July 2021 – Page 14 – Crime Facts

Post Date : July 28, 2021

Imo ex-gov, Ohakim defects to APC

Former Governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim, has formally joined the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in Imo State. Ohakim declared his membership of APC, while receiving the APC flag from the State Chairman of APC, Marcellenus Nlemigbo, at his hometown, Okohia in Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State, on Tuesday. The former governor said he joined the APC, in obedience to the expectations of his people for the common interests of all of them. In joining APC, he said: “I think Imo first and is a choice to stay on course. When the entire executive of APC, visited me for registering as a member of APC, I told them that I made my position based on informed choice.” “I have a unique orientation participating in politics for common interest as against personal interest. This time around I have decided not to swim against the tide, adding that “the host here are the ones that will bury me when I die and since I cannot bury myself when I die I have decided to obey my people,” Ohakim said. Vanguard captured that the event witnessed the presence of the State government officials led by the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Cosmos Iwu, Governor Hope Uzodimma’s Chief of Staff, Nnamdi Anyahie. Also, the leadership of the State House of Assembly, led by the Speaker, Paul Emeziem was at the declaration ceremonial and a host of political leaders across the three Senatorial zones of the state.

Post Date : July 28, 2021

Zamfara Assembly Gives Deputy Governor 48 Hr-Ultimatum To Appear Over Misconduct

The Zamfara State House of Assembly has given the Deputy Governor, Barrister Aliyu Gusau, a 48-hour ultimatum to appear before it over allegations of official misconduct levelled against him. He is to appear before the House over a political rally conducted on July 10, amid banditry attacks on Maradun communities within the same period under review. This is coming barely a month after the deputy governor refused to join the All Progressive Congress (APC) with Governor Bello Matawalle who dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on June 29. Following his refusal to defect to the APC, Matawalle warned that he will not tolerate a disrespectful attitude from Gusau. The Federal High Court, Abuja on July 19 restrained the Zamfara House of Assembly and the Chief Judge of the state from taking steps to impeach him. Tuesday’s extension followed a motion moved by the Deputy Leader, Nasiru Bello Bungudu to explain why he held a political rally in the recent wake of killings in the state. The deputy leader moved the motion under matters of personal explanation and prayers of the House and seconded by Hon Shafi’u Dama Wanke representing Gusau II constituency. In his prayers, the Deputy Leader drew the attention of Speaker and his colleagues on the House resolution of July 14 where the House resolved to invite the Deputy Governor to appear in person. He also wondered why the Commissioner of Police, Hussaini Rabi’u will permit the Deputy governor to hold a political rally at that unfortunate period when the state was mourning the death of over 56 innocent people at Faru community in Maradun Local Government Area of the state. “Hon Nasiru Bungudu further opined that since the Deputy governor was fully and officially communicated with the House summon to appear today and no response was heard either from him or his office, there is the compelling need for the House to still respect the exalted office of the Deputy Governor and give him additional timeframe of 48 hours that’s Thursday 29th July 2021 for him to respond,” a statement by the House spokesman, Mustapha Jafaru partly read. “After careful observation of the request by the House Deputy leader, the speaker Nasiru Mu’azu Magarya referred to his colleagues on whether they agreed to extend 48 hours ultimatum to the Deputy Governor to appear before the House? The members unanimously agreed through voice votes.”

Post Date : July 28, 2021

Bill on VAPP Act passes 3rd reading in Imo Assembly

A bill for the domestication of the violence against persons (Prohibition) Act, VAPP Act has scaled through third reading in the Imo State House of Assembly. The bill, sponsored by Mrs Uju oOnwudiwe, representing Njaba state constituency in the assembly, passed the third reading during the plenary session. Speaking to newsmen after the session, Onwudiwe expressed delight over the passage of the bill, adding that it would become law when the governor accented it. She said that her decision to sponsor the bill was borne out of a desire to stem the tide of girl child abuse and seek justice for victims of abuse. Onwudiwe thanked other legislators for being part of the making of history “and expressed confidence that Imo will soon join the list of states that have domesticated the Act”. She thanked Governor Hope Uzodimma for his gender-friendly style of leadership and pledged continued support for initiatives that will checkmate violence against girls and women. “It is regrettable that our forefathers believed that the girls whose genitals were not mutilated would end up wayward; that is a wrong notion and it forms part of what we want to correct with the domestication of the VAPP Act in IMO,” she disclosed. Onwudiwe added that “the ninth assembly is one with a human conscience and I thank my colleagues for their various contributions thus far.” In his remark, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs and the Vulnerable groups, Mrs Nkechi Ugwu, commended the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) for their advocacy efforts. She called for continuous advocacy and enlightenment by relevant government agencies and non-governmental organisations. This she said would be necessary to consolidate on the gains of the act when it eventually gets domesticated. She also thanked the governor’s wife, Mrs Chioma Uzodimma, for supporting the passage of the bill and assured that a sexual assault referral centre would soon be established in the state. The commissioner stated the need to be consistent in awareness creation about the dangers of all forms of violence against women and girls so as to sustain the gains of these efforts. She called on all relevant stakeholders to aim at increased awareness especially at the grassroots as this will go a long way to stem the tide.

