The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has arraigned the Chairman of Gwagwalada Area Council, Adamu Danze, for allegedly receiving N10 million kickback from a contractor handling construction projects.

Danze was arraigned before Justice U. Kekemeke of the Federal Capital Territory High Court 4, sitting in Abuja, on allegations of corruption bordering on abuse of office and gratification.

ICPC had filed a six-count charge before the court in which it accused the council boss of demanding and receiving N10m bribe from the Director of Remotosh Construction Ltd, Aremu Omotosho, in exchange for approving payment for the construction of double cell culvert in Paiko-Kore.

The offence was allegedly committed in March 2018, when Danze directed the contractor to transfer the money to the lawyer handling his election tribunal case.
A statement on Monday by the ICPC spokesperson, Azuka Ogugua, titled, ‘ICPC arraigns Gwagwalada council chairman over N10m fraud,’ said Danze violated sections 8 (1)(a), 10 (a)(i), 18 (b) and 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and is punishable under the relevant sections of the same Act.

One of the charges reads, “That you, Adamu Mustapha Danze on or about the month of March, 2018 at Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, while being a public officer as the Executive Chairman of Gwagwalada Area Council received the sum of N10m from Engineer Aremu Omotosho, the director of Remotosh Construction Limited for approving payment for the construction of double cell culvert at Paiko-Kore awarded to Remotosh Construction Limited by Gwagwalada Area Council, the sum you asked the contractor to transfer to your counsel defending you in the election tribunal and you thereby committed an offence contrary to
section 10 (a)(i) and punishable under section 10 (a)(ii) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.”
Danze, who had a bench warrant issued against him, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The warrant was subsequently dismissed by the trial judge after a plea by the defense counsel, Abdul Mohammed, (SAN).
Mohammed tendered an apology to the judge for failing to attend proceedings on two previous dates, blaming it on the recent kidnapping activities in Gwagwalada area council.

He told the court that the defendant was coordinating rescue operations in the area council, following the spate of kidnappings and other criminal activities in recent times.
He then moved a motion praying that the accused be admitted to bail at the discretion of the court pending trial.

Counsel to ICPC, Michael Adesola, in his counter-argument averred that the accused was very deliberate in his actions of ignoring court sittings as he was duly served all the proceedings since last year.
“Adesola, who also opposed the bail application prayed the court to remand the accused in a correctional facility to prevent him from interfering and intimidating witnesses, some of whom were employees in the area council,” the statement said.

Justice Kekemeke, having listened to both counsel, held that the defendant cannot jump bail based on his current position.
He said, “The defendant, who is the current Chairman of Gwagwalada Area Council cannot evade his trial. He has nowhere to hide as I give him the benefit of doubt. The application therefore subsists. Bail is, therefore, granted to the defendant in the sum of N20m and a surety in like sum.:
According to the statement, “The surety shall be an owner of a landed property with statutory right of occupancy within the jurisdiction of the court or a Federal civil servant in the rank of an Assistant Director and above. The matter was then adjourned to March 1, 2022 for trial.”
The trial judge reportedly warned the accused not to take the court for granted, saying, “Mr Chairman, that is what you called yourself. We just gave you the benefit of the doubt. You don’t play with the court. You don’t take the court for levity, if you do that, you will find yourself in trouble.”

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No fewer than three persons were reported dead and three others injured in a crash involving the convoy of the Mai Tula, Alhaji Abubakar Atare, along Kumo Road, Gombe/Adamawa Expressway, while on his way to Tula in Kaltungo chiefdom, The PUNCH learnt on Sunday.

