Police rescue 6 abducted UniJos students

The Police Command in Plateau has rescued six out of the seven students of the University of Jos that were kidnapped by gunmen on Monday. DSP Alfred Alabo, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command, disclosed this in a statement in Jos. According to Alabo, five of the students were rescued, while one escaped from the kidnappers’ den unhurt. ”The Police command is pleased to announce to the general public that six of the seven victims who were kidnapped on June 13, have regained their freedom. ”The command swung into action immediately after the incident was reported, worked tirelessly in collaboration with its Anti-Kidnapping unit, family members of the victims and the community to secure the release of the victims. ”Five of the victims were rescued, one escaped from the kidnappers den, while one victim is still in captivity,” Alabo said. He said that the Commissioner of Police in the state, Bartholomew Onyeka, has ordered the Area Commander Metro, and the Divisional Police Officer Nasarawa Gwong, to ensure that the seventh victim is rescued unhurt and the perpetrators arrested. The victims were abducted from their hostel which is located off campus on Monday night in Jos while preparing for their second semester examinations.

NJC dismisses petitions against Justice Mary Odili, 25 others

The National Judicial Council (NJC) has dismissed petitions written against a retired Supreme Court Justice, Mary Ekaego Peter Odili, and 25 other Judicial Officers. They were accused of professional misconduct in the discharge of their duties. Justice Odili escaped being investigated by the Council on the ground that she had retired as a Judicial Officer while 25 other petitions were thrown out for various reasons ranging from lack of merit, lack of diligent prosecution, withdrawal, being subjudice and for the subject Judge having retired from service. However, seven State High Court Judges indicted by the NJC’S investigation Committee are to face probe panels that would determine the level of their culpability. A statement by the NJC’S Director of Information, Mr Soji Oye on Friday in Abuja explained that the petition against the judicial officers were dismissed at a meeting presided over by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola. The dismissed petitions were written against Hon. Justice Mary Peter Odili, Rtd Justice of the Supreme Court, Hon. Justices A. R. Barka, James G. Abundaga, O. O. Olasumbo Goodluck, Ibrahim A. Andetur-Yangsto all of the Court of Appeal. Others are Justices F. O. Liman, A. R. Mohammed, H. A. A. Dashen, Peter Lifu, F. O. G. Ogunbanjo, A. Lewis Allagoa, D. E. Osiagor all of the Federal High Court. Others are Justice Theresa O. Diai, Chief Judge, Delta State, Hon. Justices S. B. Belgore, K. N. Ogbonnaya Jude Onwuegbuzie and Edward Okpe of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Also escaped the NJC hammer are Justices Joseph I Acha, Vesty O. Eboreime, both of High Court, Edo State, Hon. Justices Thelma Adanna Achom, Elvis A. Ngene of the Ebonyi State High Court, Hon. Justices A. B. Usman, M. M. Abubakar of Bauchi State High Court, Hon. Justice O. A. Opesanwo of the Lagos State High Court and Justice Oladiran Akintola of Oyo State High Court,  The rest are Justice Gegele A. Hammed of Kwara State High Court, Justice K. N. Udobong of Akwa-Ibom State High Court, Justice B. C. Iheka, Imo State High Court, Justice M. A. Zandai High Court, Borno State, Justice Mohammed Shinkafi of Zamfara State High Court, Justice R. S. Ladoja of the Kaduna State High Court and Justice M. S. A. Mohammed of the High Court of Niger State. At the meeting, the NJC came up with a policy barring Judicial Officers from switching henceforth from High Court of Justice to the Customary Court of Appeal and vice versa. The only exception allowed is when a new Customary Court of Appeal is established in a State and Judges who indicate interest to go to the Customary Court of Appeal will be allowed to proceed. Under the new policy, once established, the candidates for the headship of the Court must be drawn from that Court only, even if all the Judges of the Court are junior to their counterparts in other Courts. Meanwhile, the Council recommended 37 Judicial Officers for appointment to the President and seven Governors as Justices of the Court of Appeal, Heads of Court and Judges of the High Court and Customary Courts of Appeal. Those going to the Court of Appeal are: Justices Asma’u Musa Mainoma, Paul Ahmed Bassi, Hannatu Azumi Laja-Balogun, Binta Fatima Zubair, Hadiza Rabiu Shagari, Peter Chudi Obiora, Okon Efreti Abang, Jane Esienanwan Inyang and Lateef Adebayo Ganiyu. Justice Dije Abdu Aboki was recommended for appointment as Chief Judge of Kano, Daniel Iyobosa Okungbowa for Edo and Matilda Abrakasa Ayemieye.

