Not less than 50 corpses deposited at the Enugwu Ukwu General Hospital Mortuary in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State have been burnt to ashes. This followed a fire outbreak which started from a nearby bush, sources say, adding that no less than 50 corpses were burnt in the fire,
The mortuary which is located few metres from other buildings in the hospital, was the only building affected by the inferno. Governor Obiano says that State government will set up a panel to look into the remote and immediate causes of the fire outbreak at the morgue. Describing it as double tragedy, the Governor commiserated with those affected and pledged to immediately commence reconstruction of the burnt building. He urged them to exercise patience with the mortuary attendants. Many people who kept their dead relatives in the mortuary rushed to the scene yesterday on learning of the incident and were seen sobbing uncontrollably as they were unable to identify corpses they deposited. Among the burnt corpses was said to be that of a prominent man in the area who died in the USA, and was brought home for burial in January 2019, while his relations were renovating his house in readiness for the burial. President-General of Enugwu Ukwu Development Union, Bonny Nkwoagu said last night that although efforts were made to put out the fire when it started, the harmattan made it difficult. He said that fire fighters came, they ran out of water and it was when they went to fetch water that the mortuary got burnt.
The Nigeria Police Force has said that its police operatives deployed to arrest Senator Dino Melaye in his residence will not retreat until the Senator surrenders himself for arrest and investigation.
The Police further said that Senator Dino Melaye is wanted by the Police for a case of Criminal Conspiracy and Attempted Culpable Homicide, committed on 19th July, 2018, when Senator Dino Melaye and his armed thugs attacked Police personnel; shot and wounded Sgt. Danjuma Saliu, attached to 37 Police Mobile Force (PMF) on stop and search duty along Aiyetoro Gbede, Mopa Road in Kogi State.
The Police in the statement signed by Ag. DCP Jimoh Moshood, Force Public Relations officer Force Headquarters Abuja said that ‘the operatives with a duly obtained Warrant of Arrest deployed to arrest Senator Dino Melaye in his residence in Abuja will not retreat until Senator Dino Melaye surrenders himself for arrest and investigation.
‘It is on record that the Police investigators submitted a Letter of Invitation dated 23rd July, 2018, signed by the Commissioner of Police, Kogi State Police Command addressed to the Clerk, National Assembly, Abuja, inviting Senator Dino Melaye to report on 26th July, 2018 at 1100Hrs at the Kogi State Police Command, CIID, Lokoja to answer to a case of Criminal Conspiracy and Attempted Culpable Homicide against him under investigation in the Kogi State Police Command.
The claim by the Senate President in the Media that the Police did not submit a letter of invitation to the Clerk of the National Assembly is therefore incorrect as can be seen on attached letter with acknowledgment stamp of the Clerk, National Assembly, Abuja “24 JUL 2018“. Despite this, Senator Dino Melaye bluntly refused to report himself to the Police till date.
For avoidance of doubt, attached to this Press Release are the copies of pictures of the shot Police Officer, Sgt. Danjuma Saliu, the Police Invitation Letter addressed to the Clerk of National Assembly, Abuja and the Medical Report from the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja, Kogi State, confirming the admission of Sgt. Danjuma Saliu into the Hospital for treatment of the gunshot injury he sustained from the attack by Senator Dino Melaye and his armed thugs while on Stop and Search duty along Aiyetoro Gbede, Mopa Road in Kogi State on 19th July, 2018.The Police Officer, Sgt. Danjuma Saliu, is yet to recover from the gunshot injury he sustained during the attack and still under intensive medical care in the hospital.
The Force will ensure a thorough investigation into this matter while making sure that the rule of law prevails and that no suspect no matter how highly placed, involved in any criminal matter escape justice.
photos of Danjuma Salisu, a police officer allegedly shot and wounded by Senator Dino Melaye and some armed thugs.
UPDATE ON POLICE OPERATIVES’ WAIT AT THE RESIDENCE OF SENATOR DINO MELAYE
SENATOR DINO MELAYE IS WANTED BY THE POLICE FOR CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY AND ATTEMPTED CULPABLE HOMICIDE, COMMITTED ON 19th JULY, 2018, WHEN SENATOR DINO MELAYE AND HIS ARMED THUGS ATTACKED POLICE PERSONNEL, SHOT AND WOUNDED SGT DANJUMA SALIU ON STOP AND SEARCH DUTY ALONG AIYETORO GBEDE, MOPA ROAD IN KOGI STATE.
· POLICE OPERATIVES DEPLOYED TO ARREST SENATOR DINO MELAYE IN HIS RESIDENCE WILL NOT RETREAT UNTIL SENATOR DINO MELAYE SURRENDERS HIMSELF FOR ARREST AND INVESTIGATION.
Senator Dino Melaye is wanted by the Police for a case of Criminal Conspiracy and Attempted Culpable Homicide, committed on 19th July, 2018, when Senator Dino Melaye and his armed thugs attacked Police personnel; shot and wounded Sgt. Danjuma Saliu, attached to 37 Police Mobile Force (PMF) on stop and search duty along Aiyetoro Gbede, Mopa Road in Kogi State.
