N371m Fraud: EFCC re-arraigns Saraki’s cousin, Moronfoye

Ope Saraki

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, February 9, 2016 re-arraigned the duo of immediate past Kwara State Commissioner for Information, Olatunji Oyeyemi Moronfoye, and Ope Saraki, cousin to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and former Special Adviser on Millennium Development Goals to Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed before Justice Oluremi O. Oguntoyinbo of the Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin for offences bordering on abuse of office, diversion of public funds and money laundering.

Moronfoye and Saraki who were first arraigned on Wednesday, May 13, 2015 had to re-enter their plea today following the transfer of the former trial judge, Justice A. O. Faji.

Moronfoye, while being the Special Adviser to former Governor Saraki (now Senate President) allegedly used his position to enrich himself.

Specifically, he allegedly awarded contracts to the tune of N200million (two hundred million naira) for the renovation of Ijagbo Primary Health Centre and Specialist Hospitals within the State to a company in which he has interest and was the sole signatory to its account.

Similarly, Sararki abused his office and laundered state funds for his personal benefit by awarding inflated contracts to companies owned by his cronies.

In one of the transactions involving purchase of buses for the State, Saraki fraudulently procured thirteen Hiace buses from a “Local Car Dealer” and converted same to ambulance instead of a factory-built ambulance for which a contract of N171,990,000.00 (one hundred and seventy one million, nine hundred and ninety thousand naira) was awarded to Chemiroy Nigeria Limited.

Olatunji Oyeyemi Moronfoye, former Commissioner of Information

One of the counts reads:

“That you, Ope Saraki, being the Special Adviser on Millennium Development Goals (MDG) to Governor of Kwara State sometime in 2012 at Ilorin within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did by undue interest conducted procurement fraud in the procurement of 13 units of ambulance for 13 General Specialist Hospitals in Kwara State at the sum of N171,990, 000.00 (one hundred and seventy one million, nine hundred and ninety thousand naira only), a contract awarded to Chemiroy Nigeria Limited and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 58 (4) (b) of the Public Procurement Act, 2007 and punishable under Section 58 (5) 0f the same Act.”

Moronfoye and Saraki, at today’s sitting, again pleaded not guilty to three and five counts preferred against them respectively.

In view of their plea, counsel to EFCC, Joseph Uzor urged the court for a date to commence trial.

However, J. O. Olatoke, SAN and S. I. Abaya representing the accused persons prayed the court to allow the defendants continue with the bail terms earlier granted them by the first trial judge, Justice Faji, having not breached the terms.

Justice Oguntoyinbo, in response to both counsel’s applications, adjourned to April 4 and 5, 2016 for trial and ordered the accused persons to continue with the bail earlier granted them.

It would be recalled that, Justcie Faji had on May 13, 2015 admitted Moronfoye and Saraki to bail in the sum of N50m (fifty million naira) and two sureties in like sum. The sureties must produce “Certificate of Occupancy” of landed property within urban area of Ilorin and must swear to affidavit of means. The sureties must also produce evidence of tax payment for three years.

The accused persons must be reporting to EFCC Head Office, Abuja every three weeks and must notify EFCC whenever they intend to travel.
While Moronfoye retains custody of his “International passport”, Saraki, under the said bail terms, would have his deposited with the court.

Source: PM News

Court Rejects Kanu’s Request For His Seized Passports, Money

Ade Adesomoju, Abuja

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday dismissed an application by leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra and founder of Radio Biaf‎ra, Nnamdi Kanu, for the release of certain items, including his British and Nigeria passports, which are in the custody of the Department of State Service.

Justice James Tsoho dismissed the application made orally by Kanu’s lawyer, Mr. Chuks Muouma (SAN), who had sought the release of the items because they would not be needed by the prosecution since they were not listed as part of exhibits to be tendered.

Apart from the passports, other items which Muouma sought to be released to the IPOB leader who is currently in detention at Kuje prison along with his two co-accuse, are cash sums of $2,200 and N87,000.

Justice Tsoho, in dismissing the application for lacking in merit, insisted that the fact that the items were not listed as possible exhibits did not foreclose the possibility of their being later used by the prosecution as exhibits.

‎He then adjourned the case till February 19 for the hearing of an application by the prosecution for protection of its witnesses.

The judge, before adjourning the case,  granted the request by the defence lawyer to the effect that relations of the accused persons be allowed in the court room subject to security screening and the capacity of the court room.

Kanu, David Nwawusi and Benjamin Madubugwu are being prosecuted on six counts of treasonable felony, unlawful possession of firearms and other offences bordering on their agitation for secession ‎of the Republic of Biafra from Nigeria.

‎Justice Tsoho had on January 29 denied bail to Kanu and the two other defendants and ordered that they remained on remand pending the period of their trial.

