Gombe state government on Friday disclosed that has banned grazing by underage children and suspends the movement of migrating herder into or outside the state.
The government also directed that farmers in the state are to get their harvest done as quick as possible. According to the state government, this is to avoid farmer/herder clash in the state.
Addressing newsmen on Friday in Gombe, the state’s commissioner of information, Mr Julius Ishaya stated that the resolutions were passed during the state’s security council meeting which was held on Wednesday.
According to the commissioner, “the council directed that there shall be no farming and grazing activities from 6 pm to 6 am. Farmers are not allowed to burn their folders, that’s the remnant on their farms. This to ensure that when they are done with their harvest, the herders can go in and benefit from the remnant”.
Ishaya further disclosed that “the council also directed that migrating herder and their cattle are not allowed into and of cause out of Gombe state until after harvest which will last till the end of January 2022.
The government which had resuscitated the state’s Disputes Prevention and Settlement Committee (DPSC) and vowed to build on the prevailing peaceful coexistence among groups and communities in the state, stated that the suspension announced are with immediate effect.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his company is rebranding itself as Meta in an effort to encompass its virtual-reality vision for the future, what Zuckerberg calls the “metaverse.”
Skeptics point out that it also appears to be an attempt to change the subject from the Facebook Papers, a leaked document trove that has revealed the ways Facebook ignored internal reports and warnings of the harms its social network created or magnified across the world.
Zuckerberg says he expects the metaverse to reach a billion people within the next decade. The metaverse, he says, will be a place people will be able to interact, work and create products and content in what he hopes will be a new ecosystem that creates “millions” of jobs for creators.
The announcement comes amid an existential crisis for Facebook. It faces legislative and regulatory scrutiny in many parts of the world following revelations in the Facebook Papers.
[b]In explaining the rebrand, Zuckerberg said the name “Facebook” just doesn’t encompass “everything we do” any more. In addition to its primary social network, that now includes Instagram, Messenger, its Quest VR headset, its Horizon VR platform [/b]and more.
Emiliano Sala's family welcome conviction of David Henderson
The family of Emiliano Sala has welcomed the conviction of the man who organised the doomed flight leading to his death but they still have unanswered questions, their solicitor said.
Speaking after a jury at Cardiff Crown Court convicted David Henderson, Daniel Machover, of Hickman & Rose solicitors, said: 'Mr Henderson's convictions are welcome and we hope the CAA will ensure that illegal flights of this kind are stopped.
'The actions of David Henderson are only one piece in the puzzle of how the plane David Ibbotson was illegally flying came to crash into the sea on 21 January 2019.
'We still do not know the key information about the maintenance history of the aircraft and all the factors behind the carbon monoxide poisoning revealed in August 2019 by AAIB.
'The answers to these questions can only be properly established at Emiliano's inquest, which is due to start in February next year.
'The Sala family fervently hope that everyone involved in the inquest will provide full disclosure of material without further delay, including Piper Aircraft Inc and the AAIB. This should ensure that the inquest can fulfil its function of fully and fearlessly examining the evidence so that all the facts emerge.
'Only if that happens will Emiliano's family finally know the truth about this tragedy enabling all the lessons to be learned, so that no family goes through a similar preventable death.'
David Henderson was found guilty of endangering the safety of an aircraft in which a footballer and pilot died
The organiser of the flight in which footballer Emiliano Sala died has been found guilty of endangering the safety of an aircraft.
Sala, 28, and pilot David Ibbotson, 59, died in the crash in the English Channel in January 2019.
David Henderson, 67, of Hotham, East Riding of Yorkshire, was found guilty after a trial at Cardiff Crown Court.
He had also previously admitted trying to arrange a flight for a passenger without permission or authorisation.
It took the jury seven and a half hours to convict Henderson, who will be sentenced on 12 November, by a majority verdict.
Lawyers speaking on behalf of Sala's family said Henderson's convictions were welcomed but his actions were only "one piece of the puzzle" of how the plane came to crash.
Emiliano Sala's body was recovered, but David Ibbotson, 59, from Crowle, Lincolnshire, has never been found.
Argentine striker Sala and Mr Ibbotson died after their single-engine Piper Malibu plunged into the English Channel on a flight between Cardiff and Nantes in January 2019, set up by Henderson with football agent William "Willie" McKay.
The footballer was involved in a £15m transfer to Cardiff City from Nantes and was travelling between the two cities at the time of his death.
The court heard how Ibbotson, who regularly flew for Henderson, did not hold a commercial pilot's licence, a qualification to fly at night, and his rating to fly the single-engine Piper Malibu had expired.
Henderson had asked Mr Ibbotson to fly the plane as he was away on holiday with his wife in Paris.
Just moments after finding out the plane had gone down, Henderson texted a number of people telling them to stay silent, warning it would "open a can of worms", the jury was told.
The father-of-three and former RAF officer admitted in court he had feared an investigation into his business dealings.
Prosecutor Martin Goudie QC said Henderson had been "reckless or negligent" in the way he operated the plane, by putting his business above the safety of passengers.
Mr Goudie said Henderson had created a culture of breaching the air navigation regulations among the pilots he hired.
Fay Keely, who owned the plane, had told Henderson not to allow Mr Ibbotson to pilot the plane again after being contacted by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) about two airspace infringements he had committed.
Despite this, Henderson allowed Mr Ibbotson to continue flying, and his message to the pilot read: "We both have an opportunity to make money out of the business model but not if we upset clients or draw the attention of the CAA."
'Incompetent, undocumented and dishonest' Henderson did not have the permit needed to fly passengers in the American plane, or an Air Operator Certificate (AOC), which was also required.
Mr Goudie accused Henderson of lying in his statements to investigators, and of running a "cowboy outfit" after questioning him over failings to keep basic information on his pilots.
In his closing speech, he claimed Henderson ran an "incompetent, undocumented and dishonest organisation".
