A witness, Izuchukwu Ezeuko, on Thursday told an Igbosere High Court in Lagos how he dropped $1 million dollar ransom for the alleged kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, popularly known as Evans.

The ransom was to save Mr. James Uduji, then held hostage by Evans.

Ezeuko, a manager in Udujis firm, made the revelation while giving evidence at the ongoing trial of Evans.

The manager, who was the fifth witness in the trial, said he agreed to travel from Lagos to the South East to drop the ransom in order to save his boss life.

Evans is facing two separate charges bordering on conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping and attempted murder before Justice Adedayo Akintoye.

In the first charge, Evans is standing trial alongside Joseph Emeka, Ugochukwu Nwachukwu and Victor Aduba.

In the second charge, he is standing trial alongside Joseph Emeka, Linus Okpara and Victor Aduba.

At the resumed trial of the case on Thursday, Ezeuko narrated how he paid one million dollar ransom in two tranches of 800, 000 and 200,000 dollars to the kidnappers of his employer.

The witness said that on Sept. 7, 2015, his employer came to the factory at Agbara as usual.

According to him, at 5.00 p.m. he got a call that his employer who had left the factory for home was kidnapped.

However, after some weeks of the alleged kidnap, on Oct. 10, 2015, he got a call from a private number, who said he should speak with his boss.

My boss then spoke to me and said if I want him alive, I should go to the East to deliver money to the alleged kidnappers.

I went to Festac Town and met Mr Edwin Uduji, the victims brother, who arranged the first 800, 000 dollars for me to travel with.

On October 11, I drove to the East with the victims elder sister, and in the East, a voice gave us instructions on how to drop the money, Ezeuko said.

He said they were made to drive round Anambra from Awka to Ozubulu, also to Ekwuluobia and the environs until they were asked to stop at Oba.

It was at Oba that the voice asked the victims sister to come down from the vehicle with the money.

The voice directed her to an uncompleted building where she dropped the money. It was dark so we did not see the person who picked the money, Ezeuko told the court.

He said two weeks after the 800, 000 dollar ransom was dropped and the kidnappers released his boss.

However, towards the end of October, his boss asked him to take another 200, 000 dollars to the kidnappers because the kidnappers were still threatening his life.

Ezeuko said he took the money down to East and was asked to drop it on the Onitsha expressway by the voice that gave him instructions.

However, during cross-examination, counsel to Evans, Mr Olarewaju Ajanaku, asked Ezeuko if he informed the police that such ransom was to be paid or gave the call logs of the person he interacted with the to the police.

The witness said he did not inform the police about the ransom before paying and did not give the call logs to the police.

However, another witness, Sgt. Kingsley Harold, gave evidence concerning the first charge, in which Evans is standing trial alongside Joseph Emeka, Ugochukwu Nwachukwu and Victor Aduba, over the kidnap of Mr Donatus.

Harold said after Evans was arrested, he was asked to make a statement at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) office in Ikeja but Evans said he was not too good in writing.

He said Evans, however, asked him to write the statement for him, adding that the statement was recorded in an open office in the presence of senior police officers and other people who came to the office for other cases.

He said the statement was recorded in a conducive environment between 2.00 pm and 3.00 pm, adding that the defendant was cautioned before making the statement.

However, the defendant s counsel opposed the admissibility of such statement and a trial-within-trial was conducted to ascertain the admissibility of such evidence.

After listening to the arguments, Justice Akintoye adjourned until Oct. 8 for continuation of trial.

Source: NAN

Two years after Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in Paris, her insurance company, AIG is suing her former bodyguard and his security firm in the United States for $6.1 million.

The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday in Delaware by AIG, which accuses Pascal Duvier and the company he worked for, ProtectSecurity, of breach of contract.

Celebrity website TMZ, which first reported the suit, says Duvier left the luxury residence, where Kardashian had been staying during Paris Fashion Week in October 2016, and followed two of her sisters to a nearby club.

As a result, Kardashian was left without security. The lawsuit also accuses Duvier of failing to plug a number of breaches at the property that allowed the masked gunmen to enter, TMZ reported.

Five men tied her up, gagged her and locked her in a bathroom, before making off with jewels worth $10.6 million, including a diamond ring gifted by rapper husband Kanye West, which she had flaunted on Instagram.

AIG is seeking the $6.1 million that it paid Kardashian after the robbery, holding the bodyguard and firm negligent, TMZ said.

Duvier no longer works for the mother of three.

French justice charged 11 suspects in connection with what was the largest robbery of an individual in France for 20 years. Only one piece, a diamond-encrusted cross, has been recovered.

