The Nation Newspaper

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  • Fayose: Court admits Obanikoro’s dead aide’s statement in evidence

    The Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday admitted in evidence a statement made by the late Justin Erukaa, a former Personal Assistant of ex-Minister of State for Defence Senator Musiliu Obanikoro.

    Justice Mojisola Olatoregun held that the statement was admissible in law.

    Obanikoro was testifying for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the trial of former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose.

    Counsel for Spotless Limited, Fayose’s co-accused, Mr Olalekan Ojo (SAN), had during proceedings on February 7 urged the judge to admit the statement in evidence.

    He said the statement was relevant to the case because Erukaa made it in the course of EFCC’s investigation.

    “In law, the first litmus test of admissibility is relevance. Obanikoro said in his testimony that he sent Erukaa on errands, including to collect over $1million and that he came to meet him in Ekiti.

    Read Also: Fayose’s kinsmen defect to APC in Ekiti

    “In law, a statement made to the EFCC in the course of investigation is admissible in evidence without the maker being called as witness or being a party to proceedings.

    “It is not the law that a document which is not tendered through the maker is not admissible,” the SAN said, relying on sections 36 and 83 of the Evidence Act.

    But, prosecuting counsel Rotimi Jacobs opposed Ojo’s bid to tender the statement, arguing that it was not admission in law.

    He said the sections relied on by Ojo were not application in the circumstances.

    But the judge overruled Jacobs, holding that Section 46 of the Evidence Act make such a document admissible.

    She said the issue was what weight the court would attach to the statement, which was the court’s to determine.

    Fayose is on trial for allegedly receiving and keeping N1.2billion and $5million allegedly stolen from the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA) contrary to the Money Laundering Act.

    He pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned on an 11-count charge last October 22.

    Under cross examination on Monday, Obanikoro reiterated that three were no records of the money sent from ONSA.

    “We’re dealing with security issues. It can be called anything just to protect the transactions. They can be characterised as anything,” he said.

    He said there was no contract awarded before the fund was transferred, adding that he supervised Sylvan Mcnamara Ltd’s account from which the fund was disbursed.

    He said funds paid into the account were for the security of Lagos, and for election purposes in Ekiti and Osun states.

    “I only took supervisory responsibility of the account during the transactions for Lagos, Ekiti and Osun.

    “No contract was signed. Matters of election can be matters of security. Political matters can also be security-related,” Obanikoro said.

    Asked if he would be surprised that the ONSA denied paying N2.2billion to Sylvan Mcnamara’s account, Obanikoro said: “I won’t be surprised.”

    EFCC said Fayose and Biodun Agbele, who is facing a different charge, allegedly took possession of N1, 219,000, 000 on June 17, 2014 to fund the former governor’s 2014 gubernatorial campaign.

    The commission said Fayose “reasonably ought to have known” that the money “formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: criminal breach of trust/stealing.”

    EFCC said Fayose, on the same day, received cash payment of $5million from Obanikoro, without going through a financial institution, the sum having exceeded the amount authorised by law.

    Fayose pleaded not guilty.

    Trial continues Tuesday.

  • Bauchi: Row over INEC’s decision to resume collation of result

    The decision by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to resume collation and announcement of result for Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area, which was hitherto cancelled, has sparked huge controversy in Bauchi State.

    Consequently, diverse groups have reacted to the development.

    The Body of Bauchi Lawyers of Conscience (BOBOLAC) had backed INEC’s reversal of the cancellation of the votes of the Governorship polls of Tafawa Balewa Local government area saying “We consider INEC’s decision as the best and most proper thing to do under the circumstances”

    Addressing Journalists on Monday over the development, the convener of the body, Shipi Rabo Esq, said INEC acted in accordance with the dictates of the law and in the greater interest of all in taking the decision in question.

    Shipi therefore called on all political actors to demonstrate the support, cooperation and understanding necessary for INEC to successfully conclude the process and formally announce the winner so the waiting game characterized by tension, rumours, would be over.

    Meanwhile, the Concern Citizens, Tafawa Balewa, has opposed and INEC’s decision saying it is “Ultra Vires” contrary to law and therefore illegal with no regards to the provision of Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and INEC guidelines for 2019 general elections.

    The group stated that INEC has no power to reverse any decision taken by a Returning officer concerning election result at the collation centre.

