Patience Jonathan Sues EFCC For N200m

Former First Lady, Patience Jonathan has filed a N200m fundamental rights enforcement suit against Skye Bank Plc, following the freezing of four bank accounts, which she claims the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has used to inconvenience and embarrass her.

The four accounts, lodged with Skye Bank Plc, are in the name of four companies which is said to have a balance of $31.4m

The four companies are Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited; Seagate Property Development & Investment Co. Limited; Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited and Development Company Limited and Globus Integrated Service Limited.

In an affidavit filed before the court and deposed to by one Sammie Somiari, a legal practitioner on behalf of Patience Jonathan, the deponents claims that the EFCC placed a No Debit Order on the four accounts in July in the course of probing one Waripamo Dudafa, a former Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to former President Goodluck Jonathan.

After its investigations, the EFCC went ahead to file an amended 17-count against Dudafa and seven others, including the four companies, with the defendants being accused of conspiring to conceal the monies which the EFCC claimed they ought to have known formed parts of the proceeds of an unlawful act.

In the affidavit however, Sammie Somiari claims that it was Dudafa who helped Mrs Patience Jonathan to open the four bank accounts which the EFCC froze.

According to him, Dudafa had on March 22, 2010 brought two Skye Bank officers, Demola Bolodeoku and Dipo Oshodi, to meet the former first lady at home to open five accounts.

He, however, claimed that after the five accounts were opened, Mrs Patience Jonathan later discovered that Dudafa opened only one of the accounts in her name while the other four were opened in the names of companies belonging to Dudafa.

Somiari added “that Mrs Jonathan complained about this to Honourable Dudafa, who at her prompting and instance promised to effect the change of the said accounts to the applicant’s name; and to effect this change, Honourable Dudafa brought the said bank manager, Mr. Dipo Oshodi, who claimed to have effected the changes. This was about April 2014.

“The bank official, Mr. Dipo Oshodi, as it would appear did not effect or reflect the instruction of the applicant to change the said accounts to her name(s) despite repeated requests.

The deponent also claims that Mrs Patience Jonathan who is said to be away for an urgent medical treatment abroad, is the sole signatory to the accounts as the money belongs to her.

The affidavit also said that the ATM credit cards bearing the said companies’ names were brought to Mrs Jonathan by the bank manager who promised to replace them once the cards bearing the changed names were available, but he never did.

“However, since 2010 up until 2014 and thereafter, Mrs Jonathan had been using the cards on the said accounts and operating the said accounts without let or hindrance. Even in May, June and July 2016, the former First Lady traveled overseas for medical treatment and was using the said credit cards abroad up until July 7, 2016 or thereabouts when the cards stopped functioning.”

In her fundamental rights action before the court, the wife of the former President is asking the court to compel the EFCC to immediately vacate the “No Debit Order” placed on her accounts.

She also says the action of the EFCC without a court order or prior notice to her is illegal, overbearing and constitutes a breach of her fundamental rights as enshrined in Section 33, 34, 35 & 36 of the 1999 Constitution.

She wants the court to order Skye Bank to pay her damages in the sum of N200m for what she termed a violation of her right to own personal property under Section 44 of the Constitution.

The EFCC on its part is set to arraign the former Presdent’s aide, Dudafa and his alleged accomplices for money laundering before a Federal High Court in Lagos.

The case will be heard on Thursday, Sept 15.

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Wrath Of God Will Visit Children & Grandchildren Of Corrupt Politicians - Ex CAN Boss

Former Prelate of the Methodist Church and one time President of the Christian Association of Nigeria CAN, Prelate Sunday Mbang, has said that the wrath of God will visit the children and grand children of corrupt politicians who steal from the treasury just to benefit themselves and their families. The clergy man who recently turned 80 years old, said this in a recent interview with Tribune.

“In Christianity, the Bible makes it clear that when you commit a crime, it is to the third and fourth generations. The belief with us is that they have allowed the grace of God in the New Testament to seem to have covered what is in the Old Testament – the wrath and love of God – which is also reflected in the New Testament. If you don’t repent of your sin, the wrath of God will fall upon you. People suffer in this country and what they would do is to explain it scientifically. I said it earlier that I made a prayer and someone died.

That death would be explained scientifically and so the main point would be clear to the people. The fact is that once you commit sin; once you loot public treasury; once you convert money belonging to the people for yourself and family, you will suffer, your children will suffer to the third and fourth generations. When these things happen, people explain them scientifically.

Nowadays if anything happens to someone, it would be blamed on either the brother, father or the mother, not knowing that God’s wrath might have fallen on the person. Every sin has punishment.

What I can tell our politicians is that all the sins they have committed – corruption, hatred, killings, kidnapping, false accusations – the wrath of the God will visit them one after the other to the third and fourth generations. My prayer is that all those seeking political appointments, because the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, God is the owner of the earth. He is not an absentee landlord. He is interested in this world. So when you come and do whatever you feel like, don’t think God does not see it. He sees everything we do and He gives us the grace for what we have done right and punishment, for our wrongs.

