₦airaland Forum

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has found over N675.1m in the bank accounts of different Independent National Electoral Commission officials in Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Delta states.

According to the anti-graft agency, the money was received and shared by the officials during the last governorship elections.

Our correspondents gathered that the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the 2015 election in Rivers State, Mrs. Gesila Khan, and other officials of INEC are already in EFCC custody. Khan was quizzed by the Department of State Services in July last year but was never charged.

However, SUNDAY PUNCH learnt that Khan and four others were arrested on Thursday, by the zonal office of the EFCC in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The residences of all the suspects were subsequently searched and incriminating documents were said to have been recovered by the commission.

According to impeccable sources at the EFCC, Khan, who is now the REC in Cross River State, allegedly received N185.8m ahead of the March 28 and April 11, 2015 election.

A source at the EFCC, who did not want his name in print, said Khan had made confessional statements and was cooperating with the commission.

He alleged that Khan received money through a special bank account and the commission had received overwhelming evidence.

He said, “Khan was the REC in Rivers State in 2015 election before she was transferred to Cross River early this year. She was said to have received N185.8m. She has made confessional statements.”

The anti-graft agency also arrested one Edem Okon Essanga, who is a retired INEC official. Essanga was arrested alongside his alleged accomplice, Immaculata Asuquo, who is the Head, Voter Education, INEC, Akwa Ibom State.

Essanga was alleged to have received over N240m which he shared among INEC ad hoc workers during the last election.

“Essanga received N241.1m during the general election. He admitted receiving the money and confirmed sharing it with different ad hoc workers during the election. His accomplice Asuquo has also been arrested,” the source added.

The source also disclosed that the EFCC had arrested one Fidelia Omoile who was the INEC electoral officer in Isoko-South Local Government Area, Delta State.

Apart from tracing over N112m to her, the commission also recovered some sensitive electoral materials during a search of her apartments in Edo and Delta states.

“She received N112.4m during the 2015 general election. A search warrant was executed at her residences in Asaba and Benin. Sensitive materials used in the 2015 elections were recovered, including evidence of the suspicious bank transaction and land documents that will assist us in our investigations,” the source said.

The commission also arrested one Oluchi Obi Brown who was the INEC administrative secretary in Delta State. She allegedly received over N111m.

Further investigations by detectives revealed that Brown had about $75,000 in an account in the United States.

“Oluchi received N111.5m during the general election. Investigations showed that she operates a foreign account with the Bank of America. As of February this year, the account balance was $75,857, (N24, 274,240),” the source added.
The sum total of the money found in the bank accounts of the INEC officials is N675.1m.

When asked if the anti-graft agency had recovered any funds, the source said efforts were being made to recover the funds in Nigeria and abroad.

He said the commission was banking on using the confessional statements of the suspects to catch the ‘big fish.’
But the INEC has claimed ignorance of the development, saying it is not sure of the story.

The Deputy Director of Publicity and Voters Education of the commission, Mr. Nick Danzang, told our correspondent that he was unable to either confirm or deny the story.

“I’m not in town, but I have made calls. Nobody seems to know what is happening,” he said.

All attempts to get the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr. Aniekan Umana, to react to the matter proved abortive as he turned down calls from our correspondent. He did not also respond to text message sent to his phone.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Ekerette Udo, who responded to the call, declined any comment on the issue.

But the state chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Paul Ekpo, who responded to the call from our correspondent, said he was unaware of such development and he didn’t know either Efanga or Immaculata.

Reacting, the Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Dr. Austin Tam-George, told SUNDAY PUNCH that the investigation or arrest of Gesila Khan had nothing to do with Governor Nyesom Wike, the Rivers State Government or the state Peoples Democratic Party.

Tam-George explained that security agencies, including the EFCC, appeared to be conducting politically-targeted arrests since the beginning of the current political dispensation.

“We believe there is now a universal consensus that the security agencies, including the EFCC, appear to be conducting politically-targeted arrests since the beginning of this political dispensation.

