Crime Facts

Court Jails Man 125 Years over Fake Social Intervention Programme Contract in Maiduguri

A Borno State High Court sitting in Maiduguri has convicted and sentenced one Allen Abel to a cumulative term of 125 years in prison for allegedly fraudulently obtaining food items valued at N12, 879,800.00 (Twelve Million Eight Hundred and Seventy Nine Thousand Eight Hundred Naira) on the pretext of executing a fake contract for Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development (FMHDSD)’s School Feeding scheme under the Social Intervention Programme (SIP) of the Federal Government. Abel was arraigned before Justice Aisha Kumaliya on Thursday, July 2, 2020 alongside Suleiman Adamu, Usman Adamu and Kingsley Madubuagu by the Maiduguri zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on 20-count charge that borders on forgery, possession of false documents, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence. Count three of the charge reads: “That you, Allen Abel, Suleiman Adamu and Usman Adamu sometimes between February and March, 2020 at Maiduguri, Borno State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court with intent to defraud, obtained 1313 (One Thousand Three Hundred and Thirteen) cartons of spaghetti and 480 (Four Hundred Eighty) bags of rice both worth N12, 110,000.00 (Twelve Million One Hundred Ten Thousand Naira) only from one Lelle Hyelwa Sini of Lelle Foresight Construction Co. Ltd. under the false pretence of executing a contract of supply of food items, purportedly awarded by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs Disaster Management and Social Development (Federal Government School Feeding Programme, under the Social Intervention Programme, SIP), which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and Punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.” Abel pleaded guilty to the twenty count charges upon arraignment and Justice Kumaliya convicted him accordingly, and adjourned to September 30 for sentencing. As the resumed hearing on Wednesday, September 30, 2020 Justice Kumaliya sentenced Abel to 7 years imprisonment each on counts 1 to 6, and 9 without an option of fine; 5 years imprisonment each on counts 7, 8 and 11-20 respectively without an option of fine. All sentences are to run consecutively. In addition, the convict is to restitute Lele Foresight Construction Company the total sum of N12, 110,000.00 (Twelve Million One Hundred Ten Thousand Naira) and HIE Global Investment Limited the sum of N769,800 (Seven Hundred and Sixty Nine Thousand Eight Hundred Naira). In another development, Justice Umaru Fadawu of the Borno State High court, Maiduguri has sentenced one Babagana Abatcha to two years imprisonment with an option of N500, 000.00 (Five Hundred Thousand Naira) fine. The convict was arraigned by EFCC’s Maiduguri Zonal office on one-count charge of criminal breach of trust to the tune of N9, 000,000.00 (Nine Million Naira). The charge reads: “That you, Babagana Abatcha sometime between 2017 and 2018 at Maiduguri, Borno State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, being entrusted with care over certain properties to wit: N9,000,000.00 (Nine Million Naira) only, by one Umar Gujja Ali being payment for the execution of a purported contract awarded to you by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) in Maiduguri, did dishonesty misappropriate the entire sum and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 311of the Penal Code Laws of Borno State Cap.102 Vol.3 of 1994 and punishable under Section 312 of the same Law.” Upon his arraignment, the convict pleaded not guilty to the one count charge, which prompted the prosecution to present witnesses and tendered several exhibits in proving its case . Delivering his judgment on Wednesday, September 30, 2020 Justice Fadawu sentenced the defendant to two years imprisonment with an option of N500, 000.00 fine. The court further ordered the convict to pay Seven Million Nine Hundred Thousand Naira in restitution to the nominal complainant or, in default, serve six years imprisonment and the years shall run consecutively

