TalkItAll's Posts
Nairaland Forum › TalkItAll's Profile › TalkItAll's Posts
Politics is a lucrative business in Naija o |
UK prosecutors trying former Delta State First Lady Theresa Nkoyo Ibori today painted a detailed portrait of Mrs. Ibori’s extensive role in her husband’s looting of public funds. The prosecutors also implicated current Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan in the multiple fraudulent deals through which Mr. Ibori looted the treasury. Mr. Uduaghan is Ibori’s cousin and handpicked successor. Today’s closing statement was also a preview of the case that UK prosecutors are likely to make if they succeed in getting Mr. Ibori extradited to the UK from Dubai. Ibori recently appealed a ruling by a judge in Dubai that he should be sent to the UK to face money-laundering charges. Lead prosecutor Sasha Wass, QC told the jury that Mrs. Ibori paid £2.2 million pounds in cash for a swanky home in Hampstead less than two years after her husband’s inauguration as governor. Ms. Wass, QC told the jury that not only did former Governor James Ibori obtain the house by fraudulent means but also that Mrs. Ibori was aware of it since her husband put her in charge of the transaction. The Crown prosecutors described the fraudulent acquisition of the Hampstead property as the beginning of Mrs. Ibori’s rise to extreme wealth. Ms. Wass asked the jury to consider the Iboris’ criminal record, including their conviction in the UK for petty theft a few years before Mr. Ibori maneuvered his way into the governor’s mansion in Asaba. Prosecutors also laid out how US authorities investigated Ibori’s million-dollar deposit in a US bank in 1994. She told the jury that US law enforcement agents concluded that Ibori lied when he claimed to have received the funds for consultancy work. As Saharareporters detailed earlier, Mr. Ibori forfeited $400,000 out of the $1 million to the US government. A legal analyst in court told Saharareporters that the prosecution “did a superb job of portraying Mr. and Mrs. Ibori as a tag-team criminal partnership.” He added, “Money is seized in the US only when there’s probable cause –or what UK law calls reasonable suspicion.” UK prosecutors told the jury today that Ibori only had to provide evidence of the legitimacy of the funds, but he opted to part with a huge chunk of it in order to settle the case. Ms. Wass stated that the transaction marked Ibori’s entrance into the criminal big leagues. She also observed that, contrary to Mrs. Ibori’s attempt to deny knowledge of Ibori’s criminal activity, the former First Lady was fully aware of her husband’s illicit financial deals in the US as well as the UK. Ms. Wass reminded the jury that Mrs. Ibori went along with her husband’s decision to falsify his date of birth in order to conceal his criminal past and convictions in the UK. Under cross-examination, Theresa Ibori had acknowledged that she found her husband’s action to be wrong, but said it was against the tradition in her adopted culture to challenge him. However, Ms. Wass reminded the jury that Mrs. Ibori had indeed challenged her husband on other issues. Prosecutors revealed how Mr. Ibori made misleading declarations of his assets. He did not declare his foreign bank accounts. In 1999 he only declared his homes in Nigeria as well as a flat in Abbey Road, St Johns Wood area in London. For cash in bank, he declared a debt of more than N1 million while cash in hand was about N400, 000 thousand. In 2007, Mr. Ibori declared another house in London, but fraudulently understated its value. Even though the house was worth £3 million, Ibori declared it as worth £300,000. Prosecutors accused the former governor, with his wife’s knowledge, of systematically misstating the value of his property. They also told the jury that, by 2007, Mr. Ibori had added three more properties in the UK as well as homes in Texas and South Africa. He also had established a series of off shores trust funds in safe haven islands for himself, his wife and children. Yet, in his assets declaration form in Nigeria, when he was asked to indicate cash abroad, he entered “non-applicable.” Ms. Wass revealed how Mr. Ibori established several