The inability of the Federal High Court in Lagos to get a translator on Wednesday stalled the scheduled arraignment of some men alleged to be involved in smuggling.
Justice Nicholas Oweibo adjourned the arraignment until Aug. 26, to make provision for an interpreter.
Speaking to newsmen after the court adjourned, Mr Smart Akande, Legal Adviser to the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) listed the names of the suspect as: Murybine Berete, Traore Djakouba, Isiaka Musa, Mohammed Berete and Sediki Berete all Guinean national.
According to him, during a recent inspection by the Comptroller General of Customs, rtd Col. Hameed Ali, the matter which had to do with smuggling of pangolins will not be swept under the carpet.
He pointed out that the suspects would be charged to court for prosecution.
“Today we are in court to arraign the suspects but unfortunately, we could not proceed because some of them are foreigners and they are supposed to understand the charges before them.
“The chargers should be read in a language they understand so that they can give a plea.
“Because the interpreter was not available due to the fact that the court does not have the facility today, the matter was adjourned to Aug. 26 for arraignment, hoping that the interpreter will be present to interpret the charges to them,” he said.
Akande noted that the court had ordered that the suspects be remained in customs custody pending the arraignment.
He said that the suspects are being charged for four count of being concerned with exporting contraband goods, concerned with storage, loading and bringing in the contraband
“In other words, for them to have exported, they must have loaded it somewhere and this is an offence, bringing it and storing it somewhere are offences and they carry some penalty and that is why we are here,” he said.
Mr Olayinka Lawal, counsel to the defendants also collaborated the response of Akande on the issue of adjournment which was due to the defendants not understanding any Nigerian language as well as the court language.
He hoped that by the adjourned date, an interpreter would have been gotten for the suspects.(NAN
Naira abusers risk six months in jail as CBN gives fresh warning
The Central bank of Nigeria has warned that that abusers of the naira at social events risk imprisonment or an imposition of fine.
The CBN noted in a statement issued on Tuesday that according to the bank’s 2007 amended Act, ‘spraying of, dancing or matching on the Naira or any note issued by the Bank during social occasions or otherwise howsoever shall constitute an abuse and defacing of the Naira or such note and shall be punishable under the law by fines or imprisonment or both’
Findings by our correspondent showed that the Act prescribed imprisonment for six months and or a N50,000 fine for anyone defacing or abusing the naira at social functions.
The statement, which was signed by the Acting Director, Corporate Communication, Osita Nwanisobi, was titled ‘CBN, police, others to prosecute abusers of Naira’.
The CBN also warned that abusers of naira notes would be prosecuted by the financial regulator in collaboration with other regulatory bodies such as the Nigeria Police, Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit.
It said that the warning was necessitated by the activities of some people who flagrantly abused the legal tender at social functions.
The statement read in part, “The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria has again been drawn to the activities of persons, who flagrantly abuse the legal tender by hurling wads of Naira notes in the air and stamping on the currency at social functions. , “There have also been cases where people mishandle the Naira, deface it, hawk the currency at parties and reject the currency in some instances.
“It should be stated that, contrary to the practice of these unpatriotic persons, it is neither cultural nor moral, for people to disrespect the currency which citizens trade in.
For the avoidance of doubt, Section 21(3) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007 (As amended) stipulates that ‘spraying of, dancing or matching on the Naira or any note issued by the bank during social occasions or otherwise howsoever shall constitute an abuse and defacing of the Naira or such note and shall be punishable under the law by fines or imprisonment or both’.
“Accordingly, the Central Bank of Nigeria is collaborating with the Nigeria Police, Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit to address the unpatriotic practice.”
The CBN therefore warned Nigerians, particularly those at social functions such as birthdays, weddings and funerals, to desist from disrespecting the Naira or risk being arrested by law enforcement agencies. PUNCH
Two students of the Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ikwo, Ebonyi State, have narrated how some policemen attached to the Airport Command, Ikeja, Lagos, allegedly extorted N40,000 from them, while on their way to board a flight back to school.
The students, Michael Ekene Okonkwo and Udo Chukwu Maduforo, were in a cab heading to the local wing last Saturday, when their vehicle was stopped by a team of policemen in front of Golden Tulip Hotel, along Airport Road at about 11am.
