The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Titi Abubakar

  • TBS agog for Atiku

    Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), Lagos is agog for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s rally.

    The candidate is yet to be at the venue, his wife Dr. Titi Abubakar and other notable chieftains of the party are already there.

    The party has presented its candidates contesting various offices like the Lagos State House of Assembly up to the Senate the party’s flags.

    The Lagos State governorship candidate Jimi Agbaje will be presented his flag later. Notable Fuji musician Saheed Osupa is presently thrilling the crowd with in a live performance.

  • I married Atiku for his integrity – Titi Abubakar

    Hajiya Titi Abubakar, wife of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Aspirant, Atiku Abubakar, said she married her husband because of his honesty, sincerity and integrity.

    Mrs Atiku made the remarks when a group, Women for Atiku, paid her a courtesy visit at her Maitama residence in Abuja.

    “I get confused whenever I read the false allegations of corruption being peddled by mischief makers against my husband in the media.

    “I ask myself if they are referring to my husband whom I have been married to for 47 years or a different person.

    “No one knows my husband like I do and their descriptions of him are totally that of a different person and not that of the man I love and adore because of his uprightness.

    She said they were brought together by destiny and had been endeared to him because of his sterling qualities and patriotism to his fatherland.

    “I was on my way back to Nigeria from Benin Republic where I visited my aunt and was accosted by custom officials at the Idi-Iroko Boarder who demanded for payment of a duty for the pair of brocade material which was a gift from my aunt.

    “An argument ensued between us and I told them to keep the material because I would not pay duty for a pair of brocade, and a gift at that.

    “The officer, who was Head of the Command at that time intervened, paid for the duty charge and gave me the receipt.

    “One thing led to the other, we hooked up later and the rest is now history.

    “As the head, he could have chosen to order that I be allowed to go, but he paid for the duty and that act from that time impressed me and I fell deeply in love with the man Atiku,’’ she said.

    The National Coordinator of Women for Atiku, Mrs Blessing Ebera, thanked Mrs Abubakar for the warm reception accorded her group and pledged that it would continue to mobilise women across every ward to vote for Atiku Abubakar come 2019.

    She said that the National leadership and the 36 state coordinators of the group visited to inform her that with the commencement of campaign, the group was set to penetrate every corner of Nigeria to mobilise support towards an Atiku victory in 2019.

    Ebera said that the group would also embark on voters’ mobilisation and education.

    She said that the acquisition of Permanent voters Card (PVC) would be mandatory for every female of voting age in Nigeria.

    She urged those that registered but were yet to collect their PVCs to visit the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for collection.

    She assured Mrs Abubakar that members of the group had strategized to mobilise at least 50 women in every ward across the country through synergy with other women support groups.(NAN)

  • Pastor defrauded Atiku’s wife with forged documents – Witness

    Pastor defrauded Atiku’s wife with forged documents – Witness

    A retired detective with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Dickson Graymond on Thursday told the Lagos High Court, Ikeja, how Pastor Nsikakabasi Akpan-Jacobs, allegedly used forged documents to defraud  Mrs. Titi Abubakar Atiku, wife of former Vice President Abubakar Atiku of N918 million.

    He also told the court that the disposal of Mrs Atiku’s company, THA Shipping Maritime Services Limited’s assets worth N1.2 billion was done without the consent of the two main directors – Florence Doregos and Fred Holmes.

    Graymond disclosed these while being led in evidence by the EFCC counsel, Mr. Babatunde Sonoiki, before Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye at resumed proceedings in a suit instituted against Akpan-Jacobs and one Abdulmalik Ibrahim and Dana Motors.

    The defendants are standing trial on a 14 -count charge of conspiracy, stealing and fraudulent conversion of properties belonging to THA Shipping Maritime Services Limited.

    Graymond narrated how he received a petition on the alleged fraud from Mrs. Atiku and how his investigation led to the discovery of the fraud.

    He said: “In 2008, I was a detective working with EFCC in Abuja. We received a petition dated December 12, 2008 from the law chambers of Benedict Benet and Co, the lawyers to the complainants, Florence Doregos and Fred Holmes, a German citizen.