However Stephen Spence QC, defending, had said his client's actions were "purely a paperwork issue" and had not led to a likelihood of danger.
He said his client knew Mr Ibbotson, who had been flying for decades, was an experienced pilot.
Mr Spence told the court the only difference between a commercial licence and the private licence held by Mr Ibbotson was whether you could carry passengers for money or not, rather than ability.
Henderson also argued on the stand that he had phoned Ms Keely after she forbade Mr Ibbotson from flying and convinced her to let him pilot again.
Ms Keely said she does not remember such a call.
What has the reaction been? The Sala family say they want full disclosure, so "no family goes through a similar preventable death"
Daniel Machover, of Hickman & Rose solicitors, representing the Sala family, said in a statement after the verdict: "Mr Henderson's convictions are welcome and we hope the CAA will ensure that illegal flights of this kind are stopped.
"The actions of David Henderson are only one piece in the puzzle of how the plane David Ibbotson was illegally flying came to crash into the sea on 21 January 2019.
"We still do not know the key information about the maintenance history of the aircraft and all the factors behind the carbon monoxide poisoning revealed in August 2019 by AAIB.
"The answers to these questions can only be properly established at Emiliano's inquest, which is due to start in February next year."
The statement added that the Sala family "fervently hope" all involved in the inquest, including Piper Aircraft Inc and the AAIB, would provide full disclosure of material.
"Only if that happens will Emiliano's family finally know the truth about this tragedy enabling all the lessons to be learned, so that no family goes through a similar preventable death," it said.
Kate Staples, the UK CAA's General Counsel, extended sympathies to families and friends affected by the fatal crash.
"Aviation safety relies upon the integrity of everyone involved in the industry," she said.
"Unlawful and unsafe activity such as Mr Henderson's is unacceptable and the UK Civil Aviation Authority will always look to prosecute illegal activity."
Kevin Ducksbury, the chairman of the Air Charter Association (ACA), said the trade body was "deeply dismayed" that "so many fundamental safety rules, and basic rules of airmanship were disregarded and broken" in this case.
"The ruling confirms that Mr Henderson arranged and coordinated this flight illegally, in which footballer Emiliano Sala tragically lost his life.
"The association is profoundly disturbed that this flight was allowed to happen but welcomes the UK CAA's representation in this case," he said.
Mr Ducksbury added that the ACA would continue its work to educate the public and wider aviation community, with it's primary cause to stamp out illegal transport.
Manchester United are considering sacking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before their next match against Tottenham, according to reports.
Solskjaer is on the brink after the Red Devils were humiliated at Old Trafford by Liverpool on Sunday.
United's players are understood to have been kept inside the ground for two hours after the final whistle of the 5-0 demolition to their fiercest rivals.
Sunday's thrashing was United's worst ever home defeat to their biggest enemies and hastened calls for Solskjaer to be sacked.
And now the Manchester Evening News understands Old Trafford chiefs are giving serious consideration to dismissing the Norwegian before the club's next match against Tottenham on Saturday.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer might not make it to next weekend, according to the latest reports
Man Utd managing director cancels all appointments to hold emergency meeting with Glazersdaily.
United's form has nosedived in recent weeks, with the defeat to Liverpool their fifth in the last nine games in all competitions.
They are also without a win in their last four Premier league matches.
Despite being backed in the transfer window, Solskjaer's side are now eight points adrift of leaders Chelsea and three points behind West Ham who occupy the final Champions League spot.
At about 10.00 pm yesterday, October 22, 2021, a large number of heavily-armed gunmen attacked the Abolongo Custodial Centre, in Oyo, Oyo State.
Armed squad unit members of the Nigerian Correctional Service and other security agencies on guard at the facility engaged the attackers in a gun duel that lasted for 20 minutes before they were overpowered.
The attackers subsequently used grenades and other explosives to gain access into the awaiting trial section of the facility and set free many of the awaiting trial inmates. Other sections of the facilities were left untouched.
The Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service has been on the situation immediately the incident occurred.
The Minister of Interior has been briefed on the attack. He is monitoring the situation.
He has assured members of the public to go about their normal businesses as the situation is under control. He also requires members of the public to report any suspicious movement or any sign of the escaped inmates and the gunmenin and around the vicinity to the nearest security post around them.
Security agencies are on the trail of the escaped inmates, while a joint security services manhunt has been launched immediately for the apprehension of the assailants.
This has led to the capture of some of the inmates while others returned voluntarily. However, those who are on the run are advised to turn themselves in, as escape from lawful custody is a serious offense. The full weight of the law will be brought on them when arrested!
After 114 gruelling days in the custody of the Department of State Services, two of the 12 aides of Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, have regained their freedom, The PUNCH has learnt.
The DSS had, on July 1, 2021, during a midnight invasion of Igboho’s Soka house in Ibadan, Oyo State, arrested 12 of the activist’s allies and whisked them away to Abuja, where they had been kept in detention.
After a long dilly-dally, the secret police, in compliance to a court order, first released eight of the 12 detainees on Monday, August 30, 2021, holding onto the remaining four.
The additional two freed on September 3, 2021 are Tajudeen rinloye and Uthman Adelabu.
Amudat Babatunde (female) and Jamiu Oyetunji were freed on Friday.
The detainees’ lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, confirmed their release to The PUNCH on Friday.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had on August 4, 2021, granted bail to the 12 detainees.
They had met their bail conditions, including the provision of 24 sureties, but the DSS lawyer, Idowu Awo, had kicked against the bail granted by Justice Egwuatu to four of them, claiming that they were heavily involved in the alleged offence of arms stockpiling and other criminal activities of their boss, Igboho.
The PUNCH had also reported that the DSS filed terrorism charges against Oyetunji and Babatunde, a female blogger who did a Facebook Live around 2am on July 1, 2021, when the DSS in a joint operation with sister agencies raided Igboho’s residence.
