, adding that the shooting made everyone to run for safety.

    The source said the gunmen riddled the Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) of Okogbeni with bullets before taking him away in their car.

    Police sources said the two drivers in their brief said they first saw their attackers at Ehor town.

    The driver of the abducted CMD, Mr. Edewele Thadeus, said the vehicles started trailing them from a bad spot at Ehor town, but they didn’t realise that the occupants had criminal motives.

    He said the CMD was on his way to catch an Abuja bound flight where he was expected to attend a conference.

    Police spokesman Chidi Nwabuzor said information about the incident was still sketchy, “but the command has begun investigation.”

  • Teenager killed at ex-Speaker’s home

    Gunmen have shot dead a 20-year-old man, Aondowase Tagher, at the Northbank home of the first Speaker of Benue State House of Assembly, the late Him Ayua Num, in Makurdi.

    The Nation learnt that the incident occurred on Sunday night.

    The hoodlums, about 30, reportedly stormed the Federal Low Cost Housing Unit Northbank home of the late Speaker at about 10:30pm.

    Narrating the incident, the son of the late Speaker, Mr. Cosmos Num, told The Nation that he was sleeping in his house at a different location within the Federal Housing Low Cost Housing Estate when he was called on the phone that gunmen had invaded his father’s house.

    Read Also: Death toll in attacks on Benue communities hits nine

    Num said the incident shocked him, adding that his mother, Mrs. Patricia Àyua Num, narrowly escaped death, as the gunmen shot directly on the window side of her bedroom, but the bullets missed target.

    He said the incident was an attempt to kill his mother.

    Num urged security agencies to fish out the killers of his cousin and bring them to book, to act as a deterrent to others.

    Police spokesperson Kate Sewuese Anene confirmed the incident.

    She said investigation has begun.

  • Falana, Ozekhome disagree over ex-CJN Onnoghen’s sack

    TWO Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) Mike Ozekhome and Femi Falana on Tuesday disagreed over lawyers’ response to the removal of immediate-past Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Walter Onnoghen.

    The duo spoke during Rule of Law Session of the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference (AGC) at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos.

    On April 19, the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) convicted Justice Onnoghen on the infractions noticed in his assets declaration documents and for failing to reveal the money he kept in foreign bank accounts.

    His suspension over the charges pending trial by President Muhammadu Buhari in January, weeks before the presidential election, caused a political storm within the legal community.

    Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who was one of the panelists at the NBA event, stirred the controversy with his comment on the Justice Onnoghen saga.

    According to him, the NBA failed the former CJN when the Federal Government eased him out of office.

    The lawmaker, representing Abia South Senatorial District, alleged that some persons hid a judgment that invalidated the Federal Government’s power to oust Justice Onnoghen, only to bring the judgment out after his ouster.

    Abaribe said: “I’m going to pose just one question to the NBA on the basis of some, I would say, facts.

    “One, you cannot be a judge without being a lawyer. Am I correct? You cannot be an attorney-general without also being a lawyer.

    “What that means is simple: this group of learned people, you are the only ones that have one arm of government and a critical arm of the executive, so, you have the judiciary as one arm, then you have the ministry of justice which is also peopled by lawyers, whether at the state or at the federal level.

    “The question we ask, with due apologies to Wole Soyinka in The Bar Association: Tiger, where is your tigritude?”

    Explaining the reason for his question, he said: “We find the Bar Association blowing very mute trumpets when the judiciary is under pressure and I can say that in the matter of Onnoghen, what happened? We waited for the Bar Association, (but) nothing happened. We waited for the Attorney-General’s office, nothing happened. And everybody was looking at us (senators).

    “What we were waiting for, the law is very clear: you cannot remove a Chief Justice without coming to the Senate. Yet, it happened, and nothing happened.”

    On allegations that senators get fat salaries, the senator said: “On the Senate pay, I can be very, very specific… Every office has an overhead, the National Assembly office is the only office where people add the overhead to your legitimate pay and say that that is your pay.

    Read Also: NJC confirms Onnoghen’s voluntary retirement 

    “We do not know what the overhead of a minister is. Nobody has ever said that a minister who can travel with 100 aides on the account of the ministry, we don’t say that the ministry’s money is that minister’s money.”

    He challenged the audience to compare the Nigerian senators’ pay to their United States’ counterparts.

    “When you do that, you will find out that we are not earning too much money.”

    Responding to Abaribe’s remarks on Justice Onnoghen’s sack, Ozekhome berated lawyers for not doing enough to protest Justice Onnoghen’s prosecution and conviction.