companies, including MER Engineering, and used them as fronts to award contracts to himself. Ibori’s companies also received contracts and revenues from the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation. By 2007, Ibori’s wealth had become astonishing, said UK prosecutors. They pointed to the testimony of the EFCC’s Yahaya Bello that Ibori’s mistress, Udoamaka Okoronkwo (nee Onuigbo), set up three front companies that tendered for and received numerous contracts during Ibori’s tenure as governor. Ms. Wass stated that the three companies belonging to the same person tendered for and competed for the same contract. The arrangement ensured that Ibori’s concubine – who was fronting for him – got the contract. Investigators accused Emmanuel Uduaghan, who prior to 2007 served as secretary to the state government (SSG), of facilitating the illicit deals. Most of the contracts that went to one of Ibori’s front companies –Sagicom, Rivbed or Sigares – were heavily over-inflated. Prosecutors revealed that most of the contracts were for N1.8 billion or above, including for the supply of fine wine and beverages. Ms. Wass disclosed that Ms. Okoronkwo was responsible for transferring the proceeds out of Nigeria where the funds were invested for Ibori. Ms. Okoronkwo was also often used as a conduit to pay for Ibori’s properties in the UK. It was revealed that, by the end of 2003, Okoronkwo had deposited more than £3 million in the trust fund that was meant to benefit Theresa, her children and Mr. Ibori. Sagicom was the corporate vehicle Okoronkwo used to channel the funds. Prosecutors showed that Ms. Okoronkwo engaged in forgery of documents on her computer that Mr. Ibori then signed. The forged documents were meant to deceive bankers in the UK as well as safe havens around the world. Ms. Wass said that Okoronkwo worked for both James and Theresa Ibori, dismissing Mrs. Ibori’s suggestion that she and Udoamaka were fighting over Mr. Ibori. Instead, according to Ms. Wass, the two women helped the same man to siphon money that belonged to the people of Delta State and Nigeria. On a day filled with legal drama, including defense protests that the prosecution had unfairly tarred Mrs. Ibori by tying her to the convicted Udoamaka Okoronkwo, prosecutors also pressed their case against Ibori’s attorney, Bhadresh Gohil. Mr. Gohil, who decided not to testify after observing the methodical way the prosecution dismantled Mrs. Ibori during cross-examination, was described as Mr. Ibori’s launderer-in-chief. Our legal analyst said that prosecutors had done “a forensic job on Mr. Gohil, showing him as a man who hid evidence in chimneys.” He added that Mr. Gohil, described as “smooth talking and highly educated,” “betrayed the depth of his fear when he refused to take the stand.” The Crown prosecutors went to town, depicting him as a coward who could not face up to his deeds. Mr. Gohil maintained a posh office in the West end area of London. Even though Mrs. Theresa Ibori had alleged that the documents found with Gohil were forged, Mr. Gohil seemed scared to take the stand and contradict her. “I don’t believe Mr. Gohil has any answers to the charges,” said a lawyer familiar with the case. “None of his defense would have withstood the blistering attack of the well-prepared prosecutors,” he added. Prosecutors portrayed Gohil as one who had betrayed his oath to protect the law. They accused him of maintaining a manual on how to launder money without being detected, adding that he used the “money launderers’ spread sheet” to help unconscionable looters like Ibori – in direct contraventions of rule 15 of the UK solicitors procedure. Mr. Gohil is accused of lying to banks, police, and courts. He reportedly created secret safes to hide funds and documents, making him the perfect partner-in-crime for the Iboris. The prosecution is likely to conclude its closing remarks next week Tuesday. Afterwards, Mrs. Ibori’s court-appointed legal aid lawyer as well as Mr. Gohil’s lawyer, Ian Winters, QC, will give their own closing statements. Judge Hardy is expected to sum up the case next week and the jury might begin deliberations on the case on Monday November 15th.
