Operatives of the Department of State Services have conducted a search of the Abuja home and office of the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa. The PUNCH learnt that the secret police, also during the week, invited Bawa’s close associates in the EFCC for questioning, over alleged mismanagement, misappropriation and diversion of proceeds of sold assets forfeited to the EFCC. However, when contacted on Wednesday to speak on the development, the spokesperson for the DSS, Dr Peter Afunanya, said, “No comments.” Bawa, who is currently being held in the custody of the DSS “Yellow House,” Abuja, is being probed for alleged financial impropriety as EFCC helmsman. President Bola Tinubu had on June 14 suspended Bawa as EFCC chairman indefinitely, following which the DSS picked him up. The PUNCH reliably gathered that the search on his Gwarinpa home in Abuja was carried out on Saturday, in the presence of his wife and children. An impeccable source, privy to the operation, noted that Bawa’s office was also searched on the same day by another set of DSS operatives who presented a search warrant. “DSS operatives stormed the EFCC Headquarters in Jabi on Saturday to search the office of the suspended chairman. But they presented a search warrant. Another set of DSS operatives also searched Bawa’s home in Gwarinpa, and they met his wife and children in the house during the search. “Bawa’s close associates at the office were also invited for questioning this week, and they’re being probed on allegations of mismanagement, misappropriation, and diversion of proceeds forfeited assets sold under Bawa’s watch,” the source said. A government source, who also pleaded anonymity, however, said the DSS had yet to file charges against the embattled EFCC boss as investigation was still ongoing. “The DSS is yet to charge him to court because they’re still carrying out their investigation to get enough evidence to help their case.” The spokesperson for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, did not respond to an inquiry by our correspondent on Wednesday over the development. Meanwhile, The PUNCH had reported that the DSS had obtained an ex parte order to extend Bawa’s detention in their facility, while they continue with their investigation. Speaking to one of our correspondents, a government source said the move by the DSS was to deter Bawa from filing lawsuits to challenge his detention.

  THE frosty relationship between Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, and his Deputy, Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, yesterday, took a new twist, as there are alleged plans to supplant the governor. Akeredolu transmitted power to the deputy governor, after embarking on medical treatment, and is expected back in the country on July 6. But fresh facts emerged that since the announcement of the power transfer, Mr Aiyedatiwa has reportedly been “undermining the authority of the governor’s office through his actions and decisions.” The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on special duties and strategies, Dr Doyin Odebowale recently raised the alarm that some politicians are using the absence of Akeredolu, who is currently on medical vacation, to capture the state’s treasury. A reliable government source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the deputy governor has demanded unrestricted access to the state treasury. The source disclosed that asides from his regular monthly allocation, Aiyedatiwa has insisted on receiving the governor’s allowance and other benefits associated with the office. It was further gathered that the deputy governor has been interrogating government officials about the governor’s earnings and expenditures. Officers quizzed over details of   The source, however, said: “We are not concerned about the political turmoil within the government. Our priority is ensuring due process. The governor’s office does not directly instruct us to release funds. “There are established procedures for financial disbursements in the government, and all approvals must go through the Ministry of Finance. “Aside from the running grant accruing to the deputy governor’s office monthly, he has also demanded that the governor’s running grant and other emoluments attached to the office of the governor be handed to him as acting Governor. “In the past week, the deputy governor has summoned and threatened two of our officials. He has inquired about the governor’s spending and demanded to know how funds allocated to the governor’s office are disbursed. “He believes he is entitled to two streams of funding, insisting that the governor’s office allocation should be included as part of his role as acting governor. “During the encounters with our officials, they kindly explained that even the governor’s office route its approvals through the Ministry of Finance. “However, the deputy governor remains obstinate, repeatedly demanding immediate funds. Despite our attempts to educate him on proper financial protocols and the responsible use of public funds, he persists. “He has been confrontational and demanding. We see this as executive recklessness. While we understand tensions may be high, we would