Ex-Naval officer, lawyer arrested for N540m bank fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission has arrested a retired naval
captain, Okorie Ogbonnaya, for allegedly
defrauding Oceanic Bank Plc (now
Ecobank Plc) of over N540m.
The commission also arrested
Ogbonnaya’s lawyer, Emmanuel
Mbajuwon, for conspiring with his client
to perpetrate the fraud.
EFCC Head of Operations, Iliyasu Kwarbai,
told PUNCH Metro that 51-year-old
Ogbonnaya committed the alleged fraud
under the pretext of importing bags of
rice from Thailand for Cooperative
Federation of Imo State.
He said Ogbonnaya took a loan of N196m
from the bank and also caused the bank
to lose $2.4m after the bank had issued
him a letter of credit to a foreign bank.
He said, “Sometime in 2011, Ogbonnaya,
who is the owner of Akaeze Ventures
Enterprise, approached Cooperative
Federation of Imo State saying he could
supply them with rice below the market
value.
“Ogbonnaya was able to obtain a bank
guaranty from Imo State Government to
Oceanic Bank and subsequently got a
letter of credit from the bank worth
$6.5m.
“The rice manufacturers, based on the
documents received from Oceanic Bank,
supplied Ogbonnaya with the rice and
also gave him $90,000 to be used for
logistics and other miscellaneous affairs
which would be refunded to the
manufacturers after the rice had been
sold.”
The EFCC alleged that the retired naval
officer squandered the $90,000 which
should have been used for clearing the
goods.
Kwarbai alleged that the suspect, in
desperation, urged members of the
cooperative to pay N20m in advance for
the rice and also approached the bank for
a loan of N196m to finance his business.
He said, “Ogbonnaya approached his
lawyer, Mbajuwon, to stand surety for
him and he took a loan of N196m from
the bank. The shipment was supposed to
be the collateral but Ogbonnaya was able
to clear the goods and sideline the bank.
“Mbajuwon was also able to get a court
order restraining the bank from having
access to the rice and soon after,
Ogbonnaya disappeared, making it
difficult for the bank to trace him even
after the bank was able to overturn the
dubious court order.”
The EFCC alleged that the suspects were
able to sell all the rice without giving the
bank any of the money.
It was also alleged that the suspects
opened a joint account with First Bank of
Nigeria Plc, where they deposited the
money and later transferred to a foreign
bank.
Kwarbai added, “Ogbonnaya sold only a
portion of the rice to the cooperative and
then moved others to some other
companies at the market value. Yet, after
getting all this money, he did not pay
Oceanic Bank a dime.”
PUNCH Metro learnt that when the bank
was able to locate the suspect, only bags
of rice worth N1m, were left.
The EFCC told our correspondent that
Ogbonnaya did not even pay for the rice
that had been bought, causing the foreign
bank to obtain another $2.24m from
Oceanic Bank.
Kwarbai said, “Since Oceanic bank was the
one that issued a letter of credit for
Ogbonnaya, and he did not pay for the
rice, Oceanic Bank was compelled to pay
the money thereby incurring a double
loss.”
The suspects, it was learnt, would be
charged to court on Wednesday (today)
for fraud.

Woman Killed 3 Kids, Wants Cut Of Their Estate

A mentally disturbed woman who drowned her three
young children in a bathtub is going to court to ask a
judge for a cut of their $350,000 estate.
Leatrice Brewer will be taken from an upstate
psychiatric facility to testify about her request next
month, Nassau County Surrogate’s Court Judge
Edward McCarty ruled Thursday.
Brewer, 33, was found not guilty because of mental
disease or defect in the deaths of her children, ages
1, 5 and 6, so her attorneys say she shouldn’t be
subject to laws that bar convicts from profiting from
their crimes.
Brewer admitted she drowned the children in the
bathtub of her apartment in New Cassel, on Long
Island about 20 miles east of New York City, in
February 2008. She later placed the children’s bodies
on a bed and tried to kill herself by swallowing a
concoction of household cleaning chemicals. When
that suicide bid failed, she jumped out her second-
story window but again survived.
Instead of facing trial on three murder counts in the
children’s deaths, Brewer pleaded not responsible by
reason of mental disease or defect. Psychiatrists had
determined she suffered a major depressive disorder
and believed she killed the children to save them from
the potentially fatal effects of voodoo.
Brewer is being kept at a state psychiatric hospital
until psychiatrists determine she’s no longer mentally
ill.
Although the case would establish a precedent in
New York if Brewer succeeds, she’s not expected to
see any money because of a $1.2 million lien against
her for psychiatric counseling and other services she
has received since her arrest, attorneys said.
New York’s Son of Sam Law, named for the 1970s
serial killer and amended in 2001, was designed to
prevent criminals from profiting from their crimes,
such as by selling their stories to book publishers or
moviemakers. The judge in Brewer’s case, though,
has noted the unique aspect — that Brewer wasn’t
convicted.
The case drew attention to Nassau County’s social
services agency, whose caseworkers visited Brewer’s
apartment two days before the killings and found no
one home but neglected to schedule an immediate
follow-up visit. Two social workers were later
suspended.
Lawsuits against the county filed by the father of
Brewer’s 1-year-old son, Innocent Demesyeux, and 5-
year-old son, Michael Demesyeux, were settled for
$250,000. A lawsuit filed by the father of Brewer’s 6-
year-old daughter, Jewell Ward, was recently settled
for $100,000.
The judge has scheduled a Nov. 6 hearing on the
matter.