Known as ‘Lady K ifeoluwa show’ on Facebook, the blogger with over 17,000 followers had turned on her Facebook Live on the midnight of July 1 during the raid of Igboho’s house by the Nigerian security forces.
Seated on a bed in a room in one of the apartments in Igboho’s residence in the Soka area of Ibadan, a fear-torn Lady K had made a 12-minute video, alerting the world that DSS operatives had “attacked” the residence of her boss.
In the video which is still on her Facebook page as of the time of filing this report, an alarmed Lady K had said, “Please share this video, soldiers have attacked Chief Sunday Igboho’s house. We are under attack. Nigerian soldiers have attacked us at Chief Sunday Igboho’s house.
“You can hear the gunshots. This is about 2am. They have been shooting for over 10 minutes now. I had to confirm it before coming on this Live. I heard their gunshots from my sleep. I can’t come out now. They told me not to come out but alert the world through this Facebook Live.”
Igboho’s spokesman, Olayomi Koiki, had also alleged that the DSS removed the closed-circuit television in his principal’s house after the raid, an allegation the DSS has not denied.
Lady K was said to be a member of the media team of the Yoruba Nation arrowhead before the DSS arrested her alongside 11 others during the raid. The secret police also said its operatives killed two other associates of the activist during a “gun duel”.
In a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CR/305/2021, which was dated August 31, 2021, the DSS through one of its lawyers, S.M. Bello, filed five terrorism charges against Oyetunji and Babatunde.
The DSS alleged that Oyetunji and Lady K were in possession of firearms for terrorism-related activities while it specifically alleged that Lady K promoted terrorist acts through her Facebook account.
“That you Amudat Habibat Babatunde (f) adult of Okeara of Ibadan, Oyo State did use your Facebook account as a platform to promote terrorist activities contrary to Section 18 (1 &2) of the Cybercrimes Prohibition Prevention Act 2015,” count five on the charge sheet read.
The court has not fixed any date for the hearing.
But reacting in an earlier chat with The PUNCH, Olajengbesi had described the charges as “baseless, vexatious, shameful and without limbs.”
Igboho, wanted by the DSS for alleged arms trafficking, has been in detention in Cotonou, Benin Republic, since July 19, 2021 when he was arrested at an airport as he tried to board a Germany-bound flight.
The FBI on Thursday identified human remains found in a Florida nature preserve as those of Brian Laundrie, a person of interest in the death of girlfriend Gabby Petito while the couple was on a cross-country road trip.
The remains, a backpack and notebook believed to belong to Laundrie were discovered Wednesday in a Florida wilderness park, according to the FBI. The area where they were found had been under water during earlier searches.
The FBI’s Denver office said in a news release that a comparison of dental records confirmed that the remains were Laundrie.
Police activity Wednesday was focused on the nearby Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, where television news reports showed numerous law enforcement vehicles arriving and a tent set up inside the woods. The location is where a Ford Mustang that Laundrie drove to the wilderness was found.
In the interview, Bertolino (Laundrie's attorney) said the belongings were found near a bridge connecting the the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park and the adjoining Carlton Reserve. The bridge is about four miles north of the Laundrie family home.
When asked why the parents had not joined the search at the park earlier, Bertolino pointed out that it had not been open to the public before Tuesday.
'The parents had assumed that the experts, the FBI and all the tracking teams they had, would be able to locate Brian based upon the information that we had provided them to the specific areas and trails in the park that Brian liked to visit,' he said.
The grim discovery of human remains was made in the Carlton Reserve in Florida, near Laundrie's home, along with a backpack and notebook identified by the FBI as belonging to Laundrie. Bureau investigators are for the first time specifically calling Laundrie a 'a person of interest in the murder of Gabby Petito.'
Until Tuesday, the reserve had been sealed off to the public while investigators searched for any sign of the fugitive. It reopened on Tuesday and on Wednesday morning, Laundrie's mother and father, Roberta and Chris, joined the search teams in the morning for the first time together.
Within a few hours, the remains - along with the other items - had been found. In a statement through their attorney, Roberta and Chris said they would reserve public comments until the remains had been identified.
According to Bertolino, Chris was the one to discover a white plastic dry bag belonging to Laundrie, which he found in the presence of a news reporter about 20 feet off the trail, while police discovered the backpack and human remains nearby.
'Chris didn't want to pick the bag up because he wanted law enforcement to see it. This was caught on camera. Chris couldn't find the law enforcement because they were then out of sight, because Chris had been in the woods, so he didn't want to leave the bag there with the news reporter standing nearby, so he picked it up,' Bertolino said.
'He did meet up shortly with law enforcement. They looked at the contents of the bag.
'At that time, law enforcement officers showed him a picture on the phone of a backpack that law enforcement had located also nearby, and also some distance off the trail.
'At that point, the Laundries were notified that there was also remains near the backpack and they were asked to leave the preserve,' he continued.
The Laundrie parents have been under a cloud of public suspicion since their son disappeared, including wild theories that they were hiding their son in an alleged bunker under their garden, but Bertolino said that the family informed the FBI on the night of September 13 that their son had not returned from a hike that day.
Petito’s family reported her missing Sept. 11, launching a search that garnered worldwide media attention and focused largely on the Carlton Reserve wilderness park near the Laundrie home. It is a densely wooded, swampy area that’s home to alligators, coyotes, bobcats, snakes and numerous other creatures.
The intense focus on Petito’s case has led to renewed calls for people to pay greater attention to cases involving missing Indigenous women and other people of color.
The body of Petitio, 22, was found Sept. 19 on the edge of Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park, which the couple had visited. The coroner there concluded she died of strangulation and her body had been where it was found for three or four weeks.
Human Remains Found at Carlton Reserve Confirmed as those of Brian Laundrie
On October 21, 2021, a comparison of dental records confirmed that the human remains found at the T. Mabry Carlton, Jr. Memorial Reserve and Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park are those of Brian Laundrie.
