41-year-old man dragged to court over N600,000 fraud in Osun

 

The Police in Osun State have arraigned a 41-year-old man, Gbenga Olaleye before an Osogbo Magistrates’ Court over alleged N641,100 fraud.

The accused person, who is facing a four count charge of fraud and stealing, pleaded not guilty to the allegations preferred against him.

The prosecutor, ASP Abiodun Fagboyinbo, told the court that the accused person fraudulently obtained the sum of N107,500 from one Gbenga Musa.

He disclosed to the court that the accused person promised to supply Musa 10 packs of Exotic, 10 packs of Active and 5 packs of Hollandia drinks, knowing full well that it’s false.

He also hinted that the accused person fraudulently obtained the sum of N533,600 from one Oluwabimpe Dopemu.

He alleged that the accused person collected money from her, under the pretence of supplying her Ovaltine Tea knowing full well that it’s false.

Fagboyinbo, told the court that the first offence was committed on of January 19, 2021 while the second offence was committed on the December 13, 2020.

The offence committed is contrary to and punishable under Sections 419 and 390 (9) of the Criminal Code CAP 34 Vol. 2 of the Laws of Osun state of Nigeria 2002.

The defense counsel, Okobe Najite prayed the court grant his client bail, in most liberal terms.

In his ruling, Magistrate Ishola Omisade, granted the accused person bail of N500,000 with one surety.

He thereafter adjourned the case till March 10, 2021 for mention.

- DAILY POST

Power minister: FG spends over N50bn monthly on subsidising electricity

 

Saleh Mamman, minister of power, says the federal government spends over N50 billion monthly on subsidising electricity so as not to take energy away from the reach of the common man.

Receiving members of the Hausa Guild of Actors and Film Producers, otherwise known as Kannywood, on Tuesday, the minister said the funds were provided to augment the shortfall by the distribution companies (DisCos) who have failed to pay for the electricity supply wheeled to them.

In a statement, Aaron Artimas, special adviser on media and communications to Mamman, said the minister expressed serious concern over the failure of the DisCos to stabilise their operations and meet their financial obligations to other players in the sector.

He said following a minor increase in the tariff regime, the subsidy has now decreased by half, but still constitutes a serious drain on the nation’s economy.

“Nigerians must understand that these companies were privatised long before the advent of this administration but the government has no alternative than to continue managing the sector before a final solution is secured,” the minister said.

“Through the Presidential Power Initiative and other intervention measures, the government is diligently working to massively resolve all these inherited problems that have continuously frustrated the success of the sector.”

The minister noted that most of the DisCos were sold off and managed as family businesses, which has made the power firms difficult to be professionally managed.

He added that Nigerians now enjoy stable power supply from fifteen to twenty four hours daily.

Mamman called on the DisCos to expedite action on the distribution of meters free of charge to their consumers as a way of lessening their problems.

- THECABLE

COVID-19: Anambra leads as NCDC confirms 1,368 fresh cases, more deaths

 The Nigeria Center for Disease Control, NCDC, has confirmed 1,368 new cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in 27 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The new development brings the total number of recorded infections in the country to 148,296.

The health agency made the announcement on Tuesday night via a report on its official website.

According to the report, no fewer than 16 people died in the last 24 hours due to COVID-19 complications, as total fatalities now stand at 1,777.

NCDC also confirmed the discharge of 1,020 patients in three states, bringing the total number of recoveries to 124,483.

The report reads: “1,368 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria;

Anambra-344
Oyo-172
FCT-148
Benue-107
Rivers-95
Ogun-59
Ondo-56
Ebonyi-53
Kaduna-52
Plateau-46
Kwara-36
Enugu-30
Akwa Ibom-26
Osun-22
Edo-20
Abia-17
Kano-16
Borno-15
Cross River-10
Delta-8
Gombe-8
Imo-7
Ekiti-5
Sokoto-4
Jigawa-3
Bayelsa-3
Nasarawa-3
Zamfara-3

148,296 confirmed
124,483 discharged
1,777 deaths

- DAILY POST

Secondary school students protest lack of teachers in Port Harcourt

 

Secondary school students of Olanada Secondary School, located opposite Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, Rumuola road, Port Harcourt, trooped to the streets on Monday, February 15 to protest insufficient teachers in their school.