(Photos)The woman who was shot dead near the White House was suffering from postpartum depression

I'm sure you all heard the news of the 34
year old dental hygienist woman who was
shot dead yesterday afternoon by police
after she rammed her car against a White
House barrier with her young daughter in
the car and led police on a chase. It's
been revealed that Miriam Carey was
suffering from postpartum depression
after giving birth last year. Daily Mail
reports
The revelation by Miriam Carey's
family is the first hint at what could
have caused the dental hygienist to
drive her Infiniti luxury sedan 270
miles from her home in suburban
Stamford to Washington, DC -
where her rampage put the
nation's capital on lock-down
Thursday. Carey's daughter Erica,
who was in the back seat, was not
injured, despite the Secret Service
and U.S. Capitol police firing up to
15 shots into her car. Little Erica
was rescued from the bullet-riddled
car after her mother was shot
dead. She is currently in the
custody of child services workers.
Miriam's mother Idella Carey told ABC
News that her daughter Miriam 'had
postpartum depression after having the
baby' in August 2012.
'A few months later, she got sick. She
was depressed. ... She was hospitalized,'
Mrs Carey added.
A former employer said Miriam sustained
a head injury when she fell down stair
last year. When she returned to work
after recovering, she was pregnant. She
was not married to the father but
'seemed happy' about the pregnancy, the
former boss said.
Authorities said the single-mother had a
'history of mental illness' but did not
elaborate.
Carey's former boss of eight years, Dr
Steven Oken, said in the eight years he
knew Miriam she was 'always happy' -
and not interested in politics. Neighbors
told the New York Daily News she was
'a nice young lady, stable.'
That portrait contrasts starkly with the
woman who sent Congressmen diving for
coatrooms in the Capitol Building and
tourists fleeing in terror after she tried to
force her way into an entrance to the
White House about 2pm on Tuesday.
Despite the sensitive location, Capitol
Police Chief Kim Dine said: 'This appears
to be an isolated incident.There is no
nexus to terrorism.'
See photos

What is Boko Haram afraid of? by Mohammed Abubakar

Terrorist group, Boko
Haram has shown Nigerians another
glimpse of its cowardice by attacking the
Yobe Agricultural College male students
whilst they slept unguarded by the Nigerian
military.
It begs the question, why does Shekau who
always opens his mouth wide to talk about
how tough and well equipped the insurgent
group is shy away from hard targets like
military formations in the North or the
Civilian JTF pr vigilante’s which are now
giving them nightmares of epic
proportions? Instead they choose to attack
students in their sleep. Surely greater
cowardice had no terror group than this.
If the same Quran which Boko Haram
claims sanctions these terrorist attacks
speaks of courage and bravery, which Sura
can these clowns claim sanction these
gross acts of cowardice. Are there no
military formations that Boko Haram can
venture into? It has become increasingly
glaring that the ragtag militant group has a
heightened fear of the Nigerian army and
thus seek out soft targets where they know
they can get away with cowardly murder.
Surely the Quran does not endorse such
cowardice. Surely Boko Haram is afraid of
something. Perhaps the Nigerian military
would do better to lay ambush for them.
The army should occupy more university/
polytechnic/college campuses in the areas
where Boko Haram is known to operate, so
that next time when the cowards appear,
they can get a first class ticket to hellfire.

JTF arrests 29 oil thieves, destroys 127 illegal refineries

The Joint Military Task Force (JTF) in the
Niger Delta has nabbed 29 oil thieves and
destroyed 127 illegal oil refineries in
various locations in the area.
The Media Coordinator of the JTF, Lt.-Col.
Onyema Nwachukwu, who made the
disclosure in a statement on Sunday in
Yenagoa, said that the anti-oil theft
operations were carried out between Sept.
16 and Sept. 28.
“Between 16th and 28th of Sept., we carried
out multiple anti-oil-theft operations in
which a total of 29 suspects were arrested
for oil theft related offences.
“Anti-oil theft troops of the Joint Task Force
`Operation Pulo Shield’ also crushed 127
illegal crude oil distillation sites in the
Niger Delta.’’
The JTF spokesman explained that troops of
the 19 and 3 Battalions of the JTF, covering
Edo and Delta also scuttled 24 illegal oil
distillation camps and 73 wooden boats.
“31 of the 73 boats were intercepted at an
illegal crude oil loading point close to an
abandoned oil well-head in Okpoghare in
Warri North.’’
He said that another 27 arrested boats
were intercepted in Egara Creek in the
Warri South Local Government Area of
Delta.
Nwachukwu said that the operation also
swept through Ajide in Lagos; Makara,
Egwu Aghara Waterside in Warri North;
West, Warri South West and Ethiope West
Local Government Areas of Delta.
“JTF operatives also intercepted 61 pieces of
75 HP speed boats and a truck laden with
33,000 litres of automated gas oil in the
afore mentioned areas which are notorious
for oil theft.
“502 drums, 22 steel tanks, four
plastic surface tanks, 77 metal
drums laden with stolen crude oil and four
pumping machines used by the oil thieves
were also scuttled during the operation,’’
Nwachukwu said.
Also in Bayelsa, JTF troops of the 343
Regiment, patrolling the waterways of
Oyeregbere, Lagosbene and Mansokiri
communities in Southern Ijaw Local
Government Area of the state, destroyed 98
illegal crude oil dumps.
The JTF spokesman said that 119 illegal
distillation tanks and 37 large open wooden
boats, laden with stolen crude oil and
illegally distilled automated gas oil were
destroyed by troops.
He said that troops of the 29 Battalion and
its Gunboat Patrol Team, covering the
Sector 2 area of Bayelsa, in a separate anti-
oil-theft operation, arrested a vessel, MT
Tora Eagle with 11 crew members.
“The troops also arrested a barge with
three crew members along Bodo Waterway
and Akassa Creek in Rivers and Bayelsa,
respectively.
“The barge was intercepted while conveying
uncertain quantity of illegally obtained
crude oil, while the vessel was laden with
3,600 drums of stolen petroleum products.
“The troops also scuttled five illegal crude
oil distillation sites and 10 wooden boats
filled with stolen crude oil along Lewe,
Bodo, Elem Sagangama, Oluwasiri and
Bodo West in Rivers State.’’
Nwachukwu said that all the suspects were
undergoing preliminary investigations, after
which they would be handed over to
relevant prosecuting agencies for
prosecution. (NAN)