prefer not to be involved in any reckless activities.” Refusing the schedule of activities Another reliable source, who pleaded anonymity due to his closeness to the government, said the deputy governor has been refusing the schedule of activities as being prepared by the governor’s office. The source said: “The deputy governor has gone haywire. It is like he has made up his mind to fight his boss openly. There is no other way to fight your boss than refusing the schedules from his office. “The deputy governor is more concerned about working outside the state so as to get access to allowances and other emoluments. “On Wednesday, the Deputy Governor was supposed to represent the governor at the 2023 FIDA Nigeria held at the International Centre for Culture and Event (DOME). But he declined, he chose to attend the 2023 NAF Conference World Hydrography Day in Abuja. “This is just one of the many instances where he declined schedules. The events that were initially accepted by the governor in which the governor had already promised his presence or that of the deputy governor are now being declined by the deputy governor.” It will be recalled that Ayedatiwa had urged Nigerians not to relent in praying for his boss and also debunked rumours about the disruption of government activities. The acting governor had said: “We, therefore, enjoin the good people of Ondo State and all friends of our dear Sunshine State not to relent in their prayers for Mr Governor’s quick recovery, so that he can resume duty after his medical vacation, to continue with his good works for the betterment of Ondo State in particular and Nigeria at large. “Rumours about the disruption of government activities are misplaced and only arose as a result of impatience and lack of proper understanding of the running of the machinery of government. “Such misrepresentations and baseless allusions are to be expected when political gladiators by their activities in the build-up to party primaries and gubernatorial elections in any state try to heat the polity. Ondo State cannot be an exception.”

  The Presidential Petition Court, PEPC, sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, admitted in evidence, a bundle of exhibits containing the total number of Permanent Voters Card, PVCs, that were collected in 32 states of the federation before the 2023 general elections.   Equally admitted in evidence by the Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel, was a bundle of documents that contained the total number of registered voters in the states. The exhibits were brought before the court by the candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi, who alleged that the presidential election that held on February 25, was rigged in favour of President Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. Though Obi’s legal team was led by Dr. Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, however, the exhibits, were tendered through another senior lawyer in the team, Mr. Peter Afuba, SAN. The petitioners told the court that the exhibits were duly certified by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. However, the electoral body, through its lawyer, Mr. Kemi Pinhero, SAN, said it was vehemently opposed to the admissibility of the exhibits in evidence. Likewise, President Tinubu and the APC, who are the 2nd and 3rd Respondents in the matter, equally challenged the admission of the exhibits in evidence. All the Respondents said they would adduce reasons behind their objections, in their final written address. Despite the objections, the court admitted in evidence, documents on the total number of PVCs from the 32 states and marked them as exhibits PCN 1 to PCN 32. The court equally admitted in evidence, certified true copy of a certificate of compliance on exhibits the petitioners earlier tendered in respect of Edo state. Others electoral documents the court entered in evidence after they were tendered by the petitioners, were; certified copy of supplementary IReV reports for three Local Government Areas, LGAs, of Benue state, two LGAs of Cross River state, 12 LGAs of Lagos state, as well as one LGA in Gombe state. Meanwhile, earlier in the proceedings, the petitioners called three more witnesses that testified before the court. Dr. Chibuike Ugwoke, who appeared as the eight witness, PW-8, in the matter, told the court he is a a cyber security expert. The witness, who said he was subpoenaed to appear before the court to give evidence, tendered a document containing a press release the INEC issued prior to the general elections. Led in evidence by a member of Obi’s legal team, Mr. Patrick Ikweto, SAN, the witness, told the court that the press release dated November 11, 2022, which was signed by INEC’s National Commissioner, Mr. Festus Okoye, was titled; “Alleged plot to abandon transmission of polling unit results to IReV portal.” Ikweto, SAN, told the court that the witness had in paragraph 26 of his statement on oath, referred to sources/materials that were published or used by INEC from 2018 to 2023, with their specific Uniform Resource Identifiers, URIs, attached. He said the PW-8, who was described as an expert witness, equally tendered a