₦airaland Forum

By Michael Eboh

ABUJA—The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, yesterday, painted a gloomy outlook for Nigeria’s economic fortunes, as it disclosed that the country’s crude oil and gas reserves were fast depleting.

The NNPC in a statement in Abuja, therefore, begged oil and gas exploration companies, professionals and other stakeholders to focus on increasing the nation’s oil and gas reserve base to match national aspirations to increase oil production.

Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr. Maikanti Baru, who disclosed this when the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists, NAPE, hosted him in Abuja, also expressed readiness of the NNPC to partner with stakeholders in the oil and gas industry to grow the nation’s fast depleting reserves in order to increase productivity in the petroleum sector.

He said: “Our national gas demand forecast to year 2020, domestic plus export, indicates a rapid growth to 15 billion Standard Cubic Feet per day (bscfd), meaning current reserves level can only sustain that production for 35 years, if we do not increase the 2bscfd gas reserves base which require three trillion cubic feet (tcf) to replace production yearly.”

It was also revealed that the country’s drive for industrialization risks being truncated, as Baru stated that the country’s aspirations were to increase oil production to four million barrels per day and meet gas demand of 15 billion standard cubic feet per day, bscfd, by 2020, required for industrialization and consumption.

He further lamented that less than three per cent of all oil wells drilled in the Niger Delta Basin, both onshore and swamp, were deeper than 15,000 feet, adding that a greater number of these wells had not gone beyond the 10,000 feet as a high pressure regime seemed to be a limiting factor.

However, he stated that “some of our earlier drilled non-commercial holes could be turned around if we deploy requisite technologies; we need to change our perspective of risk as technology is advancing.”

Baru further explained that the 2016 national average oil production of 1.9 million barrels was low, partly due to oil infrastructure vandalism.

He stressed the need for stakeholders to share data and use common available resources to reduce cost of operations in the area of rig-sharing, vessel sharing and synergy in projects development, adding that this had become even expedient in this era of low oil prices and security challenges.

On frontier exploration, Baru said the NNPC was progressing in exploration efforts in the Chad Basin, the Benue trough and other frontier basins to shore up the reserve base of the country.

In his own presentation, NAPE President, Mr. Nosa Omorodion, said the association was ready to support NNPC in its drive to grow reserves towards increased production in all the frontier basins.

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(By Femi Folaranmi – YENAGOA )

The face-off between former First Lady, Mrs Patience Ibifaka Jonathan, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has torn apart militant groups in the Niger Delta region, threatening the on-going peace process.

On one hand are members of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA); on the other hand are members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

Recently NDA and MEND had agreed to allow respected Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, to lead the Pan-Niger Delta group negotiating team with the Federal Government on the resurgence of militancy in the region.

However, investigations revealed that the Mrs Jonathan issue had caused a sharp divide, revealing the vested interests of the two groups caught between support for the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressive Congress.

While the NDA members are said to be supporting Mrs Jonathan, MEND are actively supporting the EFCC case against the former First Lady.

An indication of MEND support for EFCC was its recent statement in which it withdraw one of its nominees, Mr Timipa Jenkins Okonipere, from the Chief Clark group because of his (Okonipere) support for Mrs Jonathan.

Okonipere’s law firm, First Law Solicitors, had written an open letter to the EFCC Chairman, Mr Ibrahim Magu, giving it 14 days to unfreeze her accounts frozen by the Commission.

Sources said Okonipere’s action infuriated the sponsors of MEND and that, without hearing from him, they decided to move against him by removing him from the Clark Committee.

“MEND is not happy that Timipa Jenkins Okonipere is working for Mrs Jonathan. His support for Mrs Jonathan, whom the MEND sponsors want the EFCC to nail, is what made them to remove Okonipere from the Clark committee,” the letter said.

Meanwhile, further investigations have revealed that Okonipere is ready to work with Niger Delta groups to ensure that Mrs Jonathan is not humiliated and embarrassed by the EFCC.

To this end, he is putting final touches to a petition to be submitted to the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, Banjul, Gambia, to address the breach of Mrs Jonathan’s fundamental human rights to a fair hearing and ownership of property guaranteed by the 1999 constitution and African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act of 2004.

Sources said since the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum issued to the EFCC on Sunday October 2, the next stage for First Law Solicitors would be to file a case against the EFCC to the African Commission in Gambia.

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A security group at Ochanja Main Market, Onitsha, Anambra State, has been accused of torturing five sales people. Four among them died, while the fifth, a lady, is presently battling to live. The security group was said to have carried out the torturing of the three men and two ladies on the instructions of their boss, said to be a trader in the market. While the boys were tortured with machete cuts, grinded pepper was poured into the private parts of the ladies. The ladies were also alleged to have been brutalised.

One of the female traders in the market said: “One of the boys was inflicted with machete wounds at the office of the market’s security group, leading to his death.” The machete cuts, which were inflicted on the boy’s forehead, caused his immediate death.

The boy has been identified as Jekwu. Jekwu, two other boys and two ladies were sales persons to their boss, identified simply as Edimor. It was learnt that Edimor sells bathroom slippers. Edimor accused the five sales persons of stealing his N350,000.

Another trader said: “Edimor said that he told them to take the cash to the bank, which they did. They, however, returned to the shop after they saw that the crowd at the bank was much. The following day, they started searching for the money in the shop.

The three boys and two girls told Edimor they were not in possession of the money, but he wouldn’t believe them. “He invited the security group to do everything to ensure his sales people confess to the stealing.”
When the security grouped realised Jekwu was dead, they quickly rushed the other two boys to the hospital.
The two boys also later died at the hospital. The torture was said to have been too much for them.

“The girls were tortured with grinded pepper, which was poured into their private parts. The pain was said to have killed one of the girls at the hospital, while the other is still battling to stay alive,” another source said. When Edimor heard of the tragedy, he bolted, but police tracked and arrested him.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on FCT, Senator Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West), yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to grant presidential pardon and amnesty to treasury looters.

Melaye said in a statement yesterday that the looters should be given six months to return public funds or face the full wrath of the law.

“Though an unrepentant advocate for integrity and forthrightness, especially from public office holders, l however sincerely want to recommend that Mr. President grants presidential amnesty/pardon to all those who looted our treasury provided they return all proceeds of their loot to the government within six months of the declaration of the amnesty.

“This, I believe will encourage the voluntary return of looted funds, empower the government financially to immediately commence the implementation of projects and programmes that will stimulate the economy, raise the peoples’ standard of living and save the judiciary and law enforcement agencies the agony of fruitlessly pursuing looters in and out of the courtrooms. In the long run, this would be a win-win situation for both the government and people of Nigeria,” he said.

Melaye added: ”At the expiration of the six months’ ‘Moratorium’, all those who failed to comply would then be made to face the reality of aggressive and expeditious prosecution and eventual jail terms for convicts in accordance with the laws of the land.”
He also suggested the removal of ‘His Excellency and Distinguished’ from the names of the president, vice president, governors and senators respectively.

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Operatives of Rapid Response Squad of the Lagos State Police Command on Friday arrested a lady, her boyfriend, and two others for stealing an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card which belonged to one Musa Alli.

They also allegedly withdrew over N300,000 from the account.

The lady, Bamigboye Imoleayo, 24, was arrested by the operatives at a club (name withheld) in Surulere area of Lagos for the crime. The police later arrested three other accomplices including her boyfriend, Adeyinka Ayodele, the same day in Itori, Ogun State.

