Maina attacks presidency, says bigger thieves working with Buhari

Abdulrasheed Maina, embattled former Chairman of defunct Pension Reform Task Force Team, PRTT, has alleged that bigger names involved in the looting of public funds are in the Presidency with President Muhammadu Buhari.

Maina, who made the allegation also maintained that the anti-corruption fight championed by the Buhari-led government has not achieved result because those around him are lying to him.

Speaking with The Sun, Maina said, “The unfortunate thing is that some people around him (President) whom he has trusted are lying to him. I can attest to this and I can give you instances and documentary evidences. People portray themselves as if they are saints. It is a lie; they are not. We know it and that is why they are after my life.

“Why is it that the former SGF and other big personalities accused of stealing monies, including big personalities in the Villa, nobody is talking about them? Maina who is just a deputy director whom the Minister of Justice has said the DSS has cleared of any wrongdoing.

“The National Security Adviser has cleared me of any wrongdoing. His office has also cleared me. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Prosecution has cleared me of any wrongdoing and that I have no case to answer and then a small unit under the ministry will come and start fighting me for N2.1 billion.

“So are we trying to fight corruption in Nigeria or diverting attention by lying to Mr. President? Listen to me, Mr. President would have achieved more than what he has achieved. But because they are lying to Mr. President because they hate Maina, he won’t be able to achieve more.

“You hate me. I know why you hate me. You hate me because I am somebody who is bold. I know how to fetch the money. I know how to follow the money. We have talented people in Nigeria. Let’s start harnessing these talents and stop all these bickering and stuff out of the system. Nigerians have elected a very decent man as president and has given you the trust, please stop lying to him. Speak the truth and let’s move forward. We have so much to recover.” - Daily Post

'' I knew United job would be hard '' - Jose Mourinho

Mourinho says he knew that being Manchester United manager would be a difficult job.

Expectations are high at Old Trafford and after a disappointing sixth-placed finish in Mourinho's first year in charge, United have improved in this campaign but are 11 points behind rivals Manchester City in the title race.

The United boss is no stranger to feeling the pressure with his previous roles at Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Chelsea, all clubs where managers are expected to win trophies.

"I knew it wouldn't be an easy job," said Mourinho. "I had that experience before.

"You go to clubs with a huge history where people look to the history and not to the moment and the expectations are high but the job is difficult.

"I have had that experience with other clubs so nothing new for me."

Mourinho spent three seasons at Real Madrid and guided them to the La Liga title in 2012, after the club had gone four years without winning the league and the Portuguese says he has learned from his experience in Spain.

"When I went to Real Madrid, we were in a difficult moment. No league title for many years, no cup title for many years, not even a Champions League quarter-final for many years.

"It was hard but it was good and it was good for my development as a manager too."

PL update : Manchester city boss wins Manager of the Month

Pep Guardiola has been named Premier League Manager of the Month for November.

Manchester City sit 11 points clear at the top of the league ahead of second-placed Manchester United following a record-breaking start to the season.

Guardiola's side had to grind out some hard-fought results during November, scoring nine goals in four games, a markedly lower total to the previous month when they scored 13 goals in only three games.

The league leaders started the month with an impressive 3-1 victory over Arsenal, ending the Gunners' run of five games unbeaten, followed by a comfortable 2-0 win away at Leicester.

After an imperious start to the season, the end of November almost proved problematic for City as they laboured past Huddersfield and Southampton with 2-1 victories thanks to late goals from Raheem Sterling in both games.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss earned the prize ahead of Burnley's Sean Dyche, Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp, Manchester United's Jose Mourinho and Arsenal's Arsene Wenger who were all nominated for the award.

Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte is the only other manager to have been named Manager of the Month three months in a row, winning the award for October, November and December last season. - Sky Sports

Auditor-general reveals source of $43m Ikoyi cash

The huge sum of money found at a residence in Ikoyi, Lagos state, was taken from Nigeria’s joint venture (JV) cash call account at the American bank, JP Morgan Chase, according to the report of the auditor-general of the federation seen by TheCable.

NNPC currently runs six JVs — with Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU), Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited (NAOC), Elf Petroleum Nigeria Limited (EPNL) and Texaco Overseas Petroleum Company of Nigeria Unlimited (TOPCON).

Also, there was no documentation for the official release of $289,202,382 to the the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) — which claimed the $43 million found at the residence was the balance from the money it received for “covert projects”.
Beyond a request sent to President Goodluck Jonathan by Ayodele Oke — who was the NIA director-general at the time — the normal processes of  approval and authorisation for the release of government funds were not followed.
In yet another revelation, the CBN would normally credit NIA’s account at the apex bank, but it was instead directed to release the money in cash to Oke, according to the audit report.

