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‘Procurement fraud’: Emefiele’s absence stalls arraignment in Abuja

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The scheduled arraignment of Godwin Emefiele, suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court in Maitama has again been stalled.

The arraignment which was initially scheduled for August 17, was stalled due to the absence of Sa’adatu Yaro, Emefiele’s co-accused.

The case was then adjourned to August 23.

However, the case was not listed on the court’s cause list on Wednesday.

Neither the suspended CBN governor nor the second defendant were present in court.

Emefiele and Yaro, an employee of the CBN, are to be arraigned alongside a firm known as April1616 Investment Ltd.

In the fresh 20-count charge filed by the federal ministry of justice, the suspended CBN governor and his co-defendants are accused of engaging in conspiracy and procurement fraud, among others.

WITHDRAWAL OF FIREARMS CHARGE

Emefiele has been in the custody of the Department of States Services (DSS) since June.

On July 25, he was arraigned on a two-count charge bordering on “illegal possession” of firearms at a federal high court in Ikoyi and was granted bail in the sum of N20 million.

Nicholas Oweibo, the judge, had ordered that Emefiele be kept in the custody of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) pending the fulfillment of his bail conditions.

But the DSS insisted that Emefiele must return to its custody — a development that led to the face-off between the secret police and prison officials.

After the face-off, DSS rearrested Emefiele on the court premises.

On August 3, the federal government filed an application seeking leave to appeal against the order granting bail to Emefiele.

However, on August 15, the federal government made an oral application to withdraw the charge of “illegal possession of firearms” against Emefiele.

Mohammed Abubakar, the director of public prosecution (DPP) of the federation, said the decision to withdraw the charge is backed by sections 174 (1) and (3) of the 1999 constitution and sections 108 (1), (2) and (4) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015.

On August 17, the court granted the federal government’s application and struck out the charge.

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Gunmen abducts CAC members travelling for burial in Ondo

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Some members of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) in Oke Igan, Akure, Ondo state capital have been abducted.

The Ondo police command confirmed the abduction on Saturday.

The church members were reportedly travelling for a burial ceremony when they were attacked and abducted by gunmen at Ifon in Ose LGA of the state.

Olufunmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, police spokesperson in the state, said the victims were kidnapped on Friday afternoon.

“Yesterday afternoon, the police was informed that a church bus with the inscription CAC was abandoned around Elegbeka area and there are suspicions that the passengers in the vehicle were kidnapped,” Odunlami-Omisanya said.

“The police anti-kidnapping squad and other tactical teams have been deployed to the area to rescue the victims and arrest all involved in the crime.”

A family member of one of the abductees, who did not want to be named, said the victims are members of the church’s choir.

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Lagos state government announces closure of Ojuelegba Flyover Bridge for repair of truck barrier

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The Lagos State Government has announced traffic diversion at Ojuelegba flyover bridge on the night of Monday, October 2, 2023, from 10pm to 6am.

This is in line with plans by the state government to repair the truck barrier at the bridge which was recently damaged again.

This is contained in a statement issued by the state government on Friday, September 29, 2023, and can be seen on its official X (formerly Twitter) account.

The state government in the statement said that the following alternative routes will be available to Motorists during the diversion:

Motorists from Eko Bridge/Constain/Iponri inbound Ojuelegba/Alhaji Masha Road will be diverted to the service lane from Alaka via the National Stadium gate to link Barracks or Alhaji Masha Road to continue their journeys.
Motorists from Eko Bridge via Costain and those from Apapa Road going through Iponri will make use of Iponri Estate Road to link Bode Thomas via Adeniran Ogunsanya to Shitta Roundabout for their desired destinations.
Motorists were implored to be patient as the brief closure of the bridge is planned for night time as part of a traffic management strategy to avert further accidents and loss of lives.

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Mohbad: Witnesses to appear October 13 as coroner begins sitting

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The coroner’s inquest into the death of the singer Mohbad began sitting in Lagos on Friday.

Mohbad, 27, died on September 12 and was buried the next day.

The circumstances surrounding his death have sparked controversies on social media.

Thousands of Nigerians have demanded justice for Mohbad in nationwide protests.

On September 18, the Lagos police inaugurated a 13-man special investigation team to probe Mohbad’s death.

On Tuesday, the Lagos state judiciary said it will begin a coroner’s inquest into Mohbad’s death following a request submitted by Falana & Falana Chambers.

The first sitting was held on Friday at the Candide Johnson court in Ikorodu, Lagos.

Representatives of the parties in the case had a close-door session to determine different matters.

Funmi Falana, a lawyer representing Mohbad’s family, told BBC that the sitting was to determine the persons of interest to be invited to the court.

She said people should be hopeful as the lawyers will pursue the cause of justice.

“What we did today was to determine the how and what procedures to follow to help us get justice. We have fixed the next date and we will bring in our witnesses,” she said.

“We are representing the interest of justice, we should allow peace to reign but justice must be served. We will get to the root cause of the death”.

Festus Ogun, a Lagos-based lawyer, said any witness who fails to appear in court will be charged with contempt of court.

The court thereafter fixed October 13 for witnesses to present their pieces of evidence in court.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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