Court orders EFCC to seize 46 properties owned by Jonathan’s Deputy Campaign Chairman

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday ordered the temporary forfeiture of 46 properties allegedly belonging to Dr. Ngozi Olojeme, the Deputy Chairman, Finance Committee of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation in the 2015 election.

The court order showed that the properties were located in several locations in Abuja, Delta, Enugu and Bayelsa States.

The properties comprise 27 buildings, including a bank, office buildings and houses, at various stages of development and several pieces of undeveloped land.

Some of the properties include: a twin duplex office building – Plot R/151 (No. 30A) Kingsway Road, Old GRA, Enugu State; a parcel of land measuring 4833.241 sq. metres located at Uberi Bush along Mbiama Road, Akenta, Yenegoa, Bayelsa State; and a parcel of land located at Igbandaden Bush, Emeya 2 Town, Ogbia LGA, Bayelsa.

Others include: Properties located at 196, Melford Okilo Road, Amarata-Epie, Yenegoa, Bayelsa State (six units of one bedroom apartments, one unit of five bedroom bungalows, a block of six units of office space); a mansion at 24 Kainji Crescent, Maitama, Abuja and a bank building (former Intercontinental Bank) located at Plot No. 933 Cadastral Zone B01, Gudu District, Abuja

Punch reports that Olejeme, who was the Chairman of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, is wanted in a case of criminal conspiracy, abuse of office, diversion of public funds and money laundering.

The former chairman is alleged to have, along with Mr Umar Munir Abubakar, the former Managing Director of NSITF, mismanaged and diverted well over N69 billion in government funds into their personal accounts through the award of suspicious and bogus contracts to proxy companies.

The suspect, who served as the Chairman of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund from 2009 to 2015, was in June declared wanted for allegedly diverting N69 billion from the agency but turned herself in last Monday.

Olojeme is also the widow to Felix Obuah, the late Chief Security Officer to Jonathan, was said to have fled the country shortly after her sack by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.

The suspect, who was also the convener of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme sub-committee on Public Works and Road Rehabilitation, finally reported at the EFCC on Monday after which she was detained.

The NSITF, which was headed by Olojeme, is a social insurance scheme designed to provide compensation to employees who suffer from occupational accidents or diseases in the line of duty. The organisation is funded by deducting 1 per cent from all government and private sector employees enrolled in the scheme.

However, according to documents made available to The PUNCH, Olojeme and some directors in the company allegedly diverted billions of naira including funds meant for the payment of allowances of its staff as well as compensation of contributors

Trouble started for Olojeme shortly after her sack by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.

The EFCC subsequently received a petition alleging that over N50bn from the Employee Compensation Scheme fund paid by Ministries Department and Agencies and private companies as well as another N18bn being the contribution of the Federal Government as take-off grants to the NSITF were mismanaged and diverted into the personal accounts of Olojeme and Umar Abubakar, the Managing Director of the NSITF.

The EFCC immediately set up a team of detectives to look into the allegation. The commission looked into the bank account of the NSITF and discovered suspicious transactions and diversion of funds.

Some funds were said to have been traced to accounts of some consultants and contractors who were mainly fronts of Olojeme and other directors in the NSITF.

- PM NEWS

Terrorism : Boko Haram attacks Nigerian troops in Kukareta village Yobe

Boko Haram insurgents, Monday evening attacked a military base in Kukareta village, under Damaturu local government area, Yobe state.

Yobe State Commisioner of Police, Sunmonu Adeyemi Abdulmaliki confirmed the attacked, adding that details were still sketchy.

A resident of the village, Isah Bakari Yerima who fled into bush for his safety told DAILY POST via phone conversation that, “the insurgents came in and went straight to a military formation located in the village.

“There was a gun duel at the formation. We also saw a tick smoke from our hiding place.

“As I gathered, the insurgents also went to the village’s clinic and later on set the facility ablaze.

“The attack on the town has forced many locals into nearby bushes for safety. As I am talking to you, we are still in the nearby bushes, no one has dared to return to his house yet.”