|
Constitutional lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay has revealed that a legislator in the National Assembly, Abuja, Nigeria, earns far more than the United States President, Barack Obama. This revelation was made by Sagay yesterday when he delivered a lecture to mark the 47th birthday celebration of the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele held at the Eko FM Multi-Purpose Hall, Ikeja, Lagos. In the lecture, Sagay lamented that a Nigerian Senator, in 2009 earned N240 million in salaries and allowances annually while his House of Representatives counterpart earned N203.8 million annually. “In other words, a senator earned about $1.7 million and a member of the House of Representatives earned $1.45 million per annum,” he said. He said this shows that a legislator in Nigeria earns more than the US President, Obama, who earns $400, 000 per annum and British Prime Minister, 190, 000 pounds, while a senator in Nigeria, one of the poorest countries in the world, earns $1.7 million. Sagay added that a legislator in Nigeria also earns more than his counterpart in the US and the United Kingdom. “By contrast, an American senator earns $174,000 and a U.K. Parliamentarian earns about $64, 000 per annum,” he said. “In spite of the dismal standard of living, poverty in the country and low per capita income of Nigeria, Nigerian legislators in Abuja have awarded themselves the highest salaries and allowances in the world. In other words, the Nigerian lawmakers in Abuja are the highest paid in the world,” lamented Sagay. According to Sagay, “in 2009, the Federal legislators received a total of N102.8 billion comprising N11.8 billion as salaries and N90.96 billion as allowances. Is the tax payer getting value for this colossal sum in the current democratic dispensation? Should five percent of Nigeria’s annual budget be spent on 109 senators and 360 House of Representatives members? “In other words, should 469 Nigerians gulp five percent of our budget, leaving the remaining 150 million of us to receive about N1, 000 each?” “The Senate President is reported to be earning N250 million quarterly or N83.33 million per month, while his deputy earns N50 million per month. The Senate has allocated N1.02 billion as quarterly allowance to its 10 principal officers, known collectively as Senate leadership. “Each of the other principal officers earns N78 million every three months or N26 million per month. This tragic state of affairs is clearly unsustainable. Those engaged in this feeding frenzy are endangering our democracy,” he lamented. The constitutional lawyer also faulted the proposed constitutional amendment by the National Assembly, saying that the body was not yet ready to truly amend the constitution. He said that a proposed amendment of section 65 seeking to raise the minimum qualification for membership of the legislatures from school certificate to a diploma level was rejected by the State House of Assembly. Also, Sagay said that section 66 (1) which disqualified persons with a history of crime, bankruptcy, among others from contesting elections was deleted, thus paving way in the future for people with criminal records to be elected into public office. After pointing out the anomalies in the proposed amendment, he stated that “the real work on the amendment or alteration of the constitution is yet to be commenced. From all indications, such work will not be undertaken by the present National Assembly; it will be the task of a future one.” Sagay, however, contended that the greatest authority, which a legislature wielded in a democratic society, is not its legal powers as contained in the constitution, but its moral authority, as the conscience of the nation and protector of the sovereignty of the people. “Thus, members of the legislature must be men and women of high moral authority and integrity. The legislatures must suspend from their membership, anyone who by his conduct, past or present, tarnishes the image of that Assembly or puts its credibility in doubt. “If the legislature is to hold the executive to a minimum standard of accountability, transparency and honesty, it must itself purify its own systems, processes and membership; otherwise, no one will take it seriously,” he said. Also speaking, Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu warned President Goodluck Jonathan not to declare his intention to contest the 2011 poll yet, saying that he may live to regret it if he rushed into the race. The oba, known for his frank talk, warned Jonathan that a hasty decision to vie for the presidency next year might ruin his career and that he should beware of the myriads of sycophants who surround him. He described people around him as greedy and self centred leaders who were only interested in what they could gain and not the welfare of the citizens. —Lanre Babalola, Kazeem Ugbodaga http://saharareporters.com/news-page/nigeria%E2%80%99s-federal-legislator-earns-more-obama-prof-itse-sagay |
Bet it was, how safe is flying really? God dey sha |
Canadian authorities are investigating an "unbelievable case of concealment" in which a passenger boarded an international flight disguised as an elderly man, before changing midflight into an "Asian-looking male in his 20s." http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/11/04/canada.disguised.passenger/index.html?hpt=C1
|
