$620,000 Bribe: Farouk, Boniface's Trial Begins Friday as Govt files charge

Farouk and Emenalo will be arraigned before an Abuja High Court Friday for allegedly receiving a bribe of $620, 000 from a Lagos based oil magnet, Femi Otedola.

Lawan and  Emenalo are alleged to have sometime in April 2012 or thereabout in Abuja within the FCT under the jurisdiction of the court while acting in the course of their official duties as chairman and secretary respectively of House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on monitoring of fuel subsidy regime conspired between themselves and with each other to corruptly obtain  $3 million from Mr. Femi Otedola, Chairman of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited.

The charge continued that   this amount was an inducement to remove the name of Zenon from the committee’s report and did cause the House of Representatives to remove same from the said list and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 26(1)(C) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.   The charge said the offence was punishable under Section 8 (1) of the same Act.

According to the prosecutor, Mrs. O.O. Fatunde who is also the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation in the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lawan who has four of the seven-count charge also corruptly obtained  $500,000 from Otedola as an inducement to remove the name of Zenon from the report. She said that the offence was contrary to Section 17 (1) (a) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under Section 17 (1) of the same Act.

In the fifth count charge, Emenalo was alleged to have corruptly asked for $3 million from Otedola to remove the name of his company from the list of companies indicted in the fuel subsidy scam, thereby violating the ICPC Act, 2000.

He was also alleged to have received gratification from the oil magnet and refused to report the offer of gratification to any officer of the ICPC, thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 23 (1) of the ICPC Act and punishable under Section 23 (3) of the same Act.

Emenalo was also accused in count seven of receiving $120, 000 as gratification from Otedola in order to remove his company’s name from the report of the ad-hoc committee on monitoring of fuel subsidy regime, an action that violates Section 10 (a)(ii) of ICPC Act, 2000 and punishable under Section 10 of the same Act.

This development follows the decision of Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi of an Abuja High Court granting the Federal Government leave to prefer a criminal charge under Section 185 (b) of the Criminal Procedure Code against Lawan and his co-accused person, who is also an Assistant Director at the National Assembly.

The duo will plead guilty or not guilty to a seven-count charge slammed against them by the Federal Government.

Recently, Lagos lawyer, Festus Keyamo, had written to the AGF, stating his readiness to commence action against the duo if the Federal Government was not willing to do so; a situation, which the AGF condemned.

 

Okah asked court to allow him call witnesses for mitigation of sentence.

It will be recalled that the court at its last sitting on Jan, 21, found Okah guilty of conspiracy to commit terrorism by masterminding two car bomb attacks in Abuja, Nigeria's capital on Oct. 1, 2010.

The court reserved the pronouncement of the sentence to Jan. 31, 2013.

Okah's attorney, Lucky Multulanla, told the trial judge, Neels Claassen, on Thursday that his client wanted to call at least five witnesses from Nigeria and outside Nigeria to testify for the mitigation of the convict's sentence in the interest of the Niger Delta community.

``My Lord my client wants to be given the opportunity to call some witnesses to come from Nigeria and other countries to testify on mitigation of his sentence.

``More over given the attestation of some highly placed government officials in Nigeria about his popularity among his people, his is willing to play a major role in the peace process the Nigerian government is talking about,’’ Multulanla said.

He, however, refused to give the names of the witnesses.

``Some of the witnesses willing to testify are community leaders and highly place individual within and outside Nigeria.

``They do not want their names mentioned before coming to South Africa because of threats to their safety,’’ Multulanla said.

The prosecutor, Shauns Abrahams, opposed the application, saying that the convict is trying to buy time.

``The convict is playing delay tactics, he is just trying to buy time and delay the court from giving its sentence.

``He had opportunity to call his witlessness, but he abandoned it; there was no evidence that the Nigerian government either threatened or prevented any witness from testifying during the trial,’’ Abrahams said.

``If indeed Okah is that influential, he should have been able to assist the Nigeria government attain peace in Niger Delta. He should have been seen to be talking to his group that threatened both the Nigerian and South Africa governments.

``South Africa government is not taking lightly the threat to its interest and citizen by the group led by the convict and the court should take this into consideration in giving its sentence.

``If he is as influential as he claims to be he should have prevailed on his people to retract their threat,’’ Abrahams said.

In his ruling, Justice Claassen, adjourned the proceeding to Feb. 1, to allow the defence attorney to conclude his submissions.

