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Okorocha implicated in fraudulent impeachment of Imo Deputy Governor

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The impeachment of the Imo State Deputy Governor, Jude Agbaso might have inadvertently opened a Pandora’s Box amid emerging evidence that the charges against Agbaso were politically motivated and that the Imo State House of Assembly merely acted a script handed to them by Governor Rochas Okorocha, who now faces calls for impeachment by rights and activists groups.

Agbaso was accused of demanding and receiving a bribe of N458 million from Mr. Joseph Dina, CEO/MD of a company, JPROS International Ltd., which was awarded a construction contract by the Imo State Government. However, as Agbaso was being impeached in Owerri, the Imo State capital, new facts emerged showing that forensic auditors employed by the Agbaso family have traced the missing N458 million to accounts of the contractor, JPROS, in the United Arab Emirate, Dubai and Lebanon.

It was further gathered that one of Okorocha’s special advisers and Chairman, Committee on Monitoring and Implementation of Road Projects, Mr. MacDonald Akano, was on the board of the company and also its second largest shareholder. A search at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), however, showed that Akano was put on the board of the company at about the same time the execution and mobilization for the contract in question took place, suggesting a conflict of interest.

The report of the forensic auditors had been forwarded to the appropriate quarters, including the police and the Department of State Security (DSS). The latest development has triggered calls for Okorocha’s impeachment by the Save Imo Group (SIG), whose coordinator, Nze Ebubeagu Ekenulo and rights activist, Chief Lambert Adibe, have written a letter to Imo lawmakers urging them to commence impeachment proceedings against Okorocha on 13 counts. They urged the Assembly members to apply the same speed to their impeachment letter against Okorocha as they did with Agbaso.

Agbaso was impeached and removed from office on Thursday by the state House of Assembly shortly after an Owerri High Court earlier in the day struck out his suit seeking to stop the impeachment process. Twenty-three of the 27-member Assembly endorsed the impeachment, which took place amid tight security in the evening. The impeachment came amid protests over the authenticity of the process, as the panel, instituted by the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Benjamin Njemanze, to look into the matter, only sat for a few hours before the House swung into action.

Notwithstanding, and without batting an eyelid minutes after the impeachment, Governor Okorocha submitted the name of the Chief of Staff, Government House, Mr. Eze Madumere, as the deputy governor-nominee. He was cleared by the state assembly and would be sworn in today, Saturday.

According to the findings presented by the older brother to the former deputy governor, Mr. Martin Agbaso, who addressed the press at his office in Victoria Island, Lagos; “Mr. Dina first paid the sum of N325 million into the Three Brother’s Concept Ltd GTB Account. “The money was used to raise the sum of US$ 1,930,00 (one million, nine hundred and thirty thousand dollars), which was subsequently transferred through Dubai on February 21, 2012 to Mr. Joseph Dina’s account no: LB550014000023023 00179018010 with the Kaslik Branch of Blom Bank Sal in Lebanon. The purpose of the transfer as stated in the transfer document was ‘to import construction equipment’.

“The second tranche of N133,000,000 (one hundred and thirty-three million naira) was similarly paid into the IHSAN BDG Ltd’s account no: 1015334698 with UBA by Mr. Dina. Again, the money was used to raise US$ 800,000 (eight hundred thousand dollars) and transferred to Mr. Dina’s Account no: AE60200000036374395130 with HSBC Middle East Ltd at Dubai Internet City, Sheik Zayed Rd, Dubai.

“So while Mr. Dina was accusing the (former) Deputy Governor of Imo State, Mr. Jude Agbaso, of demanding and receiving a bribe of N458 million, the said money had been converted by Mr. Dina himself and his associates and paid into Mr. Dina’s foreign accounts in Lebanon and Dubai.”

The senior Agbaso, who said the family, took the initiative to employ forensic experts in the case because of the need to clear its name from the deliberate attempt to tarnish it, said apart from establishing the beneficiary of the bribery, it was also imperative to identify the owners of the companies.

