The Federal Government has asked Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) to send the full list of former governors and ministers that have received and/or receiving double pay and life pensions in order to enhance and ensure compliance with the judgment of the court.

The letter followed the judgment which ordered the government to challenge the legality of states’ pension laws and recover public funds collected by former governors and ministers.

SERAP had earlier sent a letter to Abukabar Malami, SAN, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, asking him to advise and persuade President Muhammadu Buhari to fully enforce the judgment.

In his reply to SERAP, Malami said: “Kindly refer to your letter dated 6th December, 2019. I am writing to inform your esteemed organization to furnish me with the full list of the former governors and ministers which are affected by the judgment by Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo, in order to enhance and ensure compliance with the ruling of the Honourable Court. Please, treat with utmost urgency.”

Malami’s letter with reference number MJ/LIT/ABJ/CMC/661/793, was signed on his behalf by Anne C. Akwiwu (Mrs), Director Civil Litigation and Public Law Department.

Responding, SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare said: “We welcome your request for the full list of former governors and ministers. Any further delay in the enforcement of the judgment will continue to undermine the authority and integrity of the Nigerian judiciary. Nigerians cannot wait for you to take legal action to scrap states’ pension laws and fully recover the public funds collected.”

SERAP said immediate obedience to the judgment will be a victory for the rule, and provide an impetus for the government’s anti-corruption fight.

The group added that it will also be a rare piece of good news for the people of Nigeria, as it will send a powerful message to former governors and ministers that have collected and/or collecting double pay that they will be held to account for their actions, and mark the end of this state-level impunity.

SERAP noted that by implementing the judgment, the Buhari government will be demonstrating the important role that our judiciary can play in the fight against corruption in the country.

It recalled that former Senate President Dr Bukola Saraki stated that he stopped collecting pensions while in the Senate the moment he saw the allegation by SERAP.

“However, it is unclear if he has returned all the public funds collected as pension from Kwara State.

“According to public records, the following are reportedly collecting and/or have collected double emoluments and large severance benefits from their states: Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (Kano); Kabiru Gaya (Kano); Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom); Theodore Orji (Abia); Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa); Sam Egwu (Ebonyi); Shaaba Lafiagi (Kwara); Joshua Dariye (Plateau), and Jonah Jang (Plateau). Others include: Ahmed Sani Yarima (Zamfara); Danjuma Goje (Gombe); Bukar Abba Ibrahim (Yobe); Adamu Aliero (Kebbi); and George Akume (Benue).

“So far, Senator Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Works and Housing, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, former Minister of Mines and Steel Development, and Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Transportation have denied ever receiving double payments and retirement benefits as former governors.

“Similarly, public records also show that at least 22 states have passed life pensions laws allowing payment of life pensions to former governors and other ex-public officials. These states include: Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Edo, Delta, Kano, Gombe, Yobe, Borno, Bauchi, Abia, Imo, Bayelsa, Oyo, Osun, Kwara, Ondo, Ebonyi, Rivers, Niger, Kogi and Katsina.

“In your legal action, we urge you to focus on challenging the pension laws in these states while taking steps to verify the number of former governors and ministers that have collected and/or still collecting double payments and retirement benefits, the amount collected with a view to ensuring the full recovery of the public funds collected,” the group said.

Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo in suit number FHC/L/CS/1497/2017 delivered a landmark judgment in December 2019, ordered the Federal Government to recover pensions collected by former governors now serving as ministers and members of the National Assembly.

A 23-year old man, Olamilekan Folaweowo, has been arrested and charged to Court for stealing fried meat in a popular hotel, Aso Rock Hotel, Ikotun area of Lagos.

According to P.M.EXPRESS, it was gathered that the suspect, Folaweowo, was employed as the staff of the hotel located at Abaranje Road, Ikotun area of Lagos.

He was alleged to have gone to a deep freezer in the hotel’s kitchen area, picked some pieces of already fried and ate saying he wanted to taste if they were fried properly or not.
While doing so, the owner of the hotel saw him and asked why he was eating the meat meant for customers. He replied that he only tasted to ascertain if they were fried properly.
He was apprehended and immediately handed over to the Police at Ikotun Division for stealing the meat meant for the hotel customers.
It was gathered that the management gave the estimate of the meat that got missing in the hotel since it was opened several years ago and told the Police that he ate fried meat worth N5,000 belonging to the hotel.

