Chibok Schoolgirls 'Alive' & Deal is 'Within Reach' - Hostage Negotiator Claims

A hostage negotiator in direct contact with the kidnappers of more than 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria tells Channel 4 News their safe release is "within reach", but that their fate rests on a knife-edge.

The girls, we believe, are alive but they have been moved from the location to which they were originally taken," the intermediary told Channel 4 News. "It would not be hard to engineer a deal. It looks like they want to release them."

The kidnappers have warned, however, that attempts by the military to launch a rescue attempt "may result in the deaths of many of the captives".

They want a way out," said the negotiator, who has long experience of dealing directly with the Islamist group Boko Haram in previous hostage crises.
Boko Haram translates as "western education is forbidden" and, like the Taliban, the group opposes the education of Muslim girls, particularly if that education has western influence.
Even though most of the kidnapped teenagers are from Christian families, the intermediary says the group believes it has already succeeded in embarrassing the government and instilling terror in the civilian population.
Fate undecided
However splinter factions within the fractious group are understood to be arguing over what to do with their hostages. "The danger now is that the military will get involved and that can only end badly," he said.
Past kidnappings by the al-Qaeda inspired jihadist group, which is fighting for a strict sharia state in northern Nigeria, have ended with the execution of hostages as a result of attempted military intervention.
The hostage-takers have now been asked for a list of the girls' names as proof-of-life. The negotiator - who wanted to remain anonymous for reasons of personal security - said the group is demanding a ransom but added: "we are hoping they will soften their stance".
The Islamist insurgents abducted 273 girls, aged 16 to 18, from dormitories at the Chibok Girls' Secondary School in Chibok, Borno state, a fortnight ago. Around 40 girls reportedly escaped early on. The numbers of those originally kidnapped - and those still held captive - has been in dispute. Last week, the missing girls' parents insisted that government figures had dramatically underestimated the number held.
The school's headteacher, Mrs Asabe Kwambura, told Channel 4 News on Tuesday that a further 10 girls had since been "recovered". "For now, the total number of girls we have recovered is 53 while 220 girls are still missing," said Mrs Kwambura.

Relocated, and 'forced to marry'

The abductors, who have been in intermittent contact with the intermediary over the past 48 hours, claim to have released "a number of hostages" because "they did shehada" - meaning forcible conversion to Islam, a hallmark tactic of Boko Haram.
Channel 4 News has also established that the schoolgirls are not being held in the group's notorious bush camps in the Sambisa forest, an area 50 miles to the south east of the Borno state capital, Maiduguri. This region has reportedly been the focus of Nigerian military activity in recent days.
Instead, the hostages have, we understand, been split into smaller separate groups, a number of whom have been taken close to - or across - Nigeria's eastern border with Cameroon. This is an area from which Mohammed Nur, one of Boko Haram's leading commanders is known to operate.
"They have a problem," the intermediary said. "They have 220 captives and moving that many around cannot remain hidden. There is good, reliable, local knowledge as to their location. The military knows where they are."
The relocation of the teenage hostages has been corroborated by a senior community leader in Chibok, the town from which they were abducted. Dr Pogu Bitrus told Channel 4 News that he too has learned that following the kidnapping, many of the girls were forcibly converted and some then married off in neighbouring Cameroon. He did not cite his sources.
"Many were taken to the northern part of Borno state and then moved across into the Republic of Cameroon," he said. "After they converted to Islam, they were forcibly married off with a bride price of just 2,000 Naira [less than £10]." Dr Bitrus believes some of the girls do still remain in Boko Haram camps in the Sambisa forest. "The federal government must act fast" to avoid them suffering the same fate, he added.

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'Kill Public Officials Who Steals Above N1million' – TUC President

President of the TUC, Bobboi Kaigama during a lecture at the Faculty of Environmental Design and Management, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife yesterday, recommended the death penalty for any public official who is indicted in any financial crime above N1million.

During his lecture which was titled "‘Corruption and challenges in nation-building’, Kaigama said tougher sanctions such as his suggestion would make the government's crusade against corruption more sincere

"If the governments and legislators are truly sincere about the fight against corruption in the country, they must go tougher. Any public official, whether at the state or federal level, should be executed. Killing them after confirmation of any embezzlement allegation of more than N1m will lead us to the right path.

“I sincerely recommend an active process of legislation that would support that. It would also serve the nation well to have a law which not only provides for every public office holder to declare his assets on assuming office, but also stipulate that he must repeat the exercise each subsequent year that he is in office and not later than one month after vacating the office. Such declaration should be in at least three newspapers and not just to the Code of Conduct Bureau.” he said

He advocated for public officer's to be compelled to declare their assets when they assume office as well as get banned from occupying any political office if found guilty of any corruptible act.

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Photos: Women protest in Abuja over missing school girls

Some women took to the streets in Abuja today to protest the missing schoolgirls that were abducted from their school at Chibok on April 14th. Former Education Minister Oby Ezekwesili and front-line Human Rights lawyer Femi Falana are part of the protesters. See more pics after the cut...

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Dolce and Gabba found guilty of Tax Evasion

Creative Directors of D&G, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have been found guilty of tax evasion to the tune of $1.3bn. The verdict was announced this afternoon after hours of consideration by a three-judge panel who decided to uphold last June's guilty verdict that saw the designers both sentenced to 20-months in prison for allegedly committing tax evasion, Vogue UK reports.
The alleged crime is said to have been a result of the sale of their Dolce & Gabbana and D&G brands to the Luxembourg-based holding company Gado Srl in 2004. Dolce & Gabbana have always denied the charges and promptly appealed last year's decision with their legal representative. But the appeal has been denied and both men are now facing prison time

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Fire Razes Girls’ Hostel in Jigawa

The students’ hostel in Government Girls Junior Science School (GGJSS), Guri in Guri Local Government Area of Jigawa State has been razed down in a fire outbreak.
Sources stated that the fire, which began at about 1:40p.m on Monday, lasted for two hours, causing serious damages to the hostel.
The commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Jigawa State Command, Mr. Muhammad Gidado, confirmed to newsmen in Dutse that the fire destroyed the hostel completely.
He said, however that none of the students was affected by the fire as they were in their classes during the incident.
The commandant explained that the students’ property were burnt to ashes by the inferno.
“It took more than two hours for the NSCDC, other security agents, fire fighters and the staff of the school to put out the fire,” Gidado said.
According to him, the investigation was still on to identify the cause of the fire.