‘I Kil*ed 50 Kidnap Victims Because They Could Not Pay Ransom -Suspect

A 30-year-old kidnap suspect, Mohammed Sani, said he killed more than 50 of his victims because they could not afford to pay ransom. Sani, who was paraded by the Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Frank Mba, alongside 46 other criminals at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) Headquarters in Abuja, said he carried out his operations mainly within Kaduna, Katsina, Niger and Zamfara. Wearing a fake military uniform, Sani said he worked for one Yellow Jambros, who gave him guns and military uniforms for operations. He said he was a sector commander in their kidnapping ring and had over 120 men under his command. Sani, who said he has lost count of how many kidnap operations he carried out, said any of their victims that paid ransom were allowed to go but those that could not were killed. DCP Mba, who said the suspect was nabbed by men of the Special Tactical Squad (STS), said he has been on their wanted list for a while. “His area of specialty is kidnapping for ransom and banditry. Occasionally he veers into cattle rustling. “He belongs to an organised kidnapping gang that has gone ahead to sectorise their operations. “Mohammed Sani is a sector commander within the larger kidnapping and banditry enterprise. “He has over 100 men directly under his command. Sani reports to another big kidnapper that is on our wanted list known as Yellow Jambros,” Mba said. Also paraded were seven male suspects directly linked with a deadly attack on a bullion van in Abakiliki in Ebonyi on July 29, 2020. Mba said two of them were dismissed soldiers. He said the men, after a very elaborate plan that involved them carrying out surveillance on the movement of the bullion van for over two weeks, eventually carried out the attack on the said date. He said during the attack, four policemen were killed and their rifles taken away but because of reinforcement and courage shown by driver of the bullion van and other operatives, the robbers could not take control of the bullion van and were not successful in stealing any money. Mba said subsequently, the men of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) and other detectives carried out a massive investigation that crisscrossed several states of the federation as the IGP ordered a massive manhunt for the suspects. He said concerted efforts eventually led to the arrest of the suspects. “The gang leader is Sunday Seyemi from Bayelsa State. Arms recovered from them include one GPMG rifle with 136 rounds of GPMG ammunition, six AK47 rifles, 61 AK47 magazines, five K2 magazines, 1, 620 rounds of live AK47 ammunition, two sets of army camouflage and assorted charms and other house breaking implements. Two suspects still at large. We are closing up on them and certainly will pick them up. They will be arraigned soon,” Mba said. The Force PRO said 47 suspects were arrested for various offenses including armed robbery, murder, kidnapping, and unlawful possession of firearms among others. Weapons recovered include 321 rounds of AK47 ammunition, nine pistols, 10 AK47 rifles, 864 rounds of live cartridges, 583 pieces of military camouflage, one GPMG rifle and N258, 570 cash.