    “One Barr. Chima Ezekolu, a lawyer to the complainant came to our office with a power of attorney from the first complainant (Titi).

    “He shed light on the complainant’s allegations with some supporting documents and he gave a written statement to that effect.

    “The petitioners alleged amongst other things that the defendants forged the board resolutions, memorandum and articles of association as well as the extraordinary board resolution of THA Shipping Maritime Services Limited.

    “They used the same documents to obtain a loan from First Bank Plc and disposed of the bonded terminal and other properties of the company to Dana Motors Nigeria Plc.

    “The supporting documents were the company registration documents from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC),  some pictures and the share allotment document of the three directors. The original share allotment was that Florence Doregos at 49 percent had 4.9million ordinary shares, Fred Holmes at 26 percent had 2.6million ordinary shares while the first defendant (Akpan-Jacobs) was allotted 25 percent representing 2.5million ordinary shares.

    “We invited the first defendant to our office and we confronted him with the documents he forged. We had discovered that the initial share allotment of THA Shipping which was 10million ordinary shares was changed from 49 percent for Florence Doregos to 51 percent for Akpan-Jacobs.

    “Florence Doregos and Fred Holmes were each allotted 24.5 percent shares, Akpan-Jacobs had the highest allocation of shares in the fraudulent alteration.”

    The detective said police analysis of the signatures proved that the signatures of Mrs. Atiku and Holmes were forged in the documents.

    “The analysis was conducted by the Force Criminal and Investigation Department (FCID) on the instruction of the law firm of Benedict Benet and Co, the complainant’s petitioners. Inspector Ralph Nwosurike who conducted the analysis confirmed that the results of the report were authentic,” Graymond added.

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  • Atiku’s wife to court: Pastor who defrauded me of N918m was my ‘errand boy’

    Atiku’s wife to court: Pastor who defrauded me of N918m was my ‘errand boy’

    Mrs Titi Atiku, wife of former Vice-President Abubakar Atiku, told an Ikeja High Court that Akpan-Jacobs, the pastor, who allegedly defrauded her of N918 million was her “errand boy”.

    Titi made this claim while being cross-examined on Wednesday by Mr Amos Ibe, the defence counsel to Akpan-Jacobs.

    “I paid N49 million for the land used as the premises of THA Shipping, my partner Fred Holmes never contributed to the buying of the land but he contributed to the building of the property.

    “The N49 million was given to Akpan-Jacobs to purchase the land, but did not know who he bought the land from.

    “He never contributed a dime, he was just like an errand boy,” Atiku said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had charged Akpan-Jacobs with a 14-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing and fraudulent conversion of property worth N918 million belonging to THA Shipping Maritime Services Ltd.

    THA Shipping Maritime Services Ltd, a company created in 2000, is owned by Atiku, Akpan-Jacobs and Fred Holmes, her German business partner.

    Atiku was alleged to be the majority shareholder with 49 per cent shares, while Holmes and Akpan-Jacobs each had 25 per cent shares.

    Akpan-Jacobs, who also doubled as the company’s Managing Director and Secretary, was alleged to have gone to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to alter the share holding in his favour and forged the company’s board resolutions.

    He allegedly allotted 70 per cent shares to himself and 15 per cent shares each to Titi and Holmes.

    According to the EFCC, welding a fraudulent shareholding power, Akpan-Jacobs sold a property belonging to the company to Dana Motors Nigeria Ltd for N918 million.

    The property is located at Plot C63 A, Amuwo-Odofin Commercial Layout along Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Lagos.

    Responding to Atiku’s claim that Akpan-Jacobs was her errand boy, Ibe asked: “He was made a Managing Director (MD), how can an errand boy be made an MD ?

    “He was made an MD to stand in for Mr Fred Holmes because Holmes had not resigned from his job.

    “When it was time for Akpan to step down as the MD, he refused because by then he had perfected his fraudulent acts.”

    The wife of ex-VP denied Ibe’s claims that Akpan-Jacobs owned and promoted THA Shipping Maritime Services Ltd and only brought her on board to bring in big briefs and clients.