    Addressing a press conference on Monday, the Caretaker Chairman of the Concern citizens of Tafawa Balewa, Salihu Barau, said the law provides that such a decision can only be reversed by a court of law or Tribunal and not the Commission for whatever reason.

    “There is no certainty on the genuineness of the allegedly generated results. Thus, we have lost confidence in INEC as it is apparent there would be no justice in the whole exercise.”

    It would be recalled that a fact-finding committee was set up by the commission to investigate the circumstances that led to the cancellation of results for Tafawa Balewa Local government and following the findings of the committee, INEC had approved the resumption and conclusion of results for Tafawa Balewa in relation to the Governorship election.

    The Commission also directed that error in total number of cancelled votes in four polling units in Ningi Local government area which was recorded as 25,330, in form EC40G (i) be corrected to 2,533.

    The ruling All progressive Congress, APC, in Bauchi State is currently trailing the opposition People’s Democratic Party and its candidate, Bala Muhammed, with 4,059 votes.

    The APC and the incumbent governor, Mohammed Abubakar scored 465,453 votes against the PDP’s 469,512 votes.

    A total of 1,048,220 votes was cast in the Bauchi guber election with valid votes totalling 1,026,801.21.

    419 votes were rejected while 45,312 votes were cancelled but with the error of cancelled votes discovered in Ningi Local Government where the number of cancelled votes in four polling units were recorded as 25,330, in lieu of 2,533, the cancelled votes has been reduced to 22,515.

    The collation process which will commence on Tuesday 19th March will definitely determine if there would be a rerun or not.

  • I’ll remove underperforming aides, says Obiano

    Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State has asked his commissioners and other appointees to rise to their responsibilities or have themselves to blame.

    He said he would not hesitate to change anybody who was underperforming in his cabinet.

    Delivering a message to mark the first year anniversary of his administration’s second term in office, Obiano urged all and sundry to join hands with his government to take the state to greater heights.

    “I assure you that I will not only remain focused but will not hesitate to change anybody who is underperforming in my cabinet,” he asserted.

    He said he had been able to change the fortunes of the state within his five years in office, including attraction of international recognitions for the development strides put in place in the state.

    He said, “Forbes Magazine USA recently recommended the State government’s Community Choose your Project Initiative as a model for the development of Africa.

    “We have also recorded achievements in all sectors of the state economy as well as massive support from the members of the State House Assembly.”

    Appreciating the people of the state for their overwhelming support, irrespective of political affiliations and inclinations, the governor pledged to do more for posterity.

    “The GDP of the State has increased from N3 trillion to N4.2 trillion in the last five years. I will expand the state economic performance in the next three years,” he pledged.

  • Rerun elections: ‘We must not allow Kano to burn’

    Kano concerned citizens initiative (KCCI), on Monday in Kano declared that the group of elders will not fold its arms and allow anyone’s vaulting ambitions to plunged the state into chaos.

    Chairman of the group, Alhaji Bashir Tofa alongside eminent members of the group made this statement while speaking to news men over recent happenings in the political circle of the state.

    He said the elders will do everything possible to protect and prevent Kano and would not allow the state to burn on account of ambition of an individual.

    Tofa who was one time presidential candidate of the defunct National Republican Convention, (NRC) noted that KCCI is disturbed, anxious, concerned and troubled by the seeming discord and agitation manifesting in Kano since the collation of the March 9th election results which culminated in INEC declaring it inconclusive.

    He called on political leaders to desist from making unguarded utterances capable of inflaming passion, which could trigger violence.

    “That it is incumbent upon political leaders to strictly obey the rules of engagement and the law by admonishing their members, operatives and followers to be mindful of the full wrath of the law this time around adding that open monitory and other unlawful inducements must never be condoned during the rerun elections.”

    Tofa, however, charged security personnel to remain alert from now until the formal declaration of the rerun election results and after.

    He also urged them to provide sufficient personnel to be detailed and posted to each of the polling units scattered over the 88 registration areas (wards) in the 30 affected local government areas of the state.

    “Security operatives must be seen to be upright and above board and completely nonpartisan. They have done well during the previous elections but the rerun exercise may yet prove to be more arduous and daunting.”

