Thursday, 14 June 2018

JONATHAN, YAR’ADUA, NOT PMB , DESERVE CREDIT FOR JAILING OF DARIYE, NAME– RENO OMOKRI


Reno Omokri

A former spokesperson to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, has argued that the Buhari administration is wrong to claim credit for the jailing of two former governors.

Mr Omokri argued that his former boss, Mr Jonathan, and the latter’s predecessor, Umar Yar’Adua, deserve the credit.

Both men were jailed 14 years each for misappropriating funds belonging to their states. Both men were elected in 1999 under the platform of Mr Jonathan’s Peoples Democratic Party, and then re-elected in 2003.

Their corruption trials started in 2007 before their conviction 11 years later in 2018.

While many see their convictions as a success story of the Muhammadu Buhari administration’s fight against corruption, Mr Omokri says the president and his administration should not be commended for it.

SEE RENO OMOKIRI'S FULL STATEMENT:

My attention has been drawn to a statement by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission claiming that the recent convictions of former Governors Jolly Nyame and Joshua Dariye, has vindicated them from the oft repeated accusation that the EFCC, under Buhari, is lukewarm in prosecuting chieftains of the ruling All Progressive Congress, for corruption.

Nothing could be further from the truth and the statement only serves to show the dishonesty and lack of integrity of the current leadership of the EFCC.

The fact is that Joshua Dariye and Jolly Nyame, the two former Peoples Democratic Party members recently imprisoned for fraud, were charged and prosecuted by the PDP administrations of Umaru Musa Yar’adua and Goodluck Jonathan’ and not by the All Progressive Congress led government of Muhammadu Buhari.

Joshua Dariye for instance was charged to court on July 13, 2007 by the EFCC under the leadership of Malam Nuhu Ribadu who was then serving under a PDP led administration headed by President Umaru Musa Yar’adua.

He was arraigned on 23 counts, his plea was taken but his defense lawyer challenged the court’s jurisdiction. The Court of Appeal threw out that application and the case went to trial on Oct.27, 2010.

By May 29, 2015 when former President Goodluck Jonathan handed over power to President Muhammadu Buhari, the case had already reached the point where a verdict was to be given but the current EFCC headed by Ibrahim Magu began dragging its foot, most likely because by then Dariye had decamped to the APC.

In the case of Reverend Jolly Nyame, he was arraigned in 2007 on 41 counts. His plea was taken and his trial begun after all applications filed by the accused to stall the trial were dismissed by the Supreme Court. Trial fully commenced and was on-going at FCT High Court by 2008.

From the above, it is now clear that the convictions of Dariye and Nyame were anti-corruption feats of the PDP administrations of Yar’adua and Jonathan and the Buhari government is trying to reap where it did not sow.

Former President Jonathan in particular, was noted for firing erring PDP ministers and handing them over for investigation by the EFCC. Nigerians should ask themselves if it is possible for Buhari to do to APC members what Jonathan and Yar’adua did to PDP members.

Babachir Lawal was caught red handed stealing. When is the Buhari led administration going to arrest and try him for fraud? Abdulrasheed Maina was dismissed for fraud and theft of pension funds by the PDP administration of Goodluck Jonathan only to be recalled, reinstated, double promoted and given armed guards by the Buhari regime. The Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme who was indicted for misappropriating ₦10 billion was restored by Buhari.
   
Jolly Nyame

 Jolly Nyame was sentenced to 14 years in prison for fraud

These and other instances of hypocrisy is why Transparency International said that Nigeria is more corrupt under Buhari than it was at ANYTIME during the Jonathan administration. Whereas, Nigeria made her highest improvement on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index in 2014 under Jonathan where we moved eight steps forward from 144 to 136, we have moved 12 steps backwards from 136 to 148 in the CPI under Buhari.

The Buhari administration is so desperate for achievements and because it has none, it continues attempting to steal the achievements of others like the convictions of Dariye and Nyame, which was initiated by the PDP which charged them to court in 2007 and the Abuja-Kaduna rail which was designed, built and completed by PDP administrations.

