DONT DOWNLOAD YOUR BANK APP ON YOUR PHONE:POLICEMEN KIDNAP A MAN ROBBED HIM OFF

A man (name withheld) has been abducted and robbed off of his hard earned one hundred (N100,000) in Asaba, Delta State Capital.
According to the victim (name withheld), “the police officers stopped me and accused me of being a Ritualist just because I was driving a fine car. They abducted me and took me to an unknown place and forced me to pay N100,000, using POS which I did to to save my life.”

A human rights activist and the Director General of Behind Bars Initiative, BBI, Mr. Gwamnishu Harrison Emefiena, who’s following the case said he received a distressed call on Thursday about the matter, adding that “this was not only extortion, but kidnapping as well.”

He confirmed that N100,000 was extorted from the victim by the policemen through POS, adding that the officers have admitted to their crime.

“You stop a Nigerian at a checkpoint, accused him of being a ritualist for owning a car, threatens and forced him to pay? You are an armed robber”, Emefiena said.

Continuing, the Rights activist said: “I was away for an official assignment in Abuja, I received a distress call from my village brother informing me how some policemen along Issele-Azagba Ogwashi Uku road, forced him to a POS agent and withdrew N100,000 for committing nothing. He paid because he wants to survive.

“From the information, I reach out to BBI intelligence to track those rogue monstrous barbarians and make sure the N100,000 was retrieved.

“If you listen to the voice conversation between me and the officers begging they will return only N50,000, you will weep for Delta Stata and entire police force.”

Gwamnishu further stated that the threats made against citizens in a bid to rob them only demonstrate their (police) level of hate and unrepentance.

He added that, “In all these, the shocking part is; the Police officers are from South-South and South East.

“We are waiting for the N100,000 from the Police as they have accepted and apologised. Will it keep ending by retrieving?”, he fumed.

DOMESTIC FLIGHT RESUMES OPERATION ON JULY 8

Hadi Sirika,announce that Abuja & Lagos airports will resume domestic operations on the 8th of July, 2020. Kano, Port Harcourt, Owerri & Maiduguri to resume on the 11th. Other airports on the 15th. Date for international to be announced in due course.

Hadi Sirika@hadisirika " I am glad to announce that Abuja & Lagos airports will resume domestic operations on the 8th of July, 2020. Kano, Port Harcourt, Owerri & Maiduguri to resume on the 11th. Other airports on the 15th. Date for international to be announced in due course. Bear with us, please
. Kano, Port Harcourt, Owerri & Maiduguri to resume on the 11th. Other airports on the 15th. Date for international to be announced in due course. Bear with us, please

ABUJA COURT GRANTED FORFEITURE OF 46 PROPERTIES ACQUIRED ILLEGALY BY EX-NSITF BOSS

An Abuja high court has granted the interim forfeiture of houses and lands linked to former Chairperson of the Board of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Mrs. Ngozi Juliet Olejeme.

 

Olejeme was accused of using funds she received as kickbacks from contractors through third parties between 2009 and 2015, to buy properties including one she allegedly acquired for N1.3billion in Abuja in 2012. The 46 properties listed in documents filed by the EFCC in court, are said to be located in Abuja, Bayelsa and Delta states.

 

The EFCC said;

 

    “During Mrs. Olejeme’s tenure as aforestated, she collected a cumulative sum of USD $48, 485,127.00 from Chuka Eze (her Account Officer in First Bank Plc), Henry Sambo Ekhasomi (the Director of Finance of NSITF), Aliyu Zubairu (Director of Corporate Affairs -NSITF), Adebayo Aderibigbe and Abubakar Umar.

    “The said sum of USD $48, 485,127.00 represents the dollar equivalent of kickbacks paid to BDC (bureau de change) by contractors/consultants of NSITF on Mrs. Olejeme’s instructions as well as payments to the BDC operators directly from NSITF account.

    “The personal account of Mrs. Olejeme in First Bank Plc also received a total in-flow of N22, 200,000.00 from Hybrid Investment Advisors Ltd, a contractor to NSITF.

    “Excellent Solicitors & Consultants is one of the firms engaged by the NSITF as consultant.

    “In the course of time, the firm received over N1,000, 000, 000.00 from the NSITF under the guise of rendering consultancy services, its proprietor Max Ozoaka withdrew the monies and either gave same in cash to Mrs. Olejeme or did transfer to her proxies under her instructions.

    “Within the same period, the sum of N5, 984,059,110 was paid by NSITF under the guise of consultancy services to Fountain Legal Services and Fountain Media Consults being the firms owned by Adebayo Adebowale Aderibigbe (a staff of NSITF).

    “As the said payments were made by the NSITF to his firms’ accounts, Mr. Adebayo Adebowale Aderibigbe gave Mrs. Olejeme a total cash sum of N505,000,000.00 and US$11,488,550.00 in dollars.

    “Mrs. Olejeme procured the services of bureau de change operators through Mr. Chuka, who provided the bank accounts of the BDC operators to her.

    “Several consultants/contractors to NSITF transferred money to the bank accounts of these BDC operators in naira for Mrs. Olejeme while the dollar equivalent of each naira lodgment would be collected by Mr. Chuka and handed over to Mrs. Olejeme in her house or through bank transfers.

    “Mr; Chuka was interviewed on various dates including 23rd August, 2016, 19th December, 2016, 4th April, 2017, 2nd May, 2017, 17th July, 2017 19th December, 2017, 27th December, 2017 and 17th May, 2018 and he consistently narrated the details of the numerous United States dollars he couriered to Mrs. Olejeme as well as other financial dealings he carried out for her.