    “It also becomes imperative to take such security measures as would prevent people from neighboring states, who are non-residents of the state from coming in to partake in the March 23re rerun elections to forestall unnecessary tension or violence”

  • Five firms bid to buy Yola DisCos

    A total of five bids were received by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) on Friday, being the deadline for the submission of technical and financial proposals for the acquisition of the Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) and Afam Electricity Generation Company (Afam Power Plc & Afam Three Fast Power Limited) by prospective core-investors.

    Two firms- Quest Electricity Nigeria Limited and Sandstream Nigeria, submitted proposals to acquire the Yola Disco while DiamondStripes Consortium, Unicorn Power Generation Consortium and Transcorp Power, sought to acquire the Afam Genco.

    Sandstream submission was however found to be non-responsive as it failed to include a bank guarantee in line with the requirements in the Requests for Proposal (RfPs). Accordingly; the representative of the firm took the bid back.

    Speaking at the event, Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex A. Okoh assured the bidders that the evaluation of their bids would be subjected to the highest level of integrity culminating into the financial bids opening of the successful bidders.

    BPE’s Head of Public Communications, Amina Tukur Othman made this known in a statement on Monday.

    The statement noted that Okoh said the Evaluation Committee would meet immediately to discuss and finalise the scoring criteria before commencing the evaluation process on Monday, March 18, 2019 and end on Thursday, March 21, 2109.

    It would be recalled that 19 firms had indicated interest to acquire the Afam Power Company and the Yola Distribution Company (YDC) put up for sale by the Federal Government at the close of the submission of bids for the Expression of Interest (EOIs) at 1 pm on Tuesday, September 26, 2018.

    The request for expression of interest in the two companies was published by the BPE in national newspapers on August 16, 2018 and after evaluation of the EOIs, 11 firms qualified for the next stage but only the five were successful.

    It would be recalled that although Yola Distribution Company was successfully privatised and handed over to the core investor in 2013, a force majeure was declared in 2015 by the core investor citing insecurity in the North-East region of the country. Following this, the company was duly repossessed by the Federal Government. The transaction for Afam Power Generation Company, on the other hand, fell through due to the delay in signing the Gas Supply Agreement (GSAA) and the Gas Transportation Agreement (GTA).

    In 2017 the National council on Privatisation (NCP) gave approval for a fresh transaction to privatise the two power companies.

    It is expected that the successful bidders will be responsible for operating the generation and distribution companies, making the necessary investments to improve the generation and distribution networks and customer service in line with the objectives of the Federal Government of Nigeria set out in the National Electric Power Policy (NEPP).

  • Oyetola appoints SSG, CoS

    Osun State Governor Adegboyega Oyetola on Thursday made three major appointments.

    These are: Prince Oluwole Oyebamiji as Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

    Dr. Charles Diji Akinola as Chief of Staff (CoS) to the Governor and Mr. Adeyanju Abdullah Binuyo as Deputy Chief of Staff.

    A statement by Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Adeniyi Adesina, said the appointments take immediate effect.

    Prince Oyebamiji is a 1987 graduate of Theatre Arts of the University of Ibadan.

    He is a former Permanent Secretary, one-time General Manager, Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC), and erstwhile full-time Commissioner in the Osun State Civil Service Commission.

    Dr. Akinola is an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a Fellow of the Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs, Harvard University. He has a wealth of experience in international development, public policy and cross-sector partnerships.

    He was for many years Country Director, TechnoServe, an international development organisation reputed for its work in agriculture value chains and agribusinesses, and later Executive Director, Enterprise for Development International.

    Dr Akinola was the Director General, Office of Economic Development and Partnerships which is responsible for spearheading cross sector partnerships between the state, national and international investors and partners. He was the Chairman of the State Planning Commission and had variously supervised the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and the Ministry of Regional Integration in the State.

    Binuyo obtained a B.Sc. and MSc. from the University of Lagos.

    He attended several trainings at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, Tias University in the Netherlands and the National University of Ireland.

    Binuyo has deep experience in development finance, project and human management in the public and private sectors.

    He was the Senior Special Assistant on MDGs to the immediate past Administration. Prior to that, he had being a consultant to the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs. In 2015, he was Technical Adviser to the Transition Committee of President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari.

    Until recently, he was Chief of Staff to Minister of Communications Mr.Adebayo Shittu.

  • How my stepdad, his mum, beat my brother to death – Teenager

    A teenager, Omobowale Sunmola, Thursday told a Lagos High Court in Igbosere that her stepfather and his mother beat her elder brother to death and dumped his corpse in a canal.