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Powerful Anambra Oracle Stolen

While Christians were celebrating Easter, Abatete community, in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, was thrown into confusion and fear, following the disappearance of the popular Omaliko deity.

Respite, however, came as a police crack team, attached to the Ogidi Police Division, intercepted a gang which took away the deity.
According to a member of the community, who pleaded for anonymity,  some people  entered the shrine, took away the head of Omaliko deity, its staff of authority and symbol of authority.
The source said the Chief Priest (Eze Muo) of Omaliko broke the news of the stealing of the deity to the elders of Abatete community, who immediately reported the theft to the police.
The source further disclosed that the chief priest  told the elders and adherents of Omaliko that it was possible that those who stole the deity wanted to collect ransom before its release and expressed surprise that they  were not afraid of the consequences of their action.
However, four persons have been arrested by policemen attached to Ogidi police station in connection with the stolen deity. A police source, who pleaded anonymity, said that three young men were arrested for being in possession of the deity,  while the fourth suspect, a pastor, was nabbed later, based on the confession of the suspects.
The source said that the suspects confessed that they were asked to steal the Omaliko deity by a pastor of an undisclosed church, revealing that  the police had returned the deity rescued from the suspects to elders of Abatete community, while the suspects would be charged to court soon.
Omaliko is one of the popular deities in Anambra State, in the league of the popular Okija and Ntoko shrines. Yearly, indigenes of Abatete return home for the annual Omaliko Abatete, linked to the deity.
The SUN

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NBA Bans Clippers Owner, Sterling, for Life; Fines Him $2.5m

Donald Sterling, the L.A Clippers owner who was caught on tape making disgusting racist comments to his girlfriend (read here) has been banned for life from the NBA and fined $2.5 million, which is the max fine that can be imposed under NBA rules. Under the ban, the 81 year old can't go to games, attend practices, make decisions regarding the team or attend NBA meetings.

Basketball Commissioner Adam Silver made the announcement this evening Tuesday April 29th, saying the National Basketball Association will force Sterling to sell the team, which he has owned since the 80's, to another organization.

Silver said Sterling admitted making those comments but showed no remorse. The commissioner said 'Sentiments of this kind are contrary to the principles of inclusion & respect that form the foundation of our diverse, multicultural and multi-ethnic league." Good move!!!

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President Jonathan Cancels FEC Meeting to Mourn Sambo’s Brother

President Jonathan has directed that today's Federal Executive Meeting be shelved to enable members of the council attend the 3-day prayer for VP Sambo's deceased brother, late pilot Yusuf Sabo Sambo, who died in a fatal accident on Sunday April 27th along the Bill Clinton Drive, Airport road, Abuja.

Sam Nwaobasi, the Special Assistant (Media) to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation announced the suspension of the meeting.
58year old Yusuf Sambo was a private pilot and is survived by a wife and 3 daughters. He has since been buried according to Islamic rites. You can see pics from the burial after the cut...

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Nigeria Will Eradicate Terrorism – Wali

Mr. Wali said terrorism was a major challenge to African countries.

Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aminu Wali, said on Monday in New York that terrorism poses “the main threat”’ for some countries in Africa. He also said Nigeria would eradicate terrorism from its shores.
Mr. Wali, who is on his first official visit to the UN Headquarters in New York since his appointment as foreign minister on March 5, said African countries were still faced with challenges of peace and security.
The minister told reporters that Nigeria has taken “definite steps” in collaborating with its neighbours to fight terrorism.
“Terrorism now poses the main threat; weak or failing state institutions also pose a risk to some countries in the region.
“In the CAR following the unconstitutional change of government, chaos and mayhem ensued.
“The sectarian violence that led to the death of many and which the country is still reeling from, poses a serious challenge to the region and the entire international community.”
The minister cited the indiscriminate killing of Nigerians by Boko Haram in the North East zone of the country and the recent abduction of school girls in Chibok, Borno.
Mr. Wali, however, reassured the international community that terrorism would be eliminated from Nigeria in due course.
“There is no doubt that terrorism has emerged as a global monster that requires the collaboration of the international community to deal with.
“We are taking definite steps in collaboration with our neighbours to find lasting solutions to the menace.
“I can assure you that in due course, we will eliminate this danger to our country,” Mr. Wali said.
The minister said the political unrest in South Sudan had resulted in the deaths of many innocent people and “vicious ethnic conflict”.
He condemned the recent attack on a UN building in South Sudan, where nearly 5,000 South Sudanese have been sheltering since the country plunged into violence in December.
Mr. Wali also reiterated the urgent need for reforms of the UN Security Council.
“The world has witnessed tremendous changes since 1945; today, African countries have become major troop contributing countries to UN peacekeeping operations.
“Unfortunately Africa remains under-represented in the council; it has only three seats in the non-permanent category and remains the only continent without any representation in the permanent category.
“Although the actual reform is yet to commence, Africa will continue to remain focused to ensure adequate representation in the reformed United Nations.”
Mr. Wali had presided over a UN Security Council meeting, which adopted a resolution on Security Sector Reform, SSR, for the first time in its history.
The resolution, which was unanimously adopted by the 15-member council, was sponsored by Nigeria during its month-long presidency of the council in April.
(NAN)

