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(Nigeria) President Goodluck Jonathan said that the Federal Government would spend N1.5 trillion in the next five years to reform the Nigeria Police Force. Jonathan made this known at a two-day retreat on ``Sustaining Nigeria Police Reforms’’, in Makurdi, Benue State on Thursday. The event was organised by the Police Service Commission, PSC, in conjunction with the Benue Government. Represented by Sen. Bala Mohammed, the Minister of the FCT, Jonathan said government was committed to build the capacity of the police force in the country through ongoing reforms. Jonathan said that 60 per cent of the money would be provided by government, while the remaining 40 per cent would come from the private sector, including non-governmental organisation. He assured that the Federal Government was committed to equipping the police for enhanced performance. The president urged the commission to build a police force that was impeccable and committed to ensuring the security of all Nigeri

(Nigeria) The absence of Justice Ishaq Bello of an Abuja High Court, on Thursday stalled the trial of a former Peoples Democratic Party chairman, Vincent Ogbulafor. Ogbulafor is being prosecuted by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, alongside Jude Nwokolo and Emeka Ebilah. The accused are facing a 17-count charge bordering on fraud to the tune of N170 million. At the resumed hearing of the case, the court clerk informed the counsel to the ICPC, and the defence team that Justice Bello was on a national assignment. The judge was recently appointed as the Chairman of the Anambra Election Tribunal. A new date, February 20, was thereafter given to the counsel to address the court. The ICPC had in the charge alleged that Ogbulafor, while serving as Minister of State for Special Duties in 2001 conspired with the others to float three fictitious companies, with which they perpetrated the fraud. They were alleged to have used Henrichiko Nig. Ltd, DHL Consulta

Norway's huge sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, blacklisted two Israeli companies involved in construction of settlements in East Jerusalem, the country's finance ministry said Thursday. The ban on investing in the firms revived a three-year prohibition on them that the Government Pension Fund of Norway had dropped in August last year. The companies are Africa Israel Investments, an Israeli real estate developer, and its construction subsidiary Danya Cerbus. The ministry cited the company's alleged "contribution to serious violations of individual rights in war or conflict through the construction of settlements in East Jerusalem," a territory where Israel's claims are not recognised by the international community. Norway's sovereign wealth fund is fed by the country's oil surplus. It is worth an estimated $818 billion according to the SWF Institute, a body that tracks such funds. As well as resuming the Israeli firm blackl

South Africa's platinum mineworkers rejected a fresh wage offer at a public meeting Thursday, and vowed to continue a week-long strike that has brought the sector to a stand-still. Members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union crowded into a platinum belt stadium to hear details of a deal firms were hoping would end a stoppage costing each of them as much as $9 million a day. Anglo Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin-- the world's top three producers -- have proposed wage increases of at least seven percent for each of the next three years. But members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union gave the offer short shrift. Informed of the terms by leaders, the stadium erupted with jeers and with a cry of "asiyi" meaning we are not going back. An estimated 80,000 workers downed tools last Thursday, prompting the government to call talks between the union and the top three mining firms. "We've been mandated to go b

United States actress Scarlett Johansson has ended her role as Oxfam ambassador following a dispute over her ad campaign for a firm operating in an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. Johansson's departure, announced overnight by her publicist, was welcomed by Palestinian activists on Thursday, although some criticised Oxfam for not acting itself to sever ties with the Hollywood star they branded the "new poster girl for Israeli occupation." In a statement, Oxfam confirmed accepting Johansson's decision to step down, saying her promotion of Israeli drinks firm SodaStream, which has a factory in a settlement east of Jerusalem, was "incompatible" with her role at the international aid agency. "Oxfam believes that businesses, such as SodaStream, that operate in settlements, further the ongoing poverty and denial of rights of the Palestinian communities that we work to support," it said. "Oxfam is opposed to all trade from Isr