It was gathered that both the Police and the family of the suspect pleaded with the owner of the hotel for forgiveness but he refused insisting that the law must take its course to serve as deterrent to other workers in the hotel.
Thereafter, he was charged before the Ejigbo Magistrates Court for stealing and he pleaded guilty while explaining what happened to the Court.
The prosecutor, Supol Kenneth Asibor, then asked the Court to sentence accordingly since he did not waste the time of the Court by pleading guilty to the charge.
Consequently, the Presiding Magistrate, Mr. T.O. Shomade, found him guilty as charged and sentenced him to community service by sweeping the Court premises.
P.M.EXPRESS gathered that the decision to arrest and jail Folaweowo has put fear in the other workers, who believe similar fate awaits them any time they indulge in such.

What was meant to be a minor job at a hotel on Ashanti Close, Apapa area of Lagos State, went awry as two labourers drowned in the facility’s well.

The victims, Yau Umaru and Ismaila Salisu, went to the hotel on February 13, 2020 to put finishing touches to the well which they started digging some days earlier.

City Round learnt that while Salisu was working on the well, his legs slipped and he fell into the pool of water. Umaru was said to have gone inside the well to rescue him only to be drowned too.

A resident of the area, John Chukwudi, told our correspondent that policemen from the Apapa division, who responded to a distress call, joined the hotel workers to bring out the victims.

“Unfortunately, they were brought out dead. It was painful. It took over 30 minutes after they got drowned before the policemen and hotel workers were able to bring them out. They could have been rescued alive if help came their way on time,” Chukwudi stated.

He added, “I learnt they started digging the well about a week before the incident happened. They were supposed to round off work on it the day the tragedy struck. One of them slipped into the well and drowned. His partner, while trying to help, also drowned.”

A reliable source told our correspondent that several calls were put across to the 767 but were not picked up.

He said the hotel workers had to devise means to bring out the men when help did not come from emergency workers.

The source stated, “Maybe this tragedy could have been avoided if the emergency line was picked. Officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency or the state Fire Service might have helped in rescuing the men alive since they are trained. Everyone was afraid to go inside the well after the second labourer drowned.

“After waiting for a long time without getting response from the emergency unit they called, some workers volunteered to go inside the well using ladders. With the support of policemen, they brought out the two bodies.”

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Bala Elkana, who confirmed the incident, stated that the corpses had been released to the families and buried according to Islamic rite.

He said, “The police received information that the labourers went to the hotel to complete work on a well they dug. In the process, both of them drowned in the well. Detectives from the Apapa Police Division visited the scene and the two corpses were seen inside the well.

“The emergency phone number 767 was said to have been contacted to no avail. It took the combined effort of the police and some staff members of the hotel to remove the victims. They were taken to the General Hospital, Apapa, where they were confirmed dead. It is a case of sudden and unnatural death and they have been buried by their families.”

In a move that shows the deepening discord in the ruling All Progressives Congress, an emergency National Executive Council meeting of the party called for 17 March, has been cancelled.

The meeting was called by Victor Giadom, deputy national secretary, who signed as acting national secretary, after the party announced Architect Waziri Bulama as the substantive secretary on Wednesday.

He has now been countermanded by three APC chieftains Babatunde Ogala (National Legal Adviser), Lanre Issa-Onilu (National Publicity Secretary), and Waziri Bulama (National Secretary).

The three officers in a joint statement said the meeting breached the articles of the party and that Giadom has no power to call the meeting.

According to them, only the national chairman of the party or the resolution of two-thirds of members of the National Executive Committee can call such a meeting.

“The National Executive Committee shall meet every quarter and or at any time decided by the National Chairman or at the request made in writing by at least two-thirds of the members of the National Executive Committee provided that not less than fourteen days’ notice is given for the meeting to be summoned.

“Without prejudice to Article 25(B)(i) of this Constitution, the National Working Committee may summon an emergency National Executive Committee meeting at any time, provided that at least seven days’ notice of the meeting shall be given to all those entitled to attend,” the statement said.

