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Is Atiku going to court over PDP primaries ?

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on February 28, 2011 at 9:28pm

Strong indications emerged yesterday that former vice president Atiku Abubakar may be heading for the law court following the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s alleged indifference to his petition to challenge the outcome of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primary.

Atiku lost the PDP presidential ticket on January 13 to President Goodluck Jonathan. He ruled out heading to court to challenge the outcome of the primaries. Instead he wrote a petition dated January 28, 2011 to INEC, which became a subject of controversy as the electoral body belatedly acknowledged the petition last Monday.

It was however gathered that following INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega’s charge to Atiku to go take his case to court, the former vice president may have given the go ahead to his legal team to begin court action on the matter.
Atiku’s bid to return to court received impetus from two recent court decisions by Justices Lawal Gumi and Ishaq Usman Bello, both of the Abuja High Court, who, in separate decisions upheld the sanctity of zoning and ruled that it was justiciable.

In the particular decision by Justice Bello, his opinion was that the suit challenging the President, Goodluck Jonathan’s right to run was premature since, at that time, the Peoples Democratic Party had not yet given him its ticket.
He added that a candidate in the primaries had a right to challenge Jonathan and the Party in court in the event of any such breach of the PDP zoning policy.

Sources said yesterday that the legal team led by a very senior advocate (SAN) of the Nigerian bar may file proceedings in court against President Goodluck Jonathan’s candidature in the coming days. They are of the view that Atiku will have a good day in court.

It was gathered that the former vice president had up to this point warded off pressures to take legal action over the outcome of the PDP convention, but INEC’S “lack of interest and partisanship” in the handling of the petition he submitted to them, may have pushed the former vice president to the wall.
“How can Jega’s INEC claim to be enforcing internal democracy in Kano CPC on account of its monitoring of the primaries and then turn around to refer to Atiku’s complaints as internal party affairs,” a source close to Atiku’s lawyer queried.

The source said INEC’s dismissal of the Atiku’s petition after weeks of being in denial of the existence of the petition entitled “petition against illegalities of the conduct of the PDP presidential primary election on 13th january, 2011” amounts to double standard...

LimeWire to shut down on court order

Posted by technology on October 27, 2010 at 7:48am

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A New York judge ordered LimeWire to stop distributing its file-sharing software, agreeing with the plaintiffs that LimeWire's service is used "overwhelmingly for infringement."

Judge Wood of U.S. District Court in Manhattan said that LimeWire "intentionally encouraged direct infringement" by users of its site, and also "marketed itself to Napster users, who were known copyright infringers "The LimeWire site shut down its service Wednesday, displaying only a legal notice announcing that that company "is under a court-ordered injunction to stop distributing and supporting its file-sharing software."

Nonetheless, the company insisted that it has not been permanently put out of business...

"While this is not our ideal path, we hope to work with the music industry in moving forward," LimeWire said in a prepared statement. "We look forward to embracing necessary changes and collaborating with the entire music industry in the future."

LimeWire CEO George Searle went further in a message posted on LimeWire's corporate site.

"The injunction applies only to the LimeWire product. Our company remains open for business," he wrote. "Our team of technologists and music enthusiasts is creating a completely new music service that puts you back at the center of your digital music experience. We'll be sharing more details about our new service and look forward to bringing it to you in the future."

LimeWire has been skirmishing for years with the music industry over its laissez faire approach to policing the copyright violations its peer-to-peer software enabled. More than a dozen plaintiffs pursued the case against LimeWire, which began four years ago. Sony (SNE) Music Entertainment, Virgin Records America, Inc., Arista Records, Capitol Records and Warner Brothers Records Inc. (Warner Brothers Records and CNNMoney.com are both part of Time Warner (TWX, Fortune 500).)

While the court order has halted further distribution of LimeWire's software, the networks that software tapped into -- Gnutella and BitTorrent -- remain active, and can be reached through other software applications.

Pharoah's Butler & Baker: Ribadu & Rufai says no court can judge him .AC still hoping on Ribadu as Asiwaju drops out

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on July 27, 2010 at 4:06am

Who will be promoted & who will join Bode George ? Who is your favourite mallam ?

Former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nasir El-Rufai, yesterday told a Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, that it lacked the power to try him over allegations of abuse of office as minister. He said that the proper court to try him was the Abuja High Court.

Counsel to the former minister, Akin Olujimi, filed a preliminary objection saying that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Matters Commission (ICPC) Act of 2000, which his client had been charged on, had been repealed and so the federal court lacked the jurisdiction to try the matter. “The prosecution acknowledges that the charges stand on nothing,” said Mr Olujimi. “The effect of a repealed law is that it is a nullity, and no charges founded on it can stand.”

