The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC Kaduna Zonal Office has re-arraigned three businessmen, Baba Alhaji Aliyu, Musa Shuaibu and Abubakar Ismaila on a seven-count amended charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery and criminal breach of trust before Justice A.B. Aliyu of the Federal High Court Minna, Niger State.

Aliyu and Shuaibu were first arraigned on November 28, 2019 on nine counts bordering on N22.4million fraud. Ismaila at the time was at large.

Their arrest and prosecution was consequent on a petition by the Managing Director of Tomgray Engineering Services Limited, Thomas Ogwu, who alleged that they deceived him into believing that they work with the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development Staff Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited Minna, Niger State and requested for the supply of 1,800 bags of Nigeria Parboil Rice worth N30.6million from his company.

Ogwu further alleged that after supplying the bags of rice he received payment of N8.2million only, leaving a balance of N22.4million, but all efforts to get his balance proved abortive.

At the resumed sitting, on March 9, 2020 prosecuting counsel, Y.J. Matiyak informed the court that the matter was slated for hearing, but prayed the Court to grant him leave to amend the charges.

“The 3rd defendant Abubakar Ismail who has been at large has been arrested on Thursday last week and the name of Joshua Agbaji Unazi and Micheal Godwin Okibe dropped from the earlier charges,” he said.

Count three of the amended charges reads: “That you, Baba A. Aliyu, Musa Shuaibu and Abubakar Ismaila between November and December 2018 in Minna within the Judicial Division of this Honourable Court with intent to defraud, obtained 859 (eight thousand and fifty nine) bags of Nigeria Parboil Rice worth N14,600,000 ( Fourteen million, Six Hundred Thousand Naira) only from Tomgray Engineering Services Limited under false pretence of being staff and members of Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development Staff Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited Minna, a pretence you knew to be false and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(b)of the advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and Punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”

They pleaded “not guilty” to the amended charges.

Justice Aliyu, thereafter, fixed March 30, 2020 for hearing of bail application.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), on Tuesday, rejected the call by human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), for stolen funds, especially the ones linked to the late Head of State, Gen Sani Abacha, to be returned to the Federal Account.

Malami, through his spokesperson, Dr Umar Gwandu, was reacting to the suggestion recently made by Falana in Akure, Ondo State that the recovered loot ought to be paid the Federation Account and shared between the Federal Government and the federating units.

The minister’s statement was titled, ‘Looted funds: Don’t confuse public with myopic views – Malami replies Falana’.

He said Falana made “erroneous assertion” on the process of disbursement and use of recovered stolen funds based on the provisions of the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission Act and Section 153 (1) (n) of the Nigerian Constitution.

This, he said, “depicts a rash analysis devoid of clear legal foundations.”

The minister said the RMAFC Act “has nothing specific on funds recovered from indicted public officers or assets recovered internationally.”

He added, “The recovery of stolen assets and the subsequent uses to which these funds may be employed are subject to international agreements between Nigeria and the affected countries, thereby bringing conflict of laws into contemplation.

“Importantly also, these repatriated funds are based on cooperation and mutual assistance agreements, especially the United Nations Convention against Corruption and Implementation of the Global Forum on Asset Recovery (GFAR) Principles on the Repatriation of Stolen Assets.”

But Falana insisted on Tuesday that the recovered loot ought to be paid into the Federation Account.

He said, “It is on record that the report of the investigation set up by the Federal Government under the Abdulsalami Abubakar junta confirmed that the estimated $5bn Abacha loot was part of the revenue of the federation stolen from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“Therefore, the recovered loot has to be returned to the Federation Account.

“Any agreement between the Federal Government and foreign countries on the recovered loot has to be read subject to sections 12 and 162 of the Constitution.”

THE new Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, on Tuesday visited the graves of his father, Ado Bayero, and other past monarchs at the Nasarawa Royal House in Nassarawa Local Government Area of the state.

Bayero, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), left his personal residence at Mandawari quarters of Kano Municipal Local Government Area at about 11am to pray for his late father,Aminu, who was the13th Emir of Kano and his ancestors.

On his way to the Nasarawa House, Bayero was cheered by thousands of supporters, who thronged the streets of the city to have a glimpse of their new first class traditional ruler.

The new Emir in company with some district heads and other traditional title holders converged at the Nasarawa residence where he offered special prayers for the souls of his ancestors.

THE Kano State Government on Tuesday gave more reasons it deposed Muhammad Sanusi as Emir of Kano.

It said Sanusi was queried fTour times by the administration of former governor Rabiu Kwankwaso for disrespecting tradition. This is apart from being at loggerhead with Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje in the past three years.

Spokesman to the Kano governor Mr. Salihu Yakasai spokes on a private radio station Rave FM in Osogbo.

