Author: darelasisi@gmail.com

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured an order of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Bwari, to detain former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, Mr Abdulrasheed Maina, and his son, Faisal, in its custody pending the conclusion of ongoing investigation. The order which was given on Oct. 7, 2019 following an exparte application by the anti-graft agency, empowered the Commission to remand the defendants in its custody for an initial period of 14 days. The court however noted that the order is “subject to be reviewed if necessary,” the commission said in a statement. It…

A 64-year-old man, Bassey Archibong, of No. 10 Kunle Dipo Street, Majidun, Owutu, in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State, has been arraigned for having carnal knowledge of his four daughters aged between 12 and 20. It was learnt that Archibong had been having incestuous sexual relationship with the girls since 2016. Archibong was arraigned on three counts of continuous sexual relationship with his daughters, failure to get their consent and involvement in an amoral relationship with the victims before the Ikorodu Magistrates’ Court 1, Lagos. The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges. The prosecutor, John Iberedem, said Archibong…

A security guard, Anthony Ikhibhojero, 26, on Thursday appeared before an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos State for allegedly attempting to steal a trailer battery. Ikhibhojero, who resides in Oke-aro in Ogun, is charged with attempted stealing to which he pleaded not guilty. The Prosecutor, Insp. Victor Eruada, told the court that the defendant committed the offence on Sept. 30 at 5:00 a.m. at Abattoir Trailer Park, Oko-Oba, Agege, Lagos. “Ikhibhojero scaled the fence in the early hours of the day to gain access to the park’s premises and attempted to steal the trailer battery. “The security guards in…

Two brothers, Saheed Obadimeji and Ayodeji Obadimeji, were, on Thursday, remanded in prison by an Igbosere High Court in Lagos for allegedly beheading a teenage boy. The duo were said to have cut off the boy’s head for the purpose of selling it at a sum of N200,000. Saheed, 19 and Ayodeji, 20, who reside at Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos, are standing trial on a two-count charge of conspiracy to commit murder and murder. They, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges. The Lagos State Prosecutor, Mr Tunde Sunmonu, told the court that the defendants and others at large committed…

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin, on Thursday in Abuja said that military veterans can still contribution meaningfully to national security and development. Olonisakin also said that the retirees could play a role in the efforts to “checkmate various divisive tendencies that constantly threaten’’ the nation’s corporate existence. Olonisakin, who made the remark at the opening of a 2-day retreat on “Unification of Veteran Associations in Nigeria,’’ however, said that the retirees could only do this under a unified association. The retreat was part of efforts aimed at creating a “Veteran Federation of Nigeria,’’ a single retirees…

A 38-year-old unemployed man, Vincent Emezuom, on Thursday appeared before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in Lagos for allegedly stealing a car valued at N2.5 million. The defendant, who resides at Igando, a suburb of Lagos, was arraigned before Magistrate Mrs B.O Osunsanmi on one-count charge of stealing. Emezuom, however, denied committing the offence and was admitted to N300,000 bail with two sureties in like sum. Osunsanmi directed that the sureties should be gainfully employed and show evidence of two-year tax payment to the Lagos State Government. The Prosecutor, ASP Ezekiel Ayorinde, told the court that the defendant committed the offence…

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested 90 suspected drug traffickers in Niger between January and September, this year. Mrs Sylvia Egwunwoke, the state commander of the agency, made this known in an interview with the Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna on Thursday. Egwunwoke said that the suspects were arrested with over 3429.9953kg suspected to be cannabis sativa and psychotropic in different parts of the state. “We have so far succeeded in convicting 40 persons while the remaining cases are still pending at various courts. “The agency will not relent in frustrating the activities of drug peddlers…

The Federal Government has signed a 3.9 billion dollar agreement with the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) for the construction of the Abuja-Itakpe railway. The Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi announced this in Abuja on Thursday. According to Amaechi, all the railway activities in Nigeria are handled by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC). The minister expressed hope that the project would be speedily completed by the company. “The signing ceremony that we have today is the first PPP railway agreement for Abuja-Baru-Itakpe and Lokoja and it is between Nigeria and CRCC. “The agreement is supposed to be…

By Tony Obiechina, Abuja The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has declared that the  pace of Nigeria’s economic recovery has remained slow as depressed private consumption and investors’ attitude kept growth in the first half of the year at 2 percent, a rate significantly below population growth. In a Report released in Abuja on Wednesday, the IMF said “headline inflation has fallen, reaching its lowest level since January 2016, helped by lower food price inflation”. The Report followed an IMF staff team led by Amine Mati, Senior Resident Representative and Mission Chief for Nigeria, which visited Lagos and Abuja from September 25 to…

The Federal Government of Nigeria at the ongoing 39th Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) has invited investors to leverage on the potential of Nigeria to do businesses for the boosting of its digital economy. Dr Isa Pantami, the Minister of Communications, made the call at the African Investment Forum (AIF), a platform designed to showcase the opportunities in Nigerian, African ICT sector. GITEX is the biggest annual technology gathering of the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia with over 200,000 technology interests and over 145 countries in participation. Pantami, who emphasised on the opportunities in Nigeria, said that investors…