In response to the preliminary objection, the prosecution said that the court could assume jurisdiction in the matter because it involved an agency of the federal government and a former minister in the federal cabinet. Trial Judge, Adamu Bello, adjourned ruling on the case to 13th October.

Mr. El-Rufai and two others were accused by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of illegally allocating land in the FCT to friends and relatives, some of whom included Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, the daughter of former president Olusegun Obasanjo. The other accused persons are Altine Jubrin, former director general of the Abuja Geographical Information System, and Ismail Iro, former general manager of the agency. All three men pleaded not guilty.

AC Ribadu & Oshiomole ticket : as Asiwaju Tinubu Drops Vice Presidential Ambition

If he had held Fash close to his breast who knows as Alamiyesegha is reaping the rewards of patient GodFatherhood

Bola Ahmed Tinubu is no longer interested in the vice presidential race and is, instead, strategising on how the Action Congress (AC) would team up with another party to claim the presidency as well as win all the South Western States, Sunday Independent can reveal.

It also emerged that AC may have concluded plan to field the former anti-graft czar, Nuhu Ribadu as its presidential candidate, with Edo Governor and former Labour leader, Adams Oshiomhole, as his running mate.

That appears to be a fantastic political masterstroke, designed to woo the disenchanted Northerners who appeared certain to lose the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s presidential ticket to President Goodluck Jonathan and draw the organised Labour and younger elements who see Ribadu and Oshiomhole as emerging leaders they could count on.

Tinubu, former Lagos Governor and AC foremost financier, has long been rumoured to be in alliance talk with Muhammadu Buhari to float a joint presidential ticket, a very risky arrangement that would have repeated the Social Democratic Party (SDP)’s Muslim-Muslim ticket in the 1993 presidential ballot.

Late Moshood Abiola and Baba Gana Kingibe were Muslims, but the ticket won a landside across the country widely split along ethno-religious lines.

Tinubu’s rumoured VP ambition has seen him criss-cross the length and breadth of Nigeria in the last two years to build bridges as he consulted with top opposition leaders and political parties, including the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

He is said to have resolved to sit back and map out strategies for the AC to regain all its lost states in the Yoruba-speaking South West geopolitical zone as a bargaining chip for the party in its merger talks with other political parties in the country.

This agenda is believed to enjoy the backing of the five former governors of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) with whom he had been involved in series of mobilisation for the new party to be consummated from the years of consultations.

He was also said to have revealed the new move to his political associates and groups in the South West and across Nigeria in the last one month, a decision believed to be behind the lull and change of strategy in the political consultations among the opposition parties.

Sources close to the godfather of Lagos politics said he backs the decision by AC to support a younger element from the North with a running mate from the oil-bearing South South geo political zone, a deft move to dwarf the influence of Jonathan whose support base political scientists say is weak.

Tinubu and AC favour the candidature of Ribadu and Oshiomhole, two fellows whose support bases they believe could jolt the PDP in the ballot, sources said.

The choice of Ribadu over some other young Northerners like former Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nasir El Rufai, is said to have been informed by the high profile and public sympathy over his performance in the anti-corruption crusade, regardless of his romance with former President Olusegun Obasanjo and allegations that the latter used him to hound adversaries.

The choice of Oshiomhole as a running mate, sources added, flow from his coming from the same region as Jonathan and his wide appeal among Nigerians who relished his presidency of workers’ movement, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

UK court jails three Nigerians, Dutch national over sham marriage

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on July 10, 2010 at 1:39am

A British crown court has sentenced three Nigerians and a Dutch national to a combined jail term of more than six years for their roles in a sham marriage scam..

Trouble started for the four convicts when the United Kingdom Border Agency officers identified suspicious travel patterns of passengers flying in and out of Luton and Stansted Airports on tickets purchased by a 29-year-old Nigerian, Mr. Adeolu Eletu, according to a statement on the agency's website.

Consequently, officers from the agency's Immigration Crime Team (East) on February 10, 2010 arrested Ms. Daniloush Solano, a 21-year-old Dutch woman, at Luton Airport as she attempted to board a flight to Amsterdam.

Investigations later revealed that earlier that day Solano had married Eletu at a church in Wood Green, London after being paid 1,500 euros.

Eletu was subsequently arrested on February 27 at his home in Falcon Brae, Livingston. His Nigerian girlfriend, Helen Omoboye, 33, was also arrested. She had been due to participate her own sham marriage at the same Wood Green venue on February 11.