Yakasai said: “No matter how highly-placed the emir is, constitutionally, he is at the mercy of the governor. If you remove sentiment and emotion from the issue, you will know that emir is an appointee of the governor. There are certain expectations from the Emir and part of it is to respect the constituted authority and he has a limit to which he has been crossing for three years.

He said Sanusi was not sacked for allegation of corruption but on the grounds of disobeying the law.

He said: “The position of Emir comes with its own restrictions which Sanusi didn’t take cognizance of. Sanusi did not grow up in Kano State. He does not understand the traditional institution that he was occupying.

“Sanusi always goes to the gallery to talk about issues to get the applause. At the tail end of the administration of former governor of Kano, Rabiu Kwankwaso reintroduced ban of street begging and that time Sanusi was accommodating the Alimajiris in his palace, feeding them and on that particular issue, he was given four queries for disobeying him.”

A 70-year old native doctor, Olawole Shodolamu, arrested for buying human skull at a cemetery has confessed to the Police in Lagos that he bought the human parts from cemetery attendant in order to prepare strong charms for his clients.
According to P.M.EXPRESS , Shodolamu was arrested by the Police operatives with two other suspects namely Dauda Tijani, 42 and Seun Falana, 32.
The Police did not disclose the kind of charms he used the human parts to prepare and those who patronise him.This was confirmed by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bala Elkana, who stated that the three suspects were in Police custody undergoing interrogation.
He said that on 1st March, 2020, at about 1330 hours, a team of Policemen from Area E Command, FESTAC Town, while on routine stop and search patrol at Alakija Bus Stop along Lagos-Badagry Expressway, intercepted one Dauda Tijani ‘m’ 42 years old of No. 23 Omomwunmi Street, Orege Ajegunle, with a black polythene bag containing a human skull.
He confessed that he was sent by one herbalist, Olawale Shodolamu ‘m’ 70 years old to collect the skull from a cemetery attendant.
DSP Elkana said that the said herbalist was also arrested and he claimed that he bought the human skull from one Seun Falana ‘m’ 37 years old, a staff of Trinity Cemetery Ajegunle, at the sum of ten thousand Naira only (N10,000).
That he usually grinds the human skull together with other substances to prepare herbs and charms for his clients. DSP Elkana explained that the third suspect was equally arrested and he confessed digging graves to remove human skulls in order to sell to herbalists.
He said that investigation is ongoing and the suspects will soon be charged to Court after the conclusion of investigations by the Police.

Exiled deposed Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi will no longer go to Loko as he has been moved to another town in Nasarawa state. His new abode is Awe, capital of Awe local government.

Loko, a town on the bank of River Benue, was ruled out as it is said to be far from the capital. It is part of Nasarawa LGA.

Reports said he was flown in a helicopter to his new abode today from Lafia, capital of the state, less than 24 hours after he was ejected from Kano palace and began his exile journey via Abuja.

From reports, the deposed Emir never even got to Loko, before the Nasarawa State Government decided to change his exiled place from Loko to Awe.

According to Daily Trust “Notable Nigerians like the Emir of Lafia, Justice Sidi Bage (rtd) personally met Governor Abdullahi Sule and requested for a change of location.

“Others who called the governor were Alhaji Aliko Dangote and General Aliyu Gusau amongst others,” the source said.

The newspaper said: “Actually, the deposed emir was scheduled to be exiled from Kano to Opanda town in Toto Local Government but there was a change of decision at the last minute.

A downward review of the N10.57 trillion 2020Appropriation Act is inevitable, the Federal Government said on Monday.

The adverse effects of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) on the economy, especially the sliding crude oil prices, is responsible for the decision.

Finance, Budget and National Planning Minister Zainab Ahmed dropped the hint at the State House in Abuja after an emergency meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.

At the meeting were: Minister of State for Finance Clement Agba; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva; Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director Mele Kyari.

They deliberated on the consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak on the economy.

Briefing reporters on the issues discussed with the President, Mrs. Ahmed, who is the chairman of the Committee, said the group has a mandate to do a quick assessment of the impact of the outbreak of COVID-19 on the nation’s economy, especially as it affects crude oil benchmark price.

According to her, the committee would today submit its findings to the President, adding that the quantum of the cut on the budget would depend on what the assessment reveals.

She said: “We just met with the President to discuss the matter of the impact of the Coronavirus on our economy and Mr. President has formed us into a committee, with the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, the GMD NNPC and myself as members.

”Our mandate is to make a quick assessment of the impact of this Coronavirus on the economy, especially as it affects the crude oil price. We will be writing a report and brief Mr. President tomorrow (today) or Wednesday (tomorrow) morning and after that we’ll also have more substantial information for the press.

“But it is very clear that we will have to revisit the crude oil benchmark price that we have at $57 per barrel, we have to revisit it and lower the price. Where it will be lowered to is the subject of the work of this Committee.