report on what he termed as “meta data”. All the Respondents said they were opposed to the evidence of the witness and would give their reasons at a later stage of the case. Besides, counsel to all the Respondents told the he court that they were served with statement of the witness, which was about eight pages, shortly before the proceedings commenced on Wednesday. They, therefore, prayed the court to defer his cross-examination till Thursday to enable them to study his statement on oath which was admitted in evidence by the panel. After the court gave the witness the nod to vacate the box and return on Thursday, the petitioners called their ninth witness, Mr. Onoja Sunday. Sunday, who was led in evidence by Mr. Ikechukwu Ezechukwu, SAN, another member of Obi’s legal team, told the court that he is a staff of Women & Child Rescue Initiative, a Non-Governmental Organization. He tendered both his statement on oath and his office identity card, which were both admitted in evidence. While being cross examined by INEC’s lawyer, Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, the witness told the court that from his observations, voting and counting went well on the day the presidential election held. Asked if his party won election in the polling unit where he observed, the witness, said; “I do not work for any party, neither do I have any candidate.” Answering further questions from INEC’s lawyer, the witness, said: “I did not work with BVAS in the polling unit and from my observation, the officials went away to the Ward collation center with the Form EC8A (polling unit result) that was signed by both the INEC officials and party agents.” While also being cross-examined by a lawyer in President Tinubu’s legal team, Mr. Emmanuel Ukala, SAN, the witness, admitted that the subpoena upon which he appeared before the court, was not addressed to his organization, but to him personally, using his village address. He told the court that after votes from the polling units was counted, INEC officials failed to upload the results to the IReV portal as required by the law. On its part, the APC, through its lead counsel, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, said it had no question for the witness. Similarly, in his own testimony, the 10th witness, Mr. Kefas Iya, who identified himself as a civil servant, said he was subpoenaed to appear to give evidence before the court. After a copy of the subpoena was tendered without objection from all the Respondents, the witness, told the court that he served as an ad-hoc staff of INEC. He told the court that he supervised about 24 units in his Ward at Madagali LGA in Adamawa state, alongside one Suleiman Mustapha. Narrating his experience as INEC’s Supervisory Presiding Officer, the witness, said: “Apart from a fracas that ensued between APC and PDP agents, there was no other issue except that of failure to transmit the election result. “I did a good job and scores of the

  Newly appointed Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun has vowed to make community policing work as he assumed office at the Force Headquarters in Abuja. He stated this on Wednesday when he officially took over the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force from retired IGP Usman Baba. IGP Egbetokun warned police officers that he won’t tolerate abuse of office, corruption and misconduct, saying commensurate stiff punishment await erring officers. The new police boss also said he will, in the coming days and months, unveil his strategies and tactics to secure the country and protect Nigerians from all forms of security challenges including banditry and gunmen attacks. IGP Egbetokun said the salaries of constables recruited sometimes ago are already being looked into and the salaries, arrears and allowances will be paid by month end. According to him, every law-abiding citizen will be brought on board in the fight against crime under his watch. The new police chief stressed that human intelligence garnered from communities would be used alongside technical gathering of information to curb crimes.   “Apart from technical intelligence, we are also going to rely so much on human intelligence available in our communities. We are going to be proactive in our approach to solving our community problems,” he said. Quest For Community Policing As banditry, vicious herdsmen attacks, killings and abductions increase in Nigeria in the last couple of years, some state government and socio-political groups like the Afenifere and the Ohanaeze Ndigbo had clamoured for community policing to tackle peculiar security challenges in the localities. Prior to the 2023 elections, the groups also called for constitutional review to allow devolution of powers and decentralised policing system. In 2020, six states in the South-West geopolitical zone jointly formed a regional security operation code-named Operation Amotekun, which has since been backed by law and operational in Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti, Ogun and Osun states. Also, in 2021, five South-East state governments formed Ebube Agu and the regional security outfit has since been operationalised just as the Benue State Government in 2022 