Mr. Alli, the victim, who reported the case at the RRS’s office in Alausa, said he met the suspect at a club in Surulere penultimate Friday, the police said in a statement on Sunday.

He said the lady stole his ATM card, after memorizing his Personal Identification Number (PIN) during an online transfer of funds into his friend’s account.

“I thought I had misplaced the card not knowing that the lady had stolen it and thereafter glimpsed at the PIN for withdrawal,” Mr. Alli said.

The victim said he was shocked on Saturday afternoon when he received alerts amounting to N90,000 withdrawals.

“While I was still contemplating on how to deal with the issue, I got another debit alert for buying two Infinix phones totalling N84, 000, I was confused and shocked. I didn’t know what action to take on a Saturday evening.”

On Sunday, Mr. Alli said there was another debit alert on his phone.
“I couldn’t pin the crime to the lady I met at the club,” he said.

“I lodged a complaint on Monday morning at my bank and I was told that the withdrawals and shopping were legitimately made by me.

“I reported the incident at the RRS’s office on Monday after informing my bank. My emphasis to the police were the withdrawals and shopping totalling N300, 000.

“It was unbelievable for me when I was face to face with the suspect, the lady I met at the club. And, she explained everything.”

The police said Ms. Imoleayo admitted, during interrogations, that she pocketed the victim’s ATM card when he slept off during their conversation at night in the club.

“Initially, I had spied on and crammed his PIN when he was sending money to his colleague via mobile app,” she said.

“I committed this offence because I was so desperate to re-stock my shop at Wasimi in Ogun State, and also to take care of my only daughter.

“I never had a rethink while committing the crime. Although, I regretted my action now.”

The suspect said her boyfriend accompanied her while she withdrew and spent the money from the ATM card.

“After I spied on his PIN during a particular banking transaction on his phone, I intended to only withdraw N20, 000 out of his bank account and then destroy the card,” said Ms. Imoleayo.

“However, when I withdrew the money, and checked the account balance, I was shocked to see his balance. Afterwards, I withdrew another N70,000 again making N90,000 that day.

“Then, the following day, I called my boyfriend, who instructed me not to destroy the card, but I should come straight to Itori, Ogun State, where he resides.

“On getting to him, he called two of his friends, Abimbola Akintanna and Owolabi Bamidele, to use the ATM at any nearest bank.”

She added that they took the card to a shopping mall in Abeokuta, the following day, where they bought phones and clothes.

“We thought by going this far nobody could trace us. We bought two android phones for N84,000 at a phone store,” she said.

“We proceeded to a boutique where four of us bought clothes worth N126,000. I recharged my phone with another N2,500 worth of recharge card. The money spent from the account was over N300,000.”

Two Android phones, eight pairs of trousers and shirts were recovered from the suspects during a search of their houses.

Dolapo Badmus, the Lagos State police spokesperson, confirmed the arrest, and urged the public to always protect their PIN during any banking transaction.

The suspects and exhibits recovered have been transferred to State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, for prosecution, according to the police.

Embattled ex-First Lady Patience Jonathan seems to have an hurdle to clear in her legal battle to reclaim the $22.3million in bank accounts linked to her.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has already placed restriction on the accounts in Skye Bank while she battles in court to have the restriction lifted.

An application has now been filed at the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to establish whether she declared the seized cash as required by law at the exit of her husband in 2015.

Abuja-based lawyer, Barrister Osuagwu Ugochukwu who filed the application wants the bureau to come clean on whether ex-President Goodluck Jonathan declared the money to which his wife is now laying claims in his exit form in 2015.

Ugochukwu in a September 1 letter to the Chairman of CCB, Mr. Sam Saba, said he was acting in the interest of the public and in the exercise of his rights pursuant to Sections 1 and 4 of the Freedom of Information Act 2011.

His words “On May 19 2015, the CCB, in an advertorial by its Acting Secretary, Kolade Omoyola, in some newspapers had reminded ‘political office holders to declare their assets on assumption and vacation of office in accordance with Paragraph II of the 5th Schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.’

“The Code of Conduct Bureau has asked President Goodluck Jonathan, his Vice, and 42 Ministers in his cabinet to declare their assets.

“The bureau reportedly issued the Completed Assets Declaration Forms to all concerned, with a 30-day deadline to return the completed forms before exiting office.

“Usually every public servant declares what the spouse earns and must have acquired as property or asset in their Spouses (public servant) declaration forms.

“This brings me to whether ex-president Goodluck Jonathan declared or completed his Exit Asset Declaration forms with the CCB.

“Only recently, as reported by Vanguard newspapers, former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, wrote a letter to the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) explicating that the $31.4 million connected to the financial fraud leveled against Mr. Waripamo Dudafa by EFCC was for the payment of the medical bills she incurred in London in 2013.

“Patience Jonathan claimed ownership of the $31.4 million in the affidavit before a Federal High Court in Lagos September 2016.

“The former first lady in her letter to the Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu by her lawyers, Granville Abibo (SAN) and Co enjoined the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Skye Bank to lift the restriction placed on the accounts.

“In the letter, Patience Jonathan admitted that the she is the sole signatory to the accounts and the accounts were card-based.

“We note also that First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan was Permanent Secretary in the Bayelsa State Civil Service. Governor Dickson had in July 2012, five months after his inauguration appointed Patience Jonathan, as one of the 17 new permanent secretaries in the state civil service.

“The question that agitates me are: Whether this $31.5 million or $20 Million as being claimed by ex-President Jonathan’s wife was declared in May 2015 in President Jonathan Exit forms with the CCB?
“Kindly avail me whether ex-President Jonathan did file his Asset Declaration Form with the Bureau upon exit from office in May 2015?

“Did Dame Patience Jonathan declare her assets upon exit upon appointment as permanent secretary in Bayelsa State and upon her exit from same position?”
A special investigation team to Port Harcourt (Rivers State) and Yenagoa (Bayelsa State), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had linked nine choice properties, two hotels and a plot of land under construction to the ex-First Lady.

A report of the EFCC investigative team had implicated the former First Lady.

The report of the investigative team said in part: “Based on the investigation so far carried out, it has revealed that the four fraudulent VISA Platinum USD Card accounts used by Mrs. Patience Goodluck Jonathan has a cumulative balance of $14,029.881.79 which has been swept Post No Debit Card category.
“Again, her personal account, different from the four fraudulent VISA Platinum USD Card accounts, bears the balance of $5,841,426.17.

by Kunle Akinrinade,

Residents of Olakula area of Idiroko in Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State witnessed a jaw-dropping spectacle on _Wednesday as maggots dropped continuously from the private parts of a woman identified as Iya Toheeb.

The scene turned chaotic as residents trooped out to see the woman sat in a car with the assistance of family members and sympathisers.
It was thought that she might have been a victim of money-making ritual after her condition allegedly defied orthodox medication.

Our correspondent learnt that the woman was also brought to one of the men she was associated with, a carpenter in the community. Of the reason for bringing the afflicted woman to the man, a source at the scene who asked not to be named, said: “The woman was brought to the carpenter who was her former husband. Her family members believed that the man may be responsible for her worsening condition that defied treatment in hospital where she was admitted for months.

“Doctors were said to have advised her relatives to seek alternative medicine to her ill-health because it had gone beyond the purview of orthodox medicine.’’

Another source, who did not want her name in print, said: “The woman had dated different men in the past and it is believed that she may have been used for money-making ritual going by what we heard from those who know her.

