Former Minister of Interior, Abba Moro was on Monday remanded in prison custody pending the determination of his application for bail.
However, Justice A. I. Chikere of the Federal High Court, Abuja granted bail to Moro's co-accused, Mrs Anastasia Nwaobia as she had just been equally released on bail by the EFCC.
Abba Moro's bail application will be heard on Wednesday.
The abduction and forced marriage of 13 year-old Ese Oruru by a certain Yunusa from Kano State which has been trending in the social media has drawn the attention of the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Aishat Al-Hassan.
Yunusa allegedly abducted Ese
in Opolo, Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, in August, 2015 and took her to Kano where he forcefully converted to his wife and renamed her Aishat.
Al-Hassan who was the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Taraba State in last year's general elections condemned Yunusa's action which she described as illegal.
“Our laws are very clear on the case. Ese Oruru is 14 and as such cannot consent to marriage. Any such union she’s in is illegal.
“I have been in touch with the police authorities in Kano over Ese’s immediate release to her parents and we are making progress.
“I can assure you that I will use all my powers and influence as a Minister and woman to secure the release and return of Ese Oruru.
“Ese is still a child under our laws, and her right to freedom of movement is subject to parental control. She must be returned.
“Child Rights Act says no person under 18 is capable of contracting a valid marriage, and a marriage so contracted is null and void.
“The Act also clearly states that anyone who marries a child is liable to a fine of N500,000 or 5 years imprisonment or both.
“No culture, religion or personal conviction supersedes the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Ese Oruru must return home.
“My ministry is on this case and we will ensure full prosecution of anyone who is found to have contravened the law,” she said.
The Minister assured that Ese who is now 14 will soon be released and reunited with her parents.
Feelers from the Glass House indicate that the Nigerian Football Federation, NFF has been in talks with Uganda national team coach Sredojevic Milutin, aka Micho.
A source disclosed that the NFF opened talks with Micho in Rwanda during CHAN.
“Green met with Micho at CHAN and it is like it is already a done deal. The plan was to appoint Shuaibu Amodu for the Egypt matches and after those games, a substantive foreign coach will be named with Micho in pole position."
The source said that the interim arrangement of the Siasia-led consortium of coaches was made when Amodu Shuaibu declined the job on health grounds.
“But Amodu declined the post because he is hypertensive and so the temporary arrangement of Siasia and co, who have been told they will revert to their previous posts after the matches against Egypt.”
Credits: The Herald
A jilted lover girl said this dangerous prayer against the guy who broke her heart.
She got together with her best friend and they put his picture amid Psalms 109 and tweeted the prayer.
See the prayer and photo below.
109 Do not keep silent,
O God of my praise!
2
For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful
Have opened against me;
They have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
3
They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And fought against me without a cause.
4
In return for my love they are my accusers,
But I give myself to prayer.
5
Thus they have rewarded me evil for good,
And hatred for my love.
6
Set a wicked man over him,
And let an accuser[ a ] stand at his right hand.
7
When he is judged, let him be found guilty,
And let his prayer become sin.
8
Let his days be few,
And let another take his office.
9
Let his children be fatherless,
And his wife a widow.
10
Let his children continually be vagabonds, and beg;
Let them seek their bread [b ] also from their desolate places.
11
Let the creditor seize all that he has,
And let strangers plunder his labor.
12
Let there be none to extend mercy to him,
Nor let there be any to favor his fatherless children.
13
Let his posterity be cut off,
And in the generation following let their name be blotted out.
14
Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the
Lord,
And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15
Let them be continually before the Lord,
That He may cut off the memory of them from the earth;
16
Because he did not remember to show mercy,
But persecuted the poor and needy man,
That he might even slay the broken in heart.
17
As he loved cursing, so let it come to him;
As he did not delight in blessing, so let it be far from him.
18
As he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment,
So let it enter his body like water,
And like oil into his bones.
19
Let it be to him like the garment which covers him,
And for a belt with which he girds himself continually.
20
Let this be the Lord’s reward to my accusers,
And to those who speak evil against my person.
21
But You, O GOD the Lord,
Deal with me for Your name’s sake;
Because Your mercy is good, deliver me.