    Omobowale told Justice Sedoten Ogunsanya that the incident occurred at their Maryland, Lagos apartment in 2014.

    She was 11 at the time, she explained, and about to begin Junior Secondary School (JSS) 1, while her brother, Tunde, was 13.

    Omobowale, now 17, testified during the trial of her mother, Margaret Olufunmilayo Odunlade, her stepfather, Folorunsho Emmanuel and his mother, Funke Maxwell, for the alleged offence.

    Odunlade, Emmanuel and Maxwell were arraigned by the Lagos State Government in 2014, on a two-count charge of manslaughter and misconduct with regard to a corpse.

    Prosecuting counsel, Adebayo Haroun, said the offences were committed at about 6am, on August 2, 2014, at 17, Emmanuel Street, Maryland, Ikeja, Lagos.

    He said the defendants unlawfully killed Tunde Sunmola by beating him and not taking him to the hospital for treatment of injuries he sustained on his leg.

    Odunlade was also accused of dumping Tunde’s body in a canal.

    According to the prosecutor, the offences contravened sections 222 and 163 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

    Omobowale, led in evidence by Haroun, testified as the third prosecution witness.

    The witness said at the time, she lived with her mom, stepdad and his mom, while Tunde lived in Ijebu Ode with their grandmother, Mrs. Arinola Sunmola.

    She said Tunde was eager to see her and their mum, so their grandmother persuaded his mother to come along to Ijebu with her (Sunmola) and take him to Lagos on August 1.

    According to Omobowale, when they got to Lagos, “My mother asked Tunde to start moving ahead of us and when I asked her why, she said she didn’t want people in the area to know that Tunde was her son.

    “That night when my mom’s husband came back from work, he asked my mum, ‘who is this boy?’

    “My mom said: ‘He is one of my sons.’

    “Her husband said: ‘Did you tell me you had another son outside?’

    “My mum said it was a mistake.

    “So, they argued and he asked why she didn’t tell him about my brother. She could not say anything,

    “That night, after we slept, I heard, my mum’s husband and his mother beating my brother. My mum later carried my brother on her back and I woke up and asked her, ‘where are you taking him?’ She said she was taking him back to Ijebu. I told her we were going together but she refused.

    “When she returned, I asked her where my brother was. She said she had returned him to Ijebu.”

    The witness said the following day, a relation, ‘Aunty Yemi’, told her that her brother was dead.

    Omobowale’s testimony corroborated that of her grandmother, Mrs Sunmola, who testified earlier.

    Sunmola, the second prosecution witness, narrated how she found out Tunde was dead.

    She said: “Odunlade came in company of her elder sister named Yemi, and Tunde’s younger sister, Omobowale Sunmola, a day after she took Tunde to Lagos.

    “She asked me to give her some money which I did. On the same day, she came back again to ask for more money. I then told her that I would only give her on the condition that she brings back my grandson.”

    According to the witness, Yemi persuaded Odunlade to confess, but Odunlade said their vehicle had an accident on their way Lagos and Tunde was killed.

    “I requested that they bring Tunde’s corpse, and they agreed, but I did not allow my granddaughter, to go back with them. When they got to Mowe-Ibafo (in Ogun State), they told the driver of the car, who was taking them to Lagos that they wanted to defecate. He stopped and that was how they escaped, ‘’ Sunmola told the court.

    The witness said Omobowale later informed her that Tunde was beaten to death by her mother’s new husband and his mother.

    Following the conclusion of testimonies, Justice Sedoten Ogunsanya adjourned further proceedings till June 26.

  • Ethiopian Crash: Germany rejects analysis of black box

    Ethiopian Airlines said Thursday that the black box flight recorders from the Boeing 737 MAX 8 that crashed with 157 people on board, have been flown to Paris for analysis.

    The airline stated this Twitter message.

    “An Ethiopian delegation led by Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has flown the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) to Paris, France for investigation.”

    This comes just as Germany’s Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) said it will not analyse the black box from the Ethiopian Airlines passenger jet which crashed soon after taking off from Addis Ababa on Sunday.

    This led to some uncertainty for a couple of hours before the French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) announced late on Wednesday that they would analyse the black-box flight recorders.