launched the Benue Guards. However, lack of arms licence for the men of these state-owned security have been said to hamper their effectiveness even as calls grow for the police to let them bear assault rifles like AK-47. As part of its efforts to make community policing work, the administration of then President Muhammadu Buhari in August 2020 approved the sum of N13.3bn for the take-off of community policing initiative across the country but some challenges have encumbered the implementation of the initiative. ‘Challenges Will Be Addressed’ Acknowledging the challenges in the implementation of the initiative, the new IGP said they would be resolved and community policing is going to work. IGP Egbetokun said, “On community policing, there is a lot that we are going to do differently in the implementation of the community policing strategies that we are operating presently. “I discussed that with the retiring IG, my predecessor just before we came here and he told me all the problems we are facing with the implementation of the community policing strategies. We are not going to set it aside, we are going to continue with it but we are going to review a lot of things. We are going to make it work.” ‘Why I Said There Is A Tiger In Me’ On his comment about a tiger and a lion in him ready to devour the internal enemies of Nigeria, the new police boss said, “I said that just to express how very anxious I am to start working and to also convey the message that I am aware that there are enemies that we need to fight together. “We all need to collaborate together to be able to surmount the security challenges facing our country today. It is going to a collective responsibility. All of us will be involved; everybody will be a policeman. We are going to partner with every group, every law-abiding individual.”

The Federal High Court has fixed October 23 for the hearing in a suit filed by former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke. Justice Inyang Ekwo fixed the date on Wednesday after counsel for the former petroleum boss, Benson Igbanoi, and counsel for the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, M.D. Baraya, regularised their processes in the suit. The ex-minister, who served as the petroleum minister between 2010 and 2015 under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, is challenging an order obtained by the EFCC for the final forfeiture of her seized assets. The immediate-past chairman of the EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, revealed that $153 million and over 80 properties had been recovered from Alison-Madueke. She was alleged to have escaped to the United Kingdom and remained there after her exit from public office. But the ex-minister, in a motion dated and filed on January 6 by her lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, sought an order extending the time within which to seek leave to apply to the court. The extended time is sought for an order to set aside the EFCC’s public notice issued to conduct a public sale on her property. In the suit wherein Alison-Madueke is the applicant and the EFCC is the sole respondent, the former minister argued that the various orders were made without jurisdiction and “ought to be set aside.” She said she was not given a fair hearing in all the proceedings leading to the orders. “The orders were made without recourse to the constitutional right to fair hearing and right to property accorded the applicant by the constitution. final forfeiture,” she said, among other grounds given. “The various court orders issued in favour of the respondent and upon which the respondent issued the public notice were issued in breach of the applicant’s right to fair hearing as guaranteed by Section 36 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, as altered, and other similar constitutional provisions,” she said. “The several applications upon which the courts made the final order of forfeiture against the applicant were obtained upon gross misstatements, misrepresentations, non-disclosure, concealment and suppression of material facts and this honourable court has the power to set aside same ex debito justitiae, as a void order is as good as if it was never made at all. But the EFCC, in a counter affidavit by a detective with the commission, Rufai Zakj, urged the court to dismiss her application. He said, contrary to her deposition in the affidavit in support, most of the cases that led to the final forfeiture of the contested property “were action in rem; the same was heard at various times and determined by this honourable court.” He said the courts differently ordered the commission to do a newspaper publication inviting parties to show cause why the said property should not be forfeited to the Federal Government before final orders were made. Zaki said investigations had clearly shown that she was involved in some acts of criminality, which led to her charge. According to him, the disposal of the properties followed due process of law. Zaki argued that the final forfeiture of the assets that were subject to the present application was ordered by the court in 2017. He said the order has not been set aside or upturned on appeal.

