JUDGE CONVICTS 3 BANKERS TO 91 YEARS JAIL TERM

CONVICTS

Justice Ibrahim Mairiga of the Kebbi State High Court has convicted three former employees of FinBank Plc (acquired by First City Monument Bank Plc in 2011), and sentenced them to 91 years’ imprisonment.

Suleiman Ibrahim Musa, Bilyaminu Usman and Lawal Suleiman had been arraigned on 16 counts bordering on forgery, theft and criminal breach of trust by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The convicts, who worked at the Birnin-Kebbi branch of the bank in Kebbi State, were first arraigned on July 21, 2010, and had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

ANXIETY IN NIGERIA POLICE FORCE OVER PROMOTION OF JONATHAN'S AIDES.

There is disquiet among the workers of the Police Service Commission over the promotion of nearly all the security aides of former President Goodluck Jonathan by the board of the commission.

The Commander, MOPOL 24, the police unit in charge of the former President’s family was promoted from Chief Superintendent of Police to Assistant Commissioner of Police, and some unit commanders were elevated from Deputy Superintendent of Police to Superintendent of Police.

But a junior officer, who served at the Presidential Villa under the promoted commander, said he and some of his colleagues did not benefit from the exercise.

DAVIDO BATTLES (TWICE BEATEN) WIZKID FOR BEST MALE ACT IN AFRIMMA AWARDS.

After beating Wizkid to clinch the Best Male Act award for the second time at this year’s edition of MTV Africa Music Awards,MAMA, ‘Aye’ crooner, Davido is set to repeat the feat as he battles again with the former for the  Best Male Act West  Africa award, in the forthcoming African Muzik Magazine Awards, AFRIMMA.

The awards ceremony is billed to hold on the 10th of October, 2015 at the Black Academy of Arts and Letters, Dallas. The multiple award winner will be battling for the award with his Nigerian counterparts including  Wizkid, Flavour and Olamide.  Others are Serge Beynaud from Ivory Coast, Sarkodie (Ghana), Carlou D (Senegal)and Stonebwoy (Ghana).

PSG TARGET CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GLORY WITH NEW SIGNING "DI MARIA".

Paris Saint-Germain are confident Angel di Maria can be the man to help them conquer Europe after completing the signing of the Argentina winger on Thursday.

The 27-year-old penned a four-year deal at the Parc des Princes after PSG agreed to pay Manchester United 63 million euros (£44.3m; $68.9m) to make him the second most expensive signing in French football history.

Released from the constraints of Financial Fair Play after UEFA relaxed their controversial rules earlier this summer, the French champions have made their biggest splash in the transfer market since paying 64 million euros to sign Edinson Cavani from Napoli in July 2013.

CULTISM, CORRUPTION & POLITICIANS.

Secret cults exist in traditional societies of south of Nigeria,often as instruments of social control, and influence, for the betterment of   society. For example,  there are Cults like the Ogboni, Oro, Egugun, Agemo, Awo-Opa,Eno-Orugbo, in the South West, Kamalu, Mmanwu, Okonko, Ekpe, Ijere, in the South East, Nfam, Igbe, Oghere-Uke, Ekpo,Oje, in the South South of Nigeria.

They essentially enforced high moral standards, social justice, and peace in those early societies, but like most things in life, when corruption enters, evil follows to reign supreme, and that happened with campus cultism.

4 STUDENTS BAG 1ST CLASS FROM NIGERIA LAW SCHOOL AS 40% OF RESIT STUDENTS FAILED AGAIN.

The Council of Legal Education, the authority that runs the  Nigerian Law School, has released the results of both the Bar Final Resit examinations held in April 2015 and the Bar Final examinations for regular students conducted in May 2015.

A statement by the Director General of the law school, Mr Olanrewaju Onadeko said that out of the 2,736 students who participated in the resit examination only 1,648 were successful. They will be called to the Bar with a pass.

DOWNLOAD NEW MUSIC - "LEFT FOR GOOD" - @OFFICIALWAJE FT @PATORANKINGFIRE & @GODWINSTRINGS.

LEFT FOR GOOD - WAJE

WAJE, who is easily one of the few original vocalists in the Nigeria HipHop world is back with a hit titled "LEFT FOR GOOD".