The court will allow the defence counsel to convince the court of any influence the witnesses will have on the sentence of his client to ensure that justice is done, the judge added.

Okah was found guilty of 13 counts charge of terrorism for masterminding two car bombings in Abuja on Oct. 1, 2010

 

Balotelli Mobbed by AC Milan Fans Outside Restaurant in Italy

 

The 22-year-old is on the verge of returning to Serie A in a £20 million deal and is currently in Italy ahead of the move, which is set to be officially completed on Thursday.

Balotelli had his medical at a hospital in Busto Arsizio on Wednesday afternoon and then went to have dinner with the club official after his three-hour examination.

Prior to meeting with Galliani, the Italy international was greeted by a large crowd of Milan supporters, who were chanting: "You threw the shirt of s**t [referring to Inter in the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona in 2010] on the ground, now you're with Milan. The dreams have come true, you score the best goals. We will win with Mario Balotelli."

The swarm of supporters also set off fireworks and police were required to use tear gas in order to break up the crowd.

A policeman was also taken to hospital after being hit on the head with a bottle which was thrown by one of the fans.

 

Despite Previous Beating, Rihanna Back with Chris Brown

 

"I decided it was more important for me to be happy," Rihanna told Rolling Stone magazine in an interview published on Wednesday on its website.

"I wasn't going to let anybody's opinion get in the way of that. Even if it's a mistake, it's my mistake," she said of her renewed romance with singer Brown, 23, that has prompted consternation from fans and celebrity media because of their history.

"After being tormented for so many years, being angry and dark, I'd rather just live my truth and take the backlash," said Rihanna, 24, adding, "I can handle it."

The couple's reconciliation had been rumoured for months, even before the pair unveiled a duet, "Nobody's Business," in November. That track was included on Rihanna's latest album "Unapologetic."

Brown pleaded guilty in 2009 to beating and punching Rihanna. He was sentenced to community service, anger management classes, given a restraining order and is still on probation.

The Barbadian singer told Oprah Winfrey in an emotional interview in August that she and Brown now had a "very close friendship," and that she still loved him.

"When you add up the pieces from the outside, it's not the cutest puzzle in the world," Rihanna admitted to Rolling Stone, which hits newsstands this week with her gracing the cover above the headline, "Rihanna Crazy In Love."

"You see us walking somewhere ... and you think you know. But it's different now. We don't have those types of arguments anymore. We talk," she said. "We value each other."

But she noted that Brown is on probation with her as well, saying, "He doesn't have the luxury of (messing) up again."

"That's just not an option ... And I wouldn't have gone this far if I ever thought that was a possibility."

The interview was published three days after Brown's latest dustup, which involved fellow musician Frank Ocean, over a parking space at a West Hollywood recording studio. Ocean has said he wants Brown prosecuted following the Sunday brawl.

In 2012 Rihanna was rated by Time and Forbes magazines as among the world's and celebrity arena's most powerful people.

 

Soku/Oluasiri oil well: Rivers withdraws from delineation meeting

Rivers Deputy Governor, Tele Ikuru, who led the state delegation to the peace meeting in Yenagoa, aimed at resolving the disputed Soku/Oluasiri oil well boundary with neighboring Bayelsa, announced its withdrawal from further negotiation process.

He stated that the Rivers government had in the interest of peace, equity and justice, resorted to the court for a peaceful resolution of the disputed Soku/ Oluasiri oil fields.

``In the interest of peace, fairness, equity and justice, the Rivers State Government resorted to the courts, ‘’ Ikuru said.

Ikuru said the National Boundary Commission (NBC), under the constitution, has the responsibility to determine the disputed boundary before deciding on the appropriation of derivable resources accrued from the disputed oil wells.

He, however, expressed concern that ``presently, Bayelsa state is unilaterally enjoying the full benefits of all revenue accruing from Soku oil fields, which is in dispute."

According to Ikuru, the two states in 2007, had reached an agreement that the revenue from the Soku field should be kept in an escrow account pending the determination of the boundaries by the NBC.

He expressed concern that Bayelsa Government had continued to benefit from the revenue proceeds of the disputed oil wells, while the NBC was still handling the delineation exercise.

The Director-General of NBC, Dr. Muhammad Ahmad, said in a response that the technical reports from the two states were acceptable, just as he wondered why the Rivers Government was pulling out of the process.

He said that President Goodluck Jonathan had mandated the commission to resolve the lingering issue in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling.

