The trial of former Chairman of DAAR Communications Plc, Raymond Dokpesi, before the federal high court in Abuja was again stalled on Wednesday as the prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, was absent.
Dokpesi was charged by the Economic and Financial crimes Commission, EFCC, with fraud to the tune of N2.1 billion.
When trial resumed on Wednesday, the defence counsel, Ifedayo Adedipe, told Justice James Tsoho that he had received a letter from Jacobs informing the defence of his inability to attend the hearing due to another case at the Appeal Court on the same day.
The prosecution pleaded for a long adjournment in order to enable the prosecution team prepare well for the case.
Justice Tsoho granted the plea and adjourned the case to October 19 for continuation of hearing.
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, has advised intending pilgrims for the 2016 Hajj to ensure they received Oral Polio and Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis, CSM, immunisation before their departure.
This was contained in a statement signed by Uba Mana, NAHCON’s Head of Media, on Wednesday in Abuja.
Mana said that “in line with Saudi Arabian Medical Guidelines for intending pilgrims, all pilgrims for the 2016 Hajj are advised to ensure that they are immunised against Oral Polio and Cebro-Spinal Meningitis.”
He assured intending pilgrims that adequate doses of vaccines had been made available in all state capitals by the Federal Ministry of Health and the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency.
He also explained that intending pilgrims were expected to be fully immunised at least 10 days before their travel date, in consonance with the International Health Regulations.
The NAHCON spokesman urged all states’ Pilgrims Welfare Boards, Agencies, Commissions and licenced tour operators to ensure that all intending pilgrims acquired the genuine yellow card from state health offices.
The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has elected a new president, resting speculations about possible controversial leadership change.
Supo Ayokunle defeated Joseph Otubu of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement to emerge President of the association in an election that saw him score 54 votes as against Otubu’s 28.
Ayokunle is also the President, Nigerian Baptist Convention
His election is coming at a time CAN in Osun state is at logger heads with the state government over a court judgment allowing Muslim female secondary school students wear hijab to class.
The Osun chapter of the association has kicked against the judgment and had insisted Christian students too will dress to school in church garments.
Some Christian students in the state have been going to school in church garments sparking speculations about a brewing religious crisis in the state.
On Wednesday, the Vice Chairman of CAN in the state, Moses Ogundeji, said Christian students would continue to wear church garments to school adding that Governor Rauf Aregbesola should be ready to expel the students if he is against it
The Secretary of CAN, Joseph Olaide, also said while addressing a gathering that Christian students could not be stopped from wearing church garments.
He urged the residents to notify CAN if any of the students is arrested as the leadership was ready to take over the case.
Top government officials in Ondo State were shocked Wednesday when workers in the state who have been on strike for more than a week now started impounding all government-owned vehicles found plying the streets.
The labour leaders said government officials with official cars had resorted to driving themselves as government drivers took part in the strike.
The officials said all workers should be observing the strike and government business ought to close.
Local government vehicles were not spared as labour union leaders also seized them.
The workers were protesting the non-payment of five months’ salary arears
They threatened that impounded vehicles would be held until the end of the strike.
Members of the Civilian JTF in kaya village, Borno state, rescued an 11-year old girl abducted by Boko Haram insurgents from Batha village and kept at a hideout in Sabon Garin Bale.
The Civilian JTF also destroyed the terrorists camp and recovered Boko Haram flags, 3 Fabrique Nationale (FN) rifle magazines, 2 AK-45 rifle magazines and 24 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunition.
The villante stormed the hide out after six suspected Boko Haram insurgents attacked kutuva village, killing four persons and abducting four women.
A statement by Sani Usman, Acting Director of Army Public Relations, said the terrorists however escaped with the women and that they are still being trailed. He said the women would be rescued and the insurgents arrested.
In a related development, a team of local vigilante in Damboa led by Sarkin Yaki Ali Gwoza intercepted 17 hardened Boko Haram suspects along Njaba road, south of Damboa town while on patrol.
