Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Saturday 5th September 2020
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 05/09/20
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Ondo Deputy Governor Raises Alarm Over Alleged Plans By Governor Akeredolu To Attack Him During Campaign
Agboola Ajayi
With less than two months to the governorship election in Ondo State, Mr Agboola Ajayi, deputy governor of the state and vandidate of the Zenith Labour Party, has raised the alarm over plans by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to attack him during his campaign to the some parts of the state.
Ajayi alleged that Akeredolu had contracted political thugs loyal to the All Progressives Congress to attack and mob his convoy during his visit.
Agboola Ajayi
In a statement on Friday by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Allen Sowore, Ajayi said the new plot was part of series of plans to unleash terror on perceived opponents in the state.
The statement reads, “The deputy governor and candidate of the Zenith Labour Party, Agboola Ajayi, has uncovered a clandestine plan by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), and senior members of his cabinet to attack the person of the deputy governor in the northern part of the state through the machinery of political thuggery and the rented mob.
“These attacks which started last week at Super-Akoko in Akoko South-West Local Government Area continued unabated on 30th August 2020 at Akungba Akoko where a planned ZLP ward meeting to receive new members were disrupted and members in attendance were also injured by thugs loyal to the APC and Mr Governor.
“Again on 3rd September 2020, in Owo town, the headquarters of Owo Local Government Area of the state, thugs loyal to Mr Governor and his party, APC, unleashed terror on members of Zenith Labour Party, leaving many people injured during Isaipen Ward 8 meeting at Oke-Ogun Stadium.”
He added that the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, and Director-General of the Department.of State Services, Yusuf Magaji Bichi, have been notified about violence and attacks in the state.
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UK Schools Holding Our Results Due To Non-payment Of Scholarship Grant By NDDC, Says Foreign Scholars
Some 94 beneficiaries of the Niger Delta Development Commission’s foreign postgraduate scheme, who are yet to be paid by the commission, have said that their transcripts have been seized by their respective institutions due to the non-payment of their tuition.
The agency had at the end of August confirmed the payment of $5.90m to settle the fees of 143 foreign scholars, some of whom stretch back to 2016.
The Interim Management Committee overseeing the affairs of the commission had said prior to the confirmation of payment for the 143, that it was skeptical about paying over $7m to settle the outstanding payments.
The agency’s head of Corporate Affairs, Charles Odili, said the commission needed to understand why there was an astronomical rise in the monies paid out to the foreign scholars.
According to him, the last two managements of the agency paid $1.9m and $3.4m respectively.
Whenever the commission decides to pay the 2.82m owed the 94 beneficiaries, it would swell the total payment to $8.72m.
The students have since countered the IMC’s position, saying every payment made by the government was verified by the admitting school.
All 94 scholars whose tuition are yet to be settled – 40 PHD and 54 MSC are from the 2018 set, who say they have been frustrated by the NDDC.
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NDDC Scholarship: Ten Days After Buhari’s Directive, Students’ Tuition Still Unpaid
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“I have finished since July but the school will not release our transcripts and certificates unless we pay,” one of the students said. “It’s so tiring. Honestly, I just want to leave.”
The 2018 foreign scholars have been plagued by hardships caused by the refusal of the NDDC to make payments as at when due.
Two of the students had their studentship in the Universities of Coventry and Leeds revoked last year because the NDDC failed to pay their registration fees.
Many of them were logged out of their school portals.
They told SaharaReporters that they were unsure of where meals would come from.
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Akpabio Should Not Be Allowed To Supervise NDDC’s Forensic Audit —Niger Delta Group
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AFCON Trophy Stolen From CAF Headquarters In Egypt
The Africa Cup of Nations trophy has been stolen from the Egyptian Football Association headquarters in Cairo.
The Egyptian Football Federation confirmed to Goal that the trophy won by the Pharaohs three times in a row had been lost.
According to local reports, the former Egyptian Football Association, Vice President, who is also the current ONTime Sports broadcaster, Ahmed Shobir, the trophy was discovered missing during preparations to build a museum to house all the silverware won by the North African nation.
He said they were informed by an employee inside the association that it was last held by former Egypt captain, Ahmed Hassan, who refuted the claim.
