Halliburton: US CEO gets 30 months jail for bribing Nigerians
On February 24, 2012 · In News 9:32 am..Email0
NEW YORK (AFP) – The former head of US construction company KBR was sentenced to 30 months in prison over the bribing of Nigerian officials to win contracts, the US Justice Department said Thursday.
Albert Stanley, the former chief executive officer of the engineering giant, also must pay his former company $10.8 million in restitution under the judgment handed down in a Houston federal court.
Stanley, 69, pleaded guilty to violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.
KBR and its parent company, Halliburton, have also agreed to pay a $579 million fine after pleading guilty to corruption charges in Nigeria.
Stanley was accused of participating in a bribery scheme between 1995 and 2004 to obtain construction contracts worth more than $6 billion, according to a US Justice Department statement.
KBR was part of joint venture TSKJ — which also included French firm Technip SA, Dutch and Italian firm Snamprogetti Netherlands BV and Japanese firm JGC Corporation — to build a liquefied natural gas facility on Bonny Island in the Niger Delta.
The joint venture allegedly paid $183 million in bribes to a variety of Nigerian government officials, according to the Justice Department.
Stanley, who was fired by Halliburton in 2004, cooperated in the investigation in exchange for a lighter sentence.
The case sparked criminal investigations in France, Switzerland, Nigeria and Britain.
Two British men, attorney Jeffrey Tesler and businessman Wojciech Chodan, also were sentenced on criminal charges by a Houston judge. Tesler is getting 21 months in prison while Chodan is sentenced to one year of probation.
Last month, Japanese trading house Marubeni, which the TSKJ joint venture hired to help get the engineering contracts, agreed to pay a $54.6 million fine in the United States, the Justice Department said.
In 2010, Technip and Snamprogetti each agreed to pay $240 million fines while JGC settled for a nearly $219 million fine
Friday, 24 February 2012
N6.5bn fraud: EFCC files 6-count charge against Sylva
On February 24, 2012 · In News 4:01 pm..Email1
By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA – The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Friday, filed a 6-count criminal charge against the former governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
The prosecuting counsel, Mr Festus Keyamo, perfected the filing processes at the high court registry around 2pm today.
Specifically, the former governor who was denied a return ticket by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the recently concluded gubernatorial election in the state, was accused of siphoning over N6.5 billion from the Bayelsa State treasury between October 2009 and February 2010.
He will be answering to charges bothering on conspiracy, money laundering and obtaining by false pretence, contrary to sections 1(1)(b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2004 and punishable under section 1(3) of the same Act.
Beside accusing the ex-governor of looting public fund under the guise of using the monies to augment salaries of the Bayelsa state government, the anti-graft agency in the charge sheet it entered at the court registry, further identified three persons whose Bank accounts, it said was used as conduits pipes for transfer of the illicit funds.
* Sylva
It gave their names as Habibu Sani Maigidia, a Bureau De Change Operator with Account No. 221433478108, in Fin Bank, Plc, Enson Benmer Limited with Account No. 6152030001946, in First Bank, Plc and one John Daukoru with Account No. 04800250000418, in United Bank for Africa Plc.
The charge reads: “That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, sometime between October,2009 and February, 2010, at various places in Nigeria, including Abuja,within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court did conspire to commit a crime to wit: conversion of properties and resources amounting to N2,000,000,000.00 (Two Billion Naira) belonging to Bayelsa State Government and derived from an illegal act, with the aim of concealing the illicit origin of the said amount and you therebycommitted an offence contrary to Section17(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act), 2004 and punishable under Section 14(1) of the same Act.
“That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, on or about the 22nd of January, 2010, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, converted the sum of N380,000,000.00(Three Hundred and Eighty Million Naira), property of the Bayelsa State Government, through the account of one Habibu Sani Maigidia, a Bureau De Change Operator with Account No. 221433478108, in FinBank, Plc, which sum you knew represented the proceeds of an illegal act with the aim of concealing the nature of the proceeds of the said illegal act and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14(1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act)2004 and also punishable under section14(1) of the same Act.