    The chief executive officer of Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde GebreMariam, said the black boxes from Sunday’s plane crash in Ethiopia would be sent to a “closer country in Europe” rather than the United States for analysis.
    Later on, an airline spokesperson reportedly confirmed that the country in question was Germany. However, just hours later, Germany’s BFU issued a statement reasoning their rejection of the request.

    Read Also: Ethiopian airlines: families of victims steel themselves for journey to crash site

    “This is a new type of aircraft with a new black box, with new software. We can’t do it,” BFU spokesperson Germout Freitag told the media.

    Pilots have reported issues in US with new Boeing arrived in Paris for analysis on Thursday morning. The BEA is one of the world’s most active air crash agencies alongside the National Transportation Safety Board of the United States and has laboratories at its Le Bourget headquarters.

    A spokesman for the BEA said they wouldn’t be announcing the results. “Only the Ethiopian authorities will report on the progress of the investigation. There will be no press conference,” a BEA spokesman told reporters.

    The 737, which first entered service in the late 1960s, is the aviation industry’s best-selling model and Boeing’s top earner. The re-engined Max version has racked up more than 5,000 orders worth in excess of $600 billion.

    When Indonesian carrier Lion Air’s Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed on October 29 in 2018 killing all 189 people on board, Boeing pointed to maintenance issues and human error as the underlying cause, even though the plane’s pilots reportedly had been battling a computerised system that took control following a sensor malfunction.

    Ethiopian Airlines CEO also said that the pilots had complained about ‘flight control problems’.

    Just over four months later, the Ethiopian Airlines crash on March 10 – killing 157 people – has triggered increasing global pressure on the manufacturer over safety concerns and software issues with the aircraft model. Ethiopian Airlines CEO said the pilots had complained about ‘flight control problems’.

    The day after the crash, without referring to Ethiopian tragedy directly, Boeing Corporation said it would deploy a software upgrade to the 737 MAX 8, a few hours after the Federal Aviation Administration said it would mandate “design changes” in the aircraft by April.

  • Okorocha’s allegation baseless- Uzodinma

    The Imo State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the just concluded governorship election, Senator Hope Uzodinma has described as unfounded and malicious, the allegations that he worked for the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Emeka Ihedioha in the last election.

    The Imo Governor, Rochas Okorocha, had accused the APC candidate of playing the mole with the party’s ticket, which he claimed made it possible for the PDP candidate to manipulate the result of the election.

    Read Also: My position on Uzodinma vindicated – Okorocha

    But Uzodinma, who emerged a distant fourth in the election, described Okorocha’s claim as a mere plot to tarnish his image after working against the APC.

    The Senator who spoke through his media aide, Mbadiwe Emelumba, noted that, “Okorocha is in the habit of lying to tarnish people’s image but he was the person that worked against the APC from the beginning”.

  • Couple die after attending wedding in Aba

    A yet-to-be identified couple has reportedly lost their lives 24hrs after they attended a wedding ceremony in Aba, the commercial nerve of Abia State.

    The incident our reporter gathered happened at Umuozu, Uratta community in Osisioma local government area.

    When contacted, Abia State Command spokesman, SP Geoffrey Ogbonna said that he was yet to be informed on the incident.

    But our sources at Uratta that pleaded not to be mentioned said that the couple is from Anambra State.

    They disclosed that maid who is the only survivor is receiving medical attention in an undisclosed private hospital in the city.

    “The couple was childless. The man has a three storey at Umudim in Osisioma LGA. He is from Anambra State and the secretary of timber dealer’s association.

    “From what we learnt, the man and the wife chaired a wedding event in Aba and when they were going, they were given handed a take away pack. We learnt that they went home and ate the food with their maid.

    “The maid is in the hospital as we speak and has started talking. We hope to hear exactly what happened to the couple when the maid is fit enough to speak.

    “The neighbours got to know about the death of man and woman when their neighbours in the market complained that they have been calling them while their phones rang without any response.

    “It was at that point that some of the neigbhours used ladder to climb into the flat of their landlord only to behold their bodies and that of their maid who was eventually taken to the hospital for treatment.

    “We learnt that the bodies of the couple has been deposited in a mortuary pending an autopsy that would be carried on them to determine whether their death was as a result of food poison as being speculated,” one of the sources narrated.

    They said that the sudden death of the couple has caused confusion among residents and close families as they were said to have been devastated by the incident.