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FG Charges Justice Ademola With N248 Million Bribery

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FG Charges Justice Ademola With N248 Million Bribery
Ademola Adeniyi
Adeniyi Ademola

The Federal Government has officially brought a 15-count corruption charge against a Justice of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Adeniyi Ademola.

Ademola, one of the seven Justices whose residences were raided in October by the Department of State Services, DSS, was charged alongside his wife, Olabowale, who is also the Head of Service of Lagos State.

In the suit filed at the FCT high court in Abuja on Monday, by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Ademola and his wife were accused of “corruptly” receiving a total sum of N248,101,300 and $520,000  as gratifications from various law firms and others between 2013 and 2016.

Count one and two of the charge alleged that the accused persons criminally conspired “to receive and/or obtain gratification contrary to sections 8(1) and 26(1) (c) of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission Act, 2011 land punishable under Sections 8(1) (iii) of the same law”.

The charge sheet indicated that Ademola’s wife received the payments through her Guaranty Trust Bank account for onward payment to the her husband.

The Most prominent of the law firms from which Ademola and his wife allegedly received gratifications was Joe Odey Agi Associates from whom the following payments were made to the justice: N40 million between February 20 and 21, 2014 and another N30 million between March 11 and 26, 2015.

Ademola was also said to have received $520,000 from Johnson & Johnson Solicitors on May 6, 2013.

The judge was also accused of receiving the sum of N6m from Oshodi, Oshodi & Co between February 25, 2015 and April 16, 2015

The prosecution also accused him of receiving N55,650,000 from G.T.J Ademola & Co between January 5 and June 23, 2016.

He was also accused of receiving N40m from Vertice Solutions Ltd. on February 20, 2014.

The prosecution also accused him of receiving N47.6m from Acardian Energy Services Limited on February 20, 2014.

He will also be facing a count in which he was accused of receiving N34.08m from Omotayo Babafemi Aliyu between February 20 and 21, 2014.

He was also accused of receiving N4.7713m from Lawan Sulaiman between February 21 and November 7, 2014.

Recall that the government had already on November 8, brought similar corruption charges against another of the Justices arrested by the DSS.

Sylvester Ngwuta, of the Supreme Court was accused of money laundering and passport violations.

Witness Narrates How $702,000 Was Paid Into Badeh’s Account

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Witness Narrates How $702,000 Was Paid Into Badeh’s Account
Alex Badeh
Former Chief of Air Staff, Alex Badeh

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, provided its ninth witness in the ongoing corruption trial of former Chief of Air Staff, Alex Badeh.

At the resumption of trial, the witness, Fatima Daudu, a relationship manager at First Bank, narrated to Justice Okong Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja how the sum of $702,000 was paid into the Badeh’s account in eight installments.

She told the court that she opened a “Visa Gold Account” for the former Air chief, saying that “the account is a card account and domiciliary account, which cannot be operated over the counter.”

Fatima explained how $50,000 was paid into the account in two installments by Badeh’s officers, which was later cross-checked by her.

“I filled the teller and wrote my name on it as evidenced. They gave the money to me as the relationship officer and so we got to the counter and cross-checked the money,” she said.

The witness further explained how the other monies were paid into the “Visa Gold Account” between June 13, 2013 and October 24, 2013.

At the request of the Counsel to EFCC, Oluwaleke Atolagbe, the court permitted a detailed explanation on some of the exhibits tendered by the witness.

Fatima said: “On June 13, 2013, a cash deposit of $10,000 was made by a third party, who is the witness and on June 21, 2013, a cash deposit of $100,000 was made by a third party, who is a witness.

“On June 27, 2013, a cash deposit of $100,000 was made by the same witness.

“While on July 23, 2013, a cash deposit of about $50,000 was deposited by witness.

“On August 2, 2013, cash deposit of $100,000 was made by Raphael.

“On October 17, 2013, $142,000 was deposited by witness

“On October 18, 2013, the sum of $100,000 was deposited by Mrs. Daudu.”

