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Two suspected fraudsters arraigned by EFCC in Benin

'Kunle ADEBAJO
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Two suspected fraudsters arraigned by EFCC in Benin

IN different court proceedings, two suspected fraudsters, Omoparewa Femi and Bashir Munkaila, have been arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for defrauding victims to the tune of over N6 million.

The commission disclosed this through a press release made available to journalists on Thursday. The release was signed by Tony Orilade, the EFCC’s Acting Head of Media and Publicity.

While his accomplice is still at large, Femi was arraigned on Wednesday before Justice A.A. Demi-Ajayi of the Federal High Court, in Edo State. Four counts bordering on obtaining money by false pretence were preferred against him, to which he pleaded not guilty. He allegedly received over N1 million from Ufuoma under the pretense of getting a visa.

“That you, Omoparewa Femi and one Prince Chikita (still at large),” read one of the charges, “on or about the 14th day of June 2017, at Benin within the jurisdiction of this honourable court did with intent to defraud, obtain the sum N500,000 from Ikporo Ufuoma through your bank account domiciled in Guaranty Trust Bank, under a false pretence that you are a registered visa procurement agent and the money was meant for Canadian Visa to Mr Ikporo Ufuoma, a pretext which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the advance fee Fraud and other fraud-related offences Act , 2006 and punishable under section 1(3) of the same Act.”

Austin Ozigbo, EFCC’s counsel, asked the court to schedule a trial date and order for the defendant’s remand; while Solomon Akpobosa, the lawyer representing Femi, filed an application for bail. To this Ozigbo reacted that he needed time to assess the application as he had just been served.

The case was adjourned to September 25 for hearing and the judge ordered for the defendant’s remand in prison.

Muknaila was also arraigned before the court on Wednesday on a one-count charge of obtaining by false pretence.

“That you, Bashir Munkaila,” the charge read, “being a bureau de change operator on or about the 8th day of May 2018 in Benin, Edo State within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court with intent to defraud, did obtain from Adamu Haruna the sum of £13,000 (N5.3 million) under the false pretence that there was a customer in your shop who needed £16,000 at N430 per Euro, a representation which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 1(1)(b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”

The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge and Ozigbo asked the court to convict and sentence him based on a plea bargain agreement earlier reached.

The case was also adjourned to September 25 to allow for the review of the facts, and Munkaila was ordered to be remanded in prison pending the next trial date.

Metuh: Jonathan gave me N400m, not Dasuki

Jennifer UGWA
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Metuh: Jonathan gave me N400m, not Dasuki

OLISA Metuh, Former National Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) says he received the sum of N400m project fund from former President Goodluck Jonathan and not Sambo Dasuki, former National Security Adviser, as alleged by the EFCC. 

He told the Federal High Court in Abuja that the money which led to his arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on money laundering charges were paid to him by former president Jonathan for the execution of some national assignment for the federal government.

Metuh claimed the money was made available to him after he met with the president to discuss national issues of state, hence he did not consider the money for the act of any unlawful purpose because it came from the then president.

He specifically dismissed allegations that the money was sent to him through Dasuki. “I did not receive any money from Colonel Sambo Dasuki.

“As I am talking on oath before this court now, I can say categorically that Dasuki has not been interrogated, charged or convicted for any act relating to me and my company,”  Metuh added.

“The N400m was paid into my account by the then president and I did not conceal or disguise the money and it was not transferred out of jurisdiction,” he said.

He urged the court to take a look at the list of disbursement carried out in cash and in the cheque.

The case was adjourned till 24, 25 and 26 of June by Okon Abang, the presiding judge.

 

 

FG directs immediate return of History study to schools

Nneoma BENSON
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FG directs immediate return of History study to schools

THE Federal Government has directed all basic and secondary schools across the country to immediately implement the teaching of history as a standalone subject from the next academic calendar.

Sonny Echono, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education made this known on Friday in an interview with The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN).

The Federal Government on June 18, promised the return history to school curriculum while ensuring that all primary school teachers are trained to deliver digital literacy.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has declared at the launch of Education for Justice Programme that government had kick-started implementation in 12 primary and secondary schools across the six geopolitical zones, and instructional classes have also commenced.

Echono said the directive has already been given and it is automatic that all the schools should implement simultaneously.

“By the next academic calendar, history will be taught as a standalone subject.

“It is with immediate implementation. So, definitely for the next academic year everybody will fall in line because we already articulated the curriculum and the examination should be done along those lines,” he said.

 

18 arrested as DPR seals 20 illegal fuel stations in Plateau

Jennifer UGWA
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18 arrested as DPR seals 20 illegal fuel stations in Plateau

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Jos, Plateau State, on Friday has sealed off at least 20 illegal fuel stations and had 18 persons arrested for illegal operation.

Jerome Agada, Operations Controller of the DPR Jos field office, acknowledged that some of the retail outlets visited by the officials of the DPR did not have the required permit to operate.

While some do not conform to technical and electrical specifications required as well as structural construction for the operation of such facilities.