“The National Working Committee, therefore, disassociates itself from the said illegal and unauthorised notice of meeting of the National Executive Committee.

“Members of the National Executive Committee and the totality of the members of our great party are, therefore, requested to ignore the said notice and/or invitation as a product of mischief that should not be given any probative value.

“The National Working Committee (NWC) shall continue to protect our Constitution and convene its meetings and the National Executive Committee meetings, in accordance with the provisions of the Party Constitution,” the statement added.

The party last held a NEC meeting in November 2019.

Party chairman, Adams Oshiomhole is facing a rebellion by a group within the party, which has sought the help of the court to remove him from office.

Last week Wednesday, an Abuja High Court issued an interlocutory injunction that asked him to vacate his office, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

But a day after, Oshiomhole got another high court judge in Kano to issue a conflicting order that restored him to office. He then went further to appeal the Abuja court ruling.

The Assemblies of God Church Nigeria has announced the dismissal of its General Superintendent, Rev. Dr. Chidi Okoroafor.

Okoroafor’s dismissal was announced during the church’s General Committee emergency sitting on Friday after the leadership of the church considered a report of his alleged immoral relationship with a United States-based woman, Mrs. Maurrissal Nwosu.

The Panel which was headed by a former Lagos District Superintendent, Rev Isaac Mpamugo, was said to have established an immoral relationship between Okoroafor and Nwosu which it said was contrary to Biblical principles and the Constitution and Bye-Laws of Assemblies of God Nigeria.

The Executive Committee of the church has now ordered Okoroafor to hand over all Assemblies of God properties in his possession.

Rev Ejikeme EJim has now been appointed to take over as Acting General Superintendent.

However, a top member of the church who confirmed the development claimed that Okoroafor was not given a fair hearing, Daily Post reported.

“Yes, our boss, the GS has been suspended, though he was not given a fair hearing, even the woman at the centre of it all was not invited. But he has accepted it, he has handed everything to God,” Daily Post quoted the source.

President Buhari’s Personal Assistant on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie, has blasted Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, for demanding the identity of the Italian who brought coronavirus to Nigeria.

Fani-Kayode who is a staunch critic of President Buhari’s administration had on Wednesday accused the authorities of hiding the truth about the coronavirus patient who tested positive in Lagos on the 27th of February 2020.

Fani Kayode had said: “The Italian that brought coronavirus into Nigeria has not been named & his picture has not been released to the public.

“The driver that was alleged to have driven him to Abeokuta said he did not do so. The passengers on the plane in which he flew into Nigeria cannot be traced.

“The claim that he was an employee of a company & that he went to their office in Lagos after leaving the airport has proved to be false. Finally, the Lagos state Comm. of Health went to see the Italian without wearing any protective gear.

“Something doesn’t add up in this saga.”

Privacy is the right of every human. Well or unwell

Here are respectful people shielding the identity of a patient

Nigeria is keeping the identity of the Italian receiving treatment for COVID-19 infection. But Femi Fani Kayode, Nigeria's foremost drug addict, wants his identity pic.twitter.com/G7SxvPaI4y

— Lauretta Onochie (@Laurestar) March 7, 2020

Reacting to the statement made by Fani-Kayode, Lauretta Onochie, who shared a video of a US hospital protecting the identity of a coronavirus patient, described the former minister as Nigeria’s foremost drug addict.

She said: “Privacy is the right of every human. Well or unwell.

“Here are respectful people shielding the identity of a patient.

“Nigeria is keeping the identity of the Italian receiving treatment for COVID-19 infection. But Femi Fani Kayode, Nigeria’s foremost drug addict, wants his identity.”

A Ghanaian actress, Fella Makafui has collapsed during her traditional marriage and was rushed to the hospital.

She collapsed during her traditional marriage ceremony to Medikal.

Makafui was said to have collapsed while she was on the dance floor with her husband, Medikal.

The bride has been rushed to the hospital to seek medical attention, GHPAGE reports.

It was later learnt that she came back to complete the engagement ceremony after she recuperated.

“Fella Makafui has regained consciousness and back to her engagement party!”, wrote Jackie Black, an entertainment journalist.