    “Is he the one who bought the land, built the building? He was merely supervising.

    “My clout gave the company a lot of prestige, a lot of people wanted to do business with us and people brought a lot of containers to us,” she said.

    NAN recalls that while giving evidence on May 23, Atiku had told the court that she had used her maiden name, Florence Doregos, for business transactions because she was serving in government at the time.

    She denied Ibe’s accusations that Akpan-Jacobs never forged her signature either as Florence Doregos and Titi Abubakar in company documents.

    Mrs Atiku also denied Akpan-Jacobs claims that she never contributed to the construction of the building that housed the company.

    “I have a breakdown of the costs used in the construction of the building, Akpan-Jacobs gave me the breakdown in 2002 but he did not sign it.

    “I never said the property was built by Julius Berger, Mr Holmes was a Julius Berger staff and he might have used his connections to make the building a solid structure.

    “There was a document that Akpan-Jacobs had showed me that was signed Abubakar, I told him that that was not Titi Abubakar’s signature.

    “He forged Florence Doregos signature in a number of documents,” she said.

    Atiku also told the court that she and Holmes on April 6, 2009 passed a resolution removing Akpan-Jacobs from the ownership of THA Shipping Maritime Services Ltd.

    “He had sold the property by the time we passed that resolution but we wrote to Akpan notifying him of what we wanted to do.

    “My lawyer, Mr Chima went to Dana Motors Ltd made efforts to stop the sale of the property because by then, they had not given Akpan much money for the sale of the property.

    “When Mr Chima went to Dana Motors Ltd to tell them that the property was not for sale, they confided in him that the property was sold to Akpan for N918 million.

    “I only gave power of attorney to one Ms Springerbeck, a German citizen; I, however, reverted the power of attorney to my lawyer after I noticed that she had a lot of excesses.

    “Akpan used the property as a collateral for a loan from First Bank because he needed funds to run for governor of Akwa-Ibom.

    “When he could not pay the loan and settle his creditors, he sold THA Shipping Maritime Services Ltd.

    “I am not aware that a deed of assignment was signed by a secretary and director of the company, Akpan did not introduce any secretary to me,” she said.

    Mr Babatunde Sonoiki, the EFCC counsel, while re-examining Atiku, asked if she signed any the company resolutions used in the alleged fraud.

    “Did you ever sign board resolutions assigning anyone as company secretary, approving the sale of the property and to loan money from First Bank on behalf of THA Shipping?”

    Atiku replied: “I never signed any board resolution for any of those purposes.”

    Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye adjourned the case until July 6 for continuation of trial.

  • Titi Abubakar bounces back

    While her husband enjoyed his time as the nation’s number two citizen, Hajia Amina Titi Abubakar was one of the women who dazzled the social scene with their presence. The aura of power followed her wherever she went, attracting a bevy of admirers desirous of getting the good graces of the stylish woman of means.

    But then the life of influence and power came to a halt, and the fair-complexioned matriarch of the Atiku family took a break from the public eye following her husband’s exit from office, even though the latter remained on the higher rungs of the ladder of relevance.

    The pet project she founded as the vice first lady was also put on the back burner. The Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF), which was borne out of her passion to combat the rising ills of prostitution and women trafficking, was one organisation that really went all out to restore the dignity of the woman in the society. Sadly, Hajia Titi’s disappearance from the social scene also affected the activities of her organisation as it did not get as much publicity as it was getting before.

    The woman, whose efforts led to the founding of the National Agency for the

    Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), has however returned with a big bang, having been spotted at several high profile events across the length and breadth of the country in recent times.

  • Titi Abubakar returns

    HAJIA Amina Titi Abubakar, wife of the former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has remained only a blip on the social radar for some time now, but the Ilesa-Osun State-born socialite is gradually returning to social reckoning. She recently played host at one of her sons’ wedding in Dubai, and ever since she seemed to have taken her place in the social circuit.

    She was among the guests that graced the 25th coronation anniversary of Osile of Oke-Ona, Oba Adedapo Tejuoso.

    When her husband was the number two man in the country, she was very visible and shone like a glittering enamel in the sun.