2015 POLLS: EFCC ARRESTS INEC's REC, (Gesila Khan), 4 OTHERS OVER N650m SCAM

•Anti-graft agency probes large scale bribery

Alleged corruption in the 2015 general elections is back in the news following the  arrest   of the   Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission( INEC) in Cross River State, Gesila Khan and four others  by the  Economic and Financial Crimes Commission( EFCC).

The suspects are being held for a N650.9million 2015 poll bribery scandal, EFCC sources said last night.

Sensitive election materials for the 2015 presidential and senatorial polls were also retrieved from the residences of some of the suspects as were many documents on financial and landed properties.

Some of the documents are receipts of payments made into their accounts.

The suspects allegedly committed the poll bribery fraud in Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.

There were indications that many INEC staff and Ad hoc workers benefitted from the bribe-for-poll results scandal.

Khan, who was the REC in Rivers State during the last general election, allegedly pocked N185, 842,000 out of the bribe sum under probe by the EFCC.

The other suspects  and the bribe cash against their names are Fidelia Omoile (Electoral Officer in Isoko-South Local Government Area of Delta State)–N112,480,000; Uluochi Obi Brown ( INEC’s Administrative Secretary in Delta State)–N111,500,000; a former Deputy Director  of INEC in Cross River state, Edem Okon Effanga—N241,127,000 and the Head of Voter Education in INEC in Akwa Ibom, Immaculata Asuquo–N214,127,000.

According to investigation by our correspondent, all the suspects and their accomplices have made useful statements to EFCC.

A top source said: ” During the preliminary grilling of Khan, she admitted that she went to a bank to identify one Peter Popnen (who is on the run) to collect N185, 842,000.

“We have launched a manhunt for Popnen to ascertain how the deal was struck. As far Fideli Omoile, we discovered that her signature and driver’s license were allegedly used for some of the N112.48m transactions.

“Regarding Uluochi, investigation confirmed that she had $75, 857 in her account with the Bank of America as at February. This indicated that she laundered some of the N111.5m poll bribery cash abroad.

“In any case, EFCC is quizzing her on why she is operating a foreign account in violation of the Code of Conduct Act.”

Another source in the commission said those who benefitted from the scandal appeared to be many.

The source gave more details on the confessions of some of the suspects.

“On his part, Effanga told interrogators that although he cashed the N241,127,000 at a branch of Fidelity Bank in Calabar, he only got $290,000 as his share.

“But from his testimony, many INEC staff and Ad hoc workers benefitted from the loot. We are probing the sources of these slush funds which were deployed in some of these states to bribe INEC staff. Certainly, we are looking into many accounts which were used by some INEC staff.”

Asked about Immaculata Asuquo, the source added: “She said she was directed by the REC in Akwa Ibom to go and identify Effanga in order to cash the N241,127,000.”

As at press time, it was gathered that all the suspects had been granted bail but they could not fulfil the conditions.

“EFCC may have no choice than to approach a court for a warrant to detain them.

However, I “I think we may go to court on Monday accordingly” said the source.

NIGERIAN MILITARY KILLED FIVE OF CHIBOK GIRLS DURING AIR RAID

A woman who escaped from boko haram terrorists (Hawwa) has revealed how the Nigerian military   mistakenly killed 5 chibok schoolgirls. 

Speaking with newsmen, Hawwa, claimed that she had met the Chibok girls in Gwoza, the former center of Boko Haram’s self-declared caliphate.

The woman stated that she was forced to work as a cook for the Boko Haram sect, and was kept in a complex with a lot of other women and children, where conditions were poor. According to her, the Chibok girls were kept alone and treated much better than the other women, “like VIPs.”

Hawwa claimed that while Gwoza was under Boko Haram’s control, five of the Chibok girls were killed by the Nigerian military jets that flew overhead and opened fire on a crowd of women as they sat together in a camp. 

“The military… didn’t know they were the Chibok girls,” she said.

   “They would have seen a group of women in a compound and just fired… When it started we ran” she added. 

Hawwa also said she thought the military “would have thought they were the family of the insurgents.”

ABDUCTED PASTOR IN KADUNA FOUND DEAD

Reverend lliya Anto one of the three United Church of Christ in Nigeria pastors kidnapped along Kaduna- Abuja expressway, has been reported dead.

Anto who is HEKAN Vice President, was killed while the two other pastors regained their freedom after 10 days in the hands of their abductors.

The survivors are Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Dziggau and Rev. Yakubu Dzarma, the spokesman in charge of the Kaduna State Police Command confirmed Thursday.

The Police Public Relations Officer told Independent in a telephone interview that the police anti-kidnapping squad has been on the trail of the kidnappers who have been terrorizing people  on the Abuja-Kaduna road for a long time now.

He said the freed pastors are now receiving treatment in a hospital in Kaduna.

He called on the general public to give any useful information that could lead  to the arrest of those perpetrating the crimes.

The three pastors were kidnapped by yet to be identified gunmen at the proposed HEKAN Theological Seminary Permanent Site, along Kaduna-Abuja road on Monday, March 21, 2016.

NO MATTER HOW YOU TAKE IT, COFFEE DRINKING CAN DECREASE THE RISK OF COLORECTAL CANCER SAYS NEW STUDY

No matter how you take it, coffee drinking can decrease the risk of colorectal cancer says new studyMore

A new US study has found more evidence for the health-giving properties of coffee, finding that more than 2.5 cups of coffee a day can significantly decrease your risk of colorectal cancer. 

To carry out their study, researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) looked at a group of 5,145 participants with colorectal cancer, and a further 4,097 participants without colorectal cancer as a control group.

Those that had colorectal cancer had all been diagnosed within the last 6 months. 