    According to him, lawyers could have taken to the streets the way lawyers in Pakistan did when former President Pervez Musharaf “unconstitutionally” removed the country’s Chief Justice.

    Ozekhome said: “Is there anything wrong with lawyers – since members of the Bench are defamed and they cannot protest by themselves – (adopting) the kind of role we saw lawyers did on 9th of March, 2007, when they went on the streets in Pakistan and shut down the entire country because President Pervez Musharaf removed unjustly and unconstitutionally Mohammed Musharaf, the late Chief Justice. Can’t we do more than we have done?”

    But Ozekhome got a sharp reply from activist-lawyer Falana, who reminded him that the Pakistani CJ was not unlawfully removed under a cloud of unexplained wealth, just like Onnoghen.

    Falana said: “In Pakistan, the Chief Justice then was not removed for corruption. Can the NBA morally go to the streets to fight for judges who have millions that they cannot account for?”

    The audience erupted in applause.

    When the din subsided, Falana turned on panel chairman Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, and questioned his commitment to human rights causes.

    He said: “You and I, Olisa – I think that was the point Senator Abaribe was making – in the 80s, we were on the streets to fight for democracy and the rule of law and human rights. Senator Abaribe is asking you: what has happened, Olisa Agbakoba?”

    The audience erupted again.

    Agbakoba, who was moderating the session, gave him an instant reply.

    He said: “Femi, I can tell you what has happened. You want to know? I am a grandfather.”

    The session, which was attended by thousands of lawyers, including NBA President Paul Usoro (SAN) and other NBA executive council members, featured Justice Obande Ogbuinya of the Court of Appeal, International Bar Association (IBA) President Horacio Neto; Mr Stephen Craig QC of the Bar of Human Rights Committee of England and Wales among others, as panelists.

  • Missing High Court judge found

    A missing Federal High Court judge, Idrissa Saleh, has been found.

    The judge, who was declared missing last weekend, was found at Nyanya in Abuja.

    Read Also: Anxiety over whereabouts of FHC judge

    Confirming to The Nation in a phone conversation, FCT Command spokesman Anjuguri Manzah said: “The man was missing, but we can confirm to you that he has been found. He was found on Tuesday at a filling station at Nyanya area of Abuja. “It was, however, unclear whether the judge was found by operatives of the command, as Manzah refused to comment further on the matter.

    Manzah, however, stated that the judge’s disappearance had nothing to do with kidnapping.

    The judge went missing after he allegedly discharged himself from a hospital where he was undergoing treatment.

  • No evidence of firm’s investment in Nigeria, says Emefiele

    CENTRAL Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele said on Tuesday that “there is no evidence to show that a foreign company which came into this country deserved to be awarded $9.6 billion without investing any money in Nigeria.”

    Speaking at Tuesday’s news conference, he said: “We have heard and also read in some media that P&ID or the contractor in this case, had mentioned that it had invested close to about $40 million in the project.

    “On our part as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), we note that P&ID is a foreign company.  As a foreign company, if you are investing either in a contract or a project in Nigeria, there are various options you will adopt in bringing in your investment.

    “If you are bringing in capital, in which case you are bringing in the money, you will fill from A and you will also collect a certificate of capital importation.

    “If you are bringing in machine or assets to execute your contract, then in this case, you will fill form M and also collect a certificate of capital importation to prove that you actually brought in money.

    Read Also: Emefiele: Need for regular stress test on banks

    “We have gone through our records, we do not have any information in our records to show that this company brought in one cent into this country and we have accordingly written to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), and the Intelligence Department of the Nigeria Police that are currently investigating this matter.

    “I think just following from what the honorable Minister for Finance and Budget and Planning had said, time has come when Nigerians must rise against incidence of people alleging to be doing contract in Nigeria without investing a penny, all with an intention to defraud our country.

    “The money that they want to take is our own commonwealth that belongs to all of us. It is very sad that you will find some Nigerian collaborators with some foreign interest under bourgeois intentions trying to defraud this country.

    “If they have proof of their investment, we are calling on them to please come forward and provide us proof of how they invested money in this project.

    “You have heard the Attorney-General talking about the fact that it was a contract that was meant to fail abinitio   and I think, we read even some Nigerian  media organizations castigating and saying Nigeria should pay.

    “This is time for us to be patriotic and rise . If you find a fault in what Nigerian, a governor, a minister or anybody has done stand up and say it but not for you to collaborate and begin to join forces with people who want to defraud the country.”

     

  • Police quiz Fatoyinbo over alleged rape

    Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA) founder Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo was on Tuesday grilled for several hours by detectives at the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCIID) in Abuja, over alleged rape of Busola Dakolo.