“That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, on or about the 5th of February, 2010, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, converted the sum of N50,000,000.00(Fifty Million Naira), property of the Bayelsa State Government, through the account of one Enson Benmer Limited with Account No. 6152030001946,in First Bank, Plc, which sum you knew represented the proceeds of an illegal act with the aim of concealing the nature of the proceeds of the said illegal act and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14(1)of the Money Laundering (ProhibitionAct) 2004 and also punishable under section 14(1) of the same Act.
“That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, on or about the 5th of February, 2010, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal HighCourt, converted the sum of N20,000,000.00(Twenty Million Naira), property of the Bayelsa State Government, through the account of one John Daukoru with Account No. 04800250000418, in United Bank for Africa, Plc, which sumyou knew represented the proceeds of an illegal act with the aim of concealing the nature of the proceeds of the said illegal act and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14(1)of the Money Laundering (ProhibitionAct) 2004 and also punishable under section 14(1) of the same Act.
“That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, sometime between October,2009 and February, 2010, at various places in Nigeria, including Abuja,within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court did conspire to commit a crime to wit: inducing Union Bank, Plc, with the intent to defraud, to deliver to Bayelsa State Government the sum of N2,000,000,000.00 (Two Billion Naira), under the false pretence of using the amount to augment salaries of the Bayelsa State Government and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8(a) and punishable under section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2004.
“That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, sometime between October,2009 and February, 2010, at various places in Nigeria, including Abuja,within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court induced Union Bank, Plc, with the intent to defraud, to grant an overdraft facility of the sum of N2,000,000,000.00 (Two Billion Naira) to the Bayelsa State Government under the false pretence of using the amount to augment salaries of the Bayelsa State Government and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2004 and punishable under section 1(3) of the same Act.”
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On February 24, 2012 · In News 4:01 pm..Email1
By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA – The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Friday, filed a 6-count criminal charge against the former governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
The prosecuting counsel, Mr Festus Keyamo, perfected the filing processes at the high court registry around 2pm today.
Specifically, the former governor who was denied a return ticket by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the recently concluded gubernatorial election in the state, was accused of siphoning over N6.5 billion from the Bayelsa State treasury between October 2009 and February 2010.
He will be answering to charges bothering on conspiracy, money laundering and obtaining by false pretence, contrary to sections 1(1)(b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2004 and punishable under section 1(3) of the same Act.
Beside accusing the ex-governor of looting public fund under the guise of using the monies to augment salaries of the Bayelsa state government, the anti-graft agency in the charge sheet it entered at the court registry, further identified three persons whose Bank accounts, it said was used as conduits pipes for transfer of the illicit funds.
* Sylva
It gave their names as Habibu Sani Maigidia, a Bureau De Change Operator with Account No. 221433478108, in Fin Bank, Plc, Enson Benmer Limited with Account No. 6152030001946, in First Bank, Plc and one John Daukoru with Account No. 04800250000418, in United Bank for Africa Plc.
The charge reads: “That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, sometime between October,2009 and February, 2010, at various places in Nigeria, including Abuja,within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court did conspire to commit a crime to wit: conversion of properties and resources amounting to N2,000,000,000.00 (Two Billion Naira) belonging to Bayelsa State Government and derived from an illegal act, with the aim of concealing the illicit origin of the said amount and you therebycommitted an offence contrary to Section17(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act), 2004 and punishable under Section 14(1) of the same Act.
“That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, on or about the 22nd of January, 2010, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, converted the sum of N380,000,000.00(Three Hundred and Eighty Million Naira), property of the Bayelsa State Government, through the account of one Habibu Sani Maigidia, a Bureau De Change Operator with Account No. 221433478108, in FinBank, Plc, which sum you knew represented the proceeds of an illegal act with the aim of concealing the nature of the proceeds of the said illegal act and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14(1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act)2004 and also punishable under section14(1) of the same Act.
