Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode and ex-Minister of Finance Mrs Esther Nenadi Usman at a Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday.
The duo along with Danjuma Yusuf were remanded in prison custody pending the consideration of their application for bail on July 1, 2016.
They are standing trial over N4.6b fraud allegation.
Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai has attributed rumors of the purchase of two Dubai property by him and his two wives to defeated Boko Haram terrorists now operating on the cyber space.
He assured that under his leadership, the Nigerian Army would defeat the cyber terrorists just as they did their counterparts on land.
He disclosed that the Army was already developing its cyber warriors to checkmate the activities of internet and social media terrorists.
“I am not supposed to comment on this because the Federal Government has already made a statement on that through the Ministry of Defence. But if you want my take on the issue, it is that we have already defeated the terrorists and the insurgents on the land, now they have migrated to the cyberspace, they have migrated to the Internet and other electronic media and so on.
“We want to assure them that these terrorists, the Boko Haram terrorists, who have migrated to the cyberspace, we will follow them to that cyberspace, and equally defeat them and clear their doubts.
“We are meeting all the terrorists in the cyberspace, we have defeated them, in the battle ground. We are developing our own cyber warriors and we will defeat them as we have done in the North East.
“The issue of the refurbished equipment is still part of campaign of calumny. I refer you to the theatre commander. We are doing internal audit, they know my position. We will continue to do that. Definitely, the way we defeated them, we will defeat them in the cyber space,” he said.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday sacked Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State from office.
Mr Samson Ogah of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP had instituted a case at the court accusing Ikpeazu of filing false information to the party in his tax clearance certificate prior to the governorship primaries in 2014.
In his ruling, Abang ordered Ikpeazu to vacate office with immediate effect. He also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to immediately issue a certificate of return to Ogah as the duly elected governor of Abia State.
The judge explained that the court relied on the Supreme Court decisions in the case of Obi vs INEC and Ameachi vs INEC to make the consequential order.
"It is hereby ordered that INEC, the third defendant should immediately issue certificate of return to Dr Samson Ogah as governor of Abia state in the election held in 2015 and restore to him all the entitlements as the elected governor of Abia.
"Dr Okezie Ikpeazu is hereby ordered to vacate office as governor of Abia immediately relying on the decision of the Supreme Court in INEC vs Obi,’’ he said.
According to the court, Ikpeazu’s appointment letter as General Manager, Abia Passenger Integrated Scheme on July 18, 2011 spelt out his salary and entitlements.
"Going by the appointment letter, Ikpeazu would have worked for Abia Passenger Integrated Scheme for five months 12 days.
"The earnings of the second defendant based on the letter of appointment by single calculation in 2011 for five months 12 days is N493 or N546, 669 if not assigned government vehicle.
"The tax payment submitted by the second defendant didn't reflect this figure,’’ the court held.
Abang noted that the tax certificate indicated the gross earnings of Ikpeazu for 2011 to be N1.14 million and his income tax was assessed on this figure.
He also pointed out that the date on the tax receipt filed by the governor was on a Saturday, adding that Saturdays , even in Abia State are public holidays.
The judge also noted that Ikpeazu did not file his tax clearance in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and that all his payments before the 2014 primaries were made in one day and not as and when due.
Abang therefore held that Ikpeazu lied on oath when he said that he had fulfilled all the requirements to contest the 2015 governorship elections.
He also held that Okezie Ikpeazu was not qualified to contest the PDP primaries of 2014 and was also not qualified to be fielded as the party's candidate for the 2015 governorship election.
Justice Abang ruled that Ogah was the qualified candidate to contest as the governorship candidate of the PDP in the 2015 election and his name ought to have been forwarded to INEC as the PDP candidate.
Finally, he held that Ikpeazu did not win the PDP primaries since he was ineligible or unqualified to contest the poll.
He therefore awarded N100, 000 cost against Ikpeazu.
NAN
Following Friday's jailbreak at Kuje medium security prison, the Minister of Interior, Lt.-Gen. Abdurahaman Dambazau has ordered immediate security beef up at all the prisons across the country.