On October 23, 2013, the sum of $100,000 was deposited by the witness herself.

Justice Abang then adjourned the case to Thursday, November 17, for continuation of hearing.

Former Air chief, Badeh is standing trial alongside a firm, Iyalikam Nigeria Limited, for allegedly abusing his office as Chief of Defence Staff by using the dollar equivalent of the sum of N1.4billion removed from the accounts of the Nigerian Air Force to purchase properties in choice areas of Abuja between January and December, 2013.

The offence contravenes Section 15 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act.

Another ASUU Strike Begins Wednesday

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Another ASUU Strike Begins Wednesday
ASUU National Chairman, Ogunyemi
ASUU National Chairman, Biodun Ogunyemi

Another strike is looming in Nigeria’s education sector as the Academic Staff Union of Universities has revealed that it would embark on a one week warning strike from Wednesday, November 16.

The union cited government’s failure to implement the 2009 agreement and 2013 MoU as its reasons for embarking on the industrial action.

ASUU National President, Biodun Ogunyemi, addressed a press conference on Monday, saying that the decision was taken by the National Executive Council of ASUU after a nation-wide consultation with members.

“Many aspects of the 2013 MoU and the 2009 Agreement with the Federal Government have either been unimplemented or despairingly handled,” he said.

Some of the agreements include: “Payments of staff entitlements since December 2015, funding of universities for revitalisation, pension, TSA and university autonomy and renegotiation of 2009 Agreement.”

Ogunyemi said that “Failure by the Federal Government to implement this agreement has put ASUU leadership in severe difficulty, responding to inquiries from members of the union about the state of our agreement.”

He also urged well-meaning and education-loving Nigerians to prevail on the federal government to address the patriotic demands of ASUU until the Nigerian university system is repositioned.

The ASUU leader maintained that during the warning strike, there shall be no teaching, examination and no attendance at statutory meetings in all branches.

Lamenting further on Government’s apparent disinterest in education development, Ogunyemi said: “With the release of the 2016 Annual Budget, our union wondered aloud why allocation to education dropped from 11 per cent in 2015 to eight per cent in 2016.

“With the introduction of TSA, the federal universities find it extremely difficult to discharge their core responsibilities of teaching, research and community services.

“We tried to correct the erroneous impression in government circles that the capital and research grants to universities were being handled by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund.”

It would be recalled that the ASUU, under its former president, Nasir Faggae, had embarked on a 5-month strike which ended in December 2013, after an MoU was signed between the Union and the federal government, led by former president Goodluck Jonathan.

Nigeria’s Inflation Hits Record High

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Nigeria’s Inflation Hits Record High

nigerias-inflation-rate-hits-record-high

Inflation rate in Nigeria stood at 18.3 % in October, rising from 17.9 percent in September, the highest in 11 years.

According to a report released on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, the persistent rise in the price of goods and services was due to exchange-rate.

Inflation has been on the up side partly due to dollar shortages brought about by the huge drop in the price of crude, Nigeria’s main export, since mid-2014, pushing up import costs for consumer goods and machinery.

The federal government has struggled to manage the economic fallout, at one point pegging the exchange rate for more than a year and recently using the Department of State Services, DSS, to clampdown on Bureau De Change operators in an apparent move to bring down the street price of dollars.

Analysts fear this may not be the worst of the recession; one suggesting that “We may see it approaching 19 percent before the end of this year.”

CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had retained interest rates at 14 percent in September, irrespective of calls by Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun to consider a downward review so as to boost growth.

The new interest rate is expected to be announced after a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the CBN on November 22.

John Ashbourne, a London-based economist believes that the October inflation rate will put more pressure on the central bank to further tighten monetary policy.

He predicted that the CBN may hike its key policy rate from 14 percent to 16 percent at its next meeting.

The NBS is expected to release the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, growth data for the third quarter on November 21, though a forecast by the International Monetary Fund, IMF, shows that GDP will shrink by 1.7 percent this year.