Dutch Shell will suspend drilling in offshore Alaska after a United States court decision and as the oil major streamlines operations following a slump in annual profits, it said on Thursday. The Anglo-Dutch group said it would halt the project this year after a federal appeals court last week ruled that the US government had improperly relied on inadequate information in the process of awarding licences for exploration in Alaska. "The recent decision ... raises substantial obstacles to Shell's plans for drilling in offshore Alaska," Shell said in a statement accompanying the earnings release. "As a result, Shell has decided to stop its exploration programme for Alaska in 2014." Chief executive Ben van Beurden expressed regret at the situation. "This is a disappointing outcome, but the lack of a clear path forward means that I am not prepared to commit further resources for drilling in Alaska in 2014," he said. "We will look to rele

(Nigeria) For Nigerians to surmount their current challenges, they should vote for the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC to pilot the country’s affairs, Rivers State Governor and Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Mr Rotimi Amaechi has said. Amaechi said the APC would restore sanity to the country’s polity and urged Nigerians to vote out the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in next year’s elections. He said the APC will not be a religious party, and criticized those attempting to fan the embers of religion in the country’s politics ahead 2015, saying that leadership transcends religion and ethnicity. He spoke when Knights and Ladies of St. John International, Port Harcourt Grand Commandery paid him a solidarity visit in Government House, Port Harcourt on Thursday.   “For me, I am not doing religion because first and foremost APC will not be a religious party.  I have attended all APC meetings since we joined.  We have never discussed Christ or Mohammed.” He lamente

(Nigeria) Bauchi State Police Command said that gun bearing men suspected to be cattle rustlers have attacked Giade Divisional Police Station and set a detainee free. This is contained in a statement by Mr Haruna Mohammed in Bauchi on Thursday. It said armed men used guns and explosive devices to damage part of the building and escaped with a suspect, one Iliyasu M. of Jigawa State. The added that the attack on the station located in Katagum Local Government Area, was repelled by men of the command. It added that efforts were on to apprehend the fleeing suspects. He appealed to members of the public to volunteer useful information that could lead to the arrest of the miscreants.

(Nigeria) The Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, has re-deployed four Deputy Corps Marshals, four Assistant Corps Marshals and two Corps Commanders as part of efforts to achieve its 2014 strategic goal. This is contained in a statement by Mr Jonas Agwu, the Commission’s Public Education Officer, in Abuja on Thursday. Details of the redeployment showed DCM Boboye Oyeyemi, formerly of the Operations Department, re-deployed to the Motor Vehicle Administration Department. Others include DCM Garba Danjuma who moves to the Operations Department from the Motor Vehicle Administration Department. It added that DCM Chidi Nwachukwu of Training, Standards and Certification swapped position with DCM Adei Abu of Administration and Human Resources Department. The statement said that ACM Ademola Lawal, Zonal Commanding Officer, Lagos headquarters, is now in charge of the command Administration and Strategic Section, Operation Department, National headquarters. The Zonal Commanding Offi

Police on Thursday said that three women whose bodies were found at a lake in western Germany are believed to have died in a suicide pact. According to the police investigation, there were no signs of foul play in the deaths of the women, aged 49, 44 and 23, who are thought to have met on the internet. Police said that the women met in a camping ground near the small town of Voehl in the state of Hessen. The 44-year old was believed to have come from the nearby city of Kassel, the 49-year old from Frankfurt (Oder), which lies on the German side of the border with Poland, while the 23-year old was from Potsdam, near Berlin. Police are investigating whether the women were suffering from a mental illness. The operator of the camping ground discovered the bodies in a log cabin on the site. Report says that attached to the bathroom door was a note warning about carbon monoxide. Police also found farewell letters written by the women.  

(Nigeria) A 24-year-old unemployed man, Oludiwa Kiruma, was on Thursday charged with stabbing a woman with a broken bottle at an Ojo Magistrate Court in Lagos. The accused, whose address is unknown, is standing on charges of assault and breach of peace. The prosecutor, Mr Godwin Eze, told the court that the accused committed the offences on January 21 at Tedi Town in Ojo, Lagos. According to him, Kiruma stabbed a woman, Linda Malichi, with a broken bottle on her head, face and breast. He added that the accused also conducted himself in a manner likely to cause a breach of the peace. Eze said the offences contravened Sections 166 and 171 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. The accused entered a not-guilty plea on all the counts. The Magistrate, Mr Taslimi Shomade, granted him bail in the sum of N200, 000 with two sureties in like sum and adjourned the case to February 10 for mention.