Makafui, born 19 August, 1995 in Volta Region, Ghana, is a Ghanaian actress and a philanthropist. She is known mostly for her role in ‘Yolo,’ Ghanaian TV series.

Makafui started her career as a model, she later went into acting which brought her to limelight when she starred in the popular Yolo (You Only Live Once) television series.

Fella was featured in a couple movies like Swings, Once upon a family, Kanda River and Chaskele. In once upon a family, Fella got to work alongside Nigerian actress Mercy Johnson who played the lead role. She is currently the new ambassador of Castle gate Estate.

1 Kings 3 v 3 - 14

If you are brought before the Righteous Judge of the Earth, The Lord of Host, to ask of anything, what will you ask?

In the Bible passage above, 1 Kings 3 v 11; the Lord gave a typical example of the prayer patterns of the sons of men:-

• Long Life

• Riches

• Life of your enemies

If he gives you long life, your heart will start asking for Riches. If he grants you riches, you'll be asking for long life to enjoy those riches. If you perceive that some set of people dislike you for no reason or even for valid reason, you'll go to him and ask for the life of your enemies. But remember God created those people too.

So am asking, what will you ask God if presented a blank cheque like he did to Solomon in Gibeon? Remember Man's wants are insatiable.

Thanksgiving as a Prayer Request

Psalm 50 v 14a "Offer unto God Thanksgiving"

In John 11 v 41 at the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus Christ gave thanks.

In Mark 8 v 6 - 10, Jesus Christ gave thanks.

In Matthew 15 v 35 - 37, Jesus Christ gave thanks and they were filled.

In John 17 v 12 - 19, A cleansed leper gave thanks and he was made whole.

In 1 Thessalonians 5 v 18, In every thing give thanks; for this is the Will of God in Christ Jesus Concerning You.

And there we have it; "The Will of God in Christ Jesus Concerning me is Thanks Giving"

Why thanks giving in Christ Jesus? Because Jesus Christ said it is finished. John 19 v 30.

Were not meant to burden our heart with anything, for Jesus has finished everything on the Cross. Therefore the will of God in Christ Jesus for you and me is Thanksgiving. Beloved, with Thanksgiving, your all round breakthroughs is a surety. God xrays our lives anytime we filled with gratitude, and since he knows what's best for us, he handles everything.

Sometimes, our prayers are self centered, and when they go unanswered, we begin to question God's existence and ability. We become sore Christians and bitter. We become ungrateful and dwell in sorrow. We become unmotivated Christians and the love of Christ in us will wax cold.

Some people say they've been asking for something for 10 years or above, dearest beloved, turn that request to thanksgiving. Thank God for all he has done, for what he's currently doing and for those he'll still do, and i bet you, you'll start becoming the best Christian out of heaven. Your heart becomes lighter and The Holy Ghost will fill your hearts with the Love of God shed abroad. Romans 5 v 5.

Let your prayer requests become Thanksgivings and you'll see the wonder working God in action.

Prayer

• Father Lord, please grant me an Heart of Gratitude and Thanksgiving, Amen.

Bible Passage

• Psalm 73

A ‘feared’ evangelical pastor, Michael Oluronbi, who used his trusted position to abuse children and adults over 20 years has been jailed for 34 years after his conviction for multiple rapes of members of his congregation.

Self-styled prophet Michael Oluronbi, originally from Nigeria and living in Birmingham, was found guilty of the offences against six women and a man in January, actions described by a judge as ‘one of the worst cases of sexual abuse of multiple children to come before the courts’.

Some of his offences were carried out after he convinced victims, five of whom attended his church, to take part in ‘spiritual bathing’, which he claimed would ‘cleanse’ them of evil spirits.

During the trial at Birmingham Crown Court, a jury heard that some of his young female victims became pregnant multiple times but were taken to abortion clinics by qualified pharmacist Oluronbi, to cover up what was happening.

He was convicted of 15 counts of rape, seven counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual assault – as his sentencing hearing heard there were at least 88 separate occasions on which he raped his victims. Judge Sarah Buckingham said the real purpose of the ‘spiritual baths’ was to ‘fulfil your insatiable sexual appetite’.