The FBI is grateful for the tremendous investigative support from our partners: North Port Police Department, Sarasota Police Department, Jackson Police Department, Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, Lee County Sherifs Office, Sarasota County Sheriff's Office, Teton County Sheriff's Office, Teton County Search and Rescue, the Florida Wildlife Commission, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Forest Service.
Popular Nigerian actor, Charles Okocha, has denied claims that he damaged his friend’s Sport Utility Vehicle after he spotted his daughter seating at the front seat cruising with him in the car.
In a viral video, with a caption, ‘Omoh!! Wahala happen for Lekki yesterday oh! Charles Okocha go see hin pikin for inside one big boy car, the rest is history,’(sic) the actor is seen in a fit of rage dragging a young girl out of the SUV and roughly escorting her into his car.
Shortly after the young lady whom many speculated was his daughter got settled in the actor’s car, Okocha was seen wielding a spade which he used to hit the windscreen of his friend’s car several times; hence damaging it.
Ever since the video surfaced online, it has sparked mixed reactions. While some believe the video snippet is from a movie or a comedy skit, some others believe that it happened in reality.
However, in a chat with The Punch, the actor cleared the air stating that the video snippet is from a movie role from a yet to be released movie.
In a telephone chat, Okocha said, “You should know me by now that I will never do a thing like that. I will want people to zoom into the video, look at the face of the lady and compare it with my daughter. That is not my daughter.
“What people saw is a scene from a movie I am featured in but it is not yet released. I will have addressed this issue since but I am currently filming in the east and I am very busy at the moment.”
Steve Hanke, a Professor of Applied Economics at the John Hopkins University and Co-Director of the Institute for Applied Economics, has reacted to the death of 49 persons killed after gunmen invaded a market at Goronyo town in the Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
Under Sleepy @MBuhari's incompetence, bandits in #Nigeria continue to run wild. At least 43 people have been killed in another attack by armed groups. No surprise why Nigeria ranks a dismal 161 out of 162 countries in Safety & Security by @CatoInstitute.
See The Trending DELSU Exam Question That Was set For Law Department of the school.
Mr. Whitemoney, a prominent Star Artist and the just concluded winner of 2021 Big Brother Nigeria episode has requested you as a Legal Practitioner engaged in active legal practice and Solicitors job to prepare his Will. You visited him in his house and took instructions in his Parlour with Jumoke the first wife intermițtently interrupting both of you with whispers to whitemoney, who was given his Big Cigar and shots of Jameson Irish Whiskey, his favourite.
Favour, Whitemoney's second wife never appeared in the scene. At a stage, Whitemoney who was drunk complained ot acute headache, but you encourage him to manage himself and conclude the instruction you were taking, he incaherently did. At last, you prepared the WIll and part of the contents of the will is that Whitemoney gave 85% of all his properties to Jumoke and her children Pere, Angel and Liquorose to the ...
A group of pro-Buhari protesters has converged on the Unity Fountain in Abuja, saying “nobody died at Lekki tollgate” in Lagos.
The protesters who were conveyed to the venue by bus, held up placards stating, ”#EndSarsProtest; Lekki shooting was a hoax”, and ”Nobody died at Lekki tollgate”.
Police authorities at the Force headquarters in Abuja have described as false, the insinuation that Prince Kpokpogiri Joseph, the estranged lover of Popular Nollywood star, Tonto Dikeh was arrested at Trandcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja because she has a connection with the DIG in charge of Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Bureau, DIG Joseph Egbunike.
Rather, Prince Kpokpogiri who is currently facing a pending investigation at Force CID was said to have bypassed Police authorities, went and hired 2 police officers attached to Maitsma Police station, took them to Transcorp Hotel and threatened to open fire at Tonto Dikeh if she did not hand over the keys of an SUV to him, Kpokpogiri.
Vanguard investigation showed that in the early hours of Tuesday 19, October 2021, at about 12.30 am, Prince Kpokpogiri took his driver and two policemen and went to Transcorp Hilton.
“They blocked a vehicle that was packed there and stayed till 6 am. Kpokpogiri’s driver said he gave the keys to the vehicle to Tonto Dikeh but Prince Kpokpogiri alleged the car was stolen.
In the confusion and argument that ensued, one of the policemen allegedly pointed his gun on the head of Tonto Dikeh, prompting the Security team at Transcorp to alert the Inspector General of Police..
At that point the IGP, Usman Alkali Baba directed the DIG in charge FCIIB to look into the matter. DIG Egbunike subsequently deployed the Commissioner of Police in Charge Administration at Force CID, CP Umar Sanda and some police operatives to the scene.
At the scene, Prince Kpokpogiri was said to have become violent and was allegedly raining insults and curses on the Police officers while all entreaties for him to calm down failed.
Consequently, when DIG Egbunike was briefed about the conduct of Prince Kpokpogiri, he ordered the arrest of the Prince and the policemen that the prince came with.
Vanguard was told that his arrest is to enable him to regain his sanity after which he would be questioned on the issue about ownership or otherwise on the vehicle in question.
DIG Joseph Egbunike confirmed the arrest to Vanguard saying, “Yes, I called my CP Sanda Umar, CP Administration who despatched officers to arrest them. He (Kpokoogiri) became insulting and uncontrollable. I ordered his detention to enable him to calm down. Besides, he has a pending petition against him which CP Sanda Umar is investigating.”
It would be recalled that Nollywood actress Tonto Dikeh had earlier dragged Prince Kpokpogri to the police headquarters, accusing him of extortion, blackmail and threat to life.
A petition written by her lawyer and dated 10 September 2021 demanded a police probe of the politician/lover for a variety of allegations, including criminal defamation, hacking, cyberstalking, and obtaining by false pretences.
The petition read: “Our client has reasons to believe that Kpokpogri Joesph had planted a closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) at private areas of his residence and staged-managed those visits with the aim of blackmailing our client.