According to the NBS report, Food prices rose to 17.1 percent in October from 16.6 percent in September, driven by increases in the price of bread, cereal, fish and meat.

The average gasoline price was 0.3 percent lower in October than in the previous month.

Meanwhile, the naira strengthened 0.4 percent to 314.25 per dollar as at Monday morning in Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos.

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Nigeria Hooks Up to INTERPOL’s Database

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Nigeria Hooks Up to INTERPOL’s Database
IGP Ibrahim Idris
IGP Ibrahim Idris

The Police Headquarters has revealed that Nigeria’s security agencies will soon be connected to the data base of the  International Criminal Police Organization, commonly known as INTERPOL.

The database known as ‘1-24/7’ is a tool for tracking a wanted person, stolen vehicles, artifacts, missing persons and other transnational criminals.

In a statement, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Don Awunah, said that the decision to log Nigeria onto the database was reached at the 85th Interpol General Assembly held in Bali, Indonesia, which was attended by the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Ibrahim Idris, as well as the Head of Immigration Service and that of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.

According to the statement, other agencies to be connected on the database include: the Economic and Finance Crime Commission, EFCC, Immigration Service, Air and Seaports as well as all International borders.

Awuna stated that IGP Idris headed a discussion Panel during the assembly, where he emphasized the effects of systematic corruption on efforts at curbing International terrorism, calling for closer collaboration of the International Communities.

It was also resolved at the meeting that the West African Police Chiefs Committee, which has its Secretariat in Nigeria, would be revived.

The INTERPOL is an intergovernmental organization which facilitates international police cooperation; it was established as the International Criminal Police Commission, ICPC, in 1923.

INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organization, with 190 member countries.

Its major objective is to enable security agencies around the world to work together to make the world a safer place.

INTERPOL also has seven regional offices across the world and a representative office at the United Nations in New York and at the European Union in Brussels.

Each of the member countries maintains a National Central Bureau staffed by its own highly trained law enforcement officials.

Congo Prime Minister Resigns

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Congo Prime Minister Resigns
DRC Priime Minister, Pon
DRC Prime Minister, Augustine Ponyo

Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Augustine Ponyo, has resigned.

Ponyo said his resignation was in order to make way for an opposition figure to take his place following talks aimed at averting a political crisis in the country.

“I have just handed in my resignation and that of my government to the president of the republic in line with the spirit of the political accord signed on October 18.”

Tension had risen in the DRC after a presidential election that ought to have held before the ending of the year was postponed to April 2018.

The government cited logistical problems in registering millions of voters and a lack of financing as reasons for the postponement, but the Opposition said it was a ploy designed by President Joseph Kabila to illegally hold on to office.

The decision to delay the vote was reached in October by the government and some opposition groups during a “national dialogue” which was boycotted by major opposition parties.

Ponyo’s departure could pave the way for a government with posts for some of those opposition figures who agreed to the election delay.

However, the main opposition bloc has rejected the accord and more than 50 people died in street protests in September aimed at increasing pressure on Kabila to step down.

Kabila’s critics say his aim is to change the constitution, which limits him to two terms in office, in order to secure a third.

The country’s constitutional court has given the go-ahead for the rescheduling of the election.

Kabila became president following the assassination of his father in 2001 and won disputed elections in 2006 and 2011.

Outlawed Shiite Sect Clashes With Police, Many Feared Killed

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Outlawed Shiite Sect Clashes With Police, Many Feared Killed

outlawed-shiite-sect-clashes-with-police-many-feared-killed

More than a dozen people, including a police officer were feared killed when members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, IMN, clashed with the police in Kano on Monday.

Witnesses say the clash started around Tamburawa, on the outskirts of Kano city, when the police tried to stop a Shiite protest.

The police have since deployed heavily armed mobile police officers to the area while the Kano- Zaria road is completely cordoned off.

Details of this recent clash with security agencies are still hazy as at the time of this report, but the Shiite Islamic sect on Sunday complained that soldiers were blocking its members who were travelling to Zaria for a function, while also planting weapons on them.

