Saraki's Lawyers Walk Out On Tribunal

Following the Code of Conduct Tribunal's insistence that Saraki's trial must go on despite his appeal at the Supreme Court, the Senate President's legal team staged a walk out at the resumed hearing of the case in Abuja this Thursday.

Ahmed Magaji, counsel to the defendant had urged the tribunal to suspend hearing on the matter pending the determination of Saraki's appeal at the Supreme Court.

However, tribunal Chairman Justice Danladi Umar ruled that the trial should continue. Saraki had two days earlier, approached the Supreme Court to stop his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

The Senate President is standing trial on charges of corruption, anticipatory declaration of assets and false declaration of assets while he was governor of Kwara State between 2003 and 2011.

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Army Destroys Five Boko Haram Camps In Borno

Spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Col Sani Usman told newsmen on Wednesday  that troops have destroyed five more camps used by Boko Haram to unleash terror on the people. The camps were located in Marte local government area of Borno State.

Usman said that during the operation, troops killed two terrorists and recovered twelve motorcycles and some arms and ammunitions.

In a statement which he issued to the press on the operation, Col Sani Usman said ;
“In efforts to continually dominate, recover territories and clear all Nigerian territory of Boko Haram vestiges,the advancing troops of 5 Brigade Task Group have today cleared 5 more terrorists camps at Hausari and Baranga in Marte Local Government Area of Borno State.

“The troops during and encounter with Boko Haram terrorists at the camps killed 2 terrorists and recovered 2 Dane guns and a Double Barrel gun, while 12 motorcycles abandoned by some fleeing terrorists were destroyed.

“In addition, a suspected female member of the terrorists group was captured and is currently undergoing interrogation.

“It will be recalled that troops of 5 Brigade had some time last month cleared and destroyed twenty terrorist camps at Kerenowa general area.

“In a related development, troops of 28 Task Force Brigade on patrol between Bitta –Yamteke in Borno State to block Boko Haram terrorists fleeing from Lagaran Fulani to enter Sambisa forest, discovered 2 planted Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and successfully detonated them. 

“We wish to state here that, while striving to stamp out terrorists from Nigerian territory, the troops remain committed to ensuring that they cleared and secure all known Boko Haram terrorist camps and enclaves so that no terrorist infiltrates and returns to any of the recovered areas.”

The military has up to the end of December to end Boko Haram insurgency according to a presidential directive.

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How Maina Ran His Illegal N2b Accounts By Proxy - Banker

The confessions of a Fidelity Bank Accounts Officer have revealed how former Pension Reform Task Team Chairman, Abdulrasheed Maina who is wanted by the Economic and Financial CrimesCommission (EFCC) for the alleged pension fraud used five  accounts to perpetrate a N2b pension fraud in the Office of the Head of  Civil Service of the Federation.

Accounts Officer Toyin Meseke reportedly told the EFCC that apart from the five proxy accounts, Maina also operated a safe deposit box with the bank.

THE NATION reports that EFCC operatives have discovered that funds from the five accounts were usually funneled to Dubai, United Arab Emirates through some bureau de change after converting them to US dollars.

The bureaux de change were identified as JIEK BDC, West Waves BDC and Alnasara BDC.

A document obtained by THE NATION's correspondent identified the five slush accounts as Cluster Logistics, Nafisatu Aliyu, Abdullahi Faizal, Kangolo and Drew Investment.

Here is what Toyin Meseke told EFCC about Abdulrasheed Maina's slush accounts.

“I managed Nafisatu Aliyu, Cluster Logistics and Abdullahi Faizal for Abdulrasheed Maina as soon as his brother, Khalid Aliyu, left the bank three years ago.

“Though all the three accounts do not carry Abdulrasheed Maina’s name but I carried out instruction on the accounts for him as explained to me by his brother that   Abdulrasheed Maina owns all funds in the accounts before he resigned from the bank.

“He is not a signatory to the three accounts mentioned. He usually called me on my phone number -08057465698 – to carry out instruction on all the three accounts.

“And he also sent e-mail instructions through his email gajipeace@gmail.com to my personal email freshicekiddy@yahoo.com  to carry out instructions. Thereafter, he would send someone to the bank to give me a form of regularisation on the transactions done on all the three accounts.

“Sometimes when it is getting too late to regularize, I would call to remind him and he asked me to come to his house in Kado to receive the regularised cheques.

“Most time, precisely on two occasions, I received the already signed regularised cheques in an envelope sealed at the gate of his house.