“She was surprised when sometime in August the said Joseph started demanding for the sum of five million naira from her and threatened to expose her nude pictures and other such document relating to her if refuses to pay.
“To actualize this demand, the said Kpokpgri started sending messages, documents and files containing sensitive information and materials relating to our clients to her phone while releasing some to the public.
“Our client believes that Joesph hacked her phone and illegally obtained private conversations she had with a third party which he, Joesph Kppkpogri then caused to be released to the public on or about the 6th day of September 2021.
“Our client has been receiving series of threats phone calls which she believes are being orchestrated by the said Kpokpogri.
“On or about the 7th day of September 2021, our client received a phone call from this line 09038727436 which threatened her that if she writes anything against the said Kpokpgri, they will kill her; that they know where her son is schooling and every other detail about her.
“By reason of the above, we urge you to use your good office to cause a detailed investigation into the above facts with a view to bringing Joseph Kpokpgri to book.”
Tonto and Kpokpogri are said to have parted ways over allegations he was cheating on her.
For decades, Justice Ogene interpreted the law and jailed offenders. But she also secretly broke the law.
In November 2020 when Stella Oghenekume Nkiruka OGENE retired from the judicial service of Delta State in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region, she had headed the state’s Customary Court of Appeal for a record 21 years.
In addition to describing her as “one of the best brains” Delta State has contributed to the legal profession in Nigeria, the State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, also suggested Mrs Ogene had set a track record of ethical conduct, challenging her successor, Patience Elumeze, to continue in that trajectory.
But hardly did the guests that gathered in Asaba, the state capital, that November afternoon at the event inaugurating her successor, know that Mrs Ogene operated a secret offshore company for several years in blatant breach of Nigeria’s code of conduct laws.
And even in what pushes the limit of impunity, publicly accessible Corporate Affairs Commission(CAC) records list her as a director of a private company for 10 years running.
In 2009, Mrs Ogene decided to venture into the London property market. However, for a public officer, she had a challenge: scaling the UK due diligence checks about her source of funds. She also needed to blindside the Nigerian Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) from determining an undeclared asset or an asset not attributable to fair income in accordance with Nigeria’s law.
To scale these hurdles, she procured what experts call an envelope structure. To acquire the property without being detected, Mrs Ogene hid behind a company tucked away offshore.
Documents reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES showed that Justice Ogene was referred to Cook Worldwide, a financial secrecy seller with an office in Panama, a notorious tax haven, by Chike Obianaba, a British-Nigerian London property consultant.
Cook Worldwide acted fast and Assete Media Limited was born on September 7, 2009, with Mrs Ogene its beneficial owner, director, and secretary, the company’s certificate of incorporation and a trove of other documents obtained by PREMIUM TIMES showed.
In helping Mrs Ogene to incorporate Assete Media Limited in Seychelles, Cook Worldwide hired Mayfair Trust Group Limited, a Mahe-Seychelles-based offshore service provider, the documents further revealed.
The pieces of information about Mrs Ogene’s offshore secrets came from Pandora Papers, the landmark investigation into the vast amount of previously hidden offshore records of the super-rich and powerful, coordinated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, ICIJ.
The leaked records came from 14 offshore services firms from around the world that set up shell companies and other offshore nooks for clients like Mrs Ogene, who seek to conceal their financial activities.
The investigation, which is the biggest collaboration of investigative journalists in history, involved 151 media outlets and more than 600 journalists from 117 countries who sifted through nearly 12 million leaked records, tracked down sources, and reviewed other public records.
The public records reviewed include UK Land Registry files to see how Nigerian serving and past public officers like Mrs Ogene, NPA acting chief Mohammed Bello-Koko, and former minister and serving senator Stella Oduah, among others, secretly invested in the London property market through shell companies. They continued to serve as directors of the shell companies even as public officers, thereby breaching Nigeria’s code of conduct law.
When first contacted by telephone, Mrs Ogene made a flat denial of her link with the shell company, Assete Media Limited. PREMIUM TIMES then sent her a further written note, describing the information we obtained, including a Cook Worldwide register of clients listing her as a sole director and secretary, letters she signed indicating she is the beneficial owner and an exact address of the London property she secretly bought.
Realising the futility of further denial, Mrs Ogene then said, “I am not a sole director or any director for that matter and I am just a nominal shareholder of Assete Media. In relation to the records of the letter you referred to written by me, it is outdated and obsolete and there are documents to that effect.”
In another exchange with her, PREMIUM TIMES informed Mrs Ogene that her claim of not being a director of Assete Media was contradicted by records we obtained and then asked her to share whatever documents she has to counter the information we gathered. She has yet to respond to that request.
Even if Mrs Ogene were an ordinary shareholder as she claimed, she was constitutionally bound to declare the company as well as the assets she owns through the company to the CCB. That point was made clear to her.
Pandora Papers We also asked her why she failed to abide by the provision of the Constitution despite being a judge (Section 11, Part of the Fifth Schedule). She declined to respond to the questions.
The London property Having perfected the incorporation of a shell company in Seychelles, Mrs Ogene then entered the London property market.
In January 2010, four months after she began her offshore business, her shell company, Assete Media Limited, acquired a London property with the title MX58142 and address: 2 Old Rectory Gardens, Edgware HA8 7LS, UK Land Registry records show. The price paid was 224,000 pounds (about N43 million at the prevailing exchange rate).
Using a house price inflation calculator, that would make the property worth an estimated 400,000 pounds at the current prices.
As we understand, anonymous acquisition of the London property would ensure she circumvented due diligence checks in the UK about the sources of her funds as a public officer in Nigeria. Also, anonymity, that is, hiding behind her secret Seychelles-incorporated company, meant she could avoid possible investigation and prosecution in Nigeria for owning undeclared assets or acquiring as a judge any assets not attributable to legitimate income.