The accident which occurred on Thursday claimed the lives of his longest-serving pilot driver, Danjuma Mohammed, also known as Wakili Mota, and the chief cook Mohammed Lawal, also known as Sokale Tula, who were in the Mai Tula pilot car.
However, a police constable, Adamu Ibrahim, who was attached to the Mai, passed this Sunday after he was rushed to a hospital following the crash.
Our correspondent gathered from sources that two victims died on the spot when a J5 Peugeot which attempted to overtake a Dangote truck lost control and ran into the convoy.
“Three other persons who sustained various degrees of injuries were rushed to Federal Teaching Hospital, FTH, Gombe for treatment,” the source claimed.
According to the traditional ruler, the death of the three workers is a great loss to the royal family, noting that he had close ties with each of them
Atare said, “It was a great loss to me personally and to the entire Tula chiefdom because these are men I grew up knowing as members of the royal household. So I feel the pain as a personal loss and pray that Almighty Allah will repose their souls.”
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The Ebonyi State Police Command, on Saturday, arrested a lecturer, Prof Felix Anyaegbunam, with the Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, for allegedly defiling a 12-year-old pupil, in the state (name withheld).

It was gathered the suspect who hails from Anambra State had sexually assaulted the victim for the past six months.

It was also gathered that the 12-year-old victim, a native of Ezza North Local Government Area of the state, lived in the suspect’s house with her father, who serves as his gateman.

A source, who spoke to PUNCH Metro, on condition of anonymity, said, “An alleged child violator, Felix Anyaegbunam, a professor of Geophysics working with Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu Alike Ikwo, in Ebonyi State, is now in the police net.

He is from Anambra state. His wife is also a professor at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and most of his children are Doctoral Degree holders according to research.
“A few days ago, a whistleblower brought a report against the professor leading to his arrest and detention yesterday by the police. He is being accused of constant sexual abuse on the 12-year-old daughter of his gateman.

The victim is from Ezza North LGA of Ebonyi State. However, she has been rescued and is currently receiving proper medical examination/attention.:
In an interview with our correspondent, the victim narrated her experience while living with the suspect, adding that the lecturer assaulted her sexually for more than six months.
She said, “I was living in the village with my mother. My daddy brought me to live with Prof in Abakaliki. Since June this year, the Prof has been disturbing me. He always comes into my room and does what I don’t like.
“One day around 2aam, I ran to my father at the security house and told him that Prof was pressing my breast. My father told me to go back that he will talk with him in the morning. Sometimes, I will wake up and see myself naked.
“The other day, somebody was touching me at midnight. I woke up, put on the light and saw Prof lying on my bed naked. He tried to touch me but I slapped him and pushed him out of my room. I was crying.
“One day, I woke up and my bed was soaked with blood. I didn’t know what happened. I told my father in the morning but he didn’t do anything.

He used to tell me that if I leave Prof’s house, who will pay my school fees? That is how the Prof has continued to disturb me until I told my aunty in the school because I don’t like that nonsense Prof is doing.”
The Police Public Relations Officer, in the state, Mrs Loveth Odah, confirmed the incident.
She added that the Commissioner of Police, Mr Aliyu Garba, had ordered a discreet investigation into the matter.
Mrs Odah said, “The suspect of the alleged case of rape is in Police custody now. The CP has ordered a discreet investigation into the matter, we are while awaiting the medical screening/report of the victim.”