Kukareta village, which is 25 kilometers away from Damaturu, the Yobe state capital has suffered series of attacks at the peak of Boko Haram insurgency.

As of the time of filing this report, there is no official statement from the military authority confirming the attack.

- DAILY POST

Japan keeps inventing ways to stop babies from crying in public

In a country where public displeasure at crying babies is the norm, Japanese companies keep coming up with new ways to keep them quiet.

Carmaker Honda is the newest company to have a go at that, inventing a plush toy car called a Sound Sitter that allegedly mimics the sound that babies hear in the womb, which is apparently at a similar frequency to a car engine. The company tested over 30 different of its car models, and found that the NSX model, launched in 2016, was the most soothing for babies. Honda said that 11 out of 12 babies were soothed by the sound of the engine, which can be activated via a smartphone.

Crying babies are a particular source of embarrassment and concern for Japanese mothers, who bear the brunt of others’ disapproval if they are unable to keep their babies quiet in public. That led a group of women in 2016 to start a grassroots campaign, the “We Love Babies Project,” which encouraged Japanese people to wear stickers bearing the words Naitemo iiyo! (“It’s OK to cry!”) to address the stigma of babies crying in public. Even politicians have waded into the discussion, with a group of 13 male governors this year coming together to pledge their support for the campaign, which also calls on restaurants and other establishments to proclaim themselves baby-friendly zones with the sticker.

Another company that has tried to tackle the problem of crying babies is All Nippon Airways, which last year conducted research to figure out how to stop babies from crying during takeoff and landing. The carrier said that its research found that some parents with small children avoided flying out of concerns that their babies would disturb other passengers.

Some people have put Japan’s intolerance of crying children down to the country’s ultra-low birthrate, which means many Japanese people simply aren’t used to the sound. The phenomenon also takes place against a backdrop of a society which is often seen as unsupportive of new mothers—something the country of 127 million desperately needs to change as it tries to combat its dwindling population.

A lawmaker was kicked out of a regional parliament last year for bringing her baby to the chamber, while another received blame (paywall) for getting pregnant at all, with politicians—who are almost always middle-aged or elderly men—espousing views in support of outdated gender roles. The prevalence of “maternity harassment” (mata-hara) also means that many women simply choose to drop out of the workforce once they become pregnant, in order avoid mistreatment at work by bosses disgruntled at their employees’ pregnant state.

Given that Honda’s Sound Sitter was an in-house experiment that won’t be made commercially available immediately—parents trying to soothe their agitated kids in public might be better off joining the campaign to fight the stigma of crying babies instead.

- QUARTZ

'Your skin colour was a crime': African migrants in Algeria

In 1991, Michael George Johnson was 11 years old when he left his country for the first time.

Both his parents were killed months earlier in one of post-independence Africa's worst instances of bloodshed, the Liberian civil war.

Johnson spent the following 27 years searching for a safe place to settle down, and trying to leave the ghosts of the conflict behind. Until one day - at the beginning of October - he set foot in Niger, having survived a week-long, forced trip through the Algerian desert.

"We've been gathered in buses, travelling from town to town without food, obliged to walk for 30km in the Sahara with a gun to our heads, and packed like animals in a truck until we reached Agadez," he recalled.

The convoy carried a total of 279 people, rounded up in police operations all over Algeria.

"There were Cameroonians, Ivorians, Guineans, Nigeriens, women and children, we saw everything there," he added.

Johnson's forced trip was one among dozens of mass expulsions of migrants organised by Algerian authorities in 2018, attracting international criticism over the country's treatment of sub-Saharan citizens, often abandoned in the desert, hours away from the closest border post in Niger.

'Terrible year'

"2018 has been a terrible year for migrant workers in Algeria, marked by the biggest number of arrests and deportations ever," human rights activist Fouad Hassam told Al Jazeera.

A member of the Algerian League to Defend Human Rights, Hassam assisted some migrant workers in the city of Oran, his hometown in north-west Algeria, and has received threats for his work.