Mrs Ogene said Assete Media took a loan to acquire the London property. She declined to explain which bank advanced the loan.
She remains the ultimate beneficial owner of the London property to date.
A judge as a lawbreaker In incorporating Assete Media, apparently to secretly own a London property, Mrs Ogene tried to hide from law enforcers.
But in what further pushed the limits of impunity for a judicial official, Mrs Ogene for 10 years, while President of the Customary Court of Appeal, served as a director of a private company in Nigeria in breach of the law.
On April 19 2010, Mrs Ogene and members of her family – John Ogene, husband; Esse Ogene, daughter; and John Ogene Jr, son – registered Yellow Music Limited with registration number 882084 in Nigeria, company records obtained from the Corporate Affairs Commission, show. Mr Ogene is a professor of Arts history and graphics and deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Benin. By that action, the professor is also in breach of the law.
Between 2010 and 2020 when Mrs Ogene retired from the judiciary, she remained director of Yellow Music, openly appearing in CAC records that are publicly accessible. She breached Section Six (6) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act.
“The company (Yellow Music Limited) was set up for future use at that time which was never in use and had no financial dealings whatsoever,” Mrs Ogene explained in her written statement to PREMIUM TIMES.
“It was initially set up as a possible future venture into musical recordings for our son John Ogene Jr who is quite interested in music.”
She did not respond to further questions concerning whether she declared her interest in Yellow Music and the offshore Assete Media to the CCB, as required by Section 11, Part of the Fifth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution.
Lai Mohammed’s notoriety as a compulsive and inveterate liar is already secure and unchallengeable, but the normally reticent governor of Kwara State, Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq, told ThisDay newspaper yesterday that Lai is also a common thief.
He said Lai literally stole N100 million donated to the governor by an unnamed Igbo businessman to help with his election in 2019.
That’s a pretty grave allegation against a serving Minister by a serving Governor, particularly one who isn’t known for flippancy and for hogging the limelight. At the time of writing this, Lai hasn’t denied the allegation even after the Peoples Gazette reached out to him for comment.
As I wrote in a June 10, 2017 column titled “Large Lies of Lying Lai Mohammed,” Lai Mohammed’s entire career as a Minister of Information and Culture has been defined by a bewilderingly extravagant fondness for willful and easily falsifiable lies. His first name doesn’t just share an uncanny phonemic kinship with “lie”; he actually embodies lies in the most audaciously disreputable way imaginable.
Now that we know that in addition to his well-known lies, he is also an unsophisticated and conscienceless thief, I think he should have been named “Lateef,” which would have given cartoonists and comedians the artistic liberty to say that the “La” in his name is “liar” and the “teef” is “thief.” �That's a joke, please! Incidentally, all the Lateefs I know are honest, honorable, hardworking people.
Seriously, though, lies are the parents of all kinds of moral pervasions. My father used to say liars are almost always also thieves—and more.
MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has announced compensation for its subscribers to make up for the network disruptions experienced last Saturday.
On Saturday, 9th October 2021, MTN Nigeria users witnessed hours of network disruption caused by an outage that left customers without a connection.
Olutokun Toriola, Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, apologised again to customers for the inconvenience, stating that new measures were being implemented to mitigate a repeat of such an event.
“On behalf of the entire MTN team, I want to start with a heartfelt apology. We are truly sorry for the disruption this caused for so many in our MTN family. We know that millions of people rely on us to stay connected to their loved ones, to manage their businesses, to coordinate their lives. We take that responsibility, and privilege, very seriously. That’s why we are putting new measures in place to make sure we never experience anything like last Saturday again,” said Toriola.
On the cause of the outage, the CEO stated that it was due to an error that shifted all 4G customers onto the 3G band and impacted the whole network, adding that the technical teams were able to rectify the problem.
“Our technical teams have traced the cause of the problem to an error that shifted all our 4G customers onto the 3G band. This overloaded the 3G band, causing a domino effect that impacted the whole network.
“Our engineers were able to resolve the problem. I know that recently other technology companies have suffered outages. I want to reassure you that last Saturday’s event is in no way connected to those. This wasn’t sabotaged, it was a regrettable error.’’
Beyond extending time-bound subscriptions for its customers and as a way to further compensate its customers, the telecom giant said that customers on the MTN network have received a refund for the data and airtime that they used between 12noon and 7pm on Saturday, 16th October 2021.
“While we can’t give you back the time you lost last Saturday, we can give you back what you spent yesterday. Every customer on the MTN network has received a refund for the data and airtime that they used between 10 am and 3 pm yesterday. We hope it shows how much we value our customers.
“You truly are our most important focus. We all have challenges, each and every one of us – young or old, personally or professionally. What matters is how we respond. With you by our side, we will continue to improve and grow. Thank you for all your support. Thank you for walking with us over the last 20 years. We look forward to the next 20 and more with you,” Toriola stated.
A group of 17 U.S. missionaries including children was kidnapped by a gang in Haiti on Saturday, according to a voice message sent to various religious missions by an organization with direct knowledge of the incident.
The missionaries were on their way home from building an orphanage, according to a message from Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries.
“This is a special prayer alert,” the one-minute message said. “Pray that the gang members would come to repentance.”
The message says the mission’s field director is working with the U.S. Embassy, and that the field director’s family and one other unidentified man who stayed at the ministry’s base while everyone else visiting the orphanage, was abducted.
No other details were immediately available.
A U.S. government spokesperson said they were aware of the reports on the kidnapping.
“The welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad is one of the highest priorities of the Department of State,” the spokesperson said, declining further comment.
Haiti is once again struggling with a spike in gang-related kidnappings that had diminished after President Jovenel Moïse was fatally shot at his private residence on July 7, and following a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck southwest Haiti in August and killed more than 2,200 people.
Gangs have demanded ransoms ranging from a couple hundred dollars to more than $1 million, according to authorities.