Deputy Governor of Bayelsa, Retired Rear Adm John Jonah, in his remarks, expressed displeasure over the pull out.

``We are seated here today to ensure that conflict is settled. It is an alternative dispute resolution mechanism. It makes things easier

 

 

 

Jonathan reiterates improved employment to tackle insecurity

Jonathan gave the assurance while declaring open a two-day Peace and Security Summit organised by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

The president, who was represented by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, said the summit was timely given the present security situation in the country.

Commenting on the theme of the summit, “Comprehensive and Sustainable Peace and Security in a Plural Society: Extreme Challenges to Nigerian Internal Security, " the president said the summit was timely.

He said terrorism, kidnapping and other forms of threats to national security were capable of eroding the core values of the nation if not well handled.

``Bombing of innocent men and children by the terrorist groups coupled with the wide range of kidnapping must be seen as a direct attack on the core values and integrity of Nigeria.

``It will be recalled that poverty, unemployment have been identified as some of the root causes of our present security challenges.

`` Government is, therefore, tackling the problem head on, on several fronts, `` he said.

He reassured Nigerians of government’s continued effort in canvassing for reconciliation to ensure that the nation’s core democratic values were not undermined.

He further said that the Federal Government was opened to constructive suggestions from the NBA and other stakeholders on the way forward in dealing with insecurity in the country.

On his part, the Senate President, David Mark, said that the National Assembly had commenced the amendment of some laws on security to adequately face the challenges of insecurity in the country.

Mark said that the National Assembly was equally amending the law on kidnapping so as to adequately tackle the problem posed by the crime.

He pointed out that the National Assembly was ready to take a look at recommendations that would be made at the end of the summit in order to find lasting solution to insecurity.

`` The National Assembly has gone extra mile to tackle the issue of terrorism.

``Arrangements are almost concluded to revise the terrorism law that was passed in 2011.

``We are ready to accept all recommendations that you find in our own law that require amendment.

Earlier, in her opening remarks, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Alooma Mukhtar, said dialogue was one of the key factors to peaceful coexistence in the country.

The CJN, who blamed the current insecurity on the plurality of the country, called on leaders to adopt a holistic approach in solving the problem.

``The plurality of ethnicity, religion and language in Nigeria, which is the primary cause of conflict and religious intolerance, has led to a number of conflicts.

``The relationship fractured by conflict must be restored as sustainable peace and democracy is unattainable without consensus, `` she said.

The NBA President, Mr Okey Wali, called on the National Assembly to carry out a referendum on the proposed amendment to the constitution.

According to him, the NBA, in 2012, sent a proposal to the National Assembly for a referendum.

According to him, there is the need to seek the consent of the people before amending the constitution.

``We still maintain that only a referendum can assuage the yearnings of the people, `` he added

Police Pension: EFCC Arraigns Yusufu over N250 million Fraud

Yusufu is alleged to have used the company to lodged N250 million with a new generation bank.

One of the charges reads; “that you John Yakubu Yusufu on or about 14th February, 2012 at Abuja in the Abuja Judicial Division knowingly failed to make full disclosure of your assets and liability in the Declaration of Assets Form filled by

you, by not declaring your interest in the N250,000,000 (Two hundred and Fifty Million Naira) you lodged in a fixed deposit account with the Zenith Bank in the name of SY-A Global Services Limited, a company in which you are the sole signatory

to its account and you thereby committed an offence punishable under section 27(3) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment, etc) ACT CAP E1 2004”.  

The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge. EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs asked the court to remand the accused in prison custody and fix a date for trial. Counsel to the defendant, Gabriel Tsenyen prayed the court to grant him a short

adjournment to enable him file an application for bail. He also prayed the court to remand his client in EFCC custody. However, Justice Adamu Bello ordered that the accused be remanded in prison custody and adjourned the case to March 1, 2013.

It will be recalled that Yusufu was among six top officials of the Police Pension Office arraigned by the EFCC on March 29, 2012, on 16-count criminal charges bordering on conspiracy and criminal breach of trust. The other accused persons are

Esai Dangabar, Atiku Abubakar Kigo, Ahmed Inuwa Wada, Mrs. Veronica Ulonma Onyegbula and Sani Habila Zira. Kigo was the director of the Police Pension Office before he was made permanent. They allegedly stole over N32.8billion from the police pension office. 

On Monday, Justice Mohammed Talba convicted and sentenced Yusufu to 6 years imprisonment with the option of a fine, having pleaded guilty to three counts of an amended 20-count charge.