N776bn lost to corruption in fertiliser sector – Adesina

The Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi
Adesina, has said the country lost about
N776bn between 1980 and 2010 to
corruption under the old fertiliser
distribution policy.
Adesina, who stated this at the end of a
three-day Food and Agriculture China
South-South High Level meeting in Abuja,
noted that the loss translated into an
average of N26.3bn annually.
Before the inauguration of a new fertiliser
policy under the Growth Enhancement
Scheme, the Federal Government had
bought the product from contractors and
distributed same to farmers. Only few
farmers reportedly had access to the
agricultural input.
This, the minister said, prompted the
Federal Government to unveil a new
scheme where an electronic wallet was
developed that allowed the farmers to
receive subsidised electronic vouchers for
seeds and fertilisers on their mobile
phones.
Under the old policy, Adesina said only 11
per cent of farmers got fertilisers from the
government.
He said, “The backbone of any agricultural
revolution is access of farmers to modern
agricultural inputs, especially fertilisers
and seeds. The old system of the
government buying and distributing
fertilisers was very corrupt. We found that
only 11 per cent of the farmers got the
fertilisers bought and sold by the
government.
“Rich and powerful political elites
siphoned off the fertilisers belonging to
the poor farmers. Between 1980 and 2010,
over N873bn was spent on fertiliser
subsidies. With only 11 per cent of
farmers getting the fertilisers, about
N776bn was siphoned off the system
through corruption.”
The minister said the new fertiliser
system, which was introduced under the
GES, had been successful, adding that in
2012 alone; about 1.5 million smallholder
farmers got subsidised seeds and
fertilisers using their mobile phones.
“So far, this year, over 3.5 million farmers
have received their subsidised inputs via
the e-wallet scheme. The system saved
the country about N25bn in 2012,” he
added.

Terrorism: Defence HQ orders tighter security in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa

Following the brutal killing of not less
than 40 students in their sleep, the
Defence Headquarters yesterday made an
order for tighter security in the troubled
states.
News broke yesterday of an attack  by
suspected Boko Haram insurgents on the
College of Agriculture, Gujba, Yobe State
which left dozens of young students
dead.
According to reports ,  military
commanders and other security chiefs
may henceforth be made to account for
security breaches by Boko Haram in their
areas of operations.
Following renewed strikes by Boko
Haram in Borno-Yobe axis, a former
Governor of Borno State, Ali Modu
Sheriff, has shelved plans to speak on the
causes of the insurgency in the
Northeast.
It was gathered that security chiefs, led
by the Chief of Defence Staff Admiral
Sa’ad Ibrahim, held a situation appraisal
session in conjunction with the National
Security Adviser, Mr. Sambo Dasuki.
A top source said: “One of the decisions
taken is to put in place heavy security
build up in every nook and cranny in the
state, especially schools that have become
the targets of the insurgents.
“The situation in Borno and Yobe
requires drastic measures. This is why
the military and security agencies have
been placed on red alert by the Defence
Headquarters. It is obvious that Boko
Haram is changing tactics.
“All commanders and security chiefs in
flashpoints may henceforth account for
security breaches by the insurgents. This
is part of plans to keep troops on their
toes.
“Inter-agency cooperation is another
challenge being addressed by the security
chiefs. In the last one week, all the
agencies have been undergoing security
session on why inter-agency
collaboration is required at this critical
stage of the fight against insurgency.”
Responding to a question, the source
added: “President Goodluck Jonathan has
been briefed on the massacre of students
at the College of Agriculture in Gujba.
“As the Commander-In-Chief of the
Armed Forces, the President is expected
to announce far-reaching actions against
the insurgents.”
Sheriff has explained why he shelved
plans to speak on the insurgency in the
Northeast.
Sheriff, who had wanted to clarify the
allegations against him on the
insurgency in Borno State, said he could
also not meet with former members of
the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party
(ANPP) because of killings in Borno.

Five Foreigners Arrested For Illegal Bunkering

The Nigerian Navy Task Force has arrested five
foreign nationals, who allegedly specialised in
conveying petroleum products from pipeline vandals
to Benin Republic, have been arrested in Badagry
area of Lagos State.
The suspects, comprising four teenagers from Benin
Republic and a 50-year-old Ghanaian, were reportedly
arrested while conveying 113 50-litre jerrycans filled
with petroleum products.
Administration Officer, NNS Beecroft, Apapa,
Commander Hyacynth Nwaka, while parading the
suspects before journalists, weekend, said operatives
of the Task Force at Atlas Cove, acting on a tip-off,
intercepted the suspects at 3.30a.m. and brought
them to the base for further investigation.
The suspects claimed they were fishermen based in
Seme area of Lagos.
One of them, Andre Tougene, a secondary school
student in BeninRepublic, told Vanguard that they
were instructed by some persons to convey the
product to Seme, where it would be sold to buyers for
onward transportation to BeninRepublic.
He claimed to have been tempted by the N4,000
payment he was to get.
The 50-year-old Ghanaian, Nabroda Ajete, said a
friend of his told him to bring 30 empty jerrycans to
the shore. And that he didn’t know they were going
to be used to siphon petroleum products.
The suspects, according to Commander Nwaka, would
be handed over to the police. He said that the fate of
the one that claimed to be 15 years would be
determined by the Police. [Vanguard]

SHOCKER!!! Robbers Attacks Anambra churches, cart away Cash and other valuables!!