“Mrs. Khan has particularly been viciously castigated by the All Progressives Congress for her steadfastness and incorruptible stance during the general election in Rivers State in April 2015.

“The fact that the governorship election she supervised in Rivers was ultimately validated by the Supreme Court speaks of her integrity. The world will watch closely to see if Mrs. Khan is being persecuted for her lofty principles and belief in popular democracy in Nigeria.”

The Chief Press Secretary to the Delta State Governor, Charles Aniagwu, while responding, said the government agencies should do their work diligently.

“Let the INEC (and EFCC) find out where the person got the money from. We cannot begin to talk about what we do not know anything about. I do not know about the person. We are not involved. The person accused of having N100m in his or her account should be able to explain the source of the money. We do not need to bribe people to get votes. We do not buy a crowd. We have the crowd behind us already. It is those who do not have the crowd behind them that can buy people with money. We do not buy people with money. We do not engage in bribery and corruption. The governor is a grass roots person,” Aniagwu said.

However, the Ijaw Youth Council. Worldwide has demanded the immediate release of the arrested officials, insisting that they are innocent.
Eric Omare, the group’s spokesman, said in a statement that Khan, who is also an Ijaw, was a victim of witch-hunt.

He said. “Mrs. Khan, had gone to the office of the EFCC to honour an invitation and having met with the EFCC team, they demanded for a first class traditional ruler or holder of the national honour of Commander of the Niger (CON) to stand surety to bail her. However, when the surety was made available on Thursday, the 14th of April, 2016, the EFCC at Port Harcourt claimed that they no longer knew her whereabouts.”

“This is an illegal conduct and flagrant abuse of power by the EFCC in the guise of fighting corruption. While all well-meaning Nigerians and organisations, including the IYC have over the years supported efforts at stamping out corruption from Nigeria, we insist that such a fight must be done within the ambit of the law.”

He said that I should be grateful that he wants to marry me. I told him it’s a taboo in my village for a woman to pay her own bride price. I said that he should make up the remaining sum if he’s serious about settling down with me.

“At that point, he descended on me. He slapped me, asking why I dared talk back at him. I asked him what I’ve done to him but he kept beating me. He then told me that he was out to give me the biggest disgrace of my life that night. He tore my wrapper, and pushed me outside the house. I didn’t fight him because I was trying to hide my unclothedness with my hands. But he kept beating me and grabbed my throat attempting to strangle me

Jesusegun Alagbe

Two years ago, there were about 50 brothels, bars and hotels altogether on Old Ojo Road, Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area, a distance of 14 kilometres from Oshodi, Lagos.

Today, there are around 200, according to a longtime resident of the area, Mr. David Oladapo, who has over the years monitored the situation of things.

“New hotels are springing up every day. And also brothels,” he said, lamenting about the development. “Everywhere you turn to, every corner you see, they are taking up space.”

Oladapo’s displeasure is, however, not about new hotels being built in the area, or of bars, or even of brothels bursting forth on every side. His concern is about the “harmful” effect the whorehouses pose to the children who live in the area.

“At night, I don’t enjoy myself due to the loud music from some of these hotels,” the 45-year-old shop owner said. “The hotels are also strip clubs. You’ll see nude girls coming in and out.”

It’s just a few months ago that the Old Ojo Road was tarred, and is now fast becoming a hub of prostitution, according to some other residents our correspondent spoke with on Tuesday, who are also worried about the situation.

Tucked among schools, churches, banks, shops and car parks, hotels and brothels are a regular sight to behold once one sets on either side of the main road.

A stone’s throw from one of the hotels, a white building sits, which houses the National Secretariat of the Chartered Institute of Administration.

Due to this situation, residents, especially those who live in houses around the “dens of iniquity,” are worried that their children might be affected by the regular sights of sex workers in the environment.