They stated that the policemen searched them, but did not find anything incriminating.
They said they pleaded with the policemen to allow them go catch their flight to school and showed them their identification cards, but that their pleas fell on deaf ears.
“They harassed us, delayed us without telling us what our offence was.
“They searched our bags and didn’t find anything incriminating. One of them pushed us in the face and at the end collected N40,000 from us. At the end of the day, we missed our flight.”
Mother laments One of the students’ mother, Mrs Evelyn Okonkwo, told Vanguard: “When I received a call from my son that they were held by the police, I quickly headed for the spot and at the same time prayed that there shouldn’t be the release of an accidental bullet.
“All I wanted to know was the offence they committed that warranted their being held.
“Before I got to the spot, he called again to tell me that the policemen had released them after extorting N40,000 from them.
“The money was meant for their upkeep in school. By the time they arrived at the airport, their flight had left.
“They missed their Air Peace flight scheduled for 11:40am. They had to return home and travel on Sunday morning at an extra cost.”
RULAAC reacts Describing the policemen’s action as an act of corruption and wickedness, the Executive Director, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, Okechukwu Nwanguma, called on Police authorities to investigate the matter and bring the erring officers to book.
Nwagunma expressed disappointment that despite the current raging issue of police corruption and abuse of power “which has again put Nigeria in the spotlight of international opprobrium, these officers could not be deterred or persuaded to minimise their greed for money acquired through extortion.”
Efforts to reach the Police Public Relations Officer, Airport Command, SP Alabi Joseph, proved abortive as he did not pick calls put across to his mobile phone.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has travelled out of the country as the 12 detained aides of Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, met all their bail conditions.
The detainees’ lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, said on Tuesday that Justice Egwuatu was supposed to sign the release warrant of his clients today but the bail office of the court informed him that the presiding judge travelled out of the country on short notice.
The court had asked each of the 12 detainees to get two sureties, making it a total of 24 sureties. The detainees had secured the sureties last week but the bail office of the court said it needed to write letters to the offices of the 24 sureties to get more confirmation.
Olajengbesi said the confirmation of the sureties had been completed, adding that he was at the bail office of the court on Tuesday waiting for the judge to sign the release order of his clients but he was told that Justice Egwuatu had travelled out.
“We have met all the bail conditions and the deputy registrar at the bail office has signed a memo to that effect. However, I was told by the bail office that the judge that will sign their release order has travelled out urgently for a seminar and will not return till next week,” the detainees’ lawyer told our correspondent.
The lawyer urged the court to assign another judge to sign the release warrant of his clients who have been in the custody of the Department of State Services for about 50 days.
DSS operatives had arrested the 12 persons on July 1, 2021, during a raid on Igboho’s Ibadan residence around 1am.
The 12 detained persons had approached the court through their lawyers led by Olajengbesi to seek their release in line with their fundamental human rights.
The aides are Abdullateef Onaolapo, Tajudeen Irinloye, Dikeola Ademola, Ayobami Donald, Uthman Adelabu, Olakunle Oluwapelumi, Raji Kazeem, and Taiwo Tajudeen; while the four aides are Amudat Babatunde, Abideen Shittu, Jamiu Oyetunji, and Bamidele Sunday.
Justice Egwuatu had on August 4, 2021 admitted the 12 applicants to bail.
The 12 persons have spent about 50 days in the custody of the secret police in Abuja but the DSS through its lawyer, Idowu Awo filed a remand application, asking the court to nullify the bail earlier granted to four of the 12 detained associates of Igboho.
Awo said investigations revealed that the four detainees were heavily involved in the alleged offence of arms stockpiling and other criminal activities of their boss, Sunday Igboho.
The Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba Alkali reportedly rejected a report by a panel setup to investigate the indictment of Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI.
According to Punch, the IGP rejected an earlier report submitted by the four-man Panel led by Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigations Department, Joseph Egbunike.
Kyari got into trouble after the US court issued a warrant for his arrest over his alleged involvement in a $1.1m Internet fraud allegedly perpetrated by an Instagram influencer, Abbas Ramon, popularly known as Hushpuppi and four others; AbdulRahman Juma ; Vincent Kelly Chibuzo (Kelly); Rukayat Motunrayo Fashola; and Bolatito Agbabiaka.