This is not the best of times for churches
and clergymen in Anambra State. Call it
signs of the end tme and one is not far
from the truth. Hitherto, sacred places
often dreaded even by the insane are now
targets of daredevil robbers. There is a
slogan right now in the state which says
“one Sunday, one church robbery”.
In the last two weeks in Anambra State,
armed robbers have invaded about three
churches at odd hours leaving sorrow
and tears in their trail. The Catholic
Archbishop of Onitsha, Most Rev. Valerian
Okeke,  worried over the unusual
development, has initiated a prayer
programme in the archdiocese for the
repentance of  criminals who are
harassing and attacking churches in
Onitsha and beyond.  The Archbishop has
enjoined the faithful to say the prayers
with dedication and commitment so that
robbery attacks in the parishes will end.
First to host the unwanted visitors was St.
John of the Cross Catholic Church, Egbo,
Uruagu, Nnewi. The robbers had stormed
the parish rectory about 1 am on Sunday
night and held the priest and other
residents  hostage for over one hour.   At
the end of the invasion, they made away
with an unspecified amount of cash and a
bus belonging to the parish choir.
According to sources, the robbers
numbering about 10 gained access to the
main building by cutting the burglary
proof bars on one of the windows in the
parlour. They had earlier tied the hands
of the security men  before they went to
the place where drivers and seminarians
were sleeping, meted the same treatment
to them and went further to collect the
car keys and proceeded to the area where
the parish priest and other priests were
staying.
When they entered they saw a priest and
ordered him to show them the parish
priest’s flat and he complied immediately.
Finding it difficult to enter through the
door, they gained access through the
ceiling. The robbers immediately pointed
their guns at the parish priest, barking
orders at him to bring all the money in
the house including the Sunday
offering.The priest surrendered everything
to them.
Sunday Sun learnt that while the robbers
were carrying on with their evil
operations, two of the drivers succeeded
in untying themselves and escaped. They
were said to have informed one of the
parishioners around who quickly phoned
the police at the Nnewi Central Police
Station but the police never responded
till the robbers finished and left the
scene.
The Parish Priest , Very Rev. Fr. Peter
Ezeani, while narrating his ordeal,
confirmed that seven of the armed
robbers entered his room armed with
AK47 and pump action rifles.  He said
they collected all the valuables in the
house including cash.
While the Nnewi incident was still fresh,
another robbery incident was reported at
Holy Trinity Parish, Ogidi, Idemili North
Local Government Area.
The robbers were said to have stormed
the church compound at 3:00 am
ransacking all the rooms for about one
and half hours.
Though some of the priests residing in
the parish were away on  ministerial
engagements when the bandits struck, the
robbers reportedly had ample time to cart
away laptops,  ipads  and an undisclosed
amount of money.
The same night, the marauders swooped
on the clergymen at St. Mary’s Catholic
Church, Nnokwa in Idemili South Local
Government.  Their style of operation was
almost similar to the siege at Ogidi
thereby fueling suspicion that it was the
same gang that operated in the two
parishes.
‘Return your loot or face the
consequences’
Apparently irked by the unusual boldness
of the robbers who struck  sacred places,
one of the resident priests at Holy Trinity
Catholic Church, Ogidi, Very Rev. Fr. Basil
Gbuzue has called on the gang of robbers
who stormed the church premises to
return the stolen items or be ready to
face the wrath of God.
Fr. Gbuzue who is the Spiritual Director,
Mountain of Solution Catholic Adoration
Ministry, Nkpor, Anambra State said the
robbers were lucky that he was not
around the night they broke into the
rectory.
“Those hungry criminals were lucky that I
was not around. Had it been that they
met me, they won’t have any option than
to surrender and confess their past
escapades. I would have loved to be there
when the criminals arrived so that they
will experience the efficacy of prayers and
the word of God.  You cannot steal my
property and get away with it just like that
since the consequences of perpetuating
such evil will last for eternity,” he said.
The cleric, popularly known as Man pass
Man also disclosed his readiness to
pardon the hoodlums provided they
return their loot.  He commended the
Archbishop for initiating the prayer
programme and called on other parishes
that have experienced the same trauma to
take heart, remain steadfast and be
vigilant.
Fr. Gbuzue also said Governor Peter Obi
should in collaboration with the security
agencies initiate more strategies to
checkmate the activities of criminals
attacking churches.
Commenting on the ugly development, a
Knight of the Catholic Church, Sir Fidel
Onuekwusi described the situation as the
manifestations of the country’s eroded
value system. He noted that even insane
people respected sacred places but today
people commit all sorts of sacrilegious
acts in the society without minding the
repercussions. He reminded evildoers
that nemesis and retribution are coming
and they should also be mindful of the
biblical injunction saying “Touch not my
anointed and do my prophets no harm.”
The Anambra State Police Public Relations
Officer, DSP Emeka Chukwuemeka in a
chat with Sunday Sun confirmed that the
command was aware of the latest tactics
robbers were deploying in the state  but
assured that security of lives and property
remained the  priority of the police.  He
said the command had recorded several
breakthroughs in crime prevention and
detection and would never relent.
TheSun

At Kenya's request, Interpol issues alert for 'White Widow'

(CNN) -- Interpol said Thursday it issued a
red notice for Samantha Lewthwaite, the
so-called "White Widow," at the request of
Kenyan authorities.
Reports that a white woman was among the
terrorists who stormed a mall in Nairobi
last weekend have prompted a slew of
media speculation about Lewthwaite, a
British woman whose husband was one of
the suicide bombers in the 2005 London
terror attacks.
Known as the "White Widow," Lewthwaite,
29, has been wanted by international
counterterrorism officials since authorities
found bomb-making materials in her
Mombasa, Kenya, apartment in 2011. She
vanished shortly before a raid.
Red notices issued by the international
police agency alert law enforcement
around the world that a person is wanted,
but they are not arrest warrants.
"By requesting an Interpol Red Notice,
Kenya has activated a global 'tripwire' for
this fugitive," said Interpol Secretary
General Ronald K. Noble.
"Through the Interpol Red Notice, Kenyan
authorities have ensured that all 190
member countries are aware of the danger
posed by this woman, not just across the
region but also worldwide," he said.
A senior Kenyan official said Tuesday a
woman was involved in the attack. Another
official said Wednesday that authorities
can't say much about who the woman was
or what she was doing.
Al-Shabaab gunmen stormed the Westgate
mall Saturday. At least 67 people were killed
and as many as 63 people are still
unaccounted for.