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President Jonathan Sacks Political Adviser, Ahmed Gulak

President Goodluck Jonathan has sacked his Special Adviser on Political Matters, Ahmed Gulak, with immediate effect, presidential spokesperson, Reuben Abati, has said.
No reason was given for the removal of Mr. Gulak, a man well known for complementing another presidential aide, Doyin Okupe, in launching verbal attacks on critics and opponents of President Jonathan.
However, Mr. Abati, in a statement posted via his twitter handle @abati1990, quoted President Jonathan as thanking Mr. Gulak for his services to the present administration and wishing him success in his future endeavors”.
“A replacement for Alhaji Gulak will be announced in due course,” Mr. Abati said.
We could not immediately ascertain why the presidential adviser was fired.
But Mr. Gulak recently got into a bitter political fight with Akwa Ibom state Governor, Godswill Akpabio, as well as the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party.
At the end of a recent party meeting in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital, Mr. Akpabio and the state executive of the party criticised Mr. Gulak’s visit “to inaugurate a sectional and unknown Support Group in favour of our dear President without bothering to pay any courtesies to the state leadership of the party.”
The party accused the politician of playing “ignoble and contemptuous role” in the affairs of the party in the state and warned him to desist from further interfering in the affairs of the PDP in Akwa Ibom.
In November, 2013, Mr. Gulak threatened to resign if Mr. Jonathan failed to make himself available for the forthcoming 2015 election.
He claimed there was no alternative to Mr. Jonathan in 2015 as far as the Nigerian presidency is concerned.

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Unpaid Pensioners, Sacked PHCN Workers Protest In Abeokuta

Protesting disengaged phcn staff

“The so-called investors gave the impression that they have all it takes to fix things, but we now discovered it is a deceit”.
Hundreds of pensioners and disengaged staff of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, in the South-West  embarked on a peaceful protest in Abeokuta over the alleged non-payment of their pensions and gratuities totalling about N100 billion.
The protesters, under the banner of National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, carried placards with various inscriptions such as ‘Pay our Senior Citizens’, ‘Haba!’ ‘Retirement entitlement last paid in 2009′, ‘Don’t put excuses of non-performances on electricity workers’, ‘IBEDC management means no well for electricity consumers in the zone’.
The protesters were, however, accosted by security operatives including police officers who restricted the protest to the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBDC’s premises located along Moshood Abiola Way, Abeokuta.
The Chairman of the Union, Adegbenro Adesanya, accused the Federal Government of illegally disengaging some staff, having failed to adhere to the agreement it reached with the union that there will be a six-month probation period between staff and investors.
He said members of the NUEE were sent packing before the take off of the six months agreement, lamenting that majority of those affected were the most valuable hands, the reason the new management is yet to get it right since the takeover.
Similarly, the Organising Secretary, Peter Adeoye, said many of the staff were laid off illegally and asked those retained to not get too comfortable as information available to the union suggests that some of them will be sacked.
Mr. Adeoye said the retained staff should join in the agitation rights.
The Zonal Officer of the union, Babatunde Giwa, while addressing the protesters, accused the new management of the electricity company of deriving pleasure in slavery and cheap labour; the reason, he says, for the staff strength reduction.
He lamented that in spite of the fact that the investors are just shareholders in the company, with Federal Government still controlling 49 per cent, the new management engaged in casual labour which is against the labour law.
The South-West Organising Secretary, Richard Kedee, talking tough, declared that the union will not compromise members’ rights, and would ensure that all entitlements were paid. He also accused the Federal Government of behaving illegally.
“Our protest is to sensitize Nigerians on the deceit of Federal Government that they have concluded payment of all disengaged staff and pensioners”.
“The so-called investors gave the impression that they have all it takes to fix things, but we now discovered it is a deceit. The investors have no capacity to move the sector forward. There is even an attempt to destroy the union, Labour law approves unionism, and we stand by that. Our demand is also that those disengaged illegally must be recalled,” Mr. Kedee said.

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$1.69 Million Fraud: Ajudua’s Trial Stalled

Fred Ajudua, in black, gaurded by Prison Guards

They are standing trial for allegedly defrauding two Dutch businessmen – Messrs Remy Cina and Pierre Vijgen – of $1.69 million (about N252.8 million).
The trial of a one-time Lagos socialite, Fred Ajudua, charged with $1.69 million fraud, was today stalled due to the absence of a prosecution witnesses.
Mr. Ajudua and one Charles Orie are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, before Justice Kudirat Jose of an Ikeja High Court.
They are standing trial for allegedly defrauding two Dutch businessmen – Remy Cina and Pierre Vijgen – of $1.69 million (about N252.8 million).
During Monday’s proceedings, the EFCC counsel, Wemimo Ogunde, told the court that some of the prosecution witnesses reside abroad.
Mr. Ogunde said the defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo, had on April 25, served the commission with an application for stay of proceedings but later called to say that it was served in error.
He said the EFCC could not therefore extend invitation to the witnesses to travel down to Nigeria because the commission was unsure of how the matter would proceed.
According to him, the commission is being cautious because a similar incident occurred in the past when witnesses came but the matter did not proceed.
Mr. Ogunde, therefore, asked the court for a 21-day period to enable the EFCC get the witnesses to attend the trial.
Mr. Ojo, however, opposed the request for the 21 days adjournment, arguing that the period was too long to get witnesses from abroad.
He said that it would be wrong for the court to grant such a long adjournment when his client (Mr. Ajudua) had been refused bail.
The counsel said the fact that his chambers mistakenly served the EFCC with a wrong process was not enough excuse for the commission not to bring its witnesses to the court.
In a short ruling, Ms. Jose overruled Mr. Ojo’s argument and adjourned the matter till May 23 for trial.
(NAN)

