Man seeking to restore his glory defrauded of N4.5m

A Herbalist, Olaifa Ajayi, 34, who police accused of allegedly swindling one Olufemi Olusoga, of N4.5million to offer special prayer for “restoration of glory” on Monday appeared in a Tinubu Chief Magistrates’ Court.

NAN reports that Ajayi, who lives in Abiola Estate, Jakande Lagos, is charged with three counts of conspiracy, fraud and theft.

The prosecutor, Sgt. Hafsat Ajibode told the court that the accused committed the offence on Oct. 31, at 11am at No. 50d Ogombo Road, Sangotedo Lagos.

She said that the accused, a herbalist with intent to defraud, obtained 4.5million from his customer, Olusoga, with a promise to offer spiritual prayer for the “restoration of his lost glory”.

Ajibode said that the accused took Olusoga, a project manager, to one Ifatunde (surname unknown) who demanded for 4.5 million to prepare him for special prayers.

She said that after collecting the money, the accused and his accomplice absconded and stopped picking the complainant’s calls.

Ajibode said that the accused was later apprehended in Osogbo, Osun.

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the offence.

The Chief Magistrate, Mr Tajudeen Elias, admitted the accused to bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties in like sum.

Elias ordered that one of the sureties must be a relation of the accused and the other a community leader.

He adjourned further hearing in the case until December 20.

- DAILY POST

Corruption responsible for epileptic power supply – EFCC

The head of Edo office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Yakubu Mailafia Monday said corruption is responsible for the epileptic power supply in the country.

This is even as he warned that all would be vote-buyers in the 2019 general elections should be ready for face the full wrath of the law.

Mailafia made the remarks at a rally organised to mark the year’s world anti-corruption day, with the theme, “Say no to corruption, every no counts.”

He said: “Corruption and its evil twin, economic and financial crimes have ravaged our nation and it is evidenced in the decayed​infrastructures and other basic amenities.

“In deed, it is the bane of our development. It is the reason our power supply is epileptic, it is the reason our country is still touted as the potentially great nation even after many years of sovereign statehood.

“As we are approaching the 2019 election, we are laying more emphasis on vote buying.

“The commission has put in place, machinery to checkmate vote buying. Anybody who is trying to, or planning to, should be ready for EFCC.

“The law is there and is very clear, the person that gives and take are all guilty of the same offence. There are provision of law that we will use against them.”

The EFCC boss also disclosed that the commission has done well in the fight against corruption in the state.

“At the Benin zonal office, we have so far secured 22 convictions and received millions of naira from fraudsters who want to reap where they did not sow.

The 22 convictions​ are purely on internet fraud, and more are still coming,” he said.

- PM NEWS

Nigerian army has committed war crimes against humanity, says ICC

The International Criminal Court (ICC) says Nigerian security forces (NSF) have committed war crimes against humanity.

In a report sent to TheCable, the ICC said it has received “a total of 169 communications” from Nigeria and its assessment has shown that security forces in Nigeria have committed war crimes varying from murder, torture, and intentionally attacking the civilian population.

“Specifically, the Office found a reasonable basis to believe that the NSF committed the war crimes of murder pursuant to article 8(2)(c)(i); torture, cruel treatment pursuant to article 8(2)(c)(i); outrages upon personal dignity pursuant to article 8(2)(c)(ii); and intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population,” the ICC said.

Fatou Bensouda, the ICC prosecutor, in her annual report on preliminary examination activities (2018), also said the ICC found reasonable basis to believe that Boko Haram also committed war crimes against humanity.

“Furthermore, the Office found a reasonable basis to believe that Boko Haram committed the war crimes of murder pursuant to article 8(2)(c)(i); cruel treatment pursuant to article 8(2)(c)(i) and outrages upon personal dignity pursuant to article 8(2)(c)(ii)”.

The ICC added that Boko Haram was “intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population or against individual civilians pursuant to article 8(2)(e)(i); intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to education and to places of worship and similar institutions pursuant to article 8(2)(e)(iv); pillaging a town or place pursuant to article 8(2)(e)(v); rape, sexual slavery and sexual violence pursuant to article 8(2)(e)(vi)”.

The office of the prosecutor added that the ICC met with Abubakar Malami, Nigeria’s minister of justice and attorney general of the federation (AGF), to further investigate eight potential cases of war crimes against humanity.

ICC says several “files pertaining to alleged violations by members of the army were submitted to the Office (of the prosecutor). These files relate to a limited extent to the two potential cases identified by the Office”.