"Civil society actors and NGOs have been attacked for defending migrants," he said over the phone.

"But this is only a part of the collective paranoia that rules our country: activists, bloggers, journalists, unionists or artists are seen as a menace, and migrants as well."

One of the first expulsions of migrants, he explains, was triggered by a fight between some sub-Saharan workers and locals in the suburbs of Algiers two years ago. Security forces arrested 1500 sub-Saharans, deporting hundreds to the border with Niger.

"From that moment on, things only got worse: your skin colour was a crime," Hassam said. "No matter what your legal status, you could be locked up and deported anytime, only for being black."

Johnson says he experienced that persecution firsthand.

"I knew that Algeria was unsafe," he recounts, "but after endless travels, I could finally work as a daily labourer in construction sites, earning something to fulfill my dream, which is to reach France."

'Journey through hell'

In the previous years, Johnson lived in Mauritania, the Ivory Coast and Sudan, where he tried unsuccessfully to cross the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia. He headed to Algeria after a dramatic passage through Libya, where he was detained and tortured by armed men.

"In Algeria, I had to hide, but at least there was some work," he says. His European dream was interrupted abruptly one night in Algiers.

"On our way back from work, the police took all the blacks to a barrack. They didn't check our documents and the next morning, they threw us in a bus. Those asking to go home to collect their things were beaten hard."

Johnson says it was a journey through hell. He and his companions were insulted and beaten at every stop. "They told us it was a punishment for being in the country, and that we never have to come back", he said.

During one of the stops of his convoy, he says a Liberian woman "was raped in turn by three agents inside a police facility and forced to dance naked in front of them". One man "died of internal bleeding, after being kicked all over his body".

"We buried him with our own hands in the desert," he says, his voice trembling as he recalls those moments.

George Oldman Harris, another Liberian who made the same journey a few weeks before him, shakes his head as Johnson speaks.

"I know very well what it is like," he said. "Algerians deported me five times since I entered the country in 2013."

The two met in Agadez and decided to reach Niamey with a common purpose: making some money in order to avoid going back to Liberia "empty handed".

Like hundreds of other refoules ('the rejected ones' in French), as they're called in Niger, they pass their days walking in the city's busy market squares looking for opportunities and a place to lay their heads down.

Rights groups slam 'racial profiling'

Transit centres offered by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are packed with people demanding to return to their home countries through the UN agency's voluntary return programmes.

"As push-backs continue, we're submerged by requests, but we can't open a new centre overnight," an IOM official told Al Jazeera.

"These summary expulsions are justified by referring to a 2014 agreement between Algeria and Niger, but in reality, we are facing enormous violations of international norms and human rights," Amnesty International researcher Debora Del Pistoia said.

According to a note sent to Al Jazeera by Niger’s interior minister, Mohamed Bazoum, the 2014 document was a "declaration of intent" and not a formal pact. Its aim, the note says, was to restrict cases for push-backs to Niger of Nigeriens who were forced into begging in Algerian cities

"But among the deportees, there are refugees and asylum seekers registered in Algeria and people from all over West Africa, who were detained and deported illegally," says Del Pistoia.

Amnesty International's campaign, "Forced to leave", launched on December 20, calls on Algerian authorities and their partners to immediately stop these practices and avoid any form of racial profiling.

Asked for a comment by Al Jazeera, the Algerian interior ministry didn't respond.

However, during a conference on global migration earlier this month in Morocco, Bedoui said Algeria respects the rights and dignity of the migrants. Algeria went through "a huge and continuous arrival of migrants and had to take measures to reduce it," Bedoui added.

According to Del Pistoia, statements by top Algerian officials, such as Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia's in July 2017 that migrants were "a source of criminality, drug and other plagues" contributes to "a climate of xenophobia, where black migrants become the scapegoat for Algeria's internal problems".

Data collected by Amnesty International show a sharp increase in collective expulsions from Algeria to Niger: from 1340 people in 2014, 9300 in 2017 to 26,000 in 2018 - 40 percent of which were abandoned in the Sahara and forced to walk for hours to reach Assamaka, Niger's first border post.

