Fulani herdsman : I made over N100m from kidnapping, my ‘Oga’ has killed many people

A Fulani herdsman, identified as Muritala Umaru, has confessed to making over N100 million through kidnapping in Edo State.

The state Police Command paraded the notorious kidnapper, yesterday.

The State Police Commissioner, Babatunde Kokumo, described him as a kidnapper, who disguised as one of the herdsmen.

“The man has been in and out of prison. He has kidnapped in Edo and other states. The prison official he kidnapped identified him,” he said.

He said Umaru was arrested with an AK-47 rifle, breech number KO340119 and 10 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition.

The suspect confessed that he began kidnapping four years ago in Okenne, Kogi States, and had participated in several other kidnappings across Edo State.

Muritala admitted to owning some cattle and that his gang had 10 AK47 rifles with which they carry out kidnapping.

Umaru confessed to reporters that “big man we call Chief in one community is the one that always gave us identities of victims before we strike.”

The suspected kidnapper pledged to cooperate with the Police.

He added, “I am married. I stay in Auchi, but I was born in Lokoja, Kogi State. I am into kidnapping. I have been into kidnapping for four years. I started in Lokoja. I have kidnapped over 50 persons.

“We kidnap them when they are travelling. There is one man that used to give us target. I collected N3 million in our last work.

“It is my oga that kill people. He has killed many people. We operate in Auchi, Ekpoma, Okenne and other places.” - Daily Post

APC !! Association of Past Criminals !!! ‘I was deceived’ — Abuja pastor speaks on Aso Rock visit

Henry Sado, one of the pastors who visited President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa in Abuja last week, says he was deceived into joining the delegation.

Under the aegis of Arewa Pastors Non-Denominational Initiative for Peace in Nigeria (APPIN), the pastors endorsed the president and promised to expose those working against him within the Christain fold.

While they discussed different issues with the president, the pastors were silent on the plight of Leah Sharibu, the Christain girl held by Boko Haram for refusing to renounce her faith.

The action of the clerics sparked anger, especially on social media. Some had described the visit as a political pilgrimage to the presidency.

In an attempt to clear his name, Sado who is a pastor at the Abuja branch of Church of Eternal Life, narrated how he got to know of the visit.

“Bishop JRA (John Richard Abu) called me on Wednesday, April 5, 2018, to be part of his team to Aso Rock on Thursday, April 6. He told me about his closeness to a former president of CAN. He also said he had spoken with the chairman of Pentecostal Bishops in the 19 northern states and FCT who is also the founder of Dominion Chapel International Churches, Archbishop Daniels John Praise; hence I should please follow him,” he said.

“I asked him the purpose of the visit to the Villa and he said like other Christian groups that have been visiting the villa, he wants to go and present burning issues to President Buhari, including the case of Leah Sharibu, the female student of Government Science Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe state, who is still being held captive by Boko Haram insurgents and a prayer conference. I am not privy to the speech he presented.

“I met him for the first time on Thursday, April 5, 2019, in fact, I had to call him to identify him in the midst of others. On getting to the villa, the Chaplain of Aso Villa (Seyi Malomo) was surprised to see him and he asked of Archbishop Daniels John Praise and Rev. Yakubu Pam (chairman of CAN in 19 northern states and FCT), two very prominent northern Christian leaders, and he (Abu) said they were not on his team. There and then, I suspected there are issues, I had been conscripted through deception.

“I was asked to stand in for FCT since the Arewa pastors are supposed to come from the 19 northern states and FCT. I Pastor and have lived in Abuja for the past 17 years, by God’s grace. Some Christian leaders have been to our church before. I was former national chairman of YOWICAN (Youth Wing of CAN). I have never turned my back against the Christian community before, my records with the fathers and God speaks for me.” - Cable Nigeria

Terrible !! Gunmen kill Kano-based Syrian, abduct son

Gunmen have killed Ahmed Aredia, a Syrian businessman based in Kano state, and abducted the 14-year-old son of the deceased.

The tragic incident occurred along Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital, Nassarawa, GRA Kano, on Tuesday night.

TheCable gathered that two of the victim’s children were with him in the vehicle when the assailants struck.

A family source told TheCable that the gunmen, numbering four, took over the victim’s vehicle.

According to the source, the attackers engaged Areida in a heated argument before he was eventually killed.

The other son of the victim identified as Abdullateef was said to have been lucky to escape.

Magaji Majiya, spokesman of the police in Kano, confirmed the incident, saying a report was filed by the family of the deceased.

Majiya said officers had been deployed to track the perpetrators. - Cable Nigeria

Bank manager, brother drown to death

The Manager of Skye Bank, Abak Road Branch, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Ubong Ekpe and his brother have been reported dead.