EFCC opens evidence in trial of former Lagos Speaker Ikuforiji

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday called its first witness in the money laundering trial of former Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji of the Lagos State House of Assembly. Ikuforiji is charged with N338.8 million money laundering. He is facing trial alongside his former Personal Assistant, Oyebode Atoyebi, on 54-count bordering on the offences. They, however, pleaded not guilty before Justice Mohammed Liman and were allowed to continue on an earlier bail granted to them in 2012 when they were first arraigned. On Wednesday, Mr Ekene Ihenacho appeared for the prosecution while Mr Dele Adesina (SAN) appeared for the defendants. The prosecutor called the first witness, Mr Adebayo Adeniyi, an investigator with the EFCC. The witness told the court that he had worked with the commission for 15 years, adding that his schedule of duty included investigation, search and any other duty relating to investigation. He told the court that he had worked in the Intelligence and Special Operations unit of the EFCC from 2009 to 2012 and also in the Economic Government Department from 2012 to 2016. The witness said that in June 2011, a petition was written against the first defendant for allegedly siphoning N500 million monthly from the Lagos House of Assembly. He said that the EFCC went into investigation and visited the House of Assembly in Lagos He said that from the office of the Clerk of the House, EFCC recovered some documents which were instrumental to their investigation, while the clerk was invited to the commission. “We recovered some payment registers, and when we went through them, we discovered that a lot of cash payments were made to the second defendant, and we invited him to explain why the payments were made to him. “He told us that the payments were meant for the first defendant, and when we interrogated the first defendant, he actually confirmed that the second defendant was collecting the monies for him,” he said. The prosecutor then showed the witness a bulk of documents and asked him to identify what they were. In response, the witness identified pages one to 12 of the documents as being the statement of the first defendant, pages 13 to 24 as the statement of the second defendant, and pages 25 to 237 as other documents recovered from the clerk’s office. The prosecutor then sought to tender the bulky document numbered 1 to 237 before the court. Defence counsel did not oppose it. The court admitted the statements of the first and second defendants as Exhibit A, B and B1. The court admitted a search bundle as Exhibit C, a cash release register ETD as Exhibits D, a document tagged Chili Bulk 2010 E, and another bulk document as Exhibit E1. The prosecutor then asked the witness to narrate to the court his findings from the investigation conducted. According to the witness, the EFCC discovered that series of cash payments were made to the second defendant, which were above the threshold allowed by the Money Laundering Act. When prompted to demonstrate portions of such payments, the witness said that in Exhibit E, from the transaction of April 30, 2010, the sum of N3 million was collected by the second defendant on behalf of the first. “On April 27, 2010, N10 million was collected in cash by the second defendant, while on May 6, 2010, the cash sum of N1.7 million was also collected by the second defendant on behalf of the first,” he said. Meanwhile, Justice Liman queried this pattern of examination by the prosecution, on the grounds that it was not the duty of the witness to “speak” to the document in the manner done. The court noted that such manner of examination was only wasting the time of the court, since the prosecution would also speak on same document during addresses. He urged parties to make progress in the case which, he also noted, had spanned a period of almost 10 years since 2011. The prosecutor asked for an adjournment to enable him to do some arrangements of the documents to be tendered. Defence counsel did not oppose the prayer for adjournment. Justice Liman fixed Oct. 14 for continuation of trial. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the defendants were first arraigned on March 1, 2012, before Justice Okechukwu Okeke on a 20-count charge bordering on financial misappropriation and money laundering. The defendants were, however, re-arraigned before Justice Ibrahim Buba, following re-assignment of the case. Buba had granted them bail in the sum of N500 million each with sureties in like sum. On Sept. 26, 2014, Buba discharged Ikuforiji and his aide of the charges, after upholding a no-case submission by them. Buba had held that the EFCC failed to establish a prima-facie case against them. Dissatisfied with the ruling, the EFCC through its counsel, Mr Godwin Obla (SAN), filed the Notice of Appeal dated Sept. 30, 2014 challenging the decision of the trial court. Obla had argued that the trial court erred in law when it held that the counts were incompetent since they were filed under Section 1(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004, which was repealed by an Act of 2011. EFCC further argued that the lower court erred in law when it held that the provisions of Section 1 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004, and 2011, only applied to natural persons and corporate bodies other than government. The commission had also submitted that the trial judge erred in law when he held and concluded that the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses supported the innocence of the respondents. In its judgement, the Lagos Division of the Appeal Court, in November 2016, agreed with the prosecution and ordered a fresh trial of the defendants before another judge. Following the decision of the Appeal Court, the defendants headed to the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the ruling of the appellate court. In its verdict, the apex court also upheld the decision of the appellate court and

PDP senators hail President Buhari over leadership style

Some Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) senators on Wednesday commended President Muhammadu Buhari for what they called his unique approach to governance. Two of the PDP lawmakers, who spoke at plenary, commended Buhari’s leadership style for prioritising the interest of Nigerians over partisanship. Under Order 43 of the Senate standing rules, the Deputy Minority Leader, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha (PDP – Taraba South), praised Buhari for commencing the construction of Ibbi bridge in his constituency. He stated that the people of his constituency had written a letter of appreciation commending Buhari for a promise kept. According to the lawmaker, the resuscitated project, which connects Taraba and Plateau States, is a dream come true for the people of Taraba South Senatorial District. “We are very happy and want to extend our appreciation to President Buhari by presenting this letter on behalf of my constituents,” Bwacha said. Another lawmaker, also under Order 43, Sen. Matthew Urhogide (PDP – Edo South), was full of praise for Buhari over his efforts in ensuring transparency in the conduct of the governorship election in Edo. According to him, the outcome of the election signals the return of the country’s electoral process to the path of transparency and fairness. “I want to put on record that the people of Edo State wish to thank Mr President for making INEC and the police to discharge their duties without fear or favour. “This is why I’m coming from the Senate to say it openly and clearly that what Mr President did to ensure free and fair election on the 19th of September in Edo State gives hope to this country. “I want to tell the Senate that we are not ashamed, even though we are in the opposition to commend Mr President. “I want to commend some of the institutions like INEC that discharged their duties to the best of their ability by ensuring that the will of the people prevailed in that election. “The Inspector General of Police, whom we met, promised that the Nigeria Police will carry out its duties fairly; and indeed they did that. “INEC promised fairness to all, and they did that, from when the votes were cast at the polling units to collation centres, and we found out that they did the correct thing,” Urhogide said. In his remark, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan said that the day was a very good day for democracy in Nigeria. “Even though, some of our colleagues here are in the opposition, the two distinguished senators who spoke, eulogized the Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration; and they have very solid grounds for doing so. “This is how it should be. “I want to congratulate the PDP and people of Edo State for winning the election. “We look forward to October, when the APC would do the same here, and congratulate the President, the IGP and everybody for free and fair elections in Ondo. “I hope that the opposition will not see that election as compromised,” he added. (NAN)