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How Former Edo Governor, Igbinedion, Lost N3.3 Billion to Venezuelan Conmen [Part 1]

Lucky Igbinedion

Mr. Igbinedion, who stole his state blind while he was governor, has now been scammed of billions by Venezuelan fraudsters in a classic 419 deal

———————————————–

Nemesis may have finally caught up with ex-convict and former Governor of Edo State, Lucky Igbinedion, as he has lost over N3.3 billion to Venezuelan fraudsters, in a deal that bears all the marks of a classic 419 scam, PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively reveal.
Court documents seen by PREMIUM TIMES also suggest that Mr. Igbinedion may be insolvent, as two US-based law firms have walked away from a $600 million lawsuit he instituted against the alleged mastermind and the Venezuelan state owned oil company, Petroleos De Venezuela S.A (PDVSA), over his inability to pay retainer as low as  N627,000.00 ($3,800.00).
Mr. Igbinedion plundered Edo State treasury for the eight years he was governor. He escaped jail after he reached a controversial plea bargain agreement with the Farida Waziri-led Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, which dropped all but one of the 191 charges of corruption and money laundering against him.
In 2008, a Federal High Court in Enugu sentenced him to six months in prison with the option of a N3.5 million fine. The controversial plea bargain agreement he reached with the EFCC also required that he return N500 million and three of the houses he acquired with stolen public funds to the Federal Government.
But it’s not yet Uhuru for Mr. Igbinedion as the Court of Appeal in Benin ruled on April 9, 2014 that he has a case to answer over a fresh 66-count money laundering and financial impropriety suit brought against him by the EFCC. A Federal High Court had ruled in 2011 that it would amount to double jeopardy and abuse of court process to try him again after the plea bargain he entered with the EFCC.
He has been accused of stealing over N3 billion from Edo State’s treasury.

Two of a kind: James Ibori (left), Lucky Igbinedion (right). Both are confirmed thieves.

Classic 419-scam
In 2006, looking to cash in on the lucrative but fraud-tainted fuel importation business, the ex-governor’s front and Managing Director of Skanga Energy and Marine Limited, a company formed by Mr. Igbinedion and his brother, Bright, in 1992, Christian Imoukhuede, approached the then Venezuelan Trade Consul to Nigeria, Enrique Arrundell, about the prospect of importing petrol, aviation fuel, and diesel from the South American country.
According to documents filed with a US District Court in New York, Mr. Arrundell advised Mr. Imoukhuede that the best way to get fuel was to go through a PDVSA approved agent.
Mr. Arrundell then introduced Mr. Imoukhuede to Arevenca, a fraudulent firm owned by alleged notorious Venezuelan conman, Francisco Gonzalez.
That meeting with Mr Gonzalez marked the beginning of Mr Igbinedion’s woes.
Mr. Igbinedion and his front, Mr. Imoukhuede claimed in court that they did due diligence checks on Arevenca through the Venezuelan embassy in Abuja. They claim that embassy officials confirmed Arevenca as a reputable Venezuelan business concern and validated documents provided by Arevenca that supposedly showed a relationship with PDVSA.
But it has since turned out that Arevenca might be a complete fraud. PDVSA has since said in court that it has no records of any relationship with Arevenca.
Arevenca is a registered corporation under Venezuelan law but was most recently headquartered in Aruba. Its subsidiaries are: Arevenca AKTM, registered in British Virgin Islands; Arevenca SL, registered in Spain; and Arevenca Aruba Holding NV.
Others are Arevenca Bank, Arevenca Foundation, Fly Aruba Suriname, Arevenca Mining and Arevenca Petroleum Company registered in offshore tax haven, Suriname. There is Arevenca Finances Holding registered in Switzerland and Arevenca Ivory Coast.
Many of these subsidiaries are shell companies or exist only in names.
A Canadian-based freelance journalist, Steven Bodzin, who worked as an energy reporter in Venezuela and has written a number of exposés on Arevenca, revealed that Arevenca’s website is a repository of mind-numbing lies meant to hoodwink mostly unsuspecting international investors.
For instance, on its website, Arevenca claims to have a global refining capacity of 2.5 million barrels per day and plans to build a two million barrel per day refinery in Ivory Coast.
It also claims to have a fleet of 72 ships.
However, the company with the highest refining capacity in the world as at September 2013, Reliance Jamnagar Refinery, India, has a refining capacity of only 1.24 million barrels per day.
In fact, Arevenca is not listed among the top ten refineries in the world. The only Venezuela-based refinery in the top 10, Paraguana Refining Centre, belongs to PDVSA and has a processing capacity of just 955,000bpd.
And despite claiming to have 75 vessels, a PREMIUM TIMES search on Lloyds Ship Directories shows that Arevenca does not operate from any of Venezuelan’s 16 ports. There is also no proof that the company is building a two million barrel per day refinery in Ivory Coast as it claimed.
These are just few of the web of lies contained in Arevenca’s website. Other false claims made by the company to defraud investors can be found on Mr. Bodzin’s blog.
In October 2006, Mr. Imoukhuede, who was Mr. Igbinedion’s schoolmate, arrived at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Caracas and was ushered into the VIP lounge of the facility and later given a luxury ride to the exquisite InterContinental Tamanaco, rated among the top three hotels in the country.
It was at Intercontinental Tamanaco that Mr. Imoukhuede had initial negotiation with Mr. Gonzalez and an unnamed Nigerian.
After the meeting, Skanga reached a tentative agreement to buy “petroleum products” from Arevenca. Arevenca also agreed to give Skanga the first right of refusal to buy its AGO (diesel), PMS (premium motor spirit) DPK (kerosene), Jet Al fuel, Bitumen and Fuel oil.
The deal was to take off with a 35,000 metric tones of AGO in the first instance and then grow into about three cargoes monthly, according to an official statement by Skanga.
Bank transfer documents show that Skanga paid $1.05 million of the $1.4 million cost of freight.
Skanga’s officials claimed during interrogation in court that their company made these payments ($580,000 and $470,000) based on the proof of certain “inducement documents which included an alleged PDVSA bill of lading.
After Skanga made these initial payments, it became trapped. The duping of the former governor and his corrupt clan began in full swing.
Igbinedion goes to Caracas
In January 2007, four months before the expiration of his governorship term, Mr. Igbinedion travelled to Caracas, ostensibly on an official visit and possibly lavishing Edo state money on the deal.  But our investigations indicate the visit was to put finishing touches to the deal earlier reached by his front three months earlier.
According to the Bolivarian News Agency (ABN), Mr. Igbinedion and his entourage were purportedly met by some of the influential “Chavista” politicians in the country, as supporters of the late Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chávez, are called: the Mayor of Central Caracas, Freddy Bernal, the Governor of Miranda, Diosdado Cabello, and Deputy Foreign Minister for Africa, Reinaldo Bolívar as well as other top Venezuelan government officials and businessmen.
It was an elaborate event accompanied by lavish photo op, expensive alcohol and dinner in the evening at the “Gran Melia Hotel, another top three luxury hotel in Venezuela, according to luxury hotel reservations website, Five Star Alliance.
Mr. Igbinedion was handed the key to the city of Caracas and announced as the “Alcaldía de Libertador”, the honorary Mayor of the central Caracas borough of Libertador. He also held a meeting with top officials of the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry at their headquarters, the Yellow House.
But the whole fanfare was a grand charade and part of a well orchestrated confidence trick put together by some of the most devious conmen in Latin America.
It later appeared that Mr. Gonzalez received an intensive course on Nigerian niceties.  Emails from Mr. Arrundell and Gonzalez to Mr. Igbinedion have that uniquely Nigerian informality. Rather than write in a formal manner as one would have expected of parties in a multi-million dollar deal, they addressed Mr. Igbinedion as “My brother Lucky” or “Dear brother Lucky.”
One letter by Mr. Gonzalez, filled with grammatical errors, reads:

Dear brother lucky
I already send the dignity signed invoice.
You know what this mean.
Nobody do this, but I always honored my word, agins all the logical and normal status.
I prefer died that do not honored my word.
This is another demonstration that I am a honor man.
That mean that the product is yours.
I trust you like a brother I hope you do not let me down.
I do not want disappoint you, I hope you do not disappoint me.
Best regards, 
You brother and friend
Francisco JAvier Gonzalez

The geniality of Mr. Gonzalez’s letters coupled with the grand reception, some would say deception, he got during his “official” visit to Caracas apparently made Mr. Igbinedion even more trusting of the Venezuelan gang.
Nigerian thief, money launderer, is scammed
After a couple of other meetings later that year, Arevenca made Skanga a deal too good to be true: a consignment of 35,000 metric tonnes of diesel will be sent to Skanga.
All it needed to do was to prepay the charges for delivery and complete the full payment for the delivery in three months.
Mr. Igbinedion could not believe his luck. Skanga promptly transferred $19.6 million more to Arevenca’s Swiss bank account as freight charges and partial payment for two consignments of Petrol and diesel aboard two vessels named “Digniti” and “Ventur.”
The vessels never arrived.
The Nigerian Port Authority said it does not have any record of “Digniti” or “Ventur” entering Nigerian waters at the time it was billed to arrive.
In fact, PREMIUM TIMES investigation reveals that there are no vessels named “Dignitii” or “Ventur”.
Searches on Lloyds directories and other ship directories show that the ship don’t exist anywhere in the world.
All efforts made to contact the Venezuelan embassy to confirm the extent to which Mr. Arrundell, who has been posted out of the country, was involved in the scam was unsuccessful.
The embassy’s phone number seems to be out of order and emails were returned as undelivered.
Mr. Imoukhuede declined to comment when contacted by PREMIUM TIMES. He explained that since the case is in court, Skanga’s lawyer was in the best position to make public comments on the matter.
“You know the case is in court. I don’t think I am at ease to talk about it. I would have to talk to the lawyer. I can’t make any comment. The Nigerian legal system is different from the American system. The best thing is to talk to Femi Salu,” he said.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The remaining parts in this series will look at courtroom intrigues; how two of Igbinedion’s American counsel abandoned the case due to his inability to pay their retainer.
A part will look at the role played by MRS Oil Nigeria Limited plus interesting revelations in court while another will take a look at the role of the Venezuelan authorities in the entire scam.
Source: PREMIUM TIMES

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Envoy Blames Insecurity In Nigeria, Others on Stateless People

The UNHCR recently reported that about 700,000 people in West Africa had no nationalities, while more than five million others were at risk of being stateless.
The Consul-General of the Ghana High Commission in Nigeria, Abdulai Abukari, on Monday blamed insecurity in Nigeria and other West African countries on unregulated movement of stateless people.
The UNHCR recently reported that about 700,000 people in West Africa had no nationalities, while more than five million others were at risk of being stateless.
Mr. Abukari told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos that the increasing number of people without nationalities across the region was becoming worrisome.
He advised that something urgent should be done to give the affected persons nationalities.
He described statelessness as a situation where some persons do not have a state, country or nationality.
“Today, we have so many people who hop from Nigeria to Ghana, Ghana to Nigeria, Niger to Nigeria, Cameroon to Nigeria and so on.
“Countries in West Africa should know that such people are instruments for promoting violence and insecurity in our countries.
“For instance in Nigeria, the Boko Haram insurgency is not only linked\ to Nigeria but with people from other countries,’’ he said.
The envoy, therefore, called on governments in West Africa that were yet to ratify the UN Conventions on Statelessness to urgently do so.
Mr. Abukari also appealed to the governments not to allow statelessness in their countries because of its consequences on the affected persons.
The consul-general said such that consequences, include loss of identity, limited or no access to state protection, services and territory and no right to return to their former countries.
“Statelessness is gradually becoming a major challenge that West African Governments should tackle head-long.
“Affected persons should be made to have nationalities in the states or countries they presently claim.
“This way, they will stop moving about like nomads and governments will be able to protect and provide them with social services,’’ he said.
(NAN)