1.The Police operatives with a duly obtained Warrant of Arrest deployed to arrest Senator Dino Melaye in his residence in Abuja will not retreat until Senator Dino Melaye surrenders himself for arrest and investigation. 2.It is on record that the Police investigators submitted a Letter of Invitation dated 23rd July, 2018, signed by the Commissioner of Police, Kogi State Police Command addressed to the Clerk, National Assembly, Abuja, inviting Senator Dino Melaye to report on 26th July, 2018 at 1100Hrs at the Kogi State Police Command, CIID, Lokoja to answer to a case of Criminal Conspiracy and Attempted Culpable Homicide against him under investigation in the Kogi State Police Command. The claim by the Senate President in the Media that the Police did not submit a letter of invitation to the Clerk of the National Assembly is therefore incorrect as can be seen on attached letter with acknowledgment stamp of the Clerk, National Assembly, Abuja “24 JUL 2018“. Despite this, Senator Dino Melaye bluntly refused to report himself to the Police till date. 3.For avoidance of doubt, attached to this Press Release are the copies of pictures of the shot Police Officer, Sgt. Danjuma Saliu, the Police Invitation Letter addressed to the Clerk of National Assembly, Abuja and the Medical Report from the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja, Kogi State, confirming the admission of Sgt. Danjuma Saliu into the Hospital for treatment of the gunshot injury he sustained from the attack by Senator Dino Melaye and his armed thugs while on Stop and Search duty along Aiyetoro Gbede, Mopa Road in Kogi State on 19th July, 2018. 5.The Police Officer, Sgt. Danjuma Saliu, is yet to recover from the gunshot injury he sustained during the attack and still under intensive medical care in the hospital. The Force will ensure a thorough investigation into this matter while making sure that the rule of law prevails and that no suspect no matter how highly placed, involved in any criminal matter escape justice.
Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has called for the examination of President Muhammadu Buhari’s mental health status over the allegation by his wife, Aisha, that a cabal was controlling Aso Villa.
The coalition made the call in a statement yesterday signed by the first national vice spokesperson, Ikenga Ugochinyere. The president’s consistent action of not fielding questions extempore from journalists intensified the group’s suspicion that two or three people had actually hijacked the presidency.
“A country of about 200 million people cannot be thriving under the situation of being in doubt of the mental stability of the man who holds their mandate to lead and who is seeking an extension of that mandate. The international community is also expressing similar doubt, hence the reactions in the economy through the withdrawal of their businesses from the country.
At no other particular time in the history of Nigeria has it witnessed the closure of the number of businesses as it happened in the almost four years of the Buhari presidency,” it said.CUPP demanded that a team of experts should handle the president’s health issue.
“It is on this premise that we demand an independent team of experts in mental health issues to examine President Muhammadu Buhari and indeed all other presidential candidates, to ascertain their mental stability before polling day, so that any person who does not pass the examination would not be allowed to participate in the election.
“We have also secured the assurance of the opposition coalition consensus candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to subject himself to any such medical exercise for the general interest of Nigeria.
“CUPP also calls on President Buhari to face the Nigerian media and stop holding them in disdain, as they are renowned professionals the world over for their expertise.
“How could a president not speak to any Nigerian media or journalist for over three years? How could a president hold his entire country’s media and citizens in such disdain that he speaks to them only through a crowd of spokespersons, many of who have questionable characters and mostly dish out fake news to citizens? Is it not to hide the mental status of the president that the yet-to-be-identified two or three people who have hijacked the presidency, according to the wife of the president, that the president has been directed not to speak outside written speeches?” tp
Presidential candidate of Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Oby Ezekwesili, has said President Muhammadu Buhari lacks capacity to rule Nigeria, as he rewards incompetence and failure.
While President Buhari was in Akwa Ibom yesterday for his 2019 campaign, Ezekwesili, who was in Calabar for consultations and to participate in the Carnival Calabar, said, “We can say that there is a broken state of affairs with our security establishments.
The reason is because President Buhari has shown himself as a leader who rewards incompetence and failure.
“You cannot have a security establishment where citizens and the military are killed and those who lead those establishments are rewarded instead of being made to account for that kind of failure, and it is not just one failure.
“It is serial failures that we have seen. So the President rewards incompetence and I am not surprised because he is incompetent himself but does not realise it”.
She argues that Buhari looks at those who fail and what extend their stay in offices in which they have failed.
“We have seen it with the military, we have now seen it with the police. How can the President even be thinking of retaining the Inspector General of Police (IG) after the expiration of his term in office? Is it for stellar performance?
“This is the IG that the President told the entire country did not go to Benue State where he had assigned him to go. What the President is essentially telling us is that Nigerians lives do not matter that much to him, otherwise, he should be very horrified at the level of killings.
“My greatest shock and one of the triggers for my deciding to run for election, not being politician as you all know, is that the debasement of the Nigerian life is the final straw that can bring about anarchy; for it to be that children should grow up in this society and just come to the understanding that killing a person is a normal thing, that you can just do it and there is no consequence. What kind of impunity is that?”
Ezekwesili added that she would want to be the President of Nigeria that would be an effective Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces on the basis of competence, capacity and character.
“I would so do that work well that the life of the Nigerian would be the epicenter of our development process. It means that in terms of security, we would run the most effective and efficient security system; we would reform the nation’s security infrastructure.
“We would find the brilliant ones in our military establishments and police that have been hidden away in an era of incompetence and low productivity,” she stated.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olisa Agbakoba SAN, has said the President Muhammadu Buhari does not deserve South-East votes because he has not done much for the geopolitical zone.
He stated this yesterday in a statement issued to journalists in reaction to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo’s appeal to the Southwest to vote Buhari in 2019 to secure a Yoruba presidency in 2023.