Oladapo, whose apartment lies between a brothel and a shopping plaza, said, “My only concern is that I have kids around. How can they be seeing these people and not be morally and mentally corrupted? I have been living in this area for 15 years and I’ve never seen anything like this before.

“It’s like they want to turn this area to a centre of prostitution. The situation is appalling. There is a particular man who is building new hotels almost on every part.

He has many hotels in this area. I’m not bothered because he’s building new hotels, but because of what his hotels have turned to. There are young girls who dance nude in the night in the hotels.

“Music is always blaring from the buildings at night and you’ll begin to wonder what’s happening. Brothels are also many in this area and this is because there are now so many prostitutes. The old ones are also recruiting the young ones. You’ll be shocked to see young girls who should be studying in school in these places.”

Oladapo added that he was afraid the rate at which young girls were turning to prostitutes in the area.

“This area is no longer good for children to be brought up. In a place where there are more brothels and hotels than churches, mosques and schools, I don’t think it’s good,” he said.

What could be responsible for this development?

Because there are many parks in the area, from where many passengers travelling to other parts of the country go to,
Saturday PUNCH learned that some drivers and male passengers visit the brothels and hotels before they commence their journey early in the morning.

“The parks operate far into the night,” said a mechanic, Musiliu Abbas, who folded his arms as he watched passersby walk pass his shop on this hot afternoon. “Many people sleep in the parks before they embark on their journey in the morning.

Some don’t sleep. I know that some drivers and passengers visit these brothels to catch some fun before they travel.”

A pastor in one of the churches in the area, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was worrying that many young girls in the area had become prostitutes.

He said, “I have been residing here for 10 years and the development is worrisome. A particular woman came into my office recently and was seriously lamenting. I could see that her eyes were laden with tears. I asked her what the problem was and she couldn’t say it. But she opened up eventually.

“Her daughter is now wayward. She doesn’t see her at home in the nights again. Her husband died five years ago and she is the only one taking care of her four children, including the girl she was talking about.

“The girl is just 18 years old and now she’s a prostitute. She had done everything possible to scold and talk to her daughter, but nothing has changed in her. Now the woman wants prayers to turn the heart of her only daughter. Sincerely speaking, I felt for her when she was telling me all this.”

The clergyman said some residents had protested against the renting of houses to prostitutes by some landlords, but nothing had been done.

“The landlord would tell them that if they were not satisfied with the situation, they should pack out. Of course, that would be their natural response. It’s like now, the prostitutes have higher influence than residents,” he said.

A 38-year-old housewife, simply identified as Mrs. Ada, said she hoped to quickly complete building her house at Ikorodu so that she could quickly move out of the area.

She said, “When there are many brothels in an area, there are bound to be lots of unholy activities. I am personally appalled at the situation. I have been complaining to my landlord, but when you are not the owner of a building, what can you do? The man gave out some rooms to prostitutes, which is not good.

“When you are thinking of economic gain, you should also be thinking about people. How can kids be seeing prostitutes in skimpy clothes carrying men into the building and they will not be sociologically affected?

“I have been praying to God now that He should help my husband and I to quickly finish building our house in Ikorodu. There, no one will force any morally bankrupt tenant on us. Money is not everything. I don’t know why landlords are not thinking about children’s safety.”

Saturday PUNCH spoke with one of the landlords in the area, whose building houses some of the prostitutes. He, however, asked not to be named.

“This is strictly business. Why should I care whether you have a child or not? Should I be asking people what sort of occupation they are in before I give them accommodation?” he asked.

He said it was discriminatory for any resident to be complaining that he gave out rooms to sex workers.

He added, “I build for people to rent and I don’t think I should care what or who you are. There are other buildings in this area that anyone who is not comfortable can move into. Who are they to say I’m giving out rooms to prostitutes? Na them give me money?

“I have female children also and they have not turned to prostitutes because I gave out rooms to prostitutes. Some people don’t know how to groom children, so they are always looking for who to put the blame on.”