The FBI claimed that Kyari detained Chibuzor at the behest of Hushpuppi for one month to enable the latter and his co-conspirators to fleece their Qatari victim of over $1m.
However, Kyari has appeared the panel several times since it was setup and has fiercely defended himself against the allegations. The Panel submitted a report to the IG last week but was rejected for being too ‘lenient’ on the Super Cop.
The panel resubmitted another report on Monday after the IGP expressed discomfort with panel’s earlier findings and recommendations.
Enugu state government has reacted to a social media report which named the figure behind the Enugu unknown gunmen that recently terrorized the state as SSA Security to the government.
In an exclusive chat with EverydayNewsngr.net the state commissioner for Information Barr. Chidi Aroh said that the state has no designation as SPA Security or SSA Security.
The Commissioner noted that it is the character of the Government not to interfere with investigations by security agents in “responding to this known security threats, we don’t know what facts they have.
“Government has no hands in it and whoever is found guilty should face the law.”
Recall that the Enugu state government played a major role in the successful raid by soldiers which smashed the gang in Akpawfu-Amagunze in Nkanu West Local Government Area.
The media report whose source was not disclosed claimed that the Enugu based unknown gunmen was a criminal syndicate which tried to capitalize on the insecurity in the country as a new trend and profitable business.
“They reason that with the heightened political tension occasioned by polarization of polity along ethnic and religious lines, they can profit financially and politically by pretending to be advancing and protecting their regional or ethnic interests while in the real sense of it, they are only pursuing their personal goal of engineering and benefiting from the crisis.”
The report whose source is unknown named one Tochukwu Okeke aka Owo as the leader who seized the moment to form a terrorist group that will operate as Enugu unknown gunmen.
The report alleged that “his well-structured terrorists were armed to the teeth and heavily sponsored by some politicians who hope to find greater relevance in the crisis.
“Their targets were policemen, soldiers and civilians. They wasted no time before attacking soldiers and policemen in Enugu state. Before the arrest of their leader Tochukwu and destruction of some of their camps, they have carried out the following attacks on police and military facilities within Enugu:
(1) Adani Police Division
(2) a Military Checkpoint along Adani- Omoh road.
(3) Ezeagu Police Division.
(4) A military Check point along Orji River-Udi road
(5) military Check point at Nnenwe
(6) a military checkpoint along Enugu Abakaliki Road and a host of others including a police checkpoint at Obeagu along Enugu-Agbani road.
The group was accused of “masterminding the killing of over 20 soldiers and policemen apart from the destruction of their facilities, equally received payment to kill civilians, and carry out kidnapping for the purpose of raising money, prominent among his civilian victims are Late Justice Stanley Nnaji, Late Ifeanyi Okeke, Paul (the manager of Sunny BRIGHT Motors and Prof. Samuel Ndubuisi of SEDI and other too numerous to mention.’
It further stated that “recently one of their Camps was raided at Akpawfu-Amagunze in Nkanu West Local Government Area were several arms, ammunitions, cars and charms were recovered.
According to the report, “Tochukwu’s personal House in New Haven Enugu was equally raided and military grade weapons recovered. With arrest of Tochukwu and destruction of their camps in Orji Rivers, Agwu and Nkanu, peace has gradually returned to Enugu. Enugu people can now sleep with their two eyes close. And In the case of Enugu state, the Unknown Gun Men are now known and Tochukwu is the face behind the mask,” it claimed.
The family of late Super TV Chief Executive Officer, Usifo Ataga, have asked a constitutional lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, to defend their interest and ensure that justice is served.
In their instruction letter to Ozekhome, the family decried the “low level of professionalism” exhibited by the police in the prosecution of the suspected killers of Ataga.
In a statement, the family accused the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, of complicity in an alleged attempt to protect the killers of the 50-year-old businessman.
They alleged that the family was not informed when the prime suspect, 21-year-old Chidinma Ojukwu, was arraigned before the Chief Magistrate’s Court, Yaba, Lagos.
