Sahara Reporters Latest News Thursday 28th March 2019
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 28/03/19
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E2%80%98i-was-kidnapped-when-i-came-nigeria%E2%80%99-%E2%80%94-us-based-nigerian-accused-fraud-clarifies-absence target=_blank>‘I Was Kidnapped When I Came To Nigeria’ — US-Based Nigerian Accused Of Fraud Clarifies Absence
Olawale Oluwatosin, the US-based Nigerian accused of fraud after his Nigerian creditors could not reach him for years, has resurfaced to clarify his disappearance.
SaharaReporters had reported that Oluwatosin put many of his friends and colleagues into a web of debts by deceiving them into standing guarantors for his chains of loans before vanishing into thin air in December 2017, thus obligating many innocent guarantors to repay the debts.
However, in an email clarification he sent to SaharaReporters, Oluwatosin explained that he indeed returned to Nigeria in June 2018 after travelling in 2017, but he was abducted before he could reach his creditors.
“The trauma of this hapless incident made me to hurriedly go back to US without consummating the sale of the property I initially came for,” he said. “This led to my becoming unreachable as I took time off to be able to recover from the sad event.”
He insisted that he isn’t a fraudster as his disappearance made portrayed him, saying: “It should be known to the general public that the issue that led to the publication was a guarantee that was called in when the primary obligor seemed unreachable.
“It has since been resolved, and it becomes important that the general public be informed that OLUWATOSIN OLAWALE IS NOT A FRAUDSTER OR A THIEF. I have never been one and will never be at any time.”
HIS FULL RESPONSE
In reference to the subject publication in which allegations of fraud were level against me. It should be known to whole world that the allegations were untrue as it did not state the actual facts of the matter:
It is not only true that I worked in Ecobank before leaving for the US for medical purpose, but had worked meritoriously in the following banks: defunct Standard Trust Bank, Intercontinental Bank, Access and UBA, all spanning over 15years without any blemish. I obtained credits from some agencies with a couple of my friends guaranteeing my repayments. They are friends that I’ve known for some years and I have done the same thing for them at different points in time in the past. So, they had no reason to distrust me. What transpired afterwards and the facts of the unfortunate matter are stated here for public knowledge and for the records, even though the issues have already been straightened out with the people at the centre of the publication.
The fund I got was secured for a purpose for which it was used. The process of securing it was legitimate as no fraudulent intent was conceived. I left the country to attend to a critical health-related issue in December 2017 and I notified the lenders, as well as my friends that stood guarantee, of my absence. I made a pledge to them to offset the debt before the expiration of the tenor of the facilities.
Sometime in 2018, after I had departed, the lenders decided to mount pressure on my friends when they couldn’t reach me. I got wind of this and decided to come back to Nigeria to settle the creditors by selling one of my properties at home — Ekiti.
I got to Nigeria in June 2018, and unfortunately, while driving along Ilesha-Akure Expressway, I was kidnapped by AK47-wielding gunmen. I met two other abducted persons at their hideout and we were kept in their custody for four days. It took the intervention of Osun State Police Command team to secure our release. We were referred to Ijebu-Ijesha Police Station, where the incident was documented for further investigation and action. This is a verifiable event, which has since been confirmed by all the parties to the transactions.
The trauma of this hapless incident made me to hurriedly go back to US without consummating the sale of the property I initially came for. This led to my becoming unreachable as I took time off to be able to recover from the sad event.
It was within the period that I was unreachable that my friends became agitated and approached the media to create a perception of fraud.
Since the publication came out, my ex-colleagues and those that knew me to be a banker of almost two decades called my attention to it and I immediately came home to narrate the situations that warranted my being incommunicado since the kidnap event. They sympathized with me and made me see the reason why my action was regarded as fraudulent when the pressure of the lenders were getting unbearable for them and they couldn’t immediately get in touch with me.
Consequently, it should be known to the general public that the issue that led to the publication was a guarantee that was called in when the primary obligor seemed unreachable. It has since been resolved, and it becomes important that the general public be informed that OLUWATOSIN OLAWALE IS NOT A FRAUDSTER OR A THIEF. I have never been one and will never be at any time.
I appreciate friend, family and colleagues that were concerned and brought the publication to our attention as it was actually not what it was perceived to be. The matter has since been resolved.
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target=_blank>Home Lottery Set To Make Many Landlords In Lagos
The Home Lottery Limited, owners of the Home Lottery brand, have announced the pioneer home lottery brand in Nigeria.
The brand is associated with quality home lottery scheme, synonymous with affordability.
In a statement released on Wednesday by Oladayo Oyelaja, the Project Lead of Dreamview Enterprises, the company said it was set to make many landlords in Lagos.
“The motivation to source the housing needs of over 23 million Lagosians and 86 migrants per hour into the city is the brainchild of this concept,” said Oladayo Oyelaja, the project lead of Dreamview Enterprises.
