US now supplying arms to Nigeria says APC

The All Progressive Congress (APC) has disclosed that Nigeria is now been supplied by the United States of America, arms needed to combat the Boko Haram insurgency.
This was revealed in a statement issued in Lagos on Monday August 17 by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
The All Progressive Congress (APC) stated that the rejuvenated military is now taking the battle straight to the insurgents, instead of waiting for them to attack.
APC also hailed the Nigerian military for ramping up the fight against Boko Haram, saying the visible paradigm shift in the military’s approach to the battle against the insurgents is yielding positive results.
It described as refreshing and reassuring the fact that Service Chiefs have been visiting the theatre of the battle in the North-east, not only to pep up the fighting men and women but also to meet with political and community leaders in the area.
“The stepped-up fight against Boko Haram has convinced Nigerians that indeed their military is getting its groove back, and can beat the three-month deadline set by President Muhammadu Buhari for Boko Haram to be defeated.
The renewed battle has also shown that President Buhari was right in directing the relocation of the military’s command and control centre from Abuja to Maiduguri.
Watching the video clip of Nigerian Air Force jets pounding targets in Sambisa Forest, which is the fortress of the insurgents, over the weekend arouses great pride in the military”, APC said.
 

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EFCC Arraings man for collecting 1.3M for VISA

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, February 24, 2016 arraigned one Abdul-Aziz Abdullahi Eleyeye before Justice J. K. Omotosho of the Federal High Court sitting in Kano on one count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence.
Eleyeye, a graduate of Bayero University Kano was arrested on June 17, 2014 in Lagos following a complaint by one Khalid Ahmad Umar who alleged that the accused person defrauded him to the tune of N1.3m (one million, three hundred thousand naira).
The said amount was to be used for procuring America Visa for the victim.
According to Umar, having no doubt of Eleyeye who claimed to be a travel agent, he paid the said sum into the accused person’s account domiciled in three new generation banks.
Umar claimed that, when he presented himself for the visa interview at U.S.A Embassy he was turned down. Consequently, the accused advised him to re-apply, this time in Kuwait.
It was discovered to be a phony deal when the complainant was deported from Kuwait International Airport back to Nigeria on the grounds that, the travel documents he presented were forged.
Efforts of the victim to get service for his money or recover same were unsuccessful.
The charge reads:
“That you, Abdulaziz Abdullahi sometimes between June and December, 2013 within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, Kano knowingly retained the sum of Seven Hundred and Sixty Thousand Naira (N763,000.00) in your Guaranty Trust Bank Plc. Account with account number 0020927933 being proceeds of your illegal act to wit: obtaining the said sum from one Khalid Ahmed under the false pretence that you will secure a visa for him to United States of America, Qatar, South Africa or Kuwait and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 17 (a) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act 2004 and punishable under Section 17 (b) of the same Act. ”
The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge when it read to him.
In view of his plea, counsel to EFCC, Salihu Sani asked the court for a date for trial.
Justice Omotosho adjourned the case to March 7, 2016 for hearing of the bail application and commencement of trial

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Metuh implicated Ex-president In torn Statement

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday demonstrated to the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) how the spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh, tore the statement he made to investigators.

The EFCC said the PDP chieftain tore the statement on realising that he had given too much information and had implicated ex-President Goodluck Jonathan and himself by admitting that the money he received from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) were approved by  the former president.

Metuh is facing a three-count charge of destroying his statement and obstructing investigation.

At the resumed hearing on the matter yesterday, EFCC brought one of its lead investigators, Mr. Junaid S’aid, to testify before the Chief Judge of the High Court, Justice Ishaq Bello who is presiding over Metuh’s trial.

The witness who was led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Sylvanus Tahir, told the court that he is a member of a Special Task Force Team that received and investigated the petition that led to the arrest of the erstwhile National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki, retd.

He said the petition which was filed from the office of the NSA in January this year, alleged that Metuh, through his company, Destra Investment Limited, received N400million from Dasuki.

The fund was said to have been electronically transferred from an account the Office of the NSA operated with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, into account no. 0040437573, which Metuh’s firm opened with Diamond Bank Plc. The witness told the court that investigation by his team revealed that the transfer was done without any contract approval.

S’aid said: “My Lord, when he concluded writing his statement, which was on four sheets of the EFCC statement form, I collected the statement and read over it, I then handed the statement over to my superiors Musa and Wetkas. When I was handing over the statement, the defendant said he was surprised that he had written that much and that he felt he had given too much information.

“Because of the comment, I was worried I gave him the statement sheets one after the other for endorsement. He endorsed the first and second sheet, but tore the third sheet. The third sheet was where the defendant (Metuh) disclosed that he received the money for PDP political activities, settled his personal needs and made reference to former President Goodluck Jonathan.

“My lord, he suddenly tore the statement sheet into pieces. In great shock and surprise, I stood up I asked him why he did what he did. He said he did that because he was no longer willing to give the information on that statement sheet.

“I then requested the pieces of the statement, he declined and attempted to put them in his pocket, I then cautioned him and told him to respect himself. He insisted that he was going to dispose the torn sheet.

“I persuaded him to handover the torn sheet and brought one plain paper to him. He poured the pieces on the plain sheet. My colleagues were there looking at us in surprise as well. He further tore them into pieces, saying only in the movies would they be recovered.

“I poured the pieces in the commission’s transparent polythene bag as exhibit and made entry of the incident into the EFCC’s incident duty station diary as well as EFCC’s pocket notebook. Later, in the day he requested to make additional statement, which he made, wrote his name and signed but declined to make any other statement on the torn paper.’’

