Two more judges were reportedly arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services on Wednesday, bringing the number of judges so far arrested to 9.
Justices Bashir Sukola and Ladan Manir of the Kaduna State High Court were reportedly picked up in Kaduna and subsequently taken to the DSS Headquarters in Abuja at about 8.30pm yesterday.
The DSS had on Saturday raided the residences of seven justices, including two from the Supreme court, in an operation described by the presidency as a “surgical operation against some judicial officers specifically targeted at corruption and not at d judiciary as an institution.”
The trial of Esai Dangabar, former director at the Police Pension Fund, on charges of corruption and money laundering, continued at the FCT High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, with a prosecution witness telling the court how the accused person moved N24 billion into different accounts.
The Witness, Mustapha Gadanya, is an official of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and was among the team that investigated the matter.
The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that Gadanya, who was led in evidence by the EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, told the court that bank analysis revealed that Dangarbar fixed some amount in the bank to yield turnover.
He said that about N320 million was deposited in Skye Bank between May 2008 and July 2009, using his companies, Marine Logistics and leisure Integrated Ltd.
The turnover which accrued to him amounted to N249.8 million and N241 million, respectively which was later sent to the Federal Government after it was discovered.
He also informed the court that the Manager of Skye Bank, Jabi branch, helped the ex-director to launder about N840 million between February 2009 and June 2010.
The witness added that Dangabar was also discovered to be the Managing Director and the sole signatory to the account of Damule Nigeria Limited, the company where his son was listed as director.
He also told the court that Dangarbar’s 16 duplexes at Wuye District and six flats at Efab, in Abuja, had been forfeited temporarily to the Federal Government.
Justice Husseni Baba-Yusuf, adjourned the trial till Thursday for continuation of hearing.
Dangabar, Atiku Kigo, Ahmed Wada, Veronica Onyegbula, Sani Zira, Uzoma Attang and Christian Madubuke, are standing trial for complicity in the over N24bn scam in the police pension office.
Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed has insisted that the 21 Chibok school girls who regained their freedom on Thursday were released not swapped with Boko Haram prisoners.
The minister made this known during a news conference in Abuja.
“We can confirm that 21 Chibok schoolgirls were release at 5:30am today, and flown to Kaduna. We expect them to arrive in Abuja soon.
“Please note that this is not a swap, but a release,” he stressed, adding that the release was secured through “confidence building” with the insurgents.
Mohammed however pointed out that “The release of these girls does not mean an end to military operations, but it is a new phase in the war against insurgency.”
The minister assured that President Buhari is willing to do “whatever he can do to bring the insurgency under control.”
When pressed further on what the government gave in return for the girls, Mohammed said: “People want to believe bad news than good news. The girls were released, there was no swap,” he said.
However, there were reports that some senior government officials who pleaded anonymity had confirmed to journalists that there was indeed a swap deal in which four Boko Haram Prisoners were released by the Nigerian Authorities.
Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State and NNPC GMD, Maikanti Baru
The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, is intensifying oil exploration in the lake Chad basin as directed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Group Managing Director of the corporation, Maikanti Baru, on Thursday paid a visit to the Governor of Bauchi State, Mohammed Abubakar, to brief the governor on how the project was unfolding.
“We are here to intimate you on the level of exploration activities in Bauchi,” Baru told the Governor.
“We are resuming oil exploration in the Chad and Gongola Basin. Our exploration in the Gongola Basin includes those rivers that criss-crossed some parts of Bauchi and Gombe States,” he said.
Baru said that a number of Local Government Areas in the state “will witness these exploration activities” including: “Alkaleri, Darazo, Misau and Ganjuwa.”
He said “Our commitment for further exploration in the Gongola Basin is informed by the Presidential directive to resume oil exploration in this area.
“Successful commercial discovery of oil and gas has been recorded in neighbouring Niger, Chad and Central African Republic in their portions of the Chad Basin.”
The NNPC boss said that “Based on recent work by IDSL, we are compelled to further appraise the Nigerian portion of the Chad and Benue Trough due to their similarities.”
The Integrated Data Services Limited, IDSL, is a subsidiary company of the NNPC, established in 1988 to provide hydrocarbon exploration services in the local and international Oil and Gas industry.
Governor Abubakar commended President Buhari for his renewed vigour to order an oil exploration in the Chad and Benue Trough.
He expressed optimism that the search would be successful, saying that “If our neighbours in the Chad Basin have discovered oil on their side, I’m optimistic we will find it on our own side too.”
“I want to assure you of the unflinching support of Bauchi State Government and its good people towards this project.