Dambazau gave the directive in Abuja on Monday during an on-the-spot assessment of Kuje prison where two kidnap and murder suspects escaped from on Friday.
He decried some lapses at the facility which he said he had earlier complained about.
“ The last time I was here I noticed some security gap in the prison, I made my observation then with the former CG with the present controller prison and I notice the security gap and I told them precisely what to do but unfortunately this has occurred.
“Two prisoners escaped and especially these are prisoners who are awaiting trial for murder. So, this is a very serious issue that I cannot be happy about,’’ he said.
The presidency has responded to a claim made by Senate President, Bukola Saraki on Monday that there is a government within the government of President Buhari that is after him.
In a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adeshina, the presidency dismissed Saraki's allegation as not being worthy of the paper it was written on.
"President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, claims there is “now a government within the government of President Buhari”, which has allegedly seized the apparatus of Executive powers to pursue a nefarious agenda.
"This claim by Senator Saraki would have been more worth the while, if it had been backed with more information. If he had proceeded to identify those who constitute the “government within the government,” it would have taken the issue beyond the realm of fiction and mere conjecture.
"But as it stands, the allegation is not even worth the paper on which it was written, as anybody can wake from a troubled sleep, and say anything.
"The Attorney-General of the Federation is the Chief Law Officer of the state. It is within his constitutional powers to determine who has infringed upon the law, and who has not.
Pretending to carry an imaginary cross is mere obfuscation, if, indeed, a criminal act has been committed. But we leave the courts to judge.
"To claim that President Muhammadu Buhari is anybody’s stooge is not only ridiculous, but also preposterous. It is not in the character of our President," the statement said.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday hosted the Global Chief Executive Officer of Unilever Executives, Paul Polman and the Chairman, Unilever Nigeria Plc, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe at the State House, Abuja.
Polman expressed Unilever's determination to build profitable and sustainable businesses in Nigeria.
“We have concluded plans to expand our business base in the country, albeit the prevailing economic challenges. We are a proud Nigerian company doing business here since 1923, and we intend to stay for even longer.
“At Unilever, we believe that businesses cannot exist without the environment, which is why we ensure that we create value that sustains our ecosystem. Nigeria is strategic to our business operations in Africa, and as we continue to do business here, we will add value to the community, to the people and the country," he said.
Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki has said that the forgery charges against him and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu represent another phase in the persecution of the leadership of the Senate.
Saraki had on Monday appeared before a Federal High Court in Abuja alongside his deputy Ike Ekweremadu, former clerk of the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Abubakar Maikasuwa and his deputy, Mr. Benedict Efeturi.
“It is farcical to allege that a criminal act occurred during Senate procedural actions and the mere suggestion demonstrates a desperate overreach by the office of the Attorney General.
“These trumped up charges is only another phase in the relentless persecution of the leadership of the Senate,” he said in a statement issued after the court session.
Accusing some people in the Executive of being after him, Saraki said that the charges against him constituted a violation of the principle of separation of powers. He also said that the charges did not serve any national interest.
"What has become clear is that there is now a government within the government of President Buhari who have seized the apparatus of Executive powers to pursue their nefarious agenda.
“This latest onslaught on the Legislature represents a clear and present danger to the democracy Nigerians fought hard to win and preserve. The suit filed on behalf of the Federal government suggests that perhaps some forces in the Federal Republic have not fully embraced the fact that the Senate’s rules and procedures govern how the legislative body adjudicates and resolves its own disputes.
“Let it be abundantly clear, both as a citizen and as a foremost Legislator, I will continue to rise above all the persecution and distraction that have been visited on me. In the words of Martin Luther King Junior, 'the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at a time of challenge and controversy' .
“I will remain true and committed to the responsibilities that my citizenship and my office impose on me. Without a doubt, the highest of those responsibilities is the steadfast refusal to surrender to the subversion of our democracy and the desecration of the Senate. This is a cross I am prepared to carry.
“If yielding to the nefarious agenda of a few individuals who are bent on undermining our democracy and destabilising the Federal government to satisfy their selfish interests is the alternative to losing my personal freedom, let the doors of jails be thrown open and I shall be a happy guest,” he said.
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