It was gathered that Ubong, who was on a picnic with his wife and children, drowned along with his brother, Francis, at the Ibeno Beach, Iwuokpom community, in the Ibeno Local Government Area of the state.

Ubong was said to have entered into the beach to swim. But after some minutes, he did not surface from the water .

His brother,Francis, who attempted to save him by also diving into the beach, drowned as well.

There was anxiety around the beach as efforts to save the men proved abortive.

The Chairman of the Ibeno LGA, Mr. Ifum Udoh confirming the incident told the News Agency of Nigeria that the authorities were working to prevent recurring loss of lives at the beach, adding that the state government had concluded plans to take over the beach.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Odiko Macdon, also confirmed the deaths, adding that the incident happened around 8.30pm.

He said, “The Skye Bank manager, his children and wife went to Ibeno Beach to have fun. Sadly, he got drowned. His brother died while trying to save him. The family initially did not report the incident. Their bodies floated and the family took them to Uyo. There is no suspicion of foul play.” - Daily Post

Shocking !!! 73-year-old Man Locked Son in Cage for 20 Years

A man has been arrested in Japan for allegedly confining his son in a wooden cage for more than 20 years, according to local media reports.

Yoshitane Yamasaki, 73, claimed he was forced to confine his son, now aged 42, in the box because he suffered mental health problems and sometimes became violent, reported Japanese public broadcaster NHK.

The cage was reportedly one meter high and two meters wide, and was kept in a hut by the family’s home in Sanda, Kyoto.

The son was reportedly first locked up in the cage when he was 16, fed every day, and washed every other day.

He has been taken into the care of authorities, suffering a bent back from his prolonged confinement.

According to local media reports, he has been in the care of social services officials since January. A city official visited the home and alerted police, leading the boy to be freed.

The only action taken against the boy’s father was to arrest him for 36 hours in January. 

"I made my son live in a cage for more than 20 years because he has mental problems and acted up," the father earlier told city officials, according to NHK. - Newsweek

Premier League : Over 100 football stars face £250 MILLION bill after ploughing cash into tax avoidance scheme

Professional footballers who ploughed their cash into a tax avoidance scheme could face financial ruin if hit with massive bills to repay the money and fines.

One former Manchester United star invested £33.5million, a mix of his own cash and a bank loan, in a movie-based project that allowed him to significantly reduce the duty he paid on his Premier League salary.

The household name is one of 129 top players who put a total of £250million into the scheme through ­financial advisers Kingsbridge.

Other clubs with high-profile investors included Liverpool – where one paid £10.4million in cash and loans – Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers.

Kingsbridge staff earned huge bonuses on the back of the payments.

HMRC is now trying to claw back at least 70% of the amounts put in, plus interest and penalties.

It means players face bills similar to their original investments as income paid back to the scheme from the films was taxable.

Critics claim the players knew they were avoiding tax. But experts claim the stars had little or no idea how their money was being used.

Investor Rescue Organisation founder Stuart Cotton said: ­“Footballers have been demonised over years for investments into tax avoidance schemes.

“The truth is most were not privy to how the arrangements work. The result of investing in such schemes is beyond comprehension at times.”

XPro, which supports former ­footballers in debt matters, insisted the responsibility lies with scheme promoters and banks, who provided the loans.

A source said: “There is a deep sense of shame attached to this group.

“They are high-profile figures, ­international footballers. None of them knowingly embarked on a plan to pay less tax.”

Julia Norris, of Manchester-based FS Legal, said the players should have been told schemes were “very high risk” and warned some now face “financial extinction”.

She added: “Where investors try to reduce their tax bill, some might say they got what was coming.

“But many were going to pay any money owed down the line, plus interest. They are not tax dodgers. They are tax delayers.

“One man placed £300,000 of his own money, plus a £7million loan. He now has a £7million tax bill.

“It was sold to him as a cash flow advantage, it is not the evil tax dodge as so often portrayed. Advisers were usually on commission on any loans, plus fees, so did very well indeed.”

But a spokesman for former ­Kingsbridge advisers David McKee and Kevin McMenamin insisted clients “without exception” were made aware of the ­products in which they were investing.

He added: “They were clearly advised in relation to commission arrangements.”

HMRC removed the tax break in the late-2000s. Some investors formed a group to take action against ­Kingsbridge – which went into ­liquidation in 2015 – and the banks involved in the schemes.

HMRC said: “Most tax ­avoidance schemes don’t work. People can end up paying more than they were trying to avoid.”