(Nigeria) The Head of the Science Department at the Niger State Polytechnic, Alhaji Abdulrashid Abdullahi, was on Thursday killed by three gunmen on the Zungeru-Tegina highway, reports NAN. It was learnt in Minna that Abdullahi was killed while on an official trip to Kaduna. According to Abdullahi’s driver, Malam Hussaini Babangida, the gunmen stopped them at an abandoned check-point after the Zungeru Bridge. ``I stopped because I thought they were security men but they immediately went for Abdullahi’s door with a machete. I tried to drive away but I heard the lecturer shout, I have been shot as they could not open his door. I drove the vehicle very fast back to Zungeru, where the lecturer was pronounced dead at a hospital,” he said. He said that nothing was taken away from them. “It is sad that they killed my cousin for undisclosed reasons,” Babangida said. The state's Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Richard Oguche, confirmed the incident. Oguche described the a

(Nigeria) The police have arrested five suspects, including a witch-doctor, in connection with the murder of Mr Sylvester Emefiele, staff member of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, in September 2012. They are Olaniyi Banjo, 20, Akindele Taiwo, Timothy Lekan, alias Leksit, 30, Akinlade Taiwo, 41 and a witch-doctor, Saidi Babatunde. This is contained in a statement by Mr Frank Mba, the Force Public Relations Officer, FPRO on Thursday in Abuja. Mba, in the statement, described Taiwo, Lekan and Akinlade as the masterminds of the crime, while Babatude, the witch-doctor ``prepared criminal charms for them.’’ The statement explained that their arrest followed a painstaking and diligent investigation by detectives from the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, FSARS. It recalled that the late Emefiele left Lagos on September 23, 2012, following a call from his office to report to Abuja on September 24, 2012. ``He was to process a visa to go to Hungary for training.’’

(Nigeria) The Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, FSARS, has arrested nine persons, including a native doctor in connection with the killing of a staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC. The Deputy Commissioner of Police FSARS, Mr Chris Ezike, confirmed the arrest while speaking with News Agency of Nigeria  in Lagos on Thursday. Ezike, who is of the Adeniji-Adele Police Station, said that the suspects committed the crime on September 23, 2012. He gave the name of the NNPC staff as Mr Sylvester Emefiele, who worked with NNPC's Transformation Office in Abuja. The commissioner said that the wife of the victim, Ngozi, had petitioned the Inspector-General of police in September, 2012 over the disappearance of her husband after leaving Lagos for Abuja. Ezike said that the woman revealed that her husband left Lagos for Abuja on the invitation of his boss to process his visa for a training programme in Hungary. ``She claimed her husband sent her SMS on Septe

Noah Katumo, Kenyan Head of Special Crimes Prevention Unit, said police arrested  68 with forged documents and 39 visa seals in Nairobi late on Wednesday. He said on Thursday in Nairobi that the suspects included two Ethiopians, two Somalis and two Bangladesh nationals and a Kenya Airways staffer, who was believed to have been helping other suspects with fake papers to pass through the airport.  Katumo said it was so unfortunate because with the development government did not know how many people have managed to pass the airport using these fake documents. He said even though government was trying to establish it yet it was a serious cartel. Katumo cautioned the people behind the racket of dire consequences, saying using or printing a fake passport is a threat to national and international security. Police involved in the operation said the foreigners arrested in Ngara residential estate were headed for Mozambique, South Africa and Angola and later to Europe using the fake

(Nigeria) A couple, Mr Suraju Omolabi and Fumilayo Omolabi, on Thursday, urged an Abeokuta Grade II Customary Court in Ake to dissolve their 11-year-old marriage over alleged infidelity. The couple is accusing each other of infidelity. Fumilayo, 30, a trader who resides at No. 3, Agura Road, Abeokuta, had earlier told the court that Suraju beats her regularly and that she is tired of his infidelity. ``My husband beats me at any little mistake. He had battered me to the extent that I had miscarriage. He usually beats me to the extent that he will tear my clothes into pieces. I have also heard him receive calls from different women. I am no more interested in the marriage. Please I am fed up.'' Suaju, 42, a businessman, also accused his wife of receiving strange calls from different men at midnight. He said ``my wife sneaks out of our matrimonial room at night to receive calls from many different men late at night. ``She deliberately installed a security code on her