“On 3/10/14, Abdulrasheed sent an instruction to debit Cluster Logistics with the sum of N15, 870, 690 and credit to a Bureau De Change account (JIEK BDC). This amount was converted to US dollars for onward delivery to him. I don’t know, I cannot remember the USD equivalent.

“Also on May 2, 2014, Abdulrasheed Maina sent a mail carrying instruction that the sum of N33, 880,000 be debited from the same Cluster Logistics and transferred to a Bureau De Change (West Waves). This was converted by the BDC customer and delivered to him.

“He scanned and sent another instruction on May 6, 2014 to me to debit Cluster Logistics with N47, 500, 00 and credit to BDC Customer, West Waves BDC who converted and sent to him.

“On the transaction that took place on July 3, 2015 in Abdullahi Faizal, he (Abdulrasheed Maina) sent an e-mail that the account be liquidated and converted to US dollars (USD). So, I got a bureau de change customer to convert the sum of N108million for him.

”Regarding accounts opened in the names of Kangolo and Drew Investment, I am not sure who the account officers are. Sometime last year, I got to know that Abdulrasheed Maina owns these accounts. I have never initiated any transaction on these accounts.

“As for the safe deposit box, I got to know that Maina maintained a safe deposit box after I joined in 2011 when he came to access his box and that the box had been in existence before I joined the bank in 2008. The last time I saw him coming to access his box was in 2013 but I cannot remember the exact month.”

Source : THE NATION

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22,000 For Kogi, Bayelsa Elections - INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has declared that 21,947 personnel will be deployed for the governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States.

While the election in Kogi State is billed for November 21, Bayelsa State will have hers on
December 5.

INEC has penciled down 12,120 personnel for the Kogi State election while 9827 will be deployed to Bayelsa State.

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Customs Boss Hopeful About N944b 2015 Target

The Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service, Col Hameed Ali has voiced his optimism that the N944b target given the Service by the Federal Government for the year 2015 will be met.

Col Ali spoke to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday during his familiarization tour of some government agencies which included, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), National Copyright Commission, National Environmental Standards and Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and Nigeria Prisons Service.

His words ;
“The fact is that we are behind what we are supposed to realise, but we are hopeful that this is our ember months and I believe by the time October return comes in, we will expect a rise in what we have been able to gather. We are hopeful that November will bring some good tidings and also by December we should be able to round up to meet our target, which is N944 billion."

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We cannot afford a large cabinet - Buhari

Owing to prevailing economic realities, Nigeria cannot afford a large cabinet at the moment, says President Muhammadu Buhari.

Buhari said this while receiving the screened and approved list of Ministers-designate from Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday.

He said that although the Constitution demands a minister from each of the 36 states, the nation's lean resources could not afford to pay them.

“The Constitution said there must be one member of the cabinet from all the states but the Constitution did not say I must have 36 ministries,” he said.

Feelers from the Presidency indicate that the ministers-designate will begin a retreat on Wednesday to prepare them for the onerous task ahead.

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Judge Berates EFCC For Untidy Prosecution Of Criminal Case

Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja on Tuesday berated the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for its untidy prosecution of the fraud and money laundering case against former Head of Service, Steve Oronsaye and others.

The EFCC had added 11 counts to the original 24 counts and also brought in additional defendants and witnesses.

The prosecution had added new defendants who had not been served with the fresh charges, namely, Global Services Limited, Cluster Logistic Limited, Kangolo Dynamic Cleaning Limited, Crew Investment & Construction Company Limited.

Although he admitted the charges as being properly filed, Justice Kolawole berated the prosecution for filing them only 24 hours to the date of hearing.

He said ; “I am only concerned that the state only realised in less than 24 hours to the date of hearing that it needed to bring an amended charge by not only increasing the counts from 24 in the original charge to 35 in the amended charge and to increase the number of counts from three to six.

“This is, in my view, a rather untidy manner in handling criminal prosecution. I daresay that it is in force with opinion expressed by the honourable Chief Justice of Nigeria that prosecution of corruption cases are often delayed because the investigation is often driven by arrest-led investigation rather than investigation-led arrest.

“By this, it seems that it was after the defendants herein were arrested and charged to court that investigation carried out showed that the state needs to bring charges against three other defendants and increase the number of counts.”

Justice Kolawole then fixed Wednesday November 25 for the re-arraignment of the defendants while he ordered the prosecution to immediately serve the fresh charges on the defendants.

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