“Officials of the committee which meets every five years and currently manages the Football Association were surprised that the trophy was not available, in light of their desire to create a museum at the federation headquarters, which would feature the trophy and the national team’s kits.
“However, (they) were surprised to find that the Afcon trophy was lost, and decided to open an investigation.
“The committee searched for the trophy, but then an employee told them that Ahmed Hassan, the former captain of the Egyptian national team, who won the cup three times in a row, has kept it,” Shobir said.
After learning of the trophy’s disappearance, Hassan took to social media to express his dismay at the loss.
“I wish I had kept the cup in my house instead of it being lost and I am surprised that I’m being questioned about the cup after nine years, despite the presence of two FA boards, and the five-year committee for a year and two months…but they’re only now looking for the cup,” he posted on his Twitter handle.
“The EFA started looking for some trophies with the aim of putting them in a notable museum inside the EFA.
“However, the EFA was surprised to find that the AFCON trophy was lost and decided to open an investigation.
“They were informed by an employee inside the association that it was last held by former Egypt captain Ahmed Hassan.
“Hassan however, denied the claims stating that he kept the trophy at home after winning the Africa Cup of Nations title in 2010 but returned it back to the Egyptian Football Association in 2011.
“As it stands nobody knows where the trophy is at the time being,” he said.
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E2%80%99s After Seizing Super Yacht, United States Moves To Confiscate Nigerian Oil Mogul Kola Aluko’s $25m Mansion, Other Luxury Properties
Kola Aluko
The United States Department of Justice money laundering and asset recovery section has initiated proceedings at the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas to seize a $25m mansion in Los Angeles owned by Kola Aluko, an ally of Diezani Alison-Madueke, former Minister of Petroleum Resources in Nigeria.
From 2011 to 2015, Aluko and Olajide Omokore, alledgedly conspired with others to bribe Alison-Madueke in order to win oil production contracts worth $1.5bn, according to a civil forfeiture complaint.
Kola Aluko
The duo won major service contracts with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation through their company, Atlantic Energy Oil.
According to the Africa Intelligence, Department of Justice is tirelessly pursuing its hunt for assets acquired on American soil by the two.
The US Government, represented by Joshua Lee Sohn, trial attorney at the DoJ, said it had initiated proceedings at the court, which hears many federal asset-forfeiture cases to seize a villa at 755 Sarbonne Road in western Los Angeles acquired in 2012 by Aluko.
This luxurious property, which includes an infinity pool and 1,400 square metres of land on the city’s heights, is estimated to be worth nearly $25m.
It said said the mansion was acquired through “specified illegal activity” that justifies its confiscation.
Aluko also bought three other mansions in US through shell companies, one in Beverly Hills worth $15m and two in Santa Barbara for $33m, however, these properties are not yet involved in seizure proceedings.
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Delta Hospital Rejects Patients Over Lack Of Adequate Manpower, Drugs
Patients especially males are being turned back by officials of Central Hospital, Oleh, Isoko-South Local Government Area of Delta State, as a result of lack of adequate manpower and drugs, SaharaReporters has reliably gathered.
During a visit to the male ward of the hospital on Friday, our correspondent saw a doctor addressing male patients to leave the facility and go to another hospital for treatment.
Speaking with our correspondent, a male patient, who identified himself as Samuel Okpole, lamented the poor treatment given to him since he was brought to the hospital.
He said, “I was abandoned here by the hospital, apart from a nurse who came and administered few drugs on me, nobody came around again till a doctor told me they were no more accepting patients. He asked me to choose either being discharge or referred to Ughelli Central Hospital. How can a hospital function without drugs and personnel.”
Some staff of the hospital, who spoke with our correspondent, lamented the dilapidated state of the health facility, adding that the state government had continued to ignore the situation.
Zonal Medical Director, Central Hospital Oleh, Ugbaja Christopher Amaechi, while speaking on the issue, said, “Though we have shortage of personnel in the hospital, the doctor who said we are no longer receiving patients is on his own and there’s nothing of such.
“The situation in our hospital is a very pathetic one. The few personnel we have are overstretched. The situation calls for urgent attention.”
