I regret why I came to rule now –Buhari

0 0
Read Time:4 Minute, 13 Second

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said that with the quantum of problems his administration inherited, he sometimes wondered why he had to seek power at this time.

Buhari spoke in London while addressing members of the Nigerian community in the United Kingdom.

Our correspondent obtained a transcript of the President’s address to the gathering on Friday.

Buhari said he wondered why oil, which used to sell for over $140 per barrel, would reduce to $30 per barrel during his time as the President.

Notwithstanding the problem, however, Buhari said he kept praying to God to be merciful to the over 170 million Nigerians who are exposed to poverty, illiteracy and other social ills.

He said, “With the problems we have in this government, I sometimes wonder. At least, this time around, I asked for it, I prayed for it, I went round the country and I asked for it. But the first time under the military, I allowed the military to take decision.

“But I say why me? Why is it that it is when they have spent all the money, when they made the country insecure that I returned?

“Why didn’t I come when the treasury was full? Oil price was over $140 per barrel and when I came, it slipped down to $30. Why me?

“I keep on praying to God to pity Nigeria and its over 170 million people who are exposed to climate change, illiteracy and poverty.”

The President, however, said his administration had succeeded in mopping up over N2.2trn as of January through the Treasury Single Account arrangement.

He said although the TSA was introduced by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, that administration could not implement it for reasons best known to its officials.

He said his administration decided to implement the arrangement when he came on board and discovered that the country was broke.

The President said, “You know the condition we are in now. I am sure with demands from home, in spite of what your effort is, you know we are really in trouble.

“We have tried to impose what we call Treasury Single Account. The reason is simple. This government did not initiate it, it was initiated by the previous government. But it was so unpopular to the bureaucracy, so the previous government for its own reasons, could not impose it.

“But when we came and we found out that we were broke, we said this is the way to do it.

“I will tell you two examples to convince you. Firstly, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation had more than 45 accounts. Ministry of Defence had more than 70 accounts. Tell me which Accountant-General can trace all these accounts?

“So, we imposed TSA. By the end of December, coming to January 2016, we mopped up more than N2.2trn which would have been used through bureaucratic system to raise vouchers and sign cheques so that they don’t go into the next budget.”

The President said Nigeria owed the United States and Britain a lot of appreciation for stopping the former administration from rigging the last presidential election.

He recalled that ahead of the elections, the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), urged the service chiefs and the then Inspector-General of Police to tell officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission that they could not guarantee their safety during the polls.

He said the then Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, however, gave a comprehensive report at a meeting of the National Council of State, where he said he would be able to deliver, at least, 60 per cent free and fair election.

The President said as of that time, the country had never gone beyond 45 per cent.

He said it took the intervention of US Secretary of State, John Kerry, for the last administration to conduct credible election.

He said, “Then we insisted that election must be done according to the constitution.

“At this point again, I must hasten to thank the United States for sending the Secretary of State, Kerry, to go and read the riot act to the previous government and speak to Prof. Jega, the Chairman of INEC and speak to us as opposition that the US would not tolerate any election outside the Nigerian constitution.

“They maintained the pressure from that date until after the election and the formation of the new government.

“I think Nigerians honestly should thank the US for this. The same thing with Britain, they used all their experience and their powers to make sure that the Federal Government did not rig the last election.

“We thank God, we thank these super powers and we thank technology. Why we thank technology is because of the permanent voter cards and the card readers.”

Buhari said the issue of Diaspora voting had been coming up in all the countries he had visited since the inception of his administration.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Happy
0 0 %
Sad
0 0 %
Excited
0 0 %
Sleepy
0 0 %
Angry
0 0 %
Surprise
0 0 %

David Umahi’s special adviser on IGR suspended indefinitely

0 0
Read Time:1 Minute, 37 Second

Ebonyi State Governor,Engr. David Umahi, has ordered an indefinite suspension of his special adviser on Internally Generated Revenue,Chief Jeremiah Oketa, for action,described as going beyond the authority and command of his office.