“According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Lagos has a shortfall of 2.5millions homes, which represents 14.7% of the total housing deficit of the country: 17million as of 2016.
“Home Lottery Limited is the solution to the craving need of making ownership of home affordable and accessible to every Nigerian starting with those in Lagos. Home Lottery plans to create homes to all segments of the population from the super-rich premium home owner’s city dwellers to the upwardly mobile sub-urban dwellers.
“Home Lottery seeks to address this need by offering the opportunity to own a home in a most accessible and affordable way, providing hundreds of homes annually through a credible, sustainable and trusted lottery property scheme in Lagos developing to all over Nigeria.”
The company said its core target market are adults between the ages of 25 and 75 who have a flare for lottery brands and are able to start participating in the exercise because they desire a reason to win a home.
“The activation mechanism is simple,” Oyelaja said. “All you have to do is to send an SMS ‘home’ to 718 on an MTN network and this qualifies a participant a single entry for the monthly raffle that has a star prize of a home. Multiple play increases the chance of winning the star prize at the monthly raffle where a winner would emerge. Next draw comes up on April 1, 2019.”
According to Oyelaja, subsequent draws will be conducted monthly (home) and quarterly (mega) as the scheme progresses.
Dreamview Enterprises is a consulting firm into integrated marketing communication activities, marketing research, brand marketing, and mystery shopping activities. It provides tailor-made solutions that help brands engage their markets and create product trials which in turn generate consumer loyalty and improve market shares of the brands.
This home lottery is brought to you by the Home Lottery Limited in conjunction with MTN and Lockes Home Limited. It is endorsed by the Consumer Protection Council of Nigeria, Nigeria Lottery Commission, and the Lagos State Lottery Board.
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target=_blank>After SaharaReporters Story, NCAA Directs Arik, Air Peace To Display Flying Points On Websites
A few hours after SaharaReporters exclusively reported the harrowing experience some passengers in the Nigerian aviation industry go through to locate their travel terminals, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has summoned the affected airlines to a meeting.
The meeting, which was presided over by a General Manager, Consumer Protection Directorate (CPD), a department in NCAA, was held at the agency’s headquarters at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos.
A source privy to the meeting confided in our correspondent that the NCAA representative read the riot act to the representatives of the two affected airlines, Arik Air and Air Peace, and directed them to henceforth display the terminals for flight departure and arrival on their website for easy sight and verification by their clients.
NCAA also confirmed that the agency had received series of complaints from some passengers who missed their flights due to the error by the airlines.
Arik Air and Air Peace currently operate from two terminals at the Lagos Airport; Murtala Muhammed Airport Two (MMA2) and the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) of MMA.
The source said: “The meeting was convened by the General Manager in the Consumer Protection Directorate of NCAA in the absence of Alhaji Adamu Abdullahi, the director of the department.
“The department directed the two airlines to henceforth display the flying point for each route on their system to avoid the recent confusion,” the source said.
Meanwhile, the representative of Arik Air claimed that the airline has consistently displayed the flying points on its website. He, however, blamed some of the passengers for not checking up their departure or arrival points on the website at the time of purchasing air tickets.
SaharaReporters had reported on Tuesday that the some of the passengers found it difficult to locate their exact departure or arrival points with the two airlines. This led to chaos among travellers, their drivers and towing vehicle companies operating at the two terminals of Lagos Airport.
At the GAT area on Tuesday, a particular driver who wrongly parked at the GAT to pick his boss was seen struggling with officials of a towing company, who wanted to impound his car for allegedly parking at a wrong place within the area.
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target=_blank>INEC Refuses To Issue Certificates Of Return To Delta APC Lawmakers-Elect
Three elected members of the Delta State House of Assembly who contested and won on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the just concluded March 9, 2019 elections have not been issued certificates of return.
At the issuance of certificates ceremony on Wednesday in the state, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) refused to issue them the certificates based on the recent court judgement that sacked the Great Ogboru/Ovie Omo-Agege faction of the state executive of APC led by Jones Erue, from which the three lawmakers-elect emerged.
The lawmakers-elect are Anidi Emosivwe (Ethiope East constituency), Oniyere Whomrouho (Ughelli North I constituency) and Egbo Jaro (Ughelli North II constituency),
While presenting the certificates of return to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa; his deputy, Kingsley Otuaro, and other House of Assembly members-elect who contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), at the INEC office in Asaba, Mohammed Lecky, the INEC National Commissioner, said their certificates were denied as a result of “pending legal issues”.
Also denied certificate of return was Ochor Christopher Ochor, a PDP House of Assembly member-elect from Ukwuani constituency. Our correspondent subsequently gathered that Ochor’s case was a mistake of identity, and he had been told to come over to the INEC headquarters in Abuja to receive his certificate of return on a later date.
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target=_blank>EFCC Begins Trial Of Ex-NDDC Director Tuoyo Omatsuli Over N3.6bn ‘Fraud’
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday commenced the trial of Tuoyo Omatsuli, a former Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and three others over alleged N3.6billion fraud at a Federal High Court in Lagos.