22
For I am poor and needy,
And my heart is wounded within me.
23
I am gone like a shadow when it lengthens;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24
My knees are weak through fasting,
And my flesh is feeble from lack of fatness.
25
I also have become a reproach to them;
When they look at me, they shake their heads.
26
Help me, O Lord my God!
Oh, save me according to Your mercy,
27
That they may know that this
is Your hand—
That You, Lord, have done it!
28
Let them curse, but You bless;
When they arise, let them be ashamed,
But let Your servant rejoice.
29
Let my accusers be clothed with shame,
And let them cover themselves with their own disgrace as with a mantle.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has launched a manhunt for a major suspect in the 2014 Immigration Service recruitment scandal, Mahmood Ahmadu who is said to be a close associate of former Minister of Interior, Abba Moro.
The anti graft agency is set to enlist the help of the International Criminal Police Organization, INTERPOL and other agencies in the United Kingdom, UK to track down the fugitive businessman.
Meanwhile, the trial of Abba Moro and Mahmood Ahmadu begins today at the Federal High Court, Abuja presided over by Justice Chikere.
Also to stand trial alongside the duo are Ahmadu's firm, Drexel Tech Nigeria Ltd, a former Permanent Secretary, Mrs Anastasia Daniel-Nwobia and F. O. Alayebami.
They are facing an 11-count fraud charge bordering on the alleged misappropriation of N676.6m collected from 676,675 Immigration job applicants.
Confirming the information yesterday, EFCC spokesman, Mr Wilson Uwujaren said that :
”Former Interior Minister Moro will on February 29 be arraigned on an 11- count charge before Justice Chikere of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
“We may enlist INTERPOL and relevant agencies in the UK to track down Mahmood Ahmadu. He used to have companies in the UK and with his biometrics, there is no hiding place for him.
“We have already watch-listed him. This makes him a security risk wherever he goes. It is in his interest to come out of hiding.”
The accused persons are to be tried for Advance Fee Fraud, abuse of Public Procurement Act, No. 65 of 2007, misconduct contrary to Section 22(5) of the Independent Corrupt Practices Act 2000 and offence contrary to Section 15(2) (d) of the Money Laundering ( Prohibition) Act 2011.
No fewer than 7000 persons were displaced in the aftermath of attacks by Fulani herdsmen on some farming communities in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State.
The displaced persons were sacked from Okokolo, Akwu, Ocholonya, Adagbo, Ugboku and Aila by rampaging Fulani herdsmen and are presently taking shelter at makeshift camps at the Ochi Idoma square in Otukpo, Ugbokpo, Adoka, Ojantele, Ikobi and other neighboring communities.
One of the refugees who spoke to newsmen in Otukpo lamented the terrible state of affairs at the camps and called on government and well-meaning individuals to come to their aid.
“We sleep on bare floor since we don’t have mattress or mats. It is quite a difficult situation as we are exposed to mosquitoes and all kinds of insects and reptiles during the day and at night. The absence of medical officers at the crowded camp is also a disturbing factor, and you can see that the entire camp is not suitable for human habitation," he said.
The elderly man described last week's invasion of Agatu communities by herdsmen as an operation aimed at wiping Agatu people out of their ancestral lands.
“Till today, the Fulani herdsmen are still in our communities causing mayhem. As I am talking to you, their cows have taken over our land. In fact we believe that it is the government of Nasarawa State that is fighting us; the peace Governor Almakura claims to be making is a deceit. They should tell the world who provided the two helicopters which flew into Abogbe and Okokolo to provide ammunitions for the Fulanis,” he lamented.
A priest with the Justice, Development and Peace of Otukpo Catholic Diocese, Rev Fr John Attah described the condition of the refugees as pathetic.
“I shed tears when I saw old women running from their ancestral homes seeking refuge. It is pathetic,” he said.
He called on the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA to urgently complement the efforts of the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA in providing the desperately needed relief materials.
Photo credits: Vanguard
Shocked by the latest Agatu killings, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered an investigation into the clashes between herdsmen and indigenes of communities in Benue State Northcentral Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, President Buhari expressed his deep shock over last week's clashes, which left hundreds of people dead in four communities in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State.