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Nigerian Military Chief Warns Politicians Against Inflammatory Statements

Nigeria Service Chiefs

Alex Badeh denied friction between service chiefs and Defence Minister.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, has warned prominent Nigerians to stop making inflammatory remarks about the current security challenges facing the country. He said such statements were capable of undermining the morale of the armed forces and jeopardise military operations in the troubled spots.
He also denied the existence of friction between the Service Chiefs and the Defence Minister, Aliyu Gusau.
A member of the National Conference, Mansur Dan-Ali, had claimed in memorandum he submitted to the Conference’s Committee on National Security last week that the counter-terrorism measures adopted by the military had failed.
Mr. Dan-Ali, a retired Brigadier-General from Zamfara State, also said there was friction between the Defence Minister and the nation’s Service Chiefs; though he did not expatiate.
But in a memo presented to the Committee headed by a former Inspector General of Police, Gambo Jimeta, on Monday, Mr. Badeh, an Air Marshall, said the delegate’s claims had cast aspersion on the armed forces and the political leadership of the nation.
“This is regrettable, especially coming from a source that is in a better position to appreciate the complexity of asymmetric warfare,” Mr. Badeh said in the memo presented on his behalf by the Assistant Director, Legal Services, Defence Headquarters, G.O. Anyalemechi.
“It is hoped that highly-placed individuals would refrain from making inflammatory statements that are likely to undermine morale in the armed forces of Nigeria and jeopardize ongoing military operations.”
The CDS said the allegations of maladministration in the armed forces contained in Mr. Dan-Ali’s memo had far-reaching implications on the general administration of the forces and by extension, national security.
He noted that it was particularly worrisome because the retired general did not give specific examples to substantiate the allegations and that it was instructive to observe that the Armed Forces Act, the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service as well as other related internal regulations of the respective Services contain adequate provisions and guidelines on the general administration and discipline of the forces.
Mr. Badeh added, “The Nigerian Armed Forces have over the years endeavour to adhere strictly to these provisions. This accounts for the cohesion and unity of purpose that define the corporate existence of the Armed Forces of Nigeria. The perceived failure as alluded to in the memorandum by the author is capable of undermining the corporate existence of the country. This should not be allowed to happen.”
On the friction between the Defence Minister, the CDS said, “This Headquarters dissociates itself from any imagined friction between the Honourable Minister of Defence, the Chief of Defence Staff and the Service Chiefs.
“The Armed Forces Act has clearly defined functions and assigned responsibilities with respect to the general administration of the Armed Forces. It also establishes Councils and Boards chaired by the Honourable Minister of Defence.”
Mr. Badeh explained that the total subordination of the military to civil authority was not an issue that should be belaboured.
He said the minister superintends over the ministry which encompasses the Armed Forces of Nigeria, stressing “Undoubtedly, the minister does not take part in actual military operations, and may not, in those circumstances, exercise operational command and control of troops. This does not in any way dilute the democratic imperative of civilian control of the military.”
The CDS also denied the delegate’s claim that the military no longer adheres to the Federal Character principle, insisting that it does especially at the point of entry.
He however said promotions were guided by clear provisions of the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service as amplified by individual regulations applicable to the Services.
He added, “General, promotion in the armed forces is a privilege and not a right. For a senior officer to be eligible for promotion, he must satisfy certain conditions. These include deployability, good confidential report, specified academic and professional qualifications as well as establishment vacancy, amongst others. These are adhered to as much as they are humanly possible.”

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Northern Govs Lament Fresh Nasarawa Violence

The Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) has expressed shock and sadness at the reported killing of 59 persons in a fresh crisis between Eggon and Gwandara ethnic groups in Nasarawa State, urging the warring groups to immediately stop further attacks.
Chairman of the forum and Governor of Niger State, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, expressed the forum’s deepest condolences to the families of the victims and urged law enforcement agents to find proactive ways of forestalling further occurrence.
In a statement signed by Governor Aliyu’s spokesman, Danladi Ndayebo, the forum called on the security agencies to ensure that the perpetrators are caught and brought to justice so as to prevent a reoccurrence, stressing that a situation where people are killed at will was unacceptable.
The forum bemoaned the spate of violence in the region and called on all stakeholders to be part of the process of finding lasting solutions to the problem of insecurity in the North.
The forum said it is working in concert with the federal government in the nation’s fight against terrorism and further assured citizens of their safety wherever they live.
The Governors prayed God to grant the souls of the deceased eternal rest and members of their families the fortitude to bear the loss.

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Peter Okoye of P-Square Shows Off His 2014 Bentley GT Car Worth Over N30million

Amazing! Peter Okoye of P-Square just shared pics of the new 2014 Bentley GT he just acquired said to be worth over N30million. See another pic after the cut...