“She has no wound in her private part yet maggots keep dropping from her sexual organ and that sends a signal that there is more to her problem than meets the eye, particularly since doctors have asked her relatives to seek help from native doctors for solution to her problem.”

It was learnt that the carpenter, whose real name could not be ascertained at press time, made remarks that suggested the woman was being punished for her promiscuity, after which the woman’s family members decided to bring her to him for possible solution her predicament. The carpenter reportedly fled before the arrival of our correspondent.

At the scene, sympathisers helped spread a sack on the car seat on which the woman sat when the maggots continued to drop even as a stench emanating from her body fouled the air. “This is what my beauty has done to me o,” said the woman shortly before being taken away by her family members.

Samson Folarin

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a Ghanaian, Enyolam Believe, for allegedly kidnapping her niece in the Ikotun area of the state.

PUNCH Metro learnt that Believe, who had been living in Lagos for the past 17 years, conspired with her friend, Agatha Aigbomiam, to commit the crime last Tuesday.

The eight-year-old victim was alleged to have been kidnapped on her way to school and taken to Ogun State by Aigbomiam.

The victim was said to have raised the alarm which drew the attention of residents, leading to the arrest of both suspects.

A police source said 43-year-old Believe and the victim’s mother had searched for the child, including reporting a case of missing person at a police station.

He said, “The suspect and the girl’s mother are sisters. Believe, however, colluded with her friend, Aigbomiam, to abduct the girl so that she could make money from the mother.

“Their plan was that the friend would kidnap the child and hide her somewhere in Ogun State, while she would negotiate the ransom with the mother on the phone.

“When the girl went missing, the girl’s mother called her and they both searched for the girl. She even suggested that they should report the case to the police. The mother never suspected that she was behind the kidnap.”

The source said while people were looking for the girl, the suspect was also trailing the movement of her friend and the victim on the phone.

He said the kidnapped girl, while in captivity, raised the alarm that Aigbomiam was not her mother and called for help from some Ogun residents, who came to her aid.

The matter was said to have been reported to a community leader, who invited the police.

The source said, “When the police discovered that Aigbomiam was not alone in the crime and she was receiving calls from Believe, they decided to play along. They asked her to invite Believe to Ogun State.
“It was when she arrived that the police arrested her.

The case was subsequently transferred to Lagos State where the offence was committed. That was where the mother of the girl saw that her own sister was behind her ordeal.”

The suspects, who were paraded before journalists at the police command headquarters in Ikeja on Thursday, confessed to the crime.

Believe said she hoped to make N30,000 from the kidnap, adding that she needed the money for a business.

She said, “I have my own children. I needed money badly that time and I thought of different ideas, which didn’t work. So, I decided to kidnap my sister’s daughter and demand N30,000 ransom from her. I involved my friend because I didn’t want to be the one to take the girl from school. I don’t know what came over me.”

Aigbomiam, a 42-year-old trader from Ekpoma, Edo State, said Believe asked her to kidnap the victim after she returned from a surgery in Benin.

“She said she wanted to use the girl to collect some money from her sister. She just showed me the girl’s school and I kidnapped her around 7.30am on Tuesday, while she was going to school. I took her to my relative’s house in Ogun State. I was stupid for doing such a thing.”

The state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, while advising parents and guardians to be vigilant over their children and wards, said the suspects would be arraigned in court at the end of investigation.

Olaleye Aluko

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested three men for allegedly raping and impregnating a 14-year-old girl in the Agric, Ikorodu area of Lagos State.

Our correspondent learnt that the suspects – Kingsley Oke, Henry Osadere and Francis Ekwe – were arrested in the Majidun, Ikorodu area of Lagos State, before they were transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Ikeja.

It was gathered that the suspects, who lived in the same area with the parents of the teenager, identified only as Ijeoma, allegedly raped the girl in August 2016, after the mother went for a vigil.

Our correspondent gathered that Ijeoma, a primary 6 pupil, was later discovered by the mother to be pregnant, and she reported to the police at the Owutu division.

The police said the three men were arrested on September 9, 2016.

Speaking with PUNCH Metro, Ijeoma said one of the suspects threatened to kill her if she disclosed the rape to anyone.

She said, “It was Uncle Kingsley (Oke) who first raped me. On that evening, he called me and said he would send me on an errand. When I went to his room, he immediately locked the door.

“I started begging him, but he forcefully carried me to his bed and raped me. On the second occasion, it was one man called Baba Ijebu that molested me. I had been sent to his house to collect an item.

“While in his house, he raped me. I cried, but he said I would die if I told anyone. The third man was Henry (Osadere). I don’t want to talk about it again.”

Forty-three-year-old Osadere, however, denied raping Ijeoma, saying she was a wayward girl.

He said, “She came to my place and said she had many boyfriends. I asked how a teenager like her had several boyfriends. Anytime she came to my apartment, she would steal some items. That was why I sent her away.

“I was surprised that she said I was one of those who raped her. She said she had a three-month-old pregnancy. I don’t know the other suspects.The girl lied against me. She knows the people who messed around with her. It was because I stopped her from coming to my house that she lied against me.”

Oke, 30, a welder, said, “I have known the girl since 2014. She usually came to my house to play. She is a wayward girl. Everyone knows about her promiscuity. I never raped her.”

Ekwe, 52, said Ijeoma and her mother had begged him in August to borrow them some money, which he did, adding that he did not rape the girl.

The state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, said the suspects would be charged to court at the end of investigations.

Samson Folarin

A pastor with a Pentecostal ministry, Chinedu Rockson, has accused the management of Ilogbo Central Hospital in the Ajangbadi area of Lagos State of removing his wife’s womb and damaging her bladder during childbirth.

 Chinedu said the hospital also detained his wife over the payment of N50,000, adding that efforts to clear the bill had been frustrated by the hospital.

PUNCH Metro learnt that Chinedu’s wife, Chinansa, had been referred to the hospital on August 26, 2016, after she could not be delivered of the baby at the hospital where she had her antenatal care.

The hospital reportedly commenced a caesarean section on the 42-year-old after her husband signed some documents to perfect the terms.

Chinedu explained that some hours into the operation, he was called into the theatre to sign another document, adding that nobody told him it was for the removal of his wife’s womb.

He said, “They charged N200, 000 for the operation and we negotiated for N150,000. I paid a deposit of N30,000 and they started the operation.

“They asked me to sign some papers, which I did. Some hours later, a surgeon said there had been complications and I would need to sign another document. He didn’t tell me what I was signing for or the implications. Because I was in a haste to get my wife saved, I signed the document.

“After some time, they brought out my wife from the theatre with a pipe attached to her bladder. We became worried when we discovered that few days afterwards, they didn’t remove the pipe.

“After a week, they said I should come and clear my bill of N50,000 so they could discharge her. I called a senior pastor, who presented them with a cheque. But they said they would keep her for the two weeks that the cheque would be ready to be cashed.”

PUNCH Metro gathered that a sister-in-law, who visited the victim at the hospital, asked the management why the pipe had yet to be removed.

The hospital was said to have opened up that Chinansa’s womb had been removed and her bladder damaged.

“They said she cannot control her urine without the pipe. That was when I realised what had happened,” Chinedu said.

The pastor lamented that  his wife’s medical condition had worsened, adding that he could neither afford the hospital bill nor take her back home in her present condition.

It was learnt that the couple, who are indigenes of Anambra State, married in 2002 and had four children, including the newborn baby.

Lawyer to the Rockson family, Chris Ogbedeneto, in a petition to the state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, called for an investigation into the case.