“Chidinma voluntarily confessed in her first public outing to stabbing Usifo severally with a knife under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and withdrawing the sum of N380,000 from the victim’s account with his ATM card. She was later to backtrack on this confession in a carefully arranged televised interview, where she claimed she allegedly acted in self-defence.
“The Usifo family had also decried the alleged comfortable movement to prison from court and from court back to the prison of Chidinma in a Uber ride. The family queried why this was done without even handcuffs and without being informed of the intending arraignment.
Chidinma in prison for 30 days “The family also alleged that the man who claimed to be Chidinma’s father and who was also charged to the magistrate’s court for obstructing police investigation was actually not Chidinma’s biological father after all, but her ‘sugar daddy’. The family postulated that this means that the police deliberately lied about it.
“The family made it clear it suspects the said Disu for having a hand in Ataga’s murder and wondered why he was charged with mere obstruction of police investigation and failure to report a crime, thus being granted bail in the ridiculous term of N1m only and two sureties in like sum.
“To all other suspects involved in this dastardly act (except Chidinma who was remanded), bail was granted by Chief Magistrate Adeola Adedayo, in the funny conditions of N1m each with two sureties in like sum. The family said it could not understand these over-liberal bail terms in such a heinous crime of hideous and horrific murder.
“The family views these acts by the police as a slap on their face, the face of justice and a deliberate cover-up.”
No fewer than four workers of Lee Engineering Company have been confirmed dead on Monday following an attack by gunmen in the Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State.
It was learnt that the oil workers were going to their oil plant in Assa Community when the attackers shot them.
Four persons died instantly while many others sustained injuries.
It was gathered that the oil plant in the community was under construction by the oil company, The PUNCH reports.
Confirming the incident, the national president of Congress of Ohaji Youths, Emmanuel Ugorji, said some community leaders and security agents, including himself, have visited the scene.
He aslo called on the government to beef up security in the area, noting that gunmen were terrorising the area in recent times.
The enraged youth leader said, “The first attack by this group was an attack on Oil Serve company and the second one was the kidnapping of the Cluster Development Board Chairman, Godswill Uzomba, whose whereabouts have remained unknown for three months now and followed by burning of ZEROC equipment at Watersmith industrial park by a known criminal gang.”
The president-general of the Assa autonomous community, Bartholomew Obodo, also confirmed the attack to our correspondent.
He called on the Nigerian government to come to the rescue of his people.
The police spokesperson in the state, Micheal Abattam, promised to get the details and revert to our correspondent but he had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.
A United Kingdom-based Nigerian businessman, Romeo Ozoagu, has expressed displeasure over the delay in police investigation into his sister, Eucharia Okonkwo’s death, and is accusing his brother-in-law, Ignatius Okonkwo, of alleged culpability in the death.
Romeo said that Ignatius, a resident of Sixth Avenue, FESTAC Town, Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State, was arrested and detained by the police for the alleged murder of his wife, but was freed without an investigation.
Romeo said he was in the UK on Wednesday, April 28, 2021, when he received a call from Ignatius that his 55-year-old sister had died without an explanation as to the cause of death.
He said he immediately sent his cousin, Ezenwa, and his younger brother, Hillary, to visit his sister’s house, but they were not allowed to see her remains and Ignatius did not take them to the mortuary, where he deposited the corpse.
He said, “My brother-in-law, Mr Ignatius Okonkwo, who lives on Sixth Avenue, FESTAC, Lagos, called me around 7.03am on Wednesday, April 28, 2021, to inform me that my sister, Eucharia Okonkwo, was dead. I live in London. I had spoken to my sister three days before that day. I immediately called my younger brother, Hilary Ozoagu, and cousin, Ezenwa, to visit my sister’s house to verify the information, because I was still in shock. On Thursday, they met Ignatius to find out what really happened.
“He told them that it was raining heavily overnight and he went to his wife’s room to check if the windows were closed. The people I sent requested that he take them to the mortuary, where the corpse was deposited, but he refused. I then instructed my brother to report the case at the FESTAC Police Station.”
It was gathered that before policemen got to his apartment, Ignatius had allegedly absconded.
Romeo added that the case was also reported at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Panti, Yaba, but the suspect was nowhere to be found when policemen from there visited his home.