Wife involved

The 60-year-old’s wife Juliana was jailed for 11 years after being found guilty of three counts of aiding and abetting rape after helping arrange some of the terminations. Both defendants will be required to sign the sex offenders’ register for life.

Sentencing ‘arrogant’ Oluronbi on Friday, Judge Buckingham said: ‘You claimed that God was instructing you to conduct holy baths. ‘Its real purpose was to fulfil your insatiable sexual appetite.

The children feared you and this enable you to continue your grip. ‘Your offending has had an extreme and severe impact on all of your complainants. Any attempt to suggest otherwise would be without foundation.

‘You abused your position of trust – they trusted you like God.’

The judge continued: ‘You did this because you are an arrogant, selfish and vain man. ‘In my judgment, your offending must be one of the worst cases of sexual abuse of multiple children to come before the courts.’

The religious leader was brought to justice after one of his victims, now an adult, came forward. When eventually confronted about his offences, Oluronbi said ‘the devil made me do it’. In statements read to the court by the prosecution, one of the victims said the defendant’s actions made her ‘question if my life was worth living’.

During the trial, jurors heard Oluronbi was linked to a Christian church in Edgbaston, Birmingham, the Cherubim and Seraphim Church, whose roots were in Nigeria. He set up on his own splinter group for about 40 adults and children, separate to the church and located at another address, where he began a practice of ‘spiritual bathing’.

The offences took place in Birmingham and London. Phil Bradley QC, prosecuting, told the jury: ‘The Crown’s case is that Mr Oluronbi used what he called ‘spiritual work’ as a subterfuge for that sexual abuse. ‘The main tactic he employed was to claim that God had instructed him to administer ‘holy baths’ to some of his congregation in order to ‘cleanse’ them and protect them from evil influences.

‘That activity began when his victims were children. There can be no doubt that its real purpose was to serve his sexual gratification.’ He added that for some of the female victims the offending ‘progressed to repeated rapes, on many occasions leading to unwanted pregnancies and terminations’.

‘You will learn that this man, who was revered and feared by his victims, kept a vice-like grip on many of them and continued to abuse them well into adulthood,’ Mr Bradley said. Oluronbi’s victims described him as ‘controlling’ and ‘almost like a king’.

The offending happened over a period of 20 years, at various locations, going back to the 1980s.

In a confession videoed last year by a victim’s family member who had confronted him, the ‘feared’ pastor is heard saying: ‘Everything was just my fault, and as I said before, I wasn’t meant to be human. ‘I wasn’t meant to live under the roof of any human being and I said that I was an animal.’

The footage was released by West Midlands Police after the trial. The victim’s relative is then heard, off-camera, asking the pastor: ‘You know I said that you are a paedophile? Everyone knows that you’re a paedophile. You know that that’s the name they give to your type?’

Oluronbi, who appears on camera in a formal shirt and tie speaking animatedly, raising his hands but with his eyes shut, then replies: ‘Fine.’

He also claims the devil made him carry out the abuse.

Source: Vanguard

Deputy National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress APC, Chief Victor Giadom has announced the convocation of an emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee NEC slated for Tuesday, March 17, 2020.

“In line with Article 25 (B) (II) of the Constitution of our great Party, members of the APC National Executive Committee are invited to attend an emergency meeting which is scheduled to hold on Tuesday March 17, 2020 at 3:00 pm Prompt”, Giadom said in the statement which he signed as “Acting National Secretary”.

National Publicity Secretary of the party had on Wednesday announced the approval of the nomination of Arch. Waziri Bulama as acting National Secretary.

Culled from: Vanguard

A man in Texas who filmed himself licking ice cream and putting the carton back into a supermarket freezer has been sentenced to 30 days in prison.

D'Adrien Anderson, 24, was also sentenced to two years' probation for the stunt, which occurred amid a viral trend of ice cream-licking at shops, NBC News reported.

The video of him was shared on social media last August.

Surveillance cameras at the Walmart supermarket revealed he returned to take the ice cream back out of the freezer and bought it.

Anderson has been fined $1,000 (£770) and ordered to pay $1,565 (£1,208) to the ice cream company, Blue Bell Creameries.

He was also ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.

He pleaded guilty to misdemeanour criminal mischief and told police he licked the ice cream as a prank before going back to buy it.