They demanded that Governor Nyesom Wike fulfills the promises made to recruit more teachers to fill the vacancies left by those who retired from teaching.

The students complained that no new teacher has been employed in the school in the past six years even when teachers have been retiring without replacement.

The students with various placards written “No employment of teachers for the past six years”, “All our teachers have been retired no replacement”, wondered how they would write their serious exams without core subject teachers like; Mathematics, English, Biology and others.

Some students who volunteered to speak on the condition of anonymity said that many have retired, either because of age or service years.

“We are just coming to school without being taught many subjects. When we ask why we’re told that the state government has not employed to fill the vacancies of those who are retired. We can’t continue like this.”

PM News correspondent who visited some other state schools in the metropolis reports that teachers have been employed to teach both primary and secondary schools in the state as announced by Governor Wike on Thursday, August 29, 2019, and that he had approved the employment of 10,000 teachers to boost the quality of education in the state.

There was an obvious scarcity of teachers in almost all the schools visited.

While announcing the recruitment of teachers, Wike had declared that his administration was committed to creating access to basic education for rural and oceanic communities of the state.

He announced this during a courtesy visit by a delegation from the World Bank Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) to him at the Government House, Port Harcourt.

Wike said then that the state government embarked on the reconstruction and furnishing of rural schools to encourage parents to send their children to school.

He also announced that: “In the last four years, we have reconstructed and furnished 253 basic schools in the state. These schools are located mainly in the rural and oceanic areas. We reconstructed and furnished these schools to give our children access to quality education”.

Wike also explained that his administration abolished every form of fees in primary, junior and secondary schools to encourage parents to educate their children.

“I have abolished every form of payment in primary, junior and senior secondary schools because many parents are poor and they cannot afford these payments.

“We have taken the burden away from them so that poor parents can conveniently send their children to school,” he said.

He added that the State Gohat 10,000 Teachers were not employed as promised on August 29, 2019, again on Wednesday, October 28, 2020, Rivers State Executive Council presided over by Governor Wike, approved the employment of 5,000 youths into the State Civil Service, but was silent on earlier approval for the recruitment of 10,000 teachers.

More than four months after the promise to employ 5,000 youths into the state civil service and the announcement to recruit 10,000 teachers in 2019, none had been fulfilled.

The obvious shortfall of manpower in all sectors in the state, especially, the teaching profession is perhaps the hardest hit in government schools.

The Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim, had explained then that the recruitment drive undertaken by the Wike administration will cushion the employment gap in the state.

Parents and students who spoke are pleading with the government to expedite action to employ teachers to teach the future leaders.

During the investigation, a former beneficiary of the federal government N-power programme lamented that some schools in the rural areas, wholly depend on either N-power who come to some specific days in a week and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members.

“Some are in terrible conditions not fit for teaching and learning. Few Teachers in those schools are suffering. The government should rescue education at government-owned primary and secondary schools”, she said.

- PM NEWS

Gunmen storm GSC Kagara in Niger, abduct schoolchildren

 

Some students have been abducted from Government Science College (GSC) Kagara, Niger state, by gunmen suspected to be bandits.

The bandits stormed the school in the early hours of Wednesday, overpowering the security guards on duty.

Staff and some of their family members were also kidnapped.

The number of kidnapped students is yet to be ascertained.

A few students escaped and headcount is currently ongoing in the school.

The school is said to have a population of 1,000 students.

Shehu Sani, a former Kaduna senator and ex-student of the school, who confirmed the incident said he had spoken with the principal.