Gombe Police arrests two homosexuals, 1 rape suspect

The Gombe Police Command says it has
arrested two persons suspected of
homosexuality and another for rape.
The Police Public Relations Officer of the
command, Mr Fwaje Atajiri made this
known to the News Agency of Nigeria
(NAN) on Monday in Gombe .
Atajiri said that a 25-year-old suspected
homosexual, of Dubai by-pass Gombe, had
on Sept. 15, lured a seven-year old boy to
an uncompleted building, threatened him
with a knife and raped him.
According to him, an old man notified the
police after querying the boy, whom he met
walking in pains after the rape.
The police spokesman said the suspect was
immediately arrested and after
interrogation allegedly confessed to have
committed the offence.
Also, Atajiri said another suspect, who
resides at Riyal quarters, Gombe, was
arrested at a building site in Cham village
of Balanga Local Government after raping a
12-year-old boy.
He said that the police had also
apprehended another person, who
goes by the alias ‘Popo’, for allegedly
raping a 3-year-old girl.
He said the cries of the baby alerted her
mother who rushed to the scene and
caught the suspect red handed.
Atajiri said when `popo’ of Sarkin Yaki
quarters, Kumo, in Akko Local Government
tried to escape, neighbours helped to arrest
and lock him up in a room until the police
arrived.
The police spokesman also disclosed that
three robbery suspects were arrested by
residents in Bambam town of Balanga Local
Government, after attempting to rob one
Alhaji Hamma Cham.
Atajiri said all the suspects would be
arraigned in court as soon as investigations
were concluded.

"Ex- Gov of Delta state Chief James Ibori hid $800m in Oando Plc" - British prosecutor.

Convicted former Delta State Governor,
Chief James Ibori, hid some of his assets
in an indigenous integrated oil company,
Oando Plc, according to a British
prosecutor.
The prosecutor was quoted by Reuters in
a report on Monday as saying that the
former governor, who is serving a 13-year
jail term in the United Kingdom for fraud
and money-laundering, hid some of his
assets in the oil firm; adding that money
passed from Oando’s accounts into
Ibori’s Swiss accounts.
Ibori had in February 2012 pleaded guilty
to 10 counts of fraud and money-
laundering worth £50m.
Prosecutor Sasha Wass was quoted as
telling the court that she would be
presenting evidence that Ibori had
“asserted ownership of a large part” of
Oando, Nigeria’s biggest home-grown oil
firm, which is listed in Lagos,
Johannesburg and Toronto.
“The Crown will assert that Oando is a
company where James Ibori has hidden
assets,” Wass said, giving no further
details.
One of the biggest embezzlement cases
seen in Britain, the successful prosecution
of Ibori was also a rare example of a
senior Nigerian politician being held to
account for the corruption that blights
Africa’s most populous country.
At the time of Ibori’s sentencing in April
2012, Judge Anthony Pitts said the £50m
that he had admitted to stealing might be
a “ludicrously low” fraction of his total
booty, which could be more than £200m.
The confiscation hearing will shed
further light on the scale of Ibori’s wealth
and determine whether he emerges from
jail impoverished or still in possession of
a large enough fortune to regain a
position of influence in Nigeria.
Ibori could be released as early as 2016
because he spent two years in custody
before his sentencing and because he will
be eligible for parole halfway through his
prison term.
He was not in court on Monday and his
lawyer, Ivan Krolick, said Ibori did not
wish to attend the confiscation hearing
although he would come to court to give
evidence if necessary.
In May, the Court of Appeal had rejected
Ibori’s appeal against the length of his
sentence.
During his sentencing hearing, the court
heard that Ibori had acquired six foreign
properties worth £6.9m, a fleet of luxury
cars including a Bentley and a Maybach
62, and that he had tried to buy a $20m
private jet. His three daughters were
attending a private school in rural
England.
However, the Head, Corporate
Communications, Oando Plc, Mr. Ainojie
Irune, who spoke with our correspondent
in Lagos, denied the report that the jailed
ex-governor owned a larger part of the oil
company.
He said, “We state categorically that Mr.
James Ibori does not own ‘a large part of
Oando’ and that this statement is
incorrect and misleading. Oando is a
publicly traded company listed on the
Nigerian and Johannesburg Stock
Exchanges and does not and cannot
control the trading in its securities on the
floor of the respective Exchanges.
“Based on our current shareholding
register, Mr. James Ibori’s shareholding
stands at 443 shares out of a total issued
and paid up share capital of 6.8 billion
ordinary shares, which is clearly
insignificant, and cannot be considered
as ‘a large part of Oando.’
“Oando also stated that it does accept
that sometime in 2004, in the normal
course of its business, it sold some of its
foreign exchange earnings for naira and
the recipient of the US dollars was a
company, which has now turned out to
be one controlled by James Ibori.
“At the time of the transaction, this
information was unknown to Oando. The
total amount was $2.7m made in three
separate transactions over a period of
about seven months. This amount was
insignificant considering the company’s
turnover of approximately $800m in
2004.”
Source Punchng

"I ‘graduated’ from kid robber to notorious car snatcher" 29yrs old man reveals..

Operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery
Squad, SARS, in Lagos State, have
arrested a gang of car snatchers
suspected of terrorizing Ikeja and other
parts of the state for a long time. The
suspects, Sadiq Olayibi, Tolani Adeyinka,
Adeleke Teslim and Olayemi Akiloye, met
their waterloo when SARS operatives
swooped on them at various parts of the
state. Olabiyi described himself as a kid
robber who graduated to a full blown car
snatcher. Also arrested was a 50-year-old
woman, Lawal Ireti, who was described as
the gang’s informant.
Police sources said Ireti provided other
jobs for the gang when they were not
snatching cars. According to the sources,
the woman suspect provided information
to the gang that led to the robbery of the
N8 million from a micro finance bank in
Ogba area of Ikeja.
*Suspects…’We stole N8m from Micro-
Finance Bank’
“The gang specialized in car snatching
and they terrorized Ikeja and environs for
a lng time. They operated during the
weekends and their targets were exotic
cars. Their activities gave the police,
residents and night crawlers in Ikeja
sleepless nights and the state
Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, in
his bid to stem the gang’s operation,
ordered the officer in charge of SARS, SP,
Abba Kyari, to trail and apprehend the
bandits.
Kyari, who swiftly swung into action, sent
undercover operatives into streets to
shop for stolen vehicles. Their efforts
paid off when they stumbled on oen of
the gang members who attempted to sell
a stolen Toyota Camry to the undercover
operatives. He was arrested and his arrest
pave the way for the arrest of other
members of the gang including Ireti the
50-year-old woman”, one of the sources
told Sunday Vanguard.
The source added that members of the
gang got wind of the arrest of their
member and they made effort to flee the
country. “We arrested Tolani Adeyinka, at
the South Africa Embassy, after he had
secured a visa to flee the country. Sadiq
Olabiyi was picked up at Ajah area of the
state, he has also applied for a visa to
tavel to Egypt. Adeleke Teslim and
Olayemi Akiloye were picked separately at
Ojo and Okokomaiko areas of the state,”
the source narrated.
Meanwhile, when Sunday Vanguard
interviewed the suspects at Lagos State
Command Headquarters, Ikeja, they
confessed to the crime, but Olabiyi
blamed his involvement in crime to lack
of prper training. The 27 year-old man
said, “I am the first child of my parents.
My father did not have a good job, which
made us very poor. I was born in Ketu. As
a young boy, I used to go to the market at
Mile 12 to assist some people selling
stolen goats. I usually helped them to
offload the goats from their vehicles and,
from there, I learnt how to drive.
When I graduated from secondary school,
I joined the business full time. I stole
several goats, I would travel to some
south western states to steal goats. While
I was doing that, I met Tolani Adeyinka.
He and Adeleke Teslim and one other had
started snatching cars then. They knew I
was a good driver; so they asked me to
join them. We stole a lot of cars together
and we operated mostly in Ikeja, Ogba
and Agege areas.
We usually struck  weekends when fun
seekers were on the streets grooving and
our targets were mostly Toyota, Honda
and Mercedes Benz cars. We had ready
buyers all over the state and we would
deliver a stolen car to any of the buyers
who make the highest bid. We sold Toyota
cars for N250,000 and Honda Accord
from N300,000. I got between N100,000
and N150,000 after each operation, I
spent my money on myself, I bought good
clothes, rented an apartment at Ajah and
bought a land at Ikorodu, where I am
building a three-bedroom flat apartment.
But sometime in July, Ireti brought us a
job where we stolen the sum of N8 million
from a micro fiance bank. I don’t know
the name of the bank but she and a  male
partner brought the job to us. I thought
they were police informants trying to set
me up and I ignored their calls from close
to two weeks. When I finally  met them at
a bar in Ikotun they told me that they got
my phone number from one of my
friends who told them I could do the job.
The job was at Ikeja and they asked us to
wait soemwhere for the car conveying the
money to pass. Ireti was there to point
the car for us. After she did, we followed
the car alongn Ogba and double crossed
it. I was the one driving. Tolani Adeyinka
and Adeleke Teslim bolted out with their
guns and they snatched the bag
containing the money and all the
occupants’ mobile phones before we
zoomed off. We shared the money
equally, four million naira went to Ireti
and her partner and my gang shared the
rest. I got one million naira as my own
share
Source Vanguard

“I Keep My Kidnapped Victims In A Church And Share The Ransom With My Pastor” – Anambra Kidnapper