The Commissioner for Information and State Orientation,Senator Emanuel Onwe, announced this on Thursday while briefing journalists on the outcome of this week’s state executive council meeting in Abakaliki, the state capital.

Onwe, who said that Special advisers and commissioners were no longer authorized to collect any form of taxes or revenue for the state, added that the board of internal revenue had been mandated by EXCO as the only legal body to do so.

He also announced that it had become an offence for anyone to receive on behalf of the government or pay any rent or revenue in cash to the government.

The commissioner said, “The Special Adviser on IGR, Chief J.O.J Oketa, has been suspended indefinitely for going beyond the authority and command of his office.

“Special Advisers and commissioners are no longer authorized to collect taxes or revenue of any kind. The Only legal body now authorized by council to collect revenue is the Ebonyi Board of Internal Revenue or any agent that the board may legitimately engage to do so.

“All payments of all kind of revenue should be done in the way it goes directly into the account of government.”

He explained that the Executive Council received presentations from companies on enumeration and collection of taxes and revenues for government without imposing hardship on Ebonyians.

Meanwhile, the state Executive Council has set up an advisory committee on higher education comprising representatives of the three senatorial zones of the state.

They include, Amb.Frank Ogbewu, Engr.Fidelis Nwankwo and Prof.Chigozie Ogbu.

Their function is to look into the situation of higher institutions in the state, particularly the Ebonyi state university and recommend the way forward for governmen

From McDonald Onu

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Happy
0 0 %
Sad
0 0 %
Excited
0 0 %
Sleepy
0 0 %
Angry
0 0 %
Surprise
0 0 %

Woman in Australia crashes her own funeral, surprising husband who paid to have her killed

0 0
Read Time:6 Minute, 0 Second

Noela Rukundo sat in a car outside her home, watching as the last few mourners filed out. They were leaving a funeral — her funeral.

Finally, she spotted the man she’d been waiting for. She stepped out of her car, and her husband put his hands on his head in horror.

“Is it my eyes?” she recalled him saying. “Is it a ghost?”

“Surprise! I’m still alive!” she replied.

Far from being elated, the man looked terrified. Five days ago, he had ordered a team of hit men to kill Rukundo, his partner of 10 years. And they did — well, they told him they did. They even got him to pay an extra few thousand dollars for carrying out the crime.

Now here was his wife, standing before him. In an interview with the BBC Thursday, Rukundo recalled how he touched her shoulder to find it unnervingly solid. He jumped. Then he started screaming.

“I’m sorry for everything,” he wailed.

But it was far too late for apologies; Rukundo called the police. The husband, Balenga Kalala, ultimately pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine years in prison for incitement to murder, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (the ABC).

The happy ending — or, as happy as can be expected to a saga in which a man tries to have his wife killed — was made possible by three unusually principled hit men, a helpful pastor and one incredibly gutsy woman: Rukundo herself.

Rukundo’s ordeal began almost exactly a year ago, when she flew from her home in Melbourne with her husband, Kalala, to attend a funeral in her native Burundi. Her stepmother had died and the service left her saddened and stressed. She retreated to her hotel room in Bujumbura, the capital, early in the evening; despondent after the events of the day, she lay down in bed. Then her husband called.

“He told me to go outside for fresh air,” she told the BBC.

But the minute Rukundo stepped out of her hotel, a man charged forward, pointing a gun right at her.

“Don’t scream,” she recalled him saying. “If you start screaming, I will shoot you. They’re going to catch me, but you? You will already be dead.”

Rukundo, terrified, did as she was told. She was ushered into a car and blindfolded so she couldn’t see where she was being taken. After 30 or 40 minutes, the car came to a stop, and Rukundo was pushed into a building and tied to a chair.

She could hear male voices, she told the ABC. One asked her, “You woman, what did you do for this man to pay us to kill you?”

“What are you talking about?” Rukundo demanded.

“Balenga sent us to kill you.”

They were lying. She told them so. And they laughed.