Last month, a deacon was killed in front of a church in the capital of Port-au-Prince and his wife kidnapped, one of dozens of people who have been abducted in recent months.
At least 328 kidnapping victims were reported to Haiti’s National Police in the first eight months of 2021, compared with a total of 234 for all of 2020, according to a report issued last month by the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti known as BINUH.
Gangs have been accused of kidnapping schoolchildren, doctors, police officers, busloads of passengers and others as they grow more powerful. In April, one gang kidnapped five priests and two nuns, a move that prompted a protest similar to the one organized for this Monday to decry the lack of security in the impoverished country.
“Political turmoil, the surge in gang violence, deteriorating socioeconomic conditions – including food insecurity and malnutrition – all contribute to the worsening of the humanitarian situation,” BINUH said in its report. “An overstretched and under-resourced police force alone cannot address the security ills of Haiti.”
On Friday, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to extend the U.N. political mission in Haiti.
The kidnapping of the missionaries comes just days after high-level U.S. officials visited Haiti and promised more resources for Haiti’s National Police, including another $15 million to help reduce gang violence, which this year has displaced thousands of Haitians who now live in temporary shelters in increasingly unhygienic conditions.
Among those who met with Haiti’s police chief was Uzra Zeya, U.S. under secretary of state for civilian security, democracy, and human rights.
“Dismantling violent gangs is vital to Haitian stability and citizen security,” she recently tweeted.
The serving overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church (CGCC) (formerly Latter Rain Assembly), Pastor Tunde Bakare, has said that what Nigeria needs at present is a President who is most competent to drive the country to the Eldorado and not agitation for power rotation.
He said this on Friday while fielding questions from State House reporters after a private visit to President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Bakare, who said he dispensed what’s in his heart to the President, said it was political “immaturity” that drove the nation to the clamour for power shift when various zones that produced Nigerian leaders in the past had not fared better after many years of independence.
Asked about his position on the ongoing debate on power rotation, he said: “I’d said it on the 3rd of October. It’s our immaturity, politically and otherwise, that makes us say power must either be in the North or be in the South, instead of looking for the best, the fittest, the most competent, and people of character who love this nation.
“Listen to me, if where the president comes from will make the place he has come from to be better, the Northern part of Nigeria should be richest and should be the most progressive and the most developed because out of 61 years, the North has produced either the president or heads of state for 40 to 41 years and yet, see the retrogression in the North.
“If it’s from the South, why should a person like former President Olusegun Obasanjo freeze and seize the account of Lagos State in his own tenure? If it’s from South-South or South East, why couldn’t former President Goodluck Jonathan use all his powers to develop South-South/South East?
“Not where they come from, it’s what they carry and what they have to offer. May the best of the best of Nigerians rise, whether they’re from the East, from the West, from the North, and from the South.
“If there are agreements between politicians among themselves on rotation, a bargain is a bargain. That’s between them. But as far as this country is concerned, what we need at this stage is a man who can drive us to the Eldorado.”
On whether he would contest the Presidency in 2023, Pastor Bakare expressed readiness to do so if “God” and Nigerians would appreciate it.
He said: “Every Nigerian, who is of age and who is not disqualified by any means, is free. I’m a nation builder, if God wants me to do that, and the people of Nigeria will appreciate that, why not? I’m as free as anybody to do anything with my time. I’ve pastored a church for 33 years, now we raise new leaders. I want to focus on nation building.
“The Office of the President is only one office, there’s so many other things we can do as people to support whoever is there to make sure that we do not go into retrogression, but begin to make steady progress as a people. I’ve already communicated clearly, my future plans to Mr. President, and it stays between us.”
He described the adoption of electronic transmission of election results as one of the best things the present National Assembly had done.
He said it would be a wonderful idea to allow Nigerians in diaspora and the usually disenfranchised 22.3 million students vote during the next elections.
Pastor Bakare, who was asked to explain how he wanted Nigeria to be restructured, said it could be done without shooting any gun.
He said the founding fathers had already agreed on the type of government and that the goal post must not be changed in the middle of the game.
He stressed that restructuring must however be based on equity, justice, fair play and rule of law.
He said: “We need to do it, to move this nation forward. The founding fathers of this nation;Sir Ahmadu Bello, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa, alongside with their entourage, in Lancaster House and everywhere, agreed on what type of government Nigeria should have. We must not change the goalpost in the midst of the game.
“We are better off together as a nation than going our different ways. But it must be based on equity, justice, fair play and a rule of law.”
Mr Abiodun, a businessman cum politician, became Ogun governor on May 29, 2019, after several attempts to be elected to political office.
In clear contravention of extant laws, Dapo Abiodun, the executive governor of Ogun State, is director of at least two offshore companies while also operating a foreign account.
An investigation by PREMIUM TIMES and its partners showed that the governor is also the ultimate beneficial owner of the companies incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.
We were also able to determine that he failed to declare the companies and whatever assets they hold in his asset declaration filings with the Code of Conduct Bureau.
The investigation is part of the global International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)-led Pandora Papers project, in which PREMIUM TIMES is a key participant.
The project saw 600 journalists from 150 news organisations around the world poring through a trove of 11.9 million confidential files, contextualising information, tracking down sources and analysing public records and other documents.
The leaked files were retrieved from some offshore services firms around the world that set up shell companies and other offshore entities for clients, many of them influential politicians, businesspersons and criminals, ostensibly in desperate moves to conceal their financial dealings.
The two-year collaboration has so far revealed the financial secrets of not less than 40 current and former world leaders, and more than 330 public officials in more than 91 countries.
The documents reviewed by this newspaper showed that Mr Abiodun is the sole director and beneficial owner of Marlowes Trading Corporation, a company operating under the laws of the British Virgin Island.
The governor equally owns and failed to declare Heyden Petroleum Limited, another BVI company registered offshore.