He said Ignatius remained in hiding for 22 days with his location discovered to be somewhere in Ogun State and later Enugu State when the police tracked his phone, adding that he was shocked when the police asked him to provide vehicles and logistics for them to apprehend the suspect in Enugu.
Romeo said Ignatius was arrested by policemen from the SCIID when he returned to Lagos to apologise for absconding.
He stated, “The FESTAC DPO arranged for some policemen to go to Ignatius’ house and get him arrested. On their way, one of the police officers, who is his close friend, sent him a text message to escape through the fence. After this, my brother reported the case at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Panti, Yaba.
“When officers from Panti came to the place to arrest him, he had locked his gate and switched off his phone. He was nowhere to be found for 22 days. We paid the police to track him; his first location was in Ogun State and later Enugu State. Policemen at Panti were not as helpful as they wanted us to provide logistics, including vehicles, to apprehend him in Enugu.
“He was advised at Enugu to return to Lagos and meet with Hillary, my brother, so that they could go to the mortuary and see my sister’s corpse. He called Hilary and apologised for initially fleeing. Hillary invited him to his house in a bid to settle the matter and alerted the police of the arrangement. That was how he was arrested.”
Romeo added that he saw the suspect in police custody when he got to Nigeria on May 27, but that Ignatius was released on the same day and was rearrested and taken into custody on June 15.
He stated, “I arrived in Nigeria and went to the police on May 27 to see the suspect and demanded an autopsy to determine the cause of my sister’s death. The police said I couldn’t make that kind of demand. Meanwhile, we were unaware that Ignatius had been secretly released from Panti. One of the things that surprised me was that my sister’s doctor, Declan Nwaigwe, who pronounced her dead on the day he visited the house, said she had been dead for 48 hours before he got there, meaning that my sister died on Sunday, April 25, 2021.
“One of my sisters at FESTAC saw Ignatius in the neighbourhood and called me to ask if the case was over. I told her that nothing of such had happened and that he was supposed to be in police custody. He was rearrested on June 15.”
The 59-year-old businessman told said that the case was eventually transferred to the Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, Lagos, on May 15 at the request of his lawyer, but things became more complex when the police demanded that he should pay all the mortuary, transportation and autopsy bills before an investigation into the matter could be concluded.
He told our correspondent that he declined the request, adding that the deceased’s husband should bear the mortuary cost since he deposited the corpse there.
Romeo stated, “I asked the police to tell Ignatius to pay for keeping the corpse in the mortuary. I even offered to split other bills with him, but he refused. He said I must pay the entire bills because I was the one who brought the case to the police and that he would only pay the mortuary bill if I agreed that the corpse would be buried without an autopsy.
“The police were also telling me to settle all the bills if I wanted an investigation into the case, because the government didn’t have resources for such. They are frustrating me. The police have refused to investigate the case or charge the suspect. I need all the help I can get.”
When contacted, Ignatius did not take his calls and had yet to reply to text messages sent to his mobile telephone.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Zone 2 Command, Hauwa Idris, said the case had been transferred out of the command.
“The case is not in Zone 2. The AIG has ordered that it should be taken back to Panti, where such cases are being investigated,” she said.
The Lagos State PPRO, Adekunle Ajisebutu, declined to speak on the matter, saying the zonal PPRO had the final say.
“Talk to the zonal PPRO. Her reaction is enough,” he simply stated.
The Kaduna State Government says a fresh wave of violence has left three persons dead and one injured in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
Mr Samuel Aruwan, the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, confirmed this in a statement on Monday in Kaduna.
“The Kaduna State Government has received a report detailing an attack in Goran Gida, Gora District of Zangon Kataf LGA, which left three residents dead and one injured.’’
Aruwan said the attackers entered the village late on Sunday night and killed the three persons, adding that the injured person was receiving treatment.
“One car was burnt by the assailants. Security agencies are sustaining patrols in the area,’’ Aruwan said.
According to him, the state Acting Governor, Dr Hadiza Balarabe, received the report with sadness and condemned the mindless attack on innocent citizens.
Balarabe condoled with the families of the deceased and prayed for the repose of their souls.
She wished the injured person a quick recovery.(NAN