In April 2017, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it had discovered $43 million, £27,000 and N23 million stashed away at a flat in Ikoyi after a tip-off from a whistle blower.
Following reports that the monies belonged to the NIA, TheCable subsequently reported that the agency collected $289,202,382 in cash from the account of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) at CBN in February 2015 after the postponement of the general election.

NAPIMS is a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which manages the JV investments of the national oil company.
TheCable can now reveal that in the 2015 annual report of the auditor-general for the federation on the accounts of Nigeria, the auditor-general queried the “misapplication of joint venture cash calls for other purposes”.

On pages 75-76 of the volume two of the report seen by TheCable, the auditor-general wrote: “During the examination of the JVCC JP Morgan Chase Account and JVCC CBN Naira Account, it was observed that payments with amounts totaling $292,094,405.82 and N2,474,295,000.00 were made from the Joint Venture Cash call accounts for purposes outside the objectives for which the funds were provided for and thereby constituted misapplication of Federation Funds.

“These include: The payment in “Cash” of a total of $289,202,382.00 (N56,972,869,254.00 at 2015 year end rate of N197.00 to $1) to the Director-General, National Intelligence Agency. The Director General sought the President’s approval for the release of a total of $289,202,382.00 to the NIA for the procurement of 13 items of expenditure to enable NIA respond to the nation’s mounting diverse and complex security challenges.

“However, audit noted that there was no evidence of the President’s approval to the request other than a minute to the then Minister of Petroleum Resources seeking assistance from the NNPC Security votes. It was not clear from records/documents examined the authority that NNPC/NAPIMS relied on to disburse this fund.
“Audit noted that, of NNPC/NAPIMs did not make the payment to an identifiable NIA official account, but rather mandated the CBN to make the payment in Cash to the DG, in spite of government’s e-payment policy and the huge sum involved. This was highly irregular.

“Audit further noted that this payment was not budgeted for meaning that it was extra-budgetary payment.
Also, it should be noted that an amount of $2,892,023.82 was charged by CBN on the transaction as commission, thereby making the total outlay on this transaction to $292,094,405.00.”

This revelation further provides insight into the non-remittance of billions of dollars to the federation account.
Oke has now been removed by President Muhammadu Buhari. - Cable Nigeria

58-year-old Woman jailed for ordering boyfriend’s murder

An Italian woman who ordered her boyfriend’s murder in March through a website and paid a hitman in bitcoin digital currency has been sentenced to six years imprisonment.

The woman was jailed on Friday by a Copenhagen court.

She had ordered the murder, which was never carried out in March, transferring 4.1 bitcoin, then worth about 4,000 dollars, to the hitman’s virtual wallet, the court found.

Bitcoin can be transferred electronically between users without an intermediary such as a bank, making it potentially attractive for buying illegal goods or services.

“The woman, who has lived in Denmark for 30 years, will be expelled after serving her sentence,’’ the court said.

The intended murder victim was present at the court hearing north of Copenhagen and spoke with the woman after the verdict, the Danish public broadcaster said.

In a related development, suspected double murderer who eluded police capture in Italy for eight months was arrested in Spain on Friday, after a shoot-out with police that left three more people dead.

The Italian Carabinieri police said that Serbian Feher, known as “Igor the Russian,” was intercepted on Thursday near Teruel, about 300 kilometres west of Madrid.

The police said that two of the three victims from the ensuing shoot-out were officers of the Spanish Guardian Civil police which also confirmed the incident.

The convict said that the police were after him as they suspected him of committing armed assault at a farm last week, in which two people were injured.

According to the police, after Feher killed the two officers and a farmer who was assisting the police search, he fled on a pickup truck to escape and had an accident early on Friday.

The police said they were able to apprehend the convict thereafter.

The police said that at the time of the arrest, Feher had three guns with him, including two belonging to the police officers he murdered.

However, Spanish Interior Minister, Juan Zoido, skipped a cabinet meeting and went to the area while the Italian Prime Minister, Paolo Gentiloni, sent condolences to his Spanish counterpart, Mariano Rajoy, over the incident.

In Italy, the 36-year-old Feher was wanted for the murder of a tobacconist during an April 1 robbery in Budrio, near Bologna, and of a volunteer park ranger in Portomaggiore, near Ferrara, on April 8.

Bologna Chief Prosecutor, Giuseppe Amato, said that at the height of Italian efforts to catch him, more than 1,000 police officers were deployed on the manhunt, at a huge expense.

He said that authorities suspected that the convict had absconded to Spain since the summer.

“Italy will ask for Feher’s extradition even if Spain will also want to try him for murder, and EU justice cooperation agency, Eurojust, might help resolve jurisdiction issues.