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Despite Malami’s Allegations Against Magu, UK Judge Hails Role Of Suspended EFCC Boss In P&ID Case
Ibrahim Magu
Nigeria on Thursday secured a landmark victory in its pursuit to overturn a $10bn judgment awarded against it in a case against Process and Industrial Developments.
Delivering his judgment, Ross Cranston, a judge of the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, said he granted Nigeria’s application for an extension of time and relief from sanctions based on the efforts of the Ibrahim Magu-led Economic Finance and Crime Commission in establishing fraud and corruption in the contract.
Ibrahim Magu
The Nigerian Government had approached the court to establish that the contract was awarded on illegal terms.
Nigeria’s lawyers told the court in July that P&ID officials paid bribes to get the contract.
Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, had in a petition to President Muhammadu Buhari said Magu did not probe the P&ID deal diligently.
“By letter dated 26th June 2018 that was copied to the Acting Chairman of EFCC, the Chief of Staff to the President conveyed Your Excellency’s directive mandating the investigation of the P&ID matter.
“This directive was followed up by a comprehensive letter dated 28th June 2018 to the EFCC setting out facts and documents for the investigation.
“As important as this matter is with its attendant threat to our national assets, the EFCC did not accord this presidential directive with any serious attention until a year after around July/August 2019 when the scale had already tilted dangerously against Nigeria,” Malami said in his petition.
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The allegation and others by Malami led to the suspension of the EFCC boss and his subsequent probe by a panel led by retired Justice Ayo Salami.
But in the full judgment seen by SaharaReporters, the UK judge claimed that he relied heavily on the role played by Magu whose investigation questioned the integrity of the gas supply and processing agreement Nigeria signed with P&ID in 2010.
“After the hearing, I received written submissions relating to the role of Acting Chairman of EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Magu. On 5 June, 2020 the Attorney-General, Mr Malami, had sent a letter to President Buhari headed.
“Flagrant abuse of public office and other infractions committed by Mr Ibrahim Magu”.
“In the course of the letter, the Attorney-General stated that as regards the investigation of P&ID, although he had passed on the President’s directive in June 2018, the EFCC “did not accord this presidential directive with any serious attention until a year after around July/August when the scale had already tilted dangerously against Nigeria”.
“In view of the delay, the Attorney-General continued, he had involved the police. That had prompted Mr Magu to prosecute charges against P&ID, but without recourse to the wider team. Mr Magu was detained on 6 July 2020 and a panel is investigating matters. On 31 July 2020, after the hearing before me, a Nigerian news outlet published what purported to be a copy of the Attorney-General’s letter of 5 June 2020 and the reply of Mr Magu. In Mr Magu’s reply, he says that the EFCC investigation was conducted expeditiously in 2018-2019, and that a staggering and unprecedented volume of work was done in less than a year.
“After the report on 4 August 2020, the Attorney-General wrote again to the President under the same heading. He sought to clarify that his complaint was against Mr Magu and his lack of support within the EFCC for the P&ID investigation. The EFCC had begun the investigation, he said, but it had taken a lot of coercion from his office to have the investigation progress. Under Mr Magu, said the letter, the EFCC did not share information with the Attorney-General’s office or the police.
“In a further statement for the court, Mr Malami states that he has never seen what is reported as Magu’s letter and his understanding is that the President has never received it. He states that despite his criticisms of Mr Magu’s personal handling of the EFCC investigations into P&ID, the investigation itself made excellent progress.
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“At first blush the speed of the June 2018 EFCC investigation is somewhat troubling. But in terms of reasonable diligence it was not charged specifically with investigating fraud. The Attorney-General’s letter to the EFCC of 28 June 2018, containing the President’s instructions, referred not to fraud but to a thorough investigation of the approved judgment of Nigeria vs P&ID circumstances surrounding the GSPA and the subsequent events.
“In my view, Mr Malami underplayed the work which was undertaken over the June 2018-August 2019 period. In particular there was the successful prosecution of P&ID and P&ID Nigeria on 19 September 2019, based on the groundwork undertaken during this fifteen-month period.