She features the  award wining reggae-dancehall sensation  Patoranking and violinist Godwin Strings on this one.

The song was produced by E-Kelly.

Download Here.

TANKER KILLS POLICEMAN IN LAGOS.

A police sergeant attached to the Taskforce for dismantling tanker traffic in Apapa area of Lagos was on Tuesday crushed to death by a tanker.

The spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Patricia Amadin, confirmed the incident on Wednesday.

Mr. Amadin, who said the deceased was identified as Lukas Abashi, disclosed that the driver of the vehicle with Reg. No. ANC 66 XA escaped after the accident.

EFCC SET TO DECLARE FORMER NHIS BOSS WANTED OVER $2.1M MONEY LAUNDERING CASE.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has finalized plans to declare former Executive Director of National Health Insurance Scheme, Olufemi Thomas, over a $2.1 million (about N413million) suspected money laundering case.

A source at the commission said the EFCC has been on the trail of the former NHIS boss for weeks after a Bureau De Change operator, Ibiteye Bamidele, named him as the owner of a $2,198,900 cash, recovered from him by men of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

Mr. Bamidele was arrested on July 3 at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos, by officials of the NDLEA.

POLICE ARRAIGNS TRADITIONAL RULER & 11 OTHERS OVER THE MURDER OF LATE EFCC INFORMANT "ALHAJI GAY".

Twelve men, including a traditional ruler, Chief Nojeem Abioye, have been arraigned by the police over the death of one Alhaji Olatunji Rasak, touted as an informant of the police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Rasak, aka Alhaji Gay, a hotelier with an alleged reputation for homosexuality, was reportedly murdered during a riot on July 20, 2015, in the Alagbado area of Lagos State.

Abioye, the Baale of Temidire Alagbado, allegedly spearheaded the protest which occasioned the death of Alhaji Gay and one Ganiyu Adebayo, said to be son of a landlord in Alagbado.

10 FACTS ABOUT LATE OONI OF IFE.

1. He was born on January  1,    1930 in Ile-Ife to the Ogboru ruling house, grandson of the Ooni Sijuwade Adelekan Olubuse I.

2. He became the fiftieth traditional ruler,  Ooni of Ife, on 6

December 1980.

3. He studied at Abeokuta Grammar School and Oduduwa College in Ile-Ife.

POLICE ARRAIGNS UNILAG PART-TIME LECTURER WHO RAPED 18-YR-OLD ADMISSION SEEKER. #SAYNOTORAPE.

The police in Lagos State have arrested a part-time lecturer, Afeez Baruwa, for allegedly raping an 18-year-old girl, identified as Caroline (pseudonym) in the Yaba area.

It was learnt that the victim, who was reportedly raped inside a study room, was seeking admission into the University of Lagos, Akoka. It was gathered that Baruwa was arrested by the Surulere Police Division on Monday, August 3.

Our correspondent gathered that the lecturer, however, told the police in his statement that the sexual intercourse was by mutual consent, insisting that he did not rape the victim.

BUHARI'S ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGN IS MEANT TO SHIELD HIS OBVIOUS FAILURE IN DELIVERING ELECTORAL PROMISES - FAYOSE.

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has taken a swipe at the Federal Government’s anti-corruption stance, describing it as mere noise-making, witch-hunt and diversionary tactic to hoodwink the public into overlooking the seeming failure of the government to deliver on its electoral promises.

The governor said; “If President Muhammadu Buhari knows exactly where the stolen funds are kept and who looted the funds, he does not need all these public announcements. Rather, he should make public names of the looters and bring back the purported stolen funds from  the locations he has identified. It is when he is able to bring back the money that he should make announcements of recovered funds.”

BUKOLA SARAKI'S VISIT TO MAIDUGURI - TENTATIVE FIRST STEPS TOWARDS 2019 PRESIDENCY.

 On Monday this week, Bukola Saraki led a team of his closest senate collaborators on a visit to Maiduguri. Any rookie political analyst could have seen through the stage-managed trip, given the near-presidential halo around it, with hands pumping, photo ops with IDPs and a visit to the Shehu of Borno. On Tuesday morning, most newspapers carried a syndicated picture of the ‘august visitor’ waving to the IDPs. Never before in the history of Nigeria’s transition to civil rule since 1999, have we had a senate president determined to seize the public space like Bukola Saraki.