A hotel manager, who also didn’t want his name mentioned, said it was none of the residents’ business to be complaining when they had an option of leaving the area.

He said, “The complaint is strange to me, though not totally. The girls who are prostitutes and those who dance nude are not here. And even if they are, nobody can force any girl to do anything against her will. Business is different from what people want sometimes. If you are having patronage from something and making money and people are complaining, will you drop your business because of that?
“I don’t think we should be sentimental here. How can prostitutes residing in a place constitute nuisance to the people? Are they not also human beings? I think people should be careful when judging others. It’s not good.”

While the likes of Oladapo and Ada are complaining, some residents said they saw nothing wrong in the proliferation of brothels and prostitutes in the community.

“I don’t think anything is wrong with this development. There are prostitutes everywhere in the world. It’s not a big deal.

When a man works from morning till evening, he should enjoy in the night,” a young dark-complexioned okada rider, perhaps in his 30s, told our correspondent.
Asked whether he patronises the brothels, he smiled, then turned away.

Also, a commercial driver at one of the parks, simply identified as Fidelis, said, “If some people don’t want brothels and hotels to be built in this area, they should move out. Who is tying down their legs?

“We all have the freedom to choose anything we want to do. No one has the right to force somebody to get along with their own belief system. We all have equal rights. Whether there are many brothels or not, I don’t think it should concern anyone. If you know how to take care of your child, you know it. If you don’t, you don’t.”

A sociologist, Mrs. Gloria Bamidele, said through LinkedIn that parents who are raising children in the area would need to put in an extra effort in order to properly raise them.

She said an environment influences people’s behaviour, especially of children.

She said, “I can understand the concern of parents in the area. It’s worth complaining about. Children ‘live’ the places they once lived in. When children live in the midst of touts all their lives, they’re likely to become touts or act as one. Anything they are exposed to constantly reshapes their way of thinking and their lifestyle.

“Not all bad people are bad naturally, but because they probably have lived in the midst of bad people, they are now too. Even as an adult, an environment and the people you live with can change how you think and talk.

“So for these parents, I know why they are lamenting. It’s quite unfortunate that nothing much would be done about it because they are not the owners of the houses. It’s when you own a house that you can dictate what happens there.”

Truly, the neighbourhood in which one grows up has been identified as a major determinant of one’s success as an adult, according to a recent research paper by Eric Chyn, an economist at the University of Michigan, the United States of America.

He wrote, “The new insight is that much of our best evidence about the effects of growing up in a bad neighbourhood comes from examining children whose parents work particularly hard to protect them from the dangers around them. The negative effects of a bad neighbourhood may be much larger for low-income families with less motivated parents.

“It has long been clear that children from troubled neighbourhoods have worse outcomes as adults. But it has been much harder to disentangle whether these neighbourhoods cause the later disadvantage, or whether the hardships that lead families to bad neighbourhoods are the problem.”

Mrs. Bamidele suggested that the government should have a policy which regulates the siting of a building according to its purpose.

She added, “Just for an example, a market shouldn’t be sited along the road. Traders will block the road, causing traffic every time. The same way, I think brothels should be sited far away from places where there are many children.

“The clothes they wear, their steps, all these may affect the psychology of a child. It’s like a 10-year-old watching an X-rated movie. It will shape their minds badly. No matter where they are sited, their businesses cannot be affected. Men will go anywhere to find pleasure.”

On July 20, 2010, a former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, signed a law — the Hotel Licensing Law — which aimed at regulating the operations of hotels, brothels and event centres in the state.

According to the law, operators of brothels, event centres and hotels must register with the state government, failure of which would attract a two-year jail term or a fine of N500,000.

Prior to the development, in 2007, the police had accused prostitutes in brothels of harbouring criminals, with policemen, commercial drivers and youngsters as top patrons.

As of that time, the Programme Coordinator of Health Awareness and Gender Advocacy Initiative (a non-governmental organisation), Mr. Azeez Aladeyelu, said there were about 93 brothels in Lagos.