Data on coffee consumption was collected by interview and food frequency questionnaires, which participants completed to report on how much coffee they drank, whether it was boiled (espresso), instant, decaffeinated or filtered.

After they took into consideration other cancer risk factors, the team found that even just one to two cups of coffee a day reduced the risk of developing colorectal cancer by 26 percent. And when coffee consumption was increased to more than 2.5 cups of coffee a day, the risk decreased by up to 50 percent.

And although the levels of coffee's beneficial compounds vary depending on the bean, roast and how it is brewed, the results showed that it also didn't matter how the coffee was taken, with espresso, filter, and even instant coffee all having a beneficial effect.

And although caffeine can act as an antioxidant in the body, preventing the growth of potential colon cancer cells, the results were also seen whether coffee was taken decaf or fully caffeinated.

"We were somewhat surprised to see that caffeine did not seem to matter," commented senior author of the study Stephen Gruber, "This indicates that caffeine alone is not responsible for coffee's protective properties."

And although Gruber commented that "We need additional research before advocating for coffee consumption as a preventive measure," he also added, "That being said, there are few health risks to coffee consumption, I would encourage coffee lovers to revel in the strong possibility that their daily mug may lower their risk of colorectal cancer."

The study is available online in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

MOTHER CHARGED AFTER MAKING CHILDREN TO WALK TO SCHOOL

JASPER, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee mother faces child neglect charges after deputies say she made her daughters walk to school.

The Chattanooga Times Free-Press (http://bit.ly/1UHXZH6 ) reports that 32-year-old Lisa Marie Palmer was charged after authorities found her driving ahead of her daughters as she made them walk to school.

Marion County sheriff's Deputy Chris Ladd, who spotted the two girls, says it appeared Palmer was driving ahead of her children and allowing them to catch up to her car until the kids reached the school.

Sheriff Ronnie "Bo" Burnett says Palmer told deputies that her daughters were being punished for missing the bus.

Ladd said the girls had walked more than a mile and had about two more miles to go.

"Temperatures were cold, and traffic was beginning to become heavy with citizens heading to work," Ladd states. "Mrs. Palmer was in no position to reach her children safely in the event of an emergency."

Palmer is scheduled for an initial court appearance on April 18. Court officials say she doesn't have an attorney yet.

Marion County is located just west of Chattanooga.

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Information from: Chattanooga Times Free Press, http://www.timesfreepress.com

BOKO HARAM RELEASES NEW VIDEO: SAYS "NO NEGOTIATION, NO SURRENDER"

Boko Haram released a new video Friday denying any suggestions it would surrender, just over a week after their shadowy leader Abubakar Shekau appeared in a rare message looking dejected and frail. Shekau, who was not seen on camera for more than a year, released an unverified video late last month and said his time in charge of the Nigerian jihadist group may be coming to an end. If the video indeed depicts Shekau, he appears thin and listless, delivering his message without his trademark fiery rhetoric. It prompted speculation from the army that the Islamist group was on the verge of collapse in the face of a sustained military counter-insurgency. However, in Friday’s message, Boko Haram maintained it was a potent fighting force, with fighters posing with AK-47s in front of Toyota Hilux pick-up trucks and a lorry mounted with a military cannon. “You should know that there is no truce, there is no negotiations, there is no surrender,” an unidentified masked man wearing camouflage said in a prepared script in Hausa, in the video posted on YouTube. “This war between us will not stop.” The video, which was of markedly better quality than Shekau’s and included Arabic subtitles, featured nine masked Boko Haram fighters standing on sandy ground in an undisclosed desert location. It is unclear if the masked people in the video include the Boko Haram leader. Shekau was still the head of the “West African wing”, said the masked man in the video, likening Boko Haram to the Islamist insurgencies in Iraq, Libya and Syria. In March 2015, Boko Haram pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, another of the world’s most deadly terror organisations. But there were few signs Boko Haram — now styled as Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) — has so far benefited from the partnership. Nigeria’s army has since then won back swathes of territory from the militants, liberating thousands living under Boko Haram control. An estimated 20,000 people have been killed since Boko Haram began its campaign of violence in 2009 to carve out a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria. More than 2.6 million people have fled their homes since then but some of the internally displaced have begun returning.

EFCC ARRESTS PPMC MD, MRS ESTHER OGBUE-NNAMDI OVER FUEL SCARCITY.

The dragnet of the Economics and Financial Crimes Commission yesterday picked up one of the culprits in the ongoing fuel scarcity scam, Mrs Esther Ogbue-Nnamdi.

Mrs Ogbue Nnamdi was until the recent reforms in the oil industry, the Managing Director of the Petroleum Products Pricing and Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the NNPC where it was alleged that she enriched herself and amassed stupendous wealth from sales of IPOs to desperate oil cabal, collection of kick backs through proxies and other underhand dealings to have seen to the ongoing fuel scarcity being experienced by Nigerians.

According to our source who was privy to the ongoing drilling of Mrs Nnamdi, the commission has been trailing over the acquisition of choice properties in the nation’s capital particularly a house at Maitama valued at N1.2 billion built and furnished within 2months after her resumption of office.

Our source confirmed that the EFCC Chairman was said to have collapsed after seeing the property located at off no 4, Amazon Street Maitama that he had exclaimed that Diezani must be a student in this Professor’s school.

It has been identified that Nnamdi and other top oil cabal are desperately fighting hard to stop every reform at the NNPC especially this rare kind that exposes such a monumental fraud without any waste of time.

Every attempt to reach the former PPMC boss for a reaction as failed as the detectives handling her case have switched off her phone, while our source has confirmed that senior members of the cabal are making sure that she returns to her cozy apartment in Maitama to return home tomorrow for bail.