Soon after he controversially    snubbed his party to emerge, he began to hold court, receiving visitors, issuing statements and for all intents and purposes, wrestling limelight with Muhammadu Buhari, elected as President, with the executive powers that go with it. But determined to defy the controversy around his emergence, Bukola Saraki is seizing political territory and desperately attempting to control the space of public perception as much as possible.

BUHARI'S VISIT TO USA ATTRACTED DIRECT INVESTMENT WORTH N2.7TN.

An estimated N2.7 trillion ($13.6 billion) worth of direct investment is part of the immediate benefits accruing from President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent state visit to the United States, the Presidency claimed yesterday.

The presidency also affirmed that the visit cost the Nigerian treasury less than N220 million contrary to assertions in some sections of the media. It further explained that President Buhari’s son, Yusuf, did not receive any estacode for the trip even as it contended that great savings were made by members of the delegation against previous visits.

The five governors who were in the delegation, the presidency said, paid their way while permanent secretaries and other senior government officials only received their entitlements.

NO PLANS TO SCRAP NYSC - PRESIDENT BUHARI.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday said that the National Youth Service Corps was still relevant for national integration and unity.

To this end, he had pledged his administration’s commitment to take all necessary actions in maintaining the programme.

President Buhari gave the assurance after receiving a briefing from officials of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development led by the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Rabi Jimeta.

JACK WILSHERE'S INJURY WOES CONTINUES, SET TO BE OUT FOR 8 WEEKS.

Jack Wilshere is set for another heartbreaking long-term lay-off after it emerged his latest injury is worse than initially feared.

In a devastating blow to the Arsenal and England midfielder, the latest scans on his injured ankle have shown up a suspected hairline fracture.

Arsenal expect to make a final diagnosis by the end of the week, but their best possible scenario is that the injury will rule Wilshere out for six to eight weeks.

DR. KACHIKWU SACKS EIGHT NNPC GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS.

The eight Group Executive Directors (GED) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, have been relieved of their appointment in the corporation.

A source in the NNPC said the GEDs of the corporation have been replaced with new GEDs.

The GEDs who were relieved of their duties are: Mr. Ian Udoh, Group Executive Director, Refining & Petrochemicals, Mr. Adebayo Ibirogba, Group Executive Director, Engineering and Technical; Dr David Ige, Group Executive Director, Gas& Power and Dr. Attahir Yusuf, Group Executive Director, Business Development.

Others are: Dr.Dan Efebo, Group Executive Director, Corporate Services; Mr. Bernard Otti, Group, Executive Director, Finance & Accounts

OIL SPILLAGE - PRESIDENT BUHARI ORDERS IMMEDIATE IMPLEMENTATION OF UNEP REPORT ON OGONI CLEAN-UP.

President Mohammadu Buahri has given approval for the cleaning up of Ogoni land dented with oil spillage.

The presidential directive followed the report of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) on the environmental restoration of Ogoniland.

President Buhari also approved the compositions of the Governing Council and Board of Trustees of Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP) which were majorly facilitated by the recommendations of the Executive Director of UNEP, the UNEP Special Representative for Ogoniland, Permanent Secretaries of the Federal Ministries of Environment and Petroleum Resources, and other stakeholders, including the amendment of the Official Gazette establishing the Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP) to reflect a new governance framework on the project.

SARAKI & CO. IN TROUBLE AS INSPECTOR GENERAL CONFIRMS FORGERY OF SENATE ORDER.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, has asked a federal high court in Abuja to dismiss a suit filed by Senator Gilbert Nnaji (PDP/Enugu East), seeking to stop the police from investigating the alleged forgery of the 2015 Senate Standing Order.

Responding to Nnaji’s suit on Tuesday, August 4, through a counter-affidavit, Arase pointed out that no court of law has powers to stop the police force from performing its statutory functions of investigating crimes.

According to the IG’s counsel, David Abuo, investigating the allegation of forgery in the Senate can only strengthen the integrity of the upper legislative house and its leadership,