    Mrs. Dakolo in June accused the pastor in a bare-it-all interview of allegedly raping her when she was a teenager inside her family’s sitting room in Ilorin, Kwara State, when he visited one early morning.

    She gave horrid details of the encounter and explained how the pastor went on to exploit her vulnerability from that day.

    Mrs. Dakolo further revealed that two members of the church- Wole Soetan and Folarin Ogunsola- now pastors in charge of Port Harcourt and Lagos branches, had joined Fatoyinbo to beg her family after her siblings discovered what happened to her and took the war to the pastor.

    Although Fatoyinbo denied the allegation, claiming it was a calculated attempt to malign him, Dakolo’s case resulted in many other victims of the pastor’s alleged sexual assault speaking out on the social media.

    Efforts by the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) to intervene in the matter was said to have been frustrated following the refusal of the pastor to honour their invitation.

    The Nation gathered that the police have located Mrs. Dakolo’s siblings, including the sister she alleged was upstairs the day Fatoyinbo allegedly raped her at her family’s home.

    Read Also: Why I shunned PFN panel on Busola Dakolo’s rape allegation— Fatoyinbo

    Also, Pastor Ogunsola was said to have been interviewed and a statement was being obtained from him as at 7pm yesterday, while Soetan was being expected.

    The pastor, whose team was said to have been sent out of the department around 11am when he arrived, was interrogated by a team tasked to handle the case by Inspector-General of Police (IG) Mohammed Adamu through the DIG Investigation.

    As at 7:30pm it was not certain if Fatoyinbo would be granted administrative bail or detained, as The Nation gathered that the team was awaiting the arrival of the DIG, who was in a meeting.

    “Presently, he is still with us. We cannot conclude yet if he will be detained or not, but from what I have observed, he is likely to be granted bail. We are waiting for the DIG to come. He has been in a meeting,’’ said a source.

    Another source disclosed that detectives chose to invite Fatoyinbo after locating and speaking to other parties mentioned by Mrs. Dakolo in her statement.

    Confirming the development, Police spokesman Frank Mba, a Deputy Commissioner (DCP), said it was too early to say if Fatoyinbo would be detained, adding that only the investigators can arrive at that decision based on their findings.

    He said: “Yes, he is currently at FCIID undergoing interrogation. We have been conducting discreet investigation. We are making efforts to reach one or two other pastors she alleged intervened then.

    “It was a deliberate investigative strategy to bring Fatoyinbo much later after we must have gotten other things. Some Nigerians were thinking we did not want to talk to him, but that is not so.

    “He is with us now and I cannot say if he will be detained or not. Investigators will have to determine that. They may choose to detain him or grant him bail while investigation continues.

    “We have the statement of Busola Dakolo already. She earlier made a statement to the police. Nigerians are assured that we will diligently investigate and conclude this case.”

  • EFCC’s joint efforts with FBI yield $314,000 recovery

    ACTING Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, on Tuesday said that the collaboration between the Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has led to the recovery of $314,000 and about N373 million from the perpetrators of computer-related fraud.

    Besides the recovered $314,000, Magu said the Lagos Zonal office of the commission has traced N373 million to some commercial banks.

    The acting EFCC chair also informed that the recent joint operations coordinated by the Commission yielded 28 arrests with 14 suspects charged and convicted.

    Magu said: “Nine of the suspects are currently undergoing trial, while five are still under investigations. Over 80 cases are still under investigation from the EFCC-FBI joint operations.”

    He spoke through the Lagos Zonal Head of the commission, Mohammed Rabo at a news conference in Lagos.

    He said the Lagos office of the anti-graft agency, prior to the collaborative efforts with the FBI, had independently launched a sustained operation on perpetrators of various computer-related frauds.

    Magu said: “From 2018 to date, the EFCC had launched a sustained operation on perpetrators of various computer-related frauds, which resulted in over 200 arrests, 130 convictions and recovery of a large number of exotic cars and properties suspected to have been acquired through the proceeds of crime.

    “We had independently launched intensive investigative actions against the infamous Yahoo boys culminating in various strategic raids and onslaught on their hideouts.

    Read Also: EFCC arrests Kwara director for ‘fraudulent’ sale of land

    “Our efforts in this regard have recorded tremendous successes leading to a number of arrests, prosecutions and convictions.”

    Magu called on the media to continue to support the fight against corruption and economic and financial crimes, adding: “No one has the monopoly of knowledge of how the fight should be fought and won.

    “All the critical stakeholders, particularly the media, must continue to collaborate and cooperate with us to make the fight a success.

    “I urge you to continue to help us sensitize, mobilise and educate all the critical stakeholders to continue to support the fight against economic and financial crimes. We must collectively strive to achieve the Nigeria of our dream.