He promised that security agencies would act quickly to get to the root of the problem.
"We will act immediately. We will conduct an investigation to know exactly what happened. The only way to bring an end to the violence once and for all is to look beyond one incident and ascertain exactly what factors are behind the conflicts.
“Once the investigations are concluded, we will act immediately to address the root of the problem,” he said.
The president urged Nigerians to learn to live together in peace and unity.
“We are all one nation and one people. There should not be any reason why Nigerians of any group or tongue cannot now reside with one another wherever they find themselves after decades of living together” he said.
Buhari expressed his condolences to Agatu people, assuring them that his government would do everything possible to ensure that no such incident ever occurred in their midst again.
Following the recent killings by Fulani herdsmen, Senator David Mark has donated relief materials to displaced persons in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State.
The relief materials which included rice, noodles, vegetable oil, mattresses, mats, blankets salt and buckets were presented on behalf of the former Senate President by Dr. Adakole Elijah.
Mark expressed sympathy for the victims over their plight, urging them to look unto God even in their present condition.
He urged the Federal and state governments to not only help the victims but also find a lasting solution to the frequent clashes between herdsmen and the people.
The Federal Government has announced the removal of 23,846 ghost workers from its payroll.
Following this development, the salary bill for February 2016 came down by N2.293 billion when compared to December 2015 when the BVN audit process was yet to commence.
A statement issued by the Federal Ministry of Finance on Sunday said that the “figure represents a percentage of the number of non-existent workers who had hitherto been receiving salary from various ministries, departments and agencies.
” The removal of non existent workers from federal payroll and the savings on salaries was made possible because of the ongoing BVN-based staff audit and enrolment to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).”
The statement also said that Federal Government is making efforts to recover “salary balances in bank accounts as well as any pension contributions in respect of the deleted workers. This involves active collaboration with the concerned banks and the National Pension Commission (Pencom).”
It was learnt that further investigation of other suspected cases are continuing in collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
To consolidate its victories in the war against Boko Haram terrorists, the Nigerian Army has indicted the Combat Motorbike Battalion into battle.
Photos of the induction conducted by Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai were made available via Twitter and Facebook.
The induction was done at the Headquarters of 25 Task Force Brigade, Damboa, Borno State.
Buratai said that with the introduction of the combat motorbikes, “our troops will be able to pursue the Boko Haram anywhere” and "make our roads safe."
Interim Head Coach of the Super Eagles, Samson Siasia has expressed his readiness set to recall goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama and forward Emmanuel Emenike to the national team.
Siasia is at the head of a consortium of coaches assembled by the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF after Sunday Oliseh announced his resignation on Friday.
Other members of the interim coaching team are Emmanuel Amuneke, Salisu Yusuf and Alloy Agu. They have the task of delivering qualification for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.
“It is an emergency assignment. If they (the NFF) say we should do the rescue job, we have to do it for the sake of Nigeria.
“We will go for the best legs. I mean players with commitment, to ensure that we qualify ahead of Egypt.
“We will look at the players we believe can help the team, including Vincent Enyeama and Emmanuel Emenike who retired from the team last year.
“The coaching crew will sit down and make up the list, and the Egyptians must fall as far as we are now in charge.”
President Muhammadu Buhari has other ideas about the N5000 monthly stipend earlier promised unemployed and vulnerable Nigerians.
The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC had promised during the last general elections to pay out a monthly stipend of N5000 to the most vulnerable and unemployed Nigerians.
However, speaking in Saudi Arabia over the weekend in continuation of his tour of the Middle East, Buhari said he would now focus on funding the construction of infrastructure, education, agriculture and mining to create employment opportunities for able bodied Nigerians.
“This largesse of N5,000 for the unemployed, I have got a slightly different priority.
“I would rather do the infrastructure, the school and correct them and empower agriculture, mining so that every able bodied person can go and get work instead of giving N5,000 to those who don’t work,” President Buhari said.
Although officials of the Nigerian Football Federation, NFF have described the resignation of Sunday Oliseh as Head Coach of the Super Eagles as a blessing in disguise, Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper is not happy about that development.