“We will have to coordinate with Spain; I can assure you that justice will definitely be done, both in Spain and in Italy,” the prosecutor said.

Nigerian gets 18 years in prison for import scam

A Southern Vietnam court has sentenced a Nigerian  to 18 years in prison over a fake customs enforcement scam,  state media reported on Friday.

A local media reported that Michael Ikechukwu Leonard, 45, was convicted on Thursday of “deceiving others to steal their assets” in a scam which targeted wealthy Vietnamese women.

The court in Can Tho city determined that Leonard gained his victims’ trust on messaging apps using various alter egos, including a U.S. army officer.

The convict was said to have promised  to send  his victims  valuable presents,  including laptops and jewellery from the U.S.

Local accomplices,  Huynh Ha Binh, Huynh Ha Uyen and Nguyen Tran Quynh Nhi,  would then contact the women claiming to be customs agents and demand fees or fines for the non-existent shipments.

They successfully conned a woman in Can Tho out of  28,500 dollars, leading to their arrest.

It is unclear how many women were duped by the gang in total.

Leonard’s accomplices received sentences ranging from 12 to 15 years.

How I Raped And Killed Youth Corps Members - Suspect

A 29-year-old, driving school instructor, Festus Udoh, yesterday, narrated how he lured, raped and killed a Batch A 2017 member of the  National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) serving in Abeokuta, Ogun State,  Ms. Modupe Taiyese, in a forest. 

Speaking with journalists at the scene of the crime at Abule Ayo area in Mawuko village, Odeda Local Government Area of the State, the suspect said that he dragged the victim into a forest and had sex with her before he strangled her to death.

When asked how he knew her, he said, “I knew her from the driving school, I was an instructor, she came to learn driving. She stopped almost a month ago now. My Oga used to send me to give them learner’s permit and I will go and do it at Oke-Mosan."

“So, I did a learner’s permit for her, she did not come to collect hers and later on, after a week she then called that she wanted to collect the learner’s permit, I  told her that I was no longer there. She then said she would come and collect the learner’s permit, I said no problem when I am around I will call her."

“So the day I called her that she should come to Lafenwa and collect the learner’s permit, I said  I will do another one for her. So, when she came,  I  told her to follow me that there is a place I will do it for her." 

He added, “We then took a  bike to Iberokodo, we dropped at that junction. When we dropped, we started trekking and we were discussing and she asked if this was where we were coming?" 

"I said yes, this is where I use to stay, she then followed me."

 “After I took her to this place, I told her that I wanted to have sex with her, she said `No’, but I dragged her into the bush and had sex with her."

“After having sex with her, she said she would tell her family; that was when I tore her cloth and used it to strangle her. “As she was gasping, I ran away, “the suspect said.

Vanguard discovered that the corpse of the deceased has not been removed from the scene of the crime as at the time of filing this report.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Ahmed Iliyasu said prior to the arrest of the suspect, yesterday, that the coordinator of the NYSC in the state, Mr. John Okon had complained to the command about a missing corps member in the state.

“We went for a powerful technical screening of fact left behind by the last person she contacted, who is the suspect; we are able to arrest him. “We are able to uncover this nefarious act and he led us to this place and confessed."

“Technically, the information led to one person, an indigene of Uromi in Edo, who was teaching this innocent corps member, Taiyese Modupe, how to drive a car." 

“The man tactically and deceitfully convinced her on Saturday evening, that her driving permit was ready. “She decided to answer his call and he cleverly and deceitfully apprehended the lady and brought her down to this forest where he had a forceful and unlawful carnal knowledge of her. Thereafter, he strangled her to death,” he said. 

Ilyasu also said the police tracked the suspect, following some passport photographs found at the scene of the crime.

“The passport photographs of the suspect were found at the scene of the incident which is a remarkable evidence of the crime.”

The police boss advised members of the public to be wary of persons they interact with to avert unpleasant consequences.

He, however, restated the commitment of the police in the state to protect lives and property, saying that the state had no room for criminal activities. - Vanguard

$1bn is for Buhari’s reelection… I’m not among govs who approved it - Fayose

Ayodele Fayose, governor of Ekiti state, has opposed the decision of the national economic council (NEC) to approve $1 billion for the fight against insurgency.

At the end of the NEC meeting on Thursday, Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo state, said all the governors had agreed that the money should be taken from the excess crude account (ECA).

But in a statement on Friday, Fayose said he is not among those who gave the approval.

He alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had the plan to use the money to fund President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election.

“For posterity sake, I wish to place it on record that I was not among the governors who approved the withdrawal of almost half of our savings in the Excess Crude Account, which belongs to the three tiers of government to fight an already defeated insurgency,” he said in  a statement issued on his behalf by Lere Olayinka, his spokesman.