“That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, on or about the 5th of February, 2010, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, converted the sum of N50,000,000.00(Fifty Million Naira), property of the Bayelsa State Government, through the account of one Enson Benmer Limited with Account No. 6152030001946,in First Bank, Plc, which sum you knew represented the proceeds of an illegal act with the aim of concealing the nature of the proceeds of the said illegal act and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14(1)of the Money Laundering (ProhibitionAct) 2004 and also punishable under section 14(1) of the same Act.
“That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, on or about the 5th of February, 2010, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal HighCourt, converted the sum of N20,000,000.00(Twenty Million Naira), property of the Bayelsa State Government, through the account of one John Daukoru with Account No. 04800250000418, in United Bank for Africa, Plc, which sumyou knew represented the proceeds of an illegal act with the aim of concealing the nature of the proceeds of the said illegal act and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14(1)of the Money Laundering (ProhibitionAct) 2004 and also punishable under section 14(1) of the same Act.
“That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, sometime between October,2009 and February, 2010, at various places in Nigeria, including Abuja,within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court did conspire to commit a crime to wit: inducing Union Bank, Plc, with the intent to defraud, to deliver to Bayelsa State Government the sum of N2,000,000,000.00 (Two Billion Naira), under the false pretence of using the amount to augment salaries of the Bayelsa State Government and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8(a) and punishable under section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2004.
“That you, Timipre Sylva, as Governor of Bayelsa State, with others now at large, sometime between October,2009 and February, 2010, at various places in Nigeria, including Abuja,within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court induced Union Bank, Plc, with the intent to defraud, to grant an overdraft facility of the sum of N2,000,000,000.00 (Two Billion Naira) to the Bayelsa State Government under the false pretence of using the amount to augment salaries of the Bayelsa State Government and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2004 and punishable under section 1(3) of the same Act.”
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How I discovered my wife’s corpse in freezer – husband
On February 24, 2012 · In News 7:26 pm..Email0
Abuja – Chief Sa’adu Abdullahi, an Auchi-based legal practitioner, on Friday told an Abuja High Court how he and two of his in-laws discovered the corpse of his wife, Afshatu, in her deep freezer.
Mrs Abdullahi, a mother of three and a top NNPC staff, was murdered on Nov. 5, 2011 in her house located off Ladoke Akintola Boulevard, in Garki II.
The office of the Inspector-General of Police on Feb. 16, arraigned Chiwendu Hart-Amanya, 30, Kenneth Chigozie, 21, and Ejike Igbe, 18, before Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf on a six-count charge including felony and murder of Mrs Afshatu Abdullahi.
The prosecution counsel, Sam Lough told the court that Hart-Amanya was the driver of the deceased, while Chigozie was the steward.
Igbe was arrested for being in possession of the deceased’s cars.
The prosecution said the offence contravened Sections 315, 316, 317 and 318 of the Penal Code.
It would be recalled that all the three accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges.
At the resumed hearing on Friday, Abdullahi, husband of late Afshatu, told the court how the corpse of his wife was discovered in the kitchen freezer with deep cuts on her neck and other parts of her body.
Abdullahi told the court that during the last Eid-el Kabir holiday on Nov. 6, 2011, Afshatu had called to say that she would be in Auchi for the celebration with her family.
He said she had called to tell him that she would come to see the family, and that after waiting for three days without hearing from her, he decided to come to Abuja to check her.
“When I got to Abuja, I went straight to the NNPC where she works and was told that no one had seen her.’’
Abdullahi told the court that a search party that was organised, found only the security man, Ali Alpha in Afshatu’s house, while the first and second, who live in the boy’s quarters, were nowhere to be found.
He said that Alpha said he had not seen his madam for a few days and assumed that she had traveled.
“We broke into the house and found the place in disarray, with many expensive furniture missing and her jewelry gone; it was obvious the house had been burgled.
“While searching, my brother-in law, Tahiru Momoh, opened a deep freezer in the kitchen and we discovered my beloved wife’s body inside it.
“We called the Police and in the cause of their investigations, neighbours told them (Police) that they saw the driver driving my wife’s Infinity Toyota SUV some days earlier.
“The security man also told the Police that the driver (first accused) came back on the same day to take away the second 2011 brand of Toyota SUV.”