He, however, raised the alarm that the spate at which they were increasing could result in an HIV/AIDS epidemic in the state.
He said the government could only reduce prostitution by providing more jobs for the youths.

All efforts to get the comments of the state Commissioner for Information, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, proved abortive.

Calls and texts sent to his telephone did not connect as of the time of publishing this report.

Kamarudeen Ogundele, Jude Owuamanam, Simon Utebor, Gbenro Adeoye and Ade Akanbi

Churches are experiencing the impact of the economic crisis and the attendant cash crunch with considerable drop in tithes and offerings by members, Saturday PUNCH investigation has revealed.

Beyond the drop in churches’ cash inflow, our correspondents learnt that there has been increasing demand on the church leaders by their congregation for financial support towards feeding, accommodation and children’s tuition.

The founder of True Vine Bible Church, Akure, Pastor Dayo Ajisafe, told Saturday PUNCH that his church had been seriously affected by the current economic situation of the country.

Ajisafe added that the attendance on Sunday services in the church had dropped from 500 to between 200 and 350 members, while an average of 90 members attend midweek services.

He blamed the development on irregular payment of salaries to workers in the state.
Ajisafe said, “We used to have as much as N350, 000 as offering on Sundays in our services and as much as N1m as tithe monthly. But now, we hardly get N150, 000 as offering and N400, 000 as tithes monthly.

“This is because most of our members are civil servants and they are being owed salaries. The little we are getting now comes from the businessmen.”

Pastor Festus Oyewunmi of Arise and Build Bible Church, Ibadan, shared similar experience.

Oyewunmi said, “The church is a component of the society. So, what is happening in the society will affect the church. Before, members would pay little, but now, they are not ready to pay anything. In fact, they are looking for ways to get something from the church.

“They want the pastor to dip his hands into his purse and pay for their transport and feeding for a whole month, especially in smaller churches in places like Ibadan.”

Also, the Senior Pastor at the Worship Centre and Apostolic Church, Oregun, Lagos, Seyi Adeyemi, described the church as part of the society, saying, “the church consists of people who engage in various economic activities and if they are being impacted by the economic situation in the country, it will affect their ability to meet their obligations in terms of tithes and offering, which are the major sources of revenue for a church that does not engage in commercial activities.”

He added, “If the income of a church reduces, its ability to assist more people will also be curtailed. Be that as it may, people are still expecting more from the church in spite of what is going on. So, most churches now provide transportation to assist members get to church.”

According to Pastor Emmanuel Oyegoke of the Gospel Faith Mission International, Ikorodu, Lagos, the message for the people at this time is to look unto God.

He said, “There is no cash flow, there is inflation, there is no fuel, no electricity and there is hike in transport fare. So, it is affecting the purse, businesses, and the health of the people. Some members of my church stay home because of the situation.

“We have told our members to turn to God at this time. You can read it on the faces of many people that they have issues they are passing through.

“The cash inflow has dropped. It is when you receive salary that you will pay tithe. The people are just living by faith. If you see anybody in church today that is still paying his tithe and offering the way he used to, you should know it is by faith.”

The General Superintendent of Holy Spirit Mission (Happy Family Chapel), Bishop Charles Ighele, described the economic situation in the country as “never been this bad.”

Ighele confirmed that members of some of the church’s branches had been adversely affected by the economy, which has in turn impacted on the religious houses.

He said, “It is a big problem with people losing their jobs and the prices of things increasing such that sachet water that used to sell for N5 is now N15 in some towns.

The situation is really bad. Over the years, we have been redirecting the focus of our members towards entrepreneurship, so the situation has not really affected the headquarter, but the cash inflow of the branches of the church where we did not drive such teachings down well has been affected.