    “The BDC Operators which provided the currency exchange services for Mrs. Olejeme through Mr. Chuka include Majia BDC, Alim BDC and Ashanbrak .BDC.

    “In addition to giving the currencies to Mr. Chuka for Mrs. Olejeme, there were occasions where the BDC Operators transferred some of the funds directly to Mrs. Olejeme’s controlled bank accounts.

    “For instance Mrs. Olejeme received the sum of N350,000,000.00 from the BDCs into her private company Able Jes Nigeria Ltd’s account in GTBank Plc in two days i.e (29th and 30th April, 2013).

    “In fact on 29th April, 2013, only Adamu Musa of Majia BDC made cash deposits into the same account totalling N236,350, 000.00. She (Mrs. Olejeme) is the sole signatory to the said account.

    “Mrs. Olejeme used the huge funds referred to in the foregoing paragraphs, which funds did not form part of her lawful income, to acquire property referred to.

    “She used third parties in making payments for all the property so as to conceal and or avoid the properties/funds from being easily traced directly to her.

    “Mrs. Olejeme hired the services of one Mr. Ifeanyi Njokanma, who is a property manager to purchase and acquire, on her behalf, most of the property."

 

Ruling on the ex-parte motion marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/538/2020, Justice Taiwo directed the EFCC to publish the order in a national daily to enable anyone who is interested in the affected property to show cause within 14 days why the assets should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

 

The judge fixed July 27 this ‎year as the return date.

GOVERNMENT INCREASES PETROL PRICE TO N143.80 PER LITRE

The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency has announced a new price band of N140.80 to N143.80 per litre for Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol.

 

Sources at the Abuja headquarters of the agency said the rise in petrol price was primarily due to the increase in global crude oil prices.

 

A circular released on Wednesday July 1, from the PPPRA to marketers reads;

 

    “After a review of the prevailing market fundamentals in the month of June and considering marketers’ realistic operating costs, as much as practicable, we wish to advise a new PMS pump price band of N140.80-N143.80 per litre for the month of July 2020.

    All marketers are advised to operate within the indicative prices as advised by the PPPRA.”

 

The federal government, in March, announced that the retail price of petrol would be adjusted monthly to reflect realities in the global crude oil market. On May 31, 2020, the PPPRA announced a price band of N121.50 to N123.50 per litre for the product.

COURT TURNS DOWN BAIL APPLICATIONS FILED BY KIDNAP KINGPIN 'WADUME"

Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja has turned down the bail applications filed by suspected kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Bala aka Wadume, and six others being tried for kidnapping and related offenses.

 

Wadume was first arrested in Ibi, Taraba State, on August 6, 2019, by policemen from the Intelligence Response Team of the Inspector General of the Police office. He was arrested for a kidnap case in which he was said to have demanded N106m as ransom. While he was being conveyed from  Ibi to Abuja, an army of 10 soldiers, attacked the police convey carrying him to Abuja. Three police officers were killed in the attack and Wadume was set free. He was later rearrested and was charged along with others in February this year.

 

 In her ruling, Justice Nyako dismissed the bail application. She granted an accelerated hearing in the case and ordered that Wadume and the six others involved in the case be immediately moved from the custody of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police Force where they are currently being held, to the Kuje prison where their lawyers could have easy access to them.

 

She also ordered that the defendants be afforded access to medical facilities

172 STRANDED NIGERIANS EVACUATED FROM UGANDA AND KENYA

 The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission says 172 Nigerians evacuated from Uganda and Kenya arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at 10:20 am on Wednesday.

In a statement by the Media, Public Relations, and Protocol Unit, Mr Gabriel Odu.

He said that the evacuees arrived via @flyairpeace Flight B777-200 from Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.

According to him, some of the evacuees disembarked at the airport in Abuja while others proceeded to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

“The exercise was put together by our Mission in Nairobi, Kenya in collaboration with the Mission in Kampala, Uganda.

“All evacuees tested negative to #COVID19 and will now proceed on 14 days self-isolation as mandated by @NCDCgov, @Fmohnigeria and PTF on #COVID-19,” he said.

FG RESCUES 39 NIGERIANS ARRESTED FOR ILLEGAL ENTRY INTO GHANA

The Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM, made this known in a statement shared on its Twitter handle. It said the Nigerian citizens were arrested at Aflao border as they attempted to enter Ghana illegally.



“About a month ago, the Nigerian mission in Ghana got a call on the arrest of six Nigerians who were caught at Aflao border trying to enter Ghana,” the statement reads.



“The Nigerian consular team was dispatched by the High Commission to intervene immediately, and on getting there, they met with about 30 more Nigerians who were arrested for also trying to enter Ghana through illegal routes due to the border closure.”



The consular team was said to have appealed to the immigration officials not to prosecute the culprits.



“The officials agreed and allowed the team to get their details to secure approval from the appropriate authorities for them to be evacuated along with stranded Nigerians, as the Ghanaian immigration would not permit them to proceed into Ghana because of the border closure,” the statement continued.



The NiDCOM further explained that the mission staff paid two visits to the detainees before they were released.



The citizens would be brought back to Nigeria after taking Covid-19 test in line with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control protocols.



The statement read, “There are in total about 50 Nigerians detained by the Ghanaian immigration authorities because some were moved away from Aflao and kept somewhere else.



“As instructed by the NCDC, they need to do their COVID-19 tests before returning to Nigeria.



“As soon as this is done they will return with the next set of returnees.



“However, it should be noted that 11 of the detainees have escaped, according to Ghanaian immigration.”