NIGERIA : Killer herdsmen, bandits will flee Yorubaland if we intervene – Ogun traditional worshippers

 

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As the nation searches for a lasting solution to the myriad of security challenges facing it, traditionalists in Ogun State have expressed their readiness to put an end to killings, kidnapping and banditry in Yorubaland.

Ogun State and other states in Nigeria are currently battling with herders, farmers clashes as well as the incessant killing of innocent persons by bandits carrying AK-47 rifles.

Security agents and government at all levels seem to be overwhelmed as reports of deaths, injuries, abduction and carnage keep hitting the media space with no end in sight.

 

This even resulted in some Nigerians started agitating for self-defence, asking the government to allow everyone to carry arms.

But, leaders of the traditionalists in Ogun State say they have what it takes to save the state and Yorubaland from the security quagmire.

The traditional worshippers believe the South West region got it wrong when it placed so much preference on “Western religions”, ignoring the religion of the African society.

Speaking in an interview in Abeokuta, the Olu Isese of Ogun State, Dr Ifarotimi Adifagbola, disclosed that there are many deities that could be called upon to rise for the defence of the Yoruba race.

 

Adifagbola, who recently bagged an honourary PhD Award at the African American University, Porto Novo, Republic of Benin, said,
“Our religious extremism has caused us a lot of setbacks. We have jettisoned all we inherited from our forefathers because of Western religions. That is why these herdsmen are killing us like mosquitoes. We have a lot of deities to call upon and they will all rise for our safety whenever we are in trouble. But, we have let go of all of them. Some people say there is no war, we are in a war already. We only need to call on the gods of our ancestors and I know they are already standing up for us.”

In his words, the Oba Isegun of Obada, Chief Ololade Sunday, emphasised that no bandit would be able to wreak havoc in the entire Yoruba land if traditionalists are allowed to employ spiritual powers in confronting them.

Sunday stated that the killing of Yorubas could only happen in communities where the monarchs have no regards for tradition.

In such communities, the traditional leader opined that the Obas have forgotten the gods and are no longer making sacrifices or atonement to appease them.

He explained that the popular activist, Sunday Adeyemo (aka Sunday Igboho) could not have embarked on the mission to rescue the Yoruba race if he was not with the necessary spiritual powers.

“If you look critically at some towns where the kings are traditionalists, killings and kidnapping will not happen in their domain. But in those places where there are killings, they no longer respect tradition. Sunday Igboho did not believe in anything aside from God and the powers of our ancestors.

“We have some places in Yorubaland where many cows died mysteriously. Nobody killed them, but there was a kind of “spiritual intervention” after due consultation. If all Pastors, Imams and Obas will allow this same supernatural intervention everywhere, the bandits and killer herdsmen will flee our land voluntarily,” he submitted.

However, Ololade added that there is the need for government’s involvement before traditionalists can perform some rituals, saying that they don’t have the right to pronounce or declare curfew which will not allow the innocent populace to be affected whenever it is time to lay ‘spiritual ambush’ for those perpetrating evil in Yorubaland.

NIGERIA : Italian court acquits Shell, Eni in Nigeria corruption case

 Energy giants Eni and Shell were accused of corruption in the 2011 purchase of an offshore oilfield in Nigeria. The $1.3 billion sale was the biggest corruption scandal to hit the industry.  https://saviournicodemus.blogspot.com/2021/03/how-to-make-money-on-internet-today.html

Shell and Eni managers were accused of corruption in the purchase of an oilfield in Nigeria

An Italian court acquitted energy firms Royal Dutch Shell and Eni on Wednesday in a massive corruption case. 

The long-running case concerns the 2011 purchase of an offshore oil field in Nigeria, with prosecutors alleging the companies paid bribes to secure the field.

What did the court rule?

Judge Marco Tremolada read out the sentence in the Milan court on Wednesday.

He said the companies and 13 defendants charged in the case had been acquitted as there was no case to answer.

Among those charged in the case were current Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi and his predecessor Paolo Scaroni.

Prosecutors called for the managers to be jailed and the companies to be fined, as well as confiscating $1.1 billion from the defendants.

The ruling comes three years after the trial kicked off and after over 74 hearings.

Wednesday's ruling could still be appealed.