“Sad to see @SundayOOliseh resign. Would like to thank him for all his efforts and giving me the opportunity to represent the Super Eagles,” he wrote on his Twitter handle @Carl_Ikeme.
Since making his Super Eagles debut in last September's African Nations Cup, AFCON qualifier against Tanzania, Ikeme has gone on to establish himself as Nigeria’s first -choice goalkeeper, especially with the retirement of Vincent Enyeama from the national team.
Tongues are wagging in Nasarawa State and beyond over the sacking of a female civil servant by Gov Tanko Almakura over comments she made on Facebook and Twitter.
The victim, Miss Ruqayyah Tijjani Usman of Nasarawa State Ministry of Justice got into hot water with Gov Almakura for her comments on the demonstration by a section of civil servants against the just suspended strike action and the state government's handling of the Lassa fever outbreak in the state which cost the life of a health worker at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia.
Her appointment was terminated with effect from February 25, 2016.
In the offending Facebook post, Ruqayyah wrote about what she described as anti-labour “stage managed” protest organised across the state by the Almakura government.
“I can see some political thugs protesting and not professionals; are we going down this way? I weep for my state,” she wrote.
She also went on Twitter to criticize the government's handling of the Lassa fever outbreak in the state.
Reports have it that the governor invited Ruqqaiyat to his office where he personally assured her of her dismissal from service.
Expectedly, labor and rights activists are now raising dust over the sacking with the Nasarawa State Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Abdullahi Adeka, saying that if Monday's meeting between the leadership of trade unions and the state Attorney- General and Commissioner for Justice fails to reverse the sacking within 24 hours, they would be forced to shut down the state in a fresh strike action.
The NLC said that the sacking contravened the principle of non victimization of workers on matters of industrial action.
As Ruqayyah told one of her followers on Twitter, see the post that cost her her job, plus images of the sack letter etc.
@Ayourb hmmm see the posts dt cost me my job..pls wat did i say wrong? https://t.co/4fzDGSRzUw
The National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA has announced the arrest of four illicit drug traffickers with narcotics worth N61m and weighing 6.822kg at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
According to the NDLEA spokesman, Mr Mitchell Ofoyeju, the suspects included a Birmingham based cleaner.
”The seized drugs consist of 4.193kgs of heroin and 2.629kg of cocaine destined for Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, Birmingham, United Kingdom, Rome and Mumbai, India,” he said.
The Abuja airport Commander of the NDLEA, Mr Hamisu Lawan said that the suspects were caught trying to export narcotics out of the country.
One of the suspects was about to board an Air France flight to the United Kingdom through Charles De Gaulle Airport, France when he tested positive for drug ingestion.
”While under observation, he excreted 30 wraps of cocaine weighing 479 grammes.
”He claimed that the drugs were given to him by a man he met at his village.
”Another suspect, a trader at Alaba International Market, Ojo, Lagos, was arrested while trying to check in a bag found to contain 2.8kg of heroin.
”The drug was cleverly concealed inside the passenger’s luggage.
”NDLEA agents made the discovery during screening of passengers on an Ethiopian airline flight to Rome via Addis Ababa.
"Another was arrested with 2.150kg of cocaine at the screening point during checking in of passengers on a Kenyan airways flight to India through Nairobi.
”The last suspect ingested 65 wraps of heroine weighing 1.393 kg which he swallowed and attempted to export to Italy.
”He was arrested trying to board an Ethiopian Airline flight to Italy via Addis Ababa.”
Meanwhile, the Chairman of NDLEA, Mr Muhammad Abdallah, has said that the Agency would investigate and arrest the sponsors of the suspects.
“My target is to trace the drug barons, arrest and prosecute everyone that is involved in the illicit act” Abdallah said..
NAN
A High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja on Friday heard from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC that the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP chewed his confessional statement when he realized that it directly implicated former President Goodluck Jonathan in the unlawful diversion of arms procurement funds.