Among people expelled to Niger in 2018, UNHCR counted 77 who were registered as refugees in Algeria, and as such, should be granted a special protection. Moreover, at least 3100 people were expelled to Mali through the year and abandoned in desert areas controlled by armed groups

In Niamey's Wadata square, around the Grand Marché or in the alleys of the crowded Katako market, deported migrants, carrying all their belongings in backpacks, are a common sight.

"You'll see many with mental health problems, after all they went through," says Johnson, who is hoping to make some money from the city's construction boom in view of the 2019 African Union summit.

Going home seems then to be the only option left, with a hope that "George Weah, our new president, will respect his promises and bring Liberia out of the war's heritage".

- Al jazeera

Klopp wants 'angry, greedy' Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp has urged his Liverpool players to stay "angry" and "greedy" against Newcastle as they look to cement their position at the top of the Premier League.

Liverpool beat Wolves 2-0 on Friday to extend their lead to four points before nearest rivals Manchester City suffered a surprise 3-2 defeat to Crystal Palace.

Liverpool next face Newcastle on Boxing Day and Klopp has challenged his players to maintain their focus, with crucial games against Arsenal and Manchester City on the horizon.

He said: "The most important thing for us is [the reaction] after you win the last game - that is why the Wolves game was such a big challenge.

"Because we played against United a few days, and before that against Napoli, you are on the big stage.

"Then going to Wolverhampton, not only on players' minds but in people's mind, you could drop focus a little bit.

"So I was really happy with our attitude. That is what we need - to stay angry, greedy and in the job. That is what we have to do against Newcastle."

Klopp expects Rafa Benitez to receive a warm welcome from the Liverpool fans when he returns to Anfield on Wednesday.

"I think the supporters of this club are famous not to forget people who did an outstanding job here," said Klopp.

"It is not only Rafa, but it is Rafa because he is still in the Premier League and living in the area, he became a proper scouser which is quite rare for a Spanish guy.

"I like him, he is a fantastic manager and a really good person. I'm happy for him that he always gets this kind of reception.

"It is nice, it shows that Liverpool fans don't forget that easy."

Benitez says it would be a "miracle" if Newcastle managed to avoid relegation this season, even if he is provided funds for the January transfer window.

Klopp sympathises with the Spaniard but believes Newcastle are in a solid position under his guidance.

"I heard that nobody was really happy with the amount of money they had to sign players," said Klopp.

"Rafa is too experienced to carry that for a full season, those emotions. Meanwhile, they are really settled and in a good moment results wise. It is always difficult to play against them.

"We know it will be a tough job."

- SKY SPORTS 

We rob to get money to celebrate Christmas - Suspected robbers

Men of the Lagos State Police Command attached to Ilasamaja division have arrested two suspected members of a robbery syndicate that specialised in attacking customers, who had gone to withdraw money from banks at Sadiku/ Ilasamaja, along the Oshodi-Apapa expressway, Lagos.

The syndicate, which usually operate on motorcycle, positioned themselves along the service lane, awaiting their victims.

Following several complaints of attacks, the Lagos State Police Command boss, Mr Edgal Imohimi, directed 24 hours surveillance around the banks and others along the expressway.

Vanguard gathered that immediately a male customer who had gone to withdraw N350,000 stepped out of one of the banks at about 2pm , Friday, the suspects: Boniface Ewerem(46) and Joseph,(42) ordered him to bring the money, pointing a gun at him.

One of them according to eye witnesses fired a shot into the air as he snatched the money from the customer and zoomed off in their operational motorbike.

Luck, however, ran against them as the policemen from Ilasamaja chased and caught up with them. Angry members of the community requested that the suspects be handed over to them with an apparent intent to carry out jungle justice on them which the policemen refused.

Explaining how they were arrested, one of the residents, Ayiola Ganiu, said “The attacked customer raised the alarm which alerted us. Everyone chased them. They abandoned their motorbike and ran across the express, inward Soaps, unknown to them that there was a police station on that side. Policemen at Ilasamaja division, led by their DPO, joined in the chase until they were caught.