(Nigeria)  The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos, has struck out the objection by igeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited, NLNG, against the decision of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, to appeal against the refusal of the Federal High Court, Lagos to discharge an order of interim injunction against the Agency. In a bench ruling delivered by the appellate court presided over by Justice Sidi Bage, the court  held that objection by NLNG was premature as same could not stand. The court also held that all necessary materials like the ruling being appealed against and the notice of appeal of NIMASA were not placed before it by the NLNG. The appellate court which also had Justices Rita Pemu and Chinwe Iyizoba as members of its panel consequently overruled the NLNG and threw out its objection. It will be recalled that Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court, Lagos had in June 2013 granted an order, restraining the AGF; NIMASA; Global West Vesse

(Nigeria) A Federal High Court in Jos, Plateau State on Thursday sentenced two oil pipeline vandals to five years imprisonment each without an option of fine. The convicts, Emplo Asul, 28, and Abimbi Asukudu, 30, were convicted on a five-count charge of unlawfully obstructing the movement of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, after vandalising an oil pipelines in Bassa, Plateau State. Other charges against them included unlawful dealing in the petroleum products, unlawful interference in the free-flow of PMS, unlawful procurement and unlawful aid to procure the commodity. All charges attract a five-year jail term on conviction. When the case came for hearing before Justice Ambrose Allagoa on Thursday, the convicts who were apprehended by men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, pleaded guilty to the charges. Their lawyer, Mrs Leah Dagung, pleaded with the judge to tamper justice with mercy since the suspects did not waste the court’s time by denying the charges.

(Nigeria) The Special Fraud Unit, SFU, on Thursday, asked a Federal High Court, Lagos, to adjourn a N30 million fraud suit against First City Monument Bank Plc, FCMB. The adjournment according to the police was at the instance of the bank. FCMB was charged alongside a former manager of its Oke Arin branch, Rosemary Usifo, on a one-count charge of fraud. On January 30, the Prosecutor, Mr Effiong Asuquo, informed the court that the bank had urged the police to seek an adjournment to enable them repay the money to the victim of the crime. He said that after a meeting with the bank, it indicated its intention to repay the money obtained by the second accused (Usifo), from the account of one Archibong Nkana, a Deputy Inspector General of Police (rtd). According to the prosecutor, the bank said that its moves are aimed at having the name of FCMB struck out from the charge. Asuquo told the court that he was instructed to seek for an adjournment, to afford the bank time to regul

(Nigeria) An Ikeja Magistrate  Court in Lagos on Thursday remanded a mechanic, Musa Yakubu, 22, at the Kirikiri Prisons, Apapa, over alleged armed robbery. The accused, residing at No 8, Ajasa Street Command, Ipaja, Lagos, is facing a two-count charge of conspiracy and armed robbery. The Magistrate, Mrs Margaret Dan-Oni, ordered that the accused be remanded in custody, pending legal advice from the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions. Dan-Oni, however, did not take the plea of the accused, as she adjourned the case to Feb. 28 for mention. Earlier, the Prosecutor, Insp. Edet Okoi, had told the court that the accused and others currently at large committed the offences on January 14 at the Agbenlekale Area of Lagos. He said Yakubu and his gang, armed with a pistol and other dangerous weapons, robbed a Volkswagen bus with registration no KRD 809 XF. Okoi added that the bus, which was valued N1.5 million, belong to one Mr Simon Akushile and Mr Oluwaseun Adesiga. The

(Nigeria) The Bayelsa State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency , NDLEA, arrested 249 suspects for various drug-related offences in  2013. The State Commander of the NDLEA, Mr Frank Hanachor, told newsmen on Wednesday in Yenagoa that the figure represented a slight increase in drug-related offences in the state. He recalled that the command arrested 219 suspects in 2012 and confiscated 132.730 kilogrammes of various hard drugs. According to Hanachor, the command in 2013 also recorded a seizure of 223.168kilogrammes of various drugs from suspects in the state. He said that 191 of the 249 suspects were male as against 53 female suspects. The commander said during the year under review, the command nabbed a wanted notorious drug dealer on January 12, 2013.  "At the time of his arrest, the suspect was found to be in possession of 38.9 grammes of crack cocaine, drug distribution paraphernalia and a weighing machine," he said. Hanachor warned drug dea