How has Nigeria responded?

The Nigerian government expressed its disappointment in a statement released shortly after the Italian court's decision was announced.

"The Federal Republic of Nigeria is disappointed in today’s
ruling in Milan, but thanks the Italian prosecuting authorities
for their tireless efforts," a government spokesman said.

The statement added that Nigeria "will continue to hold those responsible for the OPL 245 fraud accountable."

The government said it would review the verdict and then consider whether to appeal.

Watch video 02:23

Shell ordered to pay for Niger Delta oil spills

What have the companies said?

Both firms welcomed the ruling, with Shell saying that it has always maintained that the oilfield purchase was legal.

"At the same time, this has been a difficult learning experience for us. Shell is a company that operates with integrity and we work hard every day to ensure our actions not only follow the letter and spirit of the law, but also live up to society's wider expectations of us," Ben van Beurden, chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell said in a statement.

What was the case about?

The case concerned the 2011 purchase of the OPL 245 offshore oilfield in Nigeria.

Shell and Eni paid $1.3 billion (€1.09 billion) to buy the massive oilfield from Malabu Oil and Gas — a firm that was owned by former Nigerian Oil Minister, Dan Etete.

Italian prosecutors argued that $1.1 billion of the purchase price were bribes that landed in the pockets of middlemen and politicians, including former oil minister Etete.

Prosecutors also argued that Shell and Eni knew that most of the money was being used towards bribes. Both firms have denied the charges.

The case landed in court after three anti-corruption NGOs brought a complaint before prosecutors in Milan.

NIGERIA : UK Court Jails Two Nigerians For Taking Over N260million COVID-19 Loans Meant For 10 Businesses

 

UK Court Jails Two Nigerians For Taking Over N260million COVID-19 Loans Meant For 10 Businesses https://saviournicodemus.blogspot.com/2021/03/how-to-make-money-on-internet-today.html

 Two Nigerians, who exploited the UK Government's Coronavirus Bounce Back loan scheme by using the identities of ten innocent people to fraudulently obtain £489,000, have been jailed.

The first convict is Timilehin Olasemo, 39, of Bedale Road, Romford, who appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday, March 17, and was sentenced to three years and two months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.

Olasemo pleaded guilty to the offence on 12 November 2020 at Southwark Crown Court.

The co-defendant, Olufumi David Akinneye, 33, of Cowthorpe Road, Lambeth, was sentenced to a total of five years and six months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to commit fraud after pleading guilty to those offences on November 12, 2020 at Southwark Crown Court.

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the UK Government created a scheme to support businesses struggling through the lack of economic activity. The scheme was effectively a Government-backed loan organised and managed through UK banks.

The size of the loan available is determined by turnover demonstrated by the business to the satisfaction of the bank.

Due to the unprecedented nature of the pandemic and the economic consequences on the UK economy, the loan scheme was set up to ensure that applicants were looked upon favourably, and that their application was processed quickly, resulting in limited security checks being undertaken.

The court heard how Olasemo exploited the weaknesses in the application system and realised that she, with assistance of others, could create fake businesses – using the identities of real people – to apply for the loans.

As the business account had been registered to a separate address to the personal account holder’s address, its existence would not become apparent to the real personal account holder until the bank chased them for the loan repayments.

Akinneye was the first out of the two to be identified during ongoing enquiries into organised criminality by officers of the Met’s North West London Economic Crime Unit. Olasemo was identified from evidence seized during Akinneye’s arrest.

On Friday, 16 October, officers from Met’s North West Economic Crime Unit, part of the Metropolitan Police Service’s Central Specialist Crime Command, arrested Olasemo at her home address. She was charged and remanded in custody the same day.

The investigating officers identified that £489,000 worth of fraudulent loan applications were made using ten identities. Of this, £297,000 worth of loans were successfully obtained by the pair and dissipated. The remaining amount was successfully stopped by the banks.

Akinneye was arrested on Thursday, 20 August by officers from the Met’s North West Economic Crime Unit. He was charged and remanded the same day.

Asari-Dokubo Biafra’s Agenda: A misnomer, political miscalculation – Ijaw leader

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One of the leaders of the Ijaw ethnic nationality, Wednesday, described a statement credited to Alhaji Asari Dokubo calling on the Niger-Delta region to join Biafra in their struggle for independence as misnomer and a political miscalculation to plunge the Niger-Delta region into a serious problem.