How it works

The schemes offered tax relief on money invested in the film industry, into films such as Disney’s Enchanted.

They were popular from 2000-2004, when the Labour government backed British movie makers with tax breaks.

Kingsbridge advisers David McKee and Kevin McMenamin offered financial management to footballers and agents.

The film schemes also attracted other celebrities and business tycoons.

An investor might be asked to pay £100,000 into the scheme. That would be boosted by a bank loan of £900,000, taking their total investment to £1million.

They could delay paying tax on all of this money for the duration of the scheme, often 15 years.

Experts say HMRC then removed the tax breaks, but claim advisers kept on recommending the schemes.

Solicitor Julia Norris told how one property investor put in £300,000 but faces a £7million tax bill as loans took his investment to around £10million.

It was sold as a “cash flow advant­­age”, with the investor eventually paying the tax. But HMRC argued it was a sophisticated means to avoid tax.

Whatever happens to Manchester City in tomorrow’s Champions League showdown with Liverpool, their players will not be undernourished.

For the likes of Kyle Walker, Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin de Bruyne, dinner at home is often created in their own kitchens by a Michelin-starred chef.

The idea top footballers have EVERYTHING done for them is only the slightest of exaggerations, trust me.

Players are assets, why give them the distraction of paying their Council Tax themselves when they could be thinking about 4-3-3? It is like that, seriously.

And the profession is so competitive, the rewards so vast, footballers want to concentrate on one thing only. Playing.

That is why they will hand over their financial affairs to whoever comes highly recommended.

Look, the buck stops with these indulged, pampered players, or ex-stars.

If they are faced with huge bills for trying to avoid paying tax in the way everyone who pays to watch them does, then they deserve the flak.

If ever there was a group of people susceptible to dodgy advice, it is professional footballers.

So certainly no sympathy for those caught out but equally culpable are the financial smart alecs who tell them everything is above board, knowing their clients have not got a clue. - Mirror

190 Power Projects To Be Completed In Few Months, Says Fashola

In fulfilment of federal government's incremental power  recovery programme, the Minister of Power Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola , says the Tansmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDDPHC) are set to commission new projects that will further help in boosting electricity supply to Nigerians in few months.

Speaking at a stakeholders forum on Monday, Fashola revealed that TCN is working on 90 projects, which include bulding of new substations or expansion of some of the existing ones, while NDPHC is working on 100 projects under the National Integrated Power Project, (NIPP).
Fashola said, "At the moment, there are over 90 TCN projects for transmission expansion, which the TCN will be inaugurating nationwide in the next few weeks and months. Some are completed and some are nearing completion.

“The same is also true of the NDPHC, as it has over 100 distribution projects at various stages of completion under the NIPP (National Integrated Power Projects). Over the next few weeks and months, they will be going out to inaugurate and energise those projects.”

TCN and the Discos have been at loggerheads over shortfall in electricity supply and poor state of distribution substations.

Fashola anticipates that the wheeling capacity of TCN will increase to 20,000 mw by 2020. - Saharareporters 

My wife slept with two church members - Pastor

A Pastor, Joshua Ibeneme, on Wednesday approached an Igando Customary Court in Lagos to end his 21-year-old marriage to his wife, Uzoamaka for allegedly having sex with two members of his church.

Ibeneme told the court that his wife was messing around with his male members.

“My wife had sexual affair with two of my church members, a deacon and a bishop. Both were boasting telling my other members that they slept with my wife because she enticed them.

“Whenever I return from a trip, my last born always tells me that men came to pick and drop my wife. Even God told me to divorce her or else she will destroy my ministry,” he claimed.

The petitioner said his wife denied him sex for five years.

“My wife starved me of sex for over five years. Whenever I want to sleep with her, she will be given one excuse or another. In fact, she had moved out of my room to a separate room.

“But she gives it to my members freely,” the pastor said.

The 53-year-old pastor said his wife was always mocking and embarrassing him in public telling people about his sexual performance.

He said Uzomaka always accused him of having affairs with any female member who came to the house for counselling.

“She accused them of dating me and also goes to their houses to fight them. Her behavior and attitude have chased members away from my church,” he said.

He said Uzomaka instigated their children against him, adding that the kids refused to run errands for him except when their mother permitted them to do so.

He begged the court to divorce the loveless union, claiming he was no longer in love with his wife.

However, the respondent, Uzomaka, denied having sex with their church members but accused her husband of infidelity.

“It is women that cause our frequent fighting. They are the problem in our home and my husband’s lust for them is very high.

“I never slept with the two men who claimed that they slept with me, they just wanted to tarnish my image, my husband is dating the wife of the deacon,” she said. - The Nation