“The Three Brother’s Concept Ltd runs a Bureau De Change and its directors are Abdulahi Lawal, Ahmadu Yanusa, Karimu Usman, Umar Abubakar and Yakubu Abdulahi. Its current shareholders are Abdulahi Lawal, Umar Abubakar and Yakubu Abdulahi. Jude Agbaso is not one of them. “The directors of Ishan Bureau De Change are Alhaji Inuwa Sabo, Abdulahi Tasiu Maikano, Haruna Saidu and Mallam Sule. The five gentlemen are also the shareholders. Again, Jude Agbaso, the (former) deputy governor of Imo State is not one of them.

“The directors who are also the only shareholders of JPROS Nigeria Ltd, the company whose MD is falsely accusing the (former) deputy governor of bribery are Joseph Dina, Aline Dina, Jean Samir Aoun and Mr. MacDonald Akano, the Special Adviser to Governor Rochas Okorocha and the Chairman of the Committee on Monitoring and Implementation of Road Projects in Imo State.

“Isn’t it fascinating to discover that a director and major shareholder; indeed, the second highest shareholder in the company involved in this ugly defamation of character and wicked attempt to destroy the good name and image of the (former) deputy governor, is a member of Governor Okorocha’s inner circle.

“Isn’t it even more fascinating that to know that Akano stood quietly and loyally beside Mr. Dina as he blackmailed and slandered the (former) deputy governor before the members of the state House of Assembly, knowing well that his company, JPROS, was the guilty party in the matter,” he explained.

Agbaso, who presented copies of his younger brother’s call log obtained from MTN, said no contact was established between his brother and the contractor during the period in question and reiterated that the former deputy governor’s travail was a deliberate attempt to emasculate him politically by first rubbishing the family name.

“Governor Okorocha has the power as the governor of Imo State to do whatever he likes and as he deems fit. But he does not have the power to tarnish the image of my family and what is uppermost now is to clear my family name,” he said, vowing to fight Okorocha to finish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted in Nigeria News. A DisNaija.Com network.

Source: Huhu Online

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Nigeria News

Kano Transfers Over 1,000 Almajiris To Different States Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

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The Kano State Government on Saturday said it has transferred 1,098 ‘almajiris’ to different states of the country.

The commissioner for local government, Murtala Garo, disclosed this while presenting a report before the state’s task force on COVID-19 at the government house, Kano.

Almajiris are children who are supposed to be learning Islamic studies while living with their Islamic teachers. Majority of them, however, end up begging on the streets of Northern Nigeria. They constitute a large number of Nigeria’s over 10 million out-of-school children.

Mr Garo said the Kano government transported 419 almajiris to Katsina, 524 to Jigawa and 155 to Kaduna. He said all of them tested negative for coronavirus before leaving the Kano State.

Despite the coronavirus test done in Kano for the almajiris, the Jigawa government earlier said it would quarantine for two weeks all the almajiris that recently arrived from Kano.

Mr Garo said another 100 almajiris scheduled to be taken to Bauchi State also tested negative to COVID-19.

In a remark, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje said the COVID-19 situation in Kano was getting worse. He appealed for a collaborative effort to curtail the spread of the virus in the state.

Mr Ganduje, who commended residents for complying with the lockdown imposed in the state, said the decision was taken to halt the spread of the virus.

Kano State, as of Saturday night, has 77 coronavirus cases, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

The decision to transfer the Kano almajiris is part of the agreement reached between Northern governors that almajiris in each state be transferred to their states of origin.

However, even before the latest agreement by the governors, the Kano government had been transferring almajiris to other states and neighbouring countries after it banned street begging in the state, most populous in Northern Nigeria.

Despite the transfers, however, no concrete step has been taken to ensure such children do not return to Kano streets as there is freedom of movement across Nigeria although interstate travel was recently banned to check the spread of the coronavirus.

 

Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria

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Nigeria News

COVID-19: ‘Bakassi Boys’ Foil Attempt To Smuggle 24 Women Into Abia In Container

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By Ugochukwu Alaribe

Operatives of the Abia State Vigilante Service, AVS, popularly known as ‘Bakassi Boys’ have arrested 24 market women hidden in a container truck, at Ekwereazu Ngwa, the boundary community between Abia and Akwa Ibom states.