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Rivers APC to Wike: Pay Teachers Salary,Stop Wastin Rivers Money on Edo Election

•I gave Ize-Iyamu only moral support – Wike
•No, you also gave material, financial support to PDP candidate – APC

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and the state’s chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are locked in a bicker over his support for the Edo State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

Wike dismissed reports that he backed Ize-Iyamu with a N2 billion donation, saying all he gave was moral support.

He vowed to continue to support democratic forces, not just in the Niger Delta, but across Nigeria, to bring better life to people of the country.

But the APC in the state said Wike has been a pillar of financial backing for Ize-Iyamu.

The Rivers Commissioner for Information and Communications, Dr. Austin Tam-George, speaking for his principal said Wike had no N2 billion to give the PDP candidate.

He also denied allegation by Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State that Wike and his Delta State counterpart, Ifeanyi Okowa, were mobilising militants to rig the September 28 election for the PDP candidate.

Tam-George said: “Governor Wike has no links with militants in the region and anywhere else in the country. He (Wike) has only given moral support to the PDP candidate in Edo State to overcome the ineptitude and dysfunction the APC imposed on the people.”

Wike asked the people of Edo State to stand firm in defence of their sovereign right by voting for the PDP in the election.

However, the APC Publicity Secretary in Rivers, Chris Finebone, told The Nation yesterday that Ize-Iyamu has been receiving massive financial support from Wike.

He said: “Wike should, for once, be courageous to accept that he also gave material and financial support to the Edo PDP’s governorship candidate (Ize-Iyamu), as charged by Governor Adams Oshiomhole.

“We all know that Wike is still on his schizophrenic delusion of grandeur. It is this same obscene pursuit of his that sent the PDP to its present life-support situation. Happily, some of his own people are now cutting him to size.

“The APC in Rivers State believes that Wike mobilized and exported militants and hoodlums to Edo State to rig the September 10 election and he will repeat the same on September 28, 2016 (new date for the governorship poll). Security agents and Edo people must be vigilant.

“We have informed him (Wike) that since all his (Wike’s) government can export is militancy, election-rigging and violence, he should tell Rivers people how much inflow that will bring, to improve the economy of Rivers State.

“The Rivers State governor should halt his ego trip and conserve funds to pay teachers outstanding seven months salaries, pay pensioners their nine months pensions, close to one year outstanding wages to Rivers State House of Assembly legislative aides and others who are already dying every now and then.”

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Look Beyond APC - Ekweremadu Tells Buhari

DEPUTY Senate President Ike Ekweremadu has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to in the spirit of Eid- Kabir celebration look beyond the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC and constitute a Special Economic Squad to rescue the country from the present economic meltdown.
In his Eid-El Kabir message to the Muslim Ummah, Senator Ekweremadu also called on all Muslims to use the occasion of the Eid-El Kabir to pray for the nation’s quick recovery from her current economic recession, expressing confidence that Nigerians, working together, could heal the nation’s economy.

According to the statement which was signed by his Special Adviser Media and Publicity, Uche Anichukwu, the Deputy Senate President who noted that prayers alone, was not enough since Islam advocates both Work and Prayer, stressed that the present economic challenges were not beyond redemption, but could actually become the nation’s turning point away from an oil-driven economy to real prosperity if the right policies and structures were put in place.
He said: “I warned long ago that elections had come and gone and we should move from politics to governance. It is time for governance and we must bring all capable hands on the deck, irrespective of political, religious or ethnic backgrounds.

“Nigerians are facing hard times; and all they are interested in are positive results and urgent succour. They don’t care whether you are All Progressives Congress, APC, or Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and whether you are North or South. The good news is that capable hands abound in the country. We must assemble them and give them both the mandate and liberty to help the president’s team to revamp the nation’s economy”.

Ekweremadu who also commended the nation’s security agencies for the security arrangements put in place to ensure a hitch-free Sallah celebration, stressed that the war against insurgency and crime was beyond partisan politics because the terrorists and criminals do not consider party, religion, and ethnicity in their SinParties of violence and blood-letting against the nation.

He added: “My heart goes out in a special way to the men of the Nigerian Armed Forces who are waging the war against insurgents in the North East. Through the successes of Operation Lafiya Dole, which has been able to consolidate on the efforts of the last administration, they have made it possible for the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, to begin their homeward journey. This is commendable and their families deserve all the love we can give at Eid-El Kabir.

“I commend in the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai; Chief of Defence Staff, and General Gabriel Olonisakin; and indeed the entirety of the nation’s Armed Forces for the progress in this regard. It shows that Nigerians always win whenever they come together with determination on any matter whatsoever.”

