Aluu 4 Update

Court adjourns murder case of UniPort students to August 1

The suspects allegedly lynched the four students of the University of Port Harcourt.
A Port Harcourt High Court on Thursday adjourned the case against 11 murder suspects for the killing of four University of Port Harcourt students in Aluu community to August 1.
The suspects are facing trial for their alleged involvement in the murder of the students in the community October 2012.
Three of the suspects could not engage the services of lawyers and as a result the court could not take the pleas of the accused.
Adjourning the case, the judge, Ledan Nyordee, asked the three whether they would defend themselves or seek the services of lawyers.
They said they would need the services of lawyers.
The judge, thereafter, referred the matter to Legal Aids Council to assign lawyers to defend the accused in their trial.
Onueze Okocha, counsel to eight of the accused, had argued that the suspects should be tried separately rather than ‘’lump’’ them together.
‘’We have bail application for eight of the accused,’’ he said.
Rufus Godwin, the Rivers Solicitor–General, who led the prosecution team, said the application was premature as the pleas of the accused had yet to be taken.
He argued that every step in crime prosecution counted, saying, applications could only be accepted after pleas had been taking.
(NAN)‬

Ogun PDP suspends Daniel

Otunba Gbenga Daniel

Gbenga Daniel and twelve others were suspended from the Ogun State chapter of the PDP for anti-party activities.
A former Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel, has been suspended by his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, over alleged anti-party activities.
Mr. Daniel’s sack emanated from his ward 12, Sagamu Local Government of Ogun East Senatorial District.
Twelve other persons were sacked for the same offence.
The Chairman of Ogun East senatorial district of the party, Doyin Fakoya, announced Mr. Daniel’s suspension at the PDP Remo- North federal constituency meeting which held at Isara in Remo-North Local Government Area of the state.
He said the former governor was assuming the position of ‘God’ within the party, hence needs to be checkmated.
Mr. Fakoya said that Mr. Daniel’s suspension was carried out so as to bring back discipline into the party.
“Daniel has been suspended from PDP by his ward, ward 12 Sagamu constituency 2. As of today ,I am the Senatorial Chairman of Ogun East Senatorial District. I have got a copy of letter that Otunba Gbenga Daniel has been suspended. He is no longer a member of the PDP; he has been suspended by ward 12 Sagamu constituency 2”.
Others suspended include Idowu Osho, Gbenga Sadiku, Yetunde Majolagbe, Mabawonju Shitta, Ayantola Lawal, Raufu Jinad, Oguntade Adeleke, Gbenga Buhari, Yinka Sotunde, Gbenga Sokoya, Zainab Lawal and Olu Osho.
The party also released the report of an eight-man disciplinary committee led by Gbenga Salako, dated June 3. The report contains the notification of the suspension of the ex-governor and other 12 members who were accused of not attending the party’s meeting at the ward level over a long period of time.
The report also indicted Mr. Daniel for anti-party activities including defecting to the People’s Party of Nigeria (PPN), before the 2011 general elections.
The report held that some of the suspended members refused to appear before the panel for clarifications, hence the need to invoke the party’s constitution 2012 (as amended) Article 58 (1) a,c, e, f and j to suspend them.
“Some members in different guises have defected to PPN and subsequently Labour Party. All party members who are loyalists of Otunba Gbenga Daniel defected to PPN and contested against the party in the last general elections and presently they have joined the Labour party while OGD still parades himself as a PDP member. He cannot be in PDP and Labour Party at a time,” the report stated.
Mr. Fakoya, flanked by party chairmen in Sagamu, Ikenne and Remo-North local government areas, said the disciplinary committee set up to look into the allegations leveled against Gbenga Daniel and others, found them guilty of the allegation.
“Otunba Gbenga Daniel was the one that brought the PPN to Ogun State; he is now financing Labour Party at the moment. You cannot be in two parties at the same time, you cannot be in PPN, PDP and Labour Party at the same time.
“Otunba Gbenga Daniel is like any other citizen that jumps political party, he was fortunate that he governed Ogun State for eight years, is that the reason for being in three political parties at the same time,” he added.

NIGERIA COULD RETALIATE AGAINST BRITAIN OVER £3,000 CHARGE TO ENTER ENGLAND-ABIKE DABIRI

It is no longer news that the U.K's Home Secretary is initiating a pilot scheme where citizens from certain "high risk" countries, including Nigeria, pay £3,000 as a surety bond before being allowed entry to Britain.

British Home Secretary, Theresa May was quoted by the media as saying that Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative Party is serious about cutting immigration and abuses of the system.