The judge in rejecting the accused persons’ bail application, held that they were not entitled to bail as they failed to challenge the allegation by the prosecution that they would continue to commit the alleged crime for which they were being prosecuted if granted bail.

Kanu was in the custody of the Department of State Service from the time of his arrest in a Lagos hotel on October 14, 2015 till January 20, 2016, when he was transferred to prison by an order of Justice Tsoho , shortly after he was arraigned along with two others.

Source: Punch Newspaper

Dasukigate: Metuh, Wife Bought N500 Million Property In Banana Island-Witness

Prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of the National Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Olisa Metuh and his company, Destra Investment Limited, Junaid Sai’d, on Tuesday, February 9, 2016, told Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja how the sum of N500m in two tranches of N200m and N300m was allegedly transferred to Daniel Ford International Limited for the purpose of buying a landed property at Banana Island, Lagos for the couple.

Metuh is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,  for allegedly receiving N400million (Four Hundred Million Naira) from  a former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), who is also being tried  for his involvement in the  $2.1 billion arms deal.

Sa'id, a member of the team that  investigated the case, gave a blow-by-blow account of the activities carried out since the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) petitioned the Commission, which include the following:  a correspondence with Diamond Bank Plc to obtain the mandate and statement of accounts for Destra Investment Ltd; correspondences with other banks to obtain mandates and statements of accounts of individuals and companies relevant to the case as well as letters to ONSA and the Central Bank of Nigeria. 

According to him, responses from the CBN and ONSA confirmed that the former was given the mandate to pay the sum of N400m to Destra Investment Limited for the purpose of security services.

He said:  "After the payment of N400m by ONSA, a further N150m was paid into the same account by one Kabir Ibrahim. Capital Field Investment Limited paid another N91m and another N82m was paid in by one Eyitoye.  These funds formed the Naira equivalent of $2m, which Metuh gave to one Nneka Ararume, in cash.

"Amongst the disbursements made were N77.5m paid to one Yomi Badejo through his company, CMC Connect Ltd, to carry out campaign activities for the People's Democratic Party (PDP); N25m paid to one Alhaji Abba Dabo to carry out media activities for the PDP; N21.7m to Chief Anthony Anenih; N5m to Chief Kema Chikwe; N50m transferred to the joint account owned by Olisa and Kanayo Metuh.

"The sum of N500m was also discovered to have been transferred to Daniel Ford International Limited in two tranches for the purpose of buying a landed property at Banana Island by the 1st defendant and his wife.’’

Saí’d, who further stated that the team visited the residence of the first defendant and invited him to the Commission during the course of the investigation, told the court how Metuh had torn his statement into shreds, saying,

‘‘After he was interviewed, I asked him if he wanted to volunteer his statement and he answered in the affirmative. When he concluded writing his statement in four sheets of the Commission's statement form, he handed them over to me. I read what had been written and handed them over to my other team members to read. After that, I returned them to him for endorsement. He endorsed the first sheet and the second sheet. When he was about to endorse the third sheet, in which he stated that the money he received from the office of the NSA were used for PDP campaign activities and to settle his personal debt, to the surprise of the team, he suddenly tore the sheet into pieces. The pieces of the torn sheet were then recovered from him and registered as exhibits.

"Much later in the day, he requested to volunteer an additional statement, which he did.''

After cross-examination of the witness by the defence counsel, Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, the prosecution counsel, Sylvanus Tahir, then closed his case. 

Ikpeazu prayed the court for adjournment, stating that he needed the certified true copy of the proceedings to open his defence. 

However, Tahir objected to the motion moved by the defence.

After listening to both counsel, Justice Abang stated that the record of proceedings was not ready for certification, adding that it was not a valid reason for the defence to seek adjournment in view of the evidence that had so far been presented by the prosecution.

Consequently, the case was adjourned to February 18, 2016 for the defence to open his case.

Wilson Uwujaren

Head, Media & Publicity

9th February, 2016

Court Issues Fresh Warrant of Arrest on Tompolo

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Monday issued a fresh order for the arrest of Government Ekpemupolo, a.k.a Tompolo.

Justice Ibrahim Buba issued the arrest warrant at the resumption of the case involving Tompolo and a former director general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA,  Mr. Patrick   Akpobolokemi and eight others,  who are billed for arraignment for alleged conspiracy and diversion of over N34,000,000,000( Thirty Four Billion Naira only), belonging to NIMASA.

The new warrant of arrest replaced an earlier one issued on 14 January, 2016.

At the resumption of the matter on Monday, counsel to Tompolo, Tayo Oyetibo, SAN, brought before the court an application praying the court to set aside an earlier order of arrest on Tompolo. However, prosecuting counsel, Festus Keyamo filed a counter affidavit in respect of the application but later withdrew it.