He said, “Why should there be a second signing? They scared the husband with the sight of his wife in a pool of blood and did not let him know what he was signing for. What is the relationship between the womb and the bladder and why does the hospital’s director now want to discharge the woman when it is obvious that her life is in danger?

“The doctor’s action can breach the peace of the community if urgent actions are not taken. Our client feels debased and suffers a mental and psychological trauma on realising that the wife’s womb has been cut off and the bladder affected without his consent and his wife cannot control her urine anymore.”

The hospital, in its reaction, denied any wrong doing in the matter, saying Chinansa was in a bad shape when she was admitted.

A director at the hospital, Dr Femi Obileyi, said the mother of four could have died but for the quick intervention of the hospital.

He said, “We are known for standard in the area where we operate and that is why we enjoy a lot of patronage. The woman in question had been mismanaged ab initio. She burst her womb in the first hospital where she registered. They pressed her womb to force the baby out and that action ruptured the womb. When she was brought to us, she was bleeding because the labour had become obstructed.

“We discovered that to save her life, we would need to do a surgery. At surgery, we discovered that her uterus had burst, which had also affected her bladder.  We first stopped the bleeding and then made some repairs. It was after all these that we discovered she could not control her urine.

“When they came to us, they had issues with money, which we didn’t allow to be a barrier. We admitted her and did everything possible to save her life. We can’t imagine that after saving her life, the family will turn around to fight us.

“The man was called in when the attempts to repair the womb proved abortive. He was informed that the tear was serious and we had to save her life. We did that to carry him along, and he gave his consent.”

 The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, said she would get back to our correspondent on the case, but she had yet to do so as of press time.

A Lokoja Chief Magistrates’ Court on Monday remanded an applicant, Samuel Anyaogu, 29, in prison for allegedly killing his two daughters.

He allegedly dumped the bodies of the two kids, whom he had from a concubine in a stream.

The Chief Magistrate, Mr Levi Animoku, who gave the order, described the crime as horrifying.

“It is the highest crime known to our laws,” Animoku said.

“This court declines to admit the accused to bail. Consequently, he shall be remanded at the Federal Prisons, Koton-Karfe.”

Animoku adjourned the case to Oct. 18 for mention.

Earlier, the Prosecutor, Sgt. Tuesday Ganagana, told court that the matter was reported at the ‘A’ Division Police Headquarters in Lokoja by the concubine and mother of the kids, identified as Grace Edwin.

Ganagana told court that Edwin of Nataco area of Lokoja had alleged that in the afternoon of Christmas day, 2015, Anyaogu suffocated her nine-month-old baby, Chinonso to death.

He said the accused carried out the crime by covering the baby’s nostrils and mouth, pretending to be playing with her, making the child to die instantly.

The prosecutor said that the baby was later rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja where she was confirmed dead on arrival.

Ganagana said that the complainant also alleged that on Dec. 26, 2015, the accused dumped the corpse of the dead child in a sack and threw it into the stream near NITEL office in Lokoja.

He said that the accused again on Jan. 1 this year hit Edwin’s first daughter, two-year-old Miracle Edwin with a heavy object, making the girl to collapse and die.

He disclosed that the corpse was again thrown into the same stream at the same location by the accused and he threatened to kill Edwin if she revealed the cause of death of the two children to anybody.

The complainant told court that she did not have courage to report the matter until her family members forced her to reveal the truth and later compelled her to report the matter to the police.

Earlier Counsel to the accused, Mr O.S. Atokolo, applied for Anyaogu’s bail, citing Section 36(5) of the Constitution and 341(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

But the application was opposed by the prosecutor, who said that investigation into the matter was still on.

“We object to the bail of the accused as the offence of culpable homicide is not bailable,” Ganagana said.

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From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa

Former first lady, Mrs Patience Ibifaka Jonathan has concluded plans to drag the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the African Commission of Human and Peoples Right in Gambia.

Sources close to the legal team said they took the decision to seek legal redress in a court free from manipulation.

Already a new group, The Rebranded Indigenous People of Biafra (TRIPOB) has thrown its weight behind the decision to drag the EFCC before the African Commission of Human and Peopless Right over its case Mrs Jonathan.

The group, in statement by its spokesman, Chima “Phillip Effiong” Osuji, condemned what it called the “the undue harassment and campaign of calumny masterminded by the EFCC against Patience Jonathan.”

The group insisted Mrs Jonathan “cannot get fair trial in a Nigerian court commended and Mr Timipa Jenkins Okonipere for his decision to drag the EFCC before the West African Court.

“TRIPOB believes that under the current political dispensation in Nigeria, Mrs. Jonathan cannot obtain fair and impartial judgment. Furthermore, by virtue of the enviable political height which the Goodluck Jonathan family has attained, it would be most advisable if Mrs. Jonathan tgoes outside for relief…”
because, we strongly believe that, there is a premeditated plot to humiliate and disgrace the former First Lady.

We therefore commend international lawyer and human rights activist, Mr. Timipa Jenkins Okponipere for the wise decision to drag the EFCC before the African Commission of Human and Peoples Rights based in Banjul, The Gambia, if the EFCC failed to stop the harassment of Mrs. Jonathan within 14 days. It is a welcome decision.

Accordingly, TRIPOB advises the Goodluck Jonathan Family to remain calm and put their trust in God Almighty; as they shall surely be vindicated.”

Nigeria has lost one of her budding entrepreneurs who recently passed away under a mysterious circumstance recently.

Reports making rounds on Facebook reveal one Tumininu, owner of a small-scale business named Tummie collections has passed away shockingly.

According to a viral tribute, the young lady reportedly passed away while heading to her toilet. She seems to have slumped and died from that point. The actual cause of her death is currently sketchy.

Read a touching message for Tumininu below:

THE PROPERTIES

PORT HARCOURT
•Former Customs Service officers mess
•Two duplexes at 2/3 Bauchi Street
•Landed property at Ambowei Street
•Three luxury apartments of 4-bedroom each at Ambowei Street
•Grand View Hotel on Airport Road

YENAGOA
•Two marble duplexes at Otioko GRA by Isaac Boro Expressway
•Glass House on Adaka Boro Expressway
•Akemfa Etie Plaza by AP Filling Station, Melford Okilo Road
•Aridolf Resort, Wellness and Spa on Isaac Boro Abacha Expressway

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigators probing ex-First Lady Patience Jonathan’s link with five choice buildings, including a N5billion hotel in Abuja, have unearthed seven additional properties believed to be owned by her.
The detectives were in Port Harcourt (Rivers State) and Yenagoa (Bayelsa State) all week trying to establish whether four properties in the two cities truly belong to Mrs. Jonathan.

The Nation can now confirm that the assignment led the investigators to suspect that seven more properties including the former Customs Service officers mess in Port Harcourt and a plot of land under construction were acquired by her.

Others in the Rivers State capital are: two duplexes at 2/3 Bauchi Street; landed property with blocks at Ambowei Street; three Luxury apartments of 4-bedroom each at Ambowei Street; and Grand View Hotel on Airport road.

Those in Yenagoa are: two marble duplexes at Otioko GRA by Isaac Boro Expressway; Glass House on Sani Abacha Expressway which serves as office of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board; Akemfa Etie Plaza by AP filling Station, Melford Okilo Road; and Aridolf Resort, Wellness and Spa along Sani Abacha Expressway.