Post Date : July 28, 2021

880 new lawyers called to Bar

Chairman of the Body of Benchers and retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, has advised the 880 law graduates admitted to Bar yesterday not to stray from the ethics of the profession. Rhodes-Vivour urged them to avoid acts or conducts that could obstruct or adversely affect the course of justice. “You must adhere strictly to the provisions of the rules of professional conduct and maintain best practices at all times,” he said. The eminent jurist spoke in Abuja at the Call to Bar ceremony held for the 880 who were successful in the December 2020 Bar final examinations of the Nigerian Law School (NLS). He warned that the Legal Profession and Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) was ready to discipline erring lawyer, who engages in acts amounting to infamous conduct. Rhodes-Vivour assured that the future of law practice in the country looks bright, with the advent of legal analytic software and the internet, which he noted, have provided a complete range of legal information and materials, including judicial decisions. The Director General of the NLS, Professor Isa Hayatu Chiroma (SAN) disclosed that the Federal Government has approved the establishment of a new campus of the Nigerian Law School in Port-Harcourt, the Rivers state capital. Chiroma explained that the approval followed a request from the Government of Rivers State to build, equip and hand over a new campus of the NLS to the Council of Legal Education. The NLS DG said Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has approved the construction of a 1,500 seating capacity auditorium and two 900 bed spaces of male and females hostels for the Yenogoa campus of the NLS. Chiroma said the projects were flagged off for immediate construction last month by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami. He said the school admitted law graduates of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) last month for remedial course. Chiroma commended members of the Body of Benchers and other relevant stakeholders in the legal profession for their commitment, cooperation and assistance in the resolution of the NOUN students crisis. While charging the new lawyers to adhere strictly to the norms and ethics of the profession, noted that 1,561 students sat for the December 2020 Bar final examinations, out of which 880 came out successful.

Post Date : July 27, 2021

BREAKING: EFCC freezes account of Oyo Assembly’s Director of Finance over alleged N1bn car purchase

As part of its ongoing probe of purchase of vehicles by the Oyo State House of Assembly, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has frozen the bank account of the Director of Finance and Accounts (DFA) of the Assembly, TribuneOnline reports. Specifically, the EFCC placed a Post-No-Debit (PND) on the account of the DFA for initially failing to honour an invitation of the commission. The PND directive restricts a person from withdrawing funds from the bank account. The director is one of the officials of the Assembly that have been interrogated over a petition that the Speaker of the Assembly had allegedly connived with other officials of government to supply refurbished cars instead of new ones. An official of the EFCC said though the finance director later appeared after her account was frozen, the process of unfreezing the account after a PND order had been issued was a long one.

Post Date : July 27, 2021

Don’t leak information – presidency Administers Secrecy Oath On Aso Rock Staff

The Presidency has warned State House staff against the disclosure of classified information to the public. The Permanent Secretary, State House, Tijjani Umar, gave the warning when 42 staff of the presidency were administered with oath of secrecy. Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court administered the oath at the State House Auditorium, Abuja, on Tuesday. Umar, who warned that the presidency would not tolerate any act of truancy and breach of oath of secrecy, said leaking of classified information without authorisation was a grievous offence that attracted penalties under the public service rules. “This exercise is the beginning of doing what is right in various offices. The rules must be enforced and any breach carries a consequence. “From now on, you are under the radar, we are going to watch and follow you,” he said. The permanent secretary, while speaking on the reason behind the oath taking ceremony, said: “What we have done today is to administer the oath of secrecy on staff of the State House, who handled classified documents. “When we say classified documents, they are secret and other documents that ought not to be handled without due diligence. So, I think it’s so important because we are alarmed by the fact that nowadays, due to deployment of staff and through retirement, we discovered that a number of our officers need to be placed under the radar. “They will be aware that the jobs that they are holding, and the kind of documents or information they are holding from day to day, Monday to Friday and beyond, those documents are so important and must be safeguarded. “And the breach of such documents would take away from the delivery of service and that was the reason why we decided that we should do the needful by administering the oath of secrecy, and highlighting the import of letting them know what information they are managing, and then the consequences of the breach of such information. “I think when you let people know, and then along the way, you find them wanting, the consequences are very clear. “And so before we even went forward to do the administration of the oath, what we did was to do a sensitization training for them, so that the Official Secret Act will be spelt out to them very clearly. “And the Special Services Office of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation was here today to take them through all the rudiments of that information that they require, and the type of knowledge that they would need to keep close to them in discharging their day-to-day responsibilities.” Asked if the exercise would be a continuous one, he said: “Like I said, from time to time, people who handle this schedule retired, some of them get deployed or posted out. “And so when new people come in, you need to also renew this exercise so that all of us are always on the same page.”