A 36-year-old Nigerian, Mr. Sylvernus Ogungbade was also arrested on February 10 after officers established that Solano had boarded a taxi to Luton Airport from his home in Goldbeater's Grove, Edgware. Immigration checks revealed that Ogungbade, who was living alone, had recently applied for a visa on the back of his marriage to a Dutch woman who was still wanted by the UK Border Agency.

Last week Thursday at Luton Crown Court, Eletu, Ogungbade and Omoboye pleaded guilty to conspiring to breach the UK's immigration laws. Eletu and Omoboye also pleaded guilty to perjury charges.

Eletu was sentenced to two years and eight months, Omoboye was sentenced to 18 months and Ogungbade was sentenced to a year and eight months. Solano had pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to breach the UK's immigration laws and perjury at an earlier hearing on June 10. She was sentenced to 12 months.

Sam Bullimore, UK Border Agency Assistant Director, said, "The sentences handed out show how seriously we, and the courts, take these kinds of attempts to undermine our immigration laws.

"We will not tolerate immigration abuse and, as these convictions demonstrate, our Immigration Crime Teams are creating a hostile environment for those who break the immigration laws. We know that sham marriage rackets are not just about getting a ticket to the UK, often the offenders are also involved in other forms of criminality. If we see marriages that are not genuine, we will challenge them and prosecute where appropriate.

"People should be under no illusion that marriage is enough to get permission to stay in the UK. Couples must also prove to the UK Border Agency that they have been in a genuine relationship for at least two years."

Any foreign criminal sentenced to more than 12 months in prison for any offence is automatically considered for deportation, the website said.

Swiss court sentences dictator's son

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on June 19, 2010 at 3:59am

A Geneva police court on Friday sentenced Abba Abacha, son of the former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha, to a suspended two-year jail term for participating in a criminal organization.

The court ruled that Abacha could not properly account for the hundreds of millions of francs he kept in 20 bank accounts under different names.

Last fall, an investigating judge orderd the confiscation of 350 million dollars seized by authorities from banks in the Bahamas and Luxembourg.

Abacha’s father is believed to have absconded with three billion francs from Nigerian government coffers between 1993 and 1999, when he died.

Much of the money ended up in Swiss bank accounts. Most of the 870 million francs frozen by government authorities in Switzerland has already been returned to the Nigerian government.

The case against Abacha’s son began in 1999 at the request of the Nigerian government.

He has already spent 561 days in preventive custody..

Ebonyi SSG drags journalist to court over sex story

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on May 25, 2010 at 8:10pm

ABAKALIKI — EBONYI Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Mr. Fidelis Mbam, has dragged the publisher of Golden Truth Newspaper, a local tabloid based in the state, Mr. James Nwite, to an Abakaliki Magistrate Court for the publisher’s intent to investigate a story which alleged the SSG to be involved in a sex escapade.

Though the publisher was granted bail in the sum of N100,000 with a surety and four passport photographs, he was detained for four days in Abakaliki Police custody.

The SSG’s ordeal is coming on the heels of a similar clamp down on two journalists in Enugu State who have been detained in Enugu Prisons over a similar sex story allegedly involving the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Mr. Innocent Umezulike.

While Ebonyi SSG’s sex story is alleged to be with his housemaid, Enugu Chief Judge was alleged to have had an affair with a young girl in the house of a popular Enugu-based publisher.

Yet unpublished.

All the journalists involved in both cases were at investigative stages of their stories when they were hounded into police custodies with either stringent bail conditions or no bail applications entertained.

According to Abakaliki Magistrate Court charge sheet, the local tabloid publisher, James Nwite, and one other now at large, on or before 9 April 2010 in Abakaliki did conspire with each other to commit felony to wit: Publishing defamatory matter with intent to extort and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 516A..

When the matter came up for mention at Magistrate Court 4, Nwite pleaded not guilty to the two-count charge and was granted bail.

The presiding Magistrate, Mr. Alobu, later adjourned the matter till 9 June 2010.

Defence counsel speaks

Briefing newsmen immediately after the court session, the counsel to defendant, Mr. Onyeka Nwebonyi, said every Nigerian had the right to go to court to seek redress on any matter, adding that he had not seen any publication by his client on the matter being alleged by the plaintiff.

“I maintain strongly that my client, the defendant, has not committed any offence in the eyes of the law,” he said.

Jail Time for Ibinabo Fiberesima still possible as Case continues for Nollywood Diva

Posted by NollywoodMohits on May 25, 2010 at 7:44pm

Fiberesima: Appeal court grants Lagos extension of time

The Court of Appeal in Lagos on Monday granted the Lagos State Government extension of time to file its brief of argument in an appeal filed by a convicted Nollywood actress, Ibinabo Fiberesima.