According to Agbakoba, the VP was only making efforts to deliver his zone to the All Progressives Congress, APC, which in turn favours him.
He added that it is for the Southwest people to decide what they want.
For the South-East, he said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, promised to do a term and hand over to the South-East, which he described as a political statement.
Nevertheless, he advised the South-East to vote for Atiku.
‘’I advice the South-East to vote for the PDP. What has the APC done for the South-East? Atiku has promised to restructure the country.
“PDP may not be a better party but the vice presidency and promise of restructuring are major attractions,’’ he said.
Shehu Sani, the Senator representing Kaduna Central has reacted to Alhaji Aliko Dangote’s appointment to APC’s Presidential Campaign Council for the 2019 elections.
Shehu Sani in a tweet said:
“Dear Bro Aliko,don’t use Broom to reinforce your silos,don’t use Broom as your plasterboard;don’t use Broom to mix your concrete,maintain the use of your machine concrete mixer”.
The Nigerian Police Force, yesterday, said operatives who laid siege at the residence of Senator Dino Melaye were there to effect his arrest.
The decision, Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, clarified, was in connection to the attempted culpable homicide in the shooting of a Police Officer, Sgt Danjuma Saliu, attached to 37 Police Mobile Force (PMF) while on duty at a stop and search point along Aiyetoro Gbede, Mopa Road in Kogi State.
Moshood, in a statement yesterday, said the offence was committed by Senator Dino Melaye and his armed thugs in Kogi State on the 19th July, 2018 when they shot and wounded the police officer. He added Police Officer is yet to recover from the gunshot injury he sustained during the attack and still under intensive medical care.
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According to him: “Police investigators have written the Clerk of the National Assembly for Senator Dino Melaye to report at Kogi State Police Command, CIID, Lokoja for him to answer to these offences against him under investigation in Kogi State Police Command but he has bluntly refused to report himself to the Police.
“Police operatives will continue to be in wait at the residence of Senator Dino Melaye until he surrenders himself for arrest. The offence for which Senator Dino Melaye is being investigated is capital in nature and not compoundable.
“The Force will not tolerate attack on his personnel by any individual no matter how highly placed. The law must take its course.”
The Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr Osita Okechukwu, has appealed to the leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo to start organising for Nigeria president of Igbo extraction in 2023 instead of agonising.
Okechukwu made the appeal on Thursday while reacting to the statement of Ohanaeze Ndigbo to the effect that 2023 Igbo presidency quest was a plot to hoodwink Ndigbo.
The chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) said equity, natural justice and good conscience were on the side of Ndigbo if the group worked towards the realisation of the dream.
He reiterated that the South East geopolitical zone remained the only part in the Southern Belt that had not presided over Nigeria from the Aso Villa since the rotation of President between Northern and Southern Belts commenced in 1999, stressing that ‘2023 is our turn, unless we wittingly or unwittingly throw it away.’
He said the principle of rotational presidency was constructed to engender equity, peace and harmony in the country, adding that the south east must organise to get power in 2023.
“One, therefore, appeals to Ohanaeze leadership to place the core Igbo interest above partisanship and demagoguery; for the quickest and surest route to end the vexatious issue of marginalisation and create a sense of belonging is 2023 president of Igbo extraction.
“All we need do as the needful is for the Ohanaeze Ndigbo leadership to think out of the box, reflect deeply, and dust off ancient stereotypes and prejudices by voting for President Muhammadu Buhari.
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“The real politics is that voting Buhari will better galvanise and strengthen our alliance with the North, more than voting for His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar.
“Buhari has a vote-bank of 10-12 million voters, mostly his cult followership reflected in his bids in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 presidential elections,” he said.
A group of gunmen on Tuesday night stormed the residence of the Bishop of Ahoada Anglican Diocese, Rt. Reverend Clement Ekpeye, and whisked him away to an unknown destination.
It was gathered that the gunmen, who forced themselves into the cleric’s compound, went straight for their target when they sighted him.
The incident, according to a source in the area, happened at about 8.45pm at the Bishop’s Court located on Odiemerenyi road in Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State.
It was learnt that the intruders did not take much time before they brought out the cleric, ordered him into a waiting vehicle before zooming off.
The Clerical Synod Secretary of the Diocese of Ahoada, who condemned the development, described it as shocking.
Appealing to the kidnappers of Reverend Ekpeye to release him unconditionally, the synod secretary called for prayers for the safety of the bishop.
When contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Nnamdi Omoni, confirmed the abduction of the cleric and added that investigation aimed at ensuring that Reverend Ekpeye regained freedom had begun.
Omoni explained that the hoodlums had invaded the residence of the cleric before he was taken away at gunpoint, saying, Yes, I can confirm to you that it happened last (Tuesday) night.
“We have begun the investigation and all hands are on the deck to ensure his release. The matter is with us. The Special Anti-Robbery Squad has moved in.”
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, on Wednesday said the type of leadership that he and his running mate, Mr. Peter Obi, offer Nigerians has not been seen in the country since Independence.
Atiku, who spoke during a town hall meeting with representatives of the business community in Aba, Abia State, blamed the ruling All Progressives Congress for allegedly instigating economic regression in the country.
According to the PDP candidate, Nigerians cannot afford to have 50 million unemployed men and women.
