Connect with us

News

Reps panel dismisses petition alleging plot by DSS, EFCC to rearrest Emefiele

Published

on

A house of representatives panel has dismissed a petition on an alleged plot by the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Department of State Services (DSS) to rearrest Godwin Emefiele, former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The committee on public petition threw out the petition at a hearing on Thursday because it is subjudice.

THE PETITION

In a letter dated November 27, the Centre for Social Justice Equity and Transparency (CESJET), a civil society organisation (CSO), had petitioned the house of representatives, over an alleged plot by the EFCC and DSS to “forcefully remove” Emefiele from the custody of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS).

The petition was presented before the lower legislative chamber by Philip Agbese, an All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker, from Benue.

The group claimed that the antigraft agency and the secret police were plotting to rearrest Emefiele as soon as his bail conditions were perfected.

On November 18, Emefiele was arraigned before a federal capital territory (FCT) high court on a six-count charge bordering on procurement fraud.

The former CBN governor was accused of using his position to confer a corrupt advantage on Sa’adatu Yaro, a staff of the bank, by awarding a contract for the procurement of 43 vehicles worth N1.2 billion between 2018 and 2020.

The vehicles included 37 Toyota Hilux at the cost of N854.7 million, one Toyota Avalon at the cost of N99.9 million, one Toyota Landcruiser V8 at the cost of N73.8 million, two Toyota Hilux Shell Specification at the cost of N44,200,000.

He was also alleged to have awarded Yaro a contract for the procurement of two Toyota Landcruiser VXR V8 worth N138 million.

Emefiele pleaded “not guilty” to the amended charge and was later granted bail in the sum of N300 million.

The court granted him bail but demanded that he must produce two sureties in like sum.

According to the court, the sureties must have certificates of occupancy and titles of properties within the Maitama district in Abuja.

He was also mandated to deposit all his travel documents with the registrar of the court and must remain within the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).

Emefiele is still in prison because he has been unable to meet his bail conditions.

THE HEARING

At the hearing on Thursday, Sylvanus Tahir, EFCC’s director of legal and prosecution; Nwakeze Emmanuel, NCS assistant comptroller-general of correction in charge of operations, appeared before the committee while DSS was not represented.

Addressing the panel, Tahir asked the lawmakers to dismiss the petition because the matter is in court.

He said Emefiele’s lawyers could approach the court to seek redress if there is such an alleged plot.

“There is a subsisting criminal charge against Mr Godwin Emefiele. I am wondering whether it is appropriate, given the fact that it borders on a subsisting court matter— for this committee to by way of a public hearing, delve into the matter. More so that Emefiele is heavily represented by very senior lawyers in this matter, including senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN),” he said.

“And this petition did not emanate from them and in any event, we believe if the allegation has substance as the petitioners would want this committee to believe, it would have been ventilated before the honourable court in which this case is pending because they are alleging a case of contempt.

“If it is a case of contempt as it is being alleged, I thought the appropriate forum to ventilate that issue should be before the honourable court other than bring it before this committee given the subjudice nature of this case,” he said.

On his part, Emmanuel said he was not aware of any plot to rearrest Emefiele.

“As far as we are concerned, we are not aware of any alleged attempt to forcefully release Emefiele. Emefiele is still in our custody,” he said.

After deliberations, Michael Etaba, chairman of the committee, dismissed the case for being subjudice.

News

Police probe video of officer in altercation with elderly woman in Lagos

Published

on

By

The Lagos police command says it has launched an investigation into a viral video of an officer involved in an altercation with an elderly woman.

POLICE COMMENCE INVESTIGATION INTO VIDEO OF POLICE OFFICER IN ALTERCATION WITH ELDERLY WOMAN

On Sunday, a video showing a police officer manhandling an elderly woman in her car began circulating on social media.

The officer was said to have demanded N250,000 from the woman which she refused to pay, before the altercation began.

Benjamin Hundeyin, the police spokesperson in Lagos, in a statement on Wednesday, condemned the action of the officer, noting that the inspector and his supervising deputy superintendent have been brought in for questioning.

Hundeyin said the incident took place in the Alagbado area of Lagos in the first week of September.

He assured the public that the investigation would be “swift, thorough and conclusive”.

“The command condemns the unprofessional conduct of the Inspector as it does not represent the ethics and operational standards of the Nigeria Police Force,” the statement reads.