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The Rivers State Police Command has arrested three suspects, including a herbalist linked to the beheading of a nine-year-old boy, Destiny Peter, who went missing in the Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Spokesman for the state police command, Nnamdi Omoni, disclosed this in a statement in Port Harcourt on Friday.
Omoni also said the dismembered body of the schoolboy had been recovered and his remains deposited in a mortuary, adding that the suspects’ arrest was made possible through intelligence gathering.
The statement reads,” The Rivers State Police Command has arrested the trio of Kenneth Sylvanus ‘m’ 24yrs, a native of Azumini Isiokpo, Chibuzor Amadi ‘m’ 33yrs, a native of Omademe both in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State and Chijioke Ogbonnah ‘m’ 37yrs, a herbalist from Abia State but resides in Omagwa in the Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.
“Recall that on 11/11/2021 one Destiny Peter nine-year-old was declared missing by his aunt who contacted the police and the community youths, whereupon a serious search was launched leading to the recovery of the headless body in the bush the following day. However, through intelligence gathering, the identities of Kenneth Sylvanus and Chibuzor Amadi were revealed. Chibuzor Amadi was immediately arrested and on interrogation, he took the police to an uncompleted building in Azumini Isiokpo where Kenneth Sylvanus was arrested.
“They were taken to the Isiokpo Area Command and later transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for further investigation.
“In continuation of the investigation, men of the state CIID immediately took steps and went with the two suspects who gave clearer perspectives to the crime. They led the police to the bush where the dismembered head of the deceased was recovered behind an uncompleted building.’’
Omoni added that on further interrogation, Sylvanus confessed that he killed the boy and that it was Ogbonnah who asked him to bring a human head for him to buy.
According to the police spokesperson, based on his confession, Ogbonnah was arrested on Thursday in his house at Omagwa. The statement indicated that Ogbonnah denied any involvement in the murder, claiming that he was a herbalist and sold spiritual materials including treating all kinds of ailments.
He stated, “The command appeals for calm and promises to get to the root of this mindless killing to bring the culprits to justice.’’
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The Chairperson, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has blamed Itunu Babalola, the Nigerian lady who died in an Ivorian prison, saying she reported her plight late to the Nigerian Commission in Ivory Coast.

Dabiri-Erewa said this during an interview on The Morning Show programme of Arise TV, monitored by our correspondent. She stated that Itunu had spent two years in jail before the matter was reported.
She said, “She did not inform the mission about the trial. She had spent two years in jail, then her father cried out for help. Perhaps, when she had issues with the burglar and policeman that was changing the case and reported to the Mission, maybe it would have been a different story.”
The former member of the House of Representatives, however, stated that the Nigerian Ambassador to Ivory Coast, Martin Adamu, immediately swung into action after the matter came to his knowledge.
Dabiri-Erewa stated that the Ivorian prosecutor said the victim should not be in jail.
She said, “But as soon as the ambassador got to know about it they immediately took action. First, they went to see her when she was in prison, somewhere outside Abidjan and got a lawyer. They also got money together for the lawyer to even begin the case. And the money was raised within the Nigerian community and the Nigerian Mission quickly. The lawyer gave an assurance that it was a case for an appeal. In fact, the prosecutor made it clear that the girl (Itunu) shouldn’t be in jail.”
Babalola’s case became public in March 2021, after a journalist, David Hundeyin shared her story on Twitter.
The 21-year-old from Oyo State was a trader based in Bondoukou, Cote d’Ivoire before her apartment was burgled by an Ivorian in September 2019. She landed in jail after refusing a settlement from an Ivorian police officer on the burgled items.
Unfortunately, Babalola died on Sunday, 14 November, after reportedly contracting an infection in prison. Dabiri-Erewa added that the deceased was not involved in human trafficking despite using the name ‘Becky Paul’ while in Ivory Coast.
She said, “We wouldn’t know because she is dead now, maybe she was afraid. But whatever the case, she was not involved in human trafficking.”

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Workers of the Nigerian Railway Corporation have suspended the three-day warning strike which they started on Thursday due to their demand for improved welfare.

President, Nigeria Union of Railway workers, Innocent Ajiji, said the strike was suspended after some resolutions were reached between the Nigeria Union of Railwaymen and officials of the Federal Ministry of Transportation.

“We have suspended the strike after reaching various agreements with officials of the transportation ministry and we have told our members to resume work,” Ajiji told our correspondent.

The NUR president said it had been agreed that the personal data of deceased workers would be collected for processing for immediate payment, adding that every worker was already covered by the group life assurance scheme.

Ajiji said the meeting also resolved that all the train crews be given insurance cover as the train passengers and the goods in transit.
He noted that the enhanced salary regime had been taken up as a priority by the NRC board and FMoT with a view to securing approval for implementation in the earliest possible time.