He said, “That is why there is insecurity. To be able to do business, you must have a secure environment. Otherwise, you will not even be able to come out of your house and go to your factory.
“We have two very experienced men, both in governance and business: Peter Obi and myself. I don’t think Nigeria has ever produced this type of leadership since Independence. If you are doubting us, you know what you should do? Try the two of us.
“If you’re producing juice, I’m a manufacturer of beverages. If you’re producing plastics, I’m a manufacturer of plastics. If you have poultry, I’m a manufacturer of livestock.
“If you’re selling food in the market, I own fast food (restaurants). If you are in printing, I have a printing industry. If you are into broadcasting, I own television stations.
“So, what are you going to tell me?”
Abubakar stated that his various companies had been spending N600m to pay for trucks haulage until he decided to start his own haulage business.
“I sat down with them and said, ‘No, we must go into road haulage. Let’s have our own trucks. I can’t spend N600m on mere road haulage.’ And today, we’re in a successful haulage industry.
“So, my brothers and sisters, the government that has tried to solve most of the challenges that the business community are facing in this country is the PDP government and here is another opportunity, so you don’t repeat the mistake of bringing back this government,” he said.
Some All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers and their Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterparts exchanged blows during the presentation of the 2019 by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday.
Trouble started after some APC lawmakers seized the placards which some of their PDP colleagues planned to use in protesting against the president.
The shout of is not true, it’s a lie rent the air in the lower chamber of the National Assembly as President Muhammadu Buhari presented the 2019 budget.
Angry lawmakers at a joint sitting, who were not happy with the figures the President was dishing out, interrupted the flowing of his presentation by making unpalatable comments.
While some of the lawmakers applauded the President, others, who were not happy with the presentation, especially when figures and projects allegedly executed did not tally with expectations, shouting “it’s a lie, it’s not true” and other negative comments.
For example, when the President said that the economy has recovered from recession, fighting corruption and how the infrastructure have been improved upon, some of the lawmakers shouted “you lied.”
The family members of the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (retd.), may miss his burial as they remain on the watch list of the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Immigration Service,
Eniola Akinkuotu, Abuja
The family members of the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (retd.), may miss his burial as they remain on the watch list of the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Immigration Service,
Badeh’s widow, Mary Iya Badeh, and his two sons, Alex (jnr) and Kam have been in the United States since 2016 following his prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
A family friend of the Badehs told our correspondent that it was unlikely if they would come.
He said, “I have spoken with them and I don’t know for now if they will be coming but it is highly unlikely. Their father has just been killed under controversial circumstances and the government has not removed them from the watch list. If they return and their passports are seized and they are not allowed to return, it would be a double tragedy.
“Everybody is still in shock so we cannot say for now if they will be coming but since they are Christians, there is no rush. A lot can happen before then.”
A prosecution witness, Abubakar Madaki, had told a Federal High Court sitting in Maitama that Badeh’s wife and two of his children were being investigated for offences with which the ex-Chief of Air Staff was charged.
Madaki said the three of them, however, escaped to the United States before the investigation was concluded.
He said all attempts to get them arrested turned out to be futile.
The witness had said, “At the initial stage, when we started the investigation, we invited Alex Badeh (Jnr.) who lives in 19 Kumasi Crescent, Abuja, one of the properties, among the properties earlier mentioned.
“He happened to be a son of the first defendant (Badeh). He claimed to be a tenant in that property and since an investigation was ongoing at the preliminary stage, we allowed him to go and come back when we had enough issues to question him about.
“He left and never came back. We later got to know that he has left the country for America.
“We were also looking for Mary Iya Badeh, the wife of the first defendant, who is one of the directors in the second defendant (Iyalikam Nigeria Limited).
“The second defendant (Iyalikam) had received so much funds from the alleged funds we are investigating.
“She too, according to the investigation has left the country for America. Kam Badeh (another of Badeh’s son) is one of the directors in one of the companies.
“We have gone round the locations that we had information that he does business, but we are unable to get him.
“Since the information was that they left through the International Airport, we wrote a letter to the Nigerian Immigration Service and the Department of Security Service to watch them. But we have not been able to get them.”
He said when his team concluded investigation in the case, it “discovered that the first defendant (Badeh) and his wife had earlier incorporated a company Iyalikam Nigeria Limited” in whose accounts they allegedly diverted the Nigerian Air Force’s funds.
Japan plans to make alcohol tests mandatory for pilots, officials said Wednesday, following a series of flight delays caused by drunk or hungover pilots at Japanese carriers.
The move comes after a Japan Airlines co-pilot was arrested in Britain last month shortly before a flight for being almost 10 times over the legal blood alcohol limit.
A transport ministry panel on Wednesday agreed a proposal to impose mandatory testing on airlines and breath alcohol limits of 0.09 milligrammes per litre.
The drink-drive limit is 0.15 milligrammes.
The official proposal is expected to be unveiled on Friday.
Under Japan’s current system, while plane crew members are banned from drinking within eight hours of working, there is no legal limit set and breath tests are not required.
The JAL co-pilot cleared an in-house breath test but aroused the suspicion of a bus driver taking him to the plane at Heathrow Airport.
London police said a test on the co-pilot taken 50 minutes before the flight’s scheduled departure revealed he was nearly 10 times over the limit.
He had reportedly consumed two bottles of wine and more than 1.8 litres (nearly four US pints) of beer over six hours on the night before the flight.