Meanwhile, 18 persons were also arrested for operating the various illegal retail outlets.

Agada said that the exercise was part of measures to ensure lucidity in the petroleum retail outlet business as well as ensure that operators comply with rules and regulations in providing efficient services to the general public.

 

Vodacom unit to sell operations in Nigeria and four other African markets

Jennifer UGWA
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Vodacom unit to sell operations in Nigeria and four other African markets

VODACOM Group on Friday has announced a strategic repositioning of its Vodacom Business Africa(VBA) operation as it set to sell its business units in Nigeria, Zambia, Angola, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire for an undisclosed amount.

The Telecom company said it would continue to operate as a pan-African telecommunications network provider through local service providers in the African markets, claiming the new model is better suited to the digital economy and would encourage greater local collaboration.

Synergy Communications would acquire 100 per cent of VBA operations in Nigeria, Zambia and Cote d’Ivoire. Internet Technologies Angola has agreed to acquire Vodacom Business Africa’s Angolan operations and assets.

The companies are the process of concluding the acquisitions following the rules subject to the approval of regulatory authorities in these markets.

Vodacom Reportedly, would enter into service provider agreements with Synergy Communications in Nigeria, Zambia and Cote d’Ivoire; Internet Technologies Angola (ITA) in Angola and Vodafone Ghana in Ghana.

In each of the five Vodacom Business Africa markets, the respective partners would acquire all of the operations and assets held by Vodacom as subject to various regulatory and statutory body approvals,

While Synergy Communication set to operate the Vodacom affairs in Nigeria, it already has operations in Botswana, Malawi and Mozambique, reinforcing its aim to be a leading provider of cloud and digital services in key markets across sub-Saharan Africa and provides key additional assets in its build-out of a regional footprint.

Vodacom Group Limited is a South African mobile communications company, providing voice, messaging, data and converged services to over 55 million customers.

After five months in Boko Haram’s captivity, abducted corps member gains freedom

YEKEEN Akinwale
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After five months in Boko Haram’s captivity, abducted corps member gains freedom
AFTER spending about five months in captivity of Boko Haram terrorists, a  serving corps member, Halima Uwani Umar, kidnapped by one of the terror groups in the North East,  has been freed.

A statement by Borno State government said Halima who was kidnapped in January was released as a result of a joint coordinated engagement involving key stakeholders.

The statement disclosed that her freedom was an outcome of a preliminary level negotiation involving the state government, the Kalthum Foundation for Peace, a non-governmental organization with inter-mediatory negotiation with the leadership of the terror group handled by a prominent investigative journalist with critical access.

The state government said the step was in line with its desire to work with strategic partners to open lines of communication with the insurgents as a means of freeing several non-combatant captives of the terror groups.
“The strategic interventionist team was empanelled to use every necessary tool and good spirited individuals to engage the insurgents in non-combatant ways as a means of de-escalation framework that will eventually result in freeing more captives and safe return of displaced persons in the state,” Borno State government said in the statement.
It further explained that the insurgents released Halima as a sign of goodwill to commit to a new process of resolving the conflicts in the region.
“The state government, the military, the DSS played vital roles deploying professional field experience and strategic cover for the process. The state government shall continually bring the media up to speed as may be necessary.”
“We, as a government, are committed to working with the Federal organs of security as well as non-governmental organizations and well-meaning citizens to pursue with vigour the safe return of captives, displaced persons and vulnerable population of our great state.”

Snakes now attack doctors, nurses on duty in Anambra hospital, lawmaker cries out

Nneoma BENSON
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Snakes now attack doctors, nurses on duty in Anambra hospital, lawmaker cries out

A MEMBER of Anambra  State of House Assembly, Timothy Ifedioramma, has cried out that snakes now attack doctors and nurses on duty at the Enugwu Ukwu General hospital, Njikoka Local Government Area of the state.

Ifedioramma who represents the area at the House of Assembly disclosed this during plenary session on Thursday on the floor of the  House.

The State Commissioner of Health, Joe Akabuike, had promised that the state government would upgrade the hospital. 

But the lawmaker, who said he had met the Commissioner a number of time over the poor state of the hospital, rejected such promise as empty.

“We can’t wait until it is upgraded. Nothing works there now,” Ifedioramma  lamented, adding, “No laboratory, and the mortuary got burnt in December last year; all of that is as a result of negligence and abandonment by government.”

He said women in the local government do not have where to be delivered of their babies, and available private hospitals are charging exorbitant fees. 

“I want to get some of them into a health insurance scheme but at the same time, how can somebody who is sick in the village go to Awka or Onitsha to access medical care, when we have a very big structure like Enugwu-Ukwu General Hospital,” he said.

The lawmaker said there was a need to draw attention to the state of the hospital, so as to get it running.

This incident came barely six months after a mysterious fire razed down the hospital’s morgue resulting in over 50 corpses burnt in the process.