Tinubu appoints 8 new Special Advisers

*Dele Alake, Nuhu Ribadu get appointments President Bola Tinubu has appointed Dele Alake as Special Adviser Special Duties, Communications and Strategy. According to a statement signed by Abiodun Oladunjoye, Director Information, State House on Thursday, seven others also got appointments in the new government of President Bola Tinubu. The statement reads: President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of the following as Special Advisers: Mr. Dele Alake(Special Adviser, Special Duties, Communications and Strategy); Mr. Yau Darazo (Special Adviser, Political and Intergovernmental Affairs); Mr. Wale Edun (Special Adviser, Monetary Policies) and Mrs. Olu Verheijen(Special Adviser, Energy). Others are: Mr. Zachaeus Adedeji (Special Adviser, Revenue); Mr. Nuhu Ribadu (Special Adviser, Security); Mr. John Ugochukwu Uwajumogu(Special Adviser, Industry, Trade and Investment) and Dr (Mrs.) Salma Ibrahim Anas as(Special Adviser, Health).

Salary Padding: Tinubu suspends IPPIS Assistant Director, others

President Bola Tinubu Suspends Assistant Director In Charge Of IPPIS, Others In OAGF For Salary Padding. Many civil servants across several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), including the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) have been suspended for alleged salary padding on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS). The allegation was confirmed by RMAFC Chairman, Mohammed Bello Shehu, who said those identified had been placed on suspension pending investigation. The affected workers were found to have manipulated the IPPIS system to pad their salaries above their threshold. An Assistant Director at the OAGF in charge of staff salary was alleged to have connived with some staff to pad up the salaries of unspecified number of lower level staff. The scheme was discovered when a level 7 officer whose salary should be in the range of N60,000 was paid over N400,000, which was in the range of a salary package of a Director. The salary padding racket had been on for a while among a small clique of civil servants in different MDAs with the IPPIS office with the OAGF as the epicentre. Reacting to the development, the OAGF in a statement said it was, “in receipt of enquiries over alleged ‘salary padding’ on the IPPIS involving some unspecified MDAs.” “In the meantime, a staff suspected to be connected with the breach has been suspended to allow for thorough investigation. “All necessary steps are being taken to strengthen the controls around the IPPIS payment platform and an independent forensic audit of the entire payroll system is underway to ascertain if the reported breach is isolated or widespread,” Shehu said. He said if the indicted officials were found culpable of the salary padding allegations, they would be handed over to the appropriate authorities for prosecution.

Police confirm one killed, 2 community leaders abducted in Bauchi 

The Police Command in Bauch State has confirmed that gunmen killed one person and abducted three others, including two community leaders in the Ningi Local Government Area of the state.  The Spokesman of the command, SP. Ahmed Wakil, confirmed the development on Monday in Bauchi. He said that the gunmen attacked a community known as Balma, killing one person and abducting three others, including two community leaders late on Saturday. Wakil said the two community leaders were a village head in Balma community and a ward head in Bakutunbe community as well as one other person who was also abducted. The spokesman said that the command had on Sunday received a report from its Balma outpost that gunmen had attacked the village. “They shot sporadically and took away the village head, Alhaji Hussaini Saleh, who is 48 years old. Wakil said that the village head was abducted alongside one Idris Mai Unguwa and another man named Ya’u Gandu Maliya, who is 45 years old. “One Haruna Jibrin was however, shot in the head by the gunmen. “When the police received a distress call, a team was drafted to the scene, they rescued the victim and rushed him to General Hospital, Ningi where he was receiving treatment but he was later confirmed dead. “At present, the police in Ningi Division are combing the bush, trying to see how they can rescue the two abducted community leaders alive.” The spokesman appealed to citizens to always provide information on suspicious movements of people to security agencies for immediate action. 