“We are certain (the in-house breath test) wasn’t conducted properly,” JAL communications chief Muneaki Kitahara told reporters at the time.
All Nippon Airways also revealed last month that a hungover pilot had caused multiple flight delays.
Manchester United has appointed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the caretaker manager until the end of the 2018/19 season.
In a tweet on its verified Twitter handle, the football club said, Solskjaer would be joined by Mike Phelan as the first-team coach, together with Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna.
We can confirm that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been appointed as caretaker manager until the end of the 2018/19 season.
He will be joined by Mike Phelan as first-team coach, together with Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna. #MUFC
The president of Liberia and sports super star George Weah, at UN meeting on Monday, warn UN, on the danger of delaying of Biafra declaration.
According to the Biafra newspaper today, he told UN that failing to declare Biafra soon, may result another war in Nigeria. Buhari did not attend the meeting, because he knew they going to discuss about Biafra, which he does not want to hear.
Note: Our mission is to promote Biafra and to inform the world how Nnamd Kanu is making progress on the struggle.
Ahead of the Yuletide, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has launched total war on online fraudsters otherwise known as ‘Yahoo Boys’, The PUNCH has leant.
Ahead of the Yuletide, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has launched total war on online fraudsters otherwise known as ‘Yahoo Boys’, The PUNCH has leant.
The operation codenamed ‘Cyber Storm’, will involve EFCC operatives monitoring suspicious transactions especially by youths who cannot explain their source of wealth.
The commission will also deploy its agents in nightclubs and concerts where youths usually go to “pop” expensive champagne.
The anti-graft agency will also be monitoring social media accounts of suspected fraudsters who usually show off their expensive cars and houses.
Confirming the development, the Spokesman for the EFCC, Mr. Tony Orilade, said, “The chairman, Ibrahim Magu, has constituted a Special Task Force on Internet Fraud.
The task force, is made up of personnel from ICT, Public Affairs, Operations and Special Control Unit against Money Laundering.”
As part of the operation, the EFCC has already arrested over 50 suspected online fraudsters in the last 10 days in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Ibadan.
An EFCC operative said, “We have declared a total war on Yahoo boys who have done nothing but given Nigeria a bad name home and abroad. We know their methods of operation. Be assured that in the coming days we will make more arrests.
“Those who live honest lives will not be touched.”
Meanwhile, the EFCC has arrested three suspected internet fraudsters, at No 24, 1st Avenue, Fort Royal Estate, Airport Road, Abuja.
The suspects are; Marvin Nwankwo, Prince Ojenike and Jude Olatekobowale. They allegedly created a Facebook account with the following names: Rodney David; David Rodgers and Carlos David, respectively.
The EFCC said in a statement by its acting Spokesman, Mr. Tony Orilade, that arrest was based on intelligence report that the suspects turned the said residence into their office, using laptops, phone and other gadgets to defraud innocent people, including foreigners, of their hard earned money and other valuables.
The statement added, “The intelligence further revealed that the suspects aged between 22 to 30 years, used the proceeds of their crimes to acquire different properties such as cars which include a GLK Mercedes Benz SUV, a Toyota Corolla, amongst others.
“On receipt of the intelligence report, operatives of the EFCC swung into action and mounted surveillance on the said address, to monitor the activities of the suspects.
“After thorough investigations, the suspects were arrested and items, which included several laptops of different makes, very expensive mobile phones, modems, many SIM cards, amongst others were recovered.”
The president of Germany Frank- Walter Steinmeier, visited Israel on Sunday. while speaking with Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu on the crises in South Cameron, Nigeria and Biafra. According to the Biafra newspaper today.
He comment on Nnamdi Kanu, for his courage to move on with Biafra agitation in the mist of challenges, it is a matter of time, Biafra will become a Nation.
Note: Our mission is to promote Biafra and to inform the world how Nnamd Kanu is making progress on the struggle.
We Biafrans, lets thank God, because our victory is at hand. UN will sign Biafra in 2019, but before then, five world leaders have to endorse it. According to the voice of Biafra magazine, these five leaders are:
The president of United States, Donald Trump. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. UK prime minister, Theresa May. The president of France, Emmanuel Macron. And The president of South Korea.
God is helping IPOB in the course of Biafra struggle.
A former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (retd.), has been killed.
It was gathered that the retired military officer was killed on the Abuja-Keffi Expressway on his way back from his farm.
He was said to have been shot along with his driver on Tuesday.
Until his death, he was standing trial for alleged diversion of funds meant for arms purchase.
The Director of Public Relations and Information of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, confirmed the incident in a statement.
“It is with a heavy heart that I regretfully announce the unfortunate demise of a former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (retd.), who died today, December 18, from gunshot wounds sustained when his vehicle was attacked while returning from his farm along the Abuja-Keffi Road.
“On behalf of officers, airmen and airwomen of the Nigerian Air Force, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, commiserates with the family of the late former Chief of Defence Staff over this irreparable loss.
“We pray that the Almighty God grant his soul eternal rest,” the statement read.
The late Badeh, who was 61 years, was commissioned into the Nigerian Air Force in 1979.
He was born in Vimtim, in the Mubi Local Government Area of Adamawa State.
He attended the Vimtim Primary School. Vimtim and went on to obtain his secondary school certificate from the Villanova Secondary School in 1976 before proceeding to the Nigerian Defence Academy.
Badeh was admitted into the Nigerian Defence Academy as a member of the 21 Regular Course on January 3, 1977, and was commissioned as Pilot Officer on July 3, 1979.