The anti-graft agency, which says it has so far recovered N1b and secured 24 convictions in the South South, may invoke Section 7 of the EFCC Establishment Act 2004 on the affected properties after due verification, sources said yesterday.
Already, the EFCC has written to the Head of the Civil Service in Bayelsa State demanding the pay status and allowances of Mrs. Jonathan during her tenure as a Permanent Secretary.

It also sought explanation on whether or not she was paid in dollars, besides travelling estacodes, while in office.

The investigators are already back in Abuja to continue their assignment.

A highly placed source said: “The ex-First Lady is allegedly linked with the acquisition of the former Customs Service Officers mess in Port-Harcourt.
“We also identified three luxury apartments of four-bedroom each believed to be owned by Mrs. Jonathan. The apartments are tastefully furnished with the state of the art accessories.

“After verification of these assets and completion of our investigation, we may seek the order of the court to place the affected assets under Interim Forfeiture.
“Permission will be sought to ask the ex-First Lady to explain some of the sources of her wealth in line with Section 7 of the EFCC Establishment Act.
“As a First Lady, there was no appropriation for her office and she was not on salary.”

The Nation also gathered that the EFCC last Friday submitted a letter to the Head of the Bayelsa State Civil Service demanding the pay status and allowances of Mrs. Jonathan as a Permanent Secretary.

A top source said: “The letter was submitted and duly acknowledged. We already have the acknowledgement copy with us for record purpose.

“We asked for Mrs. Jonathan’s salary and remuneration status as a Permanent Secretary while in office. We demanded to know if she was paid in dollars or in any other currency.
“We wrote the letter in line with Section 7 of the EFCC Act because we suspected that she has been living above her means.”

Section 7 of the EFCC Act says: “The commission has power to (a) cause any investigations to be conducted as to whether any person, corporate body or organization has committed any offence under this Act or other law relating to economic and financial crimes.

“(b) Cause investigations to be conducted into the properties of any person if it appears to the commission that the person’s lifestyle and extent of the properties are not justified by his source of income.”

This is the second leg of the ongoing probe of Mrs. Jonathan after about $19.8million had been frozen in five accounts allegedly traced to her.

Although she initially confirmed the ownership of the accounts, there was a twist on Friday when her counsel, Mr. Charles Ogboli, said she knew about three accounts including one belonging to Mrs. Jonathan and two others owned by her late mum, Madam Charity Fyneface Oba.
A report of the EFCC investigative team had implicated the former First Lady.

The report of the investigative team said in part: “Based on the investigation so far carried out, it has revealed that the four fraudulent VISA Platinum USD Card accounts used by Mrs. Patience Goodluck Jonathan has a cumulative balance of $14,029.881.79 which has been swept Post No Debit Card category.
“Again, her personal account, different from the four fraudulent VISA Platinum USD Card accounts, bears the balance of $5,841,426.17.

“Considering the above stated findings, we can safely conclude that a prima facie case of conspiracy to retain proceeds of unlawful activities, retention of the proceeds of unlawful activities, money laundering contrary to Section 15(3) and 18(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012 and forgery contrary to Section 1(2) (c) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap M17, Laws of the Federation, 2004 have been established against the aforementioned suspects.”

The EFCC claimed that all the funds traced to Patience Jonathan’s accounts were proceeds of gratification.
The report said: “The intelligence revealed that Dr. Dudafa Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel fraudulently received various sums of money, being proceeds of gratification and retained same on behalf of the then first Family and for himself.”

Meanwhile, the Zonal Head of the EFCC in the South-South, Mr. Ishaq Saliu has said that the zone has so far secured 24 convictions and recovered N1billion.

Saliu made the disclosures in Port Harcourt when some Niger Delta youths protested to his office on Friday against the ongoing investigation of the former First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan.
He dismissed allegations that the EFCC was selective in its investigation and prosecution.
He said the EFCC will always be on the side of the law in its operations.

He said: “There is nothing selective in the cases of EFCC. We are professionals to the core. Once an allegation is made, before somebody is even invited – the invitation is the last leg of our cases.

“Bank documents and things we need to inquire would have been gotten. Port Harcourt Zonal office alone, this year has 24 convictions and recovered over N1billion.”

THE crisis rocking the Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the emergence of Rotimi Akeredolu as the party’s candidate for the forthcoming governorship election in the state, took another dimension on Friday, as three of its leading aspirants in the primary election appeared set to dump the party.

The trio included Dr Olusegun Abraham, who came second in the primary, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the 2012 governorship election in the state, Chief Olusola Oke and a lawmaker representing Ondo North at the senate, Professor Ajayi Boroffice.

Speaking during a joint press conference in Akure, the Ondo state capital, the spokesman of the trio, Senator Boroffice, said, “We are widely consulting and would make public the next line of action that will liberate our people from the present state of hopelessness and despair”.

The aspirants, frowning at an alleged undemocratic behaviour of the party leadership over its decision to pick Akeredolu as the party’s candidate, specifically pointed an accusing finger at the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, who they accused of over-ruling the decision of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).

“The Appeal Committee, within the mandate of their authority having regards to the preponderance of evidence laid before it, recommended that the election be nullified and another election be conducted. The majority  of the members of the NWC voted that the recommendations of the Appeal committee be upheld.

“To our dismay and in a manner at variance with democratic norms, the national chairman overruled the majority  of the NWC. He rejected the path of truth and upheld the primary election that its process was characterised with corruption.

“Let it be known that we are not deterred by the action of the NWC and the undemocratic behaviour of the national chairman. We are encouraged by the genuine desire of the people of Ondo State for a change that will free them from the economic captivity of the present administration in the state.

“We are determined to liberate our people and no undemocratic decision of a party and its leadership will be allowed to misdirect our attention from the goal. We condemn in absolute terms the undemocratic decision of the NWC.

“Since our party and the official leaders of the party have found pleasure in covering fraud, we owe the people of Ondo State a sacred  duty of liberation. This we are committed to and this we shall do. In the days ahead, we shall consult widely and make public the next line of action that will liberate our people from the present state of hopelessness and despair”, Boroffice said.

lalasticlala

A man identified only as Daniel, was yesterday beaten to stupor and stripped naked by angry mob in the Gwagwalada area of Abuja for snatching a handbag belonging to an unidentified woman.

According to Daily Trust, the incident happened in the morning at the SDP Junction in the area.

An eyewitness said the man trailed the innocent woman who carried a baby on her back on a motorcycle after she left a bank in the area.
According to the report, the man snatched the woman’s handbag immediately she alighted from a motorcycle and started running away.

As he took to his heels, he was chased and apprehended by some motorcyclists.

The eyewitness added, “Some motorcyclists went after him, caught him and started beating him. They removed his clothes and left him on the ground.”

The witness said that the suspect was beaten to stupor and abandoned for death before some men of the civil defence corps and officials of the National Union of Road Transport Employees, NURTE, picked him up.

Samuel Awoyinfa, Abeokuta

The Ogun State Police Command has uncovered a “fraudsters’ den” at Pokuku Village in the Abeokuta North Local Government Area of the state.

The den, which was nicknamed “Pokuku Shrine” was until Wednesday allegedly used by suspected fraudsters to carry out different forms of criminal activities such as fraud, according to the police.

The state Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Ilyasu, on Wednesday said the police raided the shrine after an intelligence report on criminal activities being perpetrated there.

The shrine, which is a two-bedroomed mud house, is located in the remote part of the village. It contained effigies, fake foreign and local currencies and other fetish objects.