It's been quite interesting reading responses. It is quite easy to differentiate responses of the lady folks from the men folks; responses of females who have cheating partners; responses of males who cheat; responses of males who will cheat, have cheated and are still cheating; responses of females who because they have a cheating partner, will cheat back on their partner, have cheated back on their partner and still cheating back or have the intention or plan to cheat back on their partner. All in all I have learnt something, I wish you too learnt something. ![]() |
Dr. Ahmad’s statement to the Nation, one of the newspapers recruited into the farce was ominous, as he “warned that Yar’Adua’s presidential authority must not be taken away from him.”Is the leadership of this great country now the birth right of yarasick? Let the presidential authority be taken away fast fast and let's see what this consequences will be. The worst is to your tents everyone! And these 4 Imams will definitely burn in hell, and turai with them. Liars in religious leaders clothing. I guess mohammed their prophet will be hiding his face in shame for this their nefarious act. |
Yar’adua’s recovery hoax: How the four Imams were recruited, paid and used by Turai |
The guilty parties are our leaders and top government officials (The Obasanjos, The Atikus, The Yar’aduas, The IBBs, The Buharis, The Prof Osuji’s & other ministers of education, the former & present NASS members, The former & present governors…etc), who had opportunity of restructuring a better Nigeria. In case you don't know (or are just lying), his father is a king pin in the corrupt Northern cabal that has held this country to ransome for 41 years. His father is as much a thief as any name you can call.then I guess his pop's name should be on the list of the thiefing elites. Had Nigeria got good schools, had Nigeria developed our moribund educational system, had ASUU not been treated unfairly, which prolongs graduation dates for undergrads (a nightmare for parents!), had the standard of education not fallen in Nigeria, Farouk Abdulmutallab, would have remained and studied in Nigeria; not Togo, not England, not Dubai, not to talk of Yemen.well the product of thiefing from urself is people like mumu-mutallab, who is one of their own. so, i hope they are learning this hard lesson. the evils that "naija's thiefing" elites do, live with them. |
@airzzee (m) The boy is actually NOT guilty.I totally agree with you. But this last part: I request America to join a class action of our leaders. Whatever sentence Farouk will face, our leaders, including Obasanjo and Yar’Adua should be made to suffer more.this man we are told he's sick and he's missing at the moment, is it ok to still make him suffer more? don't get me wrong oh, we're on both sides o. ![]() |
watch out!!! there might be some elements of terrorists in nairaland. I read some posts here and I got this feeling that those that post them have terrorist tendencies/undertones. one of them have even hinted that warned that it is very very possible to knock out NAIRALAND on the net. I mean it.. na wa o. I dey watch my back o. you dey watch your back? |
@ ryu11 (m) Re: Mutallab Pleads Not Guilty The dude is a "Monster". Just like most monsters he is a coward too.only a "Monster" can begat a "monster", isn't that right? |
Guy, you sef dey reason na.If na your brother dem falsely accuse, you no go shout?You no go issue press statement?Haba.\ i wonder. but what us this set up, and what would have been the motive? |
Dora will come out and say It's negative elements trying to spoil the Nigerian Brand that are spreading the "rumours" of a suicide bomber.na tatafo now, she go talk anything. she gets paid for talking and she helps herself from the pot too. all join sha. |
we will all see where this leads to.game is on. we have been waiting. |
@harakiri Al-Qaeda is a CIA backed program.Believe it or not.)hmmm, rubs beards, this sounds to me like all moslems are not terrorists, but all known terrorists are moslems. well like fimmy said I wonder.why do we believe everything we read?what if he was set up?what if he was in the wrong place at a wrong time?with what i read about him,i'm havin lot of thoughts. |
@talkitallu sabi say i soji now. you, you just dey sleep. wake up o jare! |
Two things involved here: return or no return. If naija's presido eventually comes back, is he going to hold a press conference (which they hardly do) to explain to us what really went on in Saudi Arabia since nobody really said anything while he was away? Or is he just going to just continue without saying anything (guess nigerians are used to that anyways). And if the other thing happens or have happened and they are just covering and waiting for opportunity to break the ice, are they going to bring the date forward (anything canhappen for naija sha). Well if a budget can be passed all of a sudden then anything can happen all of a sudden. I can't for 6 months (June) to come. This game fit last to that date? I wonder. |
@fimmy I wonder.why do we believe everything we read?what if he was set up?what if he was in the wrong place at a wrong time?with what i read about him,i'm havin lot of thoughts.did u just wake up from a one week sleep? have u not been following the news? or u and yaradull dey coma together? or u just arrived from your village? which one you no believe? sa him do am or him no do am? |
God bless Nigeria,this act i beleive is not Nigerian.but adopted by a nigerian young man. very soon, u go hear say na naija start terrorism like 419 and other crimes. dem go sabi am pass their master teachers. farouk na the first graduant, FYI. other graduants go soon follow. then u go remember me. |
