Suspended Chairman of the Special Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIP), Mr. Okoi Ofem Obono-Obla, has escaped to the United Kingdom as he faces investigation by the
the Independent Corrupt Practices and Investigation Commission(ICPC).

According to an ICPC alert which declared him wanted on Tuesday, Obono-Obla, criticised over the overbearing way he chaired the asset recovery panel, left Nigeria on 17 August.

This was two days after the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation formally announced his suspension and asked him to handover to the solicitor-general in the Federal Ministry of Justice.

President Buhari approved his supsension, following a damning report by the ICPC on the official’s certificate forgery, with which he procured a University of Jos law degree and went on to the Nigerian Law School to qualify as a lawyer.

Since 17 August, Obono-Obla has not returned and has repeatedly snubbed invitations by the agency to answer questions bordering on allegations of fraud and corruption.

The ICPC said Obono-Obla is facing series of allegations levelled against him by members of the public on his role as head of the government panel on asset recovery.

The Commission said it is in receipt of petitions accusing him of abuse of office, falsification of admission records, living above his income and collection of gratification from suspects under his investigation.

“The suspended chairman is also facing allegations of working outside the guidelines governing the panel by investigating unauthorized petitions and prosecuting suspects without recourse to the office of the Attorney General of the Federation.

“ICPC had conducted series of investigations on the allegations with preliminary findings showing that some provisions of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and extant laws of Nigeria had been allegedly violated by Mr. Obono-Obla.

“Consequently, ICPC had extended several invitations to him, which he had failed to honour without giving any reason. Attempts to track and make him appear before the Commission also failed leading ICPC to contact other law enforcement agencies for assistance concerning his whereabouts.

“One of such contact has yielded results as records from the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) show that Mr. Obono-Obla had travelled out of the country.

“The NIS records revealed that he left the country to an undisclosed location on 17th August, 2019, through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, and has not returned two months after”.

The commission did not indicate whether it has submitted the wanted notice to Interpol for Obono-Obla’s arrest.

Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja on October 21, 2019, sentenced and convicted one Ekhator Prince (a.k.a Maxwell), to six months imprisonment on a two-count charge, bordering on cybercrimes and impersonation.

Ekhator Prince was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, after he was busted trying to swindle an American woman, online of $500.000.

He was arraigned on September 9, 2019 in court.

Count one of the charge reads: “That you Ekhator Prince (a.k.a Maxwell) Sometime in 2019 at Abuja FCT within the Jurisdiction of this honorable court, did fraudulently impersonate a United States citizen named Maxwell on Hangout social media application account, with the intent to obtain the sum of 500,000 USD (Five Hundred Thousand Dollars) from one Katie Henderson of United States of America, through the Western Union account of one Paul, and there by committed an offence contrary to Section 22(2) (b) (iv) of the same Act”.

The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge after it was read to him.

However, prosecution counsel, Maryam Hayatudden, told the court that the defendant had on October 18 2019, filed a plea bargain agreement which was signed by both parties and urged the court to adopt the agreement and convict and sentence the defendant accordingly.

Jalal Arabi, right and the DFA in State House Bashir Alkali at the budget presentation

The Permanent Secretary State House, Mr Jalal Arabi, has disclosed that some of the vehicles used for daily operations in the State House were purchased as far back as 1999.

He did not however give the number of such vehicles still in use.

Mr Arabi said there is an urgent need to replace those vehicles as they have become very difficult to maintain.

He spoke on Monday before the House Committee on Special Duties when he led the State House management team to the National Assembly for the defence of the 2020 budget proposals of the State House.

“With the release of funds in 2018, some of the vehicles, especially security vehicles were replaced, spares purchased but we are still nowhere near our optimal level since no vehicles were purchased this year (2019),” Mr Arabi said.

“The proposals are in line with our provisions in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) document, discussed and agreed with the Budget Office of the Federation, and is to be implemented over a three-year period.”

The sum of N6.569billion was proposed for capital expenditure, representing a 5.5 per cent reduction in the capital budget proposal for 2019 expenditure of the seat of government.

The Chairman, House Committee on Special Duties, Samaila Suleiman, while expressing satisfaction with the presentation, assured that the Committee would carefully consider the presentation.

Similarly, the Permanent Secretary defended the State House budget proposals before the Senate Committee on Federal Character and Inter governmental Affairs.

Former chairman of the Presidential Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina has temporarily lost 23 landed properties linked to him.

