$2.1bn Arms Probe: Buhari won’t interfere in Jafaru’s case — Presidency

The Presidency said, last night, that it would not interfere in the arrest and probe of a close associate of President Muhammadu Buhari, Jafaru Isah, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over alleged involvement in the Dasukigate scandal.

Jafaru Isa

Mr. Isa, Military Administrator of Kaduna State from December 1993 to August 1996, during the military regime of General Sani Abacha and one-time governorship candidate of the defunct CPC in Kano State, is the first chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to be arrested by the EFCC since the beginning of a sweeping probe into the alleged diversion of $2.1 billion meant for arms purchase by officials of the immediate-past administration.

Bayelsa Deputy Gov's Sibling Escapes Assassination Attempt

Beinmo Jonah, a sibling of the Bayelsa state deputy governor, has reportedly escaped death by the whiskers.

Beinmo Jonah laying unconscious in the hospital after the incident

According to Naij.com, the incident occurred on Thursday, January 7, 2016, as thugs suspected to be working for the leading opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, (APC) invaded his residence in Ekeki, Yenagoa local government area of the state, leaving him unconscious.

#Dasukigate: Jafaru Isa (APC Chieftain) Arrested By EFCC

Nigerians have taken to the social media to express their delight with the arrest of Jafaru Isa, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Reports had filtered in earlier yesterday that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested Isa, a former military governor of Kaduna state on Wednesday night.

The APC chieftain, who reportedly held sway during the campaign rallies ahead of President Muhammadu Buhari’s election, collected about N100million from Colonel Sambo Dasuki.

However, Some Nigerians have hail President Buhari, stating that his anti-corruption battle is truly not one-sided as many Nigerians and the opposition have always said.

Fani-Kayode Has No Right To Insult President Buhari – Okereke

Emmanuel Osita Okereke, the director general of the National Taskforce to Combat Illegal Importation of Small Arms, Ammunitions and Light Weapons, the president of Importers Association of Nigeria and a former presidential candidate of the African Liberation Party, warned former minister Femi Fani-Kayode against making verbal attacks on President Muhammadu Buhari.

Emmanuel Osita Okereke on Femi Fani Kayode verbally assaulting Buhari

Addressing the press in Enugu on Thursday, Okereke touched upon the subject of Fani-Kayode’s sharp criticism of the incumbent president.

EFCC Accused Of Shielding Buhari's Associates From Probe

The chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu has been accused of shielding President Muhammadu Buhari’s associates from probe.

EFCC Boss, Ibrahim Magu

The allegation was made by the Ekiti Justice Group (EJG) who accused Magu of ignoring petitions against chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to The Cable, the group described as “shameless falsehood”, the assurances of the EFCC boss that the commission did not have any petition against APC leaders, else it would have gone after them.

The group said: ”It is on record that petitions were submitted to the EFCC office in Abuja against former governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, by the State Government and concerned groups.”

Speaking on the allegation which have been coming up for a while, Magu recently said: “Such accusations have come up a lot, but, we work with petitions before us, in fact, I am eager and waiting for something from the other side, but nothing has come so far.”

In reaction to Magu’s words, EJG through a statement by its national secretary, Ebenezer Olaleye,  said it was on record that the Save Ekiti Coalition (SEC) wrote a petition dated September 26, 2014 to the EFCC and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), and the petition was submitted in Abuja on September 29, 2014.

Narrating its experience further, the group said the state government even wrote a letter to EFCC in September 2015, reminding the commission of its petition.

The EJG said: ”It is a clear confirmation of EFCC partisanship for Magu to claim ignorance of the SEC petition duly received by the commission with attached documents on September 29, 2014.

”The EFCC chairman should rather come clean and tell Nigerians that under the President Mohammadu Buhari-led APC government, only those opposed to the federal government must be presented as corrupt while APC chieftains who are supporting the president can never be corrupt even if there is evidence that they stole their states blind.” 