The retired military officer was promoted Air Vice Marshal on January 3, 2008.
The Lagos State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, has responded to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who mocked him for adopting the ‘freedom’ slogan for his 2019 aspiration.
Tinubu had, while addressing members of the All Progressives Congress on Monday, said, “Those who said they want freedom should go and learn tailoring and vulcanising and we will do freedom for them later.”
However, in a statement on Tuesday, Agbaje likened Tinubu to the biblical Pharaoh of Egypt who refused to allow the children of Israel to leave but kept them in bondage until God sent down 10 plagues that forced Pharaoh’s hand.
“Pharaoh, you must let our people go!” Agbaje said.Suggested News
“Apparently, the APC leader has lost touch with reality,” Agbaje said in a press statement by his Director of Media and Publicity, Felix Oboagwina.
“Otherwise, he would know that, like the children of Israel, Lagosians are groaning under the taskmaster that Tinubu and his cronies have turned themselves into in this state that should rate as Nigeria’s foremost,” he added.
Recalling that the biblical Pharaoh finally granted liberty to the Israelites only after several vicious plagues, Agbaje said, Lagosians would be liberated after the people might have delivered an electoral disgrace to the APC in 2019.
He also said that his campaign slogan mirrored the same spirit that moved Nelson Mandela to declare his long walk to freedom in an apartheid South Africa.
Agbaje said, “We identify with our vulcanisers, tailors and all craftsmen who have the joy of duly-earned freedom after their apprenticeship.
“But it is apparent that, unlike them, those who have gotten used to filthy lucre and the dividends of corruption cannot savour the joy that comes with the legitimate sweat and labour of hardworking artisans.”
He argued that Lagos State must be freed from the era of nepotism and corruption that saw a private firm maintaining a stranglehold on the state’s funds, contrary to global best practices.
A group, ‘One–on-One Nigeria’, which is campaigning for the reelection of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 has said that its main reason for the support was that only Buhari presidency could guarantee the emergence of a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction in 2023.
Addressing reporters in Awka, coordinator of the group, Chief Chido Obidiegwu observed that only Buhari had truly recognized Igbo as an important segment of the country, recalling that despite losing heavily in the South East during the 2015 election, the president had continued to address the Igbo’s most pressing needs, which bordered mainly on infrastructural development.
Obidiegwu, who was Governor Willie Obiano’s senior special assistant on events, recently led a group of Igbo people to the presidential villa to announce their support to the president for the 2019 election.
He said: “Post Biafran war kept Igbo in a despondent debilitating status whereby they were relegated to the 4th class status from their hitherto 1st class status in the .Nigerian traditional tripod.
“Successive military and civilian administrations could not do much to elevate the Igbo spirit as desired and deserved. It only took President Buhari who Igbo rejected at the polls, to address some of their key desires abandoned by previous regimes. President Buhari’s other national socio-economic and political interventions have also endeared him to well meaning Igbo people.
“In the light of the foregoing, we humbly and effusively invite and implore our brothers and sisters all over Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Delta and Rivers State, as well as those in Diaspora, to join us in this noble and laudable cause for the total emancipation of the Igbo race and restoration of the dignity of the Igbo man.
“We believe in Igbo cause and what we are doing is how to achieve the Igbo presidency. As far as we are concerned, the Igbo presidency will be achieved fastest if Buhari wins the president in 2019.”
According to him, through Igbo pitched tents with former President Goodluck Jonathan and humiliated President Buhari at the 2015 polls, a school of thought expected President Buhari to pay Igbo back in their own coin, but he did not do that.
Rather, he added, Buhari began serious work on the long abandoned second Niger Bridge, the long abandoned Enugu- Port Harcourt express way, the Zik’s mausoleum and Aba Independent Power plant, among other projects, which Igbo yearned for over 16 years, but could not realize.
Obidiegwu said the One-on-One Nigeria group was resolute and unequivocal in its support for the president’s second tenure, adding that its action plans were already unfolding in the 1694 political wards in South-Eastern Nigeria, 95 local government areas, 15 Senatorial zones, the five South East states and parts of Delta and River states.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday accused tech giants Facebook, Twitter and Google of being biased in favor of opposition Democrats, a day after a report for the Senate revealed Russian agents had used social media in an attempt to sway the 2016 election in Trump’s favor.
“Facebook, Twitter and Google are so biased toward the Dems it is ridiculous!” Trump tweeted.
“Twitter, in fact, has made it much more difficult for people to join @realDonaldTrump. They have removed many names & greatly slowed the level and speed of increase. They have acknowledged-done NOTHING!”
An analysis for the Senate Intelligence Committee released Monday described an organized campaign by the St Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency (IRA) to hurt Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, by inflaming right-wing conspiracy theories and suppressing the vote of traditionally liberal groups such as African Americans.
The IRA-created account “Blacktivist” sent out messages such as: “No lives matter to Hillary Clinton. Only votes matter to Hillary Clinton.”
Separately, a portion of the 3,841 IRA accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube studied by the researchers sought to provoke Republican-leaning white Americans to get out and vote.
And after Trump took office Moscow’s operatives took aim at Special Counsel Robert Mueller, head of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Moscow, The Washington Post reported Monday.
Trump is a regular critic of social media and accused Twitter as recently as October of stifling the growth of his account by making it harder for users to follow him.