“This is the next step in making sure our immigration system is more selective, bringing down net migration from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands, while still welcoming the brightest and the best to Britain,” May was quoted as saying.

“In the long run, we’re interested in a system of bonds that deters overstaying and recovers costs if a foreign national has used our public services,” she added.

A Home Office official said the six countries highlighted were those with “the most significant risk of abuse.”

Reacting to the development, Chairman, House of Representatives’ Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Abike Dabiri-Erewa said that Nigeria could retaliate.

She said: “I have not studied the new policy and I don’t understand what they (UK) classified as high risk. However, if indeed all this is true, the principle of reciprocity should apply. You can recall there was a time South Africa had some policy for Nigerians, when the then Ambassador Mohamed Marwa introduced same to South Africans coming to Nigeria; they suspended the policy.”

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ogbole Amedu Ode (Deputy Director Communications), when contacted on phone last night said, “I am sure you know that Nigeria has a mission in the UK. By tomorrow, I will speak with the Nigerian High Commissioner in London on the matter first before I can say anything on it.”

In a related development, bilateral tie between Nigeria and Portugal may soon snap following outbreak of diplomatic row between both countries.

Barely a week after Nigeria was entangled with the East African country, Kenya, over “illegal deportation of Nigerians,” the Federal Government at the weekend refused to accept another Nigerian deported from Portugal.

The Federal Government had said that the deportation of the Nigerian, simply identified as Raymond Junior, did not follow due process.

A Portuguese plane, which registration number could not be ascertained at press time, had brought Raymond into the country from Lisbon, Portugal through the cargo session of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos.

However, officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, attached to the airport refused to accept him, citing irregular process.

A source close to the NIS confided in our correspondent that the officials on duty, after making phone calls to their boss in Abuja, ordered the plane to return the deportee to Lisbon and told the pilot and the Portuguese officials to follow the law on deportation of Nigerian nationals before he could be accepted into the country.

The source insisted that Portugal did not file a proper documentation before Raymond was deported, stressing that Federal Government only asked Portugal to take back the deportee and comply with international law before bringing him back to Nigeria.

The same situation is playing out between Nairobi and Abuja following the deportation of three Nigerians, with the Federal Government claiming that Kenya flouted all known international laws in deporting her citizens.

The Kenyan government brought a legislative order from its Minister of Interior to deport foreign nationals.

Media had reported last Thursday of the grounding of a Kenyan plane with the American registration number 5Y-SAS belonging to Cavok Airlines in Kenya.

The aircraft, which is still grounded at the airfield of the Lagos airport, had arrived the country about 6.36pm on June 3 with 18 passengers, including three deportees from Kenya.

CONTENDER FOR ACCOUNTANT-GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION IN RITUAL MESS

 

The Director of Finance, Bayelsa State Ministry of Special Duties, Federal Project, Office of the Governor, Dr Isaac Ogugu is now embroiled in a ritual mess in his desperate moves to become the Accountant-General of Nigeria.

 

Dr Ogugu a self-acclaimed pastor with winner’s chapel church in Yenagoa, is now telling his stories of what he knows about the list of candidates submitted to a herbalist for elimination. The living faith pastor left his office and his church to seek spiritual power in Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State, to enhance his chance of becoming the Accountant –General of Nigeria, and because of his mother which he tagged a witch. 

Indeed the high octane scandal revealed the desperations of Public servants in Nigeria.

 

Dr. Ogugu, in a letter headed paper with the emblem of the Bayelsa State Government, submitted the list of allege competitors for the office of the Accountant General of the Federation for elimination to pave way for his candidature. The list includes that of his boss in the office and other contenders for the post of the Accountant –General, for spiritual affliction submitted to the spiritualist to cast spells on them.

 

 

On the day of the ritual, according to our investigation, Dr Ogugu lodged at Havana hotel in Ikere and the marabouts came to visit him there, in the early hour of the fateful day according to our source, he was taken to a notorious shrine where the sacrifice was made and he was made to bathed with human blood.

 

May 26th 2013 was then given to him as the appointed date that he will resume as the Accountant –General of Nigeria, when the date passed and he did not received any letter or calls to that effects he ran back to the spiritualist and another date 15th June 2013 was mentioned as the appropriate date.