Ilyasu said the shrine was raided by the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, and one of the suspected fraudsters who was said to be the ring leader, Haruna Moshood, was arrested, while three other accomplices escaped.

The police boss said many victims had been duped by the fraudsters, who were also said to be kidnappers.
He said, “This is a house of horror where different kinds of criminal activities had taken place.

“Following diligent and intelligent information of our special operatives, FSARS stormed this horror house and we discovered that it is a receiving end of kidnapped victims.

“It is also a place where suspected kidnappers dispose property of their victims. We have been able to recover different denominations of fake dollars and nairas.

“By the time we arrived here, we did not see any victim, and some of the suspected kidnappers escaped. However, we were able to arrest one of the leaders, identified as Haruna Moshood.

“I appeal to the state residents to be cautious so that they will not become preys in the hands of criminally-minded people.”

The suspect told PUNCH Metro that he and other members of his gang were into fraudulent activities, adding that their victims were people looking for quick money.

Moshood said one of them usually hid in one of the rooms and would be talking as an “oracle” to deceive their victims.

He said the effigies were also there to deceive their victims.

“We always play on the greed of the victims because they were looking for quick money.

“Again, we also study how wealthy they were by telling them to bring a certain amount of money. For instance, if we ask a victim to bring N100,000 and he brought it, that shows he or she could bring a higher amount.”

The 34-year-old Moshood said he just joined the gang in 2015.

A group, Brotherhood Across the Niger (BAN) has accused the President Muhammadu Buhari led Federal government of calculated attempts to dent the reputation of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and contain his rising international clout.

The group made the allegation in an open letter signed by its division leaders in Nigeria, Northern Division Lead, Hassan Musa Abd’l ; Southern, Ojugbo Clifford; Eastern, Igwechi Chukwuka; Western, Kunle Coker, on Thursday following the frozen account of former first lady, Patience Jonathan by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The group made the allegation following the frozen account of former first lady, Patience Jonathan by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Recall that the EFCC Chairman, Mr Ibrahim Mustafa Magu, had publicly confirmed that Mrs Jonathan is being investigated for money laundering, but no case has been instituted against her in any court in Nigeria or anywhere else in the world. BAN said EFCC is yet to substantiate the allegations of money laundering, “which have led to an unprecedented opprobrium and damaging public spectacle of the former first family.

It claimed that Mrs Jonathan never claimed ownership of any $ 31 million and that “it is a clear fabrication by the EFCC and by extension the Federal Government of Nigeria to inspire an unwholesome campaign and media trial against her and by effect, her husband, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who has been living a quiet and peaceful life since he conceded defeat to President Muhammadu Buhari.” The group, in its letter made available to Naij.com said; “Mrs Jonathan’s claims ownership of the monies lodged in 4 accounts in the name of Pluto Property and Investment Limited, Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited, Seagate Property Development and Investment Company Limited and Globus Integrated Services limited all lodged in Skye Bank, but not the ownership of the said companies.

“Her claim of the monies in the said accounts is based on instructions and monies given to an aide, Mr. Waripamo Dudafa, to open card-bearing accounts for her and her dependants use, especially during foreign trips for medical and related ancillary matters, rather than the recourse to the use of cash. The said instruction was carried out by Mr. Dudafa but with companies allegedly belonging to him.

“The cumulative value of the monies in the four accounts that Mrs. Jonathan claims is less that ten million dollars (below $10 million), the report credited to the EFCC that the monies were in excess of $30 million is completely false, malicious and misleading. The EFCC is challenged to provide public evidence of its claim of $31 million lodged in Skye Bank The group also asked Skype bank to openly and officially clarify on the raging controversies.

“We are left with the reasonable conclusion that authorities within the bank, if not the entire establishment, is compromised to rubbish and undermine the reputation of the Jonathans. This further raises questions on the integrity of bank’s business principles against the protection its customers no matter how lowly or highly placed they are in society. “By its conspiratorial silence on the matter with its attendant damaging effect on the reputation of the Jonathans, Skye Bank has not only compromised its fidelity to its customers but its very brand and integrity. If Mrs. Jonathan can be conspired against by the bank, which customer is protected?

BAN described the case as victimization and political witch-hunt with the complete cooperation of Skye Bank. “The conspiracy is further heightened by the action of the EFCC in producing fake directors of the said companies, unknown to known Secretaries, to plead guilty just to nail the Jonathans. Never in the history of the country has an agency with such high stake, act like a criminal syndicate rather than an agency saddled with the critical duty of tackling corruption.

“To this end, we are compelled, given the dangerous dimensions of this conspiratorial matter and many others of its kind targeted at either the Jonathans or associates of theirs, to draw the attention of the Federal Government that Nigerians will not sacrifice Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and his entire concerns, on the altar of vindictive politics,” the group said.

A man in his mid-30s, identified as Godwin, weekend, brought his own life to an early end at Kabayi, Mararaba, near Abuja. Reason: His wife allegedly jilted him. His relations, friends and neighbours were shocked by the development.

An investigation revealed that the victim, from Cross River State, lost his first wife sometimes ago and thereafter got hooked to the latest one who, he claimed, her uncaring behaviour made him to drink a poisonous substance called Otapiapia.

Findings showed that after being with the new lover for some time, things suddenly turned sour and the lady dumped him and went back to her former boyfriend.

Close sources to the victim said he became depressed with the situation and headed to the lady’s apartment and informed her that if anything happened to him, she would be held responsible.

“Initially nobody thought he was serious,” one of the man’s relations said. “Even the lady thought he was joking. But we were all shocked to hear that he drank Otapiapia.

“He was not lucky as all efforts to save him proved abortive. He was given palm oil to drink and vomit the poison but it did not work. We rushed him to a nearby hospital where the doctor and other medical workers battled unsuccessfully to save him.”

One of the residents, who spoke to the City News in confidence, expressed his surprise, saying: “Could you believe that he called many friends and relations earlier on that fateful day to inform them that he was embarking on a very far journey?

“He even visited various joints in the area before going back home later to take enough dose of Otapiapia. It’s very unfortunate. Nobody should take his or her own life under any circumstance.”

The source, said the corpse was taken to the village by some of the late man’s relations.

Commenting on the incident, a senior security agent in the area, who craved anonymity, described suicide as an abominable act and crime, warning people to shun it in their own interest.

Our reporter gathered that the incident was not reported to the police because the deceased person’s relations said there was no need to do that.

Two men, Okechukwu Okonkwo and Lucky Ifedigbo, have told officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), why they inserted wraps of cocaine into their anuses. This came as the agency said it arrested a truck conveying three tons of drugs in Yola, Adamawa State.

But Okonkwo (44) and Ifedigbo (37) had different stories to tell on why they embraced drug trafficking. The suspects inserted seven wraps of cocaine each, weighing 350 grams into their alimentary canals to evade arrest.

Okonkwo said that he accepted to smuggle drugs because of frustration and also because he needed money to leave Brazil. On the other hand, Ifedigbo said he became a drug courier because he was looking at the profit margin. NDLEA agents arrested the suspects at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos, on Nigeria-Brazil route.

They were arrested during the inward screening of passengers on a Royal Air Maroc flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil through Casablanca, Morocco. The agency recovered 700g of powdery substance that tested positive for cocaine from the two suspects.

Okonkwo said: “I was stranded in Brazil where I worked as a waiter in a restaurant for two years. Life was awful as I struggled daily to feed myself. When I was contacted to smuggle cocaine to Nigeria, I was very happy because it was an opportunity to return home.