Wednesday, 13 June 2018

COURT STOPS FORMER GOVERNOR OF KANO STATE, IBRAHIM SHEKARAU FROM TRAVELING ABROAD!!!

IBRAHIM SHEKARAU 


Justice Zainab Bage Abubakar of the Federal High Court sitting in Kano today June 13, 2018 refused an application by a former governor of Kano State Malam Ibrahim Shekarau for the release of his international passport to enable him travel to Saudi Arabia for lesser hajj.

Shekarau approached the court with a motion on notice dated 28 May, 2018 praying the court to direct its Deputy Chief Registrar to release his International Passport to enable him travel to Saudi Arabia from May 30 to June 23, 2018 for lesser hajj.

In response to the motion, counsel for the respondent, Johnson Ojogbane filed a 9 paragraph counter affidavit opposing the motion. When the case came up today for hearing, counsel to Shekarau, Abdul Adamu moved his application and adopted the written address attached to the application in his argument. Ojogbane on the other hand moved his 9 paragraph counter affidavit urging the court to refuse the application.

Justice Abubakar in her ruling held that "after due consideration of the motion of the defendant applicant and the counter affidavit of the respondent I deem it unnecessary to release the passport of the defendant applicant as it is one of the conditions in the grant of his bail". She subsequently refused and dismissed the application for lack of merit.

Shekarau was arraigned by the EFCC alongside two others, Aminu Bashir Wali and one Mansur Ahmed for allegedly conniving to collect the sum of N950,000,000 part of the $115,000,000 allegedly distributed by the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Deziani Alison-Madueke for the purpose of compromising the2015 general election. 

JOHESU PLEADS WITH FG FOR PAYMENT OF 2 MONTHS SALARY


The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) has appealed to the Federal Government to pay its members April and May salary in line with their agreement to suspend their strike.

Mr. Achimugu Isaiah, the branch Chairman, Federal Medical Centre (FMC Keffi), Nasarawa State, made the call on Wednesday while fielding questions from newsmen shortly after a congress meeting of the union in Keffi.

JOHESU embarked on an indefinite nationwide industrial action on April 18 and resumed work on May 31.

Some of the demands made by the union included upward adjustment of salary scale, employment of additional health professionals, review of retirement age from 60 years to 65 years and implementation of court judgment.

JOHESU consists of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Medical and Health Workers Union (MHWUN) and Senior Staff Association of University Teaching Hospitals, among others.

Isaiah said that payment of two months’ salary to the members of the union who embarked on strike to press home their demand would cushion their economic plight.

He added that it would also boost members’ morale toward effective healthcare service delivery.

The union leader queried the selective nature of paying few members against the majority.

“The strike was declared by the national body and the local chapter here only obeyed the directive of the national secretariat.

“Actually, we only called members of the union to brief them on the outcome of our meeting with the management of the centre after the suspension of the JOHESU strike by the national body of the union.

“After the suspension of the strike, we have been meeting with our management on the need for payment of April and May salary to our members but the management told us that those that were paid are those that worked during the strike.

“Such beneficiaries like the management staff, drivers and their personal assistants, among others, were paid based on directive from the federal government.

“They said that anything that was done was based on directive and they can only take our message on the payment of our April/May salary to the federal government for action.

“It is in view of this that we are pleading to the federal government to consider our presentation, the plight of workers by paying us our April/May salary in the interest of peace,” he said.

Besides, Isaiah urged the federal government to do the needful by implementing the demands of the union so as to put the issues that led to the strike to an end.

The chairman also urged the members of the union to remain calm, be law abiding and continue with their normal duties.

Reacting, Dr Luka Samuel, the Acting Medical Director of the centre, confirmed that those that were paid were workers that worked during the strike.

Samuel listed members of the management staff, drivers, personal assistants, and those on sick bed, among others, as beneficiaries of the April/ May salaries.

The acting medical director restated the commitment of the centre to continue to key into good health policies and programmes that have direct bearing on the lives of the people for the overall development of the country.