“You’re a fool,” they told her.

There was the sound of a dial tone, and a male voice coming through a speakerphone. It was her husband’s voice.

“Kill her,” he said.

And Rukundo fainted.

Rukundo had met her husband 11 years earlier, right after she arrived in Australia from Burundi, according to the BBC. He was a recent refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and they had the same social worker at the resettlement agency that helped them get on their feet. Since Kalala already knew English, their social worker often recruited him to translate for Rukundo, who spoke Swahili.

They fell in love, moved in together in the Melbourne suburb of Kings Park, and had three children (Rukundo also had five kids from a previous relationship). She learned more about her husband’s past — he had fled a rebel army that had ransacked his village, killing his wife and young son. She also learned more about his character.

“I knew he was a violent man,” Rukundo told the BBC. “But I didn’t believe he can kill me.”

But, it appeared, he could.

Rukundo came to in the strange building somewhere near Bujumbura. The kidnappers were still there, she told the ABC.

They weren’t going to kill her, the men then explained — they didn’t believe in killing women, and they knew her brother. But they would keep her husband’s money and tell him that she was dead. After two days, they set her free on the side of a road, but not before giving her a mobile phone, recordings of their phone conversations with Kalala, and receipts for the $7,000 in Australian dollars they allegedly received in payment, according to Australia’s The Age.

“We just want you to go back, to tell other stupid women like you what happened,” Rukundo said she was told before the gang members drove away.

Shaken, but alive and doggedly determined, Rukundo began plotting her next move. She sought help from the Kenyan and Belgian embassies to return to Australia, according to The Age. Then she called the pastor of her church in Melbourne, she told the BBC, and explained to him what had happened. Without alerting Kalala, the pastor helped her get back home to her neighborhood near Melbourne.

Meanwhile, her husband had told everyone she had died in a tragic accident and the entire community mourned her at her funeral at the family home. On the night of Feb. 22, 2015, just as the widower Kalala waved goodbye to neighbors who had come to comfort him, Rukundo approached him, the very man whose voice she’d heard over the phone five days earlier, ordering that she be killed.

“I felt like somebody who had risen again,” she told the BBC.

Though Kalala initially denied all involvement, Rukundo got him to confess to the crime during a phone conversation that was secretly recorded by police, according to The Age.

“Sometimes Devil can come into someone, to do something, but after they do it they start thinking, ‘Why I did that thing?’ later,” he said, as he begged her to forgive him.

Kalala eventually pleaded guilty to the scheme. He was sentenced to nine years in prison by a judge in Melbourne.

“Had Ms. Rukundo’s kidnappers completed the job, eight children would have lost their mother,” Chief Justice Marilyn Warren said, according to the ABC. “It was premeditated and motivated by unfounded jealousy, anger and a desire to punish Ms. Rukundo.”

Rukundo said that Kalala tried to kill her because he thought she was going to leave him for another man — an accusation she denies.

But her trials are not yet over. Rukundo told the ABC she’s gotten backlash from Melbourne’s Congolese community for reporting Kalala to the police. Someone left threatening messages for her, and she returned home one day to find her back door broken. She now has eight children to raise alone, and has asked the Department of Human Services to help her find a new place to live.

And lying in bed at night, Kalala’s voice still comes to her: “Kill her, kill her,” she told the BBC. “Every night, I see what was happening in those two days with the kidnappers.”

Despite all that, “I will stand up like a strong woman,” she said. “My situation, my past life? That is gone. I’m starting a new life now.”

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Happy
0 0 %
Sad
0 0 %
Excited
0 0 %
Sleepy
0 0 %
Angry
0 0 %
Surprise
0 0 %

Lagos state launches mobile court for traffic, environmental offenders

0 0
Read Time:4 Minute, 15 Second

The Lagos State Government on Friday inaugurated the Special Offences (Mobile) Court to summarily deal with growing cases of traffic and environmental abuses in the state with the view to bring sanity and civility in the conduct of residents.
The Mobile Court, which will be manned by highly-qualified Magistrates of the State Judiciary, will summarily try cases involving traffic and environmental offenders.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony held at the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja, the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem said the  launch of the Mobile Court, was one of the ways through which the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode aims to broaden the pathway that guaranty citizens’ access to justice and at the same time ensure the preservation of civility in the society.

