FEDERAL GOVT QUERIES EFCC BOSS, Magu

President Muhammadu Buhari-led government has issued a query to the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu over the corruption charges filed against the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Danladi Yakubu Umar.

A copy of the query to Magu and another letter written to a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Festus Keyamo, was made public to journalist.

In the query dated February 16, 2018 and with Reference No DPP/ADV:368/15, Magu was ordered to make his response to the query available to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Minister of Justice on or before Tuesday, February 20, 2018.

Signed by Mr. Dayo Apata, the Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Magu was asked to explain what informed the filing of corruption charges against the tribunal chairman having being cleared of corruption allegation two times by the commission.

Titled, “FR VS Danladi Umar (CR/109/18) request for Briefing,” the query read in part: “The attention of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation was drawn to news report that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has filed charges of corruption against the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Hon. Justice Danladi Umar, before the FCT High Court.

“I am directed by the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation to seek clarification from you as to whether the charges were filed on your instruction or directive and if in the affirmative, what is the compelling basis for doing so. This clarification becomes imperative in view of the following background facts.

“The Commission’s investigation report dated 5th March 2015 addressed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation stated as follows: “The facts as they are now against Justice Umar raised a mere suspicion and will therefore not be sufficient to successfully prosecute for the defence.

“The Commission’s position in paragraph 2(a) above was also maintained and sustained by the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation while appearing before the House of Representatives’ Investigative Committee sometimes in 2015 to the effect that report of investigations showed that the allegations against Hon. Justice Danladi Umar were based on mere suspicions.

“In view of the foregoing, the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation requests for your prompt briefing as to the existence of new facts which are contrary to the position in your attached investigation report, sufficient evidence or other developments upon which the prosecution of Hon. Justice Danladi can be successfully based.

“Kindly accord this letter top priority while your prompt response within 48 hours from the receipt of same is required in the circumstances.”

In the same vein, Keyamo was requested by the AGF to confirm who authorise him to file the corruption charge against Umar.

Like Magu, the SAN was given till Tuesday February 20, 2018 to furnish the Office of the AGF in writing detail of who engaged or issued him with authority to file the corruption charges.

The letter to Keyamo with reference No DPP/ADV:369/15 dated February 16, 2018, which was also signed by the Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Sectary read in part:

“The attention of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation was drawn to news report that you have filed charges of corruption against the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Hon. Justice Danladi Umar, before the FCT High Court.

“The Honourable Attorney General of the Federation hereby requests that you kindly furnish this office with the details of the instruction or authorization upon which you instituted the case under reference. Kindly accord this letter top priority while your prompt response on or before Tuesday, February 20, 2018 is solicited in this regard.”

Although the EFCC in two separate letters to the Federal Government through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation had in 2015 and 2016 cleared Umar of any wrongdoing in the alleged N10 million bribery allegation made against him by a defendant, Rasheed Taiwo Owolabi standing trial before him on false asset declaration.

Upon receipt of the petition from Owolaabi, the EFCC had investigated the petition and sent its report to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) with a Reference No EFCC/EC/SGF/03/56 dated March 5, 2015, personally signed by the then Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde exonerating the CCT boss from the bribery saga.

The EFCC report received by the office of SGF on March 6, 2015 was categorical that “the facts as they are against Justice Umar raised a mere suspicion and will therefore not be sufficient to successfully prosecute for the offence.”

Other EFCC documents show that in 2016 a fresh investigation was conducted into the same N10million bribery allegation and the same anti-graft agency in its second report absolved Umar of any wrongdoing and that the bribery allegation against him remain a mere suspicion.

The EFCC second report with reference EFCC/P/HRU/688/V30/99 dated April 20, 2016 and submitted to the SGF and signed by the Secretary to the Commission, Emmanuel Adegboyega Aremo, read in part: “Kindly recall our correspondence of March 5 2015 with Reference EFCC/EC/SGF/03/56 with above subject caption. We will like to reiterate the Commission’s position in regard to this matter as earlier communicated to you and state that the allegation levelled against Justice Umar were merely suspicions and consequently insufficient to prosecute the offence.”

ANOTHER TRIGGER-HAPPY POLICEMAN SHOOTS CAB DRIVER DEAD IN PORT HARCOURT.

Chaos has erupted in Rumuokoro roundabout in Obio-Akpor Local government area of Rivers State following the killing of a taxi driver by a trigger-happy policeman.