  The leadership of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has described the recent remarks of Dokubo Asari that Ndigbo are slaves and conquered people by Kalabari and Ijaw ethnic nationalities as the tale of an idiot. This was contained in a press statement signed by the leader of MASSOB, Comrade Uchenna Madu. He added that the unwarranted verbal attack on Ndigbo by Dokubo rather than dampen our morale, has instead roused our spirit of bravery and patriotism to our root. Any enlightened man that listens to the hate-filled rant of Dokubo will come to the same conclusion as Julio Ceasar who described it as the “tale of an idiot – all noise and fury, signifying nothing.” The statement read in part: “In the traditional history of conquest, warfare and bravery, of Ndigbo and Ijaw people, it is on record that Ijaw people with their allies have never achieved 7% of the conquest, dominion and domination of what Ndigbo achieved both in the pre-colonial and modern era. “Asari Dokubo in his festering stupidity, forgot that it was Ndigbo that stopped the British colonial rulers from changing and deleting the native names and cultural heritages of Ijaw people during the conquest of the British colonial adventure. “How can a prodigal son whose known grandfather with some kinsmen from Abam town in Abia state of Igbo land, conquered Dokubo Asari’s Kalabari community which he claims to be his origin, will turn and say that the Kalabari community, Ndigbo conquered and still dominate in all sphere of life, is our master. “Dokubo Asari has once again proved his low mentality and the fact that he is just a puff-puff overfed baby. “That Ijaw people are neighbors to Ndigbo and that Ndigbo treat them as brothers and sisters does not make them equal to Ndigbo, both nationally and globally. Even the Hausas, Yorubas and Fulanis generally see the Ijaw people as an extension of Ndigbo from the Eastern region.” MASSOB reminded Dokubo Asari that no amount of his loyalty or errand boy services to people in power, whether Yoruba, Hausa or Fulanis will make him a hero or accord him any celebrated recognition because “the federal government knows him for who he is – an overrated hoodlum”. MASSOB also reminded him about some of his ancestors namely Isaac Adaka Boro, Ken Saro Wiwa and Henry Okah; “their overwhelming loyalty and services to Nigeria against Ndigbo perished with them. They are forgotten because evil cannot be celebrated”, the statement read.

  At least six persons were killed when gunmen invaded Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State on Tuesday. Our correspondent gathered that the incident happened in RahossSambak village of Rahoss. A source from the community told our correspondent that a car knocked down someone at about 7pm on Tuesday. He said the villagers decided to bury the accident victim that same night because of the bad condition of the corpse. How renewed Plateau crisis turned to tit-for-tat killings IGP seals off ALL Plateau LGs secretariats as Chairmen revolt against Governor He said the mourners were returning home when they ran into an ambush where two persons were shot. According to the source, the villagers thought the attackers had left so they decided to pick up the corpse of those killed but came under another round of attack which led to the killing of four. “If such an attack could happen in the heart of Riyom town, it shows that people are really not safe here,” a member of the community said. The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Plateau State Police Command, Alabo Alfred, did not respond to his call or text message as at the time of this report. Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau had said 80 percent of the attacks in the state is pure genocide. Mutfwang stated this during an interview after over fifteen communities were attacked and 30,000 people were displaced. He had said, “It is a problem that has built up over the years. The most important thing is that there is a breakdown of trust at both intra-community and inter community levels. Eventually non-state actors who have the weapon of violence came into the situation and further escalated the situation. “A lot of people who have not been fully identified are coming into the frame. So there are a lot of attacks and counter attacks. But by and large in Plateau State I can tell you that 80 per cent of the situation is pure genocide against the people of Plateau.”