He said the development was an institutional reaction to identified societal challenges, and that henceforth traffic offenders such as motorcyclists who drive against traffic and refused to obey traffic signs like zebra crossing and traffic light indication, would no longer find it easy to get away with commission of such crimes in the state.
He also said commercial bus drivers popularly known as Danfo Drivers on motion with their doors open thereby endangering lives of those of their passengers and other road users, would equally be prosecuted before the Mobile Court, while anyone crossing the highway where pedestrian bridges are provided, would equally face trial.

Kazeem, who disclosed that henceforth driving on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lanes of non-designated vehicles by anyone including military personnel, would attract prosecution before the Mobile Court, also warned people to desist from parking at undesignated places and indulging in noise pollution and street trading among others, saying such offences would be handled by the court.

He added: “These set of offences appear to be so simple but the reduction of its commission I believe is a major yardstick in determining how much we have progressed as a civilized society.
“It may seems simple, but its significance and expected impact to the society is a lot more profound,” Kazeem said.

Speaking on the importance of the event, the Attorney General said: “This event is even more momentous because It is a symbolic indication of some of the most important policies of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration on law and order which rest on the premise that no society will thrive in an atmosphere of lawlessness and disorder.

“This administration recognize that as Africa’s fastest growing mega city, law and order are critical pillars for sustaining democratic life. The state government has dedicated an enormous amount of manpower and financial resources in seeking better living standard by provision of roads, drainages and transportation system to mention but a few and it has enacted traffic and environmental laws to ensure the state remains environmentally friendly all the time.

“Yet some have chosen or deliberately refused to obey these laws. This is not entirely surprising as the history of mankind as shown that obedience to societal laws has never been entirely voluntary. Therefore, prompt and fair adjudication as well as the certainty of enforcement and penalties constitute the necessary inducement for respect and obedience of laws. For most people, where justice is delayed or denied, the victim is bound to feel some frustration, outrage or even further disrespect for law and order and if the same trend is allowed to take whole the very basis of an orderly society wears out gradually and steadily,” he said.

On her part, the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Olufunmilayo Atilade said with the launch of the Mobile Court, the era of recklessness and lawlessness on Lagos roads were gone for good, as no government would fold its arms and watch the violation of traffic and environmental laws.

Justice Atilade, who lamented the death of a 25-year-old British Nigerian graduate, Doyin Serah Fagbenro who was killed by a reckless Danfo Driver about three weeks ago in Lekki-Ajah area of Lagos, said the story of the victim was just one of the many deaths occurring as a result of reckless driving and indiscipline.

“This must not be allowed to continue. Let it be known to all that the era of recklessness and impunity on our public roads and highways in Lagos State is gone. Those who chose to make life difficult for other people especially on our roads should have a rethink as they will henceforth be held accountable for their deeds,” Justice Atilade warned.

The special Offences court was established in 1994 to try essentially environmental Offences and it has been vested with powers to sit in any convenient place close to the scene of commission of any offence triable by it.
Though summary in nature, the proceedings before the Mobile Court will be operated in according with rules of natural justice and fair hearing.

There will be lawyers from the office of the Public Defender for any defendant who so desires to be defended, while defendants can also appoint any lawyer of their choice to defend them.