It would be recalled that the Association of Resident Doctors of Chukwuemeka Odumegu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital (COOUTH) had on May 13, 2019, commenced an indefinite strike after the state government failed to meet their demands.

The doctors want the government to address the dearth of medical equipment in the state’s teaching hospital.

President of the association, Obinna Anigbaoso had in an interview told The ICIR that the state government wanted to meet with the leadership of the association to find a lasting solution to the crisis.

Talks between government and representatives of the association broke down as the association described the resolution as unfavourable.

EFCC arrests 27 suspected online fraudsters in Osun after raiding hideouts

'Kunle ADEBAJO
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EFCC arrests 27 suspected online fraudsters in Osun after raiding hideouts

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arrested 27 suspected online fraudsters in Osogbo, Osun State, after their hideouts were raided on Thursday.

According to a press statement obtained by The ICIR and signed by Tony Orilade, the EFCC’s Acting Head of Media and Publicity, four of the suspects were female.

“Officials of the Commission have embarked on weeks of surveillance, working on series of intelligence gathered on the activities of suspected ‘Yahoo Boys’ in locations across the city,” the statement said.

“The intelligence was found to be substantially credible, leading to the sting operation on Thursday.

“Among the arrested suspects are Adeleke Peter, Babalola Abiodun, Aduroja Temitope, Abdulazeez Razak, Adesina Adewale, Osayintoba Dare, Adebowale Fadairo, Abdulazeez Abdullahi, Akinseye Samuel and Osanyintoba Femi.”

Others were Austin Onyekachukwu, Oluwaseun Adesina, Ibosiola Olamilekan, Ayoola Lekan, Abdullahi Owopade, Olatunbosun Kolawole, Saheed Adebola, Osanyintoba Pelumi, Ayo Bello, Samuel Emmanuel, Olalekan Oladele, Solomon Mattew, Oyelude Opeyemi, Quadri Olatunji, Ibrahim Alao, Tunde Bello, and Fatolu Temitope.

“Eight exotic cars including two Lexus and six Toyota brands, as well as many costly phones and laptops, were among the items recovered in the course of the operation,” Orilade said.

The arrested persons claimed to be graduates, students, businessmen and computer engineers. The EFCC said it is currently interrogating them to confirm their level of involvement and that they will soon be arraigned.

SC-LANE wants Nigeria, Cameroon to respect rights of Southern Cameroonian refugees

YEKEEN Akinwale
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SC-LANE wants Nigeria, Cameroon to respect rights of Southern Cameroonian refugees

THE Southern Cameroon Legal Assistance Network (SC-LANE) has asked the governments of Nigeria and Cameroon to respect the rights of Southern Cameroonians who are seeking asylum in Nigeria.

There are currently more than 30,000 refugees registered by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Nigerian Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCRMIDP).

Counsel to the Southern Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria,  Abdul Oroh, who is also the Coordinator of SC-LANE told The ICIR on the occasion of World Refugee Day that the two countries must work to ensure the safety of the refugees, noting that no one deserves to be called ‘illegal refugee.’

He emphasized that governments of both countries must respect the UN Charter on Safety of Refugees particularly, Convention Relating to Status of Refugees.

Oroh lamented that despite an Abuja Federal High Court ruling in March 2019 ordering the release of 10 detained leaders of Southern Cameroon by the Paul Biya led Francophone Cameroon government, they are still being kept in Kondengui Prison Principale, Yaounde, Cameroon.

“It is sad that despite the ruling given by Justice Chikere Anwuli of Abuja Federal High Court that these men be released, they are still kept in the prison,” Oroh said.

He stressed that the Justice in the verdict described the detained Southern Cameroonian leaders as ‘retornists’ as against secessionists that the government called them.

On January 5, 2018, 12 leaders of the Southern Cameroon Ambazonia Interim Government led by Sisiku Ayuktabe Julius were meeting at NERA Hotel, Jabi, Abuja to discuss the refugees’ situation and a surge in violence when they were arrested by Nigerian security operatives.

The UNHCR office in Abuja was outraged by the abduction and drew the attention of the Nigerian government to their international obligations under article 33 of the Geneva Convention that protects the rights of refugees and prohibits refoulment, which is expulsion or return of refugees to hostile territory.

While two of the arrested Southern Cameroonian leaders who claimed Nigerian citizenship were transferred to the police custody, the remaining 10 were deported to Cameroon on January 25, 2018, where they have since been tried by a Military Tribunal.

The SC-LANE coordinator further lamented that the whereabouts of 37 Cameroonian refugees picked up at random on December 31, 2017, in Gembu, Taraba State by Nigerian soldiers is still unknown.

There have continued to be an influx of Southern Cameroonians into Nigeria since the Paul Biya-led government clamped down on members of Southern Cameroon Nigeria Council (SCNC) and the Southern Cameroon Ambazonia United Front (SCACUF) who declared independence on October 1, 2017.

The International Crisis Group (ICG) estimated that about 246,000 people have fled the South West region alone with about 25,000 believed to have fled to Nigeria occupying 50 locations in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Benue and Abuja.

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