The suspected ringleader, Aomar Ait Khedache, told investigators he had struggled to find a buyer for Kardashians 18.88-carat ring, complaining it was too recognizable and that he had given it to an unidentified third party.

Source: NAN

German second seed Alexander Zverev suffered an early exit at the China Open as he went down 7-6(4) 2-6 6-4 to Tunisias Malek Jaziri on Thursday.

The world number five appeared to have righted the ship after losing the opener in a tiebreak but paid the price for failing to convert his opportunities.

Jaziri, 34, executed an audacious tweener to win a point at 2-5 down in the second set and although Zverev still levelled he went onto claim his third victory over a top five opponent this season.

Up next for the world number 61 is a first Tour meeting with Nikoloz Basilashvili. The Georgian, ranked 34 in the world, overcame Spains Fernando Verdasco 7-6(3) 6-4.

Italys Fabio Fognini thumped Andrey Rublev 6-4 6-3 and will take on world number 45 Marton Fucsovics for the first time.

Hungarian Fucsovics beat surprise French Open semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato of Italy 6-4 6-2.

Its going to be a tough match because he (Fucsovics) is great, he played really well today, Fognini, currently ranked 11th in the race for the ATP World Tour Finals, said.

Top seed Juan Martin del Potro, who has already clinched his place in next months season-ending tournament in London, will meet Serbias Filip Krajinovic on Friday.

Briton Kyle Edmund takes on Dusan Lajovic in another last-eight clash.

Source: NAN

Former rap mogul Marion Suge Knight was sentenced in a Los Angeles courtroom on Thursday to 28 years in prison for manslaughter in the death of a man he ran over with his pickup truck outside a hamburger stand in 2015.

The sentence appeared to forestall any chance of a future recording business comeback for Knight, 53, known as much for repeated run-ins with the law as for his career as a hip-hop executive promoting the likes of Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Tupac Shakur during the 1990s.

He admitted then to using a deadly and dangerous weapon on Jan. 29, 2015, when he ran down two men with his pickup truck in an altercation outside Tams Burgers that spilled over from a quarrel on the nearby set of a TV commercial for the film Straight Outta Compton.

Carter later died of his injuries. The second man, Cle Bone Sloan, was left with a badly mangled left foot and head injuries. Knight, who was out on bail in a robbery case at the time, fled the scene but was later arrested.

Knight had previously contended that he accidentally struck the two men with his vehicle while trying to flee what he thought was an ambush attempt.

Had Knight been convicted of murder and attempted murder as originally charged, he faced a life sentence with no eligibility for parole for 25 years.

As part of his agreement with prosecutors to plead no contest the legal equivalent of guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter, all other charges in the case were dropped. Two separate criminal cases in which he was charged with robbery and making criminal threats were also dismissed.

Judge Ronald Coen said Knight had earned the equivalent of 4.2 years credit for time served in pretrial detention. He also is eligible to shave another 15 percent, or 4.2 years, off his term for good behaviour while in prison, meaning he could end up serving nearly 20 years before release.

Seated beside his lawyer and wearing an orange jail uniform and horned-rimmed glasses, the burly, bald ex-college football player showed no visible emotion as sentence was pronounced. He did not address the court.

Knight previously served more than half of a nine-year term for violating the probation he received in 1995 for an assault on two aspiring rappers at a Hollywood recording studio.

The probation violation stemmed from a scuffle involving Knight at a Las Vegas hotel in September 1996, hours before Shakur was shot to death while riding in a car with Knight on the Las Vegas Strip. Knight was slightly wounded in the attack.

Knight was later named by police as a suspect in the shooting death of rival rap artist Christopher Wallace, known as Notorious B.I.G., but was never charged. Both rap murders remain unsolved.

In 2002, the year after his release from prison, a federal racketeering probe of Knight and his record label was closed with the company pleading guilty to misdemeanour tax charges. The onetime college football star and gangsta rap pioneer eventually lost control of his label in bankruptcy proceedings.

Source: NAN

By Mohammed Ahmed Kaigama

Senators Suleiman Gamawa and Isa Misau who defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) recently, have picked the partys senatorial tickets unopposed, Mr Wilson Iorshe, the Chairman of the election panel, has said.

Iorshe announced this in Bauchion Wednesday, saying Malam Garba Dahiru also scored 382 votes to fly the partys flag in Bauchi South Senatorial District, defeating former Director-General of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria(FRCN), Malam Ladan Salihu, who got 372 votes.