Justice Folashade Giwa-Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court Abuja, gave the order of temporary forfeiture on Tuesday in a ruling on an ex-parte motion filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The affected properties were listed in a schedule attached to the motion, which EFCC’s lawyer, Mohammed Abubakar argued on Tuesday.

Justice Giwa-Ogunbanjo ordered the EFCC to publish the order in The Nation newspapers to enable interested parties show cause why the properties should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

See a List of the assets below:-

The judge also set Friday for the beginning of Maina’s trial.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has confirmed the arrest of a popular Instagram celebrity, Ismaila Mustapha popularly known as ‘Mompha.’

EFCC’s spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that Mustapha was arrested by the anti-graft agency in the Federal Captial Territory (FCT), but didn’t give further details.

Uwujaren said: “Yes, he has been arrested.”

Mompho is known for advertising his expensive lifestyle on Instagram with many state of the art cars worth over $1.76 million (N634,000,000).

Mompha, who is fondly referred to as the ‘king’ of Nigerian Bureau De Change, is renowned for his luxurious lifestyle which is well portrayed in his flagrant display of expensive cars, wristwatches, and bewildering landscapes and properties on Instagram.

Although there are claims that he fled his base in Dubai to evade arrest from the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), many Nigerians are convinced that the source of the Instagram celebrity’s wealth is questionable.

According to celebrity fact zone, Mompha is the first African to buy the $450,000 Rolls Royce Wraight Eagle Viii.

“He owns a $330,000 2018 Rolls Royce Wraith, a $300,000 Ferrari 488 Spider, a $417,826 2019 Lamborghini Aventador, $265,500 Mclaren 650s and more.

The Cyber Crime Section of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Abuja Zonal office, has arrested four suspected internet fraudsters in Abuja.

The suspects are: Chijioke Okwuosah, Emeka Basil, Ayian Chimere and elochukwu Godwill Oguonu.

They were arrested during a sting operation recently at House 34 and 35, 31Road Efab Estate Lokogoma, Abuja, following intelligence reports received by the Commission about their alleged involvement in the criminal activity.

Items recovered from the suspects at the point of arrest include mobile phones, laptops and 2 cars.

The immediate past Senate President, Bukola Saraki says the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, misled Justice Mohammed Liman of the Federal High Court, Lagos into granting an order of temporary forfeiture of two of his properties in Ikoyi area to the Federal Government.

The Federal High Court in Ikoyi had on Monday ordered the temporary forfeiture of two properties located in Ikoyi area of Lagos State and belonging to Saraki, to the Federal Government.

However, Saraki, in series of tweets on Monday evening, said his attention had been drawn to an order granted by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos pursuant to an ex-parte application by the EFCC.

“It is my believe that the Judge was misled into granting this order and was not presented with the full position of the law or the facts.

“It is my believe that the Court was not informed of a pending Order of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja restraining the EFCC from taking any steps regarding the seizure of the property in question pending the determination of a suit filed before that Court,” he said.

Saraki said he also believed that the Court was not made aware that the property in question formed part of the judgment of the Court given on July 6, 2018 where the Supreme Court declared that the source of funds for the purchase of the property was not illicit as claimed by the prosecution.

According to him, “The Supreme Court specifically referred to No 17a McDonald Road, Ikoyi on pages 12, 13 and 26 of its judgment upholding the no-case submission made before the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

“I am confident that once these facts and the declaration of the Supreme Court are brought before the Court, this order will be vacated. My lawyers will be approaching the court immediately to achieve this.”

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed says he stands by what he said in 2015, that the Boko Haram terrorists have been technically defeated.

The minister stated this on Monday when he paid a working visit to the new corporate headquarters of “The Sun” Newspaper in Lagos.

Fielding questions from the editorial board of the newspaper led by the Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief, Mr Onuoha Ukeh the minister said Nigeria is currently facing global terrorism that has no boundary nor frontier.

“I stand by what I said that Boko Haram is technically defeated.

“What we are having today is global terrorism where you have the ISIS, ISWAP, Al-qaeda all working together.

“Terrorism is a global issue. Between 2009 and 2015 we were fighting Boko Haram, but today we are fighting global terrorism where the remnants of the Army in Syria are now joining hands with the ISWAP and others,” he said.

Mohammed said his position in 2015 that Boko Haram had been technically defeated was based on what he saw on ground when he led a team of local and international journalists to the epicentre of insurgency.