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Vice President Sambo’s Brother Dies In Car Crash

 The crash scene
Vice President Namadi Sambo’s immediate younger brother, Yusuf Sambo, has died in a car crash in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.
The younger Sambo, a pilot, died in a motor accident along Bill Clinton Drive, Airport Road, Abuja, Sani Umar, a special assistant to the vice president, said in a statement.
Details of the crash were not immediately clear as at press time.
Mr. Sambo worked with the defunct Nigerian Airways and later served with the Presidential Air Fleet, before retiring to set up his personal business.
Aged 58, Mr. Sambo is survived by a wife, three daughters, 10 brothers and sisters, and has since been buried at the Apo cemetery, Abuja according to Islamic rites, the statement said.
He was buried in the presence of former military heads of state, Ibrahim Babangida, and Abdulsalami Abubakar, and other sympathisers.
President Goodluck Jonathan has called at the Aguda House residence of the Vice President Sambo in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, to condole him.The Senate President, David Mark, also condoled with the vice president.

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Nigeria’s Poor Have Limited Access to Malaria Diagnosis, Treatment -Expert

Malaria kills more Nigerians than any other sickness.
Seven in every 10 Nigerians, mostly the poor, have limited access to proper diagnosis and treatment of malaria, leading to severity of the disease and eventually deaths, a malaria expert has said.
A professor in the Department of Health Promotion and Education in the University of Ibadan, Oladimeji Oladepo, said this in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES.
“The problem has been the issues of early diagnosis and poor treatment, if people get early treatment, you can actually shorten the duration of malaria and prevent it from moving to simple malaria to severe malaria,” he said.
Mr Oladepo, in a recently conducted research, found that mostly poor people and people in poor communities lack access to quality treatment. He said the primary source of care in poor communities are Patent Medicine Vendors, PMV, who either do not have proper diagnostics and testing that can help in malaria treatment or do not know the appropriate dose of drug to administer in children and adult.
“We find out that there is an existing policy by the federal government called National Policy on Malaria Diagnostics and Treatment. People should be tested before they are sold medicines,” Mr. Oladepo said.
But Mr. Oladepo said many medicine vendors have no knowledge of the policy. Seven percent of the PMV have heard of policy, and only five percent of the PMV have read it, he said.
“Many of them do not know what the policy is in respect to testing before treatment. Many of them know of Artemisin Combination Therapy, ACT, is the drug of choice, both they also administer drugs like chloroquine and fansidar,” he said.
The administration of other drugs besides the ACTs cause a huge burden as it directly translates to poor treatment of malaria. Patients do not mind taking the other drugs because they are a lot cheaper than the first line drug of treatment, ACT.
Mr. Oladepo recommends competent training for PMVs, cheaper prices of ACTs and strengthened monitoring of the malaria policy by the federal government in order to achieve better treatment of malaria.
Meanwhile, the World Malaria Day is celebrated annually on April 25. World Malaria Day is a chance to shine a spotlight on the global effort to control malaria.
With over 300 thousand Nigerians dying from malaria each year, the disease kills more people than HIV AIDS and Tuberculosis put together and is the highest cause of death with children under five years. This is why on April 25 each year, the world celebrates malaria day in order to find solutions to eradicating this disease in Africa.
Malaria is endemic in Nigeria and affected almost seven in 10 Nigerians at least once in 2013, the NOI polls showed. The survey also showed that about 13% treat the ailment with the use of local herbs such as Agbo, Dogonyaro, Neem leaves etc.

Source:  PREMIUM TIMES.

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How Ribadu Made Enemies for Me – Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo

The former president, Obasanjo, says Mr. Ribadu’s fearlessness nearly cost him his life.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has spoken of how efforts by the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu, to rid Nigeria of corruption, created enemies for him.
Mr. Obasanjo said Mr. Ribadu’s zeal as the pioneer head of the anti-corruption unit was ruthless enough to attract a lot of enemies for him. On one occasion, he said, Mr. Ribadu was poisoned.
Mr. Obasanjo said he doesn’t fear those enemies. “It is rather them that fear me,” he said.
The former president was speaking after a presentation on “Illicit Financial Flow and Governance of Natural Resources” delivered by Mr. Ribadu at the 3rd Tana High Level Forum on Security in Africa in Badir Dar, Ethiopia, on Saturday.
Mr. Obasanjo is the chairperson of the Tana Forum.
Mr. Ribadu led the EFCC between 2003 and 2007. He won acclaim for his effort against corruption as he clamped down on very senior officials of government, including former governors.
His record is widely regarded as the best yet for the commission, although he has also faced allegations of taking on only those opposed to Mr. Obasanjo. He was replaced after Mr. Obasanjo left office.
Speaking at the conference in Ethiopia, Mr. Obasanjo said he made it clear to Mr. Ribadu that there should be no sacred cows in the fight against corruption. Mr. Obasanjo said he was investigated alongside his late wife, Stella.
He spoke about how a serving minister who was his senior in secondary school, was indicted and prosecuted by the EFCC. At that point, he said, “there was no issue of senior again”.
Mr. Obasanjo said the former EFCC chairman was once poisoned and he considered that a very serious “a matter of life and death”.
In his remarks, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, thanked Mr. Ribadu for his presentation, which he said highlighted many good things about Nigeria different from what is portrayed in the media.
In his presentation, Mr. Ribadu offered measures African countries should follow to tackle illicit financial flow and repatriate money already illegally taken out of the African countries.
He said what Africa needs is honest and committed leaders who will set examples with themselves by eschewing corruption and close in avenues of illicit financial flow.
According to him, it is the seriousness demonstrated by the political leadership that will convince other foreign countries to work with them towards recovering looted monies stashed abroad.

