Immigration recruitment tragedy: Moro denies N676.7m fraud charge

Former Minister of Interior, Abba Moro on Monday pleaded not guilty to fraud and money laundering charges in connection with the N676.7m fraudulently obtained from applicants in the 2014 Immigration recruitment tragedy.

Moro is accused of conniving with three former civil servants and Drexel Tech Nigeria Ltd to defraud 676,675 job applicants of the said amount.

According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the accused persons obtained the sum of N1000 from each of the job applicants “under the false pretence that the money represents payment for their online recruitment exercise."

The anti graft agency alleged that the proceeds from the recruitment scam were used to purchase and renovate property in an upscale district of Abuja.

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Ese Oruru reunites with mother as father seeks T B Joshua's help

The much anticipated reunion between abducted school girl Ese Oruru and her mother Rose has taken place in Abuja.

Mother and daughter will be meeting with the Inspector General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase later this morning.

They will be catching a 5 pm flight from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja to Portharcourt from where they will be heading home to Bayelsa.

Meanwhile, Ese's father Mr Charles Oruru has declared that he will be seeking spiritual assistance from Pastor T B Joshua of the Synagogue Church Of All Nations, SCOAN.

Ese's abductor, Yunusa aka Yellow has already been arrested and flown to Abuja for questioning.

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Another case of child abduction and forced conversion to Islam

As Nigerians eagerly await the resolution of the Ese Oruru abduction saga, another case of girl child abduction has risen to confront them.

A certain Paul Adaji in a petition to the police alleged that two men abducted his 15 year-old sister and took her to Sokoto where she is to be converted to Islam.

He shared an excerpt of the police report on Facebook.

“BENUE people let’s help our own. Keep sharing until she gets help. SUMMARY Subject matter: Forceful abduction Name of complainant: Paul Isaac Adaji, from ohimini L.G area of Benue state. Reasons complain about: Forcefully abduction of my younger sister by two of our neighbours (Monde & Suleiman) and the Hisbah group in gidan kukah, Runjin sambo area sokoto, with the intention of converting her to Islam. They confirmed to the police that they took the girl to the sultan’s palace, but the police later said nothing but ask the complainant to go and maintain peace. Date missing: Since on the 12th of August 2015. Name of the Girl: Patience Paul. Her age Now: 15 years. Language spoken: Idoma Her whereabouts: In the Sultans palace. GSM Number of the Hisbah commander’s or abductors: Ilyasu Muhammed Gsm No. 08169317038 Umar Dauda Gada Gsm No. 08035584277 Dr. Kasarawa (GSM Num. not known)

Thanks and hope to hear from you soon. N.B

Source : The Herald

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Unlawful possession of firearm: 3 suspects granted N150,000 bail each

An Upper Area Court in Gudu District, Abuja, on Tuesday admitted 3 suspects, Emmanuel Abaronye, Williams Gwabee and Joel Okechukwu to bail in the sum of N150,000 each for unlawful possession of a locally-made pistol.

The presiding judge, Alhaji Umar Kagarko, ordered the defendants to produce one surety each in like sum, and adjourned the case till April 25 for hearing.

The accused, Abanonye, 30, Gwabee, 25 and Okechukwu, 27, all of Orozo, Abuja, are answering to a two-count charge of criminal conspiracy and unlawful possession of a locally made pistol.

The Prosecutor, Umoh Inah, told the court that the accused were arrested by a police patrol team from the FCT command, Abuja, on Dec. 31, 2015.

He explained that the defendants were found to be in possession of a locally-made pistol and could not give a satisfactory explanation as to how they got the weapon.

The accused however pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The offences according to the prosecution contravened Sections 97 and 319 of the Penal Code.

NAN

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#FreeEse: It's unislamic for a 14 year-old girl to give herself for marriage - Emir

Emir of Kano, HRH Muhammad Sanusi II, has ordered the immediate release of Ese  Oruru to the Police DIG, Zone 1, Kano, as a first step in the process of reuniting her with her parents.

Sanusi who issued the order to Kano sharia court also distanced himself and the Kano Emirate Council from the alleged abduction.

“I have ordered the Sharia Commission to liaise with the office of Assistant Inspector General of Police, zone 1, to repatriate and reconcile the teenager with her family immediately.

“The emirate had intervened earlier over the abducted girl and took the appropriate decision of sending her back to her parents and advised that her health condition be checked,” he said.

The Emir said that when he heard that the underaged girl had married herself off to a man from Kano, he advised that she was too young to do so and should seek her parents' consent.

“It’s un-Islamic for a lady of her age to give herself off for marriage and also unacceptable for the lady to leave her parents just to get married to any man, anywhere and especially in Islam.

“On that note, I instructed that the lady be taken to the AIG in Bayelsa, and he should hand her over to her parents,” he said.

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Agatu killings politically motivated - PDP

The Benue State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Dr Emmanuel Agbo, has alleged that the massacre of Agatu people was orchestrated by people who were out to punish them because they “overwhelmingly voted for Senator David Mark” in the last re-run election in Benue South senatorial District.

Speaking at the PDP headquarters where he led members of the state executive council on a solidarity visit to the national chairman of the PDP, Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff, Dr Agbo decried the silence of government despite the widespread killings.

“We have witnessed massive attacks on several communities in Agatu Local government area of the state that have resulted in the loss of hundreds of lives and properties worth billions of Naira. We have reason to believe that this recent attack on the Agatu people was punishment for their resolve to vote overwhelmingly for Senator Mark,'' he said.

Responding, Modu-Sheriff vowed to take up the matter of the killings with the Inspector General of Police.

“I am going to sit with the inspector General of Police over the complaints that you have told me. As a party, I will do everything to ensure that our rights are not taken for granted. We will follow this issue to its logical conclusion to make sure that none of our members is intimidated and harassed,” he said.

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Total conquest: 5000 cattle, armed Fulani herdsmen take over Agatu land.

The Commissioner of Police in Benue State, Northcentral Nigeria, Mr Paul Yakadi on Monday confirmed the occupation of a section of Agatu Local Government Area where marauding Fulani herdsmen last week killed over 300 indigenes and displaced over 7000 persons.

Yakadi said that the land left by fleeing Agatu people is now occupied by no fewer than 5000 cattle and Fulani herdsmen armed with sophisticated weapons.

Reports from the area indicate that the herdsmen have continued to kill the villagers despite President Buhari’s announcement of a security team to forestall further attacks.

Yakadi who led the police team
the ravaged communities, confirmed that seven villages, including Okokolo, Aila, Adagbo, Akwu, Omikuidi, Ocholonya and Odugbeho are completely deserted.

He said that the invaders attacked Agatu from Naka in Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State, Loco and Doma in Nasarawa State.

“The worrisome renewed attack on the Agatu communities by Fulani herdsmen was as a result of the alarming influx of the herdsmen into the area through neighbouring towns of Naka in Gwer West local government area of Benue State, Loco and Doma of Nasarawa State, where cattle are made to swim across the water to Agatu. The Command, which was on an assessment tour of the area few days ago to identify areas that security needed to be beefed up, discovered Fulani herdsmen armed with sophisticated weapons with their cows numbering over 5,000.

“We saw a number of houses that were either burnt or destroyed and foodstuffs from these areas were looted and some were burnt. The team also discovered that the following villages; Okokolo, Aila, Adagbo, Akwu, Omikuidi, Ocholonya and Odugbeho were deserted with no trace of persons living there while three corpses were seen in Aila and Adagbo,” he said.

Credits: Vanguard

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