Nigerian born US singer, Jidenna has revealed the reason Nigerians are known for fraudulent activities all over the world.

DAILY POST recalls that last Thursday, the FBI released full details and identities of 80 suspected fraudsters, with many being Nigerians, arrested in the United States. 

Iro, 31, and Chukwudi Christogunus Igbokwe, 38, were named as lead suspects.

The suspects were named by Mr Nick Hanna, the U.S. Attorney for Central District of California, at a news conference on Aug. 22.

Hanna said the fraud cases involved suspects conniving with federal and state agents to dupe unsuspecting victims of their money.

Reacting to the arrest of 77 Nigerians by the FBI, Jidenna said Nigerians were smarter than a lot of people, hence the reason they excel in sports and other sphere of life, including scamming.

Speaking during an interview on the Breakfast Club, Jidenna said: ”The reason Nigerians are known for scamming is not because we are bad people.

“It’s because we are smarter than a lot of people”.

- DAILY POST

Former Volkswagen patriarch, Ferdinand Piech dies at 82

The former Volkswagen chairman and legendary one-time patriarch of the billionaire clan behind the carmaker’s success, Ferdinand Piech, has died at the age of 82, dpa has reported.

Piech collapsed while at a restaurant with his wife Ursula Piech in the German state of Bavaria, she said in statement emailed to dpa by the family lawyer, Christian Schertz. The Bild newspaper initially reported his death.

He was taken to hospital where he later died.

Piech was chief executive of Volkswagen from 1993 until 2002, and while feared for his authoritarian leadership style, he was widely credited with positioning the company to become Europe’s largest carmaker.

Together with then chief executive Martin Winterkorn, Piech steered the ever-widening VW empire with a strict hand, in a hierarchical and centralist manner.

The German news magazine Der Spiegel once described the atmosphere at Volkswagen under the duo as “North Korea without the labour camp.”

Piech dominated the German automotive sector for decades, becoming the chair of VW’s supervisory board, a post he held until 2015, when he was ousted in a bitter power struggle with Winterkorn.

Winterkorn would resign six months later when it emerged that Volkswagen had been cheating on environmental testing by fitting its diesel engines with a so-called defeat device, in a scandal that rocked the company and cost it tens of billions of dollars in fines and legal settlements.

Piech angered members of his family at the height of the emissions scandal when he claimed he had alerted key VW directors in February 2015 to the affair. He agreed in 2017 to sell a large share of his holding in his family’s firm Porsche SE, which controls VW, to younger members of the dynasty.

In a frank bit of self-analysis in his autobiography published in 2003, Piech said of himself: “My need for harmony is limited.”

Born in Vienna on April 17, 1937, Piech was the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, who invented what became the Volkswagen Type 1, known as the Beetle. Ferdinand Piech first tried to drive a car at the age of nine, but hit the garage door.

The man who lived and breathed automobiles for his entire adult life was a Renaissance man who had studied mechanical engineering, had a passion for sailing and was interested in Asian culture and Japanese ethics.

His influence on the industry was noted by many.

“Ferdinand Piech shaped the automotive branch like no other,” former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder once said of him.

While his employees feared him, calling him “the old man,” investors revered him, once referring to him as “father of the gods.”

And another of Piech’s successors as advisory board chief, Hans Dieter Poetsch, said that despite a few dark spots towards the end, “Piech set memorable milestones in the automotive industry.” dpa reported.

- PM NEWS

EFCC arrests 33 ‘Yahoo boys’ in Imo

Thirty-three suspected internet fraudsters have been arrested in their hideout during an operation by operatives of the Abuja and Enugu Zonal Offices of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in Owerri, Imo State.

EFCC made the announcement in a statement on Monday night.

The suspects are: Clinton Emere, Obinna Okonkwo, Ogochukwu Ogbonna, Joseph Udom Kousin, Prince Ewunone, Franklin Michael, Tolli Ameiche, Anderson, Berthel, David Franklin, Aboi Etealu, Chinubu Nwosu, Marizu Chidiebere, Dominic Terry Joseph, Christopher Nwosu, Peter Gift Uche.

Others are: Edinalo Ifeanyichukwu, Ndubuisi Ikenna, John Frank, Anowe Precious, Joseph Levi Chima, Samuel Oria, Tochi Mmerom, Chimezia Cleansman, Okonkwo Obinna, Uchendu Gift, Nkwodi Nnamdi, Izywa Munachi, Ekone Aniche, Opara Donald, Aniche Tochukwu, Anelka Okon and Ebizien Franklin Udochukwu.

Items recovered from them include: laptop computers, mobile phones, 2 Lexus RX350 SUV and a Toyota Solara salon car.

“The suspects have made useful statements and will be charged to court as soon as investigation is completed,” the statement read.