Post Date : July 27, 2021

IGP Orders Redeployment, Posting Of AIGs

In line with the new Manpower Development Policy of the Force, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, has ordered the posting and redeployment of twenty-four (24) Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs) to Zonal Commands and Formations. Below is a list of the AIGs and the formations they have been assigned. AIG ZAKI M. AHMED ii. AIG ZONE 4 MAKURDI – AIG MUSTAPHA DANDAURA iii. AIG CTU FHQ ABUJA – AIG DANSUKI D. GALADANCHI, mni iv. AIG ZONE 17 AKURE – AIG OKON ETIM ENE, mni v. AIG BORDER PATROL FHQ ABUJA – AIG USMAN D. NAGOGO vi. AIG ZONE 7 ABUJA – AIG BALA CIROMA vii. AIG ZONE 9 UMUAHIA – AIG ADELEKE ADEYINKA BODE viii. AIG ZONE 13 UKPO-DUNUKOFIA AWKA – AIG MURI UMAR MUSA ix. COMMANDANT POLAC WUDIL-KANO – AIG LAWAL JIMETA TANKO x. AIG FCID ANNEX LAGOS – AIG USMAN ALHASSAN BELEL xi. AIG DOPS FHQ ABUJA – AIG ADEBOLA EMMANUEL LONGE xii. AIG INVESTMENT FHQ ABUJA – AIG MUSA ADZE, fdc xiii. AIG DICT FHQ ABUJA – AIG PHILIP SULE MAKU, fdc xiv. AIG ZONE 6 CALABAR – AIG USMAN SULE GOMNA xv. AIG COOPERATIVE – AIG ADAMU USMAN xvi. AIG ZONE 3 YOLA – AIG DANIEL SOKARI-PEDRO, mni xvii. AIG DTD FHQ ABUJA – AIG AHMED MOHAMMED AZARE xviii. AIG FCID ANNEX KADUNA – AIG MAIGANA ALHAJI SANI xix. AIG ZONE 12 BAUCHI – AIG AUDU ADAMU MADAKI xx. AIG MARITIME LAGOS – AIG JOHN OGBONNAYA AMADI, mni xxi. AIG ZONE 8 LOKOJA – AIG EDE AYUBA EKPEJI xxii. AIG ARMAMENT FHQ ABUJA – AIG MOHAMMED L. BAGEGA xxiii. AIG ZONE 15 MAIDUGURI – AIG BELLO MAKWASHI xxiv. AIG WORKS FHQ ABUJA – AIG BALARABE ABUBAKAR The IGP assured the nation that the posting and redeployment of the Senior Police Officers will further help in driving the new policing vision, which amongst other things, is targeted at improving policing services across the country and effectively responding to security threats in the country. The posting and the redeployment of the Senior Police Officers are with immediate effect.