(NAN)

NIGERIA HIGH COURT JUDGE PAUSED JUDGMENT TO ALLOW JOSHUA DARIYE USE BATHROOM


Justice Adebukola Banjoko of an FCT High Court on Wednesday morning paused the delivery of judgement in the fraud case against former governor of Plateau State, Senator Joshua Dariye.

Dariye signalled to a court official around 10:30am and whispered something to him.

The official subsequently informed the judge that Dariye had requested for a short break to be able to use the restroom.

At exactly 10:35am, the judge, who was still addressing the preliminary issues raised in the written address by the defence, saying the court would rise for few minutes to allow Dariye “use the bathroom”.

Meanwhile, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday presented its first witness in the ongoing trial of Dariye’s son, Nanle, who is standing trial on a 6-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N1.5billion before Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

ANOTHER FORMER GOVERNOR, JOSHUA DARIYE, JAILED 14 YEARS FOR OVER N2BN FRAUD


Joshua Dariye

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Gudu, Abuja, on Tuesday, sentenced a former Governor of Plateau State and serving senator, Joshua Dariye, to 14 years’ imprisonment on charges of criminal breach of trust and criminal appropriation of the state’s funds running to over N2bn.

Justice Adebukola Banjoko, in a judgment which took her six and a half hours to read on Tuesday, convicted the ex-governor on 15 out the 23 counts preferred against him in July 2007.

Recall that Justice Banjoko, barely a fortnight ago, imposed 14 years’ jail term on former Governor of Taraba State, Jolly Nyame, on similar charges.

On Tuesday, the erudite judge sentenced former governor Joshua Dariye to two years’ imprisonment on each of the five counts bordering on criminal misappropriation and 14 years’ jail term on each of the 11 counts of criminal breach of trust.

The judge, however, ruled that all the sentences would run concurrently, implying that the convict would have to spend 14 years in jail.

Former Plateau state governor, Joshua Dariye, to be jailed 14 years for fraud of  over N2bn?

OMG!

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Gudu, Abuja, on Tuesday, sentenced a former Governor of Plateau State and serving senator, Joshua Dariye, to 14 years’ imprisonment on charges of criminal breach of trust and criminal appropriation of the state’s funds running to over N2bn.

On Tuesday, the judge sentenced Dariye to two years’ imprisonment on each of the five counts bordering on criminal misappropriation and 14 years’ jail term on each of the 11 counts of criminal breach of trust.

The judge, however, ruled that all the sentences would run concurrently, implying that the convict would have to spend 14 years in jail.

The punishments imposed on the former governor for the two categories of offences of criminal breach of trust and criminal misappropriation are the maximum as provided under sections 315 and 309 of the Penal Code Act, respectively.

In all, the judge convicted him on 15 counts while she threw out eight of the total 23 charges on the grounds of either duplicity of charges or lack of sufficient evidence.

“I can’t imagine such a brazen act. Is it the transfer of as much as about half a billion naira from the state’s Ecological Fund into a personal venture account? Everybody is a victim here,” the judge said.

She said from a random check of some documents tendered as exhibits, she discovered that “the defendant was, in fact, richer than his state.”

She added, “This is a trauma of the trial; and there should be no compromise to corruption, by whatever shade or colour, or region, rich or poor; corruption will forever be corruption.

“Every case is different on its own, and I have no personal animosity, I’m just doing my job the way I know how to, and not only the Ecological Funds were misappropriated, but funds from the Plateau State government.”

The judgment, which came at the end of about 10-year trial, saw over eight years of delay caused by the trip Dariye’s appeals attacking the validity and the competence of the charges took from the trial court to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court even as he lost all the way.

It also came over 13 years after Dariye was said to have jumped bail in London, the United Kingdom, where he was investigated for alleged crimes including money laundering.

Recall also that Joshua Dariye, a chartered accountant, served between 1999 and 2007, was arraigned in July 2007.

Dariye was said to have, on behalf of Plateau State, on July 19, 2001, collected a cheque for the sum N1‚161,162,900 from the Ecological Funds Office in Abuja, and deposited the cheque with his banker, the defunct Allstates Trust Bank Plc, Abuja branch, where he was said to be operating an account in the name of an unregistered company, Ebenezer Retnan Ventures.