“I was on ground in Bama, Konduga and Maiduguri and I know what I saw before I made that claim.

“We are fighting global terrorism and that is why we are appealing to our foreign partners, especially the UN and our neighbours.

“By the time we get more platforms and the new helicopters that are being expected there will be tremendous improvement.”

The minister, who said he was at the newspaper’s headquarter as part of his continuous engagement with the media, enjoined “the Sun” to continue to support the government in fighting fake news and hate speech.

“Fake news and hate speech pose imminent threat to the survival of the nation’s existence.

“The purveyors of siamese twins of evil must be checkmated and government will continue to engage to end the menace.

”We expect you to remain in the vanguard of the efforts to tackle fake news and hate speech.

“We expect you to educate our people on the efforts being made, especially by the government, in this regard. This Administration has no intention of muzzling the media or stifling free speech.

“Our campaign is against fake news and hate speech. And we will not rest until our media space has been rid of fake news and hate speech,” he said.

The minister said that the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has delivered on the three mantra of fighting corruption, fighting insurgency and improving on the economy.

He assured Nigerians that the government would continue to work towards delivering on the mandate and lift Nigerians from poverty.

Speaking on the reform in the broadcast industry, Mohammed reiterated that no amount of attacks, would stop the implementation of approved recommendations on reform of broadcasting code.

He, however, assured that in implementing the recommendations, the government would not tamper with the freedom of the press or stifle the rights of people to air their opinions.

Traditionally conservative Northern Ireland is about to legalize both abortion and same-sex marriage, a head-snapping about-face that was imposed on the territory by the British Parliament.

The changes, bitterly resisted by anti-abortion and church groups, were mandated in an amendment to a routine bill on governance of Northern Ireland that Parliament passed in July amid a power vacuum created by the collapse of the regions governing assembly nearly three years ago.

The amendment will go into effect at midnight on Monday, weeks after the High Court in Belfast rebuffed a legal challenge, ruling that Northern Irelands 158-year-old abortion laws are incompatible with the United Kingdoms human rights commitments.

The judgment was a major victory for womens rights activists, who had felt left behind after the Republic of Ireland voted to legalize abortion last year.

Although Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom, and the majority of its people say they would like abortion to be made available, the regional power-sharing government had blocked abortion reform before collapsing in 2017 over sectarian divides.

Source: NAN

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has conceded he could be out of a job if results do not improve but said he tries not to pay too much attention to speculation over his future.

Spurs have made a poor start to the season with three wins in nine Premier League games so far and head into Tuesdays Champions League match against Red Star Belgrade at the bottom of Group B.

Tottenham began their European campaign with a draw at Olympiacos before being comprehensively beaten 7-2 in London by Bayern Munich. They were also held to a 1-1 draw by bottom-of-the-table Watford in the Premier League at the weekend.

Our performance is not as good as we can deliver, Pochettino told reporters. Of course we need to improve. On the other side there are all of the rumours that happen at any club when you dont win but it doesnt mean theyre true.

I understand this business. Im 47 why do you think I dont have grey hair? Because I dont pay attention to any of this. I only pay attention that we need to improve our performances.

If we dont improve our performance, what is going to be the result? Its always the same in football and you are thinking the same as me.

The Argentine, who is contracted to Tottenham until 2023, has transformed the club since taking over in 2014, turning them into regular Champions League contenders.

He led Spurs to the Champions League final last season, where they lost to Liverpool, but said he was not surprised by his position being called into question after a few poor games.

That is football, Im not surprised. Its normal, Pochettino said. Football is always about winning today and tomorrow. What happens yesterday is gone and we apply this philosophy here.

You need to think about winning today and tomorrow If I think too much ahead and I dont win, then these rumours dont surprise me.

Source: NAN

By Ismaila Chafe

The Presidency says about 250 Nigerian business interests will participate in the African Business Forum, which will bring together African and Russian business leaders in Sochi, Russia, between Oct. 23 and Oct. 25.

Malam Garba Shehu, the Presidents Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday.

According to the presidential aide, the forum will be held during the RussiaAfrica Summit to enhance Russian investments in Africa, and promote African business interest in the host country.

It is important that this meeting is taking place at this time. All the big economies are picking stronger interest in Africa.

We now have US-Africa Summit, India-Africa Summit, China-Africa Summit and Japan-Africa Summit, so Russia has signified its interest for political, cultural and economic partnership.