Abdullahi said that he was hospitalised for three days after the corpse of his wife was found in the freezer.
“I was shocked and shaken to my bone marrow,” he said.
During cross-examination by counsel to the three accused, Mr Paul Esewomo, Abdullahi debunked any rumours that he and his wife were separated.
Abdullahi also told the court that he loved his wife “100 per cent”.
Justice Baba-Yusuf adjourned further hearing in the suit to Thursday and Friday, March 8 and 9. (NAN)
Comments are moderated. Please
On February 24, 2012 · In News 7:26 pm..Email0
Abuja – Chief Sa’adu Abdullahi, an Auchi-based legal practitioner, on Friday told an Abuja High Court how he and two of his in-laws discovered the corpse of his wife, Afshatu, in her deep freezer.
Mrs Abdullahi, a mother of three and a top NNPC staff, was murdered on Nov. 5, 2011 in her house located off Ladoke Akintola Boulevard, in Garki II.
The office of the Inspector-General of Police on Feb. 16, arraigned Chiwendu Hart-Amanya, 30, Kenneth Chigozie, 21, and Ejike Igbe, 18, before Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf on a six-count charge including felony and murder of Mrs Afshatu Abdullahi.
The prosecution counsel, Sam Lough told the court that Hart-Amanya was the driver of the deceased, while Chigozie was the steward.
Igbe was arrested for being in possession of the deceased’s cars.
The prosecution said the offence contravened Sections 315, 316, 317 and 318 of the Penal Code.
It would be recalled that all the three accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges.
At the resumed hearing on Friday, Abdullahi, husband of late Afshatu, told the court how the corpse of his wife was discovered in the kitchen freezer with deep cuts on her neck and other parts of her body.
Abdullahi told the court that during the last Eid-el Kabir holiday on Nov. 6, 2011, Afshatu had called to say that she would be in Auchi for the celebration with her family.
He said she had called to tell him that she would come to see the family, and that after waiting for three days without hearing from her, he decided to come to Abuja to check her.
“When I got to Abuja, I went straight to the NNPC where she works and was told that no one had seen her.’’
Abdullahi told the court that a search party that was organised, found only the security man, Ali Alpha in Afshatu’s house, while the first and second, who live in the boy’s quarters, were nowhere to be found.
He said that Alpha said he had not seen his madam for a few days and assumed that she had traveled.
“We broke into the house and found the place in disarray, with many expensive furniture missing and her jewelry gone; it was obvious the house had been burgled.
“While searching, my brother-in law, Tahiru Momoh, opened a deep freezer in the kitchen and we discovered my beloved wife’s body inside it.
“We called the Police and in the cause of their investigations, neighbours told them (Police) that they saw the driver driving my wife’s Infinity Toyota SUV some days earlier.
“The security man also told the Police that the driver (first accused) came back on the same day to take away the second 2011 brand of Toyota SUV.”
Abdullahi said that he was hospitalised for three days after the corpse of his wife was found in the freezer.
“I was shocked and shaken to my bone marrow,” he said.
During cross-examination by counsel to the three accused, Mr Paul Esewomo, Abdullahi debunked any rumours that he and his wife were separated.
Abdullahi also told the court that he loved his wife “100 per cent”.
Justice Baba-Yusuf adjourned further hearing in the suit to Thursday and Friday, March 8 and 9. (NAN)
Comments are moderated. Please
Cocaine generates $900m in West, Central Africa annually – UN
February 24, 2012 by Agency Reporter Leave a Comment
The UN agency that fights drugs and crime has estimated that cocaine trafficking is generating about $900m annually in West and Central Africa as South American cartels use the shortest route to transport drugs to Europe.
Yuri Fedotov, the Head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that in addition to an upsurge in cocaine trafficking, West Africa was experiencing an increase in piracy, arms and human trafficking.
According to Sapa-AP, he said South American drug cartels were not only exploiting poverty but a lack of border controls, weak law enforcement, and endemic corruption in West Africa to reach Europe.
Fedotov said, “The West African transit route feeds a European cocaine market which in recent years grew four fold, reaching an amount almost equal to the US market.
