Billionaire kidnapper : ‘Evans shot me, pretended to be a doctor’

A prosecution witness, Chief James Uduji, on Friday told a Lagos High Court in Igbosere that suspected ‘billionaire’ kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, a.k.a Evans, shot him during his kidnap and afterwards pretended to be a doctor.

Uduji told Justice Adedayo Akintoye that Evans was the driver of the Lexus 470 SUV which he and three other members of his gang used during the operation.

The witness testified at the commencement of the prosecution’s case against Evans and his co-defendants; Joseph Emeka, Linus Okpara and Victor Aduba.

The four were arraigned on June 26 following the dismissal of Evans’ objection to a five-count charge of conspiracy, kidnapping and attempted murder, preferred against them by the Lagos State Government.

The defendants and others at large allegedly committed the offences on September 7, 2015, at Seventh Avenue, Festac Town, Lagos.

The allegedly conspired and kidnapped Uduji, obtained a ransom of $1.2 million dollars and shot him on the shoulder while trying to kill him.

They pleaded not guilty.

Evans is also facing another charge of conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping and attempted murder, before the same judge.

In this charge, he is standing trial alongside Joseph Emeka, Ugochukwu Nwachukwu and Victor Aduba.

Led in Examination-in-Chief by prosecution counsel Adebayo Haroun, Uduji narrated yesterday how he was kidnapped on September 7, 2015, by four armed men on his way home from his factory at Agbara in Ogun State.

He said the incident took place very close to his house at 7th Avenue area of Festac Town, Lagos.
Uduji said the alleged kidnappers drove a Lexus 470 SUV and fired several gun shots during the kidnap operation.

The witness said he was surprised to see the men shooting towards his vehicle, adding that he thought they were the police.

Uduji said: “I was inside my Hilux van with my two drivers when the men came and pulled me out of my vehicle and dragged me inside their own vehicle.

“I was not blindfolded at this point, so I saw the men clearly and the man at the steering wheel with a gun was Evans; he is the only one I can recognise among the four,” Uduji said.

The witness testified that it was when he was dragged out of his vehicle, that he noticed that he was stained with blood.

“I then realised I had sustained a bullet wounds,” he explained.

Uduji said the kidnappers called a doctor on phone who treated his bullet wound at their destination.

The witness said he was given two tetanus injections for seven days, adding that Evans was the so called doctor who treated him.

He said that he stayed for 45 days in captivity and a ransom of 1.2 million dollars was paid before he was released by the alleged kidnappers.

Uduji told the court that the ransom was paid in three instalments by his brothers, adding that he was released eight days after the ransom was paid.

The witness was cross-examined by all the defendants’ counsel, Mr Olarewaju Ajanaku who represented Evans, Mr Ogedi Ogu who represented the second defenant and Mr Emmanuel Ochai for the fourth defendant.

Ajanaku observed that the specific date when Uduji was released from the kidnappers was not mentioned in the statement he made at the police station.

He also stated that the date which the witness told the court that he made the statement at the police station was different from the date contained in the statement.

According to the charge, the defendants also allegedly fired shots at Mr Donatus Nwoye which hit him on the hand.
The court heard that they also shot Jereome Okezie, Uduji’s driver, on the hand and head.

At the conclusion of Uduji’s testimony, the prosecution called Jerome Okezie, as its second witness.
Okezie testified that he sustained bullet wounds from the kidnappers’ gun shots, adding that he pretended to be dead after he was shot.

He said he was taken to the hospital by some people after the kidnappers took his boss away.

The offences, according to the prosecution, contravened Sections 230 (a) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

Justice Akintoye adjourned further proceedings till September 17. - The Nation

Nigeria, other West African countries fail to meet criteria for single currency

Nigeria and five other West African countries have been unable to meet the criteria for the proposed single currency for countries in the zone.

Ngozi Egbuna, West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) director general made this known on Thursday in Abuja at the 37th meeting of the Committee of Governors of the Central Banks of the West African Monetary Zone.

The West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) consists of The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had approved the reduction of the convergence criteria from 11 to six.

At present, the three primary criteria are a budget deficit of not more than three per cent; average annual inflation of less than 10 per cent with a long-term goal of not more than five per cent by 2019; and gross reserves that could finance at least three months of imports.

The three secondary criteria are public debt/gross domestic product of not more than 70 percent; central bank financing of budget deficit should not be more than 10 percent of previous year’s tax revenue; and nominal exchange rate variation of plus or minus 10 percent.

Egbuna said a lot of work needs to be done if the 2020 deadline will be met.

She said three countries, The Gambia, Guinea and Nigeria, attained three criteria; while Ghana and Liberia achieved two criteria, and Sierra Leone met one criterion.

Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, was elected chairman of WAMZ at the meeting.

Addressing delegates, Emefiele said member countries should not be blinded by the desire of a common currency to the adverse factors associated with a unified monetary environment. - TheCble

N226.7m fraud : Delta Police arrest seven staff of investment firm

The Delta State Police Command, on Friday, confirmed the arrest of seven persons in Asaba over the alleged N226.7m fraud under an investment company identified as Trust Integrated Investment Company Limited along Nnebisi road Asaba.