However Blue Bell Creameries, a beloved Texas ice cream company, replaced all of the ice cream in the Walmart freezer as a precaution at a cost of $1,565.

"Anderson's actions caused public concerns about the safety and quality of consumer products offered for public consumption, impacted Blue Bell consumer confidence and caused the company financial loss. This type of activity will not be tolerated," the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office said.

The office said any similar case will be taken seriously.

Walmart said in a statement: "If food is tampered with, or a customer wants to leave the impression that they left behind adulterated product, we will move quickly with law enforcement to identify, apprehend and prosecute those who think this is a joke - it is not."

Texas Governor Greg Abbott previously hailed police for tracking down another teenager who took part in the viral Blue Bell-licking trend, and warned in a tweet: "Don't Mess With Texas... or with Blue Bell".

The federal government is to reunite another batch of 606 former repented Boko Haram fighters with their families after undergoing rehabilitation.

The former terrorists are to be rehabilitated under the federal government’s operation safe corridor, The Nation reports.

Maj.-Gen. Bamidele Shafa, who is tasked with coordinating the programme made the disclosure at the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) in Abuja at a stakeholders’ meeting.

Shafa said some Nigerians who voluntarily laid down their arms in Niger Republic had been repatriated in February and were awaiting reintegration.

He said the Nigerians included 14 male adults, three female adults and eight children.

Shafa noted that the government established Operation Safe Corridor in 2015 to enable repentant Boko Haram fighters surrender and go through well-structured de-radicalisation and rehabilitation programme.

The senior army officer said that the programme upheld high standards as candidates who are believed not to have been sufficiently de-radicalised would be made to repeat the programme.

The chief of defence staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin, who chairs Operation Safe Corridor 2,000 low-profile Boko Haram terrorists/ISWAP members have laid down their arms since the establishment of Operation Safe Corridor.

He stated that 1,000 repentant terrorists have been processed by Operation Safe Corridor.

In another report, a bill in the Nigerian Senate seeks to clip the powers of the president to ensure security appointments is not concentrated in one region of the country.

The Niger State police command has begun a manhunt for the kidnappers of five schoolgirls, their teacher and a security guard from their school, Tulare Academy, Maruba in the Mariga local government area of the state last Sunday

According to a police source, the bandits numbering about 36 invaded the school on motorcycles on Sunday evening and started shooting into the air to create panic and fear and in the process abducted their victims

The private boarding primary school is said to be located on the outskirts of the town and without even a perimeter fence and communication facilities.

The bandits, however, took the advantages of the location to carry out the criminal act.

The school has now been deserted after the attack as parents hurriedly moved in and removed their wards.

Meanwhile, the Niger State police commissioner, Alhaji Adamu Unman has led heads of other security agencies to the school for on-the-spot assessment of the incident.

The police boss who described the attack on the school children as inhuman and barbaric, said “a special technical squad and armed anti-kidnapping squad have been deployed to the area to identify the area and rescue the victims unhurt.”

He explained that the visit of the security chiefs to the scene was to enable them deploy additional security measures to the school and the community to forestall future attack.

Unman, however, said that no amount of pressure and intimidation will deter the command from discharging its constitutional mandate of safeguarding lives and properties of people in the state but appealed to communities in the state to always report to the nearest security agencies, any person or group of persons with questionable character for prompt security response.

Last Sunday the Pastor of Kauna Baptist Church, Danazunmi near Grigori in the Rafi local government area of the state Reverend Genesis Zaka and three female church members were kidnapped by bandits. The names of the kidnapped female church members were given as Tabitha Luka, Liatu Nuhu and Rahila Luka.

The pastor and the female church members were said to have been abducted by the bandits during the morning Sunday service.

An eyewitness who narrated how the incident occurred told our correspondent that during the service, the bandits came in large numbers riding on motorcycles; they surrounded the church resulting in a stampede with many of the worshipers running for their lives.

It was in the confusion that the pastor and the three female church members were kidnapped and taken into hiding.