Nigeria has had an excellent relationship with Russia over the years. We will not forget how the country assisted us in keeping Nigeria as one during the civil war when some of our traditional allies deserted us, he said.

He noted that Russia had also stood behind Nigeria in the fight against terrorism, Boko Haram and ISWA, and had also demonstrated its capacity in gas production, a resource which Nigeria has a huge potential of utilising.

Shehu, who also confirmed the arrival of President Muhamamdu Buhari for the event on Monday, said the three-day inaugural Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum would focus on peace, security and development.

He said the summit would look into issues of sustainable energy, mines and steel, infrastructure development in Africa, nuclear energy and trade and investment.

On security, the Senior Special Assistant said the meeting would come up with proposals for a security architecture driven by new technology.

The Economic Forum and Summit would hold between Oct. 23and Oct. 24,, with four plenary sessions to be attended by more than 30 African Heads of State and governments.

This included the Chairman of the African Union and President of Arab Republic of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

The summit would be co-chaired by President Vladimir Putin, with a keynote address at the opening on Wednesday, and el-Sisi.

Buhari and Putin will meet at the Nigeria and Russian bilateral meeting on Oct. 23 while the Nigerian leader will make a statement at the summit on Oct. 24.

Other participants at the summit that will showcase Russian interest and investment potential in Africa include businessmen, experts, investors, leaders of major sub-regional associations and organisations. (NAN)

Source: NAN

By Jacinta Nwachukwu

Prof. Anthony Kanu of Tansian University, Umunya in Anambra State, has advised media practitioners to always apply a holistic approach that is data based and devoid of bias when reporting migration issues.

Kanu gave this advice in an interview with newsmen at a two-day capacity building workshop for media agencies on migration reportage in Abuja.

According to him, media practitioners need to report for all and not just particular persons, by so doing we will have a holistic reportage that will help national development.

Similarly, Dr Emeka Obiezu, the National Coordinator, Civil Society Network on Migration and Development, Nigeria, suggested that media orgnisations should have migration desks to handle issues related to migration.

Obiezu said that media professionals should appropriately and effectively play their role of enlightening the public on issues of migration, making good use of training and training materials made available by relevant stakeholders.

He added that the training was aimed at engaging media professionals on proper reportage, enhanced media reporting on migration, andcontributing to efficient and effective migration governance in the country.

According to him, the capacity building workshop will also assist media practitioners to cover migration with more accuracy and humanity.

It will also build the capacity of media practitioners on the provision of National Migration Policy, its coordination and implementation.

It will equally increase their knowledge in basic migration dynamics, trend and management and familiarisation with Key migration terms, Migration dynamics, trend and analysis, he added.

Obiezu noted that the media was crucial in delivering verified information, informed opinions as well as balance an inclusive narrative.

The media organisation contributes and shapes the public, political perception on all aspect of life which includes migration.

In many in stance such perception portrays migration as a problem rather than a multi-faceted global phenomenon with a variety of challenges and opportunities, he said.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the capacity building workshop for media agencies on migration was funded by the European Union (EU) within the framework of the EU-IOM Initiative on Migration Governance and Reintegration. (NAN)

Source: NAN

A 27-year-old Nigerian, Segun Prosper Otaru, who lived in St. Robert, Missouri, United States has been sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison without parole, almost a year after he was first indicted in November 2018 by by a federal grand jury.

According to US Department of Justice statement, Otaru was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips on Friday.

The court also ordered him to pay $25,056 in restitution, and to forfeit the same amount to the government.

Otaru is a legal permanent resident of the United States.

According to court documents, Otaru entered the United States in April 2013, under apparently fraudulent pretences; contrary to the requirements of his student visa, he did not even begin his studies in the United States. The year after entering the United States, Otaru obtained lawful permanent status through marriage to a citizen.

On May 2, 2019, Otaru pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of aiding and abetting the theft of public money. According to court documents, over the course of his five years in the United States, Otaru used 13 aliases and multiple bank accounts opened under false identities in order to move funds and perpetrate various frauds as a part of an organized crime network.

He admitted that, at least as early as 2016, he participated in a scheme to defraud people through various scams, such as posting internet advertisements on sites such as Craigslist.com for goods, services, and rental accommodations. Conspirators sought to induce individuals responding to the advertisements to pay for the goods and services, which they had no intention to provide.