“I accept that, compared to what happened after August 2019, it cannot be said that the investigation proceeded with the same sense of urgency. There is also Mr Malami’s letter, which became available after the hearing, and the investigation being carried out into the conduct of Mr Magu as acting head of the EFCC at the time. With respect, I find it hard to read the letter as an attack on Mr Magu alone and not on the performance of the EFCC under his leadership. Mr Magu’s reference to the staggering volume of work done by the EFCC after June 2018 – if that is what his letter says – might be treated as special pleading,” Justice Cranston said.
SaharaReporters had in July exposed how a former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State, Mr Olasupo Shasore, obtained $2m from P&ID Ltd to frustrate the case.
According to the documents at the disposal of SaharaReporters, during the course of the EFCC’s investigations, Shasore was paid $2m for his involvement in the first and second stages of the arbitration.
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REVEALED: Former Lagos Attorney-General, Shasore, Collected $2m From P&ID To Frustrate Nigeria’s Defence In London Court
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To achieve this target, he concealed his involvement in the case from his own firm, Ajumogobia & Okeke but conducted the proceedings covertly through a separate firm, Twenty Marina, which had no background in litigation and was used to provide secretarial services.
Shasore, it was discovered, made payments of $100,000 each to Mrs Adelore and Mr Oguine, who were senior lawyers for the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation at the time.
The payments were said to have been made in a bid to purchase the silence of Adelore and Oguine in relation to Shasore’s conduct of the arbitration.
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E2%80%99s-request-join-apc-%E2%80%94femi-anikulapko-kuti Why I Turned Down Vice President Osinbajo’s Request To Join APC —Femi Anikulapko Kuti
Femi Kuti at #OccupyNigeria protes
Musician, Femi Anikulapko-Kuti, has said that he pulled out of the Ojota protest in 2012 against fuel subsidy removal by former President Goodluck Jonathan because he found out the mass action was politically-motivated.
Kuti was reacting in a series of tweets on Friday to criticism by Nigerians that he participated in the 2012 protest but has gone mute about the recent increase in the pump price of petrol by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Femi Kuti at #OccupyNigeria protes
He said as soon as he found out that the Ojota protest was politically-motivated, he pulled out.
The musician also revealed that Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria’s Vice President, had approached him to join the All Progressives Congress to which he declined.
He said, “First, my main reason was President Buhari jailing my father in the 80s. Second, I didn’t believe any of the two major political parties had/have the genuine interest of the Nigerian people at heart.
“I want to state for clarity and posterity my role in the Ojota protest. I was invited for what I and many believed was a genuine cause regarding the cost of fuel. As soon as I found out it was politically motivated I pulled out.
“I got a…lot of backlash at the time but stood my ground. For the record I have never and will never affiliate with any political party that I don’t feel has the genuine interest of the people of Nigeria at heart.
“Even when the VP…aproached me to join APC, I blatantly refused as I also refused to join PDP or any other political party.
“Yes VP Prof Osinbanjo. And I refused as I have refused every invitation thus far to join any political party.”approached me to join APC, I blatantly refused as I also refused to join PDP or any other political party.— Femi Anikulapo-Kuti (@Femiakuti) September 4, 2020
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Security Personnel Repel Bandits On Kaduna-Abuja Road
Security operatives comprising military and police have successfully repelled armed bandits, who opened fire on motorists plying the Kaduna-Abuja Road.
The incident occurred near Olam Feeds Company on Friday afternoon.
Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, disclosed this to newsmen at the scene of the incident.
Citizens, who were injured, were first treated at Olam Feeds Clinic before they were referred to a specialist hospital for comprehensive medical attention.
Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, has been briefed on the development.
The governor praised the security personnel for their uncommon courage and bravery in repelling the armed bandits.
Mallam el-Rufai, who wished the injured personnel and motorists speedy recovery, also praised medical personnel at the Olam Clinic for stabilising the injured.
According to the governor, the Kaduna State Government will continue to partner with security agencies in the battle against bandits and criminals.
The security agencies will give a comprehensive briefing after the clearance operation in the general area.