Ibinabo Fibresima

The appellate court presided over by Justice Clara-Bata Ogunbiyi, however, wondered why it took the state government so long to file its brief of argument and warned against a recurrence of the development.

Lawyer to the state government, Mrs. Rotimi Odutola, pleaded with the court to grant the extension of time, saying that the delay was due to circumstances beyond her control.

But the lawyer to Fiberesima, Mr. Nnaemeka Amaechina, did not raise an objection just as the appellate court struck out his application seeking a date for the hearing of the appeal.

Fiberesima was convicted by Justice Deborah Oluwayemi of Lagos High Court for dangerous and reckless driving which allegedly led to the death of a doctor, Dr. Giwa Suraj, and sentenced her to five years imprisonment.

The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, had in 2005 charged Fiberesima to the Igbosere Magistrate's Court on a two-count charge of dangerous and reckless driving on the Epe Expressway, Lagos that led to Giwa's death.

In his judgment, the Magistrate, Mr. A. O. Isaacs, found Fiberesima guilty on the two -count charge and sentenced her to seven years imprisonment for count one and two years imprisonment for counts two.

But the magistrate, gave the convict the option of paying N100, 000 fine to regain her freedom.

The ex-beauty queen reportedly paid the fine and regained her freedom.

But the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Olasupo Shasore (SAN), was dissatisfied with the sentence of Magistrate Isaacs and filed a notice of appeal at the Lagos High Court.

“You can’t arrest me, I have a court injunction” avers Ibori

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on April 16, 2010 at 12:27pm

“You can’t arrest me, I have a court injunction” avers Ibori.But the economic and financial crime commission insist that there is no injunction barring it from apprehending the former governor

Excerpt of a media advisory issued by the antigraft agency read: “The Commission wishes to state that following the reports in the media over the purported interim injunction, we have since made enquiries from the judge and the court to know whether such order was given. The response we got was that no such order was issued by either the judge or the court. Instead, the court only directed the applicants to put the Commission on notice while it refused to grant any interim injunction as sought”..

Certified copy of Hon. Justice I.N. Buba ruling obtained by Huhuonline.com reads:

US court convicts Nigerian couple of forced servitude

Posted by jackie webLondonGirl on February 4, 2010 at 12:39pm

Thursday, February 4, 2010

US court convicts Nigerian couple of forced servitude

Agency reporter

A United States federal jury in Texas has convicted a Nigerian-born couple based in Arlington, Texas, Emmanuel and Ngozi Nnaji, of forcing a widowed Nigerian mother of six into servitude for nine years.

The US Justice Department said in a statement on Wednesday that a jury found the defendants guilty of conspiracy, forced labour, document servitude, alien harbouring and false statements. Ngozi and Emmanuel Nnaji each face a maximum sentence of up to 55 years in prison.

According to the evidence at trial, the couple enticed the widow to come to the US to be their domestic servant by falsely promising a salary and support for her children, whom she was struggling to support.

The defendants procured fraudulent immigration documents, confiscated the victim's documents, harboured her in their home and compelled her to work long hours with no days off for little or no pay. They also used a scheme to isolate her and restrict her communications, withheld her documents and pay and refused her requests to return home or be paid.

Court documents also said the couple failed to provide support for the victim's six children in Nigeria, limited and monitored contacts with her family in Nigeria, isolated her from normal society in the United States, and refused to allow her to regularly attend church. According to the evidence at trial, Emmanuel sexually assaulted the victim and made her too scared to call the police.

A statement quoted Assistant Attorney-General for the Civil Rights Division, Thomas E. Perez, as saying, "Holding other human beings in servitude against their will is a violation of human rights that will not be tolerated in our free society. This prosecution demonstrates our commitment to combating human trafficking in all its forms, vindicating the rights of trafficking victims and bringing human traffickers to justice."

Akunyili rejects Aondoakaa’s explanation • Gives 7 days ultimatum or court action

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on February 14, 2010 at 8:30pm

You are messing with the Wrong Female !

Minister of Information and Communications, Prof Dora Akunyili, has rejected the explanation offered by Minister of Special Duties, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, over the latter’s statement about her considered to be libellous.

Prof Dora Akunyili

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A letter written by KOP Odidika, principal partner of Sower & Messuarius Solicitors, dated February 11, 2010, said that Aondoakaa’s explanation on the statement he made about Akunyili “begged the issue.”

The letter said that by saying, “what she is trying to do is self-seeking: let her go and confront herself with what happened in NAFDAC,” Aondoakaa obviously libelled Akunyili.