Alleged Assault: Court stops IGP from arresting ex-Minister Gbagi

A Federal High Court in Abuja has restrained the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and Delta State Police Commissioner (COP) from arresting or detaining ex-Minister of State for Education, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi. Justice Taiwo Taiwo gave the order in suit FHC/ABJ/CS/1267/2020, following Gbagi’s ex parte application for the enforcement of his fundamental rights. Gbagi’s application followed the controversy generated by the September 18 stripping of four employees of his hotel in Asaba over alleged missing money. The court also granted Gbagi leave to serve the originating processes and all other subsequent processes in the suit on the COP by substituted means. The judge ruled the IGP and the COP, who are first and second respondents, “are at liberty if they wish to file their response jointly and/or severally within 14 days.” He adjourned till October 16 for hearing. Besides the court’s order, Gbagi’s September 28 application had also sought an order directing parties to maintain status quo, pending the hearing and determination of the application for the enforcement of the fundamental rights of the Applicant. The alleged stripping incident happened on September 18 and Gbagi, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has since denied any wrongdoing.

At UN summit, Buhari outlines key measures to reverse biodiversity loss in Nigeria

President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday outlined measures by Nigeria to reverse biodiversity loss, expressing concern that most indigenous flora and fauna commonly found within the country are facing extinction. This was contained in a statement by Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity. President Buhari spoke in a video-message to the virtual 2020 Biodiversity Summit, held on the margins of the 75th UN General Assembly, in New York. The President noted that Nigeria, like other countries, had a wide array of rich and invaluable national heritage that include an impressive network of wetlands, wildlife and forestry resources. ”Regrettably, most of the indigenous flora and fauna commonly found within the country are becoming endangered and facing extinction. ”To reverse this situation, we have developed the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan as an enabler for integrating biodiversity considerations into sectoral and cross-sectoral policies, plans and programmes at all levels of government. ”We are reviewing our biodiversity-related laws and developing shelterbelts across 11 States in the country. In addressing biodiversity loss, we are implementing the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Programme in Ogoniland. ”The on-going clean-up is another landmark in the ecosystem restoration initiative of our administration. It is aimed at improving livelihoods of communities in the South-South Region of the country,” he said. The Nigerian leader told the summit convened by the President of the 75th UNGA , Ambassador Volkan Bozkir, that his administration had also approved a new National Forest Policy in July this year to ensure continuous socio-economic development. The President explained that the new policy would provide optimal benefits to the people and government of Nigeria in a sustainably managed environment. He added that the Nigerian government was also considering the development of a National Mangrove Restoration project to deliver qualitative livelihood benefits to the Niger Delta region. ”Furthermore, we are currently implementing a national program on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, a mechanism developed by Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. ”This programme is aimed at discouraging deforestation, conserving already existing forests, enhancing carbon stock and mitigating climate change impact. ”We have also facilitated the designation of Finima Nature Park in Bonny Island, Rivers State as the 12th Ramsar Site of international importance. ”The government is equally incorporating biodiversity into tourism sector through a national programme targeted at combating illegal wildlife trade and trafficking in two pilot protected area sites, namely: Gashaka-Gumti National Park; and Yankari Games Reserve,’’ President Buhari said. According to the President, the programme to combat illegal wildlife will contribute to the growth and development of a vibrant nature-based tourism sector that prevents extinction of threatened species. On Nigeria’s international obligations, President Buhari pledged that the country would expedite the process of accession to both the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilisation. He also promised that Nigeria would meet its international obligations on the Nagoya-Kuala Lampur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. ”Concerning ocean governance and marine biodiversity protection, Nigeria is among the first twelve countries to sign onto the 30 by 30 Global Ocean Alliance. ”Accordingly, we have identified two viable sites for the establishment of Marine Protected Areas to help in the protection, conservation and management of both marine and coastal biodiversity resources. ”Leveraging on the Strategic Action Plan of the Lake Chad Basin, Nigeria is spearheading sub-regional biodiversity action to mitigate insecurity, provide jobs, boost agricultural output, food security and reduce poverty. ”Towards the delivery of our biodiversity aspiration, Nigeria has concentrated on the provision of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Protocols adopted under the Convention and other relevant multilateral environmental agreements into national environmental policies and programmes,” he said. President Buhari also used the occasion to reiterate the call for rededicated international engagement in support of sub-regional efforts to raise the $50 billion USD required towards recharging the Lake Chad. Expressing Nigeria’s support for the development and implementation of a Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, building on the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and lessons learnt from the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020, President Buhari called for alignment of all national, sub-regional and regional biodiversity ambitions with all Internationally-Agreed development agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. ”In order to ensure that no country is left behind in meeting the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity, Nigeria enjoins advanced economies to support developing nations with capacity building, technology transfer and technical assistance. ”I firmly believe that traditional knowledge, innovation and the application of nature-based solutions are plausible steps to drive the biodiversity agenda,” he said.