Meanwhile, the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it was wrong to assume that the party was against President Muhammadu Buahri’s anti-corruption war.

Alhaji Ibrahim Jalo, the deputy national publicity secretary of the PDP said the party was not against the prosecution of those who looted funds meant for the purchase of arms in the war against Boko Haram insurgency.

According to him rather than tarnish the party’s name, those guilty of looting the nation’s funds should be properly punished to serve as a deterrent to others.

Among those currently facing different charges before different courts in Abuja are the acting chairman of the BoT of the party, Alhaji Haliru Bello; a former governor of Sokoto state, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa; a former minister of state for finance, Amb. Bashir Yuguda; and the founder of Daar Communications Plc, Dr. Raymond Dokpesi.

Also, Chief Olisa Metuh, the national publicity secretary of the party is currently being detained by the EFCC over alleged corruption. On Tuesday, January 5, officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission stormed his Abuja home and whisked him away.

Source: Naij.com

Kogi State: Faleke Yet To Accept Deputy Governorship Office

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Kogi State and former Senatorial candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, Mr. Adewale Abel has implored the Deputy Governor-Elect, Hon. James Abiodun Faleke to accept his new status in the interest of the Okun people.

Abel disclosed this in Lokoja in an exclusive chat with Vanguard, saying it will be unpardonable for Okun to lose out in the political scheming going on in the state.

Suspect Confesses To Installing Radio Biafra Transmitter

A suspect, David Nwawuisi has narrated how he illegally installed Radio Biafra transmitters on an MTN mast in Ngwo, Enugu state for the sum of N150,000.

The radio station had been used to broadcast messages championing the cause of Biafra and agitation for an independent state. Nnamdi Kanu, the director of Radio Biafra has since been arrested by security operatives in October, 2015.

Northern Elder Admits To Have Received N53m From Anenih

Another can of worms have been opened in the ongoing investigation into $2.1 billion arms deal scandal as an elder statesman, Tanko Yakasai has confirmed that he received N53 million from former chairman of board of trustee of the Peoples Democratic Party, Tony Anenih.

Yakasai admitted to have received N53 million from Anenih

Anenih had written to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, explaining how N260 million was disbursed to him from the office of the national security adviser.

Presidency Denies Withdrawal Of N6.08trn 2016 Budget Proposal From NASS

The Presidency yesterday denied withdrawing the N6.08 trillion 2016 budget proposal presented to a joint session of National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, 22 December 2015, as recently rumoured.

President Buhari

Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, who reacted on behalf of the presidency in a chat with journalists, said there was nothing like that, as there was no communication to that effect in any way to the National Assembly by Buhari.

Boko Haram Kidnaps Police Officer In Cameroon

The members of the deadly Boko Haram sect have kidnapped the police commissioner Usmaila Sagu in Cameroon last Sunday.

Members of the Boko Haram sect 

His official car has been found burnt between Gassama and Kabo villages in the neighbouring country.

Who Is The Author Of Sacred Scripture?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 105) explains;

God is the author of Sacred Scripture. “The divinely revealed realities, which are contained and presented in the text of Sacred Scripture, have been written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.”

“For Holy Mother Church, relying on the faith of the apostolic age, accepts as sacred and canonical the books of the Old and the New Testaments, whole and entire, with all their parts, on the grounds that, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author, and have been handed on as such to the Church herself.”

PDP Raises Alarm Over Plans By EFCC To Poison Metuh In Detention

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised an alarm over alleged plans by the Economic Crimes and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to poison its national publicity, Chief Olisa Metuh, who was arrested earlier today.

PDP National Publicity Secretary Olisa Metuh

According to a press statement obtained by Naij.com the opposition party believes that the anti-graft agency may be planning to break Metuh and possibly poison him.

Read the statement below:

“The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) demands an immediate release of the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, who was Tuesday morning invited and detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

“This development, which did not come to us as a surprise given series of threats to our party’s spokesman by the APC and the Federal Government, who are obviously not comfortable with our stance on the confused state of the nation under their watch, is a continuation of APC’s grand design to silence and decimate the PDP.