Mustafa Muhammad, the Police Commissioner in the state who confirmed the arrest of the suspects to journalists in Asaba disclosed that the suspects allegedly defrauded many unsuspecting residents of Asaba in the last few months through the investment company, adding that the suspects upon interrogation, made useful statements to the police.

He said, ” Some of the people duped petitioned the police, and upon investigation, the seven persons were arrested for allegedly defrauding the people to the tune of N226.7million. The suspects have made useful statements to the police, and investigation is ongoing”.

It was gathered that the suspects under the guise of Microfinance company around Asaba city Plaza Complex, allegedly duped unsuspecting Asaba residents including two female medical doctors to the tune of N226.7million.

But the police Commissioner while speaking further said, “The suspects from investigation are crooks who until they were arrested were working with one of the new generation banks; they admitted to the police that they were involved in the fraud to eke a living for themselves. Investigation is ongoing, and upon completion, the suspects will be charged to court”.

He gave the names of the suspects as ; Emmanuel Emelue, The investment manager, Adesegun Gabriel, Thomas Chibuzor, Desmond Chibuzor, Emmanuel Blessing, Dennis Arinze, Aba Beneth, and Cletus Ogbah, disclosing that the police apart from acting on a petition from some of the victims, disclosed that two of the suspects were currently standing trial for alleged fraud of N200,000, at Ogwashi UkU Magistrate Court.

Sources said that suspects operated the investment company under the name -Trust Integrated Investment Limited in Asaba and allegedly cajoled unsuspecting customers with mouth-watering gains for their deposit, especially with the promise of giving out loans with ease to people desperate to improve on their businesses.

The police Boss further disclosed that some of them were traced to Enugu and arrested in their hotel rooms with their girlfriends.

One of the victims,a female Medical doctor who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity said,” I was introduced to the suspects by a friend and I started with them with N200,000; now my money is gone because they are owing lots of people.” - Daily Post

Venezuela’s crisis is so bad that people are abandoning their beloved pets

It was Sheldon’s 6th birthday, and Mary Cruz Lema realized she had to give him up.

As Venezuela’s economic crisis had deepened, she and her husband had been struggling to feed their beloved black and white schnauzer. Their collective salaries — hers as a schoolteacher, and his as a nurse — equaled no more than $10 a month, barely enough to cover meals for themselves and their two children.

The last time Sheldon had had a dog treat was in November. By January, their budget was so tight that Lema was forced to stop buying pet shampoo, and begin limiting his meals to one a day. By June, his only sustenance was a few leftover vegetables from the family table. Once playful, Sheldon became lethargic — sitting in a corner in distress.

“I looked at the dog and couldn’t sleep,” said Lema. “It felt urgent.”

So she took a step that is becoming increasingly common in this collapsing nation: giving up the family pet.

If life in Venezuela has become hard for humans, it has become even harder for many pets. With inflation soaring toward 1 million percent, dog food and veterinary care have spiraled out of reach for millions of people. One kilo — or 2.2 pounds — of dog food, for instance, now costs nearly the equivalent of three weeks’ salary for a minimum-wage worker.

The result, animal specialists say, has been an exploding population of abandoned dogs on the streets and rising numbers in underfunded shelters. Although there are no reliable national figures on the phenomenon, officials from eight shelters in the capital, Caracas, said they had seen a roughly 50 percent rise in the number of pets left at their facilities this year. At the same time, pet adoptions have a dropped by as much as a third, they said.

“People are being forced to choose their priorities, and dogs for the most part aren’t one of them,” said Esmeralda Larrosa, owner of the Kauna Animal Foundation, a Caracas shelter. Her facility, she said, is now struggling to feed its 125 dogs — including 15 that arrived within the previous two weeks. “The rise in abandonment we are seeing is simply crazy.”

On one recent morning, dozens of dogs, many of them emaciated, languished inside Evelia’s Shelter in eastern Caracas. The smell of dog urine filled the air — a scent hard to expunge in a city where running water is arriving only intermittently at businesses and homes. A tiny, skeletal black poodle — brought in a week earlier — sat in one corner. A 1-year-old golden retriever, recently surrendered by a man unable to feed him, roamed the yard.

“Every day is incredibly sad,” said Aida Lopez Mendez, 53, one of the shelter’s owners. “We never thought the situation could get so tragic.”

As prices of goods and services surge, Larrosa said, she has been forced to cease most vaccinations and medical treatments for the animals. Anesthesia injections for animal operations, for instance, can cost the equivalent of $50 — a king’s ransom.

At the same time, donations to shelters have fallen drastically. To get by, Larrosa is feeding her dogs discarded pieces of meat from a nearby restaurant. And new animals are arriving in ever-worse conditions.

“We mostly get malnourished dogs now,” she said. Three such canines were left at her door last month; two died within weeks.