For example, conspirators used existing pictures and descriptions of properties found from legitimate websites to create fraudulent Craigslist postings under properties for rent. When victims responded to the advertisement, conspirators instructed them to send a deposit in order to hold the property.

Conspirators also defrauded business wholesalers by tricking them into wiring funds into accounts they controlled as purported “shipping fees” for merchandise they purchased using stolen credit card numbers. After using a stolen credit card number to purchase items from the victim businesses, conspirators claimed the merchandise needed to be shipped to a foreign country. Conspirators insisted on using their own shipper and instructed victims to charge the full amounts for the merchandise plus shipping fees to the stolen credit card numbers. They instructed victims to send the shipping fees to “their shipper” at the provided bank account maintained by the conspirators, including Otaru’s accounts.

He also participated in a scheme to submit false and fraudulent federal income tax returns in order to receive refunds. Conspirators used stolen identities to file returns that listed false employers, wages, and employment taxes paid. At least 167 false and fraudulent federal income tax returns were designated for deposit to seven different bank accounts controlled by Otaru and another person. These 167 federal tax returns requested refunds totaling approximately $644,280. They actually received at least $24,356 in fraudulently-obtained tax refunds.

Otaru opened and maintained a series of bank accounts – some in his own name and in the names of various aliases. In order to open bank accounts using false names, Otaru obtained from his co-conspirators false identification documents, usually counterfeit passports and drivers’ licenses, purportedly issued by nations in Africa, such as Nigeria, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and South Africa. The false passports contained forged and counterfeit United States visas, as false evidence of the bearer’s evidence of authorized stay and employment in the United States.

Periodically, Mr. Otaru received shipments from Africa in which false identification documents were concealed.

In April 2017, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized a package sent to Otaru from Nigeria that was manifested as “local body scrub.” In addition to a container of soap, the package contained four counterfeit passports (purportedly issued by Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone) with four corresponding foreign driver’s licenses. All documents displayed Otaru’s picture but bore different names. All documents were fraudulent, and the passports further contained counterfeit United States visas.

In August 2017, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized a package sent to Otaru from Nigeria that was manifested as “native suite and sandals.” Hidden in the soles of the sandals were four counterfeit passports (purportedly issued by Nigeria, Gambia, South Africa, and Liberia) with four corresponding foreign driver’s licenses. All documents displayed Otaru’s picture, but bore different names. All documents were fraudulent, and the passports further contained counterfeit United States visas.

Otaru also possessed and used a fraudulent Kenyan passport and two fraudulent Nigerian passports.

He kept some of the funds obtained from the schemes for his own use. He transferred some of the funds to co-conspirators in the United States and in other countries. He sometime laundered proceeds of the various frauds by purchasing vehicles and shipping them overseas to co-conspirators in Africa through his business, Big-O-Motors.

Court documents note that following Otaru’s release from incarceration, it is expected that he will be removed from the United States.

Source: PM News

Why are Nigerian politicians ravished by the thought of election? They plot and machinate over it. And when they eventually get into office, they spend four years scheming for another turn instead of honouring their contract with citizens.

There is always a blue-print for the next election, but a subterfuge for governance and duty. The last general election was held in February, and just eight months after, there are already ‘’crusades and evangelism’’ ahead of the next one in 2023.

How can we make progress this way? We need to ask ourselves some uncomfortable questions? Do we keep reprocessing the same class of predators every four years? Do we consider a single term presidency? How do we reduce the cost of elections?

Our elections are about the most expensive in the world, with the cost ballooning from about N2 billion in 1999 to more than N240 billion in 2019, trumping India’s — a country much bigger in size and in population than Nigeria.

Really, the argument of former President Goodluck Jonathan on this climacteric issue reverberates with me. He foregrounded the paradox of our elections at the constitutional term limits summit in Niamey, Niger Republic.

“Four years is quite a short period for a country that is developing for a person who wants to change the country to do much. In Nigeria we just finished the election and some people are already talking about 2023 election. It is distracting,’’ he said.

“That is why some people come with the idea of a single tenure; so a president can sit down and plan all his programmes for the good of the country. We are too distracted with these elections. Why must we waste money every four years to elect a leader? Those are the things that agitate our minds.”

I think, a single term of six years may not be outrageous. Whoever is president will have to buckle-down and work, instead of thinking of the next election, which is distracting.

Also, I believe, this should apply to other elective offices. I know some lawmakers who have become fossils at the National Assembly – every four years they buy their way into the legislature but with nothing to show for their perpetuity in office. Should this continue?