The source said that on Monday the bandits contacted the church secretary asking for N30m ransom before those kidnapped will be released. The church reportedly pleaded that they could only raise N40,000 which the bandits reportedly rejected but promise to get back to the church.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on March 5, 2020, arraigned Charles Adonyi, a former Internal Auditor with the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), before Justice Ajoke Adepoju, of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, on a one-count charge bordering on corruption and gratification.

The defendant was alleged to have extorted pensioners, and in some instances their relatives, claiming to assist to facilitate the processing of their entitlements.

The count reads: “That you, Charles Adonyi, a Public Servant, whilst being an auditor with Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, PTAD, sometimes in March 2016, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, corruptly received the sum of N30,000 (Thirty Thousand Naira), through your agent, Dennis Okenwa Chukwudi, as a reward for paying his father's pension, which you knew was corrupt and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8(1)(a)(i) of the independent and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under the same act.”

He pleaded “not guilty” to the charge.

Counsel for the EFCC, Sunday Robert, thereafter, asked the court for a trial date, in order for the prosecution to prove its case against the defendant.

The defence counsel, S.A. Ajayi, informed the court of the formal application he had made for the bail of the defendant which was dated on November 27, 2019, and urged the court to allow the defendant enjoy the administrative bail already granted to him by the EFCC, pending the hearing of the bail application.

Justice Adepoju, thereafter, adjourned until April 2, 2020 for the bail hearing, and ordered that the defendant continue to enjoy the administrative bail granted him by the EFCC.

Operatives of the Abuja Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on March 5, 2020 arrested one Patience Onu, who allegedly disguised as a food contractor to defraud her victims of about N5million.

Petitions received from her victims indicated that she defrauded them in the guise of selling food items to them.

The fraud, which was allegedly committed sometime in 2019 involved her claiming to sell to them food items worth N5million, including 138 bags of rice, 40 jerry cans of groundnut oil, 100 cartons of spaghetti, dried meat, bags of melon, nine jerry cans of palm oil, bag of elubo (yam powder) and 400 pieces of fabric.

She, however, collected the money, but never supplied the items; all efforts to retrieve the money paid her also proved abortive.

She will soon be arraigned in court.

The Kano Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on March 4, 2020 arraigned one Comfort Obayemi and Lydia John before Justice S.I. Mark of the Federal High Court sitting in Kano, on a six-count charge of obtaining by false pretence.

They are alleged to have collected money from unsuspecting members of the public under the pretext of getting them employment into National Task Force.

One of the counts against them reads: “That you, Comfort Obayemi, Lydia John and Kakari Sarki (now at large) sometime in February 2017, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court with intent to defraud, conspired among yourselves to commit an illegal act to wit: obtaining money under false pretence contrary to section 8(a) and punishable under section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006.”

They pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.

In view of the plea, counsel for EFCC, Odibo Gift, requested the court for a trial date.

Counsel representing the defendants, Tajuddeen Shitu applied to move the motion for bail of the defendants, but the prosecution raised objections to three paragraphs contained in the motion.

Consequently, the Shitu applied to strike out the paragraphs, but the judge asked him to do so formally.

Justice Mark, thereafter, adjourned until March 9, 2020 for hearing of the bail application, and ordered that the defendants be remanded in Kano Medium Custodian Centre.

The three suspected Coronavirus patients quarantined in Lagos have tested negative to the deadly disease, Lagos Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi said on Friday evening.

Abayomi had on Thursday said three people had been quarantined at its isolation centre in Yaba area of Lagos on suspicion of Coronavirus.

One of the suspects quarantined was a Nigerian who travelled to France eight days ago and arrived the country four days ago. He developed headache and respiratory symptom which led to him being quarantined.

Two other travellers from England and China were also quarantined for coronavirus after they developed certain symptoms.

According to Abayomi, their samples were collected for tests to ascertain if they have been affected by Coronavirus.

However, the commissioner tweeted on Friday evening that the three suspects had tested negative to the deadly disease.

He said the three people had been discharged after they were certified free from Coronavirus.

“Breaking! #COVID19Lagos All the three #COVID19 suspected cases; travellers from France, England and China whose samples were collected yesterday for analysis have tested negative and they have been discharged,” he wrote on his twitter handle.

However, Abayomi had said on Thursday that the index case, an Italian was seriously responding to treatment at the isolation centre, as his clinical situation was stable.