They were among dozens of persons intercepted and interrogated.
The statement said the men confessed during preliminary interrogation that they were members of Boko Haram who were compelled to join the insurgency against their will and that they were on their way to Damboa to surrender to the military.
They attributed their decision to give up their nefarious activities to the continuing military onslaught and that life has become hard and unbearable for them.
The 17 arrested were said to be “hardened Boko Haram terrorists” trying to escape and infiltrate the society.
Similarly, a combined patrol team of 7 Division Garrison, 101 Special Forces Battalion and 3 Civilian JTF, while on clearance patrol, intercepted a Golf car with registration number BX 508 RBC, suspected to be carrying suppliers of logistics such as spare parts and Improvised Explosives making Devices materials to Boko Haram terrorists along Kayamla general area Tuesday morning.
The suspected suppliers abandoned the vehicle and fled into the bush on sighting the patrol team. The vehicle and its contents has been recovered to nearby military location.
The FG said Zakzaky was taken into custody following intelligence report that he was going to be attacked and killed.
Responding to a N2 billion fundamental human rights enforcement suit filed by Zakzaky through his lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, the FG explained that Zakzaky’s detention was a proactive measure to forestall a similar incident that made the Boko Haram sect turn violent in 2009.
FG say it believes that if the applicant (Zakzaky), who is the leader of one of the largest Islamic groups in the country, was allowed to be killed as contained in the intelligence report, the country may again be plunged into another Boko Haram-like crisis.
In a 13-paragraphed counter affidavit deposed to by Ayodeji Ibitoye, an operative in the legal services department of the DSS, the FG said Zakzaky was evacuated to the medical facility of the service where he is being attended to by the best doctors and his treatment has gulped millions of naira at the expense of the state. The affidavit has it that members of the Nigeria Supeme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, had been to visit him.
Joined as respondents in the suit were the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, the DSS and the Nigerian Police Force.
Zakzaky is asking the court to enforce his fundamental human rights to life, personal liberty, dignity of human person, right to private and family life and private property.
Counsel to the applicant, Falana, is contending that the continued detention of his client without being charged before a competent court is a violation of his fundamental human rights as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution.
Justice Kolawole fixed July 23 for hearing of the substantive suit.
It would be recalled that Zakzaky was arrested and detained following a violent clash between his followers and the Nigerian Army on December 14, 2015, resulting in the loss of lives of many members of the Shi’ite sect.
Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-kayode will be prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a 17-count charge bothering on fraud and money laundering.
Fani-Kayode would be arraigned at the Federal High Court, Lagos, along with Nenedi Usman, a former minister of finance, Danjuma Yusuf and a company named John Trust Dimensions Nigeria Limited.
The charges border on conspiracy, unlawful retention of proceeds of theft and money laundering.
The suspects were said to have allegedly committed the offences between January 8, 2015, and March 25, 2015, in the build-up to the general election.
In one of the counts, the EFCC alleged that Fani-Kayode, who is listed as the 2nd defendant in the charge sheet, and his co-defendants conspired among themselves to “indirectly retain the sum of N1.5billion, which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of an unlawful act to wit: stealing.”
The charge sheet indicated that the said crime constituted an offence under Section 18(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012, punishable under Section 15(3)( 4) of the same Act.
In another count, the EFCC alleged that Fani-Kayode “directly retained the sum of N350m,” which the anti-graft agency claimed he ought to have “reasonably known formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act to wit: stealing.”
Fani-Kayode was accused of directly using parts of the money at various times, including a sum of N250,650,000, which he allegedly used between March 20 and 25, 2015.
Fani-Kayode was also accused of making a cash transaction of N24m with one Olubode Oke, said to still be at large, on February 12, 2015 “to Paste Poster at 125, Lewis Street, Lagos Island.”