Nigeria Air: Hon Nnaji asked for 5% bribe, Sirika alleges

*Says N3bn Nigeria Air fund not completely spent *You’re a drowning man, Nnaji replies Sirika Embattled former Minister of Aviation and Aerospace, Senator Hadi Sirika, has said that the House Committee Chairman on Aviation, Hon. Pharmacist Nnolim Nnaji asked for five percent equity shares of Nigeria Air for himself and his people. Sirika, who has been on fire following the hurried launch on May 26, said that the N3 billion released by the Federal Government towards establishing Nigeria Air has not been completely spent. Sirika made this known in Abuja while speaking to newsmen on the issue of the national airline. According to him, from 2016 to 2023, the budget for Nigeria Air is N5 billion, but only N3 billion was released, and up till today, the money has not been completely spent. He said the government of Nigeria did not pay a dime for the unveiling of Nigeria Air on May 26. “It is ridiculous to think that we’ll hire and paint an aircraft for N138 billion, which could get us five new Boeing 777 Max. “We are responsible people and the general public should approach the Ministry of Information and apply for the right of information to see for themselves.  “The House Committee Chairman on Aviation asked for 5 percent of Nigeria Air for himself and his people. I asked him to approach the owners of the airline,” he said. According to him, former President Olusegun Obasanjo handed Nigeria Airways to his friend company, Arik Air, which is indebted to the tune of over N300bn, of which Nigeria taxpayers’ money is N250bn via AMCON. “So, do we hand it over to Arik?” he asked, rhetorically.  Meanwhile, House of Representatives member, Hon. Nnolim Nnaji has reacted to the allegation by former Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika regarding Nigeria Air. At a public hearing, Nnaji described the controversial project as a fraud and condemned the use of an Ethiopian Airlines’ registered aircraft during the launch in May. In response, Nnaji called Sirika a drowning man and advised him to tell citizens “the truth about the contraption he sold to us as Nigeria Air”. Nnaji recalled that his committee was inundated with petitions from stakeholders after the announcement of Ethiopian Airlines as the core investor. The committee, he noted, requested for the evidence of the bid process and the business case prepared by the Nigerian Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC). Nnaji said Sirika told them the document was being worked out by the ICRC and they would make it available but failed to do so before Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) sued the Ministry and got an order stopping the project. “On May 20th 2023, l received reports of threats of mass resignations by key personnel of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA),” he said. The threat, according to him, followed pressures from the Ministry to give waivers to Nigeria Air to enable it secure Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) so that it could take off before President Muhammadu Buhari leaves office. Nnaji said he issued a statement warning the former Minister against subverting the authority of NCAA because of its severe consequences on the air transport sector. “It is also common knowledge that the Nigerian institutional investors he mentioned as participants have all denied him. “It is not strange that Sirika came up with these spurious allegations against my person because l remained consistent in demanding that he followed due process. He should not deviate from the subject-matter”, Nnaji added.

Police arrest bandits’, kidnappers’ informant in Abuja

The Police Command in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has arrested an alleged informant and logistics supplier to a kidnapping and banditry group terrorizing the FCT and its environs. The Police Public Relations Officer in the FCT, SP Josephine Adeh, said this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja. She said the suspect, who was arrested by the Anti-Kidnapping unit at the Mongoro Forest, had been on the wanted list of the command. Adeh said the suspect was arrested over involvement in the supply of firearms, ammunition, and other weapons. She said the suspect was also involved in the supply of food items and illicit drugs to the criminals in their various hideouts in the forests using a motorcycle. According to her, exhibits recovered from the suspect include one AK47 rifle, AK47 ammunition, one mobile phone, foodstuffs, and an unregistered boxer motorcycle. She said investigations into the case had been intensified to identify and cut off the criminal supply chain and arrest other members of the gang. In a related development, Adeh said the command had arrested 11 suspects over illegal possession, fabrication, and production of small arms and light weapons, armed robbery, and other criminal offenses. She said the suspects were intercepted and arrested in the Zuba area of the FCT by operatives of the State Intelligence Bureau (SIB). Adeh said the items recovered from the suspects were four locally-made firearms and one live cartridge. According to her, preliminary investigations by the police have revealed that the gang is involved in the fabrication and production of small and light weapons locally. She said operatives from Utako Divisional Police Headquarters had on Wednesday arrested eight suspects over armed robbery at one Amala Garden in Utako. Adeh said three firearms of different calibers, knives, and hard drugs were recovered from the suspects, arrested following a tip-off. 