Court Dismisses Suit Challenging Buhari’s Appointment Of 21 FCT High Court Judges

A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit challenging the nomination by the National Judicial Council (NJC) of 21 lawyers for appointment as judges of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The 21 nominees are among the 33 recently nominated by the NJC for appointment as High Court judges, most of whom have since assumed duties. In a judgment on Wednesday, Justice Okon Abang held among others, the plaintiff lacked the locus standi (the legal right to approach the court) to file the suit. Justice Abang proceeded to decline jurisdiction on the grounds that the non-possession of locus standi by the plaintiff robbed the court of the requisite jurisdiction to hear the case. The suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/602/2020, filed by a group, JRP Foundation Ltd/GTE, had the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the NJC, the Judicial Service Committee (JSC) of the FCT, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the 21 nominees as defendants The group, made up of about 15 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), had contended among others that the affected nominees did not meet the requirements stipulated in existing provisions in the Guidelines and Procedural Rules for the appointment of judicial officers in the country. JRP prayed the court to among others, set aside the recommendation of the nominees by the 2nd defendant (NJC) to the first defendant (President Buhari) for appointment as judges. It also wanted the court to declare “that in its exercise of its constitutional duties to recommend suitable persons to the 2nd defendant as judges of High Court of FCT, Abuja, the 3rd defendant (JSC) of the FCT) must only recommend such persons as have met the criteria and satisfied the conditions set out in the extant Guidelines and Procedural Rules for the appointment of judicial officers in Nigeria made by the 2nd defendant. JRP equally sought a declaration that, in exercising its constitutional duties to recommend to the President, from the list submitted by the 3rd defendant, persons to be appointed judges of High Court of FCT, Abuja, the 2nd defendant can only recommend such persons as have met the criteria and satisfied the conditions set out in its extant Guidelines and Procedural Rules for the appointment of judicial officers in Nigeria. It also sought a declaration that, the 5th to 25th defendants (the nominees), having failed to meet the criteria and satisfied the conditions set out in the extant Guidelines and Procedural Rules for the appointment of judicial officers in Nigeria, are not suitable persons for nomination for appointment as judges of High Court of the FCT, Abuja, within the purview of Paragraph 2(1) of Part III of the Third Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.” The plaintiff urged the court to declare that the JSC of the FCT acted improperly, in bad faith and gross abuse of power vested in it when it submitted the nominations of these persons to the NJC for appointment as judges.