na 72 abi na 70,000 virgins? hey make una no mislead me o. 72 still dey ok sha if e no reach 70,000 again. For the record, i not only criticize Islam but Christianity as well (you can look up my previous posts on my id mccloud224). fear catch like u u bros mutallab? u no fit join one side? |
this idea of 70,000 virgins na wa o. no be mirage be this? levels plenty no be small, even for holy Q (i no sabi spell o, abeg make una help me spell). e don tay wey game start o. abeg o, una no say person no dey know finish, make una no vex for this question o. abeg dem dem do for dat side? so tay, u go come get 70,000 baby virgies to do. o boy eh, na live time do-ing be dat o. but make una comfirm to me first if dem dey do for there, so that, uno, (clears throat) ![]() |
[td]Honestly, i just feel the guy was so distressed, depressed and probably frustrated. He didn't want to leave anymore and he felt if he dies, he shouldn't get to "Alujona" without crowns. If that is his mentality, then i am so sorry for others with such mind set. But why will a religion have an extreme anyway? you will hear some Muslims say i am not a fanatic. What does that mean? [/td] it means, say what? say what? anything can happen |
@n-gage he did something to stop them terrorists, that everyone hates including himself- he sacrificed his life. what can you sacrifice to stop these good-for-nothing-thieving-terrorists we have as leaders? have you not been terrorised enough to do smthing. anyways, you're sounding like one of them. you better tell your terror fellas that it is almost game-up for una. u better n-gage and move, n-gage! |
una sure say security neva catch am before? maybe dem don settle before ooo. dora akunyuli (govt tatafo) talk say him sneak in and out of naija on the 24th Dec. 09 if dem no catch am before, why him go ddey sneak up and down? e fit be true o he he he |
his dad should have atleast bought him PS5 now, abi? ok that one neva show. atleast something like flight simulator. papa sef no get time, he's busy stashing smthing very important (smthing most important don happen now), mama nko? |
eh yah! sorry oh |
i posted smwhere , but it might answer your question if you read between the lines. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- the sad part be say dem catch the guy wey for do the job for naija ppl easily. i still no understand wetin vex am for US side, wey wetin dey vex person full every every corner for dis our naija. even outside him house i sure say wetin for make am to go abj do smtin like that for full there. abi him dey happy with naija condition? him don go fck up for that side. [b]see now, if na naija him fail, we for sure say nothing for happen, dem go juz make noise. and as cash dey (him papa hold now, abi no so dem talk. direktor for plenty tings), him go walk away free, become more popular, maybe even contest for gov/presido, and who knows, he for enter there.[/b]this abokis dem sef. come to tink of it, dem useful for dis kind tins for naija. were trainers dem dey, wetin dem dey wait for? i hope una dey feel me sha. hope say i never make anybody vex sha. i juz watch my back now now. if una know hear from me, make una begin ask questions oh. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- this na naija, nothing dey happen. na today |
@GL thank God you didn't have to get to that point of no return like this aboki guy. and if peradventure it happens, I'll be here. hope nobody raise hammer sha |
to those saying his loneliness points to parental upbringing, i say you are WRONG. these feelings the boy described are very normal for anyone from a strict family who is introverted. i come from an veryloving family, my parents have always supported me and done everything for me and planned everything for me. at the same time they are strict. i'm an introvert and i've at several times in my life felt the way this mutallab boy felt. i think it goes with the personality and with the age. any teenager from a religious family who is keen on doing the right thing would feel lonely at some point. it's not the parents fault. a couple of years ago i went through a period of serious depression and my family is still unaware of it. only my close friends at school knew. mostly i shared my feelings online; for an introvert the internet is a very useful place for sharing thoughts and feelings you find difficult to share with people face-to-face. I don't know if it is envy, but i've noticed people like to think rich people don't raise their kids well or don't spend time with their kids. that idea is so untrue! |
who wan send him pikin go |
the sad part be say dem catch the guy wey for do the job for naija ppl easily. i still no understand wetin vex am for US side, wey wetin dey vex person full every every corner for dis our naija. even outside him house i sure say wetin for make am to go abj do smtin like that for full there. abi him dey happy with naija condition? him don go fck up for that side. see now, if na naija him fail, we for sure say nothing for happen, dem go juz make noise. and as cash dey (him papa hold now, abi no so dem talk. direktor for plenty tings), him go walk away free, become more popular, maybe even contest for gov/presido, and who knows, he for enter there. this abokis dem sef. come to tink of it, dem useful for dis kind tins for naija. were trainers dem dey, wetin dem dey wait for? i hope una dey feel me sha. hope say i never make anybody vex sha. i juz watch my back now now. if una know hear from me, make una begin ask questions oh. |