“It has been agreed that no member of staff shall be victimised as a result of his/her participation in the three-day industrial action of November 2021,” he stated.
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The Imo State Police Command has begun investigation into the burning of a Magistrate’s court in Ubulu in the Oru West Local Government Area of Imo State.
Hoodlums had on Monday attacked and razed the Magistrate’s court.

The miscreants, who were over 15, reportedly came with explosive devices and immediately ignited fire on the court.
The development caused tension in the community as many deserted their homes.
But the spokesperson for the police in the state, Micheal Abattam, told The PUNCH on Wednesday that the state commissioner of police, Rabiu Hussaini, had ordered a holistic investigation into the case of arson.
Abattam, a Chief Superintendent of Police, said that the command was working hard to apprehend the attackers.
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The management of the University of Ilorin has expelled a final-year student, Salaudeen Waliu Aanuoluwa of the Department of Microbiology after being found guilty of assaulting a female lecturer, Mrs Rahmat Zakariyau, of the same Department.A statement by the University’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr. Kunle Akogun, disclosed that the verdict was handed down by the Student Disciplinary Committee where Salaudeen was arraigned on Monday, adding that “he has 48 days to appeal against the verdict to the Vice-Chancellor in case he feels dissatisfied with the decision”.“Salaudeen has since been handed over to the police for further necessary action,”, Akogun added.A letter written to Salaudeen by the University Registrar read, “You will recall that you appeared before the Student Disciplinary Committee (SDC) to defend yourself in respect of an allegation of misconduct leveled against you.“After due consideration of all evidences before it, the Committee was convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that the allegation of misconduct has been established against you. It has accordingly recommended to the Vice-Chancellor, who in exercise of the power conferred on him, has directed that you Salaudeen, Waliu Aanuoluwa be expelled from the University.“Accordingly, you are hereby expelled from the University with immediate effect.“You are required to submit forthwith, all University property in your custody including your Student Identity Card to the Dean of Student Affairs or his representative and keep off the campus.“In case you are dissatisfied with this decision, you are free to appeal to the University Council through the Dean, Faculty of Life Sciences to the Vice-Chancellor within forty-eight (48) days of the date of this letter.”

The Lagos State Police Command’s Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, says it has arrested 12 suspects in connection with the gruesome murder of police officer Kazeem Abonde, a Chief Superintendent of Police.

The late Abonde, a former Operations Officer of the Command, was killed on September 23 during a raid on criminal hideouts at Ajao Estate, Lagos.
A statement signed and issued on Tuesday in Lagos by the Command’s Spokesperson, CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, said the suspects were arrested after diligent investigation was carried out.
“Arrest of one Ismaila Abdullahi Haruna, aged 23 years, and 11 other suspects was made possible as a result of a four-week intensive but diligent investigation carried out by crack detectives of the Command.
“The suspects, who confessed to the crimes of conspiracy, murder, attempted murder and wilful damage were arrested in their criminal hideouts in Lagos and Nasarawa States where they were hibernating to evade arrest after the dastardly act.
“During interrogation, the suspects gave a blow-by-blow account of how the brutal attack on the deceased police officer and other injured police officers was carried out and the criminal roles each played.
“Their arrest was facilitated by credible, actionable intelligence.” the statement read.
CSP Ajisebutu, however, added that all the suspects will be arraigned at the Yaba Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
“Recall that the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Hakeem Odumosu, had in a press release issued on Sept. 24 vowed to arrest all suspects involved in the attack on the policemen.
“The Commissioner of Police, while thanking the bereaved family and other members of the public for their patience, understanding and support, equally vowed to ensure diligent prosecution of the case.
“The police, therefore, seek further cooperation of members of the public, particularly the Command’s strategic partners, by giving additional information that could lead to the arrest of other suspects still at large,” it added.
(NAN)

The new Speaker Imo House Of Assembly has been receiving accolades since he was installed, this time is from a brother and the publisher Arise Africa Magazine Mr Anyanwu Ikechukwu who heartily congratulates Rt Hon Barr Kennedy Ibeh , Member Representing The Good People of Obowo State Constituency on your well deserved emergence as the New Speaker Imo State House of Assembly

He said “It is my strong belief that you would apply your wealth of experience as an astute Lawmaker, and as a Two Term Ranking Member, with enviable Track record in repositioning the Imo State House of Assembly”

Praying for God’s Grace, Protection And A Successful Tenure

Mr Anyanwu said.