(Nigeria) The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mu'azu, has pledged that the party's consultative forum will henceforth be a regular feature. He said during the party's caucus meeting in Abuja on Wednesday at the residence of Senate President David Mark, that the forum would  enable members to "touch base and interact with one another". He said, before the meeting went into closed door, that he summoned the interaction to consult with governors and senators who were major stakeholders of the party. Mu'azu said the consultation was aimed at finding common ground to resolve the plethora of crises bedevilling the PDP. He expressed concern about the difficulties executive bills often suffered at the National Assembly.  "There is no reason why executive bills cannot be discussed with the PDP lawmakers before they are introduced on the floor of the house, so that such bills will enjoy smooth sail. "If we do

(Nigeria) The police in Anambra State have arrested two suspects for allegedly running a kidnap den in Onitsha. The spokesman of the Anambra police command, Mr Emeka Chukwuemeka, who confirmed the arrest on Wednesday, said the command had commenced investigation into the matter. ``Investigation is still going on and its outcome will determine the next line of action,’’ Chukwuemeka said. The policemen attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad raided the excluded house in  Onitsha where the two suspects (a man and a woman) were arrested on Tuesday. It was gathered that the house at Onwuamegbu Crescent, GRA, Onitsha, was being used by the suspects to dump kidnap victims. A source who spoke on condition of anonymity said a kidnap victim who was being guarded by the kidnapper's girl friend with a pistol and was demanding N3 million ransom escaped recently. The source said the victim asked for water and as the woman went in search of the water, the victim escaped by scaling

(Nigeria) The police in Ogun on Wednesday said they arrested five members of an armed robbery gang who allegedly robbed and raped a young lady on Monday along Idi-iroko highway. The spokesperson of the state Police Command, Mr Muyiwa Adejobi, said in a statement in Abeokuta that the suspects were arrested on Tuesday at Olodo in Odeda Local Government Area of the state. Adejobi said a police Anti- Robbery Team, led by Sgt. Adebayo Oyesomi, while on a routine patrol on the highway, sighted the victim by the road side at Papalanto junction shortly after she was released by the robbers. ``The 33-year-old lady told the police how she was robbed of N1.8 million cash, jewellery, wrist watch and cell phones valued at N200,000 after they had raped her. ``She also co-operated and gave some information which assisted the police in arresting the robbers on Tuesday at Olodo. All the items stolen from the victim have been recovered by the police," Adejobi said. He said that two other

The Moroccan Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said that it had summoned the Algerian Ambassador to protest the recent deportation of Syrian refugees to Morocco. Morocco's official news agency (MAP) made this available in Rabat. The minister’s delegate for Foreign Affairs, Mbarka Bouaida summoned the Algerian Ambassador to the ministry's headquarters to express his country's strong disapproval of the deportation by the Algerian authorities of over 70 Syrian nationals to the Moroccan territory. The ministry said that Morocco condemns outright this ``inhuman act all the more because it involves women and children in an extremely vulnerable situation.’’ It said that the Moroccan authorities had immediately provided assistance and the necessary healthcare for the Syrian nationals, who were deported to the border zone with Algeria. According to the Moroccan media, an increasing number of Syrians have recently crossed into Morocco from Algeria without visas, with most se

Countries who spy on their allies would risk destroying trust and harming security, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in her first major policy speech after re-election on Wednesday, reports Xinhua. Merkel told parliament that Germany and the United States are still far apart in their views on the mass surveillance of United States National Security Agency, NSA, warning spying activities would lead to mistrust between allies and less rather than more security. But Merkel spoke out against canceling talks between the U.S. and the European Union about a transatlantic free trade area, saying for all their differences, Germany couldn't wish for a better partner than the U.S. Relations between Germany and the U.S. have been strained by revelations of U.S. mass surveillance of online and photo data, especially the allegations about U.S. tapping of Merkel's mobile phone. New reports on Sunday said the NSA also spied on German industry. U.S. President Barack Obama