Ekweremadu who called on the Muslim Ummah to emulate the uncommon sense of sacrifice of Prophet Ibrahim in their service to God and humanity, wished them and all Nigerians a happy Sallah celebration.

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"APC Open To All Nigerians Interested In Development" - Oyegun

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Oyegun, says the party is open to all Nigerians interested in the development of the country.

Oyegun made the declaration on Wednesday in Benin when he received some members of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo, who defected to the APC.
He said that the party was committed to turning things around in the country and would welcome any one genuinely aspiring to move the nation forward.

The APC national chairman noted that the party has made tremendous impact in Edo, adding that all those genuinely interested in the progress of the state, should ensure APC’s victory in the Sept. 10 election.

“Massive developent has already started in the state and we welcome people who have the interest of the state and are progressive minded, to join and continue with this development,’’ he said.
In his remarks, Gov. Adams Oshiomhole said the defection of Dennis Evbuomwan, and other PDP leaders in Oredo, marked the end of the PDP in the state.

“To me, the coming of Evbuomwan and other leaders of the PDP in Oredo along with their unit leaders means they are here with a complete story.

“The unit heads are the real people on the field,’’ Oshiomhole said.
Earlier, Evbuomwan said their decision to join APC was based on “the historic developmental strides going on in the state.”

He described the PDP as a sinking ship, saying “when the ship is sinking, you don’t need to sink with it.
“I believe in the cause the APC is fighting, which is for the progress of the state, and I want to be part of that fight.”

Mr Ebima Ogbeide, another leader in the area who defected to the APC, said the occasion marked a home coming for him.

“It is a public knowledge that I resigned from the PDP three weeks ago, I am happy to be back home,’’ Ogbeide said.

He appealed for quick integration of those that decamped, to enable them canvass support for the APC governorship candidate, Godwin Obaseki.

On his part, the state chairman of the APC, Mr Anselm Ojezua, said those that decamped were no strangers and promised to integrate them fully, so that they would contribute to APC’s success during the governorship election.

“The backbone of the PDP has been broken today. The PDP is dead in Edo,” Ojezua asserted.

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Earthquake Hits Kwoi In Kaduna: State Government Calls For Calm

There were reports of earth tremors in Kwoi, Jaba LGA of Kaduna State yesterday, causing panic among residents.

The state government has however appealed for calm. The government in statement signed by Samuel Aruwan, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, said it had made a formal report to the appropriate authorities to investigate the development, report precisely on the event and issue appropriate guidance.

Aruwan said Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai had confirmed the notification of geological and emergency agencies on the incident.

“The governor sympathises with the people in the Kwoi area over the reported earth tremors. He has directed the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to mobilise to the area andcomfort our citizens.

The national geological agency has also been notified, and has been invited to investigate the tremors in the Kwoi area and provide appropriate guidance,”

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Woman Gives Birth To Premature Set Of Quadruplets In Kogi State (Photos)

A case of preterm birth of a set of quadruplets was recently recorded in Kogi state.. The mother Mrs Amina Yesufu and her babies are currently being taken care of at Rehoboth Hospital, Lokoja, the capital city.. Read the full update below;

As shared by Petra Akinti Onyegbule, Senior Special Assistant on New Media to the Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello...

On the evening of 22nd of August, someone shared news of the preterm birth of a set of quadruplet in Lokoja which naturally caught my attention. By the next day, I was at Rehoboth Hospital to see the neonates, doctors and parents and I share the following:

1. The mother, Mrs Amina Yesufu presented with placenta previa on August 8 and was admitted for management. This included giving steroids to strengthen the lungs of the fetuses (which scans revealed to be four) as well as control contractions to delay delivery.

2. By late August 21, delay was no longer possible and a Caesarean section needed to be carried out. This was done on August 22 a a set of quadruplet were delivered at 32 weeks gestation. All four are doing well and are in the incubator where they are being given care.

3. Before coming to Rehoboth Hospital, Mrs Yesufu had been rejected at two tertiary health institutions in the nation's capital for lack of bed space and a third tertiary health institution in Lokoja was on strike.

4. As at the time they got to Rehoboth Hospital, they had near nothing on them. A nurse in the hospital had to donate blood for the mother as her PCV was 25%.

5. Tiny Beating Hearts Initiative (TBHI) has made a total part payment of #290,000.00 only (in two tranches of #90,000 and #200,000) and is raising more funds as the most recent assessment by the doctor in charge puts the estimated cost at over a million to cover cost of phototherapy to treat jaundice, tests, drugs for both neonates and mother, cost of CS, cost of incubator. Thanks to my colleagues in the media unit for their enormous support.

6. TBHI is in talks with the Kogi State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development for a sustainable means of ensuring these neonates grow into healthy children and members of society.

7. In the meantime, TBHI is hereby appealing to well meaning people to kindly donate their widow's mite to offset the Yesufus' hospital bills.

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