The EFCC said this at the resumed hearing of the three-count charge against Metuh bordering on destruction of evidence, mischief and obstruction of justice, contrary to sections 166 and 326 of the Penal Code Act, and section 38(2) of the EFCC Act, 2004.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Mr Sylvanus Tahir, the lead investigator in the case, Mr
Junaid Sa'id told Justice Ishaq Bello that he was on the Special Task Force Team that received and investigated the petition which led to the arrest of former National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki.
He also said that a petition filed from the office of the NSA in January alleged that Metuh, through his company, Destra Investment Limited, received N400million from Dasuki.
The money was said to have been electronically transferred from an account the Office of the NSA, ONSA operated with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, into Destra Investment Ltd's account no. 0040437573 with Diamond Bank Plc.
The witness further told the court that upon investigation, his team discovered that the transfer was done without any contract approval.
He said that on realizating that there was no basis for the payment, his team, on January 5, paid an unscheduled visit to Metuh at his Prince and Princess Estate, Abuja, residence and invited him for questioning.
He said that Metuh was interrogated by six EFCC operatives, namely, Ibrahim Musa, Michael Wetkas, Bello Umar, David Nkpe, Bello Adama and Eucharia Ibrahim, after which he volunteered a statement to the commission.
Sa'id explained that Metuh had in his statement, disclosed that the N400 million he received from the NSA had the approval of ex-President Jonathan.
His words:
“My Lord, when he concluded writing his statement which was on four sheets of the EFCC statement form, I collected the statement and read over it, I then handed the statement over to my superiors Musa and Wetkas.
“When I was handing over the statement, the defendant said he was surprised that he had written that much and that he felt he had given too much information.
“Because of the comment, I was worried so I gave him the statement sheets, one after the other for endorsement. After endorsing the first and second sheets, to my surprise, the defendant tore the third sheet.
“My lord, he suddenly tore the statement sheet into pieces, in great shock and surprise I stood up, I asked him why he did what he did?
“He replied that he did that because he was no longer willing to give the information on that statement sheet. I then requested the pieces of the statement, he declined and attempted to put them in his pocket, I then cautioned him and told him to respect himself but he insisted that he was going to dispose the torn sheet.
“I persuaded him to handover the torn sheet and brought one plain paper before him, he poured the pieces on the plain sheet, my other colleagues were there looking at us in surprise as well.
“He furthered tore them into pieces, saying only in the movies would this be recovered. At that point I poured the pieces in the commission’s transparent polythene bag as exhibit and made entry of the incident into the EFCC’s incident duty station diary as well as EFCC’s pocket notebook.
“Later in the day he requested to make additional statement, which he made, wrote his name and signed but declined to make any other statement on the torn paper.”
The witness maintained that the third sheet which was destroyed by accused revealed that he used the money from Dasuki to fund the campaign activities of the PDP in order to ensure the re-election of ex-President Jonathan in the 2015 presidential election.
Metuh was also said to have admitted spending part of the money on his personal needs.
Meanwhile, the court, on Friday , admitted EFCC’s incident duty station diary, EFCC’s pocket notebook and the pieces of Metuh’s torn statement in evidence.
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC on Friday reacted to the arrest of PDP's Prince Uche Secondus for alleged corruption. He bared his mind on the issue on Friday while speaking to journalists in Abuja.
“Well, from whom did the PDP deputy national chairman, Uche Secondus collect the gift?
“Was it from a corporate entity or from an individual? If it’s from the government coffers, it’s public funds. If a corporate entity decides to support a party or an individual that is corporate, that is private that is totally the individual’s decisions subject of course to the limit in the constitution and what the Electoral Act provides. I think is that straight forward.
“If we are investigating corruption, where else except those who have participated in government and in the process, eh I don’t know, please enlighten me if there is another way to look at it and then we will go and give it a thought.”
The Millennium Plaza owned by former Kogi State Governor, the late Prince Abubakar Audu went up in flames at the Central Business District, Abuja on Friday.
The fire outbreak which started at about 2 pm was to have been ignited by a power surge.
The fire which destroyed the pent house and the third floor of the building spread to the next building where it also affected the pent house and the third floor.
It however later put out by the fire service of the NNPC and men of the Federal Fire Service.