He was said to have cleared the funds with the bank “without paying the cheque into the account of Plateau State Government.”

Following her analysis of the testimonies and exhibits tendered, the judge also said Dariye took steps to hide from the state government the source of the fund, which was released by the Federal Government “to address the ecological problems of the state.”

The fund was released for the “flood channelisation” and “reclamation” of some mining-ravaged parts of the state.

But Dariye was said to have paid only N550m from the over 1.16bn to the state account.

The judge noted in her judgement that the ex-governor converted the balance to his personal use and for his party, the Peoples Democratic Party.

He was convicted for transferring N160m to his unregistered company known as Ebenezer Retnan Ventures on July 11, 2001.

He was said to have paid N80m into the Union Home account of the then Permanent Secretary of Ecological Funds, Mr. Kingsley lkumah; N100m into the account of Marine Float Limited, a company owned by a former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar.

He also transferred another N100, 000,000.00 to the Peoples Democratic Party, South-West, through the then Minister of Special Duties, Yomi Edu.

Apart from the ecological funds, there were also funds belonging to the state’s Accountant-General’s Office, which Dariye was said to have diverted.

YOLA COURT PASSES DEATH SENTENCE ON 5 MEN FOR KILLING HERDS MAN

A High Court in Yola, Presided over by Justice Abdul-Azeez Waziri has sentenced five men to death for culpable homicide and for killing a herdsman.


The convicts, Alex Amos, Alheri Phanuel, Holy Boniface, Jerry Gideon and Jari Sabagi of Demsa Local Government Area of Adamawa State, were found guilty of criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide which contravened Section 96 (1) (a) and Sections 79 and 221 (b) of the Penal Code of Laws of Adamawa State, 1997.

The convicts were said to have on June 1, 2017 at Kadamun village in Demsa local Government Area willfully and intentionally conspired and attacked three herdsmen rearing cattle, killing one of them, Adamu Buba, whose body they threw into a river and also maimed several cows.

Hon. Justice Waziri said the case against the accused persons had been proved beyond reasonable doubt by the counsel to the state, Mr. Salihu Mohammed.

In his judgment, the Judge concluded: “I hereby sentence the accused persons on counts one and two to death by hanging, while on counts four and five, I sentence the accused to three years in prison to run concurrently.

“Any aggrieved party is at liberty to file an appeal to the Court of Appeal, Yola Judicial Division within 90 days from today.”

Tuesday, 12 June 2018

UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA TO TRAIN STUDENTS IN WITCHCRAFT, FIRST INTAKE OF 20 “WITCHES” ACCEPTED

Report has it that UNESCO has given the University of Zambia $340,000 to develop a Degree Programme to safeguard Intangible Heritage with the first intake comprising of 20 students.

Zambian Watchdog reports that Intangible Heritage comprises of practices such as Witchcraft, social practices such as expression through music, Knowledge, skills-as well as the instruments, objects, artifacts and rituals, the Zambia National Commission for UNESCO has explained.

According to Dr. Charles Ndakala, the Zambia National Commission for UNESCO Secretary General, despite efforts in safeguarding cultural heritage, there are cases of destruction of priceless culture heritage in certain countries which threatens traditions and customs.

When Minister of Higher Education, Nkandu Luo announced that the University of Zambia will commission studies in witchcraft, this was dismissed as fake news.

Now UNESCO has confirmed the witchcraft course.

Source: https://www.nationalhelm.co/2018/06/university-of-zambia-to-train-students-in-witchcraft-first-intake-of-20-witches-accepted.html

3RD MAINLAND SUICIDE: LADY WHOSE NUDE PICS WENT VIRAL SPEAKS FINALLY. See Reactions

Two days ago, there was a video of people gathered at 3rd Mainland bridge, Lagos, and it was alleged that someone jumped into the lagoon.

The next day, photos of a Texas-based Nigerian lady, Toyin, went viral from a particular social media handle and later escalated to news outlets and blogs, as the lady that committed suicide.

The person even shared her private conversations with her lover and also their nude photos.

The woman has now taken to her Instagram page to debunk the rumour that she is dead.