It said that ever since Aondoakaa made the statement, Akunyili has been inundated with telephone calls from people who think that there was something she did wrong when she was director general of the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

Akunyili’s lawyers, therefore, demanded a clear apology from Aondoakaa, within seven days, to be published prominently in the media.

They said failure to do this would leave them with no alternative than to press charges against Aondoakaa. The letter, entitled: “Libellous publication against Prof Dora N. Akunyili,” reads: “We are the solicitors to Prof Dora N. Akunyili, on whose behalf and instruction we write to you in connection with the above subject matter. It is our instruction that you issued a statement, which was published on Monday the 8th of February 2010 in a widely circulating national newspaper, The Nation, wherein you said, inter alia: “Bringing the memo to Federal Executive Council is just to make herself an angel.

She wants to be seen as populist. Whatever she wants from it is still personal. None of the FEC members has disrespect to the Vice-President. As far as we are concerned, the VP is our leader and he is leading us. What she is trying to do is self-seeking: let her go and confront herself with what happened in NAFDAC”.

“Our client has been inundated with telephone calls and personal enquiries from numerous people about your said statement concerning the implication that she did something wrong while she was the Director General of NAFDAC. She duly informed you of these enquiries and demanded, by her letter to you, dated February 8, 2010, that you confirm the authenticity of the authorship of the statement and if confirmed to supply full particulars of your allegations of her misdeeds in NAFDAC to which you alluded.

“By your letter of February 9, 2010 addressed to our client, you admitted making the statement but most disingenuously tried to put a spin on an otherwise clear and unambiguous statement that has only one interpretation, to wit: that our client committed some untoward acts while at the helm of affairs in NAFDAC.

“There is no doubt that as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, you are presumed to be conversant with not only legal matters but with English Language as well. Whilst one can concede your privilege to use any language, no matter how crude and unbecoming of a lawyer and public servant, in your private home and office, same should be tempered and civilized when describing and referring to another person.

“More regrettable is the fact that your libellous publication was against our client whose integrity has been unimpeachable. Her tenure at NAFDAC can accurately be described as the golden years of that establishment as no other head, whether prior to, or subsequent to her appointment, has achieved so much as to even merit comparison with her.

“Our client, therefore, finds it totally unacceptable that her peers and generality of Nigerians have begun to question her integrity and now consider her a disreputable person because of the statement you made. Your said letter of February 9, 2010, therefore, begs the issue.

“We hereby demand that you issue a clear apology to our client and cause the said apology to be published prominently in the media, including The Nation newspaper. Please take notice that unless this demand is met within seven days from the date hereof we shall commence legal proceedings, against you to compel obedience and seek financial compensation for the injury done to our client’s reputation.”

It will be recalled that Aondoakaa, in letter dated February 9, 2010 to Akunyili, said although he was misquoted, his statement was a compliment. His letter to Akunyili said: I wish to draw your attention to the above subject matter conveyed to me by your letter dated 8th February 2010.

“While much of the quoted words in your letter can rightly be ascribed to me, the impact of the last sentence to the effect that “…Let her go and confront herself with what happened in NAFDAC” was meant to be in the positive but was wrongly presented in the negative.

“The correct impact of the above words that the Hon Minister had already earned a reputation for herself while at NAFDAC and needs not seek to do more by embarking on the present course of action to the detriment of a resolution already adopted unanimously by members of the FEC.

“Accept the assurances of my highest regards and consideration.”

US court indicts Nigerian terror suspect Mutallab

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on January 6, 2010 at 7:03pm