“If the Police had not intervened, the robbers would have been lynched because they have sent many lives to premature deaths. We wanted them to serve as deterrents to their colleagues. Unfortunately for us, the Police were present. The suspects during interrogation revealed that they came from Iba area of the state to operate. One of the suspects, Joseph, said they intended to use their loot to celebrate Christmas with their families. He said: “This is my first time. I wanted to use the money I would have stolen to celebrate Christmas. We never had any intention to kill our victims”

The suspects,  Vanguard gathered, were immediately transferred to the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, as a crowd thronged the station. One brownie pistol and two life ammunition were said to have been recovered from them, including the stolen money which has since been returned to the owner.

- PM NEWS

I just wanted sex – Cardi B reacts to vacation with Offset despite breakup

Popular rapper, Cardi B, who recently announced her split with husband, Offset was over the weekend seen with him in Puerto Rico.

The rapper took to her Instagram to reveal why she decided to go on a vacation with her husband Offset
“I just had to get f–ked. That’s all,” she said in an Instagram Live video on Saturday, responding to question on why if she has forgiven Offset.
DAILY POST recalls that Cardi B a month ago threw everyone for a loop when she announced split with her husband, Offset over cheating allegations.

However, Offset had since tried many means to get her back. One of which was an Instagram shared a video begging Cardi to forgive and have him back as his birthday gift.
He also came on stage while she performed at the Rolling Loud festival on Sunday to beg her for forgiveness but she refused to accept his plea.
Diverse reactions have continued to trail Offset’s apology.

- DAILY POST

Kidnap operation foiled in Ondo, two suspects nabbed

A kidnap attempt has been foiled in Ondo State with two of the suspected kidnappers apprehended.

The victims, Alhaji Suleiman Ibrahim and Moshood Suleiman, who were abducted in the early hours of Monday at Shagari village in Akure, the Ondo State capital, were rescued within Owo axis area of the state few hours after they were abducted.

It was gathered that as soon as the incident occurred, security apparatus in the state were alerted and they quickly moved after the kidnappers.

According to the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Femi Joseph, there was exchange of gunshots with the hoodlums.

He added that the spirited effort of security joint task force paid off as they did not only rescue the victims but also arrested two of the suspects as others escaped with gunshot injuries.

He further stated that efforts were on to arrest the fleeing suspects, while those arrested were helping the security agents in their investigations.

The suspected kidnappers nabbed are Alhassan Saleh 42 years from Nasarawa state and Yahaya Yakubu 24 from Kano, with Ak 47 magazine recovered from them.

DAILY POST reports that for some months, kidnappers activities have been rampant in the state, particularly in the northern senatorial district area of the state.

The menace has led to no fewer than 15 kidnap cases within the last two months, with various groups in the state calling for the immediate redeployment of the state Commissioner of Police.

- DAILY POST

EFCC moves for interim forfeiture of Bankers Warehouse’s $2.8m

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Enugu Zonal Office, has filed a motion at a Federal High Court, Enugu, seeking an order for the interim forfeiture of the $2.8million seized from two men last week.

Also filed is an affidavit of urgency for the matter to be heard on December 27, 2018, before a vacation Judge sitting in Port Harcourt.

The Commission on December 20 arrested two persons, Ighoh Augustine and Ezekwe Emmanuel, along with the money at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.

The duo said they work for Bankers Warehouse. But EFCC suspected they were money launderers.

The suspects told the EFCC they have been in the business of moving cash for “some notable banks”, for over six years and that the money they had was for Union Bank Plc, located at New Market, Onitsha, Anambra State.

The EFCC spokesman , Tony Orilade said on Monday that Union Bank or its officials were yet to step forward to establish their claim.

“Efforts are being made to secure warrant for the detention of the suspects pending when they will be charged to court”, he said.

Bankers Warehouse in a statement at the weekend claimed ownership of the money and asked the EFCC to apologise and return the money.