For pets as well as people, the crisis here is likely to get worse. This petroleum-rich country’s woes are the result of a combination of factors — including lower oil prices, corruption and failed socialist policies. In an attempt to stabilize the economy, President Nicolás Maduro — the successor of Hugo Chávez, who died in 2013 — announced a 3,000 percent minimum-wage hike last month.

So far, though, that measure and others have seemed to backfire, with prices for basic goods almost doubling.

Some shelters are considering closing once they’re able to place all their dogs.

“It’s a critical situation because we have to spend three times as much as we used to maintain each animal,” said Mariant Lameda, owner of the Network of Canine Support, which has 270 dogs. Only one has been adopted this year, compared to 13 last year, and more than 200 in 2015.

The crisis is forcing people such as Johnny Godoy, a 40-year old businessman, to make desperate decisions about their pets. Unable to get by on the money he makes selling paper products, Godoy is planning to move to Peru, a journey of more than 2,000 miles. He has spent months trying to find a family with whom he can leave his 6-year-old miniature pinscher.

“Because of the country’s situation, it’s hard to find someone who wants to keep her. But I can’t take her; I’m leaving by bus and we still don’t know how long it will take for us to get settled,” he said. “We’re going to miss her horribly.”

For Lema, the teacher, saying goodbye to her dog was one of the most traumatic experiences of her life. On that late June morning, she recalled, she walked out of the house holding Sheldon, accompanied by her two children, as representatives of an animal aid group arrived in a car to pick up the dog. The three of them were crying. Her boy, who is autistic, was especially distraught.

She gave the aid workers Sheldon’s purple pillow, his little red quilt with polka dots, and the dog. As their vehicle started to pull away, her 13-year-old son started hitting the car window, shouting for his pet.

Lema said she kept Sheldon’s dog tag.

“We miss him every single day,” she said. - The Washington Post

NDLEA destroys 110,542 tons of Indian hemp in Ondo

The Ondo State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has destroyed hard drugs weighing about 110,542 tons.

This was confirmed by the Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Col. Muhammad Mustapha (Rtd.) during the public destruction of the illicit drugs known as Indian Hemp (Cannabis Sativa) in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

The agency’s chief who was represented by his chief of staff, Femi Oloruntoba, decried the increasing rate at which hard drugs are being cultivated in the state, saying that it is becoming a huge concern not only for the agency but the country at large.

“This quantity of drugs weighing 110,542 tons which we are about to destroy is frightening and demands more reflections.

“The use of cannabis remains high in the state because of availability and affordability.

“Ondo State remains one of the six states in Nigeria where cannabis is cultivated in large quantities. As a result of cannabis plantations, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find virgin forests,” he said.

While commending the spirited efforts of the state commander and officers of the command at combing the vast forests of the state at ensuring that the illegal plant plantations are discovered, he maintained that the business is only prevalent in the South-West. - Daily Post

Nigeria’s inflation rises for the first time after 18-month decline

Nigeria’s inflation has risen for the first since it started its decline in January 2017.

This is according to the latest inflation report published by the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday.

According to the report, the rate at which prices of goods and services increased in August rose to 11.23% from 11.14%.

“The consumer price index, (CPI) which measures inflation increased by 11.23 percent (year-on-year) in August 2018. This is 0.09 percent points higher than the rate recorded in July 2018 (11.14) percent and represents the first year on year rise in headline inflation following eighteenth consecutive disinflation in headline inflation,” the report read.

“Increases were recorded in all COICOP divisions that yielded the Headline index. On month-on-month basis, the Headline index increased by 1.05 percent in August 2018, down by 0.08 percent points from the rate recorded in July 2018 (1.13) percent).”

In July, Bismarck Rewane, economic analyst, had predicted that the inflation numbers would increase in August.

“The rate of moderation in inflation is slowing which means that we are getting close to the point of deflation,” he had said, commenting on July’s inflation numbers.

“When you annualise the month on month inflation, it actually comes out at 15.94%, that is disturbing and that is going to affect the discussions at the MPC meeting today and tomorrow.

“Also important is 17 consecutive months of annual decline in inflation but it’s now getting to the point when it will start going up again. Month on month inflation is more current than year on year inflation.” - TheCable

26-year-old man arraigned for kidnapping three men

A man, Solomon Ojo, was on Friday brought before an Ebute Meta Magistrates’ Court in Lagos for allegedly kidnapping three men.

Ojo appeared on a two-count charge of conspiracy and kidnapping.

He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The Prosecutor, Sgt. Mrs Maria Dauda, told the court that the accused committed the offences on Sept. 5 at No. 15, Irepodun St., Igando, near Lagos.

She alleged that Ojo kidnapped one Osahan Obazee, 22, Augustine Ekwegbudu, 27, and Fadugbagbe Akindele, 29.

The offence contravened Sections 2 and 3 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2017.

The Magistrate, Mrs A.O. Salawu, granted the accused bail in the sum of N200, 000 with two sureties each in like sum.

The case was adjourned until Oct. 11 for mention.