The EFCC’s incident duty station diary, EFCC’s pocket notebook and pieces of the torn statement were tendered and admitted as exhibits.

The witness, under cross examination by Metuh’s lawyer, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) admitted not including the issue of the torn sheet in his statement.

When Ikpeazu requested for the original copy of the statement, Tahir gave him a photocopy of the statement. He said that the defence should had served him with notice to produce the document.

Justice Bello therefore ordered the EFCC to provide the original copy of the witness statement.

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Jonathan, Yar'adua didn't build a single Road says Osinbajo

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Friday said that the federal government did not build “a single new road” in the last 10 years.

The administration of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and former President Goodluck Jonathan spanned the said period.

Osinbajo, who spoke at the pastors retreat of the Fountain of Life Church in Ilupeju, Lagos, said corruption in the country was not caused because by a few individuals, but that the entire system was built around lack of integrity.

“Unless we tackle graft, we may not be able to achieve something,” he said.

“The federal government in the past 10 years could not build a single new road, not repairing existing ones alone.

“Now we have a president who will not steal money and who will not allow anybody to steal money.”

Commenting on the N6 billion that the last administration spent on a new residence for the vice-president, he said Aguda House, the current official residence, is up to standard with enough space.

He said the present administration would complete it but consider putting it to other use.

“There is no need for a new vice-president’s house; it is a kind of waste; we are now in a situation where we cannot abandon it; it has to be completed and used for a different thing,” he said.

On the controversial State House Medical Centre budget, the professor of law said the Clinic was not only for workers at the state house.

He said it is a general hospital with a lot of facilities that serves all Nigerians, adding that he would prefer that it be further equipped to provide higher medical services to those in need.

Osinbajo debunked insinuation of lack of data in the country, saying that the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics had enormous which had been rated highly by the World Bank and other international agencies.

He said the intention of government was to aggregate the scattered data in INEC, CBN, National Population Census Commission into one by the National Identity Card Management Commission.

Osinbajo also said the education sector lacked not only standards but adequacy of institutions, which has forced Nigerians into sponsoring their children abroad for tertiary education.

He explained that while 1.8 million Nigerians sat for university entrance examination yearly, only about 300,000 were offered admission due to a dearth of universities.

The vice-president revealed plans of the government to convert many of the existing universities into centres of excellence and support the private sector in the running of universities to enable more Nigerians to have access to tertiary education.

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JAMB:NSCDC deploys 600 personnel for CBT centers

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Ogun State Command, has deployed 600 personnel to all the UTME CBT Examination Centres across the state to provide adequate security during the examination.

A directive from the National Headquarters of NSCDC, Abuja instructed that the Command should provide security for this year’s UTME CBT which starts today. Reports also gathered the the Corps have also deployed patrol vehicles to strategic places to ensure quick response to any emergency or distress from any of CBT centres. The total number of the examination centres in the State is 29.

According to a statement signed by the Command spokesman in the state, Kareem Olanrewaju, all security agencies are hereby urged to cooperate and work in line with security arrangements. His words: “All candidates are therefore expected to be at the examination centres thirty minutes earlier before the examination starting time so as to enable them go through the security process and settle down before the starting period as security processes will not be skipped due to lateness.

“The Corps hereby warn all relatives and parents of UTME candidates who have nothing to do with the examination to steer clear, at least 200 metres away. Candidates, parents or relatives are hereby urged not to engage in any act or omissions that could cause damage, violence or disrupt the peaceful conduct of the examination,” Olanrewaju noted.

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Troops kills 37 Boko Haram terrorist and destrots bomb factory

According to a statement issued by Acting Director Army Public RelationsColonel Sani Kukasheka Usman,  the troops cleared the terrorists camp which was equipped with medical facility, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) factory, fuel dump, mechanical workshop, generators and several water points.

“The gallant troops also destroyed 3 vehicles laden with IEDs meant for suicide bombings somewhere and killed 37 Boko Haram terrorists.

“The troops also recovered 12 vehicles, 27 motorcycles, 9 AK-47 rifles, 2 Fabrique Nationale rifles, fabricated rocket bomb and a Sniper rifle. Other items recovered include 4 Dane Guns, solar panels and other household items. In addition to that, they also rescued 20 persons held hostage by the terrorists.

Usman said; “Unfortunately, 2 of our soldiers sustained gun shot wounds. The wounded soldiers have been evacuated to 7 Division Hospital where they are receiving medical care.

“We wish to state here that buoyed with this unprecedented success, the troops morale is very high.

“We would like to assure the public that the troops would continue to do their best to clear all the remnants of Boko Haram terrorists wherever they may be to successfully bring to an end the menace of the terrorists, Usman added. 

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CCT Trail: Saraki is irremovable -Dino Melaye

CCT Trial: “Saraki Is Irremovable” – Dino Melaye

senate President – Bukola Saraki docked at the CC

Senate Spokesman, Senator Dino Melaye has said that the embattled Bukola Saraki cannot be deposed as Senate President despite his criminal trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

He made this known on Friday while speaking at the Social Media Week in Oniru, Lagos. Melaye who represents Kogi West Senatorial District stated that politicians are prone to criticisms.

He said: “Saraki is irremovable. Politicians get attacks from every corner of the social media but Nigerians should be able to verify information before attacking someone”.

“Few days ago, I was attacked on Social Media for driving recklessly in Port Harcourt and I was in Abuja. Some people sit in their bedrooms to lie and citizens don’t verify before picking up such stories.”

He advised Nigerians to verify their information before posting on the social media adding that the platform has enormous benefit for Nigeria’s growth and development.

Thanks fo reading.

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