“We estimate that cocaine trafficking in West and Central Africa generates some $900m annually.”
That estimate is up from an April 2011 UNODC report that put the figure at $800m for 2009.
Fedotov said illegal drug consumption was also growing fast in the region, where there are now up to 2.5 million drug users.
He said greater understanding was needed of the extent to which drug trafficking might be linked to piracy off West Africa’s coast.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said there was a growing concern about stability in West Africa and the Sahel region to the north because of the rise in organised crime, drug trafficking and piracy, a growing food crisis, the influx of weapons from the upheaval in Libya, and the reported links between insurgent groups, criminal groups and terrorist organisations.
“There is even fear that we could see in this region a crisis of the magnitude of the one in the Horn of Africa,” Ban said, a reference to Somalia which remains a failed state, with the al-Qaida-affiliated militant group al-Shabab challenging a weak transitional government.
He told the council that an assessment mission he sent in December to look at the effects of the Libya crisis on the Sahel “found that terrorist groups, such as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, had begun to form alliances with drug traffickers, and other criminal syndicates.”
“Such alliances have the potential to further destabilise the region and reverse hard-won democratic and peacebuilding achievements.”
Benin’s Minister of State for National Security Issifou N’Douro said the dispersal of Libya’s arsenal and mass departure of Libyans following the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi “has considerably worsened the challenges that West Africa and the Sahel in particular are facing in terms of combatting organised transnational crime.”
The Libyan fallout has led to the growth and radicalisation of rebel groups in the Sahel states and “a resurgence in pernicious forms of coordinated criminal activity” such as kidnapping with ransom demands and shootouts between security forces and insurgents with better weapons, he said.
Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbe, whose country holds the Security Council presidency this month and organised the meeting, said terrorist actions in Nigeria and the Sahel had added to West Africa and the Sahel becoming “channels for trafficking of all kinds.”
February 24, 2012 by Agency Reporter Leave a Comment
The UN agency that fights drugs and crime has estimated that cocaine trafficking is generating about $900m annually in West and Central Africa as South American cartels use the shortest route to transport drugs to Europe.
Yuri Fedotov, the Head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that in addition to an upsurge in cocaine trafficking, West Africa was experiencing an increase in piracy, arms and human trafficking.
According to Sapa-AP, he said South American drug cartels were not only exploiting poverty but a lack of border controls, weak law enforcement, and endemic corruption in West Africa to reach Europe.
Fedotov said, “The West African transit route feeds a European cocaine market which in recent years grew four fold, reaching an amount almost equal to the US market.
“We estimate that cocaine trafficking in West and Central Africa generates some $900m annually.”
That estimate is up from an April 2011 UNODC report that put the figure at $800m for 2009.
Fedotov said illegal drug consumption was also growing fast in the region, where there are now up to 2.5 million drug users.
He said greater understanding was needed of the extent to which drug trafficking might be linked to piracy off West Africa’s coast.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said there was a growing concern about stability in West Africa and the Sahel region to the north because of the rise in organised crime, drug trafficking and piracy, a growing food crisis, the influx of weapons from the upheaval in Libya, and the reported links between insurgent groups, criminal groups and terrorist organisations.
“There is even fear that we could see in this region a crisis of the magnitude of the one in the Horn of Africa,” Ban said, a reference to Somalia which remains a failed state, with the al-Qaida-affiliated militant group al-Shabab challenging a weak transitional government.
He told the council that an assessment mission he sent in December to look at the effects of the Libya crisis on the Sahel “found that terrorist groups, such as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, had begun to form alliances with drug traffickers, and other criminal syndicates.”
“Such alliances have the potential to further destabilise the region and reverse hard-won democratic and peacebuilding achievements.”
Benin’s Minister of State for National Security Issifou N’Douro said the dispersal of Libya’s arsenal and mass departure of Libyans following the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi “has considerably worsened the challenges that West Africa and the Sahel in particular are facing in terms of combatting organised transnational crime.”