Marketing software firm SparkToro revealed in October that its analysis of his 55 million-plus followers had revealed that more than 60 percent were fake.
Around three-quarters of accounts that followed Trump had been in active for at least 120 days while 36 percent used Twitter’s default profile image.
President Muhammadu Buhari has revealed that a major reason for his declining assent to the electoral bill was to prevent technological tampering as as alleged to have occurred in the 2016 US election, with Russia at the centre of the allegations.
Buhari reiterated his determination to ensure a level-playing field for all contestants into political offices in 2019 general elections.
The President said this when he received a delegation from International Republican and National Democratic Institute, United States of America, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday.
Buhari said: “I am glad you are here to assess our pre-election preparations. It reminds me of the visit by the then Secretary of State, John Kerry, before the 2015 polls. We appreciate the concern of America for stability in developing countries.
“Having run for president three times, ending up at the Supreme Court all the three times before God and technology made a way for me the fourth time, I know what it is to be cheated at the polls.
“What they used to do was just to award votes, and tell anyone who was dissatisfied to go to court. But we won’t do that.
“I am prepared to give the opposition the opportunities I was not given in the past.’’
President Buhari assured the visitors that he had told the heads of the security agencies not to be partisan, but to do their work professionally, and allow the will of the people to prevail.
While stressing that the governing All Progressives Congress would keep faith with its priorities of securing the country, reviving the economy, and fighting corruption, the President said he was happy that the opposition had not been able to successfully fault the focal areas of the government.
“We have done fairly well in the areas we focused on. We know how many local government areas in the North-East were under Boko Haram occupation before we came.
“That does not happen again, save for cowardly attacks, using young girls as suicide bombers.
“Other areas of security challenge like farmers/herdsmen clashes are receiving attention, and would be sorted out as much as possible,’’ he added.
On the Electoral Bill that was not assented to, the President said: “Time is against us. We are extremely vulnerable, and need to be careful that messages are not hijacked and figures tampered with, while being transmitted electronically.
READ ALSO: Reuben Abati: Buhari’s Reunion With His Media Team
“Even the Russians were accused of tampering with American election, so we will remain conventional and use electronic transmission in subsequent elections.’’
The leader of the American delegation, Ambassador Linda-Thomas Greenfield, said they had met with the media, civil society, and political parties and concerns expressed included fears of security agencies being partisan in the forthcoming elections and suspected non-commitment to free and fair elections by key stakeholders.
She said they also cited the delayed budget for the electoral umpire, Independent National Electoral Commission, and the non-signing of the new Electoral Bill.
Human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), has warned President Muhammadu Buhari to concede power if he loses in the 2019 general election.
Speaking at the inauguration of the League of Anambra Professionals Legal Defence Initiative, held in Lagos over the weekend, Falana said the real reason former President Goodluck Jonathan conceded defeat in 2015 was because of the arrest and prosecution warning issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) ahead of the elections.
He said prior to the elections, ICC, had warned that should there be any violence and crimes against humanity, any leader responsible would be arrested and prosecuted the same way the ex-President of Cote d’Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo, was prosecuted.
Falana said, “Unlike in 1993 when the military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, successfully annulled an election, that is no longer possible.
“Whoever does that now will end up in The Hague. He is likely to be tried for crimes against humanity because if you annul an election, you are likely to have a monumental violence in the country which will lead to crimes against humanity.
“Before the 2015 elections, the ICC warned that if there was any problem in Nigeria, anybody who was responsible would be arrested and charged like former President Laurent Gbagbo of Cote d’Ivoire. That was the atmosphere under which President Goodluck conceded victory.”
A judge will decide on Tuesday whether former national security adviser Michael Flynn should be sent to prison.
He is to be sentenced for lying to Federal Bureau of Investigation in a case stemming from the investigation into possible collusion between President Donald Trump’s campaign team and Russia in 2016 election-run-up.
US District Judge Emmet Sullivan will sentence Flynn in Washington at 11am ET (1600 GMT).
Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, who is leading the investigation into Russian interference, has asked Sullivan not to imprison Flynn.
Flynn is a former general, because of his military service and because he provided “substantial” cooperation with the probe Sullivan makes a plea for him.
Flynn pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to FBI agents about his conversations with Sergei Kislyak, Russia ambassador in Washington at the time.
Flynn told investigators in January 2017 that he had not discussed US sanctions against Russia with Kislyak, when in fact he had, according to his plea agreement.
Lying to the FBI carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Flynn’s plea agreement states that he is eligible for a sentence of between zero and six months, however, and can ask the court not to impose a fine.
Flynn’s lawyers have asked the court for a probation term of no more than one year, with minimal conditions of supervision, and 200 hours of community service.
Flynn also deserves leniency because he was not warned before the meeting with FBI agents that it was a crime to lie to them, his lawyers said in a recent court filing.
They also said that then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe had told Flynn that the “quickest way” to conduct the interview was without counsel present.
Critics of the Mueller probe argue that Flynn, who held the White House job for only 24 days, was set up.
Mueller last week countered in a court filing that Flynn had no cause to lie in the interviews.
He added that a “sitting National Security Adviser, former head of an intelligence agency, retired Lieutenant General, and 33-year veteran of the armed forces knows he should not lie to federal agents.”
Flynn is so far the only member of Trump’s administration to plead guilty to a crime uncovered during Mueller’s wide-ranging probe.
The probe has so far ensnared 32 individuals and three Russian firms.
