Subsidy Probe: Arraignment adjourned as suspect failed to appear in court

A Lagos High Court on Wednesday adjourned the arraignment of the first batch of oil subsidy fraud suspects till Thursday after one of the accused persons failed to appear in court.
Only three of the suspects showed up in court.
While adjourning the case till Thursday, the judge said all the accused persons must be in court for the arraignment.
The lawyer to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) requested the court to fix the arraignment for Thursday to enable the Attorney General of the Federation to personally appear in court.
The EFCC had on Tuesday unveiled the first group of 20 suspected fraudsters billed for arraignment over their involvement in the subsidy scam.
The suspects include Mahmud Tukur, the son of the national chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, Bamanga Tukur.
Meanwhile the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) said on Wednesday it was owed over N1.1 trillion in government fuel import subsidies, debts which would wipe out savings supposed to protect the country’s economy from oil price dips. “As at the end of May 2012 NNPC had unpaid (subsidy) claims of N1.134 trillion naira,” Fidel Pepple, spokesman for the NNPC, told Reuters.

Ritualists kill seven year old boy in Nasarawa

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) command of the State Security Service (SSS) has paraded two men who allegedly killed a seven year old boy in Nasarawa state for ritual purpose.

Assistant Director, Operations of the Service, Mister Ibrahim Halilu said the two men, John Yakubu and Ishaya Dakulung were arrested on Sunday afternoon in the Asokoro district of the FCT with the fresh human head while they were looking for a buyer.
Mister Halilu who said the suspects will soon be charged to court, warned parents to closely monitor the movement of their children during the holiday period in order to forestall the activities of evil minded persons.
One of the suspect, John Yakubu who spoke in Hausa said the victim who is an only child of his parents was lured to a river side in New Karshi, Nasarawa state, before severing his head from his body while his partner, Ishaya Dakulung claimed that he was only helping his friend to get a buyer with a promise of being paid  N250,000 (Two hundred and fifty thousand naira).

Patience Jonathan, Turai Yar’Adua to settle land dispute out of court

A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court Sitting in Bwari Area Council has ordered Hajia Turai Yar’Adua, wife of late President Yar’Adua and the current First lady, Dame Patience Jonathan to report back to court over the out of court settlement on a disputed 1.84 hectares of land in Abuja.

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister Of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, had informed the presiding judge of the court,  Justice Peter Affen, that the Federal Government has made arrangement for an out of court settlement.
The disputed land, plot no. 1347 Cadastral Zone AOO, Central Business District, Abuja, FCT,  was initially allocated to Women and Youth Empowerment Foundation (WAYEF) while Mrs. Yar’adua was First Lady.
The Minister of the FCT, Bala Mohammed revoked the allocation for what he described as “overriding public interest” and reallocated the same land to Mrs. Jonathan for the building of African First Lady Peace Mission Headquarters on the 2nd of November, 2011.
Mrs. Yar’Adua complained that the land allocated to WAYEF on 19 February 2010 was being trespassed upon by Mrs. Jonathan and got a court order dated 5 March 2012 restraining the defendants from affecting WAYEF title and interest over the land.
Those joined as co-defendants in the suit are the Minister of FCT, Federal Capital Administration and the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS).
Reacting to the plea for an out of court settlement, Mr. Lagi Innocent, Counsel to WAYEF confirmed to the court that his clients have been approached for an out of court settlement but added that this was not the first time the defendants were making such moves.
He mentioned that WAYEF had already began the process of notice of committal to prison on the defendants by filing forms 48 and 49 adding that it was unfortunate that people could no longer trust the government in the country.
While adjourning the case to 24 September 2012 for report of settlement, Justice Affen “advised parties that the nature of the case is such that if parties can reach amicable settlement it would be better for all sides.”
 Interesting case if you ask me

WOW.....

The sentence "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter in the english language. 
AMAZING!

EFCC Lists Fuel Subsidy Scam Suspects

The statement released listed the 11 individuals involved in the scam as: Mamman Nasir Ali; Christian Taylor; Mahmud Tukur; Ochonogor Alex; Walter Wagbatsoma; Adaoha Ugo-Ngadi; Fakuade Babafemi Ebenezer; Ezekiel Olaleye Ejidele; Abubakar Ali Peters; Jude Agube Abalaka, Abdulahi Alao and Oluwaseun Ogunbanbo.

The companies involved are: Nasaman Oil Services; Eternal Oil and Gas Plc; Ontario Oil & Gas Plc; Nadabo Energy Limited; Pacific Silver Line Limited, Axenergy Limited and Fago Petroleum and Gas Limited.

"This case is a land mark case which is being demanded by all well-meaning Nigerians. It is quite symbolic in our collective fight against corruption, particularly in the oil and gas industry, which is the nation's major revenue earner.’’
`So the Judiciary and the EFCC cannot afford to disappoint Nigerians and the global community watching how they handle this case.''  This is contained in a statement signed by Rev. David Ugolor and made available to newsmen in Benin.

William Balfour Sentenced to Trio of Life Sentences

William Balfour the 31-year old who was found guilty in May of killing Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and nephew was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences today, appearing inside a courtroom and maintaining his innocence until the end.
Hudson was also present at the sentencing.

During the hearing, a judge looked directly at Balfour and told him: "Your soul is as barren as dark space."

Balfour was convicted of triple murder, home innovation and residential burglary after he went into a jealous rage in 2008 because he believed his ex-girlfriend has received a present from another man.

UPDATE: Ghana’s president John Atta Mills dies at 68

Ghanaian president, John Atta Mills is dead! a statement from the president’s office announced on Tuesday.

“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the sudden and untimely death of the president of the Republic of Ghana,” the statement said.
Mills died at the age of 68, a few hours after he fell ill and was rushed to a Military Hospital.
The statement signed by the Chief of Staff to the president, Mr John Henry Newman, stated that Mr Mills passed away at the 37 Military Hospital, Tuesday afternoon.
A presidential aide, who asked not to be named, said the president had complained of pains on Monday evening and died early on Tuesday afternoon when his condition worsened.
Previous rumours about Mills’s possible ill health had swirled in the last few weeks and he travelled last month to the United States for medical treatment. On that occasion, he had joked with reporters on his departure from the capital Accra about rumours of his death, asking them: “Are you seeing a person who has died?”
Mr Mills was inaugurated as Ghana’s leader on the platform of National Democratic Congress (NDC) on 7 January 2009, defeating the ruling party’s candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2008 election.
He served as Vice-President from 1997 to 2001 under President Jerry Rawlings.
Trained as a lawyer and taxation expert, Mills had overseen Ghana’s emergence as one of Africa’s newest oil producers as the West African country started pumping crude oil two years ago.
The late president was expected to run for a second term in the forthcoming presidential election in December.
Ghana’s election commission said December’s presidential and parliamentary elections would go ahead as planned. “The election calendar remains unchanged – it’s purely a party matter,” election chief Kwadwo Afari-Gyan told Reuters, explaining that it was up to the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to find a candidate to replace Mills.
He is survived by his wife Ernestina Naadu Mills, and their son, Sam Kofi Atta Mills.
Meanwhile Ghana’s Vice-President John Dramani Mahama has been sworn in as president to complete President Atta Mills term. He has a degree in social psychology from the Institute of Social Sciences, Moscow. He has a keen interest in environmental affairs, particularly the problem of plastic pollution in Africa. His first book, My First Coup d'État and Other True Stories From the Lost Decades of Africa, was published by Bloomsbury on July 3, 2012.