He, however, objected to the application orally. He argued by quoting section 221 of Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, that Oyetibo's application should not be heard since the plea of the accused person had not been taken. In spite of this objection, Justice Buba allowed the defence counsel to move his application.

In the application, Oyetibo prayed the court to set aside the arrest order on his client, arguing that the address on which the substituted service was pasted does not belong to Tompolo. He said, by this error, the prosecution violated the order of the court.

He also tried to convince the court that since his client was addressed as a plaintiff, the matter before the court could only be a civil one

After listening to the submissions of Oyetibo, Justice Buba dismissed his application and all the prayers therein. He ordered all the security organisations in the country to ensure the apprehension and production of Tompolo before the court to answer the charges preferred against him by the EFCC. He also ruled that EFCC can arrest anybody that is alleged to have committed an offense without a court order.

Before the court adjourned,  Keyamo informed the court that the EFCC has another charge involving Tompolo and the former NIMASA boss, where a fresh twenty- two count charge had been filed against them for conspiracy and money laundering to the tune of N35billion. Justice Buba fixed 25 February, 2016 both for the appearance of Tompolo in court and the fresh arraignment.

Simon Achuba Becomes Kogi Deputy Governor

Simon Achuba has been sworn in as the Deputy Governor of Kogi State.

His swearing in took place on Tuesday in Lokoja the capital of the north-central state.

Mr Chuba filled the vacuum in the deputy governorship position after Mr James Faleke refused to be Governor Yahaya Bello’s deputy.

Mr Achuba last year defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress and he is a former Deputy Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly.

Source: ChannelsTV

MTN must pay fine, says govt

Mobile giant MTN must pay substantial part of the N780billion fine imposed on it for subscriber identity module (SIM)registration guideline infractions before any out of court settlement could honoured, the Federal Government said yesterday.

The Minister of Communications and Technology, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, said the telco violated extant laws for which it accepted responsibility and wrote a letter of apology, promising to be a responsible corporate citizen.

The infractions were committed under the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan administration, which, according to Shittu, looked the other way. It took the courage of the government to apply the law, he said.

MTN begged for a revision of the sanction, “which Mr President graciously acceded to”, but the company turned around to say it had no money to pay.

The minister said the government replied, asking MTN to write a letter stating why it will go down after paying the fine and attaching a statement of its account so that the government will realise the dangers the payment will constitute to its financial health.

Shittu said he received a call from the telco informing him that it was going to court.

He said since the matter is now before the court, the government will wait for the court’s decision.

According to Shittu, nobody wants MTN dead. The company violated the laws for which there are consequences, he said.

MTN was sactioned about $5.1billion or N1.7trillion for fraudulently keeping some 5.2million preregistered SIMs on its network – a development analysts said amounted to sabotage in view of the security challenges facing the country.

Also yesterday, the MTN confirmed that it has been served with court summons based on a lawsuit filed by Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services Limited (Etisalat Nigeria) over the acquisition of Visafone.

In a statement, its Executive Amina Oyagbola, said Etisalat has filed a lawsuit against MTN and Visafone and we have filed appropriate processes before the court for necessary determination. “The acquisition of Visafone was concluded after obtaining all necessary statutory and regulatory approvals. I am not able to comment further as the matter is sub judice,”she said.

Oyagbola added that the acquisition allows Visafone and MTN to leverage resources for service enhancement whilst also deepening the growth and roll-out of broadband services across the country in support of the National Broadband Plan for the benefit of Nigerians. She also made reference to media reports credited to regulatory authorities that the acquisition would help sustain the continuity of CDMA services in Nigeria in addition to being beneficial to operators and subscribers.

Source: The Nation

Court Restrains AGF, Others From Arresting Kashamu

BY PUNCH NEWSPAPERFEB 08, 2016

The Senator representing the Ogun East in the Senate, Buruji Kashamu, on Monday obtained a fresh order from a Federal High Court in Abuja restraining the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami,  the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency  and the agency’s former Chairman, Ahmadu Giade from arresting him.

Senator-elect, Buruji Kashamu

Kashamu had applied for the order through an ex parte application following his apprehension that he could be be abducted by the Federal Government through the NDLEA for the purpose of illegally extraditing him to the United States of America to face drugs-related offence.

‎Justice Kolawole granted the interim order restraining the senator’s arrest or detention after listening to Kashamu’s lawyer, Ajibola Oluyede, who moved the motion ex parte in the suit marked, FHC/ABJ/CS/479/2015, on Monday.
The judge ruled that the interim order would subsist till Wednesday.

Kashamu, who is a former Director of Mobilisation, Peoples Democratic Party is in his ex parte application, seeking three prayers, including an order of interim injunction, restraining the three the defendants (AGF, NDLEA and Giade) “from arresting, detaining or applying for a warrant for his arrest in relation to his alleged involvement in drug trade, pending the determination of the contempt proceedings he initiated against them”.