My sponsor also promised to pay me N500,000, with which I had planned to start a business.” Ifedigbo, who has also spent two years in Brazil, described his arrest as a stroke of ill-luck.He said: “I’m a businessman. I import female shoes from Brazil since 2014.

This arrest is just bad luck for me because I was already calculating my profit from the deal.”

Also, the Adamawa State Commander of NDLEA, Mr. Yakubu Kibo, said yesterday that the three tons of the drug with estimated street value of N15 million, was neatly concealed in 220 cartons in the truck.

He said: “The team of NDLEA operatives on Yola-Numan Road on August 22 intercepted a Mercedes Benz container truck with registration number XA 673 WSH for a search. “The search revealed three tons and 80 kilograms of stopcof Lictus Cough Syrup with codeine concealed in 220 cartons in the truck.” Kibo added that the driver and his assistant claimed that the goods belonged to a pharmaceutical company.

According to the commander, the suspects, after interrogation, told the command that they were en route from Minna, Niger State to Jalingo, Taraba State.

Kibo, however, said that investigation revealed that there was no fixed address for the delivery of the said 220 cartons of the cough syrup with codeine.

He said: “This goes show that the movement of the substance was with criminal intention and investigation is going to unveil the truth of the matter.”

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the present administration has observed that corruption is fighting back despite the concerted effort against it.

He spoke at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja yesterday while receiving a delegation of the University of Lagos Alumni Association.

The vice president said the government was also aware that some people were advocating a sort of bring-back-corruption campaign.

“We have watched corruption fighting back. Some people even said ‘bring back corruption’, but not the man in the street,” he said.

He said Nigerians must insist that the problem of corruption be dealt with, given the extent of the damage it had done to the nation’s economy.

“The nation has witnessed excessive corruption. No economy can tolerate the level of corruption seen in Nigeria without consequences. Look at the northeast; while a war was going on, Nigerian lives were being lost, some local governments had been taken over. Yet, people cannot account for $15 billion meant for security equipment purchases.

“The corruption has been so much. Look at the sheer amount of money stolen and decisions taken that fuelled corruption, decisions taken just with the sole aim of cornering national resources,” the vice president said.

Osinbajo said President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was “not sitting down focussing on it (fighting corruption). All we do is to empower the relevant agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and others to do their jobs. Our main focus is the national economy.

“What catches our attention is the kind of discoveries we get and hear of daily. Nigeria is still blessed with honest people. As a nation, it is important to pay serious attention to issues of integrity.

This government is completely focussed on dealing with issues that concern this country. I work everyday with the president. So, I can say so. He is totally focussed on how to make this country a better place to live.”

The leader of the delegation, Dr Sunny Kuku, pledged the association’s support for Buhari’s administration.

lalasticlala

A Fire Officer with the Techiman Municipality in Ghana, Eric Ansah Andoh, will live to regret the devil that pushed him into attempting to rape Ataa Takyi, a female Youth Enterprise Agency (YEA) personnel attached to the Techiman Fire Station, as she managed to bite off his penis in order to escape from the attack.

Adom Online reports that Takyi had to resort to using her teeth on Andoh who is the Techiman Municipal Fire Service Commander after he allegedly attempted to forcefully have carnal knowledge of her.

Speaking on Adom FM’s Morning Show, ‘Dwaso Nsem’, Takyi said she was forced to take the action when she could not persuade Andoh from attempting to rape her.

“He struggled with me and warned me that he’s the fire commander and he always gets what he wants.
So I agreed and he stripped naked. I played romance with him for about 3 minutes and then bit the penis.

He told me he is the fire officer and gets whatever he wants during the struggle. In fact, I became weak and hence told him I had agreed. I then bit the middle of his penis hard and he shouted in pain, with blood oozing.

One time, he invited me to his office and demanded that I unbutton my shirt so he can suck my breasts,” Takyi narrated on the program.

Andoh was rushed to the Mount Olive Hospital by fire officers who were called unto the scene after the act while she went to the police station to report the case.

Former Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has insisted that the Speaker, Mr Yakubu Dogara, must resign to allow for independent investigation into alleged budget infractions.

Jibrin told newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja that some members of the lower chamber were already plotting to impeach Dogara.

Jibrin alleged that the speaker had on Monday begged members of the North-East caucus in the House for forgiveness over his role in the alleged padding of the 2016 budget.

He, however, said that the request was rejected.
Jibrin explained that Dogara’s request that the matter should be investigated internally is not tenable as the rule of the House stated otherwise.

He said, “When a grievous allegation of this nature is raised, there is a laid down rule to investigate such issue and it should not be investigated internally.

“The speaker should step down for proper investigation. Nobody is hunting him, but he should step down for a committee to do its work and investigate the issue.

“The speaker begged us that we should forgive him. He also begged for the principal officers.
“He said that the House should forget what happened in the 2016 budget.”

He said that he was not bothered if the House would suspend him for his actions, maintaining that he was “prepared for the worst because I know the risk I am taking; I am on the part of history”.

In a swift reaction, the spokesman of the House, Rep. Abddulrazak Namdas, in company with 15 members of the North-West caucus in the house, debunked Jibrin’s claims, saying they were false.

According to Namdas, the essence of the meeting, which took place on Monday and presided over by the Speaker, was to deliberate on the way toward addressing the current economic recession in the country.

He said, “The speaker decided to meet with leaders of all caucuses to discuss the way forward on the current recession and the way forward when the House resumes.

“Allegation that the speaker begged for forgiveness and that members of North-West caucus passed a vote of no confidence on the Chief Whip, Rep. Ado Doguwa, is not true.

“That the meeting was done in bad light was not true as well; Jibrin has made these allegations before and has not said anything new.

“This house has its resolutions; we have our process and will commence its work soon.
“None of us is above the rule we have set. If Jibrin has issues, let him put up a motion and if he has the numbers then so be it.”

Also speaking, Rep. Ahmed Mustapha, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting, said that 21 out of 24 lawmakers from Kano endorsed a vote of confidence on the leadership of the house.

He said, “In the North-East, Gombe state has passed 100 per cent vote of confidence on the speaker while about 85 per cent of all the members of in the House has passed a vote of confidence on the leadership.”
NAN

Olaleye Aluko

A farm manager, Gbenga Kiki, has been strangled by unknown persons while harvesting crop on a farmland in Orisada-Eyo community in the Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State.

PUNCH Metro gathered that 37-year-old Gbenga, a father of two, who managed the farm for his boss, whose name had yet to be ascertained, was killed penultimate Sunday, while harvesting tomatoes.

It was learnt that the farm manager had left for the farm on his motorcycle around 12pm.

Our correspondent gathered that Gbenga went with his nine-year-old daughter.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the family members became apprehensive when Gbenga failed to return.

His daughter was found at a junction some hours later, and was taken home by a Good Samaritan.

Gbenga’s corpse was reportedly discovered on Thursday on the farmland by some members of a vigilance group, with some signs of violence.

Our correspondent learnt that the matter was reported at the Owode Police Division, while two suspects were arrested.

The deceased’s mother, Celina Kiki, told our correspondent that Gbenga had left for the farm to harvest some tomatoes for Sallah.

She said, “It was around 12pm on Sunday. I prepared food for him and asked him to eat before going to the farm as he had much work to do. He insisted on going, adding that he would return to eat as he was not going to stay long. He went on his motorcycle.