Photos after the cut.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has rejected the new residence being built for the nation's number two citizen, describing it as a waste of public funds.
He said that the current residence, Aguda House is enough and up to standard.
Osinbajo spoke in Lagos during the Pastors and Leaders Retreat of the Fountain of Life Church.
He described the 6 billion naira already spent on the project as a misapplication of funds, noting that government would have to find another use for the building when completed.
“There is no need for a new Vice President’s house; it is a kind of waste; we are now in a situation where we cannot abandon it; it has to be completed and used for a different thing,” he said.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, has directed all state commissioners of police to deploy Anti-Bomb Squad personnel of to inspect all explosives in their armouries to forestall a re-occurence of Thursday's tragedy at the Motor Traffic Department of Adamawa State Police Command, Yola.
The Force Spokesperson, Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police Olabisi Kolawole announced the directive in a statement she issued on Friday in Abuja.
The statement also said that Arase has directed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, DIG Sontoye Wakama, to visit the scene of Thursday's bomb blast and ensure the injured received medical attention.
The statement assured citizens that the police had directed adequate security surveillance on places where Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs sare kept.
NAN
The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, has directed all state commissioners of police to deploy Anti-Bomb Squad personnel of to inspect all explosives in their armouries to forestall a re-occurence of Thursday's tragedy at the Motor Traffic Department of Adamawa State Police Command, Yola.
The Force Spokesperson, Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police Olabisi Kolawole announced the directive in a statement she issued on Friday in Abuja.
The statement also said that Arase has directed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, DIG Sontoye Wakama, to visit the scene of Thursday's bomb blast and ensure the injured received medical attention.
The statement assured citizens that the police had directed adequate security surveillance on places where Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs sare kept.
NAN
The West African Examination Council, WAEC, has declared that it has a standard practice of charging a fee for the production of data requested by individuals or organisations.
Mr Demianus Ojijeogu, Public Affairs Officer, WAEC said on Thursday that the council does grant waivers to non-profit and non-governmental organisations for altruistic purposes.
Ojijeogu however noted that a Lagos based NGO, Edubox that was charged N1.85m for the production of the list of the best students in all states of the country did not indicate that it was a registered NGO with the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC.
“It’s a fact that Edubox as can be seen from their letter, did not request for the said data as a registered NGO with the CAC and may have requested the data for intentions that are far from encouraging scholarship and therefore, could not have been granted a waiver.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Council remains the foremost champion for the reward of academic excellence," he said.
The Department of State Services, DSS has arrested three suspects for allegedly plotting to blackmail the Director-General of the service, Alhaji Lawal Daura.
Parading the suspects before newsmen in Abuja on Friday, Abdullahi Garba of the DSS said that they were apprehended on Feb. 17 in Kaduna and Abuja.
According to Garba the suspects had been claiming that the Director-General had collected N4 billion from the PDP governors of Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Abia and Taraba, to influence Supreme Court judgments in their favour.
He added that the suspects had planned to misinform President Muhammadu Buhari and the general public that the Director-General had acquired choice property in Maitama and Asokoro areas of Abuja.
"The overall objective was to scare the director-general and put him under pressure just for the group to extort money from him to serve their pecuniary interest."
News Agency of Nigeria, NAN reports that the suspects who hail from Kaduna, Borno and Katsina have denied the allegation.
NAN
The Department of State Services, DSS has arrested three suspects for allegedly plotting to blackmail the Director-General of the service, Alhaji Lawal Daura.
Parading the suspects before newsmen in Abuja on Friday, Abdullahi Garba of the DSS said that they were apprehended on Feb. 17 in Kaduna and Abuja.
According to Garba the suspects had been claiming that the Director-General had collected N4 billion from the PDP governors of Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Abia and Taraba, to influence Supreme Court judgments in their favour.
He added that the suspects had planned to misinform President Muhammadu Buhari and the general public that the Director-General had acquired choice property in Maitama and Asokoro areas of Abuja.
"The overall objective was to scare the director-general and put him under pressure just for the group to extort money from him to serve their pecuniary interest."
News Agency of Nigeria, NAN reports that the suspects who hail from Kaduna, Borno and Katsina have denied the allegation.