“The command equally assures Lagosians that the investigation will be swift, thorough and conclusive.

“We will ensure that the officers are disciplined as appropriate, and members of the public are updated accordingly.”

Continue Reading

News

EFCC besieged Kogi lodge to forcefully arrest Yahaya Bello, says his media office

Published

on

By

The media office of Yahaya Bello has alleged that on Wednesday night, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) laid siege to the Kogi Government Lodge in Abuja, in a bid to forcefully arrest the former governor.

The claim comes hours after Bello’s media office said the ex-governor had honoured the anti-graft agency’s invitation.

The EFCC had immediately denied that Bello was in its custody, restating that the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain was still a wanted man.

However, Bello’s media office responded by saying the politician was not interrogated when he visited the EFCC office and was turned back.

“He was accompanied to the commission’s office by Gov Usman Ododo,” the media team had said.

‘THEY SHOT SPORADICALLY’

In a statement issued on Wednesday night, Ohiare Michael, director of the Yahaya Bello Media Office, said the operatives shot sporadically during the raid.

“It has come to our notice that people suspected to be operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, are currently around the Kogi Government Lodge, Asokoro in an attempt to forcefully arrest former Governor Yahaya Bello,” the statement reads.

“They were shooting sporadically.

“It was reported earlier that the former Governor went to the EFCC Office voluntarily, but the commission told him to leave and come at a later date, only to mount an attack on the Kogi Government facility in Asokoro.

“We want to place it on record that the EFCC should be held accountable if anything untoward happens to him.

“Tonight’s attack was needless as the former Governor made himself available to the EFCC in their office for interrogation.

“The EFCC had no question to ask Alhaji Yahaya Bello in the morning, but suddenly, they are out to arrest him.

“This action is condemnable. They have displayed the very reason many Nigerians believe they are fighting political battles instead of the mandate to fight corruption.

“This action reflects much more than a fight against corruption. We will keep Nigerians posted.”

Continue Reading

News

Geological agency asks residents not to panic as earth tremors rock Abuja

Published

on

By

The Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) says there is no need for residents of the federal capital territory (FCT) to panic over recent earth tremors.

Residents of Mpape and Katampe communities in the FCT recently expressed fears following earth tremors that reportedly began on Saturday.

An earth tremor is a relatively small or short-lived movement of the earth’s surface. It is caused by the same forces that produce earthquakes.

In a statement on Wednesday, Olusegun Ige, NGSA director-general, said the agency monitored the tremors and found them to be low.

He added that the tremors do not pose any threats.

“The Monitoring Station (NGSA-5) at Katampe has been capturing several significant ground motions with high moment magnitudes (Mw) in the past five days, beginning from September 13, 2024 till date,” the statement reads.

“Only one mild event was recorded on September 13th. Six of these events were captured on the 14th of September, while over 21 events were captured on the 15th with higher intensities.

“More than twenty events were recorded on the 16th of September. The intensity and frequency of the tremor appear to increase from the 13th to 16th September. There are a few weak events recorded today, 17th September.

“Preliminary analysis of the waveforms showed that the sources of the ground motions are less than 5 km away from the monitoring station.

“NGSA team also visited the affected areas for on-the-spot assessments of the events. From the accounts of the residents of the affected areas, the observations by the NGSA team, and findings from earlier interpretations of the airborne geophysical data over the area and adjoining areas, the following conclusions were made:

“The tremors are a result of accumulated stress along the identified faults and released seismic energy, which may have traveled through associated fractures to areas where the tremors were felt around the FCT.

“There are multiple epicenters associated with the recent tremor. Most of the epicenters are located northeast of the NGSA-5 Seismic Station around Mpape axis, while a few are located southwest of the Station around Katampe axis.

“The intensities of the tremors are weak to light, ranging from III – IV on the Modified Mercalli Scale, and pose a very low level threat.”

The agency added that it is closely monitoring the situation.

“The residents of Mpape, Katampe, Maitama, and other areas where the tremors were felt are advised not to panic as the tremors can be generally described as low,” the statement adds.

“The Agency is keeping a close monitoring of the situation and will provide updates as may become necessary.

“The general public should also be aware that the NGSA Seismic Stations are being monitored in real time to ensure prompt alerts on any major event.”

Continue Reading

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

Most Read...