Trump denies there was any collusion and has labelled the investigation a “witch hunt.”
Russia also denies it meddled in the election, contrary to the conclusion of US intelligence agencies.
On Monday, Sullivan ordered the special counsel to release a redacted, five-page FBI account of Flynn’s January 2017 interview, saying it was relevant to his sentencing.
The Red Devils have won just two of their last eight matches in all competitions and sit 11 points off fourth-place in the Premier League
Jose Mourinho has been sacked by Manchester United following their disappointing start to the season.
The Red Devils currently sit sixth in the Premier League table but have already lost five times in 17 matches, leaving them 19 points behind leaders Liverpool and 11 off fourth-placed Chelsea in the fight for Champions League places.
That follows a summer transfer window in which Mourinho routinely complained at a lack of signings, with the Portuguese unable to persuade the club’s hierarchy to sign a new centre-back.
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Mourinho has continued to drop hints that he remains unhappy at that failure to spend big, and he now leaves after two-and-a-half years in charge at Old Trafford, with his final match in charge Sunday’s 3-1 defeat to arch-rivals Liverpool.
“Manchester United announces that manager Jose Mourinho has left the club with immediate effect,” a statement read.
“The club would like to thank Jose for his work during his time at Manchester United and to wish him success in the future.
“A new caretaker manager will be appointed until the end of the current season, while the club conducts a thorough recruitment process for a new, full-time manager.”
Mourinho replaced Louis van Gaal in the United hotseat in the summer of 2016 and was tasked with leading the 20-time English champions back to the top of the domestic game after a barren three years since Sir Alex Ferguson’s appointment.
He started well, winning the Community Shield in his first match in charge before claiming the Carabao Cup thanks to a Zlatan Ibrahimovic-inspired 3-2 win over Southampton.
Form in the league was not as strong, however, with the Red Devils only able to finish in sixth place, though their season did end on a high as a 2-0 win over Ajax in the final of the Europa League saw them qualify for the 2017-18 Champions League.
Mourinho’s second season in charge saw United finish a distant second in the Premier League to Pep Guardiola’s record-breaking Manchester City, and while they crashed out of the Champions League to Sevilla in the last 16 and lost the FA Cup final to Chelsea, there was hope the former Real Madrid boss would be able to kick on again having signed a new improved contract in the early weeks of 2018.
That has not come to pass, however, with United currently on a run of just two wins from eight matches in all competitions.
Further to performances on the pitch, reports of dressing room unrest have overshadowed Man Utd’s performances over the course of the season, with Mourinho’s relationship with club-record signing Paul Pogba a constant talking point.
World Cup winner Pogba has struggled for consistency under Mourinho, and this season things seem to have taken a turn for the worse, with the former Juventus man unable to hold down a regular berth in Mourinho’s prefered 11.
The nadir came at Anfield on Sunday, with Mourinho deciding against bringing Pogba off the bench despite his side needing to find a goal to get back into the game following Xherdan Shaqiri’s own match-winning performance off the bench for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
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Whomever takes temporary charge until the end of the season will now be tasked with pushing United back into the race to finish in the top four while also plotting a path towards silverware in both the Champions League – where they play Paris Saint-Germain int he last 16 – and the FA Cup, with Reading their third round opponents.
Conflicting reports suggest assistant coach Michael Carrick is in the frame to take on that role, with the interim manager’s first game on Saturday away at Cardiff City.
Power and water supplies to the National Assembly Complex have been restored. The building was already lit as of 9am when our correspondent entered the premises.
It was however observed that businesses, including banks, restaurants and vendors, in the complex, remained shut.
They were forced to close shops on Monday when the protesting workers shut down facilities in the building.
Chambers open, lawmakers in, workers out
Our correspondent observed that while workers were shut out of the premises, lawmakers and their aides are allowed into the building.
For instance, Senator Barnabas Gemade entered the building at 9:32am.
It was also observed that the Senate and House of Representatives chambers have been opened for plenary but the sergeants-at-arms who usually man the entrances and operate in the chambers were not on duty.
Policemen and DSS operatives could be seen at strategic locations in and around the building.
Meanwhile, Clerk to the National Assembly, Mr Mohammed Sani-Omolori, who is at the centre of the crisis, walked in at 9:42am. He declined to speak when approached by journalists.
The president of Germany Frank- Walter Steinmeier, visited Israel on Sunday. while speaking with Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu on the crises in South Cameron, Nigeria and Biafra. According to the Biafra newspaper today.
He comment on Nnamdi Kanu, for his courage to move on with Biafra agitation in the mist of challenges, it is a matter of time, Biafra will become a Nation.
Note: Our mission is to promote Biafra and to inform the world how Nnamd Kanu is making progress on the struggle.
Men of the Nigerian Police Force have occupied the National Assembly Complex. The operatives, who have shut all entrances to the premises, prevented workers from gaining entry.
The main entrance close to the Eagle Square was barricaded with patrol vans.
The security operatives also frisked journalists, construction workers, vendors and a few who they felt should be allowed in.
The workers, under the auspices of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria, had shut down the complex as part of their four-day warning strike.
They had in the early hours of Monday occupied the entrances and shut power and water supplies to the building.
The leaders and management of the National Assembly had held an emergency meeting last night, after which they directed the police and the Department of State Services to secure the premises ahead of President Muhammadu Buhari’s presentation of the 2019 Appropriation Bill on Wednesday.