Post Date : July 27, 2021

Ivory Coast rivals Ouattara, Gbagbo meet 10 years after war

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara offered a hearty welcome to his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo on Tuesday as the rivals met for the first time since the West African country’s deadly 2010-11 conflict. “How are you Laurent? Happy to see you,” Ouattara said as Gbagbo arrived at the presidential palace in the Ivorian economic capital Abidjan. Gbagbo, 76, has leapt into the spotlight since returning last month from Europe, where he won a landmark case at the International Criminal Court. In the last months of his stormy rule from 2000 to 2011, Gbagbo rejected defeat by Ouattara in a presidential ballot. The ensuing conflict claimed more than 3,000 lives. After he was ousted, Gbagbo was flown to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity, of which he was eventually acquitted. Commentators will be scrutinising Tuesday’s meeting for signs of whether the two former rivals have buried the hatchet, boosting hopes for national rapprochement after deadly clashes last year. “The mere fact of seeing Ouattara and Gbagbo together is being seen as a sign of healing and a strong image for Ivorians in their quest for peace and national reconciliation,” the opposition newspaper Notre Voie (Our Road) said. But Gbagbo’s spokesman Justin Katinan Kone urged the public “not to make too much” of the meeting, expected to last about half an hour and to be followed by a news conference. “This is a courtesy visit to his elder… If it helps to ease the political atmosphere, so much the better,” he said. “Laurent Gbagbo is in a spirit of openness, dialogue and reconciliation,” Franck Anderson Kouassi, spokesman for Gbagbo’s Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) party, told AFP on Monday. “Meeting president Ouattara is exactly in line with our way of thinking.” “Dialogue in our country… will continue, because that is the government’s will,” said government spokesman Amadou Coulibaly. A onetime international banker, Ouattara, 79, won a landslide victory in the last elections on October 31. But the credibility of the win was undermined by an opposition boycott. In the runup to the vote, scores of people died in clashes with police after Ouattara unveiled his controversial bid for a third term. – Moment for symbolism – In this context, Ouattara has officially welcomed Gbagbo’s return, hoping it will ease tensions. But the question is whether Gbagbo will stick to the script of statesman or prefer an active political role that may challenge Ouattara. Gbagbo rose in the 1970s as a left-wing campaigner who helped end Ivory Coast’s one-party system following independence from France in 1960. His years in power were marked by rebellion, civil war, national divisions and repeatedly postponed elections, but he retains considerable grassroots support. His defenders portray him as a champion of the poor and oppressed. Commentators are also watching the interplay among Ouattara, Gbagbo and former president Henri Konan Bedie, 87, three men who have dominated the political stage for decades. On July 11, Gbagbo and Bedie — who were also once rivals — announced that they were united in the goal of forging “final and sustainable peace”. One lingering matter is a 20-year jail sentence for Gbagbo, who was convicted in absentia of “looting” the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) during the 2010-11 conflict. Authorities have hinted that this sentence will be lifted. Issiaka Diaby, who heads an association called the Collective of Ivory Coast Victims, lashed out at “selective” decisions by the judicial system. “We believe that reconciliation cannot be boiled down to a meeting between two citizens,” he said on Tuesday at ceremonies in an Abidjan graveyard to honour fatalities in the 2010-11 crisis. “We need truth, justice.” (AFP)

Post Date : July 27, 2021

Yahaya Bello to youths: Take over presidency from elders in 2023

Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi state, says Nigerian youths have not exhibited a strong desire to “to take over the presidency”. Bello, who has expressed his interest in running for the highest office, on Tuesday called on the youth to work towards “wrestling” power from the elders ahead of the 2023 elections. The governor made the call on Tuesday in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun state, at a conference themed: ‘Youths Own The Power’. The conference was organised by a group known as Afenifere for Collective Transformation (ACT). Speaking through Folasade Ayoade, secretary to the Kogi state government, Bello urged the youths to be more organised for a united front ahead of 2023. He advised the youths not to be indifferent on issues concerning sensitive leadership positions in the country. “Nigerian youths have for long been indifferent and have not shown serious and strong determination to take over the presidency and have continued to abandon it to the elders who have turned the position to exclusive right,” he said. “Our elders have continued to be at ease during the presidential polls because the youths seemed to have ceded the position to them.” Tolu Ajayi, director-general of ACT, in his remarks, described Bello as “a detribalised Nigerian youth who could be trusted with powers”.

Post Date : July 27, 2021

What Sunday Igboho told judge in Benin Republic –Lawyer

Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has denied claims by the Nigerian government that he was involved in trafficking in arms or inciting violence. His lead counsel, Ibrahim Salami, made this known in an interview on Tuesday, stating that Igboho told the judge that he was put on a watchlist by the Nigerian government for fighting against killer herdsmen. Salami had in an interview with BBC Yoruba explained that Igboho is being tried for fresh charges bordering on illegal migration, dubious connivance with immigration officers and an attempt to cause civil unrest. The PUNCH had reported that Igboho appeared in court last Thursday and Monday after he was arrested alongside his wife, Ropo, by Igboho and his wife were arrested on Monday, July 19, 2021, by the International Criminal Police Organisation at the Cadjèhoun Airport in Cotonou, Republic of Benin on their way to Germany. When questioned by the judge, the lawyer said, “Igboho explained that what was said about him are false. “He explained that he did not do anything illegal in Nigeria. He clarified that Nigeria has never charged him to a court or jailed him for any offence, he was never arrested for any offence or invited to Police Station. “Igboho said he never had any criminal record in Nigeria. He told the judge that the Nigerian government was after him because he was defending the Yoruba race against killer Fulani herdsmen. “He said that he ran away from Nigeria because the government was after his life. “He was asked when he got to Benin, how he got in and how long. Igboho replied that he left Nigeria on Sunday, got to Benin on Monday and attempted to leave Monday night to Germany before he was arrested. “The judge asked him where he stayed, who drove him and how he escaped security checks. He replied. “What is surprising is that the judge said he was not arrested because he committed an offence. He said he breached Benin rules and he should be investigated.”