“Of the 27 files provided to the Office, 24 either lacked information to determine their relevance for the admissibility assessment or did not appear relevant.

The ICC complained that “other information specifically requested by the Office which was assessed to be potentially relevant to the admissibility assessment has yet to be provided by the Nigerian authorities”.

The criminal court added since 2017, the Nigerian authorities appear to have “taken concrete steps toward fulfilling their primary responsibility to investigate and prosecute ICC crimes”.

“While there seems to be a tangible prospect of further proceedings against members of Boko Haram, including high-level commanders, at this stage the same cannot be said of the NSF, in particular since the Nigerian authorities tend to deny any allegation against the latter.

“While acknowledging the cooperation of the Nigerian authorities in the course of the preliminary examination, the Office will require, for the purpose of expediting its complementarity assessment, further information and evidence
demonstrating that relevant national proceedings are being or intended to be conducted without delay”.

The ICC also said it is examining the farmers-herders crisis in Nigeria.

- THECABLE

Woman dies as mobile phone explodes in bedroom, husband injured

A 45-year-old woman has died in Kenya after a mobile phone she was charging with solar power suddenly exploded in her bedroom.

Her husband was injured and was rushed to hospital.

The Standard of Kenya reported that the accident in Kadiburo Village, Kagan, Rangwe sub county of the country occurred on Sunday night.

The newspaper did not indicate what the model of the phone was. There had been reports of mobile phones catching fire in the past and people have often been warned to keep away from their ears, the mobile gadgets when being charged.

The woman identified as Mary Akinyi died on the spot after sustaining serious injuries on her face and head when the phone that was being charged exploded.

According to Nathaniel Ochieng’, the deceased’s brother in law, the mobile phone exploded after lightning struck a solar panel on the roof.

The mobile phone was charging in the bedroom where the couple was sleeping during a heavy downpour in the area.

Ochieng’ said electronic devices connected to solar power in the house were also destroyed.

“Efforts of family members to rescue Akinyi proved futile since she was already overwhelmed by the burns.

It was an unprecedented incident in this area,” Ochieng’ said.

Akinyi’s huband Patrick Yala, who was with her in the house during the incident sustained serious injuries before being rushed to Ndiru Health Centre for medication.

Dancun Ngicho, Medical officer in charge of Ndiru health centre said Yala sustained a serious shock in the incident.

He said the patient was vomiting blood which put him in a critical condition.

Ngicho said Yala developed general body weakness and had some glass cuts on his face.

- PM NEWS

My identity has been stolen on Facebook, Soyinka cries out

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka on Monday cried out over his stolen identity being used on Facebook by a Nigerian who lives in Poland.

Soyinka, who spoke at the Freedom Park on Lagos Island, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria on the occasion of the Worldwide Reading for Freedom of the Press and in memory of Jamal Khashoggi on the 70th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights, said he was giving the Nigerian one week ultimatum to pull down the page or he would express his freedom of expression to the fullest.

According to Soyinka, if the doctrine of freedom of expression was to be reversed, there would certainly be a number of issues to be addressed because expression on social media had taken a quantum leap in the last few years that could not be imagined.

“The principle are there but one item isn’t clear is the issue of identity. And I will have to suggest that everyone should not have his identity stolen and it is real issue for humanity and integrity of communication.

“Recently, we have a situation in Nigeria, and that is issue of cloning President Muhammadu Buhari. We have people who have taken that issue seriously. These were people that one can never believe to accept such, considering their level of intelligence.

“And when Buhari went to Poland, I said what a coincidence, because I hope while he was there, he would be able to sort-out his identity and there would be a report on the return of his identity. Poland appears to be the centre for Nigerian settlers of stolen identity,” he said.

The Nobel laureate said the media had a responsibility on higher level than it had assumed some decades ago to ensure that people’s identities were not stolen.

“This is beyond fake news because we are talking about individual identity stolen. I was in Croatia before Buhari left Nigeria for Poland. While in that country, I was tempted to leave for Poland to have a word with a Nigerian whose address is in Poland and has been running running Facebook in my name in Poland.

“I have spoken to a Croatian agency and Facebook about him. Even Facebook appears powerless to take down the page because it was already verified. I have written to him to pull down the page but he refused, claiming that he has authority to do that. And in my name, this fellow sells and buys things,” he lamented.

Soyinka decried that this Nigerian had even gotten a contract with the Amazon using his name, adding that he had thousands of followers on Facebook by using his name.