SIGNED
BOLA AKINGBADE
DEPUTY DIRECTOR, PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE
MINISTRY OF JUSTICE
LAGOS STATE

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Happy
0 0 %
Sad
0 0 %
Excited
0 0 %
Sleepy
0 0 %
Angry
0 0 %
Surprise
0 0 %

Leonardo DiCaprio’s Russian Fans Are Melting Down Their Gold to Make Him an Oscar

0 0
Read Time:2 Minute, 14 Second

At this stage in awards season, it seems almost certain that Leonardo DiCaprio will win his first Oscar this February 28. If there is a God, we imagine that even He has ticked off DiCaprio’s name on his Oscar pool in pen. But what if we are all wrong and the Screen Actors Guild, the Hollywood.
Foreign Press Association, and every other award-giving entity who celebrated The Revenant star are no indication of who will claim the little gold man this month. What would we, as a Leo-loving nation, do if someone else’s name is called? Channel our disappointment into some Poor Leo Internet meme again?
Well, DiCaprio’s fans in Siberia have prepared for this unlikely outcome while simultaneously proving themselves to be the most devoted Leo fans on planet Earth. Metro reports that the actor’s female admirers in Russia’s Far East are donating their silver and gold valuables to an “Oscar for Leo” campaign, which will melt down the jewelry and sculpt it into the exact shape of an Oscar statuette.
Er, well, the silver and gold will be converted into the approximate shape of an Oscar statuette, plus a few upgrades. So, instead of the traditional little gold man holding a sword, this little silver man will be holding “a golden ‘choron’—a traditional three-legged Yakut goblet.” Another difference—the Siberian Oscar’s head will be looking upward rather than down.
“We have just started fundraising for the statue,” a teacher from the Arctic State Institute of Culture and Arts, Tatiana Egorova, told Russian news channel RIA Novosti (via RT.com).

According to early calculations, it will cost 100,000 rubles (about $1,300) to build a 12-inch statue—although the size will vary depending on the number of donations. Egorova also explained that many of the women donated part of their valuables so that they could keep the other part—like separating a pair of earrings—and feel closer to the actor.
“Like one half will be with Leonardo DiCaprio and one half with them,” she said. “To be somehow connected with the actor.”
So far about 100 people have donated their valuables. The campaign’s organizer has expressed, according to The Metro, “It might not be a real Oscar, it was just as valid a prize for Leo’s efforts in The Revenant.” While some cynics might debate that statement, we are certain that the eco-activist actor would appreciate the effort. Here’s to you, Leo.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Happy
0 0 %
Sad
0 0 %
Excited
0 0 %
Sleepy
0 0 %
Angry
0 0 %
Surprise
0 0 %

Na*k*d man storms into cafe, lays on table and demands to be killed

0 0
Read Time:1 Minute, 4 Second

A shocking footage shows the moment a naked man walks into a restaurant and lays down on a table.
With only one woman working in the cafe, the man starts shouting at her and asking her to shoot him in the head.
He lays face up on a long table, sits on the counter and at one terrifying point he follows the woman into a back room as she tries to get away from him.
He is reported to have shouted: “Kill me, please. “Hurry, shoot in the head.

     “Push the panic button and bring the Special Forces squad in here, fast.”

The worker tells him: “I already pushed the alarm button, but just get off the counter please.”
The man clearly in a state of distress replies: “I won’t, I am going to sit here.”

He starts wiping things off the counter and tries to break into the cupboard where the woman is shouting at him.
When police officers arrive they immediately push the man to the floor, where he is sedated by medical staff.

The incident, which took place in the central Russian city of Saratov, ended when the police escorted the man out of the building.
He was taken to a secure psychiatric unit for treatment.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Happy
0 0 %
Sad
0 0 %
Excited
0 0 %
Sleepy
0 0 %
Angry
0 0 %
Surprise
0 0 %

FG to begin nationwide campaign for Made-in-Nigeria products

0 0
Read Time:2 Minute, 28 Second

The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajia Aisha Abubakar, on Friday in Abuja said that the ministry would soon launch a nationwide to encourage Nigerians to patronise made-in Nigeria products.

Abubakar stated this at the signing of a footwear production agreement between Global Smartfit Nigeria Ltd and Labora Shoes Ltd of South Africa in her office.

The campaign is tagged, ”Patronise Naija Products’’.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr Aminu Bisala, the minister lauded the partnership deal aimed at boosting local manufacturing of leathers and other footwear products.