The market women, said to be  from Akwa Ibom State, were on their way to Aba, when they were arrested with the truck driver and two of his conductors for violating the lockdown order by the state government.

Driver of the truck, Moses Asuquo, claimed he was going to Aba to purchase stock fish, but decided to assist the market women, because they were stranded.

A vigilante source told Sunday Vanguard that the vehicle was impounded while the market women were sent back to Akwa Ibom State.

Commissioner for Home Land Security, Prince Dan Okoli, who confirmed the incident, said that  smuggling of people into the state poses great threat to the state government’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID- 19.

 

Sourced From: Vanguard News

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Nigeria News

Woman Kills Her Maid Over Salary Request

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Operatives of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Yaba of the Lagos State police command have arrested one Mrs Nene Steve for allegedly killing her maid, Joy Adole

The maid was allegedly beaten to death by Nene for requesting for her salary at their residence located at 18, Ogundola Street, Bariga area in Lagos.

Narrating the incident, Philips Ejeh, an elder brother to the deceased said that he was sad when they informed him that his sister was beaten to death.

He explained that the deceased was an indigene of Benue State brought to Lagos through an agent and started working with her as a maid  in January 2020.

‘’She reported that her boss refused to pay her and anytime she asked for her salary she will start beating her.

She was making an attempt to leave the place but due to the total lockdown she remained there until Sunday when her boss said she caught her stealing noodles and this led to her serious beating and death,’’ Ejeh said.

He called on Lagos State Government and well- meaning people in the country to help them in getting justice for the victim.

The police spokesman, Bala Elkana, stated that the woman and her husband came to Bariga Police  Station to a report that their house girl had committed suicide.

Detectives were said to have visited the house and suspected foul play with the position of the rope and bruises all over the body which confirmed that the girl had been tortured to death and the boss decided to hang up the girl to make it look like suicide.

He said: “The police moved on with their investigation and found a lot of sign of violence on her body that she has been tortured before a rope was put on her neck.’’

He added that the police removed the corpse and deposited it in the mortuary for autopsy to further ascertain the cause of the death.

Elkana said the matter has been transferred from Bariga police station to Panti for further investigation while the couple have been arrested and will be charged to court.

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Tribune

Boko Haram Attacks: Buhari Summons Urgent Meeting Of Service Chiefs

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President Buhari and the Service Chiefs in a meeting. (File photo)

Ostensibly alarmed by the latest killings of dozens of soldiers by Boko Haram insurgents, President Muhammadu Buhari has summoned an urgent meeting of Service Chiefs to find ways to stop the trend. 

He has also dispatched the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali, to the neighbouring Republic of Chad for an urgent meeting with President Idris Deby and his defence counterpart. 

Knowledgeable sources said in Abuja on Friday that the president is worried by on the deterioration of security situation on the Nigeria – Chad Border that has led to the recently increased Boko Haram terrorism in the area.

The sources which did not want to be named in Abuja said: “Nigeria has a Chad  problem in the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) put together to secure the Lake Chad basin areas and repeal the Boko Haram terrorist attacks against all the countries neighbouring the Lake.”

The sources noted that Chad is believed to be having their own internal security challenges and this has reportedly led to their pulling away their own troops manning their own border around Lake Chad,  saying: “That lacuna is being exploited by the Boko Haram terrorists, who go in and out of Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon to launch terrorist acts.  This is a clear illustration of the fact that terrorism is beyond national borders.”

When contacted, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, confirmed that the Defence Minister is going to Chad but said he is unaware of the purpose. 

Meanwhile, the military authorities are said to be in the process of identifying the families of the latest victims with a view to making contact with them. 

Credible sources revealed that it is the reason the president is yet to make any pronouncement on the matter. 

“The President has called an urgent meeting with the Service Chiefs, as well as the fact that families of the latest victims of the Boko Haram are being identified and contacts made before a government pronouncement on the tragic attacks. This, it is understood, is the reason for the silence of the government over the incident,” the source said. 

 

Sourced From: Tribune

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