Spokesman of the group, Ibrahim Musa said in a statement that “Soldiers mounted a check point at the outskirts of Potiskum, Yobe state, probably to stop members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) from leaving the town to join others in this year’s annual Arbaeen Trek to Zaria, mourning the martyrdom of Imam Husain (AS) scheduled to commence from Kano this week.”

The statement added that: “The soldiers detained a trailer carrying the personal belongings of those going to Kano for the trek today.

“Apparently, the soldiers have some sinister motives as they were overheard scheming to plant weapons in the luggage and thereafter claim that these bags with the weapons belong to members of the IMN.

“Throughout the nearly four decades of the existence of the IMN, it has never stockpiled, carried or used weapons. It never had any cause to, even in the face of provocation.

“IMN therefore wishes to alert the general public over this evil plot, and categorically reject and disown any attempt by the security services to plant any fake evidence against members of the Islamic Movement (IMN).”

Recall that members of the IMN had a similar clash with men of the Nigerian army in December 2015, leading to the death of hundreds of members of the group.

Leader of the group, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, has remained in custody since then; there are reports that he is being treated of gunshot wounds sustained during the clash with soldiers.

Last month, the Kaduna State Government declared the IMN as an unlawful organization following reports of a panel of investigation into the crisis.

Women Protest Military Invasion Of Niger-Delta Community

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Women Protest Military Invasion Of Niger-Delta Community

women-protest-military-invasion-of-niger-delta-community

Women of Gbaramatu Kingdom, a predominantly fishing community in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State, took to the streets on Monday to protest the continued invasion of their area by men of the Nigerian military.

The women called on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency withdraw the soldiers whom they claim had been harassing and intimidating youths in the area who  for about a week now.

The protesters had gathered at Oporoza, the traditional headquarters of the Gbaramatu kingdom, the women claim that the incessant harassment of their kinsmen by the soldiers have left many of them traumatised and finding it difficult to cope

Gbaramatu kingdom has been on the forefront of the renewed militant activities especially with the coming of the so called Niger Delta Avengers group, which has claimed responsibility for blowing up the country’s oil and gas facilities in the region

Journalists who visited the area observed that fishing activities, which used to be the major source of income for residents in the area, had died down.

The women drawn from neighbouring communities also alleged that soldiers broke into their homes, ransacking everywhere and carting away valuables.

They lament the fact that the presence of the military in their communities which was expected to prevent further destruction of National Assets in the region, has now become a source of tension for the residents, as everybody now live and move in fear.

Some of them also claimed that the invasion of the soldiers had sent panic round the communities, causing residents to flee their homes and seek cover in the bushes.

The spokesman of the Joint Task Force, was however unavailable for confirmation and questioning about the purpose of the invasion.

Recall the Gbaramatu is the hometown of notorious Niger-Delta freedom fighter, Government Ekpemupolo, commonly called Tompolo.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had arraigned Tompolo (in absentia) at the Federal High Court in Lagos in Lagos, accusing him of involvement in a N34 billion fraud.

Tompolo has since been declared wanted by the anti-graft agency.

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Trump Appoints Chief Of Staff, Chief Strategist

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Trump Appoints Chief Of Staff, Chief Strategist
President-elect, Donald Trump with his new Chief of Staff, Reince Peirbus
President-elect, Donald Trump with his new Chief of Staff, Reince Priebus

US President-elect Donald Trump has awarded key roles in his incoming team to a top Republican party official and a right-wing media chief.

Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), will be his chief of staff.

In this role, he will set the tone for the new White House and act as a conduit to Congress and the government.

Stephen Bannon, from the Breitbart News Network, will serve as Trump’s chief strategist.

Bannon stepped aside as executive chairman of Breitbart – a combative conservative site with an anti-establishment agenda that critics accuse of xenophobia and misogyny – to act as Trump’s campaign chief.

Meanwhile in the president-elect’s first interview, with US broadcaster CBS, Trump said that hep would deport or jail up to three million illegal migrants with criminal links.