The company which said it is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria to carry out Cash/Asset movement and Currency Processing said the men arrested were not involved in any money laundering and were carrying out a legitimate movement of cash.

“We hereby state emphatically that the movement of this currency was a legitimate exercise, being carried out on behalf of a legitimate Financial Institution,” the company said..

“We emphasize that our employees are in no way criminals, carrying out any act of illegality as the EFCC has tried to portray. The young men whose character and reputation have been deliberately soiled by the EFCC operatives were conducting their legitimate duties as requested by a bank customer of our company.

“We request for the swift and immediate release of our employees and our customer’s currency, both detained without proper cause.

“We also demand an immediate retraction by the EFCC and an apology issued to our company and our employees whose images have been maligned”.

- PM NEWS

Pakistan jails ex-prime minister Sharif for corruption

Former Pakistani leader Nawaz Sharif will spend the next seven years in prison for corruption, state media reported.

His conviction was the latest in a series of allegations which saw him ousted from power last year.

Sharif, a three-time prime minister, has denied all the charges against him and claims he is being targeted by the country’s powerful security establishment.

Monday’s conviction, centred on family businesses in the Middle East, is his second stemming from a corruption investigation spurred by the Panama Papers leak, and comes as new Prime Minister Imran Khan has vowed to tackle endemic graft in Pakistan.

He was taken into custody and will be sent to a prison in Lahore, and was also fined 1.5 billion rupees ($10.8 million), according to state-run Pakistan Television.

Security was tight at the court, with some scuffles breaking out between Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supporters and security forces, who responded with tear gas.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who succeeded Sharif as prime minister last year, said the PML-N would appeal the verdict but would “not resort to violence”.

“The people of Pakistan and history will not accept this decision,” he told reporters in Islamabad.

The Supreme Court disqualified Sharif from politics for life over the allegations last year, and directed an anti-corruption body to investigate three different charges regarding his family’s properties and businesses.

The months-long saga has seen him appear before accountability courts 165 times since September 2017, according to the English-language Dawn newspaper.

In July this year, he was convicted in one case revolving around family properties in London, and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

He was in London at the time as his wife received cancer treatment, but returned to Pakistan days ahead of the election, only to be arrested and imprisoned on arrival.

He was released in September after a court suspended his sentence pending an appeal hearing.

He was acquitted on the third charge, relating to business in Britain.

Sharif has been prime minister three times but power has been a rough ride.

He was first expelled from office in 1993 on suspicion of corruption. He won an election in 1997, only to be ousted and exiled after a military coup in 1999.

He returned to Pakistan in 2007 and took power once more in 2013 until his ousting last year.

- PM NEWS

Atiku admits lying, confirms not speaking with Col. Sakaba’s wife

Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, has retracted his earlier story of speaking with the widow of Lt. Col Ibrahim Sakaba, killed by Boko Haram at Metele last month.

He now said he spoke with the slain soldier’s sister, Maryam.

The PDP candidate had opened himself to widespread derision following his online post that he spoke with Seun, Sakaba’s wife.

But the woman denied she received a phone call from Abubakar and wondered why the 72-year old politician lied.

Abubakar has now set the record straight and apologized for the “erroneous communication”.

Here is Atiku Abubakar’s statement:

”Following the death of Lt. Col Ibrahim Sakaba during the Boko Haram insurgents’ attack on 157 Taskforce Battalion in Metele, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar’s staff has made efforts to get the contact of his widow to enable the former Vice President express his condolences over the loss of the fallen hero.

”Over the weekend, Atiku Abubakar was availed with phone numbers of Mrs. Sakaba and Maryam, younger sister of the late soldier, in the alternative.

”On Sunday, the former Vice President tried albeit unsuccessfully to contact Mrs. Sakaba but was able to eventually speak with Maryam, younger sister of the gallant soldier during which he expressed his deepest condolences to the family.

”However, this communication was erroneously communicated. The error is regretted.”

Atiku Abubakar, however reaffirms his deepest condolences to the Sakaba family, which sacrifices, like those of their brave son, keeps us safe.

- PM NEWS