A grand jury has indicted Nigerian bomb suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day. According to federal documents, the six charges against Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab are: •attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction; •attempted murder within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States; •willful attempt to destroy and wreck an aircraft within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States; •willfully placing a destructive device on an aircraft; and •two counts possession of a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence. The indictment was filed yesterday. Authorities said Abdulmutallab, 23, was travelling to Detroit from Amsterdam when he tried to blow up the plane carrying nearly 300 people by injecting chemicals into a package of pentrite explosive concealed in his underwear. The failed attack caused popping sounds and flames that passengers and crew rushed to extinguish. Since then, airlines and the Transportation Security Administration have boosted security in airports in the U.S. and around the world. There is no specific mention of terrorism in the seven-page indictment, but President Barack Obama considers the incident a failed strike against the United States by an affiliate of al-Qaida. Abdulmutallab has told U.S. investigators he received training and instructions from al-Qaida operatives in Yemen. His father warned the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria that his son had drifted into extremism in the al-Qaida hotbed of Yemen, but that threat was never fully digested by the U.S. security apparatus. Abdulmutallab He is being held at a federal prison in Milan, Mich. A message seeking comment was left yesterday with his lawyer, Miriam Siefer. nigeria spoke yesterday of its "disappointment" and "concern" over the United States’ listing of this country’s citizens for strict screening at airport. The Federal Government said the US action may affect the two countries’ relations. After reviewing the situation, it resolved that Nigeria does not deserve the inclusion, the government said in Abuja. The suspect Farouk Abdulmutallab, though Nigerian born, has been educated and bred outside Nigeria. Besides, he only transited through Nigeria for less than 30 minutes on the fateful day. Abdulmutallab is accused of attempting to blow up a plane in Detroit, United States, on Christmas Day. Rising from its first Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting of the year presided over by the Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the government submitted that the US action is capable of undermining US-Nigeria relationship. Minister of Information and Communications Prof Dora Akunyili, with whom were Minister of Power Mr Lanre Babalola and Minister of State for Information and Communications Ikra Bilbis, described the listing of Nigeria as disturbing because Nigeria has signed and ratified nine of the 16 United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) instruments on counter-terrorism. The minister hinted that the government was strengthening security, with an ordered for the supply of eight body scanners. Farouk, son of prominent banker Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, has reportedly been known for his radical religious views following which his father reported his conduct to Nigerian and United States security agencies. A statement read by Mrs Akunyili said: "The Federal Executive Council (FEC) at the meeting of January 6, 2010 reviewed the events of December 25th and resolved as follows: Nigeria expresses its disappointment and concern over the under served placement of Nigeria on the country of interest list and views this action as having the potential of undermining longstanding and established US-Nigeria bilateral ties and the goodwill the US enjoys in Nigeria. "It is on record that Nigeria has signed and ratified nine of the 16 UN and AU instruments on counter-terrorism dealing with issues ranging from money laundering, drug trafficking, crime, to nuclear terrorism. This is in addition to its various roles in peacekeeping which have earned it international recognition and commendations of the UN. "Nigeria has since December 25 expressed its deep sorrow and dismay over the incident which it condemned in all its ramifications. It is noteworthy that Mr. Farouk Abdulmutallab, though Nigerian-born, has been educated and bred outside Nigeria and only transited through Nigeria for less than 30 minutes on the fateful day where he underwent regular airport security." Mrs Akunyili, in response to a question, said the government has ordered for eight body scanners for the nation’s airports. The scanners are expected to arrive in the country in the next two weeks.