“We are ready to provide offices and accommodation for all NNPC staff that will work on this project,” the governor promised.
He also called on citizens of the state to cooperate with and support the NNPC towards the success of the project.
“Our people will soon witness movement of equipment towards exploratory activities around their farms. They should all remain calm.
There will also be occasional blasts within and around those areas due to exploration. I assure everyone to remain calm,” Abubakar advised.
He promised to convene a meeting of the traditional leaders in the state to brief them on the development so that they would better educate their subjects.
NNPC GMD with the Emir of Bauchi, Rilwanu Adamu
The NNPC GMD also paid a courtesy visit on the Emir of Bauchi, Rilwanu Adamu, to seek the royal father’s support towards the renewed oil exploration.
The Emir praised President Buhari for appointing “one of our sons to lead the NNPC group”, assuring that his people would support the exploration exercise.
“We are aware of Dr. Maikanti Baru’s excellent record and integrity in all the places he served in the NNPC.
“We will provide all the necessary support required to make this renewed exploration a success,” the Emir said.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who is currently airborne to Germany, has reacted to the release of 21 Chibok girls from Boko Haram captivity on Thursday, saying it was a welcome development.
The President wrote on his social media handle saying: “As I depart Abuja for Germany on an Official Visit, I welcome the release of 21 of our Chibok Girls, following successful negotiations.
“The Department of State Services (DSS) has briefed me on the matter, and will continue to provide updates.”
Buhari reiterated that “Cooperation on the security and humanitarian situation in the Northeast will form a significant part of my discussions with (German) Chancellor (Angela) Merkel.”
Earlier, media aide to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Laolu Akande, had revealed that the federal government is assembling a team of medical experts to provide support for the released Chibok girls on their arrival in Abuja.
Meanwhile, there are indications that the 21 Chibok school girls released on Thursday may have been swapped with four Boko Haram fighters as was demanded by the terrorist group.
PREMIUM TIMES reports that senior government officials who were briefed on the case confirmed that a swap indeed took place.
“… the girls were swapped for four Boko Haram insurgents. Names of the militants were not released,” the report read.
The exchange reportedly took place Wednesday night “when Nigerian military officials, alongside personnel of United Nations, Red Cross and National Emergency Management Agency, conveyed four Boko Haram militants by a chopper to Banki, a border town in Bama local government area of Borno State.”
The 21 released girls were then taken to the Maiduguri Air Force base at about 8.30a.m on Thursday, and immediately flown to Abuja at 9a.m.
The report quoted one of the sources as saying that “most of the girls had babies.”
The Presidency has confirmed the release of 21 out of the over 200 girls abducted from Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, in April 2014.
Presidential media aide, Garba Shehu, confirmed this in a statement made available to journalists.
He said that the girls are in the custody of the Department of State Services, DSS, adding that the DSS Director-General, Lawal Daura, had already briefed President Muhammadu Buhari of the development before the President departed for Germany.
According to Shehu, “Lawal wants the girls to have some rest, with all of them very tired coming out of the process before he hands them over to the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.”
He said the release of the 21 girls “is the outcome of negotiations between the administration and the Boko Haram brokered by the International Red Cross and the Swiss government. The negotiations will continue.”
“The President welcomes the release of the girls but cautioned Nigerians to be mindful of the fact that more than 30,000 fellow citizens were killed via terrorism,” the statement added.
Shehu said the names of the released girls will be released “shortly.”
The release of the girls comes a day after 8 people were reportedly killed in a suicide bomb attack by suspected Boko Haram terrorists in Muna, Borno State.
15 others were also injured in the attack that was reportedly carried out by a middle aged woman.
Twenty One of the over 200 school girls kidnapped by the Boko Haram from Government Secondary school in Chibok, Borno State have reportedly been released.
Names of the released girls are not yet known as the Nigerian authorities are yet to make any official statement as at the time of this report.
Reports say the release was a result of negotiations with a group from Geneva, Switzerland.
No Boko Haram fighter has so far been released in exchange
Businessman, Goodie Ibru, has been declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Spokesman of the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, in a statement on Wednesday, said Ibru is wanted for allegedly diverting billions of naira and assets of Ikeja Hotels to his personal use.
“The public is hereby notified that Goodie Minabo Ibru… is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in connection with a case of conspiracy, capital market fraud, stealing, diversion of funds and money laundering,” the statement read.
“He allegedly diverted billions of naira and assets of Ikeja Hotels Plc, owners of Sheraton Hotel, Lagos, Federal Palace Hotel, owners of Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, to his personal benefit.”