He stated that the Italian was in high spirit, but that he required psycho-social support as he was getting depressed for being in isolation alone, adding that the patient was in touch with his family and friends in Italy.

Breaking! #COVID19Lagos
All the three #COVID19 suspected cases; travellers from France, England and China whose samples were collected yesterday for analysis have tested negative and they have been dischsrged. #ForAGreaterLagos @jidesanwoolu @drobafemihamzat @NCDCgov @SegsDr pic.twitter.com/thVQcOAAS5

— Prof. Akin Abayomi (@ProfAkinAbayomi) March 6, 2020

Abayomi, however, said the level of viral load in his body had gone down and that if that continued, in the next few days, he might be discharged if he tested negative to the disease.

He said the government would not just release him immediately he tested negative to the disease, but would still keep him and run a second test in few days to ascertain he was completely free of the disease before letting him go back to his country.

On the people who alighted from the Turkish Airline on arrival in Lagos, he said government had been able to trace 13 of the remaining 15 contacts, leaving only two that had not been reached, saying that if at the end of today, they could not be reached, he would release their names to the media declaring them wanted.

Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed has revealed the reason why some lecturers will not receive their February salary, stating that only those who have enrolled for the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System(IPPIS) will get their salary.

Ahmed disclosed this at the opening ceremony of a management retreat in Kano, saying that the objective of capturing lecturers on the IPPIS was to check corruption.

She also revealed that in spite of the resistance from the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), 55 percent of its members have been captured on the platform.

She said; “Unfortunately most reforms that you undertake you come across resistance. We have had resistance from ASUU on the implementation of the IPPIS and I am happy to report that at least up to 55 percent of ASUU members are registered and the ones that have not are not getting their February salary.

“It is in eliminating ghost workers because you register on the IPPIS using biometrics and we are currently working with the office of the head of the service to link up the IPPIS HR management module with the payroll itself. It will help us better maximise the efficiency of the system.

“I know that we have up to 70,000 ghost workers that have been identified in this process and we hope that we will come to a time when we will say that we have no ghost workers.”

Four months after acquiring a Boeing B737- 800NG aircraft Air Peace has taken delivery of new ERJ-145 aircraft to boost its domestic and regional operations in line with its expansion plan.

The aircraft, with the registration number 5N-BXG, arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at about 19.30hrs on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, from Morocco.

Mr. Stanley Olisa, the Senior Communications Executive of the airline told journalists that the new arrival is a 50-seater jet, stressing that the aircraft was previously undergoing routine checks in Morocco.

The arrival of the aircraft was the seventh Embraer 145 Jet to be acquired by the airline in recent years and increased the total fleet of the airline to 27 aircraft.

Olisa, restated the airline’s determination to ease the burden of travel in Nigeria and beyond, adding that the carrier was still expecting some of the Embraer 195-E2 Jets it ordered for in 2019.

He further assured the flying public that the airline was poised to interconnect various cities in the country and promised more domestic and international routes like Johannesburg, London, Houston and Mumbai.

It would be recalled that Air Peace, West and Central Africa’s largest airline, last year, at the Dubai Airshow, signed an order for three E195-E2 Jets.

A suspected baby-making home has been uncovered at Imedu Olori area of Mowe in Obafemi Owode Local government, Ogun State.

The illegal baby factory was discovered when one of the inmates who escaped from the home reported at Mowe Police Station that she was lured into the home and held captive for sometime now.

She alleged that the owner of the home, Florence Ogbonna who lured her into the home usually contract the service of some men to sleep and impregnate them, and that immediately any of them gave birth to a baby, such baby would be taken away by the said Ogbonna to an unknown place.

Upon her report, the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, Mowe Division, SP Marvis Jayeola mobilized his detectives to the scene where 12 ladies between the ages of 20 and 25 were rescued with six among them heavily pregnant.

Three suspects: Florence Ogbonna , Chibuke Akabueze and Chibuzor Okafor were arrested in connection with the case.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Kenneth Ebrimson has ordered the immediate transfer of the suspects to the anti-human trafficking and child labour unit of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for discreet investigation.

He equally directed that the victims be kept in safe and protective custody pending when they would be re-united with their respective families.