The Anambra State Police Command has arrested
38-year-old wanted kidnap suspect, Okafor, a
graduate of Mathematics from the Nnamdi
Azikiwe University, Awka.
Okafor popularly known as Igwe did not only fall afoul
of the law as a kidnapper, he also messed up the
temple of God by keeping his victims in a church and
sharing his loot with the pastor.
Once on a mission to collect N5 million ransom from
the family of victim in Asaba, Delta State, he was
rounded up by crack policemen and locked up in a
cell.
Okafor, however, escaped through the window of the
cell to continue his evil trade until the hardworking
members of the State Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in
Anambra ended his reign of terror.
The kidnap kingpin spoke with Sunday Sun: “I
graduated from Unizik in 2006 and I studied
Mathematics. I did my NYSC in Abuja and I served in
NNPC at Berger. After graduation I was going to
Ghana to buy clothes to sell in Lagos State.
“I am now involved totally in kidnapping where I make
quick money. When I kidnapped I used to take my
victims to my church in Awkuzu where the General
Overseer, Pastor Nwaezeagu always collects the
victims from us and at the end, we would give him his
own share. We decided to join the church so that the
members would not suspect us that we were keeping
some victims we kidnapped inside the church.”
“I was the one who was involved in the kidnapping of
the traditional prime minister in Enugu-Ukwu and we
collected N50 million from the victim before we
released him and I gave Pastor Nwaezeagu his 20 per
cent share on that day.
“I kidnapped another woman in Awka and collected
N30 million from the family of victim and kept her in
the church and, after the family paid the ransom, I
released the suspect and I gave Pastor Nwaezeagu
the sum of N200,000.”
Okafor who hails from Anambra West Local
Government Area continued: “Myself and my gang
kidnapped one victim, Chief John Uchachuwu at
Asaba and we demanded the sum of N5 million. The
family of the victim called me to come and take the
money at Asaba. When I got to Asaba I collected the
N5 million but the policemen from the anti-kidnap
arrested me and they took me to Delta State and put
me inside their cell.”
He said that he escaped through the toilet of the cell
and quickly moved to Anambra State to continue his
kidnapping job.
“I was arrested in Onitsha market by the men of SARS
and I have confessed to them about my involvement
in kidnapping,” he said.
Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Ballah
Nasarawa told Sunday Sun that the suspect had been
declared wanted by Anambra State Police Command
before he was eventually arrested on September 2,
2013 in Onitsha.
The police commissioner said Okafor was the same
suspect that the Delta State Police Command declared
wanted after he escaping from the cell through the
toilet in 2013.
He stated that the suspect had kept several victims he
kidnapped in the church in which he was a member
and which he used as a hideout.
CP Nasarawa added that, besides the kidnap
instances that Okafor gave, the suspect was
also behind the abduction of the Chairman of
Association of Electronics Dealers in Nnewi and
collected N30 million that he shared among his gang
members and released the victim from the church in
which he was kept.
Also commenting about Okafor, Delta State
Commissioner of Police, Ikechukwu Aduba
told Sunday Sun that the notorious kidnapper had
with his gang kidnapped one Chief John Uchachuwu
in Asaba and they demanded N5 million as ransom
and the police played along as they negotiated
ransom payment. He was told to come and collect the
money in Asaba. It was in the process of collecting
the ransom that he was arrested.
“Also we had to rescue the victim, Chief Uchachuwu
while the suspect, Okafor came to Asaba to collect the
ransom of N5million. What shocked me was that the
notorious kidnapper, Okafor escaped from the cell in
our custody despite the fact that he has injury on his
legs. The policemen involved were one ASP, one
Inspector and one Corporal. I had to detain them in
my custody.
“I have written to my AIG in charge of Zone 5, Benin
who appreciated that action had been taken. They will
definitely face the music. How can a notorious
kidnapper escape from their custody?” he queried.
CP Aduba added that later the information got to him
that the SARS in Anambra had re-arrested the
kidnapper and I sent my officers to Anambra State
Police Command and they saw him.
“There was a time we traced Okafor to Niger Republic
and Ghana and he escaped. We couldn’t take over the
case from Anambra State Police Command because
he did a lot more of kidnapping in Anambra State
than Delta State and he has more questions to
answer in Anambra State Police Command and they
should continue their investigation,” he stated.
The Anambra police boss assured that the suspect
would soon be charged to court after investigation
had been concluded.

Controversy Trails Rivers Police Claim Of Rescuing Kidnapped Archbishop

The Police Command in Rivers on Sunday confirmed
the release of the Most Rev. Ignatius Kattey, the
Archbishop of Niger Delta North, Anglican
Communion, abducted on Sept. 6.
Kattey and his wife, Beatrice, were abducted at Eleme
at 10.30 p.m. on their way to Port Harcourt.
The abductors later freed Beatrice and took away the
archbishop.
DSP Angela Agabe, the Public Relations Officer of the
Police Command, told the News Agency of Nigeria
(NAN) in Port Harcourt that Kattey was rescued by
the police at 8 p.m. on Saturday.
Agabe said: “I can confirm that Bishop Kattey has
been rescued.
“The command is not aware that any ransom was
paid and the bishop is in stable condition.”
She said no arrest was made during the rescue
operation.
Meanwhile, Venerable Israel Omosioni, the
Archdeacon of Eleme Archdeaconry, told newsmen
that Kattey was looking healthy and agile, in spite
of his ordeal.
He said the kidnappers gave Kattey N200 as transport
fare, which he used to take a motorcycle back home.

Court sentence man to seven strokes of a cane for possession of indian hemp

An Upper Area Court sitting in Karu, FCT, on Friday,
sentenced one Hamisu Baballo, to seven strokes of
the cane, without an option of fine, for possession of
Indian hemp.
The Magistrate, Alhaji Umar Kagarko, handed down
the sentence after the accused had pleaded guilty to
the charge.
The police prosecutor, Insp. Jerry Tangshak, told the
court that the accused was allegedly caught under
Nyanya Bridge with 9 wraps of Indian hemp.
He said that the case was reported at the Nyanya
Police Station on Sept. 12.
Tangshak said Baballo confessed to committing the
offence during police investigation.
He said that the accused had told the police that
he bought the wraps of the Indian hemp at Apo
round about for his personal use.

Court sentence man to seven strokes of a cane for possession of indian hemp

An Upper Area Court sitting in Karu, FCT, on Friday,
sentenced one Hamisu Baballo, to seven strokes of
the cane, without an option of fine, for possession of
Indian hemp.
The Magistrate, Alhaji Umar Kagarko, handed down
the sentence after the accused had pleaded guilty to
the charge.
The police prosecutor, Insp. Jerry Tangshak, told the
court that the accused was allegedly caught under
Nyanya Bridge with 9 wraps of Indian hemp.
He said that the case was reported at the Nyanya
Police Station on Sept. 12.
Tangshak said Baballo confessed to committing the
offence during police investigation.
He said that the accused had told the police that
he bought the wraps of the Indian hemp at Apo
round about for his personal use.