Electing credible candidates is a different matter entirely. As long as ethnicity and religion are the kernel for electing persons to public office here, competence and credibility will always be extraneous.

The current administration is yet to clock a year, but some agents of ‘’the presidency cabal’’ are already crusading for a ‘’pretender to the throne’’.

Babachir Lawal, former secretary to the government of the federation, who is a consort of the rulers, principalities and powers of present-day Nigeria, has kicked off the crusade with evangelism for Bola Tinubu.

Hear him: “By 2023 when Buhari’s tenure will be over, he’ll go back to Daura to face his cows like I am doing. But you see, every leader must leave behind a legacy. I will like to see that he leaves behind a legacy of achievement.

“Bola Tinubu is my friend of many years. Buhari is my big boss. Bola Tinubu without prejudice that he’s my friend will make a good president.

‘’Other issues notwithstanding, he (Tinubu) will make a good modern president because the presidency these days is scientific. Nigerians, by convention, seem to have agreed that there should be rotation of the presidency.”

But, I would like to say, ‘’buyers beware’’. I do not intend to de-market product Tinubu, but I believe he should remain tamed as a wraith hovering over the seat of power. He could dance around the throne, but he should not sit in it. His antecedents are well established.

I do not think we need a president, who has publicly admitted arrogantly to conveying cash in bullion vans on the eve of an election, in contravention of the country’s money laundering laws.

If by 2023, the ‘’children of Eris’’ unbalance the scale and decide to skirt the south-east by tilting the office of the president to the south-west, then, I will gamble my vote on a refined, expansive and level-headed person, who does not cut the figure of a mob boss, like Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo – if he decides to run.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) Gombe Zonal office has handed over 26 suspects arrested for production and sale of adulterated palm oil in Gombe, to the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC.

The suspects Yahaya Sanusi, Mohammed Abubakar, Nasiru Bappa, Bello Ahmed, Emeka Oppah, Theophilus Samuel, Auwalu Abubakar, Monday John, Chindo Garba, Mohammed Umar, Dauda Mohammed, Anas Musa C, Umar Friday, Abbayo Musa, Hamisu Mohammed, Ali Garba, Inuwa Auwal, Tukur Adamu, Ahmad Usman, Emmanuel Etuk, Auwal Iliya, Ejike Samuel, Peter Ndubuisi, Babangida Yerima, Giginna Alphonsus and Usman Musa were picked up October 17 in Gombe market.

They allegedly adulterated palm oil with yet to be identified chemical before selling same to unsuspecting members of the public as genuine.

The head of EFCC Gombe Zonal office, DCDS Michael Wetkas, told journalists that the Commission acted on an intelligence report, adding that some of the suspects were in the process of mixing palm oil with the said substances when they were apprehended. A total of 33 shops were sealed during the operation.

He said that the Commission informed the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC about the arrest as issues of food adulteration and unwholesome products fall within the purview of the agency.

Before handing over the suspects and the keys to the sealed shops to NAFDAC officials, DCDS Wetkas called on the public to partner with the Commission to rid the market and Gombe State of unwholesome products to protect the health and wellbeing of the people.

The Gombe State Coordinator of NAFDAC, who was represented by Laras Jatau, Assistant Chief Regulatory Officer, expressed surprise at the arrest, noting that his agency, especially during World Food Day, had been educating the people on the hazards of deliberate adulteration of food products.

“It is really disturbing that after such lectures, someone will still go ahead to do a thing such as this; this is a crime against humanity”, he said.

Jatau, however, pledged that NAFDAC will not relent in its sensitisation efforts and surveillance across the markets in the state.

He assured that the suspects would be handed to the agency’s investigative arm, for further investigation

Lagos State Government on Friday alerted residents on the rise of sea water level resulting in the inability of the lagoon to discharge water into the ocean causing backflow into the drainage channels.

In a statement by the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tunji Bello, the officials of the state are also working on different measures to remove the constriction and blockades that would allow easy passage for the resultant flooding.

The state Government is also in talks with the officials of the Ogun Osun River Basin Authority which is
releasing water to do so gradually.

He explained that the rise in sea level has contributed to current flooding in many parts of Ikoyi, V.I, Dolphin and Oworoshoki because the lagoon can not discharge and is causing back flow into drainage outlets.

The commissioner said the officials of the Drainage department had expected it to go down by evening but from the look of things now may last throughout the weekend.