Police detain jobless youth for attempted suicide, court grants N200,000 bail

An unemployed man, Solomon Okon , has been in police custody for over a month for allegedly drinking a poisonous substance. It was learnt that the 21-year -old , who was a porter at Havana Hospital, Surulere , Lagos , drank the poisonous substance after receiving a letter terminating his employment. A relative of Okon told The PUNCH that the incident happened in August, adding that the suspect had since been charged to court . He said , “ Okon was working at Havana Hospital and received N 35, 000 a month. He was squatting with a friend and was using part of the money to take care of his mother in Akwa Ibom . In August, he received a letter terminating his employment. “ Out of frustration , he ingested a poisonous substance . However, because it all happened in the hospital , he was quickly attended to and was able to recover to some extent. The hospital management reported the matter to the Barracks Police Station and then he was arrested and detained . ” The PUNCH learnt that the police arraigned Okon before a Magistrate ’ s Court in Yaba for attempted suicide . Confirming the incident , the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer , Muyiwa Adejobi, said Okon was still in police custody. He said , “ The case has been taken to court . He was arraigned on August 28, 2020, before Magistrate Patrick N of Court two Yaba. Adjournment date : October 15, 2020. He is remanded in police facility at Surulere. ” Okon , however , pleaded not guilty to the charge . It was learnt that the magistrate granted Okon bail in the sum of N 200, 000 with two sureties . Okon ’ s relative told The PUNCH that there was no way they could afford the sum . He said , “ This young man tried to commit suicide because of poverty and frustration . Rather than get him a job , he is being detained and money is being demanded from him . This young man needs help. He needs assistance . He needs medical attention and counselling . “ The hospital tried by giving him medical treatment but it shouldn ’ t have reported the guy to the police. Now , we are all running all over the place . We need human rights lawyers to assist us . ” Attempts to get a reaction from the hospital proved abortive as a representative refused to speak on the matter and asked our correspondent to visit the hospital. “ You will need to come to the hospital. This is not a matter that we can discuss on the telephone , ” she said . Attempted suicide is a criminal offence in Nigeria under Section 327 of the Criminal Code and it attracts a penalty of up to one year in prison which human rights groups describe as immoral. According to the 2016 Global Health Observatory data repository of the World Health Organisation, there is an estimated 9. 5 suicides per 100, 000 Nigerians. Reports have it that the figure may now be higher due to a worsening unemployment rate and rising poverty levels .

EFCC Quizzes 11 For Suspected Illegal Oil Bunkering In Port Harcourt

The Port Harcourt Zonal Office of the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has commenced investigation of 11 suspected illegal oil bunkerers handed over to it by the Nigerian Navy. The suspects were handed over to the EFCC on Monday, September 28, 2020 by the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base, Bonny, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, after being arrested for suspected involvement in illegal oil bunkering. Specifically, Captain B.I Yahuza, while handing over the suspects to the EFCC , for further investigation, disclosed that they were arrested by Naval operatives on September 22, 2020 for conveying 320 drums of product suspected to be illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil( AGO). The 11 suspects are: Indongesit Effiong Mfon; Asuquo James; Samuel Bassey; Blessed Effiong Bassey; Victor Edet Attah; Edet Okon; Nse Jackson Okon; Innocent Effiong; Njok Okon, Uduak Asuquo and Effiong Asuquo. A Principal Detective Superintendent of the EFCC, Ani Davis Stanley, received the suspects on behalf of the Port Harcourt Zonal Head, Abdulkarim Chukkol. He commended the synergy existing between the Navy and the EFCC and assured that thorough investigation of the case would be done.

Independence: Police warn Oduduwa Republic agitators against procession

The Police have warned those agitating for the proposed Oduduwa Republic not to embark on any procession on October 1 or any other time . The Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of South -West, Mr Leye Oyebade , gave the warning in Ibadan on Wednesday. He said such procession could trigger a crisis , especially at this time when the nation was celebrating its 60th anniversary. Oyebade said there would be police patrol in the entire South – West states on Thursday, saying the police would ensure that the peace being enjoyed in the region was not disrupted by anybody or group of persons . The DIG said the warning was from the Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu. He said , “ Our parents should not allow their children to be used for any unwarranted procession. We are to guide all key and vulnerable points. This is the independence of our nation and we are not supposed to be fighting. Our men will be out on patrol . On no account should anybody come out to disrupt the peace we are enjoying . The police will make sure that nobody is allowed to cause crisis here . “ To those who have been making inflammatory statements , those that we have warned , we have their records . Nobody should do anything to destabilise this nation . ” Some groups have been clamouring to stage a rally to demand the Oduduwa Republic on October 1.