The Libyan fallout has led to the growth and radicalisation of rebel groups in the Sahel states and “a resurgence in pernicious forms of coordinated criminal activity” such as kidnapping with ransom demands and shootouts between security forces and insurgents with better weapons, he said.
Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbe, whose country holds the Security Council presidency this month and organised the meeting, said terrorist actions in Nigeria and the Sahel had added to West Africa and the Sahel becoming “channels for trafficking of all kinds.”
Fake policewoman nabbed in Kwara
February 24, 2012 by Success Nwogu, Ilorin 91 Comments
The Kwara State Police Command has arrested a 30-year-old mother, Yemisi Fagbemi, for allegedly parading herself as a police Inspector.
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Tuesday, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Dabo Ezekiel, said the suspect was arrested on January 30 in a police uniform.
He added that a policewoman, Medina Garba, attached to the command arrested the suspect.
Ezekiel said Fagbemi, a mother of two, hails from Kabba, in Kogi State and resides at Oja-Iya area of Ilorin.
He added that the suspect allegedly swindled an electronic dealer of one 37-inch Plasma TV, laptop and refrigerator among others with promise to pay in instalments.
The PPRO said the suspect would soon be charged to court.
But while speaking with journalists, Fagbemi claimed that she was dismissed from the police in 2011, when a murder suspect in her custody escaped.
Yemisi, who admitted that she wore a police uniform on the day of her arrest, added that she wanted to visit a senior police officer who had promised to assist her on that day.
Fagbemi said, “I am not a fake police officer. I joined the force in 2000 as a constable but I later went for cadet inspector course in 2006.
“When I was a constable, I served at both Ijagbo and Offa divisions. I was dismissed in 2011 when a suspected murderer in my custody escaped.”
February 24, 2012 by Success Nwogu, Ilorin 91 Comments
The Kwara State Police Command has arrested a 30-year-old mother, Yemisi Fagbemi, for allegedly parading herself as a police Inspector.
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Tuesday, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Dabo Ezekiel, said the suspect was arrested on January 30 in a police uniform.
He added that a policewoman, Medina Garba, attached to the command arrested the suspect.
Ezekiel said Fagbemi, a mother of two, hails from Kabba, in Kogi State and resides at Oja-Iya area of Ilorin.
He added that the suspect allegedly swindled an electronic dealer of one 37-inch Plasma TV, laptop and refrigerator among others with promise to pay in instalments.
The PPRO said the suspect would soon be charged to court.
But while speaking with journalists, Fagbemi claimed that she was dismissed from the police in 2011, when a murder suspect in her custody escaped.
Yemisi, who admitted that she wore a police uniform on the day of her arrest, added that she wanted to visit a senior police officer who had promised to assist her on that day.
Fagbemi said, “I am not a fake police officer. I joined the force in 2000 as a constable but I later went for cadet inspector course in 2006.
“When I was a constable, I served at both Ijagbo and Offa divisions. I was dismissed in 2011 when a suspected murderer in my custody escaped.”
Gunmen kill four policemen at IG’s house
February 24, 2012 by Adelani Adepegba, Mike Odiegwu and Mustapha Saliu 211 Comments
GUNMEN suspected to be members of the terrorist Islamic sect, Boko Haram, on Thursday killed four policemen and injured another two near the house of the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar.
In Minna, Niger State, some gunmen suspected to be members of the sect similarly killed two policemen.
Also, a bomb suspected to have been planted by the sect was discovered at the St. Mary’s Catholic Church, located on Church Road, Minna, by members who attended the Ash Wednesday mass.
On Christmas Day last year, Boko Haram bombs killed 44 parishioners at the St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla, also in Niger State.
The incidents coincided with a comment by a senior United States diplomat that the country would not provide military assistance to Nigeria in its battle against Boko Haram.
The US ambassador, Terence McCulley, who spoke to the Associated Press, said he would rather encourage the Federal Government to reach out to residents in the affected northern states while using security forces to target and apprehend terrorists.
The Kano attack took place during the morning rush hours along BUK Road.