The Ijaw leader and GMD/CEO of Babsfield Corporate Ventures and Tamfel Global Resources, Chief Julius Babogha who spoke to newsmen in Warri said there was no way Niger Delta will join Biafra to opt-out of Nigeria, adding that the region will rather stay independent than to align with Biafra. 

Speaking further, Babogha said, “It will be better for the region to stay on its own than to join Biafra. If you are a student of history you will understand what happened in the early 60s how the region suffered at the hands of Biafra soldiers when they took over Niger-Delta as part of the Biafra Republic.

“We will be more better-being part of Nigeria nation than to align with Biafra, mostly at this contemporary time, so, l want to say that the call by Asari Dokubo on Niger-Delta to join Biafra is nothing but a suicide mission that will plunge the entire Niger-Delta states into serious political 

conflicts.

“Asari Dokubo would have given the statement a real thought before coming out to the public because if you have seen reactions from all stakeholders across the Niger-Delta region, mostly from the Ijaw national leader, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark and others, it will tell him the statement is not acceptable to all.

“I want to equally advised Alhaji Asari Dokubo and his followers to go back to history and see if the path they are trying to follow is worth it, they should retrace their steps and think of how to make Nigeria a stronger nation for us all and not to divide it.”

Many hospitalized as strange disease hits Kano

 

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The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has confirmed that many persons have been hospitalized following the outbreak of a strange infectious illness in Kano State.

The State Coordinator of the agency, Mr Shaba Muhammad, told the newsmen on Monday that the agency has collected water samples for laboratory analysis following the outbreak, NAN reports.

Muhammad said the agency received a report of manifestation of a strange disease suspected to be caused by drinking sachet water and locally processed drinks in the metropolis.

He explained that a team of officials of the agency had visited the infected persons at the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH), Kano, and some of the affected areas.

“Reports indicated that the infection involves sachet water and local drinks suspected to be prepared with expired and adulterated products.

“The infected persons developed symptoms such as severe vomiting and urine mixed with blood after drinking suspected sachet water and local drink.

“However, we have collected samples of the suspected water and the products for analysis to discover the cause of the disease,” he said.

Muhammad further disclosed that the agency had scaled up surveillance to check circulation of fake and counterfeit products in the state.

He urged members of the public to be vigilant and check the label of the products.

Ogun govt hands over rescued OOU students to families [VIDEO]

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Precious Adeyemo and Abiola Oyefule of Olabisi Obasanjo University, Ayetoro campus, have been handed over to their parents, hours after their release by their abductors.

The Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, presented the two students to their parents in front of the Governor’s office, Okemosan, Abeokuta.

DAILY POST reports that the two were kidnapped in front of their hostels on Sunday night by yet-to-be identified gunmen.

They were rescued on Tuesday night and kept in police custody until Wednesday.

While presenting the students to their parents, Coker said the two are fine and in good health.

Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Waheed Odusile in company with Commissioner for Education, Prof Abayomi Arigbabu, have earlier presented the duo to journalists.

According to Odusile, no ransom was paid for the release of the students.

Odusile barred journalists from interviewing the students and their parents, who accompanied them also refused to grant press interviews.

Police gun down armed robber in Delta, recover arms

 

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A police patrol team in conjunction with vigilante from the Ovwian/ Aladja Division in Udu Local Government Area of Delta State in a reprisal, have gunned down an armed robber as three others escaped from the superior fire power of the police.

The police also recovered one locally made double barrel pistol with two cartridges from the suspect.

The incident occurred on 16/3/2021 at about 2030hrs when the deceased and three others were robbing road users along Ovwian express junction.

 

The Delta State Acting Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Edafe Bright, confirmed the report in a statement signed and sent to

According to the state police image PRO, “Divisional Police Officer Ovwian Aladja Division, acting on a tip off that four armed men were robbing road users along Ovwian express junction Udu road, immediately mobilized a patrol team in conjunction with local vigilante to the scene, the hoodlums on sighting the patrol team opened fire on the team, the team returned the fire and gunned down one of the hoodlums while others escaped.”