Similarly, the Commissioner said the Ogun-Oshun River Basin Authority could no longer hold the Oyan dam hence has been releasing its water causing rise in Ogun River and that this has affected low line areas like Isheri North and Magodo and up to Owode Onirin.

Bello said until the ocean level goes down, the lagoon cannot discharge water into the ocean and causing back flow into all the drainage outlets in the state.

No fewer than 300 shops and goods worth millions of Naira were on Saturday night destroyed by fire that engulfed at the popular Santana Market along Sapele Road by Oba Eradiawa junction Benin City, Edo State.

The residents and owners of the shops could not salvage the situation due to the intensity of the fire, according to an eyewitness.

Mr Monday Ogbeide, a resident around the market said the fire started at about 11pm on Saturday.

“We just saw the market burning and we do not know the cause of the fire. All effort to put out the fire was not successful because of the intensity of the fire.

“When we got here, we called fire service but up till now they did not respond,” he said.

Ogbeide, however, blame the fire on power surge that might have occurred in one of the shops in the market when power was restored at night.

Mrs Justina Amadasun, a shop owner whose shop was affected by the fire, wept saying that the shop was her only means of livelihood.

Mrs Blessing Ayo, another shop owner who sells bags of rice and frozen food, said “l lost everything to the fire.

“All the bags of rice, cartons of chicken and deep freezers, including money which l could not take home yesterday among others went with the fire.

“Nobody should come and tell me that it was power surge because for three days now we did not have light in the market.

“I am calling on the government to come to our aid because this market is where we get our daily bread.

“Some of us are single mothers, we take care of our children from the money we make here.

“Government should come and help us now, it is not only when it comes to elections that they remember us. We need them now,” Ayo said.

It was learnt that it took the effort of firefighters from the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), to put out the fire.

All effort to reach the state fire service to find out why they did not respond to the distress calls put across to them was not successful.

Davido welcomes baby son that he has named after himself
Nigeria’s singer Davido has tweeted the arrival of his baby son, that he has named after himself: David Adedeji Adeleke Jr.

On his Instagram page, he gave the son an additional Igbo name, Ifeanyi.

OMOBA TI DE!!! DAVID ADEDEJI ADELEKE Jr I !! D PRINCE IS HERE!!!! 20 - 10 - 2019 !!! Love you my STRONG WIFE!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!! ❤️💕 pic.twitter.com/KfWgBdlaqn

— Davido (@iam_Davido) October 20, 2019

“DAVID ADEDEJI IFEANYI ADELEKE Jr I !! D PRINCE IS HERE!!!! 20 – 10 – 2019 !!! Love you my STRONG WIFE!!! @thechefchi I LOVE YO, he said on Instagram. The post was done in London.

On Saturday, Davido hinted about the impending arrival of the baby when he told a fan asking about his new album that he was “in the delivery room”, with his wife Chioma Avril Rowland.

The announcement to his 13.3million Instagram followers drew over 160,000 likes in 30 minutes and close to 30,000 congratulatory comments.

On Twitter, the post attracted more than 13,000 likes in 30 minutes.

The lion that reportedly escaped from the Kano Zoological Garden has been found, right inside the zoo.

It was found resting inside a cage that belongs to goat. The lion had devoured all the goats.

Head of the zoological garden, Sai’du Gwarzo confirmed the finding told BBC Hausa on Sunday.

“The rangers had succeeded in locking up the cage before the lion was shot with an injection which made him less harmful before it was captured and returned to its cage,” he said.

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VIDEO of Kano lion recaptured, returned to cage emerged .. ____________________________ The Management of Kano Zoological Garden has said the escaped lion in its custody has finally been captured and returned to its cage. . The Managing Director of the Zoo, Alhaji Saidu Gwadabe, confirmed the capture of the lion in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria in Kano on Monday. . He said the animal was captured around 7:00 a.m. on Monday by the staff of the Zoo that used to feed it on a daily basis. . “The operation was to be conducted after the arrival of some experts from the National Park, Abuja but luckily around 7:00 a.m. today, our staff were able to use their expertise to put it back into its cage. . “I’m happy to tell you that the escaped lion has finally been captured and taken back to its cage this morning,” he said. . NAN reports that the reinforcement from the National Park, Abuja arrived Kano around 6:00 p.m. on Sunday for the operation. . The escaped lion was said to have killed three goats and an ostrich before moving into the bush within the premises of the zoological garden on Saturday night. . NAN recalled that the lion escaped when rangers were about to put it back into its cage after returning it from the national agricultural show in Nasarawa State. . (NAN)

A post shared by Ebals (@ebalsblog) on Oct 22, 2019 at 3:18am PDT

The escape was said to have occurred around 9 pm on Saturday when rangers were trying to put the lion back to its cage after returning from the national agricultural show which took place in Nasarawa State.