“Since they said they have defeated Boko Haram, what else do they need a whopping sum of $1 billion (over N360 billion) for; if not to fund the 2019 elections?

“The APC promised to wipe out Boko Haram within six months, now it is 31 months and what the APC government is wiping out is the economy of Nigeria and the means of livelihood of the people.”

He challenged the federal government to make available to Nigerians, how the money released by international donors for the fight against Boko Haram was spent.

“Even the Transparency International (TI) once said in its report that some top military officials in the country were feeding fat from the war against Boko Haram by creating fake contracts and laundering the proceeds in the United States, United Kingdom and elsewhere,” he said.

“Nigerians are miffed by the federal government’s idea of withdrawing $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account to fund an insurgency they said had been defeated.

“They went on to tell Nigerians that the decision was taken by governors of the 36 States, whereas, it was solely the idea of the federal government, which they used the arranged National Executive Council meeting to achieve.

“The question is; how can the federal government alone spend almost half of the Excess Crude money that belongs to the three tiers of government (i.e. Federal Government, States and Local Councils)?

“The reality is that our treasury is daily being looted in readiness for the 2019 elections. Nigerians are therefore alerted to this lootings by the APC led federal government to amass huge fund for the 2019 elections under the pretence of fighting insurgency in the Northeast as well as other dubious means.” - Cable Nigeria

EFCC Arraigns Man For Possession of Forged Document, Docks Another For Forgery

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday arraigned one Oluwaseun Michael before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja on one-count charge bordering on possession of fraudulent documents. 

The offense is contrary to Section 6, 8 (B) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.

The count reads: "That you, Oluwaseun Michael, sometime in 2017 at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this honorable court, had in your possession fraudulent documents  titled " USS.TXT", which contains several fraudulent foreign account numbers and names used in defrauding unsuspecting victims with false pretense that those accounts and names belong to you,  a representation you knew to be false."

The defendant pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to him.

In view of his plea, the prosecution counsel, M. K. Basheer, asked for a trial date and urged the court to remand the suspect in prison custody. 

The defense counsel, however, told the court that he had filed an application for bail on behalf of his client. 

Consequently, Justice Dada ordered the defendant to be remanded in prison custody. 

The case was adjourned to Monday, December 18, 2017 for hearing of bail application. 

Meanwhile,  another suspected fraudster,  Okolonta  Felix,  was also arraigned yesterday  before Justice Dada on a two-count charge bordering on possession of fraudulent documents, an offense contrary to Section 6, 8 (B), 1(3) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.

Count one reads: "That you,  Okolonta Chukwudi Felix,  sometime in 2017 at Lagos within the jurisdiction of this honorable court had in your possession fraudulent documents dated 31st August,  2017 and titled "To Whom It May Concern", which contains false pretense that you,  certain John Sheldon Jerrgan, have been approved for admission  to Journeypure Inc., a representation you knew to be false. "

Another count reads:" That you,  Okolonta Chukwudi Felix,  sometime in 2017, at Lagos within the jurisdiction of this honorable court  had in your possession fraudulent documents dated 7th September, 2017, and entitled: "EMD receipt Confirmtjom", which contains false pretense that Jason B. Ganzalez and Sara H. Ganzalez purchased a contract worth$1000, a representation which you knew to be false. "

In view of his plea, the prosecution counsel,  M.K.Basheer, asked for a trial date and urged the court to remand the suspect in prison custody.

Counsel to the defendant, however, sought to move an application for bail on behalf of his client.  

Having listened to both parties, Justice Dada ordered the defendant to be remanded in Ikoyi prison.

The case was adjourned to December 18, 2017 for hearing of bail application. - EFCC

Felix Okolonta Chukwudi

Oluwaseun Michael

Felix Okolonta Chukwudi & Oluwaseun Michael 

EFCC Arraigns One For Currency Counterfeiting

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) today December 14 , 2017 arraigned one Mohammed Rabiu Musa before honourable Justice S.M Shuaibu of the Federal High Court Kaduna on 8-count charge of currency counterfeiting. 

The defendant was arrested by the officers of Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps NSCDC in Kaduna while he was in possession of counterfeit N1000 and N500 notes. 

The defendant was subsequently transferred to the commission for further investigation and prosecution..

Forensic analysis of the currencies revealed that they were counterfeit.

Rabiu pleaded not guilty after listening to the eight count charge against him. 

Prosecution counsel Musa Isah requested the court for trial date in view of the plea of the defendant.

The case has been adjourned to  February 21 , 2018 while the defendant was remanded in prison custody. - EFCC