“Early hours of this morning, Armed bandits stormed the Government Science College Kagara Niger State,my alma mata,and abducted some students and staff family members. I just spoke to the principal,” he tweeted.

Nurudeen Ad, a Facebook user, said his brother is one of the students kidnapped.

“It has occurred again arm bandits attack science college Kagara just now, went away with some students including my younger brother. We pray for Allah’s intervention,” he wrote on his wall.

Wasiu Abiodun, police spokesperson in the state, and Mary Noel-Berje, spokesperson to Abubakar Bello, governor of Niger, were not immediately available to comment on the incident.

TheCable, however, learnt that the military is already on the ground in the area, tracing the movement of the gunmen.

This development comes about two months after over 300 schoolboys were kidnapped at the Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina state. 

- THECABLE

Hisbah commander arrested in hotel with married woman

 

A commander of Hisbah, a religious police dominant in Kano State, has been arrested after he was allegedly caught with a married woman in one of the hotels in the State.

The operatives of the Hisbah Corps are responsible for the enforcement of Sharia.

In most cases they arrest unmarried people caught in hotels and people breaking Sharia laws and even destroy truck loads of alcoholic drinks.

They have been seen on many occassions punishing those who are indecently dressed and young people on haircuts considered immoral in Islam.

However, Freedom FM, Kano reported on Tuesday that a senior official of the religious police was seen in a hotel in Sabon Gari with a married woman

Although his name was not immediately mentioned, he was described only as police chief when the matter came up on Freedom FM’s popular magazine programme “Inda Ranka”.

He is said to be in charge of arresting beggars and prostitutes in the State capital.

The arrested commander was taken into custody after the husband of the woman with whom he allegedly had affairs filed complaints.

Kano Hisbah Commander, Muhammed Haruna, while describing the incident as unfortunate, said a two-man committee has been established to investigate the matter, according to Freedom FM.

- DAILY POST

Obinwanne Okeke gets his comeuppance, jailed for 10 years in US

 A court in Norfolk, Virginia, United States on Tuesday jailed Nigerian scammer Obinwanne Okeke 10 years for computer-based fraud scheme that caused approximately $11 million in known losses to his victims.

The sentencing was pronounced by Chief U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith, said the Department of Justice, Eastern District of Virginia.

“Through subterfuge and impersonation, Obinwanne Okeke engaged in a multi-year global business email and computer hacking scheme that caused a staggering $11 million in losses to his victims,” said Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the district.

“Today’s sentence further demonstrates EDVA’s and FBI’s worldwide reach in vigorously pursuing justice on behalf of American victims and others and holding international cybercriminals accountable, no matter where they commit their crimes.”

According to court documents, Obinwanne Okeke, 33, operated a group of companies known as the Invictus Group based in Nigeria and elsewhere.

From approximately 2015 to 2019, Okeke and others engaged in a conspiracy to conduct various computer-based frauds.

The conspirators obtained and compiled the credentials of hundreds of victims, including victims in the Eastern District of Virginia.

As part of the scheme, Okeke and other conspirators engaged in an email compromise scheme targeting Unatrac Holding Limited, the export sales office for Caterpillar heavy industrial and farm equipment.

In April 2018, a Unatrac executive fell prey to a phishing email that allowed conspirators to capture login credentials.

The conspirators sent fraudulent wire transfer requests and attached fake invoices. Okeke participated in the effort to victimize Unatrac through fraudulent wire transfers totaling nearly $11 million, which was transferred overseas.

Additionally, Okeke engaged in other forms of cyberfraud, including sending phishing emails to capture email credentials, creating fraudulent web pages, and causing other losses to numerous victims.

“The FBI will not allow cyber criminals free reign in the digital world to prey on U.S. companies,” said Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office. “This sentencing demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to working with our partners at the Department of Justice and our foreign counterparts to locate cyber criminals across the globe and bring them to the United States to be held accountable.”

Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith.

- PM NEWS