N1.6m ATM fraud: Customer drags bank to court

Posted by 9jabook.com on December 7, 2009 at 7:33pm

Yejide Gbenga-Ogundare and Omankhanlen Odidison report the plight of a bank customer who alleged that fraudsters stole money from his account with Automated Teller Machine while the bank claimed innocence. advertisement THE increasing cases of fraud perpetrated through automated Teller Machine (ATM) have been causing sleepless nights to virtually all security outfits in Nigeria, bank executives, and especially ordinary Nigerians, operating accounts in various banks. All efforts towards eradicating this crime by banks and security personnel in the country have proved abortive while the problem has defied all solutions proffered by professionals. As a result, ATM fraud continues to thrive in the country. Another disturbing aspect of ATM fraud is the allegation that it could not be possible without the connivance of insiders in the banks, but the link has so far not been authenticated. Also, many syndicates said to have been apprehended by security operatives never paid back what they stole. Many victims have, as a result of this, taken ATM fraud as personal issue to be resolved by individuals involved in the way they deem fit. Akintayo Afolabi Akinbode is one of those victims who had decided to take legal action as a means of recouping his stolen money. What was his solution? He decided to go to court, based on his belief that the bank cannot claim innocence of the fraud perpetrated on his account which he operates in one of its branches in the state. Meanwhile, the lingering altercation between Mr. Akintayo Afolabi Akinbode and Sterling Bank over the unauthorized withdrawals from his account via ATM, has continued unabated with the bank keeping mum. Efforts by the Nigerian Tribune to get the bank’s officials to react to this development proved abortive as they refused to comment. Narrating his ordeal to the Nigerian Tribune in Lagos, Akintayo said, a total sum of N1,630, 300.00, was withdrawn from his account No – 226/20449/110 domiciled in Ikoyi branch of the bank between 18th May and 26th June this year, without his knowledge or notice, stating that efforts to get the bank to redress the anomaly proved abortive. According to him, he operated two accounts at the Ikoyi branch of the bank and was last year issued two ATM cards, though he did not request for any, stating that when he tried to activate the cards, the activation process failed, and he immediately notified the bank. He said that since the cards could not be activated last year, he had neither reactivated nor used it to make withdrawals from his accounts. He further explained that any withdrawal of money that were in excess of N100, 000 from his account were always confirmed through a phone call to him or his wife by one Mrs. Sherifat Adediwin, through mobile phone number 08025019938 or 01- 7301077 before such payments were made. He is still wondering how the said amount was withdrawn from his account without his knowledge. Akintayo, who is already in court, had filed a writ of summons against his bank, Sterling Bank Plc, at the High Court of Lagos State through his counsel, Olaleke Akinloye Esq. to demand for some declarations and orders. He is asking for a declaration of the court that the alleged activation of the ATM card by his bank without his knowledge or notice is illegal; a declaration that all the alleged withdrawals made with the said ATM card between 18th May 2009 and 26th June 2009, without his notice, were illegal; and a declaration that the bank owed him care, by virtue of customer/bank relationship. The bank, he said, had breached the said care by allowing and permitting the usage of an ATM card for withdrawals of his money without his knowledge. Also, he is asking for an order mandating the bank to refund N1, 630, 300, being the total sum of money withdrawn from his account, with 10 per cent interest per month, beginning from 26th June until the money is fully refunded. He is also asking for the sum of N5,000,000 as damages, and N500, 000 as cost of legal action. Akintayo said following the discovery of the unauthorised withdrawals with the ATM card on 26th June this year, he immediately notified his bank that the said ATM card be hot-listed or deactivated, and further transactions on the account be suspended, and immediate commencement of investigations to unravel the masterminds of the said withdrawals be conducted. He, however, claimed that the bank refused to honour his instruction concerning his account. As a result, after the day, a total sum of N75, 000 was still withdrawn from his account with an ATM card. The bank, on their part, decided to write back to Akintayo, denying liability for the unauthorised withdrawals. In his final resolve, Akintayo, through his counsel, claimed that the almost daily withdrawals from his account with ATM, without notifying him, was planned, hatched and executed by his bank, or in collusion with other persons

Obafemi Martins 3Trillion Naira Jamboree Extravaganza Lifestyle

Posted by Choochoo Sports Book on November 21, 2009 at 6:00am

It has been revealed how Super Eagles striker, Obafemi Martins, extranvagantly squandered about N3.1 trillions while a player of Newcastle.Martins

advertisementHis former management company, NVA Management Limited who has dragged the player to court over breach of contarct, told the jury how the player’s account almost went red because of his lifestyle.Obafemi Martins was paid £75,000, but allegedly squandered the earnings on an extravagant lifestyleA former Premiership footballer routinely blew his £75,000 a week wages in a matter of days and was constantly overdrawn, a court was told yesterday.Obafemi, ex-Newcastle striker 25, was paid the handsome salary after he joined the club for a £10million fee in August 2006.But despite his extraordinary earnings, his former management team yesterday claimed they repeatedly bailed him out after his bank account continually slipped into the red.The High Court heard that the Nigerian international player would withdraw £40,000 in cash from his bank account at the end of the week.But that would only last him two days, the court heard, as he topped up with a further £25,000 on the Monday morning.He was always overdrawn and repeatedly relied upon NVA Management Limited to ‘manage his life’, the High Court was told.Martins, who owned several fast cars including a top of the range Porsche 4X4, spent the money funding an extravagant lifestyle of luxurious penthouse homes and fine dining.

He is now being sued by his former management company which claims that he still owes them 300,000 for sorting out his finances.He told the court that Martins would withdraw £40,000 for the weekend, followed by another £25,000 on the Monday.‘Despite earning these vast sums of money he was constantly overdrawn,’ added Mr Tennink.He said the firm, which looks after the affairs of several footballers, film and music stars, said that Martins had agreed to pay them for simply managing his life.It was under their stewardship that Martins agreed a £2million image rights deal ‘simply for being Mr Martins’.It’s claimed Martins was constantly overdrawn despite earning £75,000-a-weekHe also had lucrative sponsorship deals with various companies including Pepsi and Nike but had not been paid.When the company stepped in to run his affairs they sorted the unpaid contracts, bringing in thousands of pounds.They also organised visas when he travelled to Italy, where he once played for Inter Milan, and sorted out his passport, his mortgage and property valuations.They even arranged critical illness cover and were constantly running up and down the motorway from their London offices to Newcastle in a bid to do all that he required.‘But surely these were things a secretary could do?’ asked Judge Richard Seymour QC, referring to the size of fees charged.‘It was a Jeeves-type of role that they performed.’Mr Tennink protested that managing every aspect of his life was just part of what they did, and asked the judge to bear in mind the sort of figures these players earned.He said Martins had come to them in July 2007 and had agreed a fee of around £300,000 plus 20 per cent of any sponsorship monies they managed to acquire on his behalf.“He asked for these services to be carried out,” Mr Tennink told the court.Before they managed his affairs, Martins had not been paid a penny for his image rights for the use of his name on Newcastle shirts and mugs and had received nothing from his sponsorship deals.He could not even find the contracts he had originally signed, Mr Tennink added.Martins paid the company £67,500 in January last year and another £25,000 in April last year.But the question for the court to decide, said Mr Tennink, was whether there was a ‘binding obligation’ for him to pay the outstanding bill of over £300,000.After Newcastle were relegated from the Premiership last summer Martins was sold for £9million to German Bundesliga Champions Wolfsburg.Martins, who once owned a penthouse apartment overlooking Newcastle’s exclusive Quayside, is fighting the claim.The hearing is scheduled to last for three days.

Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota: 11 Nigerians face federal charges for credit card scam

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on September 9, 2009 at 10:00pm

Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota: 11 Nigerians face federal charges for credit card scam By BOB VON STERNBERG leven people have been charged in federal court in the Twin Cities with fraud for a counterfeit credit card scam that allegedly netted them more than $650,000. The defendants were charged last week with using the bogus cards to withdraw the cash from more than 170 automatic teller machines in the metro area. According to the criminal complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court, the defendants obtained personal information about customers of Capital One Bank from an online source based in the Ukraine. With the stolen information in hand, the defendants allegedly manufactured the counterfeit cards with that information. They were then able to obtain new personal ID numbers from the bank which allowed them to withdraw $652,205 from the teller machines. According to the complaint, some of the stolen money was converted into cashier checks and used to purchase vehicle parts or vehicles with salvage titles; the vehicles were then shipped to Nigeria, and sold at inflated prices. Some of the defendants allegedly recruited Nigerian residents in Minneapolis to buy vehicles at auto auctions, giving them cash to make the purchases. According to a U.S. Secret Service affidavit, one of the defendants bragged about how he could not "get caught conducting his illegal activity" because he was "very good at covering his tracks." Charged with one count of bank fraud and one count of access device fraud are Adekunle Kayode Ayeni, 27, Yewande Mariam Sholebo, unknown age, Adewale Alba Alli, unknown age, Olayemi Lateef Banjoko, unknown age, Idowu Ayinla Sadiq, unknown age, Abiodun Banjoko, unknown age, and Oyetoyin Oseni Atobatele, unknown age, all of Fridley; along with Bashiru Adelumola Fowoshere, 36, and Titilayo Abidewi Fowoshere, unknown age, both of Ramsey; Oriyomi Enitan Olowosago, unknown age, Brooklyn Park; and Ajibola Alli Fowoshere, 34, address unknown. Eight of the 11 were arrested last Friday, when they also made their initial court appearance. Three remain at large.

419: US court jails three Nigerians for 17 years extradited from Holland

Posted by Choochoo Sports Book on April 3, 2009 at 6:18pm

By Emeka MadunaguPublished: Saturday, 4 Apr 2009

A United States federal court in Brooklyn, New York has sentenced three Nigerians to varying jail terms totaling about 17 years for defrauding American victims of over $1.2 million (N177m) in an advance-fee fraud scam.An email statement sent to our correspondent by the US Department of Justice on Friday quoted Acting Assistant Attorney General Rita M. Glavin of the Criminal Division and US Attorney Benton J. Campbell of the Eastern District of New York as saying that the Nigerians, Nnamdi Chizuba Anisiobi, Anthony Friday Ehis and Kesandu Egwuonwu, pleaded guilty in January 2008 to one count of conspiracy, eight counts of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud.The statement said the suspects were extradited to the US from Holland on February 21, 2006 after they had been arrested for defrauding their victims of various amounts. They had sent spam mails to their victims, claiming that they controlled millions of dollars. Also, the joint investigation by the US Postal Service and Dutch authorities found that they used various aliases, phone numbers and e-mail addresses.In one instance, they sent e-mails purporting to be from an individual suffering from terminal throat cancer who needed assistance distributing approximately $55m to charity. In exchange for a victim‘s help, the defendants offered to give a 20 per cent commission to the victim or a charity of his or her choice but the American victims ended up with substantial losses.The statement said that in delivering judgment on Thursday, US District Judge Dora L. Irizarry sentenced Anisiobi to 87 months in prison, while Ehis and Egwuonwu received 57 months apiece.

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