“What the impact will be on that is that there will be reduced revenue to the budget and it will mean cutting the size of the budget. The quantum of the cut is what we are supposed to assess as a committee.

“This is just an initial update to inform you on the directives that we have and subsequently we will be sending a report to the President, after which we will be briefing the press on the actions that government will be taking.”

Responding to a question bordering on the ongoing crude oil trade disagreement between Russia and Saudi Arabia, which had led to the recent slide in the oil prices to between $30 and $31 per barrel in the global oil market, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Sylva, said negotiations to regulate the prices is beyond Nigeria’s capacity.

Sylva explained that the conflict is not just between Saudi Arabia and Russia, but between two regulating authorities; Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and OPEC+, respectively, adding that discussions would have to be at that level.

On the issue of engaging Russia, we as a member of OPEC are not in a position to take that engagement on our own unilaterally. There was a disagreement between OPEC and OPEC+, it’s not just Russia, but the biggest producers within OPEC and OPEC+ are Saudi Arabia and Russia.

“We believe that in the coming days when all of us would have begun to see effect of the reduction of prices, OPEC and OPEC+ might need to meet again and reconsider our positions.

“Meanwhile, we expect also that a lot of discussions are going on at the level of Saudi Arabia and Russia, but as Nigeria, we are not in a position to begin to engage members on this matter.”

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged it National Working Committee (NWC) members and the secretariat workers to return to work.

It denied that the NWC was factionalised, saying disagreement was not out of place in a political party.

A statement on Monday by spokesman Lanre Issa-Onilu said: “The National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has not been factionalised or in the nature of crisis being repeatedly reported in a section of the media.

“In a political organisation such as the APC, contestations are not unusual and are not necessarily intractable. The issues being alluded to in the media reports are matters before the courts and should be allowed to run their normal and legal course. The exaggerated story foreboding Armageddon is far-fetched.

“We call on members of the National Working Committee (NWC) and the party’s secretariat staff to resume at their offices and continue carrying out their scheduled roles and responsibilities without any fear.

“We thank the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, personnel of the Police, Department of State Services and other Security Services for their professionalism in the process of maintaining the peace and preventing hoodlums from fomenting trouble at the APC National Secretariat.

“We assure all our members in Nigeria and across the world that our leaders are capable of resolving any contestations that may arise bearing in mind the best interests of our great party and in the pursuit of progress and development of our country.”

Five days after armed policemen and operatives of Department of State Security Service (DSS) sealed off the National Secretariat of All Progressives Congress (APC), security was relaxed on Monday with workers and reporters allowed access into the complex.

Only Secretariat staff with the newly designed Identification cards which were issued on Monday were allowed into the Secretariat. Accredited Journalists assigned to cover the activities of the party also gained entrance after been issued with new identification cards.

Victor Giadom, was allowed into the complex.

Dethroned Emir, Muhammadu Sanusi II has been banished from the ancient city of Kano by the State Government.

He was sacked on Monday by the Kano State Government that immediately installed Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero as the new Emir.

Sanusi was banished to Loko in Nasarawa State on exile.

The former emir was being sent on asylum amidst tight security.

Sanusi’s removal was said to be in line with the recommendation of the Kano State Public Complaint and Anti-Corruption Commission which summoned the Emir.

According to a documents obtained by Channels Television and signed by the chairman of the commission, Sanusi was accused of obstructing the investigation of the Commission.

The Commission had asked the traditional ruler to respond to a petition accusing him of selling lands belonging to the Kano Emirate to the tune of N2 billion.

Sanusi had, however, secured a restriction order from a court to stop the commission from investigating him.

Controversial singer, Azeez Fashola popularly known as Naira Marley has surprised Seyi Awonuga a.k.a Shigh Lofe, on her birthday by presenting a Range Rover Evoque to her.

Seyi is a talent manager and Zlatan Ibile’s girlfriend.

Sharing a picture of the ride, Naira Marley wrote: “@shigh_lofe happy birthday again.. I bought u this small car, well u said u want evoque abi? u deserve it sha fvcking hardworking. I’m gonna give u ten sexy b!tches to yourself today”

See his post below;

View this post on Instagram

@shigh_lofe happy birthday again.. I bought u this small car, well u said u want evoque abi? 🎂🍾❤️ u deserve it sha fvcking hardworking. I’m gonna give u ten sexy b!tches to yourself today😂 Car from @datboi_autos

A post shared by Naira Marley (@nairamarley) on Mar 7, 2020 at 6:47am PST

Seyi Awonuga is a young CEO of Bang Mewsic Entertainment. It was rumored that she was the one who signed Zlatan into her record label, and she was there with him all through the time till he started becoming a sensation.