Uwajuren urged “anybody having useful information as to his whereabouts (to) contact the commission through any of its offices located at Abuja, Kano, Gombe, Lagos, Ibadan, Maiduguri, Enugu and Port Harcourt.”
Goddie is regarded as one of the richest hoteliers in Nigeria.
Also known as G.M Ibru, he is the current Chairman Ikeja Hotel Plc, owners of Sheraton Hotel Lagos.
He also chairs The Tourist Company of Nigeria Plc, TCN, and Capital Hotels Plc, owners of Federal Palace Hotel and Abuja Sheraton Hotel respectively.
Former Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe, has appealed the October 4 judgment of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, which found him guilty of false assets declaration.
Chairman of the tribunal, Danladi Umar had ruled that the property in contention, a plot of land in the Asokoro district of Abuja, be forfeited to the federal government.
However, Orubebe vowed to appeal the ruling, explaining that he did not include the said plot of land in his asset declaration because he had given it away to his former landlord as payment for the rent he owed him.
In a notice of appeal filed by his lawyer, Selekeowei Larry, SAN, before the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal on Wednesday, Orubebe asked the appellate court to set aside the judgment of the CCT.
Orubebe argued that the tribunal erred in law when it held that the prosecution proved its case and ordered the forfeiture of the property in issue.
The former minister posited that he neither acquired the said plot of land corruptly nor even purchased it, rather it was a gift to him by the Federal Government.
Orubebe said he led credible evidence, which the prosecution did not fault, about how he sold the land to a company called Divention Properties Limited, with the company’s Managing Director, Akinwumi Ajibola, testifying to that effect during trial.
He faulted the CCT for holding that he remained the owner of the plot of land on the grounds that Divention, to whom the property was sold, did not effect change of ownership.
He said, “Not only were the deed of assignment, deed of sale and power of attorney tendered and admitted in evidence, defence witnesses one and two (Ajibola and Orubebe) testified to the transaction without any contradiction. There is no time limit for regularisation of title at the Land Registry.”
Orubebe further argued against the decision of the CCT, to the effect that it erred in law when, rather than keeping itself within the evidence before it and the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal (CCB/T) Act, it went and relied on the Land Instrument Registration Act (LIRA), without hearing from counsel on both sides.
The Federal Government had on March 8, 2016, re-arraigned Orubebe on an amended charge of failure to declare his property at Plot 2057, Asokoro District, Abuja, in his asset declaration forms submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau as a minister between 2007 and 2011.
Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima has expressed optimism that all Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, camps in the state will have been shut by May 2017.
Shettima said this during a session on ‘Mitigating the Impact of Crisis and Conflict’ at the ongoing 22nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja.
He said: “My target is May 29, 2017; I want to close down all the camps in Maiduguri in order to restore the dignity of our people.
“We will not stampede or intimidate people to go back to terrains not well secured. The local government headquarters would put up security architecture that would secure those places.
“The IDPs we have right now in Maiduguri, Biu and other places are full of challenges – issues of early child marriages, child prostitution, drug abuse and gangsterism.
“If we allow these things to continue, the challenges will become unmanageable in a few years to come,” the Governor said.
Shettima added that his administration is working to address the issue of illiteracy, unemployment and extreme poverty, which he believes fuels insurgency in the northeast region,
“You cannot divorce insurgency from poverty. We must evolve holistic programmes to create jobs.
“We have come up with programmes of addressing the grievances of the people and bridging the gap in trust between the leadership and the people.
“Education is a great treasure and the administration is determined to change the face
of Borno,” he told the forum.
Shettima reiterated that the state government was dealing with the Boko Haram crisis as an opportunity to make the state better, adding that the insurgency would resurface in a few years if nothing was done to transform the people both intellectually and economically.
“The destruction in the state are enormous,” he said.
“People are quoting 20,000 as the number of people killed, but believe me more than 100,000 people have been killed.
“Our IDPs are all over the state. We have hundreds and thousands of orphans and widows, if we don’t take care of them, believe me they will take care of us in the next 10 to 15 years,” he remarked.
The Governor also said that the State is placing emphasis on girl-child education and women empowerment, as well as agricultural development.
He said: “We want to pursue the issue of girl-child education and rebuilding all the communities; we are also focusing on women empowerment.”
“We engage the youth and create jobs so as to reduce vices; agriculture happens to be the best platform for engaging them.”
He added that the population of IDPs in Maiduguri alone had risen from 1.2 million to nearly three million, but “there are more to it than the IDPs camps. What can we do to restore the dignity of our people? What can we do to become merchants of hope for a better tomorrow?” he asked.