Facebook profiles of Nigerian yahoo boys exposed by U.S Security Website

A US security website has released a video
the facebook profiles of some Nigerian
Scammers.
They were able to do that because these
guys used the same email addresses they
used in opening their real facebook profiles
in Scamming.
The report was published on http://
krebsonsecurity.com/
Earlier this week, I wrote about an online
data theft service that got hacked. That
compromise exposed a user base of mostly
young Nigerian men apparently engaged in
an array of cybercrime activities — from
online dating scams to 419 schemes.
It turned out that many of these guys
signed up for the data theft service using
the same email address they used to
register their Facebook accounts. Today’s
post looks at the social networks between
and among these individuals.
Of the nearly 3,000 BestRecovery users,
about 280 of them had Facebook accounts
tied to their BestRecovery email addresses.
George Mason University associate
professor Damon McCoy and several of his
grad students volunteered to scrape those
profiles that were open and map their
social networks to see if there were any
obvious or discernible patterns in the data.
The raw data itself —
which ranked the
BestRecovery users
on number of connections they had to
other users — was potentially useful, but
difficult to parse into meaningful chunks.
Oddly enough, as
I was poring over that data I heard from
Chris Ahlberg, the CEO of Recorded Future
Inc., a Cambridge, Mass. software company
that specializes in Web intelligence and
predictive analytics. Ahlberg was writing to
say that he enjoyed the blog — particularly
the posts with data-intensive analyses —
and that he’d be delighted to collaborate
on a data-rich research project at some
point. I told him his timing couldn’t have
been more serendipitous.
Ahlberg and his team took the raw scraped
data sets from the Facebook accounts and
ran it through their cyber intelligence
applications. In short order, they produced
some very compelling and beautiful graphs.

NDLEA arrests UNIZIK student with over 1.25kg cocaine inside male condoms

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency
(NDLEA) said on Thursday in Lagos that it
had arrested a 32-year-old student of
Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, with
1.25kg of cocaine.
The agency said in a statement that the 400
level Fine and Applied Arts student was
arrested at Akanu Ibiam International
Airport, Enugu.
“The student was arrested during the
screening of passengers on an Ethiopian
flight from Brazil en route Addis Ababa at
the Enugu airport.
“He was found to have ingested
liquid cocaine packed in male
condoms,’’ said the statement signed by
NDLEA’s spokesman, Mr Mitchell Ofoyeju
and emailed to the News Agency of Nigeria
(NAN).
It said the suspect also excreted 25 wraps
of the substance.
“This is the first arrest by the agency from
the airport and is exciting to us.
“The agency accords high priority attention
to all the airports. We shall continue to
strengthen our operations at the airports
and prevent drug trafficking syndicates
from using them.’’
The agency said the suspect would soon be
charged to court as soon as investigations
were concluded. (NAN)

My Pursuit For HND Landed Me In Trouble - Robbery Suspect

Twenty seven year-old James Imoha,an
Ordinary national Diploma holder from
Auchi Polytechnic, Delta State, had nursed
the ambition of going back for his Higher
National Diploma in same school. But his
ambition was being hampered by lack of
funds. Determined to realise this dream,
he left his home town in Agenegbode,
Etsako East Local Government area of Edo
State, for Lagos five months ago, in
search  of greener pasture. But as you
read this piece, James is being detained at
the  Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS,
Ikeja, over an alleged robbery case.
James and eight suspected members of
his gang allegedly stormed May and Baker
Pharmaceutical company at Oba Akran,
Ikeja two weeks ago and were at the verge
of loading a truck with cartoons of drugs
when operatives of SARS swooped on
them.
However, in this interview with Crime
Guard, James burst into tears, insisting he
was deceived by members of the gang
into joining them. He further disclosed
that his desire to further his education
and also feed for that week made him
join them that night.
Hear him: “ I swear, I never knew they
were going to rob that night.  I was made
to understand that they were being hired
to load a truck at the end of which they
would be paid. I was already sleeping
that night in a friend’s house when
Innocent (one of the suspects) visited
him. He informed me there was a job and
when I asked what kind of job , he said it
was to load some cartoons into a truck.
I became interested because it would be
an instant payment. I asked how much
would be paid at the end and he said
N1000 or N2000 depending on the
quantity one was able to load. I
complained that it was late (10pm), but
Innocent said this is Lagos where business
was done anytime. Reluctantly, I got up
and decided to follow him, with the hope
to earn some amount for that  week.
Quickly, I calculated that it would buy me
three square meals for one week because
I spend N100 per meal or less, particular
when I have to drink ‘’garri’’ with
groundnut or coconut.
Too late to turn back
“When I got to the place with Innocent
and Okogie, I noticed from the way they
were acting that the business was not
genuine afterall. But I could not back out
because I could not locate my way back
home. But innocent assured me all was
well and I went about  loading the truck
with the cartoons of drugs. I also noticed
from the way they were whispering to
each other that they could be stealing
the  drugs and I opted to retreat at that
point. But as I attempted to leave the
company’s gate, there was sporadic
shootings and I concluded that was the
end of my sojourn on earth. I just laid flat
on my tummy with my hands raised up,
without looking up. The next thing I knew
was that I was arrested and brought
here.”
Are you sure I will leave this place alive? “,
he asked this writer in tears.
Continuing,he said,  “my desire to further
my studies brought me to Lagos. My
intention was to lay my hands on any
genuine business and save for my HND.
Had I known things would turn out this
way, I would have remained in the village
until when God will answer my prayer. As
I speak, my relatives are not aware I
have been arrested. The news will kill my
ailing mother. Sister, please just pray for
me”, he said , burying his face in both
palms.
Robbers strategy
May and Baker pharmaceutical is located
in a complex which also housed five
other companies,with each having its own
private guards. In order to have free
access in and out of the complex, the
robbery suspects were said to have
injected sleeping tablets into some packs
of fruit juice which they gave to some of
the guards who allegedly connived with
them.   One of the guards, as gathered,
resumed on the D-day with the injected
fruit juice, informing his colleagues that
he was celebrating his birthday. Delighted
at the news, other  unsuspecting guards
joyfully reached out for the drugged juice.
While some reportedly drank, others, as
gathered, kept theirs with the hope of
taking it the next morning before going
home.
Source: Vanguard
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