    “It is very critical for you to understand that you owe the youth that social responsibility of awakening their consciousness to the importance of a noble life devoid of crimes.”

    He also reiterated that the agency would leave no stone unturned “towards stamping out corruption and economic and financial crimes from our society.”

  • Eni strikes major gas find in Nigeria

    ITALY’s Eni made a major natural gas discovery in the Niger Delta, with the reservoir estimated to hold about one trillion cubic feet (cu ft) of gas and 60 million barrels of condensate.

    The well could produce natural gas at a daily rate of 100 million cu ft or more, with condensate production at 3,000 barrels daily. Eni said production could begin immediately.

    “The discovery is part of a drilling campaign planned by NAOC and aimed at exploring near-field and deep pool opportunities as ‘immediate time to market’ opportunities,” the Italian oil major said.

    Nigeria is best known for its oil wealth but the Western African country also has the largest natural gas reserves in Africa, S&P Global Platts noted in a report of the news. The country has sought to commercialise these reserves amid growing global demand for the cleaner fossil fuel despite a significant slump in international gas prices, driven down by a string of large-scale LNG projects and strong production growth in the U.S. shale patch.

    Read Also: Time to intensify Niger Delta development efforts

    According to numbers from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Nigeria has natural gas reserves of 202 trillion cu ft, revised up from 199 trillion cu ft last year. The country also has another 600 trillion cu ft of unproven gas reserves. Of this, according to Shell, only about a quarter is in active development.

    The country is home to one Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project, which has a capacity of 22 million tons of the super chilled fuel annually. This will be boosted to 30 million tons with the addition of a new, seventh, train to the facility.

     

     

  • Lagos vows to curb fraudulent acts in real estate

    Lagos State Government has vowed to explore legal means in protecting the interests of the people from real estate swindlers, Housing Commissioner Moruf Akinderu-Fatai has said.

    The commissioner, who spoke yesterday in Alausa, Ikeja when some defrauded accommodation seekers from Alapere Ketu visited him to complain, added that the government would also help citizens to seek redress in cases of fraudulent transactions.

    He said: “The government has declared a war against fraudulent practitioners in the real estate sector. We are determined to make Lagos a no-go area for unscrupulous individuals who prey on Lagosians under the guise of real estate business.”

    Speaking earlier on behalf of the victims allegedly defrauded by an estate agent, who collected rents from over 260 prospective tenants for only 15 units of accommodation, Aliyu Toyin feared that the accused might not be brought to book.

    Read Also: ‘Shun unregistered estate agents, developers’

    Akinderu-Fatai assured them that “justice will definitely be served to the fraudulent property developer, who swindled them out of their hard earned money.”

    The commissioner said the government was aware of the issue and had instituted legal actions against the developer on behalf of the victims.

    He urged the public to report dubious estate agents and developers to the office of Lagos State Real Estate Transaction Department (LASRETRAD), Block 7, Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja.

    “I assure you that the government under the leadership of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is very responsive and will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the culprits are brought to book,” Akinderu-Fatai said.

    He advised the victims to remain calm and be law-abiding “since the matter is already in court.”

    Permanent Secretary Mr. Wasiu Akewusola enjoined Lagosians seeking accommodation to transact business with estate agents and developers who are registered with LASRETRAD, a directorate under the ministry.

    He said the directorate is saddled with the responsibility of registering, regulating and monitoring real estate operators across the state and

    appealed to the victims to maintain peace and order, while the government takes action on the matter.

  • Commissioner advocates proper meat transportation

    Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture Prince Gbolahan Lawal has stressed the need for butchers to follow the global best practice in the production and handling of meat for public consumption.

    The commissioner, who spoke on Tuesday in Alausa, Ikeja when he received a delegation of the Lagos State Butchers Association, said the advice became imperative because the state had always been known for quality and global best practices, hence the need for butchers to follow suit.

    He said the government would soon revisit the type of vehicles being used by butchers to transport meat across the state, adding that the current situation is unwholesome and therefore not acceptable.

    Read Also: ‘Urgent action needed on meat sector operating costs’

    Lawal expressed concern about issues, including reduction in the quality and quantity of cattle supply to the state due to reasons and the funding of the butchers by banks, among others.

    Promising to look into ways of assisting the association through empowerment programmes, he suggested a meeting with the association later in the week to discuss and come up with short and long term solution to problems.

    The association led by its Chairman, Mr. Bamidele Kazeem, thanked the commissioner for receiving them despite his busy schedule and promised to cooperate with the government to ensure that the meat consumed by the public is wholesome.