“I have his bio-data and that is why I want to tell everyone here to ask him to bring down that page. This is a very dangerous situation and that is why Facebook doesn’t want to admit publicly. If we must fight for freedom of expression, we must fight for the correct attribution of expression. So, I am giving him one week to bring down that page voluntarily or else, i will express my freedom of expression,” he warned.

- PM NEWS

Port Harcourt collapsed building: Death toll rises to 15

The South-South Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, of Mr Ejike Martins, on Monday said 31 persons have been rescued alive, while 15 others were brought out of the rubble dead, at the site of the Port Harcourt collapsed building.

DAILY POST had reported that a seven-storyed building under construction at the Government Reserved Area, Port Harcourt collapsed on Nov. 19.

However, speaking on the incident, Martins told NAN that every floor of the building fell on each other in the process of the collapse, making the effort of rescue operators to `appear slow’.

According to him, the complexity of the incident was caused by the slow pace of rescue operations at the collapsed seven-storeyed building in Port Harcourt.

“The peculiarity of this collapse is such that every floor fell directly on the other; the implication is that the debris will be removed bit by bit.

“This is what has made the operation to be seen as relatively slow, this is also the reason it is taking some time,’’ he said.

Martins added that the organizations involved in the rescue operations had been very proactive but added that they were constrained by the peculiarity of the collapse.

- DAILY POST

One-hour sex video tape played in Lagos court

Proceedings in an Ikeja High Court took an unusual dimension on Monday when an excerpt of a sex video tape between a married father of three and his ex-lover was played in the courtroom.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the father of three, Peter Omokaro, is an ex-banker, while his ex-lover, Titilayo Nosa-Igiebor, is a businesswoman.

Omokaro who is in his early 60s had sued Nosa-Igiebor, 33, over her non-payment of an alleged N15 million loan he gave her during their relationship.

The tape was played when Mr Victor Okpara, counsel to Nosa-Igiebor led her in evidence.

The video which played for more than an hour showed Omokaro and Nosa-Igiebor lying in bed in a hotel room, agreeing to the terms of the ‘loan’ before engaging in sexual intercourse.

Omokaro could be heard in the video, before signing the agreement, saying: “I hope I am not signing my death warrant.”

He was also heard telling Nosa-Igiebor that he had no intention of getting the loan back.

The defendant’s counsel tendered a copy of the loan agreement in evidence.

The counsel told the court that Clause Five of the agreement exempted Nosa-Igiebor from repaying the alleged loan because of their sexual relationship.

NAN reports that Clause Five of the agreement, which pertains to waiver of rights, states: “Peter forever waives all rights to loan payback, forfeiting totally loan given if Titilayo agrees to and has sexual intercourse with Peter.”

Earlier in her evidence, the defendant told the court that Omokaro never gave her the N15 million although he promised to give her without collecting it back.

The businesswoman testified that Omokaro became vindictive after their relationship turned sour.

She told the court that the ex-banker intended to punish her for the soured relationship by taking her to court.

While being cross-examined by Mr Jerry Omoregbe, counsel to Omokaro, the defendant testified that besides being Omokaro’s lover, she had a business relationship with him through her company, Tilimanjaro Nig. Ltd. and Nichole Integrated Ltd. (Omokaro’s company).

“Tilimanjaro was my first company. I had no prior experience; I was still setting up at the time. I went to meet Peter, my boyfriend at the time, to assist me in giving my brother, Ahmed, money for aviation school.

“Peter, my boyfriend, said that he would give me the money as a gift and that we should draft an agreement so that my brother could see that it was serious and take his schooling serious.

“He invited me to the hotel as shown in the video. He agreed that I should make the agreement, and I drafted the agreement in my letterhead. The agreement was between Peter Imafidon Omokaro and Titilayo Nosa-Igiebor.

“The friendly loan was never given to me. That agreement was signed on May 15, 2011, which was a Tuesday. He said he would pay the money into my brother’s account on Thursday but he never did,” she said.

Justice Raliatu Adebiyi adjourned the case until Feb. 20, 2019, for adoption of written addresses.

NAN reports that Omokaro had accused Nosa-Igiebor of stealing his Toyota Venza 2010 model with registration number CT370FKJ valued at N2 million as well as N106 million.

Nosa-Igiebor was initially arraigned before an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court in Lagos in April 2012 and remanded at the Kirikiri Prisons following her failure to meet her bail conditions.

The former lovers later agreed to settle their dispute out of court, with Nosa-Igiebor returning the car and other property given to her by Omokaro during their relationship.

However, Omokaro instituted a civil suit against Nosa-Igiebor before an Ikeja High Court following her failure to refund the alleged N15 million loan.