Eyewitnesses’ accounts indicated that the gunmen, riding on four motorcycles, opened fire on the policemen said to be guarding the residence of the IG and killed four of them.
A statement by the spokesman for the Kano State police command, Magaji Majiya, confirmed the incident but said only two policemen were killed in the attack.
Majiya said 15 suspects had been arrested in connection with the attack.
The statement reads, “Today Thursday 23rd February, 2012 at about 0830hrs along BUK Road by Island after Gidan Murtala, unknown gunmen on four motorcycles attacked our policemen on foot patrol.
“As a result of the attack two died on the spot while two were injured and are now receiving treatment at the hospital.”
The statement adds that the area of the attack has been ‘thoroughly combed” and that investigation into the incident has commenced.
Our correspondent in Kano reports that shortly after the attack, surveillance helicopters hovered above the area.
In the Minna incident, THE PUNCH learnt that the gunmen, also riding on motorcycles, opened fire at two policemen at a point near a Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation mega station.
Two of the policemen reportedly died on the spot while another sustained injury and was rushed to an undisclosed nearby hospital.
The injured officer, eyewitnesses said, only escaped death by a whisker because he had gone to buy sachet water when the attack occurred.
“Two men who were on a motorbike on sighting the policemen shot directly at them and killed two of them instantly. They carted away their rifles but other policemen ran to safety. One policeman who was coming back from where he went to buy sachet water was injured,” an eyewitness told our correspondent on Thursday.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Richard Oguche, confirmed the attack and said the police were on the trail of the killers. He added that the attackers were not members of Boko Haram but members of an aggrieved group out to avenge the detention of their members arrested after the prison break in Kogi State.
The explosives found at the St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Suleja were reportedly kept inside a Ghana-Must-Go bag and hidden in a corner of the church premises. The bag was said to have been discovered by a member of the church who then raised the alarm.
Residents of Church Road told our correspondent on Thursday that the discovery of the explosives caused a stir in the area and it took the police anti-bomb squad searching the area to douse the fear of the residents.
Meanwhile, Terrence said the US was also considering opening a consulate in Kano to improve the country’s image among a people still suspicious about Western influence. Boko Haram means ‘Western education is evil.’
However, he was unequivocal when asked in the interview with the Associated Press whether U.S. troops should be deployed in Nigeria.
“That’s not on the table. No, absolutely not,” McCulley said.
The ambassador said the issue of Boko Haram was of great concern to the US.
“It’s of a great concern to us. We’ve seen an increase in sophistication, we’ve seen increased lethality. We saw at least a part of the group has decided it’s in their interest to attack the international community” he said.
McCulley said the U.S. was already working with the Nigerian police to help them learn how to carry out forensic investigations, while a bomb expert from the FBI has been working with authorities on how to detect explosives planted by the group before they detonate.
He said, “The U.S. also would be open to training Nigeria’s military in counter-terror techniques, though the country hasn’t asked for that assistance.
“It’s not going to be solved exclusively by treating it as a security issue. It needs a holistic solution.
“Government needs clearly to have a targeted approach on security that targets the bad guys, that targets perpetuators of these horrible attacks and doesn’t injure innocent civilians or damage property.”
February 24, 2012 by Adelani Adepegba, Mike Odiegwu and Mustapha Saliu 211 Comments
GUNMEN suspected to be members of the terrorist Islamic sect, Boko Haram, on Thursday killed four policemen and injured another two near the house of the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar.
In Minna, Niger State, some gunmen suspected to be members of the sect similarly killed two policemen.
Also, a bomb suspected to have been planted by the sect was discovered at the St. Mary’s Catholic Church, located on Church Road, Minna, by members who attended the Ash Wednesday mass.
On Christmas Day last year, Boko Haram bombs killed 44 parishioners at the St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla, also in Niger State.
The incidents coincided with a comment by a senior United States diplomat that the country would not provide military assistance to Nigeria in its battle against Boko Haram.
The US ambassador, Terence McCulley, who spoke to the Associated Press, said he would rather encourage the Federal Government to reach out to residents in the affected northern states while using security forces to target and apprehend terrorists.