He also said Senators Gamawa and Misau would represent Bauchi North and Bauchi Central Senatorial Districts, respectively.

The panel, therefore, affirmed their nominations as the senatorial candidates of PDP in the next general election, he said

The chairmansaid the election was conducted in the three senatorial districts peacefully and that only 20 invalid votes were recorded during the exercise.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the two serving senators Suleiman Gamawa and Isa Misau, defected from the APC to the PDP, recently.

Source: NAN

Two governorship candidates have emerged in the Ogun state chapter of the All Progressives Congress ( APC) following two parallel primaries held on Wednesday.

While the state chairman of the party, Chief Derin Adebiyi declared the House of Representatives member Adekunle Akinlade as the winner, the electoral panel sent by the National Working Committee declared oil mogul, Prince Dapo Abiodun the winner.

The two groups claimed they held the authentic primary as ordered by the NWC.

Muhammad Ndabawa, who led the NWC Electoral Committee members declared that Abiodun, who hails from Ogun East Senatorial District, scored 102,305 votes from the 236 wards across the 20 Local Governments to emerge the candidate.

According to Ndabawa, Jimi Lawal scored 51,153 votes, Abimbola Ashiru 29,764, Senator Gbenga Kaka 17,771, Abayomi Hunye 9,110 votes and Adekunle Akinlade 23, 443 votes.

Ndabawa said that the declaration of Abiodun as winner is subject to ratification by the National Working Committee of the party.

He also said he was not aware of the exercise that produced Akinlade.

Our Committee is the authentic body constituted by the NWC to conduct and supervise governorship primary in the state in line with the party guidelines and constitution, Ndabawa said.

The Chairman of the party in the state, Chief Derin Adebiyi who announced the alternative results at the party secretariat in Abeokuta also claimed that the direct primaries were conducted across the 236 wards of the state.

He added that the exercise was conducted through the open secret ballot system in accordance with the party guidelines on direct primaries.

According to him six aspirants contested for the governorship position including Mr Jimi Lawal, Mr Abayomi Hounye and the former state commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mr Bimbo Ashiru.

Others are a former Deputy Governor of the state, Sen. Adegbenga Kaka, the Chairman of the Corporate Affairs Commission, Chief Dapo Abiodun and Akinlade who is representing Ipokia/Egbado-South Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives.

A breakdown of the result announced by Adebiyi on local government basis shows that Akinlade won in all the 20 council areas of the state. scoring a total of 190,987 votes.

Mr. Jimi Lawal came second with a total of 5, 046 votes while Abiodun came third with 3, 648 votes.

Ashiru scored 898, Kaka 833 and and Hounye 208 votes to emerge fourth, fifth and sixth.

Adebiyi said that the primaries were supervised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies.

The Chairman who described the national electoral committee of the party as being compromised said the committee was not in town to conduct the primaries.

He explained that the committee had continued to postpone the exercise which was originally scheduled to hold on Saturday.

Adebiyi said the party leadership is vested with the responsibility of overseeing the affairs of the party in the state

Source: NAN

By Douglas Okoro

Protest erupted in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital on Wednesday following the outcome of All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary held on Sunday.

Members of the APC in Ebonyi, numbering about 500 besieged the states party secretariat in Abakaliki, chanting various songs in condemnation of the primary election.

The protesters carried placards with various inscriptions such as: Say no to fake lists, Prof. Odoh is our choice in Ebonyi, We dont want fake delegates from Ikwo and Ezza South, On prof. we stand, among others.

The protesters alleged that the delegate lists from Ikwo and Ezza council areas were doctored.

The protesters were supporters of Prof. Bernard Odoh, who came second in the contest with a total of 519 votes, as against 785 votes garnered by Sen. Sonni Ogbuoji, who was elected the flag-bearer.

The aggrieved APC members led by Mr Samchi Mgbada, alleged that the delegates list from the aforesaid council areas were manipulated to favour a particular candidate.

Prof. Odoh had earlier at a press conference rejected the outcome of the primary election, alleging fowl play in the entire process.

He alleged that the delegate lists used by the electoral committee did not emanate from the congresses of May this year.

Meanwhile, Ogbuoji at a press briefing at his campaign office in Abakaliki, dismissed Odohs position on the outcome of the poll, alleging that he endorsed the delegates list which emanated from the national secretariat of the party.

At that point we had a challenge before us. We now asked that the National Legal Adviser of the party be reached for him to explain to us why we have Certified True Copies that were not the same.