“This venture is very commendable and there is no reason why it cannot be supported.

”Already, the ministry is furthering the campaign for made-in-Nigeria products, for us in Nigeria to consume what we produce and produce what we consume, and even go beyond that to export.

“We have the people, we have the brain, we have the resources, and so there is nothing stopping us. As a nation we are proud of our commodities, we are proud of our products.

“It is for the producers to ensure quality. An average Nigerian wants value for money and that is why possibly in the past you find them patronising even substandard foreign goods with the thinking that they are getting quality.

“So, this is a laudable venture, and along with the Patronise Naija Products campaign, which we are going to launch very soon; we are going to support all similar initiatives not only in shoe production, but in all areas of SMEs (small and medium enterprises).

“And I assure you that the government is doing all it can to further that cause. That is the spirit of this government, we are going to ensure the patronage of made in Nigeria products with all the patriotism of Nigerians that it deserves.

“So, I commend you, and the foreign partner, it is a very welcome development. So, we hope in no distant future, we will not only be supplying the domestic market but also the West African market and even to South Africa.’’

Mr Ogonna Okonkwo, the Managing Director of Global Smartfit, an indigenous footwear manufacturing company, said that the partnership would result in the establishment of shoe factories in different parts of the country.

Okonkwo listed the economic benefits for the country to include job opportunities for Nigerians and local manpower development in mechanised shoe production.

He expressed his readiness to partner with interested state governments in establishing shoe factories in their domains and training their indigenes in the art for economic development.

Chief Executive Officer of Labora, Mr Desmond Chunderlal, said that Nigerians were deprived of affordable locally made quality footwear due to the absence of a structured footwear industry in the country.

Chunderlal, however, said that with the partnership, the situation would soon be reversed for the overall development of the nation’s economy.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Happy
0 0 %
Sad
0 0 %
Excited
0 0 %
Sleepy
0 0 %
Angry
0 0 %
Surprise
0 0 %

DHQ warns secessionist groups, militants against plans to breach the peace

0 0
Read Time:1 Minute, 1 Second

The Defence Headquarters has warned secessionist group, Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) and Niger Delta militants to refrain from doing anything to breach the peace in the country.

The warning was given by Director of Defence Information, Brig Gen. Rabe Abubakar via a statement released on Thursday, February 4, 2016.

It reads:

“The DHQ hereby warned that the military and other security agencies will not condone any acts by individuals or group that is capable of breach to security and economic sabotage in the Niger Delta or in any part of the country.”

“In as much as the military recognises the supremacy of the constitution which guarantees freedom of expression and association, the constitution also frowns against individuals or groups hiding under it to stir up trouble and insecurity in the land.”

“Any individual or groups who have genuine complain or grievances should use the available means of dialogue for amicable resolution but certainly not violence, as it will not be tolerated.”

The DHQ warning comes after another secessionist group, Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) threatened to make the country ungovernable if it’s demands weren’t met by the government.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Happy
0 0 %
Sad
0 0 %
Excited
0 0 %
Sleepy
0 0 %
Angry
0 0 %
Surprise
0 0 %

On N2.6bn fraud – ‘my company was used to obtain N76m’, Witness confesses

0 0
Read Time:3 Minute, 19 Second

A witness, Mr Emeka Emelano on Friday, told a Federal High Court Lagos, that his company was used to obtain about N72 million from NIMASA.

The witness, who introduced himself as sole proprietor of O2 services Plus Nig. Ltd, made the revelation at the resumed trial of Patrick Akpobolokemi.

Akpobolokemi is the immediate past Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency.

He is being arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside six others, on 22 counts bordering on allegations of conversion and theft in the tune of N2.6 billion.

Other defendants are: Captain Ezekiel Agaba, Ekene Nwakuche, Governor Juan – and three companie — Blockz and Stonz Ltd, Kenzo Logistics Ltd and Al-Kenzo Logistic Ltd.