The Kano attack took place during the morning rush hours along BUK Road.
Eyewitnesses’ accounts indicated that the gunmen, riding on four motorcycles, opened fire on the policemen said to be guarding the residence of the IG and killed four of them.
A statement by the spokesman for the Kano State police command, Magaji Majiya, confirmed the incident but said only two policemen were killed in the attack.
Majiya said 15 suspects had been arrested in connection with the attack.
The statement reads, “Today Thursday 23rd February, 2012 at about 0830hrs along BUK Road by Island after Gidan Murtala, unknown gunmen on four motorcycles attacked our policemen on foot patrol.
“As a result of the attack two died on the spot while two were injured and are now receiving treatment at the hospital.”
The statement adds that the area of the attack has been ‘thoroughly combed” and that investigation into the incident has commenced.
Our correspondent in Kano reports that shortly after the attack, surveillance helicopters hovered above the area.
In the Minna incident, THE PUNCH learnt that the gunmen, also riding on motorcycles, opened fire at two policemen at a point near a Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation mega station.
Two of the policemen reportedly died on the spot while another sustained injury and was rushed to an undisclosed nearby hospital.
The injured officer, eyewitnesses said, only escaped death by a whisker because he had gone to buy sachet water when the attack occurred.
“Two men who were on a motorbike on sighting the policemen shot directly at them and killed two of them instantly. They carted away their rifles but other policemen ran to safety. One policeman who was coming back from where he went to buy sachet water was injured,” an eyewitness told our correspondent on Thursday.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Richard Oguche, confirmed the attack and said the police were on the trail of the killers. He added that the attackers were not members of Boko Haram but members of an aggrieved group out to avenge the detention of their members arrested after the prison break in Kogi State.
The explosives found at the St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Suleja were reportedly kept inside a Ghana-Must-Go bag and hidden in a corner of the church premises. The bag was said to have been discovered by a member of the church who then raised the alarm.
Residents of Church Road told our correspondent on Thursday that the discovery of the explosives caused a stir in the area and it took the police anti-bomb squad searching the area to douse the fear of the residents.
Meanwhile, Terrence said the US was also considering opening a consulate in Kano to improve the country’s image among a people still suspicious about Western influence. Boko Haram means ‘Western education is evil.’
However, he was unequivocal when asked in the interview with the Associated Press whether U.S. troops should be deployed in Nigeria.
“That’s not on the table. No, absolutely not,” McCulley said.
The ambassador said the issue of Boko Haram was of great concern to the US.
“It’s of a great concern to us. We’ve seen an increase in sophistication, we’ve seen increased lethality. We saw at least a part of the group has decided it’s in their interest to attack the international community” he said.
McCulley said the U.S. was already working with the Nigerian police to help them learn how to carry out forensic investigations, while a bomb expert from the FBI has been working with authorities on how to detect explosives planted by the group before they detonate.
He said, “The U.S. also would be open to training Nigeria’s military in counter-terror techniques, though the country hasn’t asked for that assistance.
“It’s not going to be solved exclusively by treating it as a security issue. It needs a holistic solution.
“Government needs clearly to have a targeted approach on security that targets the bad guys, that targets perpetuators of these horrible attacks and doesn’t injure innocent civilians or damage property.”
Police arraign two for theft of DDC machines
February 24, 2012 by Agency Reporter Leave a Comment
The police on Friday arraigned two men at the Chief Magistrates’ Court, Yaba, Lagos State for allegedly stealing 391 Direct Data Capture machines.
The machines were said to be property of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Charles Awopetu (46) and Essien Godwin (42) were arraigned for two counts of conspiracy to commit felony and stealing.
They were granted bail by the presiding magistrate.
February 24, 2012 by Agency Reporter Leave a Comment
The police on Friday arraigned two men at the Chief Magistrates’ Court, Yaba, Lagos State for allegedly stealing 391 Direct Data Capture machines.
The machines were said to be property of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Charles Awopetu (46) and Essien Godwin (42) were arraigned for two counts of conspiracy to commit felony and stealing.
They were granted bail by the presiding magistrate.
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