“He said I should keep the food for him. When it was, however, getting late, I became worried that he had not returned. Minutes later, I saw a man riding his motorcycle home. The man brought back Gbenga’s daughter. I was shocked and knew that something bad had happened. The girl could not explain anything.

The attackers must have dropped her at a junction while they went to carry out their wicked act.

“We kept on searching for Gbenga until Thursday when his corpse was found on the farmland. We do not know who killed him. I am still in pains.”

A community leader, who identified himself only as Odebiyi, urged the police to be thorough in their investigation.

He said, “The two suspects arrested should be quizzed thoroughly by the police. They may have useful information about the case. One of them is known as Dauda. He was a former manager of the farmland where Gbenga worked.”

A resident told PUNCH Metro that Gbenga usually did not work on Sunday, adding that the killers were suspected to have called him on the telephone to come and sell tomatoes to them.

 “I saw his corpse. He was strangled and his corpse was dumped in the bush around the farmland,” he added.

The head of the vigilance group in the community, Gafar Raji, said the police should strengthen security in the area, adding that the community had not been attacked by gunmen in the past.

The Ogun State acting Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the police were investigating if there was a foul play in Gbenga’s death.

He said, “The matter was initially reported as a case of missing person. But when the corpse was eventually found in a bush, no mark of violence was discovered on him. The owner of the farm and another person were invited for questioning. The police will still investigate if there was any foul play in the death.”

Samson Folarin

A 27-year-old beautician, Latifat Adeyemi, has been battered by her aunt’s husband, Rasak Alabi, aka Alfa, for allegedly turning on an air conditioner in their house in Solebo, Ikorodu area of Lagos State.

Alabi reportedly claimed that the gadget consumed excessive power, and allegedly hit the victim with a spanner in the face and flogged her with a piece of cable, which led to her admission in a private hospital.

PUNCH Metro was told that for the past 10 years, Latifat and her grandma had been living in a bungalow at the back of the house on Ile Eye Street, which was reportedly built by Alabi’s wife.

It was learnt that Alabi, who had separated from his wife for the past 20 years, moved into the building in 2015 after reconciling with his wife, a nurse, who is based in the United States of America.

Our correspondent was told that since Alabi moved into the house, there had been misunderstandings, which had led to the eviction of some relatives in the house.

Latifat said she was staying in the house because she had to cater to her grandma.

She said, “My aunt is a nurse and she is based in the US. She put her mother in the house and asked me to cater to her. Grandma and I had been living in that house for over 10 years.

“Alfa (Alabi) and my aunt separated over 20 years ago. They never had a child together. But last year, they reconciled and the family said we needed a man in the house; so he moved into the house. He evicted our last born, but I stayed behind because of grandma.

“Last week Friday, when I returned from Surulere around 7pm, I saw that he had broken into my apartment and removed the AC there. He said the AC consumed too much power.

“I made a call to my uncle and I told him that I would be packing out of the house because I was fed up. As I turned around, he hit me in the eye severally with a spanner and as I ran off, he picked a cable piece and flogged me.”

She said she went to the Ipakodo Police Station to report the incident, adding that operatives who followed her to the house met the gate locked.

Latifat said the police turned back when they could not gain entrance.

Her half-sister, Rasheedat, said there had been disagreement between Alabi and Rashidat in the past, adding that the AC was only an excuse for the suspect to chase her out of the house.

“This is the only girl left in that house because of grandma. He had been finding excuses to send her away,” she explained.

Raheedat said shortly after the incident, Alabi reported to a vigilance group, Onyabo, that his car had been vandalised by Latifat’s siblings.

He was also alleged to have later gone to the Igbogbo Police Station to make other accusations.

Raheedat said the police called for a peace meeting between the parties, but the suspect rejected the move and ejected the grandma from the house.

“The old woman, who had left her husband’s house for the past 30 years, had returned to the same place again,” she added.

 Alabi’s phone rang out many times when our correspondent called him.

He had yet to respond to a text message sent to his phone on Saturday.

The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the incident, adding that the suspect had been declared wanted by the police.

“The suspect is evading arrest, but we will get him,” she added.

A family in Benin City, Edo State, has disowned one of their daughters over her alleged involvement in lesbianism.

The family said the move to inform the public that they were disowning their 27-year-old daughter, who is based in Italy,
was because her act has become known to the public and has brought shame upon them.

Head of the family, Mr Mike Omohe, informed journalists of their decision after a meeting of senior members of the family held at their family house in Benin City.

He said, “We have been fully informed of our daughter’s shameful act of lesbianism. We now know that true to rumours we have had in the past, she is now a lesbian.

“We also know of her shameful relationship with another girl. We want her to know that she is no longer acceptable in our family as a daughter.

“She can no longer refer to us as her family members nor return to the family. As a matter of fact, she cannot even
practice her shameful act here in Nigeria as we will report her to the authority and make sure she is jailed.

“As a responsible people, who puts premium on African culture and tradition, we disapprove of her act. She is no longer qualify to be associated with us as we know that her unrepentant act constitute sin to God and man.”

There was confusion in Rumuokurusi community in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers when an unidentified woman in a commercial tricycle (keke) snatched a 13-month-old baby, Chinazamepkere Eke, and disappeared to an unknown destination.

 The unidentified woman had ostensibly instructed the keke rider to get close to a six-year-old girl known as Chinyere Agbai carrying the baby on her back, before pulling her victim into the vehicle to Agbai’s dismay.

 It was gathered that the child theft, which happened at about 8.30 am on Monday shocked indigenes of the community, who said that such an incident had never occurred in the area.

 The distraught mother of the stolen child, Ms. Oluchi Eke, who spoke with Southern City News on Thursday, said she was in her shop where she sells provisions when she learnt that her baby girl had been stolen.

 Eke, who said she had separated with her husband, explained that she was dazed by the information she got about her baby.

 The 31-year-old mother of two said it was not the first time her baby would be brought to her in the shop and wondered why a fellow woman would steal her second child in such a manner.

 Eke, however, explained that she had reported the matter at Elimgbu Police Station.

 According to her, “This thing happened on Monday; my first daughter was carrying the little girl  to the shop on the road around Orianwo Street, by Tank junction in Rumuokurusi.

 “A woman in a keke dragged the little baby into the Keke and went away with my child. The baby that was carrying the little girl is six years.

 “I was in my shop while the two children were coming to meet me because they had returned from their extra-moral class.

 “When the thing happened, I went to Elimbgu Police Station to report it. The police said I should be coming to the station. I have put everything in God’s hands.”

Eke, who is from Bende LGA in Abia State, pointed out that she had not called her estranged husband to inform him about the development, adding that she was not sure if her husband was aware of the stolen child.

 She, nevertheless, defended her husband, maintaining that her husband, Mr. Okechukwu Agbai, cannot be involved in the stealing of her child.

“I am not in good term with my husband. I am not suspecting my husband to have a hand in the act. The baby is one year, one month now.

 “My husband’s name is Mr Okachukwu Agbai. I have not called him after the incident happened. I don’t know if he has heard of it.

 “I have been calling his number for over two months now, but it is not going. I have two children, two girls and they have taken one.

 “My husband did not claim ownership of the baby. I want the world to hear of the stealing of my child and I appeal to the police to help me to find my baby.”

According to Eke, who is popularly known as Mama Chinaza, her stolen baby has two birthmarks under one of her armpits and big eyeballs.

 When contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Nnamdi Omoni, said he had yet to be briefed on the matter.

 He, however, promised to call the Divisional Police Officer of the area to get details on the stolen child.