They are facing trial before Justice Ibrahim Buba, and had all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Emelano is the fifth witness for the prosecution.

In his evidence in chief conducted by the prosecutor, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo,the witness told the court that his company specialised in Agro allied services and got remuneration for its services through its bank accounts.

He told the court that sometimes in 2015, his younger brother, Uche Emelano, sought to use his company to get a contract from NIMASA.

He said that his brother had informed him that the contract would come through the instrumentality of the third accused (Nwakuche).

According to the witness, his brother  instructed him to transfer any money paid to his company’s account as soon as he got alert from the bank.

Emelano said as soon as he began to receive bank alerts, he informed his brother, who in turn informed the third accused.

Emelano said that on June 18, 2015 he received an alert for N14.2 million and a further alert of N21 million, on March 15, 2015 he received an alert for N21 million and on May 4, 2015 he received an alert for N16 million.

Emelano added that he was thereafter instructed to transfer the monies to bank accounts with beneficiaries named as Blocks and Stonez Ltd and Governor Juan.

He informed the court that his company did not execute any contract for NIMASA to have necessitated payment of the various funds.

The witness added that he was also unaware of the nature of the contract for which his brother utilised his company’s account to obtain money from NIMASA.

Emelano emphasised: “I did not benefit anything from these monies paid, I only requested that the sum of N300,000 be left in the account to off set bank transfer charges.”

Meanwhile, under cross examination by counsel to the third accused, Mr Lanre Olayinka, the witness stressed that he did not enjoy any benefit from the sums paid into his account.

Olayinka then tendered a statement of account before the witness, and drew his attention to a cheque issued in his name for the sum of N100,000.

Olayinka asked:.”Mr Emelano, you claimed you did not benefit from the monies paid into your account, but from the document before you on March 6, 2015 you issued a cheque in your name for the sum of N100,000.

“If the money left in your account was for bank charges as you claimed, how come you issued a cheque for the amount in your name? For what purpose is the money”.

The witness responded:”I took transport na.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the response brought peals of laughter from the courtroom.

Justice Ibrahim Buba thereafter informed parties that a lot of time had been spent on the trial and adjourned the case to Feb. 16 for continuation of cross examination of the witness.

In the 22-count charge, the accused were alleged to have converted to their use, a total of N2.6 billion between December 23, 2013 and May 28, 2015.

The offences, the EFCC noted, contravened the provisions of Sections 15 (1), 15 (3), and 18 (a) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2012.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Happy
0 0 %
Sad
0 0 %
Excited
0 0 %
Sleepy
0 0 %
Angry
0 0 %
Surprise
0 0 %

NIGERIA: ‘We are happy with Supreme Court’s decision on Senate President’s case,’ Tribunal says

0 0
Read Time:1 Minute, 14 Second

The Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) has said that it’s delighted at the Supreme Court’s ruling that the case against Senate President, Bukola Saraki should continue.

The apex court reached the decision today, February 5, 2016, after dismissing Saraki’s appeal.

The Senate President is facing charges of asset declaration fraud before the Tribunal.

“The trial will continue from where it stopped‎. We just have to respect the judgment of the Supreme Court at that time it ruled we should stay action, and we did stay action,” CCT spokesman, Ibrahim Alhassan told The Cable.

“The chairman along with the other‎ member will have to sit down and study the scenario and decide on a date the trial will continue. Certainly, I assure you the case will continue. What stalled it was the order of Supreme Court, but now it has given us the go ahead.

“We must be happy. It is all about the institution of the CCT, and not about an individual.

“If the judgment had gone the other way round, our jurisdiction would have been stunted‎, and we will not have the capacity to continue with our tasks. Everybody should be happy, especially now that we are in the era of fighting corruption,” Alhassan said.

Saraki on his part expressed disappointment at the court’s decision adding that he will defend himself at the tribunal when the time comes.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Happy
0 0 %
Sad
0 0 %
Excited
0 0 %
Sleepy
0 0 %
Angry
0 0 %
Surprise
0 0 %