- DAILY POST

CL : Matchdays revealed as UEFA releases full programme

The UEFA Champions League group stage draw will take place in Monaco on Thursday, August 29 at 6pm, Central African time.

The event will be happening at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco and will be streamed live on UEFA.com.

The teams involved in the draw are as follows:

Spain:

Barcelona

Real Madrid

Atlético Madrid

Valencia

England:

Liverpool

Chelsea

Manchester City

Tottenham Hotspur

Italy:

Juventus

Napoli

Internazionale Milano

Atalanta

Germany:

Bayern München

Borussia Dortmund

Bayer Leverkusen

RB Leipzig

France:

PSG

Lyon

LOSC Lille

Russia:

Zen it

Lokomotiv Moskva

Portugal:

Benfica

UKR

Shakhtar Donetsk

Belgium:

Genk

Turkey:

Galatasaray

Austria

Salzburg

Plus the six winning teams from the play-offs.

What are the draw pots?

Only Pot 1 is known in its entirety; the other pots will be confirmed once the final six teams have qualified via the play-offs.

Pot 1
 Liverpool (holders)
 Chelsea (UEFA Europa League winners)
 Barcelona
 Manchester City
 Juventus
 Bayern München
 Paris Saint-Germain
 Zenit

Clubs’ coefficients are determined either by the sum of all points won in the previous five years or by the association coefficient over the same period – whichever is higher (under a new system introduced for 2018/19 onwards), according to UEFA.com

The 26 teams given direct entry to the group stage under the competition system introduced in 2018/19 are joined by the six winners of the play-off ties.
 The teams are split into four seeding pots.

Pot 1 consists of the holders, the UEFA Europa League winners and the champions of the six highest-ranked nations. Pots 2 to 4 are determined by the club coefficient rankings.
 No team can play a club from their own association and, based on decisions taken by the UEFA Executive Committee, clubs from Russia and Ukraine must not be drawn in the same group.

In the case of associations with two or more representatives, clubs will be paired in order to split their matches between Tuesday and Wednesday.

If a paired club is drawn, for example, in Groups A, B, C or D, the other paired club – once drawn – will automatically be assigned to one of Groups E, F, G or H.

The draw also establishes the groups for the UEFA Champions League path of the UEFA Youth League.

UEFA awards:

UEFA Men’s Player of the Year: Messi, Ronaldo or Van Dijk?

The following award winners will also be announced during the draw ceremony:

UEFA Men’s Player of the Year
 UEFA Women’s Player of the Year
 Goalkeeper of the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League season
 Defender of the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League season
 Midfielder of the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League season
 Forward of the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League season
 Season calendar

17/18 September: group stage, matchday one
 1/2 October: group stage, matchday two
 22/23 October: group stage, matchday three
 5/6 November: group stage, matchday four
 26/27 November: group stage, matchday five
 10/11 December: group stage, matchday six

16 December: round of 16 draw

18/19/25/26 February: round of 16, first leg
 10/11/17/18 March: round of 16, second leg

20 March: quarter-final & semi-final draw

7/8 April: quarter-finals, first leg
 14/15 April: quarter-finals, second leg
 28/29 April: semi-finals, first leg
 5/6 May: semi-finals, second leg

Saturday 30 May: final – Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadı, Istanbul.

- DAILY POST

Nigeria’s borders: How security agents are rubbishing govt’s intentions – Ogun LG Chairman

The Executive Chairman of Imeko-Afon Local Government Area in Ogun State, Hon. Tosin Adeluyi has accused security agents of bastardising the good intentions of the Federal Government in sanitising movements across the Nigerian border.

Adeluyi, in a statement he made available to DAILY POST on Tuesday, lauded the closure of the land border with the primary aim of increasing border security and checking the uncontrollable influx of imported food items into the country by the Nigerian Customs Service and other security personnel.

He, however, lamented the insensitivity of security agents at the border communities to the plight of farmers and traders.

According to him, “the ways and manners the security operatives carry out this exercise have denied a lot of farmers who were transporting their goods from their farms in Nigeria to other parts of Nigeria, particularly within Ogun State, access to markets.”

The local government boss expressed worries that if the farmers, who are transporting their farm produce such as: tomatoes, garri, palm oil and others, are not allowed to move their farm produce from their farms to the markets which are all within Nigeria, the actions of the security agents would economically strangulate the farmers and bastardise the federal government’s efforts on agriculture.

He added that farmers and traders are being impoverished by the day as their primary sources of livelihood are being jeopardised.

Adeluyi added, “The multiplier effect would also mean that Nigerians should warm up for increase in prices of tomatoes, yams, garri and other food items because the boarder communities in Imeko-Afon Local Government like Ilara, Idofa, Iwoye and Imeko contribute a lot to the food items being consumed in some states in Nigeria, particularly in Ogun and Lagos States.

