Dasuki Refuses To Personally Receive Invitation Letter From DSS

Operatives of the Department of State Services on Thursday laid seige to the Abuja residence of former National Security Adviser, Col Sambo Dasuki for close to 9 hours.

The operatives were said to have gone there to serve the former NSA a fresh invitation for questioning on a security issue.

However , Dasuki who refused to meet the operatives in person asked them to give the letter to his aides.

Dasuki described the DSS team's insistence on personally handing him the letter as strange.

He told the team through his aides that he would rather honor an invitation backed by a warrant of arrest from the court.

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Army Commissions Media Center In Maiduguri

The Nigerian Army on Tuesday commissioned a media center for its counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast.

The center based in Maiduguri, Borno State was commissioned by the Grand Officer Commanding of the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army,Major General Lamidi Adeosun. 

He said that the center will always be open to the media for information on the activities of the Army in the region, especially as regards the counter-insurgency operations.

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How Security Agents Scuttled Dasuki's Overseas Medical Trip

Former National Security Adviser, Col Sambo Dasuki's hope of traveling abroad for medical treatment was on Wednesday night dashed by security operatives at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja had on Tuesday granted Dasuki permission to travel overseas for medical treatment.

Having been stopped on Wednesday night, Dasuki made another attempt to travel on Thursday morning but was equally stopped by security operatives who did not give any reasons for their action.

A perplexed Dasuki is now said to be considering a return to the court to seek redress against the security agencies which interrupted his overseas medical trip.

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Avoid waste and conserve resources, Buhari tells ministers

President Muhammadu Buhari has charged would be ministers to align with the goals of his administration and be change agents for the transformation of the country.

Buhari spoke on Thursday while opening a two day retreat for Ministers-designate at the old banquet hall of Presidential Villa, Abuja.

At the retreat tagged “Delivering Change: From Precepts to Practice,” the president tasked the would be ministers to respect the rule of law and shun impunity in the conduct of the business of government.

While reminding them of his campaign promises of fighting corruption, insecurity and revamping the economy, he told ministers to be that the essence of the retreat was to intimate them with the direction of his administration.

He also admonished them to “Avoid wastes and conserve resources.”

Finally, he told them that the office of the Chief of Staff is the official channel of communication between them and the Presidency, in accordance with the dictates of the presidential system of government.

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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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