The Policeman attached to a detachment of officers escorting a Petrol Tanker reportedly shot dead the unnamed driver for obstructing their movement.

It was gathered that passengers were in the cab when the unfortunate incident occurred but none of the passengers was injured.

Eyewitnesses say the cab drivers plying the Rumuokoro axis and motor-park touts regrouped immediately after the incident.

Other commercial drivers and motor park touts responded by blocking all roads connecting Rumuokoro roundabout and threatening to unleash violence.

One of the eyewitnesses say the touts stopped Police officers reinforced from Rumuokoro Divisional Police Station from evacuating the body of the slain driver.

Another eyewitness said the touts started attacking everyone perceived to be from Northern Nigeria because they perceived that the trigger happy officer is a Northerner.

“After they have stopped the police from carrying the lifeless body of the driver, those touts started attacking ‘Aboki’ people that are pushing wheelbarrows. That was why SARS people came to stop them because they had started destroying Aboki shops too,” he said.

The development prompted more police reinforcement from the Anti Kidnapping Unit and the Special Anti-Robbery Squad to quell possible breakdown of law and order in the area.

The Rivers State Police Command is yet to respond to the unfortunate incident.

BBNAIJA 2018: KHLOE, K-BRULE DISQUALIFIED FROM BIG BROTHER 2018

 

Big brother Naija 2018 (season 3) housemates, K-brule and Kloe have been disqualified from the ongoing reality show.

The duo were on Sunday given three strikes for provocation.

The strikes led to their disqualification from the big brother house.

Housemate Dee-one also got a strike for provocation.

It is, however,not clear who and how the housemate provoked, although after Saturday night party, khloe insulted k-brule family.

Khloe had said K-brule’s mum is a prostitute and his dad a bastard.

It could be recalled that the strategic pair of Khloe and K-brule were two weeks ago punished for breaking house rule and issued strikes for the offence. Maximum strike is three to warrant disqualification.

BBNAIJA: MARRIAGE PICTURES OF DEE-ONE SURFACES ONLINE [PHOTOS]

BBNAIJA3: Online images have emerged showing that one of Big Brother Naija 3 housemates, Aderombi Adedayo Martin, AKA DEE-ONE is legally married.

The comedian seem to be applying ex-housemate, Tin Tall Tony, AKA, TTT’s strategy in the reality show. Hope you still remember Tin Tall Tony?

TTT, while in the Big Brother house in the last season (season2) had claimed to be single, until his wife released photo evidences of their marriage / family to the world.

The marriage pictures revealed that Dee-one had a court wedding where both families were present.

Dee-one had on Wednesday rejected female housemate Ahneeka during a pairing game organised by Big brother.

DON WANEY’S CSO TRACKED AND GUNNED DOWN IN DELTA STATE: PLANNING TO ATTACKING SECURITY AGENCIES’ LOCATIONS, CHURCHES, SCHOOLS IN RIVERS STATE

The Nigeria Army Public Relations  Deputy Director of 6 Division, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Col. Aminu Iliyasu, yesterday (Valentine's Day) evening revealed how Augustine Agulegbu, aka Nana, the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the killed notorious terrorist, Johnson Igwedibia, aka Don Waney, was gunned down in Delta State.

He disclosed that Agulegbu was planning to attack security agencies’ locations, churches and schools in Rivers, before he was gunned down by a combined team of soldiers and operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).

Iliyasu said: “In compliance with the Presidential directive to fish out and bring to justice the perpetrators of the heinous killings of 23 innocent residents of Omoku in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area (ONELGA) of Rivers State on January 1, 2018 by the notorious Don Waney criminal cult group, troops of 222 Battalion, Nigerian Army, in conjunction with operatives of the DSS, Rivers State Command, tracked one of the members of the killer criminal gang, Augustine Agulegbu, the CSO to the late Don Waney, and the 6th in command of the criminal gang.

“After painstaking efforts by the security agencies, Agulegbu was traced to his hideout at a location along New Sapele Road, Obiaruku in Ukwani Local Government Area of Delta State in the early hours of February 14, 2018. He was among the killer squad that killed 23 worshippers returning from the crossover service on January 1, 2018 at Omoku, Rivers State.

“Reliable information also has it that he (Agulegbu) and other gang members, still at large. were already making plans to attack security agencies’ locations, churches and schools within Rivers State, as a reprisal to the clampdown on their remnants now at large. Agulegbu was, however, shot in an encounter with the security operatives and died before reaching the hospital.”