NAN
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC will distribute Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs to eligible voters in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja from the 4th of March to 10th of March.
This Friday's issue of the commission’s daily bulletin indicated that the exercise would take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
The bulletin explained that the exercise would enable eligible voters to collect their PVCs ahead of the forthcoming FCT Area Council elections billed for March 19, 2016.
“The PVCs will be distributed at the Polling Units (PUs) for the first three days of the exercise- March 4 to March 6.
“Thereafter, the distribution will be done at the Ward level for the last four days, March 7 to March 10.’’
It also said that after the seven-day exercise, distribution of PVCs would continue at the various Area Councils from March 14 to March 16.
The bulletin stated that collection of PVCs must be in person, not by proxy.
“A registrant shall present himself/herself to the Distribution Officer (DO) who checks the Distribution List to ensure that his/her name is on the list.
“The DO shall check the stack of PVCs to ensure the card is available.
“The DO shall retrieve the Temporary Voter Card (TVC) and handover the PVC to the registrant who shall be requested to thumbprint and sign the appropriate portion of the Distribution List.”
The Electoral Officers are mandated to supervise the exercise at the various local government areas.
The Supreme Court has upheld the decision of the lower courts sentencing Pastor Chukwuemeka Ezeugo, aka Reverend King to death for grievous crimes against some members of his church.
The verdict was read by Justice Ngwuta who said that the facts of the case could have been taken from a horror movie.
The apex court resolved all the 12 issues raised by the convict against him.
“This appeal has no merit. The judgement of the court of appeal is hereby affirmed. The prison sentence that was earlier handed to the appellant is no longer relevant in view of the death sentence passed on him," the Supreme Court held.
Reverend King was convicted and sentenced to death on January 11, 2011 for the murder of Ann Uzoh and the attempted murder of 6 other members of his church by pouring petrol on them and setting them on fire.
Sunday Oliseh has announced his resignation as Head Coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
The action is believed to be a fallout of his running battles with the officials of the Nigerian Football Federation, NFF.
Oliseh announced his resignation on Twitter on Friday morning.
Top Tweet
Sunday Oliseh
@SundayOOliseh 7h
Due to Contract violations ,lack of Support,Unpaid wages,Benefits to my players,Asst.Coaches & myself, I resign as Super Eagles Chief Coach
View details ·
Abuja
The Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, has given March 31 as deadline for Dangote Group and other owners of abandoned vehicles across the country to evacuate them.
Speaking during an interactive session with the management of Dangote Group in Abuja on Thursday, the Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Mr Boboye Oyeyemi said that the abandoned vehicles constituted security risks to the society.
"Dangote Group has one of the largest fleets of vehicles in the country and same way it has the highest number of abandoned vehicles on the highways.
"We have been given directive by our supervisor, Office of the Secretary to the Federal Government, to clear the roads of the wrecks before end of March.
"Also, from recent report of the Directorate of State Services (DSS), we have been mandated to clear abandoned vehicles to reduce miscreants on the roads.
"I am highly delighted to have the delegation of Dangote Group here today and I am assuring them of FRSC's assistance so that they can meet the deadline.
"All other owners of abandoned vehicles are thereby expected to evacuate their vehicles before the deadline of March 31 , in order to avoid penalties", he said.
The Corps Marshal advised large fleet operators like Dangote Group to ensure continuous training and retraining of their drivers in order not to compromise safety on the roads.
"Heavy duty vehicle drivers are expected to be professional drivers, who value lives and worth of their vehicles and goods, which should make them to be more careful on the roads.
"Having about 6,000 trucks, tankers and trailers, each costing about N60 million, apart from goods, operators like Dangote are expected to establish their own driving schools for periodic training of drivers.
The company is also expected to have weigh bridges in their plants and other loading points so that they will not engage in Axle load violation," he added.
The Nigerian Football Federation, NFF has directed the Head Coach of the Super Eagles, Sunday Oliseh to henceforth be reporting to its Technical Director, Amodu Shuaibu.
The Chairman, Technical and Development Committee of the football federation, Chris Green said that the directive was to allow for smoother coordination.