He also said that future Supreme Court nominees would be “pro-life” – meaning they oppose abortion – and defend the constitutional right to bear arms; adding however that he will not seek to overturn the legalisation of same-sex marriage.

The billionaire further added that he will forgo the president’s $400,000 salary, taking $1 a year instead

In a statement released by his campaign, Trump described Priebus and Bannon as “highly qualified leaders who worked well together on our campaign and led us to a historic victory”.

The 44-year-old Priebus acted as a bridge between Trump and the Republican party establishment during the campaign.

He is close to House Speaker Paul Ryan, a fellow Wisconsinite, who could be instrumental in steering the new administration’s legislative agenda.

During the election race, Bannon saw it as his aim to “bolster the business-like approach of Trump’s campaign”.

A former naval officer, investment banker and Hollywood producer, Bannon took over at Breitbart in 2012, when he promised to make it the “Huffington Post of the right”.

Breitbart is linked to the alternative right movement – or alt-right – which tends to reject both left-wing ideology and mainstream conservatism.

The movement often emphasises free speech and the right to offend. Opponents call it racist, anti-Semitic and sexist.

“I want to thank President-elect Trump for the opportunity to work with Reince in driving the agenda of the Trump administration,” 62-year-old Bannon said.

“We had a very successful partnership on the campaign, one that led to victory. We will have that same partnership in working to help President-elect Trump achieve his agenda.”

Elected chairman of the RNC in 2011, Priebus has acted as the party’s spokesman and chief fundraiser. He said it was “truly an honour” to join Trump in the White House as chief of staff.

“I am very grateful to the president-elect for this opportunity to serve him and this nation as we work to create an economy that works for everyone, secure our borders, repeal and replace Obamacare and destroy radical Islamic terrorism,” he added.

Correspondents say one of the big challenges of the new administration will be reconciling President Trump with the mainstream Republican party, where sharp divisions emerged during the primaries.

Both houses of Congress are under Republican control.

Donald Trump will take over at the White House on 20 January, when Barack Obama steps down after two terms in office. He defeated Hillary Clinton in last week’s presidential vote.

On Sunday night Trump spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping. The two agreed to meet at “an early date”, Chinese state media said.

House Begins Disbursement Of 360 Luxury Cars To Members

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House Begins Disbursement Of 360 Luxury Cars To Members

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The current economic recession in the country notwithstanding, the House of Representatives has commenced the disbursement of brand new vehicles to all its 360 members.

The first batch of 28 Peugeot 508 vehicles were supplied on Sunday in Abuja, while another consignment of about 22 cars will be supplied later this week.

The 28 were among the first batch of 50 cars supplied by the Kaduna-based Peugeot Automobile Nigeria, PAN.

Recall that the House had allocated the sum of N3.6bn for the cars in the 2016 budget at a unit price of N10m.

According to the Punch Newspaper, there was an understanding between the House of Reps and the Peugeot company to supply the vehicles in batches because of the huge number of members involved.

The luxury cars are expected to keep arriving Abuja in batches till January, 2017 when all 360 cars would have been supplied.

There are 223 new members in the House of Reps, having come to the National Assembly for the first time in 2015, but both the new and former members will benefit from the luxury cars.

It was gathered that the original plan was to start the delivery of the cars last June, but the delay in the passage of the 2016 budget stalled it.

Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazak Namdas, confirmed that the cars had started arriving.

He said that female members of the House would get theirs first while the male would get theirs in subsequent batches.

On why the House would spend huge amounts of money on luxury cars when the country is in deep recession, Namdas said that the cars were not for luxury.

He reasoned that the 8th Assembly was nearing two years, with members not having vehicles to carry out their duties.

He further explained that the decision to go for Peugeot was in keeping with government’s commitment to patronize made-in-Nigeria products as Peugeot has an assembling plant in Kaduna.

Though the cars are the property of the National Assembly, the management would evaluate the cars after four years and deduct an agreed sum from the severance package of members.

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