“In those branches, it has affected the cash inflow, so we have it good in some places and in some; the cash inflow has been affected. The welfare department of the church has been strengthened more to help people with feeding, and so on. So, many members have nowhere to stay; some are unable to pay their house rents, so we have such things to handle. We have people still under the effect of the economic condition and it is really tough on them. And it is not only about members of our church as other people also keep coming for help.”

In Jos, many churches have also been hard hit by the economic crisis as they now record less in tithes and offerings.

At the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church, one of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Saturday PUNCH that in the last few months, collections from offerings had fallen by about 60 per cent. According to him, the situation is also putting pressure on the churches as more members seek soft loans from the church. The situation is the same at the St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Jos.

In Bayelsa State, a cleric, Pastor Elijah Oigbochie, of the Mark of Overcomers International Church, Yenagoa, said non-payment of workers’ salaries in the state had affected the income of the church.

He said the development had also increased the burden of the church in taking care of members in need.

Oigbochie said, “If you do not get your salary, definitely, you will not be able to pay your tithe. Actually, it has in one way or the other affected the income of the church because you pay from whatever you earn.”
Some Christians also confirmed the situation.

A communications expert, Mr. Williams Ogundeji, said he sometimes stayed away from church to avoid the attendant financial obligations.

A member of a pentecostal church in Plateau State, who identified herself simply as Gloria, said apart from not being able to pay her tithe and offering, she had been having difficulty in transporting herself to church.

A Deacon in one of the parishes of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Ado-Ekiti, told one of our correspondents that “our members are still complying, but the level of payment has diminished due to the economic crisis.”

A member of the Ushering Committee in Gospel Faith Mission International in Ado-Ekiti, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “We have noticed the decline in payment from members, but we understand the situation.”

NDLEA commander at the airport, Ahmadu Garba, who gave the name of the suspect as Maduewesi Ugochukwu Samuel,

Two men, who allegedly specialised in attacking hotels and raiding lodgers in Lagos, are now cooling their feet in police custody. The suspects, Kayode Johnson (30) aka Badoo and Sheriff Owolabi (28), used to attack hotels in the metropolis.

The suspects are members of an eight-man gang. Their modus operandi is to attack any hotel after surveillance, raid guest rooms and rob lodgers of their valuables. Speaking on how they operate, Johnson said: “Once we approach a hotel, we would bring out guns and threaten those outside. They would take us into the hotel. Each of us would start raiding rooms and lodgers. Whatever you get during that operation, is yours for the keeping.”

Johnson was arrested while heading for a robbery operation. He said three of them were supposed to go for the operation. But just as he was going to meet others at a designated venue, he saw some policemen and panicked.

The policemen noticed his suspicious movements and ordered him to halt. Immediately they ordered him to stop, he swiftly dropped the gun with him into the gutter. The policemen didn’t notice.

Although the policemen couldn’t pin anything on him, they, however, sensed he was a bad guy. When they took the suspect to the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), Ikeja, their instincts were correct. Johnson turned out to be one of the most wanted criminals on ‘Police Wanted List.’

When he was interrogated, he started singing like a bird. He mentioned the names of other members of the gang, including Owolabi. Police went after others, but succeeded in catching only Owolabi.

Owolabi, who was angry with Johnson for daring to mention his name, said: “I went with him to rob only three times. I stopped going with them. He now mentioned my name to the police.

This time around, I didn’t even commit any crime. They just came to my area to arrest me. I quit crime in January. I didn’t go to Iju-Ishaga robbery with them.” Further confessing his crime, Johnson disclosed that he was arrested at MAN Centre area, Ikeja. He said: “I was walking, I saw the police patrol team coming. When the police saw me, they said ‘Mr. Man, stop there,’ I quickly dropped the gun in my hand into the gutter.

I bought the gun myself for N20,000. “When we went for the Iju-Ishaga operation, we saw people in front of the hotel, threatened them with guns, entered the hotel and started robbing. I have participated in robbery of two hotels. I started robbery three years ago. During robbery operations of hotels, everyone looks out for his own loot.”