DSS, Police raid Matawalle’s house, recover over 40 vehicles

The Department of State Security (DSS) and the Nigeria Police on Friday raided the residence of former Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, even as the Zamfara State Government has broken its silence on the raid. Hours after the raid, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara said operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and police raided the residences of Matawalle in Gusau and his hometown of Maradun. The party had accused the administration of Governor Dauda Lawal of witch-hunt, saying the immediate past governor ought to be charged to court if there is any issue against him. But in a statement on Wednesday evening, Senior Special Assistant (Media and Publicity) to the Zamfara Governor, Suleiman Idris, said government’s stolen property were recovered during the operation. “The Zamfara State Government has cleared the air on the operation of the Nigeria Police Force that led to the recovery of vehicles looted by the former State Governor, Bello Mohammed Matawalle.” “In the early hours of Friday, the Nigeria Police Force stormed the residence of the former Governor, where over 40 vehicles were impounded. “The Police acted on a court order and a search warrant was obtained for the operation. Recall that the Zamfara State Government communicated officially to former Governor Bello Matawalle and his Deputy to return all the missing vehicles within five (5) working days. “We also lodged an official complaint with the Police on overriding public interest on wasteful looting of valuables including official vehicles. “Consequently, the Police sought a search warrant which was duly given by the court and hence raided Matawalle’s residence in Gusau, Maradun Local Government, and another unidentified hideout. “Over 40 vehicles were recovered including Three bulletproof vehicles and Eight SUVs. “We want to reaffirm our commitment to recover all that belongs to the people. Our common resolve is to rescue and rebuild Zamfara. Recovering the proceeds of crime and public assets is a critical part of our rescue mission. “We want to call on the people of Zamfara to remain calm as we continue to record massive improvements in the areas of security and the lingering water scarcity in the state.”

EFCC arrests identical twins, 26 others for internet fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested identical twins: Potential and Takwan Peter and 26 others for alleged internet fraud in Calabar, Cross River. This is contained in a statement issued by EFCC Spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, on Friday in Abuja. According to him, they were arrested on Tuesday, following credible intelligence linking them with suspected internet-related fraud. ”The other 26 suspects are Takwan Emmanuel, Kelvin Onedu, Evans Edwin, David Osuji, Osang Tony, Confidence Oblech, Uche Chinedu, Gabriel Kanong, Ojong Victor, Ephraim Ikechukwu and Shedrack Mfon. ”Others are Godswill Omini, Walter Opha, Godswill Iti, Moses Sha, Prince Uba, Anyi Bassey, David Disi, Peter Silas, Christian Uche, Chidindu Oforji, Kelvin Anyanwu, Anthony Ojone, Samuel Disi, Gideon Joseph and Ezekiel Francis. ”Preliminary investigations showed that while some of the suspects specialized in love scam, others engaged in fraudulent impersonation and obtaining by false pretense. ”Items recovered from them include, several mobile phones, laptops, five cars and a wifi device,” the anti-graft agency said.

Court orders EFCC to enlighten fraudster about demerits of fraud

A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Gwagwalada, Abuja on Thursday urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to educate a man, Ndubisi Success, who is convicted for internet fraud, about the merits and demerits of fraud. Success was docked by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for creating an Instagram account for the purpose of inducing unsuspecting people to deliver money to him. He pleaded guilty to the charge and begged the court for leniency. Delivering judgment, Justice Aliyu Shafa, convicted him and ordered him to report to the Legal Department of EFCC for one week from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Shafa said the convict should be educated under the supervision of the Director of, EFCC legal department on the merits and demerits of internet fraud and its effect on youths. “I have carefully listened to the plea of allocutus made by the convict and the defence counsel. “The rate of fraud in the society is so alarming. Cybercrime is a dangerous offence in our society, which must be tackled” he said. Earlier, the convict had pleaded with the court to tamper justice with mercy, promising not to indulge in such act again. “I am very sorry, I promise not to engage in such act again. Please have mercy on me,” he said. The Defence Counsel, Mr Chibuike Chima, in support of the allocutus by the convict, told the court that Success, who had no previous conviction record was remorseful. “Success, is a young man who regrets the consequences of his act and has come to realise that there is no excuse for anyone to engage in crime under whatever guise. “The convict is a young university drop out who could not complete his education as a result of paucity of fund. “The convict is a first time offender; he has not been convicted for any other crime of whatever kind in Nigeria or elsewhere. We urge my Lord to tamper justice with mercy. “We assure this court that going forward the convict will be of good behaviour,” he said. The EFCC Counsel, Chidike Obasi-oko, told the court that Success, sometime in 2022 within the jurisdiction of the Court, made an attempt to commit the offence of cheating. Obasi-oko said that the convict created an Instagram account for the purpose of inducing people to deliver money or any goods to him. He said the offence contravened the provisions of Section 95 of the Penal Code Act Law of the Federation (Abuja), 1990 and punishable under Section 322 of the same Act. He pleaded with the court that the Redmi cell phone being the instrument used for the crime be forfeited to the Federal Government.