Mr Abiodun and his Marlowes On deciding to set up an offshore structure in a tax haven and secrecy-enabling jurisdiction, Mr Abiodun hired Dubai-based SFM Corporate Services for advice and execution. SFM Corporate Services specialises in trust and offshore company formation services, offshore bank account opening and related services.
It was SFM Corporate Services that in turn hired Alemán, Cordero, Galindo & Lee (alcogal), a Panamanian secrecy seller, to incorporate Marlowes Trading Corporation for Mr Abiodun.
After some back and forth between SFM and Alcogal, the offshore company was incorporated in the British Virgin Island on January 12, 2015, registration documents seen by PREMIUM TIMES showed.
Mr Abiodun was then appointed sole director and shareholder of the company. The businessman was also issued a share certificate number one.
In March 2015, on the completion of the registration of the company, Alcogal sent copies of the new entity’s documents to SFM Corporate services in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.
The documents include the company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, certificate of incorporation, evidence of appointment of Mr Abiodun as first director, resolutions of the sole director adopting the company seal and authorising the issuance of shares, Share certificate No. 1 issued in favour of “Mr Adedapo Oluseun Abiodun”, Copies of the Registers of Members and Directors and a rubber seal.
The nature of business Marlowes engages in remains unclear. But it has continued to operate out of the Dubai office of SFM Corporate Services located at The H Dubai-Office Building, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai. The key contact person for the firm is one Samuel Kim Oh.
Heyden in Nigeria, Heyden in tax haven
Apart from Marlowes, documents also show that Mr Abiodun also owns Heyden Petroleum Limited, which shares the name with a Nigerian company he also owns. He established the Nigerian version of Heyden in 2001.
Details of a letter dated March 21, 2016, showed that the governor is the sole beneficial owner of Heyden BVI.
However, in the letter, addressed to SFM Corporate Services, Mr Abiodun notified the firm of his decision to grant one Okechukwu Chikezie Nzelum the authority to “handle exclusively all administrative requests with regard to the Company.”
The governor noted, however, that the said Chikeziem “is not authorised to engage the company commercially.”
PREMIUM TIMES found that neither of the two companies was made public in the asset declaration form by Mr Abiodun upon assumption of office as Ogun State governor in 2019, in clear contravention of the provisions of the constitution.
Section 11 of the fifth schedule of the Nigerian constitution states that subject to the provisions of the constitution, every public officer shall within three months after the coming into force of the Code of Conduct or immediately after taking office and thereafter, submit to the Code of Conduct Bureau a written declaration of all his properties, assets, and liabilities and those of his unmarried children under the age of eighteen years.
In sub-section 2 of the same section, the law states that: “Any statement in such declaration that is found to be false by any authority or person authorised in that behalf to verify it shall be deemed to be a breach of this Code.”
It thereafter declared that “any property or assets acquired by a public officer after any declaration required under this Constitution and which is not fairly attributable to income, gift, or loan approved by this Code shall be deemed to have been acquired in breach of this Code unless the contrary is proved.”
Mr Abiodun and His Foreign Account Along with his ownership of BVI companies, documents reviewed by this newspaper showed that Mr Abiodun also runs a Swiss bank account.
Details of the Swiss bank account were seen by this newspaper in a letter forwarded by UBS AG, a Swiss multinational investment bank and financial services company, to SFM Corporate Services.
In the letter, dated March 10, 2016, and signed by one Okenna Nzelu, the relationship manager, UBS affirmed that Mr Abiodun had been a client of the bank since September 2014. The bank added that the governor maintains his account “satisfactorily” and had no outstanding debt.
UBS is based in Switzerland and co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel. The bank maintains a presence in all major financial centres as the largest Swiss banking institution and the largest private bank in the world.
Similarly, an Ikeja Electric bill dated December 2014 was submitted by the governor, ostensibly as part of due diligence requirements for account opening and company registration.
According to Section 7 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, certain public office holders are barred from maintaining foreign accounts.
“Any public officer specified in the Second Schedule to this Act or any other persons as the President may, from time to time, by order prescribe, shall not maintain or operate a bank account in any country outside Nigeria,” the section states.
The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was also explicit in its provisions.
In paragraph 3 of the fifth schedule, the constitution states that “the President, Vice-President, Governor, Deputy Governor, Ministers of the Government of the Federation and Commissioners of the Governments of the States, members of the National Assembly and of the Houses of Assembly of the States, and such other public officers or persons as the National Assembly may by law prescribe shall not maintain or operate a bank account in any country outside Nigeria.”
The game of keeping mum For many weeks, Mr Abiodun declined to comment on PREMIUM TIMES’ findings. Messages and emails sent to his numerous emails and phone numbers were not responded to. Messages sent to his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin, were also not replied.
An associate of Mr Abiodun however told one of our reporters that the non declaration of the companies and the account was an oversight by the governor.
“The governor has nothing to hide,” said the official who asked not to be named because he is not Mr Abiodun’s official spokesperson. “He has asked the companies to be dissolved because he no longer needs them. He did not know that it had not been done.”
Mr Abiodun, a businessman cum politician, became Ogun governor on May 29, 2019, after several attempts to be elected to political office.
In 1998, Mr Abiodun contested and won the Ogun East Senatorial seat on the platform of the defunct United Nigeria Congress Party. The victory was, however, truncated by political developments in the country.
He later joined the Peoples Democratic Party in 1999 as a founding member on which platform he contested in the primaries for the governorship ticket in Ogun State in 2002 and lost out in the contest.
In 2015, Mr Abiodun threw himself into the Ogun East Senatorial race as the flag-bearer of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and lost yet again.
In 2018, he contested for and won the governorship ticket of the APC, culminating in his eventual victory in the general elections and emergence as the fifth elected governor of Ogun State.
Politics › Gombe Government Bans Underaged, Migrating Herders Until January 2022 by HonNL(op): 3:48pm On Oct 29, 2021