(Nigeria) The police division in Ekumenyi, Abakaliki, Eboyin State on Wednesday arrested two women aged 25 and 27 for allegedly selling a three-week-old baby to a ``baby factory’’ in Abia State. They gave the names of the suspects as Amarachi Osulor and one Lorretta, whose surname was not disclosed. A member of Osulor’s family was said to have informed the police that she was suspicious of her claim of delivery and the death of the baby. The family source said Osulor  left home without notice with her nine-month-old pregnancy and returned a month later with a story of delivery and death of the baby. “She suddenly disappeared with her nine-month-old pregnancy to an unknown destination on December 3. “Surprisingly, she re-appeared after one month with some cooked-up stories about how she delivered her baby and how the baby later died after a few days. “Unsatisfied with her explanation, we demanded to know why she disappeared from home, where she delivered her baby and where

Egypt will put an Australian, two Britons and a Dutchwoman on trial for aiding 16 Egyptians belonging to a ``terrorist organization,’ reports Reuters. The public prosecutor said on Wednesday and described the four as Al Jazeera correspondents. According to the Website of the Qatar-based television network, three of its journalists, Peter Greste, an Australian, Mohamed Fahmy, a Canadian-Egyptian national. And Baher Mohamed was detained in Cairo on December 29. They have not been released. The identities of the two Britons and the Dutchwoman mentioned by the prosecutor were not immediately clear. The Dutch embassy declined to comment. The British embassy said it was aware of the report and was seeking more information. In a statement, the prosecutor said the four had published ``lies’’ that harmed the national interest and had supplied money, equipment and information to the 16 Egyptians. The foreigners were also accused of using unlicensed broadcasting equipment. The 16

No fewer than eight passengers were killed after their bus collided with an oil tanker and caught fire in India's western state of Maharashtra on Wednesday, a news report said. An agency report said firefighters and villagers put out the fire on the luxury bus on a highway in the Thane district, some 70 kilometres north of Mumbai. It added that 11 injured passengers were taken to hospital. Witnesses said the accident took place when the bus driver was attempting to overtake the oil tanker and rammed into the vehicle. The report says India records the highest number of traffic fatalities in the world, adding that in October, 45 people were killed after a bus they were travelling in caught fire in southern India.

(Nigeria) Popular Nigerian Singer and Song-writer Dapo Oyebanjo,  aka D’banj on Wednesday in Addis Ababa launched a song ``Do Agric, It pays,`` to urge  African leaders to commit 10 per cent of their national budgets to agriculture.  D’banj song was launched as part of  a South Africa base Civil Society Organisation ``The ONE``campaign effort to push political leaders to adopt better policies that would  boost productivity, increase incomes and reduce poverty. He said, during the launch, that there were massive untapped business opportunities in agriculture that could create jobs for millions of Africans on and off the farm. ``I want Africans to know that farming is not only the foundation of the economy, but also that farming is cool. I believe that, if the needed attention is given to agriculture, we Africans will not only feed ourselves, but also the rest of the world, D’banj said at the launch. According to him, while other African leaders have made statements of goodwil

(Nigeria) An Igarra Chief Magistrate Court in Edo State on Wednesday ordered the remand of nine persons over the attempted murder of one Kassim Suleman. The accused persons are Ojo Amune, Ayo Sunday, Odumosu Olufemi,  David Attah and Tope Sunday. Others are Taiye Jimoh, Abdulrahim Raji, Lucky Jihom and Ojo Sunday. The Prosecutor, Cpl. Samuel Obeze, who arraigned the men in court, said that they were facing a three-count charge of felony, conspiracy and attempted murder. He said the offences were committed on January 15 at Ofua Quarters, Igarra in the Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State. Obeze said the offences contravened Sections 516 and 320 of the Criminal Code Vol 1. Laws of the Defunct Bendel State, as applicable to Edo State. No plea was taken and the Chief Magistrate, Mr Oare Mutere, ordered that the accused should be remanded at the Auchi Prison. Mutere adjourned the case to February 17, to get the advice of the state's Director of Public Prosecutions