- DAILY POST

EFCC denies being used as tool for political witch-hunt

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has explained that it is an establishment mandated to fight corruption in the country and never a tool used for witch-hunt as speculated by some people.

The zonal Head of the Commission in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Abdulkarim Chukkol, said this in Uyo on Monday while reacting to allegation that the agency was being used by the All Progressives Congress, APC, to witch-hunt rival parties in the state.

He said the agency worked with facts saying since its offices were opened in the state, it has secured eight convictions and over 256 others across the country over the years.

“We have been in the state for about a year and four months now. A lot of activities have gone on in the state and we secured eight convictions from Akwa Ibom State and 256 across the country.

“We have many cases that are lining up for investigation before we go to court. I can assure you in the coming years we are going to secure more convictions,” Chukkol said.

The zonal head said that corruption war should not be left for the commission and government alone, stressing that the war must be fought by all Nigerians.

According to him, “Combating corruption is the duty of all us. The purpose of this day is to create awareness on the dangers of corruption. All Nigerians must ready, each and everyone has a role to play.”

He said EFCC would continue to work with NGOs and CSOs to create awareness and eliminate corruption from our country.

Earlier in her remarks, the State Coordinator, Social Action Anti Corruption Network in Akwa Ibom, Mrs. Ann Udonte, said that awareness creation and sensitisation should be utilised to mobilise grassroots participation in combating corruption.

Udonte said that corruption was the reason many abandoned contracts were littered all over the state and country.

She said the monitoring exercise conducted to track down projects revealed that 70 per cent of government projects listed in budgets of successive administrations in the state had been abandoned.

She said “The increasing level of abandoned projects across Nigeria has deprived the citizens the benefit of the trillions of naira budgeted yearly for development.

“This process of stealing monies meant for execution of public projects has led to the numerous cases of abandoned projects in the country.”

She called on government in the state to put in place mechanism to institutionalise accountability process in all its operations and also recommended an audit service commission to be established to ensure prudence and sector service discipline into the public procurement and auditing processes in the state.

- DAILY POST

Details of CAN meeting with Buhari, Atiku, others emerge

The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Samson Ayokunle,
on Monday urged Nigerians to avoid desperate politicians by voting only credible candidates in 2019.

Ayokunle made the remarks while briefing newsmen after a meeting with representatives of 14 Presidential Candidates in Abuja, on their plans for Nigerians and the church.

He said that the church decided to reach out to the stakeholders and the presidential candidates to ask them their credentials for aspiring to the highest position in the country.

According to him, the church cannot keep quite in this situation because the church can only prosper when a nation prospers. If the 2019 election is not free and fair all Nigerians will be in trouble including the church.

The cleric who expressed disappointment over the desperation of politicians towards the 2019 general elections said the motive for the meeting should not be taking for granted, adding that the security of Nigerians was paramount.

He urged the Independent Electoral Commission, (INEC), the Nigeria Army, the Police and other security agencies to abide by electoral rules to avoid crisis during and after the election.

According to him, the church cannot keep quite in this situation because the church can only prosper when a nation prospers. If the 2019 election is not free and fair all Nigerians will be in trouble including the church.

The cleric who expressed disappointment over the desperation of politicians towards the 2019 general elections said the motive for the meeting should not be taking for granted, adding that the security of Nigerians was paramount.

He urged the Independent Electoral Commission, (INEC), the Nigeria Army, the Police and other security agencies to abide by electoral rules to avoid crisis during and after the election.

“I spoke with President Muhammadu Buhari and he told him that when we conducted the 2015 elections people didn’t expect it to be so free and fair but the way it was conducted gave us a sense of pride in the international community.

“If the 2019 election is not better, if the police are not better behaved, if the army is not better behaved, if INEC is not better behaved the entire election process might be a failure.

“If politicians are not better behaved and they show desperation, it will be a failure. We are again warning politicians.

“The desperation we saw at the intra-party election is given us concern. If they can be so desperate and they end up fighting what will they do when they contest with opposition, the desperation is too much,” he said.

Ayokunle also urged Nigerians to beware of jobless politicians whose job description was politics, adding that such people should not be allowed to contest for any position.

“Leading Nigeria is a sacrifice. Why do you want to lead by force. Go and rest you do not need to destroy the entire land,” NAN quoted him as saying.

DAILY POST had reported that the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, is represented President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), while Vice-Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Peter Obi, stood in for Atiku Abubakar.

The former Minister of Education Obi Ezekwesili who is the presidential candidate of the Allied Congress party of Nigeria, (ACPN) was also in attendance.

- Daily Post