Johnson added that his greatest haul was the robbery of an Indian national on Awolowo Way, Ikeja. He said: “We robbed a white man at Ikeja. It was Prince and I that went for the operation. We broke the man’s door and went inside. He was sleeping. We woke him up and robbed him of his dollars.

“But my girlfriend stole the dollars from me. She came to meet me at the hotel after the operation. It was my partner that told her that we got dollars from the operation. We slept together that night. I woke up in the morning to discover that she had fled with my dollars. Since then, I had not set eyes on her. “We stole 34 pieces of $100 bills. We shared it. I took 19 pieces and gave Prince 18 pieces.

After robbing the white man, we went to lodge at Shugus Hotel, at Mushin. My lover knew I was a robber. She used to beg me to stop robbery.” The suspect said that he had always wanted to quit, but found it difficult. He said: “I had wanted to stop, I prayed to God, but I continued. I wasn’t enjoying it. If I’m allowed to go, I wouldn’t rob again.”

And, apart from the North producing the President and Senate President, the region will also produce the deputy Speaker, deputy National Chairman and the party’s national secretary.
Other offices zoned to the region include the national financial secretary, national publicity secretary, national auditor and national women leader

TimothyNkenu:
Smh

The deceased reportedly died, few hours after he had told his wife he was attending a three-day
prayer vigil.

The Nigerian Air Force has said its F-7NI fighter jets carried out strikes on a Boko Haram logistics base at Kangarawa, Borno State.

A statement on Tuesday by Air Force’s spokesman Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa said the air strike has taken off another logistics base of Boko Haram at Kangarawa in Northern Borno State, thereby decimating their capabilities.

Famuyiwa said the scale of the accompanying inferno and multiple explosions, suggests that the location possibly houses a fuel or ammunition dump.

“The strike therefore constitutes another major setback for the insurgents, while providing tangible evidence of many of the recent successes recorded by the air component of Operation Lafiya Dole,” the statement said.

lalasticlala

A young man identified as Femi has been found dead at an uncompleted building after he was sent packing from his apartment at Ikotun area of Lagos state, southwestern Nigeria.

Our reporter gathered that Femi had attempted to commit suicide on two occasions before succeeding he eventually killed himself.

The incident happened at Alhaji Aboki street in Abaranje by K/S bus stop in Ikotun area where he lived before he was sent away.

He was suspected to have committed suicide after it was discovered that he was foaming and discharging substance, according to residents.

P.M.NEWS gathered that the late Femi popularly known as Fela lived at 27 Alhaji Aboki street before the owner of the house got the police to evict him from his one-room apartment.

This was after he was discharged from hospital for alleged suicide attempts in the house.

According to residents, the late Femi was asked to leave the house after he failed to disclose his identity or call any relative shortly after he survived an attempt to commit suicide.

Fela had allegedly jumped into a water well but was rescued.

Following the incident, his landlord sent him away from his apartment and packed his property in front of another building in the area.

According to sources, he had no choice than to relocate to an uncompleted building in the area where he was found dead.

The Landord Association has reported the matter to the police at Ikotun division and the police visited the scene and recovered his body and deposited it at the mortuary for autopsy report.

When our reporter visited the station, the DPO was not around to comment on the matter.

However, police sources confirmed the incident and said the police have commenced investigation on the matter.

The police source said that it is the autopsy report that will determine the actual cause of his death.

According to some residents, the late Femi was a hard working young man who claimed to be related to the late Afrobeat legend, Fela.

They said they were surprised that he would die like that because he was a gentle lad.

In a statement signed the Senate President’s
Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, the Office
alleged that sponsors of the proposed protest
marches are seeking to forcefully mobilize and
pollute public opinion against the Senate
President.

She said a policewoman assigned to investigate the case at the division demanded N20,000, adding that she let go of the case when she was insulted by the officer.

Chukwu Ekere, a pastor based in Rivers state have been killed for preaching repentance in the oil-rich state.