She shared the above photo and wrote;


"Am alive, and I will leave long on earth #Emi ki yio ku iku kan biko se yiye #love#yall"

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj7eXd-FGqs/

From; Amagitesblog.com

More details loading... http://www.amagitesblog.com/2018/06/3rd-mainland-suicide-woman-whose-nude-photos-has-gone-viral-finally-speaks.html

LOVER OF MARRIED WOMAN (TOYIN) WHO JUMPED INTO LAGOS LAGOON, LANDS IN HOSPITAL. VIDEO

                  
                   Toyin

New report has emerged about the woman who parked her car on 3rd Mainland bridge in Lagos and jumped into a Lagoon. According to Nick Sparkles, the woman who committed suicide is based in Texas in the United States and was married with 3 kids..

It was alleged that her husband Tunde works or used to work with Access Bank in Lagos.


Toyin and Lover

The wife allegedly got involved with another guy in Nigeria and they both got involved in series of adulterous activities. Her lover, an older guy as well swindled or collected over N10m from her.

She went to arrest him only for him to publish nude pictures of them together in order to prove his innocence to the Police that whatever happened between both of them was consensual, that he's not a fraudster as claimed by the married woman.

The blackmail from the man got to her husband and this compelled the husband to conduct a DNA test on all his 3 children which later turned out that they are not all his kids after all.Those kids belong to someone else. On Saturday, 9th of June, 2018, the woman drove her truck to the bridge, parked her Ford SUV van on the 3rd Mainland Bridge and jumped inside the lagoon on a suicide mission which is a resultant effect of the blackmail.

An update on the report reveals that her lover who duped her of N10 Million and released her Unclad pictures is currently in the hospital under police custody (as seen in the video below). He is said to have suffered from shock, upon hearing what had happened as a result of his illicit affair.

Source; https://www.nationalhelm.co/2018/06/boyfriend-of-married-woman-who-jumped-into-lagos-lagoon-lands-in-hospital-video.html

Watch Video below


LATE CHIEF MKO ABIOLA’S DAUGHTER, HAFSAT, APOLOGIES TO BUHARI

Hafsat Abiola-Costello

Hafsat Abiola has apologised to President Muhammadu Buhari for what her father, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election,  Chief MKO Abiola, might have done to him.

Speaking during the Special national honours investiture of her late father during which the president apologized for the election annulment, she said she did what her father would have done if he was still alive.

She added: “Who would have ever believed given the relationship that you (President Buhari) had with Chief MKO Abiola that you would be the instrument God will use to honour this man and to bring recognition and healing to the country.

“You apologized to my family and it touched my heart. You know that I also lost my mother in this struggle so that apology meant so much.

“Let me use this opportunity, on behalf of the Chief MKO Abiola because I know what he would have done, I use this opportunity to apologize to you, to apologize to your family, anything that he might have done to harm you and to harm your family.

“Let me also say at this juncture that Chief MKO Abiola was so committed to us saying farewell to poverty in Nigeria and today we have more people in poverty in Nigeria than we had in 1993.

“I read the statement that you made where you said we should prepare now to wage a battle for the defence of the people of Nigeria against those who think of themselves as the landlords of Nigeria.

“Let me say to you that by recognizing June 12, you awaken so many heroes and heroines of Nigeria’s struggle who have shown because they stood firm on June 12 that money cannot buy them.

“If there is any march that we need to march, if there is any protest that we need to be present to protest, you have called up your own new Army for the defence of this country.

“And President Muhammadu Buhari, this fight will not take you, God willing, as it has taken MKO but let us fight and bring about the conclusion of MKO struggle that the Nigerian people should be the ones in full control of this country.

“It is not for a few landlords whoever they may be, it is for the 200 million people of Nigeria.”

Also speaking, a human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, urged the president to prevail on his security agencies in the country, in the spirit of June 12, to start to respect the fundamental rights of all Nigerians.

According to him, the human rights community will work assiduously with the Buhari’s administration to end the reckless killings in the country.

He noted that seven administrations before Buhari’s administration pretended over the June 12 elections.