Femi Osibona, Chief Executive Officer of Fourscore Homes Limited, is dead. Osibona is the owner of the company which constructed the 21-storey building that collapsed in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Monday.

Rescue workers, who spoke on the matter said his corpse was recovered from the rubbles some minutes ago.

There have been concerns over the whereabouts of Osibona, Wale Bob-Oseni, his friend, and others trapped in the building.

Bob-Oseni, who was to catch a flight to the US, briefly made a detour to see the project on the invitation of the developer but did not walk out alive.

While nine people were rescued, 38 have been confirmed dead. – CKN

There is a caveat to the discourse of this column today. As the Yoruba would say, whomsoever the mud that is splashed hits should please forgive. Splashed mud, as you know, is a loose cannon.
Those who may be concerned should take a long term view of the problem and, for the love of humanity, take appropriate actions to right the systemic wrongs against females in Northern Nigeria.

The need of the northern female in Nigeria goes beyond mere statutory ceding 35 per cent of elective and appointive roles to womenfolk. It’s about empowering them to meaningfully contribute to Nigeria’s development.

At a recent workshop organised by Institute for Media and Society, it was established that certain categories of Nigerians – women, youths, people with disabilities, senior citizens and Internally Displaced Persons – are excluded from the political and electoral processes.
Exclusion of Northern Nigeria females from politics despite the token appointments as ministers, commissioners, deputy governors and board members, gets one worried when you hear about systemic wedges placed between women and participation in Nigeria’s political and electoral processes.
Women get little chance to express alternative views on any issue, be it political or social.

If they do, it amounts to sacrilege and is therefore, sanctionable. The story was told that a female professor from Northern Nigeria could not appear on a television talk show because her husband forbade it on the pain of divorce.
This violates Section 35(1) of Nigeria’s Constitution, which states that “Every person shall be entitled to his (or her) personal liberty and no person shall be deprived of such liberty….”
Also, Section 38(1) that guarantees “freedom of thought…,” and Section 39(1) that guarantees “freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference.”

The reason the husband reportedly gave was that any female that appears on television is an “ashawo,” another word for a wayward female. That is why articulate Aisha Yusuf, and the other Aisha, who is Nigeria’s First Lady, are practically regarded as rebels.
This patriarchal culture hamstrings many Nigerian women, from the North or South, from attaining their best. To borrow a wisecrack from Bashorun MKO Abiola, the Nigerian political bird that precludes women from participating in politics is flying with one wing.

Early marriage of girls not older than 13 years is depriving Nigeria of a lot of potential talents. You’ll get the import of this collosal waste of human capital when you understand that most of the 13.5 million out of school children in Nigeria are females who have been railroaded into the junkyard of life.
To the number of male children, described as almajirai, there are probably many more that are female, who are just as helpless, because the system pays them no judicious notice as they sink further into the abyss of life.
By the time these bride-girls turn 19, they would have had close to four or five children and would have been furloughed by their husbands, who move on to younger girl-brides, especially if they have the misfortune of the dreadful Vesico Vaginal Fistula.

Symptoms of VVF: constant leakage of urine from a female’s bladder into her genital include fever, stomach pains, diarrhoea, loss of weight, nausea and vomiting. Some scholars argue that illiteracy, early marriage, poverty, deliveries at home with quacks, in the most, are the latent causes of VVF.

By the way, Nigeria, with between 400,000 and 800,000 victims of this preventable condition has the highest number of victims in the world, with 20,000 added annually. More than 90 per cent of the cases go untreated while the old men, who caused it in the first place, just move on.