The duo were said to have made the transaction without going through any financial institution, an act the EFCC claimed was contrary to Sections 1(a) and 16(d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012 and punishable under Section 16(2)(b) of the same Act.
The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun will today meet with finance commissioners from the 36 states of the federation to finalise discussions on a fresh bailout package.
The meeting will afford the commissioners the opportunity to explain how their states managed the first bailout given to them by the federal government.
The federal government and the state governors during the last National Economic Council meeting on Thursday, 9 June, agreed on a 22-point fiscal reform action plan codenamed Fiscal Sustainability Programme, FSP, which if fully adhered to by the various states, would qualify them for a fresh bailout package.
The FSP has five key strategic objectives namely: accountability and transparency, increase in public revenue, rationalization of public expenditure, public financial management reforms and sustainable debt management. The aim of the programme is to enable the various states achieve fiscal sustainability.
Requirements contained in the FSP include, biometric capture of all civil servants in the state, establishment of an efficiency unit, implementation of continuous audit, improvement in internally generated revenue, among others.
Under the FSP, states are also required to publish audited annual financial statements within six months of financial year end. States will also publish their annual budgets as well as budget implementation performance quarterly with effect from March 2017.
The federal government will provide the various states with an International Public Sector Accounting Standards, IPSAS, software to monitor the progress of the programme.
A coalition of youth groups within the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has expressed concern over the crisis rocking the leadership of the party.
The group also gave leaders of the party a seven-day ultimatum to settle their differences and resolve the dispute or the group would take over the party secretariat.
Briefing journalists at the end of their meeting on Tuesday, at the National Secretariat of the party, chairman of the group, Aderemi Olusegun, said they were saddened by the “unabated internal wrangling” bedevilling the party.
He said as concerned youth, they found it necessary to come together to take a firm position in the interest of PDP members nationwide.
Aderemi said the youth had waited enough for the party’s leaders since the Port Harcourt convention to amicably resolve the lingering problem of leadership, and gave a 7-day ultimatum to the leaders to resolve the problem.
“However, if this is not resolved, we shall be compelled to mobilize all concerned youths nationwide to take over the affairs of the party, as we have started putting in place an effective structure to take over the party secretariat,” he said.
Aderemi said the PDP as a party is bigger than individuals and groups and would not accept anyone “taking the party for a ride”.
“We are therefore demanding the immediate withdrawal of all pending litigations in the courts of law, so that we can amicably resolve all issues,” he said
The group also said it was disappointed that the leaders of the party appeared unconcerned about the likely effect of their actions on the forthcoming governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States, which, they said, were likely to affect the fortunes of the party.
“Our party members world over are seriously disillusioned and unhappy.
“We have therefore constituted an 11-man committee to liaise with all the parties concerned and stakeholders to as a matter of urgency resolve all disagreements in our party.
“We shall be making further demands known to all the stakeholders in order to reposition our party as a viable alternative for all Nigerians,” the youth said.
The PDP has been embroiled in crisis since May 21 when different factions emerged at two national conventions held in different cities- Port Harcourt and Abuja.
JetBlue, a New York based airline, is offering free flights to the families of the victims of Sunday’s mass shooting at an Orlando gay club.
Today in the Sky reported spokesman of the airline, Doug McGraw, as confirming the offer.
“JetBlue is providing free seats on its available flights to/from Orlando for immediate family and domestic partners of victims who were killed or injured. Those family members and domestic partners requiring travel assistance can contact 1-800-JETBLUE for details.”
JetBlue is also waiving change fees for customers who wish to change their travel plans in the wake of the tragedy. Fliers ticketed to fly through Orlando from Sunday through Tuesday will be allowed to make a change to their itineraries without paying the customary change fee.
Forty-nine people were reportedly killed and another 50 were injured in the Sunday attack at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.
New York-based JetBlue has a sizable presence in Orlando, where it operates a base and maintains support facilities.