“The farmers have protested to the Oloola of Ilara, Oba Samuel Adeluyi and the Onimeko of Imeko, Oba Benjamin Olanite, but sadly, all the pleas by these Obas to see that the innocent farmers do not suffer have fallen on deaf ears.

“It is my prayer that the border closure activities be better coordinated and the Nigerian farmers be allowed free access to Nigerian markets with their farm produce so as to avoid further loss of income to the people of Imeko-Afon Local Government area of Ogun State,” he stated.

- DAILY POST

Atiku confirms N50m donation to Obasanjo, accuses Buhari govt of attempt to silence ex-president

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on Monday, said the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration was desperately looking for ways to implicate ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo and silence him.

Atiku made the claim while confirming that his son-inlaw, Babalele Abdullahi donated the sum of N50m to Obasanjo’s Presidential Library.

In a statement issued by his Media Office, the former Vice President insisted that his son-in-law made the contribution in full compliance of the law.

He also condemned the inclusion of Obasanjo’s name in the list of tax defaulters by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, stressing that the move was to blackmail the former President.

The statement reads: “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is feeding members of the media with deliberate falsehoods in an attempt to cause disaffection and bad blood between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his former deputy, Atiku Abubakar, on one hand, and between former President Obasanjo and Nigerians in general.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Mallam Babalele Abdullahi, Atiku Abubakar’s son-in-law, did not donate any money in cash to the Olusegun Obasanjo Library. Yes, he did facilitate a donation of fifty million naira to the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, but so did many other individuals, including civic-minded traditional rulers, state Governors, bankers and captains of industry.

“This is because the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library is a non-governmental organisation that plays a pivotal role in promoting peace and stability in Nigeria, and that should be applauded.

“Another past leader, who did not improve himself or Nigeria after leaving office, but sat down nursing grudges and plotting revenge, former President Olusegun Obasanjo improved himself and Nigeria by authoring books, founding international think tanks and engaging in peace and capacity building efforts.

“Donations to institutions set up to promote peace in Nigeria and Africa are to be commended, not criminalised. Presidential libraries in America and other parts of the world are similarly funded by donations from civic-minded individuals.

‘’For the avoidance of doubt, Mallam Abdullahi’s donation of fifty million naira was made via a bank transfer, in full compliance with the law. He did not donate or make any payment in cash, as the EFCC is erroneously and salaciously misleading the public. Furthermore, the sources of these funds are completely legitimate and have been conclusively proven to the EFCC. It is instructive to note that even the EFCC has not once claimed these funds to be the proceeds of any illegal activity whatsoever.

“The truth is that there is desperation on the part of the current administration to rope in former President Olusegun Obasanjo into a crime as a way of silencing his voice, which they see as the preeminent critical voice against the misrule that they have foisted on Nigerians.

“This is why they asked the Federal Inland Revenue Service to falsely and libelously include his name in a published list of tax evaders, along with the names of other Peoples Democratic Party sympathisers, such as prominent international singer and pride of Nigeria, Davido, who played a prominent role in PDP’s gubernatorial campaign in Osun state, for which he is being punished.’’

- DAILY POST

EFCC traces Atiku’s laundered money to Obasanjo Library

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has extended to Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, its investigation of the laundered 150 million euros cash-for-poll by associates of former vice-president Atiku Abubakar.

It was learnt that the investigators went to the Library on August 8 to authenticate the claims by one of those under probe that he gave $140,000 (about N50 million) to one of the library officials.

According to reports, the EFCC officials, accompanied by policemen, combed some offices at the former President’s Library.

It could not be confirmed whether any document was taken away by the operatives, but nobody was arrested.

“Our operatives went to the library with some riot policemen in anticipation of possible resistance. But there was none. We did our job lawfully without any inhibition. We are still investigating the case. We are screening some documents in our possession on the matter,” an EFCC investigator told The Nation.

The Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library was opened on March 4, 2017. It is a historic, tourist and academic centre established as a national archive for the preservation of documents and materials used by the President during his tenure between 1999 and 2007.

Atiku’s son-in-law Abdullahi Babalele is being investigated alongside others for allegedly laundering €150 million. The money was believed to have been spent to influence the 2019 election in which Atiku was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate.

About €67, 950,000 was traced to ex-VP Atiku’s associate Mr Uyi Giwa-Osagie’s account, Babalele’s account, two slush firms and two Bureau de Change operators.

Babalele is expected to account for 41,900,000 euros.

Sources said of the cash credited to Babalele’s account, he gave about N50million ($140,000) to his childhood friend, Bashir Mohammed to deliver to an official at the Presidential Library in Abeokuta. The anti-graft agency is investigating why the money was taken to the Presidential Library.

Bashir has reportedly admitted that he delivered the cash to the Presidential Library.

It was learnt that Bashir was taken by detectives to the Presidential Library.

Those interrogated including Babalele, Osagie and Mohammed, are on administrative bail pending the filing of a case against them.”

- PM NEWS