Source: Premium Times

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South Korean Prime Minister Resigns Over Ferry Disaster

Former South Korean Prime Minister

The prime minister will remain in office until the ferry accident is under control.
South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won has resigned over his government’s handling of the sinking of a passenger ferry that killed more than 100 people and left more than 300 missing.
He apologized for not preventing the tragedy and for not being able to respond properly to it, saying that the “cries of the families of those missing still keep me up at night”.
Mr Chung will stay in his post until the disaster is under control.
“I offer my apology for having been unable to prevent this accident from happening and unable to properly respond to it afterwards,” he said.
“I believed I, as the prime minister, certainly had to take responsibility and resign.”
President Park Geun-hye accepted her prime minister’s resignation. The PM would leave his post once the ferry disaster was under control, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported
The Sewol passenger ferry, capsized April 16 with 476 people on board. Many of the passengers were schoolchildren.
The confirmed death toll from the tragedy stood Sunday at 187, with 115 unaccounted for.
All 15 surviving crew members responsible for sailing the vessel are now in custody and face charges ranging from criminal negligence to abandoning passengers.
The government has been severely criticised over its handling of the rescue operation.
The prime minister said the right thing “for me to do is to take responsibility and resign as a person who is in charge of the cabinet.”
He added: “There have been so many varieties of irregularities that have continued in every corner of our society and practices that have gone wrong. I hope these deep-rooted evils get corrected this time and this kind of accident never happens again.”

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APC, Igbo Group Berate Jonathan Over Suspension of Second Niger Bridge

Groups demand resignation of Environment Minister, Director.
The South East chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, said that the suspension of the construction of second Niger Bridge has exposed President Goodluck Jonathan’s “grand deception” towards the project.
The party said from the onset it perceived the deception and cried aloud, but was not taken seriously.
The Minister of Environment, Laurentia Mallam, had on Friday confirmed that work on the N117 billion project, had been suspended because the Environmental Impact Assessment law was not taken into consideration before it commenced.
The suspension came barely a month after Mr. Jonathan performed the groundbreaking of the project at an elaborate ceremony where he noted that the new bridge would alleviate the pains experienced by travelers as a result of congestion of the old bridge.
The construction work awarded to Messrs. Julius Berger-NSIA Consortium was expected to be completed within 48 months, under a Public Private Partnership, PPP, arrangement, using Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer, DBFOT, model.
The APC alleged that Mr. Jonathan hurriedly performed the ground breaking ceremony for the project after the Obi of Onitsha, Alfred Achebe in February reminded him of the promise he made to the zone during the 2011 presidential campaign that he would complete the bridge in four years if voted into power.
“The grand deception covering the shoddy contract award and Flag-Off of 2nd Niger Bridge has been exposed,” the party’s spokesperson, Osita Okechukwu said in a statement on Sunday.
“The hurry to cover the empty promise Jonathan made to the South East over the bridge, led to the award of the bridge under an opaque Private Public Partnership with neither Environmental Impact Assessment report ready nor the critical project captured in the federal budget.
“One is at a loss why President Jonathan forgot to insert such critical project in any of his federal budget, bearing in mind that the votes of the South East for him in 2011 presidential election is over 25% of the total votes he got.”
The party said the absence of the second Niger Bridge in any federal budget in the last four years led to bogus cost of the project, asking “Otherwise how can a project ex- president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo awarded for N55 billion in 2009 to Gitto Construction Ltd ballooned to N117 in 2014?”
The APC called for international competitive bidding and due process to govern the award of the contract now that the construction of the bridge had been suspended.
Also in a statement on Sunday, another Igbo group, Ndigbo Cultural Society of Nigeria, lamented the development and demanded the resignation of the minister and the ministry’s director of EIA, Kehinde Odusanya.
It said such incompetence would degrade a government and label it fraudulent in the public court of opinion and political opponents of a government may cash in on it and label a well-meaning government as backsliders.
The group in the statement signed by its president, Udo Udeogaranya further said that as expected every minister and directors must be on the same page with the president on every programmes and projects of their government that relates to their offices, so as to object, correct, amend, opined or to allow an idea to prevail before he (President) or the Federal Government commits themselves publicly.
“For Mr. President to commence a project that has been in the public domain for too long and suddenly apply suspension means that vital checks were not done by his minister and the director that such functions relate to or that such a minister and her director hibernated themselves from their government, waiting for Mr. President or sister ministry to wake them up to their duties on which they are collecting taxpayers monies monthly,” the group said.
It also noted that there were legions of bridges in Lagos State and various states in Nigeria, constructed even when the Environmental Impact Assessment Law, EIA was not in place and the bridges were still serving their purposes.
It urged the federal government to ignore EIA approval and continue the construction of the bridge if it meant well for Ndigbo.

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Nigeria Censors Board Bans Chimamanda Adichie’s Movie, ‘Half of A Yellow Sun’

The Nigeria Film and Video Censorship Board, (NFVCB), has banned the widely publicised and internationally acclaimed film, Half of A Yellow Sun which has been premiered in Nigeria.
But reliable sources revealed to journalists Abuja that the film promoters are making frantic efforts to remove the offensive sections and get the film approved.
Sources said that the film, an adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel is being stopped from getting into the market due to parts that tend to whip up tribal sentiments, especially on issues that led to the Nigerian civil war.

The filmmaker further revealed that, “with the Boko Haram insurgency and the Adamawa State governor’s outburst, the NFVCB is living up to its billing.”

Half of a Yellow Sun is a 2013 Nigerian drama film directed by Biyi Bandele and based on the novel of Adichie. The film is a love story that follows two sisters who are caught up in the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War and stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Onyeka Onwenu, Genevieve Nnaji and OC Ukeje.

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PHOTOS: Dele Momodu Shares Pictures of His Lovely Family

Ovation International Publisher, Dele Momodu excitedly shared photos of his happy family - wifey Mobolaji and four sons.

Dele Momodu has got the most beautiful family! TOB crew shares in your joy. Keep up the goodwork sir.

His boys - Pekan Momodu, Yole Momodu, Eniafe Momodu, Korewa Momodu - are all grown up now, 




Source: Kemi Filani's Blog

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