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CORE Demands Immediate Release Of Activists Arrested In Osun
The Coalition for Revolution has demanded the immediate release of 10 Nigerian activists arrested in Iree, Osun State, during a community sensitisation on the need for massive resistance of fuel pump price hike and other anti-poor policies of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.
CORE in a statement by its Co-conveners, Baba Aye and Gbenga Komolafe, said the arrest was a gross violation of their fundamental human rights to freedom of expression and movement.
The statement reads, “Ten CORE activists have been arrested at 2:19pm today, 4th September, at Iree, Osun state. Their names are: Owoeye Olaoluwa, Osungbaro Adeoti, Oguntola Sunday, Omolola Pedro, Abraham Omowunmi, Akande Michael, Sunmbade Tunde, Akinbobola Jumoke Vivian, Luke tega and Emmanuel Samuel. They were carrying out community sensitization on the need for massive resistance of the fuel pump price hike and other anti-poor policies of the regime. We demand their immediate release.
“Their phones have been seized by Mr C. O. Egbonmonrati, the Iree Divisional Police Officer (DPO), after dehumanizing treatment was meted out to them. Before we lost contact with them, we gathered the police was in the process of transferring them to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters at Osogbo, the state capital. They are activists and not criminals. For standing up against the regime’s crass insensitivity, brazen repression and continued worsening of the living and working conditions of the poor masses, they are heroes and not villains.
“The villains are the vagabonds in power as federal, state and local government officials and in the boardrooms of corporations robbing us of our natural resources and fruits of our labour, without paying their fair share of taxes. Such attempts at suppression like this will not stop their day of judgment. The Coalition for Revolution (CORE) is committed to struggle for system change. We will continue to organise and mobilise, working with organisations of the working-class and radical civil society to achieve our common goal of a better society.
“We reiterate once again that the arrested comrades must be immediately and unconditionally released. Their arrest is a gross violation of their fundamental human rights to freedom of expression and movement. We call on organisations and well-meaning persons to express our shared anger at this unacceptable repressive step and call for their release by inundating the state commissioner of police Mr Mr J.B. Kokumo, with calls and text messages: +2348033438900.”
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E2%80%99s-appeal-seizure-private-jet-nigerian-government Malabu: Canadian Court Dismiss Etete’s Appeal On Seizure Of Private Jet By Nigerian Government
A court of appeal in Quebec, Canada, has dismissed an appeal brought before it by former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum, Dauzia Etete.
Etete was seeking a leave to appeal a judgment given on August 4, 2020 by Justice Martin Castonguay of the Superior Court, District of Montreal, who dismissed the former minister’s appeal on the forfeiture of his Bombardier Global 6000 jet aircraft.
The former minister is alleged to have acquired the private jet through illicit gains from the Malabu scheme where he allegedly transferred valuable petroleum assets for his personal benefit in a series of fraudulent and corrupt transactions carried out during his time as minister.
The Nigerian Government accused Etete of making use of a company, Tibit Limited, as front in the ownership and operation of the aircraft.
However, Etete’s appeal was dismissed and denied on Thursday by Justice Robert Mainville during a virtual court hearing on the grounds that the former minister had failing in challenging the allegations leveled against him by the Nigerian Government. Therefore, lacked a reasonable chance in securing an appeal on the forfeiture of the aircraft.
The affidavit document seen by SaharaReporters and sworn by Babatunde Olabode Johnson, a lawyer recruited by the Nigerian Government to identify and manage claims on the recovery of proceeds of corruption by Etete, contained detailed information revealing how the aircrafts purchased by Etete used frontmen in channeling funds used in the purchase of the aircraft.
The affidavit also highlighted the Nigerian Government’s fears on why the recovery of the aircraft might be “jeopardized without the seizure”.
In the affidavit, Babatunde said, “Although the general lack due diligence, this case, lamentable, what is clear from my investigations into this transaction is that there were several ‘professional frontmen’ who traded on their ability to hide assets. Borgas is a dishonest enabler, and Ickonga, his codirector, was shrewd enough to take Tibit’s records to Brazzaville to block any attempt to have them disclosed by order this court. When Borgas stepped down as a director Etete found Russa, another proxy, to step in.”
500-09-029034-204.pdf
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