  The Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has approved a 114 per cent increase in the salaries of elected politicians, including the President, vice president, governors, lawmakers as well as judicial and public office holders. RMAFC is saddled with the responsibility of determining the remuneration appropriate for political officeholders including the President, Vice President, Governors, Deputy Governors, Ministers, Commissioners, Special Advisers, Legislators and the holders of the offices as mentioned in Sections 84 and 124 of this Constitution. The commission urged the 36 states’ Houses of Assembly to hasten efforts on amendment of relevant laws to give room for upward review of remuneration packages for political, judicial and public officers. According to NAN, the RMAFC Chairman, Muhammadu Shehu, represented by a federal commissioner, Rakiya Tanko-Ayuba, made the call at the presentation of reports of the reviewed remuneration package to Kebbi State governor, Dr Nasir Idris, on Tuesday in Birnin Kebbi. Ayra Starr knocks critics over ‘controversial’ dress at Greece concert Gov Yusuf reinstates Kano anti-graft boss suspended by Ganduje He said the implementation of the reviewed remuneration packages was effective from January 1, 2023, adding that the move was in accordance with the provision of paragraph 32(d) of part 1 of the Third Schedule of the 1999 constitution of the federal government (as amended). He said the last remuneration review was conducted in 2007, noting that it culminated in the “certain political, public and judicial office holders (salaries and allowances, etc) (Amendment) Act, 2008”. Shehu said, “It empowers the revenue mobilisation, allocation and fiscal commission to determine the remuneration appropriate for political office holders, including the president, vice-president, governors, deputy governors, ministers, commissioners, special advisers, legislators and the holders of the offices mentioned in sections 84 and 124 of the constitution of the federal government. “Sixteen years after the last review, it is imperative that the remuneration packages for the categories of the office holders mentioned in relevant sections of the 1999 constitution (as amended) should be reviewed. “Pursuant to the above, your excellency may please recall that on Wednesday, 1st February, 2023, the commission held a one-day zonal public hearing on the review of the remuneration package simultaneously in all the six (6) geo-political zones of the country. The aim of the exercise was to harvest inputs/ideas from a broad spectrum of stakeholders.” He said the commission had objectively and subjectively reviewed the salary packages in the reports, adding that it adheres to the rules of equity and fairness, risk and responsibilities, national order of precedence among others. “The subjective criteria reflected the various expression by stakeholders through memoranda received, opinion expressed during the zonal public hearings and responses to questionnaires administered. “The objectives of the criteria were obtained from analysis of macro-economic variables particularly the Consumer Price Index (CPI),” he noted. The chairman added that the commission was also guided by some principles, including equity and fairness; risk and responsibilities; national order of precedence; motivation and tenure of office. Shehu said that having considered the impact of the review on the economy, the remuneration of the political, public and judicial office holders in the country was adjusted “upward by 114%.” The chairman explained that with respect to the judicial office holders, the commission considered the introduction of three new allowances. He listed the allowances to include, “Professional Development Assistant: This is to allow for the provision of two law clerks to all judicial officers in the country. “Long Service Allowance: This is to guarantee seniority/hierarchy between officers who have been on the bench for a minimum of five years and those that are appointed newly. “Restricted or Forced Lifestyle: This is to take care of the nature of the lifestyle of judicial officers while in active service.”

  AIG Hakeem Odumosu, former Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Wednesday, debunked news circulating online that he has been appointed as chairman of Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC). Reports emerged on Tuesday night that President Bola Tinubu had approved the appointment of Odumosu as the substantive Chairman of EFCC. But in a statement, Odumosu, who retired as an Assistant Inspector-General of Police, said he was not aware of such an appointment. He described the circulation of the fake appointment as an unnecessary distraction by mischief makers. “Good Morning everyone, I have been inundated with so many calls and messages between yesterday and today on a purported “EFCC Appointment”. I just want to use this opportunity to debunk this information and say it’s totally untrue. “This information must have emanated from Mischief Makers and should be totally disregarded,” he said. President Tinubu had suspended Abdulrasheed Bawa, Chairman of the EFCC over allegation of corruption. The suspension was announced in a statement last Wednesday by Willie Bassey, Director, Information in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.