The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN reports that Green said on Thursday in Abuja that NFF’s Technical Department was structured to make all the national team coaches report directly to the Technical Director.
“Shuaibu Amodu is the National Technical Director and as such he is involved in all the games of the national teams, whether in the under-17, under-20 or Super Eagles.
“Normally, as the National Technical Director, Oliseh will report to him (Amodu), while he (Amodu) reports to the Technical Committee and from there to the General Secretary and finally to the Executive Committee of the NFF.
“His (Amodu) function is to prepare programmes for the Federation for the various national teams for the next five years. So, for every game we play, he is involved by virtue of his position.
“All of us will have to work together. Oliseh is the Head Coach of the Super Eagles, while Amodu is the National Technical Director.
“However, Amodu is not directly involved in the handling of the Super Eagles, but he is directly involved in the formulation of policies and programmes for all the national teams,” he said.
He assured that the Technical Director would not usurp the duties of the Head Coach.
“He will only give directives through his programmes and policies for the team, ahead of the qualifiers with Egypt, Tanzania and Chad,” he added.
The Disability Progressive Group, a union of people living with disabilities in Plateau State has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing one of their own a special adviser.
The group in pledging its support to President Buhari said his appointment of a disabled person Dr. Samuel Ankeli, as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Disability Matters showed that he cares about the physically challenged.
The leader of DPG, Mr Bulus Shanding said this in a statement he issued in Jos on Thursday.
“The appointment of Dr. Samuel Ankeli as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Disability Matters is well deserved, considering his desire to contribute to national growth. His personal contributions during 2015 polls campaigns was unquantifiable. Dr. Ankeli was the Director Disability Mobilization Forum APC Presidential campaign.”
President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed for the support of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, OIC to rehabilitate the country's Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs.
He said that the country needed the support of the OIC to rebuild the parts of the country destroyed by Boko Haram insurgents.
According to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, Buhari spoke in Mecca, Saudi Arabia during a meeting with the Secretary-General of the OIC, Mr. Iyad Ameen Madani.
Buhari invited the organization to visit parts of the country ravaged by the insurgency, especially Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states for on the spot assessment of the situation.
President Muhammadu Buhari has welcomed an offer by the Islamic Development Bank to mobilise funds for investment and development of infrastructure in Nigeria.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu said that Buhari showed his delight at the offer during a meeting with the IDB President, Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Ali, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Ali reportedly assured Buhari that the IDB would work with her traditional partners like the Saudi Fund, the Kuwait Fund, Arab Bank for Development in Africa and the Abu Dhabi Fund, to increase the quantum of funding available to Nigeria.
Buhari on his part reiterated his administration's determination to diversify the Nigerian economy.
“The days of Nigeria as a big oil producer with plenty of money are gone. We need all the support we can get to diversify our economy as quickly as possible.
“We also need to rehabilitate our infrastructure, develop the domestic capacity to feed ourselves and export the surplus,” he said.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has told the court that its detention of Col Ojogbane Adegbe, former Aide de Camp to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, is at the instance of the Nigerian Army.
The EFCC also told the court that it played no role in summoning Col Adegbe back from his military course in the United Kingdom.
The anti graft agency made the above submissions in a counter affidavit opposing Col Adegbe's suit in which he demanded N100m as compensation for unlawful detention.
In the counter affidavit filed before Justice Yusuf Halilu of a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Jabi, Abuja, the EFCC averred as follows:
“In further response to the paragraph 6 of the affidavit in support of the applicant’s (Adegbe’s) application, the respondent (the EFCC) states that it has never invited the applicant for any investigation.
“The true position is that it was his office, the Nigerian Army, that brought him to theoffice of the respondent, in furtherance of their investigation into detected financial crimes committed in the arms procurement involving the applicant.
“That contrary to the depositions contained in paragraph 7 of the affidavit in support of the applicant’s application, the respondent has never caused the Nigerian Army to invite the applicant from anywhere.
“That contrary to the depositions contained in paragraph 12 of the affidavit in support of the applicant’s application, the respondent states that the applicant is in custody at the instance of his employee, the Nigerian Army.”
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