“The arrest of Chief Metuh today underscores the growing political intolerance in our country and the foisting of a police state which was last Wednesday underscored by the President and Commander-in-Chief himself, who defended why a government in a democracy should flout constitutional provision and brazenly disobey court orders.

“This onslaught against our spokesman, according to intelligence available to us is part of a larger script by the government to ensure that PDP wings are finally clipped in their mission to install a dictatorial one-party state in the country.

“The excesses of security agencies under this government, especially the Directorate of Security Services (DSS) and the EFCC, in abridging the human rights of PDP members have become worrisome and a threat to our democratic evolution.

“Nigerians and the international community will recall that on a number of occasions, the PDP, through its spokesman has been outspoken on some undemocratic proclivities being exhibited by the APC-led Federal Government in the last seven months.

“The PDP insists that for whatever reason Chief Metuh was arrested, his rights as a citizen under the law must not be trampled upon. We therefore demand for his immediate release and that due process of investigation and prosecution concerning him should be strictly adhered to.

“We state this because we have been made aware of top directives to break Chief Metuh and if possible poison him during his detention by the EFCC.

“Chief Metuh, has since his arrest at about 10 am, been kept incommunicado, with his lawyers denied access to him.

“The PDP declares the arrest of our spokesman as the last straw that may break our democracy. We therefore forewarn the Federal Government and its agencies to save our democracy and forthwith release our National Publicity Secretary".

“We are also calling on the international community and well-meaning Nigerians to stand up for this democracy, which our party nurtured for 16 years and deepened to a level where the opposition, for the first time in our political history, had the opportunity to win in a general election.”

As at the time of filing this report, it was not clear what the situation was with the PDP publicity secretary as no one had been able to hear from him.

Source: Naij.Com

Jailed Ex-President's Son Returns To Nigeria

After spending 22 years in a California prison, Musa Jack Ngonadi, the son of a former Nigerian president, is back in Nigeria.

L-R: Musa(Gowon's Son), Ex President Gowon 

The 47-year-old son of Yakubu Gowon allegedly arrived in Nigeria on January 1, 2016. Last year he was released on a state pardon granted him by President Obama after spending 22 years in jail.

Two Confirmed Dead As Lassa Fever Hits Rivers State

Rivers state government has just confirmed the outbreak of Lassa Fever in the state, stating that it has claimed the lives of two persons so far.

The Rivers state commissioner for health, Dr Theophilous Odageme, who confirmed the outbreak today in a statement, enjoined the members of the public not to panic because the state government has taken a proactive measure to contain an outbreak.

The statement urged members of the public to report any of such symptoms as persistent high fever, stooling, vomiting, bleeding from the nose, mouth and anus.

He advised members of the public to maintain good hygiene and quickly report any case of Lassa Fever to the nearest health centre or hospital for urgent attention.

Source: Naij.com

EFCC Storm Olisa Metuh's Abuja Home, Whisk Him Away

Officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday, January 5, stormed the Abuja home of the spokesman the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olisa Metuh and whisked him away.

Olisah Metuh. PDP National Publicity Secretary

According to a statement by Richard Ihediwa, the special assistant to the party’s national publicity secretary, the anti-graft agency stormed the compound this morning and asked Metuh to follow them to the commission’s headquarters.

Activists Blasts PMB For Justifying Flouting Of Court Orders

Reactions are still pouring in over some of the comments made by President Muhammadu Buhari during his recent presidential chat.

A couple of Nigerian activists and lawyers that spoke to Premium Times condemned the president for saying his government will continue to detain two prominent detainees – former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki and the leader of the separatist group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) – Nnamdi Kanu, despite several court orders that they should be released from detention.

Primate Ayodele Cautions Buhari Concerning Jonathan

Primate Elijah Ayodele of INRI Evangelistic Church, Isolo, Lagos has advised President Muhammadu Buhari that former President Goodluck Jonathan needs to be handled with care so that it does not boomerang.