But he insisted that the list from Abuja was the valid copy as far as they were concerned. At that point it would be openly said that they denied knowledge of the one in the state isnt it?

At that point, Odoh who was seated at the front row raised his hand and said that this exercise cannot afford to be in futility.

And so, the national body that has come must be allowed to do their job; that we are wasting our time here; that we should allow them to do their job, Ogbuoji said.

Meanwhile, a senatorial aspirant for Ebonyi Central zone, Chief Enyi Enyi, has threatened to resist the contentious delegates list should the electoral committee attempt to use it for senatorial primary election.

Addressing the protesters, the State APC Chairman, Pastor Eze Nwachukwu, appealed to the aggrieved party faithful to remain calm as their matter would be looked into.

Source: NAN

Police in Germany say a couple left their five-year-old daughter behind at the airport after returning from a holiday.

Reutlingen police said that officers spotted the child wandering aimlessly and alone around the terminal at nearby Stuttgart Airport late Monday.

Fox News reports that the girl was taken to the airport police station but her mother called shortly afterward, to ask whether her daughter had been found.

Police said the mother explained to officers that the family had driven home in separate cars and each believed the girl to be with the other parent.

The child was eventually handed over to her father, who had returned to pick her up.

It wasnt clear how long the child had been abandoned at the airport by her parents.

Source: NAN

The Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr Idiat Oluranti Adebule on Tuesday abandoned Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to support Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu in the two-horse race to pick the ticket to represent the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 governorship election.

Adebule told newsmen at Ward A and D, in Iba Local Council Development Area of Lagos where she participated in the governorship primary of the APC, that she would endorse the candidate chosen by the party.

The party has chosen a man and it is that man that I will support and follow,she said.

The News agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that when the deputy governor arrived at the ward, some of her aides came with Sanwo-Olus posters and banners.

At the ward, accreditation started at about 10.36 a. m.as party electoral officials arrived.

There was no formal announcement of the results as the accreditation was brief.

Many party members at the venue started singing the praises of Sanwo-Olu

Source: NAN

The APC National Working Committee (NWC) panel on Tuesday cancelled the exercise that took place earlier in the day in the Lagos governorship primary election, saying the preparatory process for the election had just been concluded.

The Chairman of the panel, Chief Clement Ebri, spoke at a news conference in Alausa, Ikeja.

The preparatory process had just been concluded for the primaries. The primary is to begin anytime soon.

There was no election. Election materials are being sorted. The stage is set and election begins anytime from now. We have guidelines and we will stick to the guidelines.

Because of the political tension in the state, we decided to be very careful, very methodical. As party men, peace is more important to us than victory.

We want a kind of victory that will be celebrated by both parties.

We want an election that will be credible and in line with the guidelines, the extant rules and the laws of the country.

And that is what we have done. We are ready to go to the field and execute this. So that at the end of the day, we will not be accused of partisanship. Lagos is very important to us and it is a flagship of the APC, Ebri said.

He said that the panel was ready to give the most credible primary to the state and would contact the national headquarters for information on the preparatory process.

It takes a lot of work for the main show to take place.

We are ready to give the state the most credible election.

We will contact the national headquarters on the timing for the release of materials. It is not our fault that this exercise took this long.

Ebri said the panel was waiting for the party chairman, Alhaji Tunde Balogun, to provide certain information that would enable them post people to the wards.

We have two aspirants and we need to be fair to both parties. The information we demanded for came in about an hour ago. And we had to struggle this period to balance the equation.

Now that we are ready, we will contact the national headquarters on the situation and the right time will be announced, Ebri said.

He said that five persons from the local organising committee and four for each ward would be posted .

They will all go out to ensure the primary is conducted. We all understand the terrain in the state especially as it concerns the traffic situation. So, the materials are available now and ready for deployment.

The national secretariat advised us to use ballot papers and we came into Lagos with thousands of them. But during the stakeholders meeting, it became obvious that the state chapter of the party was not ready for such primary.

They claimed that there was time to educate the members and others. And based on the submission made at the stakeholders meeting on Monday, some changes were made, he said.

Ebri said the panel was advised to conduct the open ballot in a manner that would be objective to all parties.

And that is one of the adjustment we made to accommodate views of the stakeholders. For us, the stage is set and the primary should commence any moment from now, he said.

Earlier,the chairman Lagos APC, Balogun said the election held and it was free fair and credible.

When asked if the panel supervised the election, he said he would not be able to answer that.

According to Balogun, he only saw observers and could not tell.

We are awaiting the panel to declare the result, he said.

Source: NAN