Deputy director, army public relations also revealed that Agulegbu’s body had been brought to Port Harcourt and handed over to the Rivers police command.

MISSING N36M: SENATOR SANI STORMS JAMB OFFICE WITH SNAKE CHARMERS AND ANTI-SNAKE VENOM.

ABUJA: There was a mellow drama at the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, office on Tuesday as the senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, stormed the board’s office with anti-snake venom and snake charmers to recover a missing N36m allegedly stolen from the board’s vault by a mysterious snake.  Senator Sani stormed the JAMB office with anti-snake venom, charmers following the recent startling report of a missing N36 million in JAMB vault, purportedly swallowed by a spiritual snake as confessed by an official of JAMB, Philomena Chieshe, who, failing to account for the N36m she made from the sale of JAMB scratch cards, accused her housemaid of conniving with another JAMB official, Joan Asen, to “spiritually” steal the money from the vault in the accounts office through a spiritual snake. 

However, while presenting the anti-snake venom and the charmers, Senator Sani said, “The reason for my presence here is in response to the story that a snake swallowed about N36 million. It is my concern that such a huge amount of money is reported to have been swallowed by a snake. I believe the contribution I can make is to bring snake charmers from my constituency to the JAMB office to help them fish out the snake or weed out snakes from their premises.” “If a snake can actually swallow N36 million, one day, we may wake up in this country to see that a snake has swallowed our foreign reserve or it has swallowed money that was gathered in the TSA.” JAMB Registrar, Ishaq Oloyede, could not contain his amusement over the development.

Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer, PRO, of the board, Fabian Benjamin, said the board has heard similar startling and frivolous defence like the one given by Mrs. Chieshe over the missing fund. He however said that the board is dealing with the cases. According to him, “There was even a case in Nasarawa when a staff claimed that on his way to come and submit the scratch card, he had an accident and the car got burnt with the scratch cards.” “The cards have numbers and when we checked we found out that those cards were used. 

There was another staff that said his signature was forged. He agreed that it was his signature but he wasn’t the one that signed and did not collect the scratch cards. We have many issues like that but all of them have been queried, they appeared before the disciplinary committee, they were interrogated.

A report has been written. Once that report has been approved, we will be commended for their dismissal and prosecution.” 

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/02/missing-n36m-senator-sani-storms-jamb-office-anti-snake-venom-charmers/

NIGERIANS WHO OWN PROPERTY IN THE UK PANIC OVER NEW LEGISLATION

 Nigerians, who own properties in the United Kingdom, have inundated the Federal Ministry of Finance’s Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) hotlines with calls, causing the lines to crash on Friday.

A source at the VAIDs office, told newsmen  that the unprecedented level of calls was not unconnected with the new UK regulation on Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs).UK housing estate

The source disclosed that the VAIDs office have been  receiving massive calls and frantic requests from tax payers based in the UK, in the last 72 hours, asking for extension of time to enable them  complete their VAIDS declaration forms.

The UK Government had last week introduced a new law that requires foreigners who own properties in the country to explain the source of their funds or risk forfeiting them to the government.

According to the new law, the UWOs could be obtained on any property or combination of properties valued at  50,000 pounds ( N25 million) or more, for which the owner is unable to explain a legal source of its funding.

The source said that the data already in the possession of the VAIDS office in the Federal Ministry of Finance revealed that many UK property owners had under paid their taxes before transferring funds overseas to buy properties.

“Concerted efforts are ongoing to restore the hotlines following the crash on Friday.

“Most of the calls received are from high net worth individuals, including company executives, bankers and even a governor.

“All seem to be in panic over the prospect of losing their investments,” said a source within the VAIDS Office.

The official said that some of the apprehensive Nigerian property investors in UK had even visited  the Federal Ministry of Finance  requesting to see the Minister and also the Head of the VAIDS Office.

The source explained that most of the enquiries were about seeking assurance from the Nigerian government that the VAIDs programme could protect them from potential asset forfeiture to the UK Government.

 Others requested to know if their names had appeared on the lists the VAIDS office had obtained from overseas.

The UWO law, coupled with the revelation that many foreign governments are automatically sharing bank and property information with Nigeria, has resulted in an upsurge in enquiries about VAIDs.

VAIDS allows Nigerian tax payers to restate their income and assets without limit and thus could potentially allow those who own properties that cannot be explained by their previously declared income to regularise by declaring and paying the correct taxes.

Source: NAN