(Nigeria) An Abuja Upper Area Court on Wednesday sentenced two fake policemen; Henry Igboke, 30, and Ishaku Tijani, 20, to 18 months in prison for impersonation and extortion. The presiding judge, Mr Adamu Wakili, sentenced the two men after they pleaded guilty to the charge of criminal conspiracy, extortion and impersonation. Wakili, however, gave the convicts an option to pay a fine of N9,000 each and warned them against committing further crime. Earlier, the prosecutor, Sgt. Ambi Ayuba, had told the court that Shina Olabanjo of Monkey Village, Area 1, Abuja, reported the matter at the Durumi Police Station, Abuja, on January 28. He said the convicts conspired and planted a wrap of substance suspected to be Indian Hemp in the complainant's shop at Monkey Village, Area 1, Abuja. Ayuba said that the convicts later visited the complainant's shop and presented themselves as police detectives, claiming to be on surveillance duty. The prosecutor added that Igboke and T

(Nigeria) The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on Wednesday arraigned Aminu Gaya, a serving commissioner in the Kano State Civil Service Commission in an Abuja High Court for obtaining N17 million on false pretext. Gaya is standing trial on a 15-count charge bordering on forgery and obtaining money on false pretext. Counsel to EFCC,  told the court that the 61-year-old commissioner forged a land title document and sold the land to one Mr Uche Okoli. EFCC said the accused committed the crime in 2006 while he was an administrative officer with the Federal Capital Development Authority, FCDA, in Abuja before his appointment in Kano State, adding  that the accused forged the document for plot 2794, located at Cadastral Zone C in Asokoro district, Abuja. The EFCC counsel noted that the offence is punishable under Section 1 (3) of the Advanced Fee Fraud Act. However, the accused pleaded not guilty to the charge. The EFCC counsel prayed the court to fix a date to en

(Nigeria) Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Olisa Agbakoba on Wednesday open his case against First Bank before a Federal High Court in Lagos. Agbakoba, who is equally a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, had dragged First Bank before Justice James Tsoho claiming N1 billion damages over alleged banking malpractices performed on the margin loan deal he had with the bank. On Wednesday, Agbakoba was led in evidence by his lawyer, Chinedu Nneke, where he claimed that the malpractices performed on his account caused him to loose billions of naira on his investment in the margin loan. Agbakoba further accused the bank of negligence and deliberate mismanagement of the said loan, which resulted in substantial loss. Margin loan is a loan taken to finance the purchase of securities, usually the purchase of stock, which is also known as equity. Agbakoba had attempted to tender his statement of account, written statements on oath and other documents to prove the case, b

(Nigeria) The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC on Wednesday called for the establishment of a body to prosecute electoral offenders. Prof. Attahiru Jega, the INEC Chairman, made the call at a two-day National Stakeholders forum on Electoral Reforms in Abuja. The forum was organised by INEC, Shehu Musa Yar' Adua Foundation and four other civil society organisations. Represented by Hajia Amina Zakary, INEC Commissioner (Election and Party Monitoring), Jega said that the commission had recommended for the body in the proposed amendment of the electoral law. He said INEC did not have the time, resources and capacities to shoulder electoral challenges, adding that the establishment of the body would ensure timely prosecution of electoral offenders. ``INEC proposes that a body known as the Electoral Offences Commission with powers to investigate and prosecute breaches of relevant electoral provisions be established,’’ he said. He suggested that the secretary o

(Nigeria) A 25-year-old man, Azeez Kilani on Wednesday appeared before an Abeokuta Magistrates’ Court and charged with assaulting and raping a neighbour's wife. Prosecutor Augustine Ozimini told the court that Kilani, who resides at No. 6 Olowu Street, Sapon, Abeokuta, committed the offence on January 25. Ozimini said that the accused went to the neighbour’s home under the pretext of seeking for the attention of the victim’s husband. ``When Kilani learnt that the husband was not at home, he made sexual advances to his wife. When she resisted, he hit her, tore her cloth and raped her brutally,’’ he said. The prosecutor said the offence contravened Section 351 and 357 of the Criminal Law of Ogun, 2006. The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge. The Magistrate, Emmanuel Adekunte, granted bail to the accused in the sum of N100, 000 with two sureties in like sum. Adekunte said that the sureties must be regular tax payers and owners of landed property in the state. He