L-R. Former President Jonathan, President Buhari

According to The Guardian, Ayodele said the tremendous goodwill Jonathan enjoys around the nation for honourably stepping down during the last election and putting Nigeria on a truly democratic path that the world admires, is a major factor why he needs to be handled with care.

Rev Fr Mbaka Says: There Are Plans To Murder Buhari.

Popular Catholic priest and spiritual leader of Adoration Ministry, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka has raised an alarm over what he says is a plot by some people to assassinate President Muhammadu Buhari.

L-R. Rev. Fr. Mbaka, Vice President Osinbajo, and President Buhari

The Enugu-based priest who has been in the news for a while because of his role in the 2015 elections, recently visited the president on Friday, December 18, 2015  in the presidential villa, Aso Rock.

I Will Contest The Appeal Court Judgement- Mama Taraba

Following her refusal as the governor of Taraba state, Mama Taraba as fondly called has decided to contest the appeal court judgement.

Alhassan Aisha

At the court of appeal sitting in Abuja on Thursday, December 31, the appeal court was reported to have upturned the decision of the Taraba state election tribunal which declared the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s Aisha Alhassan the winner of the Taraba governorship election.

Appeal Court Rules Out Alsha Alhassan's Victory As Taraba State Governor

A court of appeal sitting in Abuja on Thursday, December 31, upturned the decision of the Taraba state election tribunal which declared the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s Aisha Alhassan the winner of the Taraba governorship election.

Alhassan Aisha

The court decided in favor of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s candidate, Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku, ruling that Ishaku’s nomination by the PDP could not be questioned by a non-member of the party.

President Buhari's New Year Message To Nigeria: Better Days Are Coming

The President yesterday sent Nigerians a message of hope – the challenges facing the nation are temporary and will soon fizzle out.

President Buhari

In his New Year message to the nation, President Muhammadu Buhari said that he was not unaware of Nigerians’ suffering.

$2.1B Arms Scandal: Dasuki Begs President Buhari

The immediate past national security adviser, Sambo Dasuki, has reportedly begged President Muhammadu Buhari.

Sambo Dasuki, during one of his appearances in court.

Counsel to Dasuki, Alhaji Ahmed Raji (SAN), who spoke to Daily Sun yesterday, said: “I would want to appeal to Mr. President to please allow my client to enjoy the bail that was granted to him. I want to beg him in the name of God. I cannot join words with the president. I have the greatest respect for him, both in his official and personal capacities.

300-metre Dubai Hotel Engulfed By Fire Yesterday

A luxury hotel in Dubai, the UAE, was engulfed in a fire in the evening of December 31, 2015. Multiple floors were immediately affected.

The Hotel on Fire

The Address hotel is the sixth-tallest building in the city, with 63 floors 302 metres tall. It has about 200 rooms and over 600 apartments. It is located near the world’s tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa.

Local media say the hotel and the nearby Dubai Mall have been evacuated.

The cause of the fire has not been determined yet. Photo: Reuters

A Governor Will Die In 2016 And Other Prophecies By Apostle Johnson Suleiman

If prophesies coming from the spiritual leader of the Omega Fire Ministries are anything to go by, then the Nigerian political class is in for many tragedies in 2016.

Apostle Johnson Suleiman

According to the president of Omega Fire Ministries, Apostle Johnson Suleiman, who spoke in a statement signed by his media adviser, Mr Phrank Shaibu and sent to Naij.com, said the nation will witness many heart rending political developments this year.

Goodluck Jonathan Sends New Year Message

The former president Goodluck Jonathan addressed Nigerians on New Year for the first time in his new status of the ex leader. Last year brought him a defeat at the presidential election. However, millions of our compatriots still believe him.

Ex President Good Luck Jonathan

In his short statement published on his official Facebook page in the morning of January 1, 2016, the former president expressed confidence that ‘Nigeria will survive’, will get more peace and prosperity in the new year.