According to the police, the Rivers State Police Command arrested the culprits along with four suspected kidnappers and one armed robber.

The police also recovered stolen vehicles.
In a statement by Ahmad Muhammad, DSP, the Public Relations Officer, PPRO, he said the arrests were made at Ohigha in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government and in Diobu, Port Harcourt.

The suspects arrested include: Henry Ajie, 23; Bright Ajie, 22, Dadison Ogadima, 22, and Sampson Dibia, 30, all of Ohigha village for complicity in the kidnapping of Mrs Igila Sunday of Ohigha village on January 7, 2016.

According to the police command “the suspects confessed to the allegations of the victim’s kidnapping after which they raped, strangulated her and buried her corpse in shallow grave at Ogbosi.

“The gang also confessed to have been responsible for the kidnapping Pastor Chukwu Ekere of same Ohigha community and killed him for the simple reason that the man of God disturbed them with his preaching of repentance and also for urging them to shun their nefarious activities and accept God.”

In a related development, the Command arrested Chidebere Ngangbu, 35 years and recovered two suspected stolen vehicles from him. The suspect was arrested on April 7 at about 10:30 pm along Ejike street, Diobu, Port Harcourt.

His arrest was on the heels of a reliable tip off that the suspect was sighted with vehicles presumed to have been stolen.

“The vehicles recovered from him are brown Toyota Camry with registration number Rivers SKP 239 HR and brown Nissan Murano SUV With registration No. Lagos KRD 190 AC.

The police said the suspects will be charged to court as soon as the investigations are concluded.

CACAWA:
impossible, a committee will be setup for that first, and their rcmmndations will be reviewed by another committee before being deliberated upon by the NEC followed b the FEC and later the council of states.

Imagine the police asking the affected victims of this ordeal to treat this robber before they can
take action on him.

Police detectives at State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Panti, Yaba, have arrested a pastor and charged him before Ebutte Metta Magistrates’ court for his alleged involvement in fake spiritual healing in Lagos State, western Nigeria.

Pastor Samson Onyeka allegedly obtained N1.2m from one of his church members, Mrs Temitope Akinbowale to procure her a bottle of anointed oil from abroad to cure her aged mother of an undisclosed ailment.

The incident happened at Ikola road in Ikola, Ipaja where the victim resides. The church is also located there.

P.M.NEWS gathered that the victim approached Onyeka to express her worries over her mother’s sickness and her desire to have her healed.

Onyeka sympathized with her and promised that he would pray and ask God to heal her.

He also allegedly asked her to bring the money to buy holy oil from Israel which will heal her mother automatically.

After the victim allegedly paid the money, he gave him the so-called anointed oil and asked her to give it to her mother to drink until she was healed.

He promised her that the oil would heal her mother within a specific time because of its spiritual potency.

However, it turn out that the oil did not cure her mother any ailment as he claimed, rather the ailment became complicated and worse because they abandoned her drugs and relied only on the oil for healing.

When the period he gave them for the healing elapsed, there was no signs of recovering rather her condition deteriorated.

When the victim realized that she was defrauded, she went to Onyeka and demanded for her money back.

However, Onyeka refused and asked her to bring more money to procure another oil and promised her that the ailment will be healed at the end.

Following his refusal to refund the money, Akinbowale wrote a petition to the police who arrested Onyeka for interrogation.

During the investigation, the police discovered that the oil was fake and was even harmful to human health.
He was charged with obtaining and stealing under the Criminal code.

When he was arraigned, he pleaded not guilty.
The presiding Magistrate, Mrs M. O. Ope-Agbe granted him bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum.

He was remanded in prison custody at Ikoyi pending when he will perfect his bail condition.
The matter was adjourned till 4 May, 2016.

boma95:
Lol... Maybe there was no light in the hotel

boma95:
Lol... Maybe there was no light in the hotel

seunlayi:
SEE WHAT BABA HAS CAUSED