The incident caused panic among residents of Zoo Road. “My entire family members will be indoors even if it will take one month to recover the lion. I have not experienced this kind of fear since I packed into this area more than 15 years,” a resident had said.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has disclosed that the State Government is in the process of acquiring an estimated 32,000 hectares of farmland for rice cultivation in seven states.

Sanwo-Olu, who spoke in Lagos today on the occasion of this year’s Grand Finale of the World Food Day celebration in Lagos listed the states as Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo and Kebbi as well as Lagos.

He said that a key component in the food security programme of the State government was the 32 metric tons per hour capacity Integrated Rice Mill in Imota which is expected to be completed and commissioned in the next seven months.

The governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Folasade Jaji stated that when completed, the mill would ensure sustainable supply of wholesome rice at an affordable price to the populace in Lagos and help to reduce rice importation into the Nigerian economy.

He said that the theme for this year’s celebration, “Our Actions Our Future: Healthy Diets for a Zero Hunger World” spoke to the need for a collective action towards not only increasing food production but also ensuring that adequate attention was paid to the quality of food being consumed adding that the theme aptly highlights the state government’s efforts through the food security initiative and commitment to prevent the consumption of unwholesome food.

“Today, we are happy to join the rest of the World in celebrating this year’s World Food Day. This annual celebration being spearheaded by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, is about raising awareness on issues related to food such as poverty and hunger and to highlight efforts being made by Governments, Institutions, Organizations and individuals to mitigate the negative effects on people,” Sanwo-Olu averred.

The governor said that the only way to effectively fight poverty and hunger in the country was to boost agricultural production and prevent post-harvest losses and wastage which he noted constitute a major threat to the achievement of food security objectives.

While noting that the use of Reusable Plastic Creates [RPCs] as alternative to Raffia baskets for the carriage of perishable farm produce was being promoted as a strategy to minimize wastage in the State, the governor enjoined farmers and traders in the State to embrace this new initiative for improved profit.

“We have to imbibe the lessons learnt from the dwindling returns from oil to encourage family participation in farming so that most of our basic needs could be met locally and we would be independent of others to feed ourselves. We have also put this to practice in our schools where we have established different farming enterprises to train and teach the students in modern farming techniques,” Sanwo-Olu explained.

According to the governor, Lagos State was one of the participating States in the World Bank Assisted APPEALS Project which was aimed at enhancing the agricultural productivity of small and medium scale farmers and improve value addition along priority value chains, stressing that the selected value chains for the State which aligned with her comparative advantage in agriculture were poultry, rice and aquaculture.

He added that the project was also collaborating with Africa Rice for the development of Pure Ofada Rice Strain, capacity building for seed out growers and rice-based products and as such no fewer than thirty-five farmers and State Officers had been trained while the Institute is expected to supply 200kg of foundation Ofada seed by February 2020 for cultivation.

The Governor added that the State Government recognized the contributions of hard working and enterprising farmers in Lagos State and assured them of the State Government’s continued support in order to ensure greater output and bountiful reward for their efforts.

Earlier, the State Commissioner for Agriculture, Prince Gbolahan Lawal stated that the State Government had instituted and encouraged the cultivation of crops under the irrigation farming and the use of greenhouses in order to overcome the various challenges posed by the change in climatic conditions as a result of the global warming.

He said that climate change had equally greatly affected the growth and multiplication of fish in the water bodies thus in a bid to address this issue, the State Government has embarked on some innovations such as the Cage and Pen Culture where fish are cultivated in nets in the deep sea as a way of synthesizing a natural habitat for them.

“A prototype of this Cage and Pen Culture is presently being set up at Agbowa. The list of other areas where the Ministry of Agriculture has put up a revolution which advertently is combating the effect of climate change as it affects agriculture are the reforms in abattoirs across the State to provide hygienic meat for the populace and the acquisition of Agricultural land outside the state to exploit and reduce cost of production outside the State in order to stem the tide of rising prices of food in the State among others,” Lawal said.