 

When Dr Ogugu was contacted on 4th June 2013 in his office in Yenagoa Bayelsa state, he first denied the allegation but later confessed in the face of the overwhelming evidence. In his narration, his ordeal started with oneSunday a pastor, that said he will help him break the unseen pot that has been affecting and deterring his progress since birth, according to himSunday later told him that his power cannot handle the people behind his problem, he later introduced him to Baba Makinde and Aworo at the Ikere-Ekiti shrine, Dr Ogugu recalled the day he lodged at Havana hotel that a big pot was brought out from his hotel room after which they followed him to Yenagoa and brought out another bigger pot from his bedroom.

 

About the post of Accountant –General, Dr Ogugu confirmed to us that he went for the examination and interview for the post and he passed, that he will resume as the next Accountant-General of the Federation on 15th June 2013, we want to know the genesis of the crisis between him and some top officials of his ministry and why he brought their names to the shrine to cast spells on them, he was confronted with the contents of the documents he wrote the name of his serving Commissioner and Permanent Secretary, he said he wrote their names for the spiritualist so that any one of them that did not want his progress or want to be a stumbling block for the post of the Accountant–General should not have progress, he referred our crew to the contents of the document with an emphasis that “any one that want to be stumbling block for his ambition let happiness be far away from them, so that it’s not a crisis to me, any one that want my progress will have progress too” he specifically mentioned the name of one Sanni as co contender for the plum job, that the said Saani have more money to spend than him so he has to go spiritual to enhance his chances.

 

Investigation on the matter continues, we are making frantic efforts to have the views of the Hon Commissioner and his Permanent Secretary on the lingering crisis within the ministry, also other pictures and documents related to the wife and families of Dr Ogugu, the activities and the names of spiritualist that gave Dr Ogugu several unseen dates to attained the post of the Accountant-General of Nigeria will be made public at the end of our investigation.  

SOURCE: GLOBAL VILLAGE EXTRA.

CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA Clarification on allegations made by CAN and Islamic Council of Nigeria

 
 Press Release

The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to some reports being circulated in the media to the effect that the CBN had ordered the freezing of the accounts of some religious organisations, citing alleged suspicion of links with terrorist groups.

We wish to state as follows:

1. That the CBN has NOT ordered the closure or freezing of the bank account of any religious body or any institution whatsoever as alleged in the publications and posts. There is, therefore, no iota of truth in these allegations.

2. Prior to 2006, Nigeria was the infamous list of the Non-Cooperating Countries and Territories (NCCTs) of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global watchdog financial crimes.

3. Nigeria was removed from this undignified list on account of stringent actions taken by the Nigerian Government.

4. However, by 2007, as a result of loopholes in Nigeria’s legal and regulatory system, the country was included in the ‘grey list’ of countries that had not made appreciable progress in their Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime by FATF. It was therefore incumbent on Nigerian authorities to ensure that her financial processes and procedures as well as the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act (MLPA) of 2011 and the Prevention of Terrorism (PTA) Act of 2011, were in conformity with FATF recommendations and international best practice.

5. Consequently, all Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs) operating accounts in all financial institutions in Nigeria were required to update their account information to ensure that their respective businesses and vocations were registered as stipulated by the relevant statutes.

6. DNFBPs refer to dealers in jewelry, precious metals and stones, cars and luxury goods, audit firms, tax consultants, clearing and settlement companies, lawyers, notaries, other independent legal practitioners and chartered accountants, trust and company service providers (who provide services to third parties), hotels, casinos (including internet and ship-based casinos), supermarkets, real estate agents, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), religious and charitable organisations, or such other businesses or professions as the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investments, or appropriate regulatory authorities may, from time to time, designate.

7. The only requirement to this effect is:
· The presentation of evidence of registration, specifically, certificate of registration showing registration number with the Special Control Unit Against money Laundering (SCUML)

8. On August 2, 2012, the CBN issued a circular requiring all such account holders classified as DNFBPs to update, within 6 months, their account information in their respective banks.

9. This deadline was extended by another 3 months through another circular dated February 25, 2013.

10. On June 18, 2013, following exhaustive discussions with various interest groups, the CBN conceded yet another 8-month extension to December 31, 2013, for all such account holders to comply.

11. It is, therefore clear that the new deadline has neither come nor is the measure targeted at any institution or person, be it religious, financial or social.

12. The circulars are in line with global best practice and consistent with the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

13. We wish to state, however, that upon the expiration of this final deadline, the CBN shall ensure that FATF rules are complied with. We, therefore, urge all affected DNFBPs to comply as soon as possible.

14. Once again, we appeal to reporters and publishers to exercise great circumspection in the publication and circulation of rumours and fabrications that undermine the good intentions of public policies.

Ugochukwu A. Okoroafor

Director, Corporate Communications