You will be right to conclude that victims of VVF practically have no lives and there are almost no hopes of escape from the biological damage to their bodies and the lifelong trauma of the inevitable social stigma that accompanies their condition.

A husband, who perennially lives in Lagos, leaving his young wife for months on end, was compelled to stick by her, whom he had stigmatised because a bottle, that she inserted into her private part in the manner of a sex toy, broke, and caused her material damage.

If those Godly elderly mallams had not insisted that he was responsible for his wife’s action, he would have dumped her. The young wife, who would have been followed all over the place by a male member of her absentee husband’s family would have had no chance of consummating her sexual urge by engaging in adultery.

She resorted to the dangerous alternative of using a bottle as sex toy.
The girl-child in Northern Nigeria is weighed down by the triple tragedy of illiteracy, early marriage and the oppressive patriarchal system that gives no voice to the female. It’s very inconvenient that a significant portion of the population is kept under some kind of slavery in this 21st Century.
A panel of discussants on a radio talk show recently came to the awful conclusion that “Digital generation, Our generation,” the theme of 2021 UNICEF International Day of the Girl, marked on Monday, October 11, 2021, is not realistic for the Nigerian girl-child, who is facing a deluge of social, economic and political encumbrances.
It gets scandalous when you remember that Section 17(3)(f) of Nigeria’s Constitution says “The State (meaning the government) shall direct its policy towards ensuring that children; (and) young persons… are protected against any exploitation whatsoever, and against moral and material neglect.”
Also, Section 18(1) provides that “Government shall direct its policy towards ensuring that there are equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels.” Section 18(3) adds that “Government shall strive to eradicate illiteracy…”
Unfortunately, the constitution that imposes these grand responsibilities on the government through Chapter II on Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, also takes them away with the satanic Section (6)6(c):
“The judicial powers vested in (Section 6(1)) on the courts established for the Federation, shall not… extend to any issue or question as to whether any act or omission by any authority… is in conformity with… Chapter II of this Constitution.”
This, in plain English, means that no one can hold any government accountable on Sections 17(3) and 18(3) of the Constitution in a court of law. This ouster clause is like handcuffs made for the elbow and not the wrists.
And that’s why the girl-child, in Northern or Southern Nigeria, is virtually without any protection from the whims and caprices of a system designed to use them for pleasure and then cast them away.
To borrow and rework a counsel given to the media by Prof Ayo Ojebode of the Department of Communication and Language Arts of the University of Ibadan, the North must be intentional in liberating its womenfolk from the systemic shackle. By freeing the Nigerian women, you are freeing Nigeria.
This is no pitch for feminism, but a call to take advantage of Nigeria’s human capital potentials. First Lady Aisha Buhari says, “I would encourage our husbands to support their wives to collectively achieve greater heights.”
The northern political establishment should hold an indaba, take a cue from its own Prof Yusuf Usman, and invest in the girl-child, even if that wasn’t Prof Yusuf’s exact words.
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The Nigerian Communications Commission plans to engage stakeholders on the Fifth Generation spectrum auction towards the implementation of the 5G network in Nigeria.

The Commission will engage with the relevant industry stakeholders to examine the draft Information Memorandum for the upcoming auction of the 3.5 gigahertz spectrum band.

This was contained in a press statement titled ‘NCC Hosts Stakeholder Engagement on 5G Spectrum Auction’, which was signed by the NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde on Tuesday.

The statement read, “As part of activities lined up for the implementation of the 5G Technology Deployment Plan in the country, the NCC is set to host a stakeholder engagement forum this week. The forum will afford industry stakeholders the opportunity to discuss the draft IM for the upcoming auction of the 3.5GHz spectrum band.”
It added, “The decision to host the stakeholder engagement is in keeping with the provisions of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 and NCC’s distinctive tradition of robust stakeholder consultation on all telecom regulation-related issues.”

The NCC had earlier stated that it was 97 per cent ready for the implementation of the 5G network in Nigeria, which should be accomplished by January 2022.

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