On November 8, 2018, the anti-graft agency had docked Omatsuli alongside Don Parker Properties Ltd, Francis Momoh and Building Associates Ltd before Justice Saliu Saidu on a 45-count charge bordering on the alleged offence.
At Wednesday’s proceedings, EFCC called its first witness, Eyo Bassey Francis, a software developer and contractor. Led in evidence by Ekele Iheanacho, the EFCC counsel, the witness said he had executed contracts for the NDDC as well as Akwa Ibom, Imo and Abia state governments.
He also narrated how huge sums of money were transferred to the account of two of his companies by Omatsuli in 2014.
He said: “In 2014, while as a contractor with NDDC, I came in contact with Mr. Tuoyo Omatsuli. In the course of our interaction, I told him that I run an online platform and I do a lot of imports. I also told him that because of my engagement in import, I was able to source for foreign currencies.
“He later called me on phone and told me that some money will be transferred into my account. I got initial sum of N80million transferred into the Heritage Bank account of one of my companies, Asiladrrin Global Consulting Ltd. I converted the money into dollars as directed by Mr. Tuoyo.”
Francis also disclosed that he had an inflow of N340million in two tranches of N160million and N180million into the company’s account within the same period. He said he also converted the money into dollars and “handed it over to Mr. Tuoyo, NDDC’s Executive Director of Finance and Administration, as well as the NDDC’s MD”.
Speaking further, the witness said: “Sometime in January 2015, I also got a call from the 1st defendant (Mr. Tuoyo) telling me that I will be getting a payment from a company known as Building Associates. I later got an inflow of N349,650,000 into the Heritage Bank account of my company, College-Pro Synergy Ltd.
“I was furnished with an account of a firm, Greenhouse Investment, owned by the Special Assistant on Finance to the then NDDC’s MD to which I transferred N100million. The balance was converted to dollars as directed by Mr. Tuoyo.”
When asked by the prosecution lawyer whether he executed any contract for Building Associates Ltd to warrant the transfer of the fund to his company’s account, he said: “I did not execute any contract for Building Associate.”
Under cross-examination by Professor Amuda Kehinde (SAN), Tuoyo’s lawyer, the witness said he did not transfer any money to the 1st defendant’s account. He maintained that his oral testimony was part of the statement he wrote on August 14, 2017, for the EFCC.
Further hearing in the trial continues on April 11, 2019.
In the charge, Omatsuli is accused of procuring the third and fourth accused (Momoh and Building Associates) to utilise a total sum of N3.6billion paid by Starline Consultancy Services Ltd into an account operated by the fourth accused.
The prosecution said they ought to have known that the said sums, formed part of the proceeds of unlawful activities, which include corruption and gratification.
The offences which were allegedly committed between August 2014 and September 2015 contravene the provisions of Sections 15(1), 15(2), 15(3) and 18 of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011, as amended by Act No 1 of 2012.
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target=_blank>APC Makes U-Turn, Directs Members To Participate In Adamawa Supplementary Gov Election
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has rescinded its earlier decision to boycot the supplementary governorship election scheduled for Thursday.
The party has subsequently directed its members to participate fully in the polls.
Speaking to journalists at the APC state secretariat in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, on Wednesday evening, Mohammed Abdullahi, the state Publicity Secretary of APC, urged all APC supporters to participate in the supplementary election.
Abdullahi expressed optimism that the party would win the election and retain its governorship seat.
The APC publicity secretary also debunked the claim by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Adamawa alleging that governors Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna State and Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State were planning to disrupt the supplementary election using thugs.
Abdullahi said the PDP in Adamawa “is clearly jittery over an impending defeat”.
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E2%80%94-and-90-victims-are-children-aged-two-nine target=_blank>ALERT: Kidnapping On The Rise In Jos — And 90% Of The Victims Are Children Aged Two To Nine
Kidnapping incidents in Jos, the Plateau State capital, seem to have taken on a different dimension, with children becoming targets and residents currently living in fear of kidnappers running amok in the state.
According to journalist Ahmad Salkida, the kidnappers have the backing of security outfits in the state.
A series of tweets by Salkida on Wednesday read: “Residents of Jos are thrown into a state of intense fear by the activities of kidnappers. Insecurity is turning a gory, brazen, page with new incidents of kid kidnappings making the rounds in Jos, Plateau State.
“Unlike Zamfara state where the abductions occur mostly in the rural communities, these incidents in Jos are right under the noses of the elite formations of the Armed Forces — Army, Air Force, Navy, Secret Service, Police and paramilitary arms in the metropolis.
“It is estimated that about 90% of the targeted victims are children, ages ranging from 2 to 10. It is feared that there might be a collusion between the kidnappers and the horde of security formations, jobless youths and vigilantes to keep the hapless population under constant distress.
“There is a reported incident of a four-year-old, who was abducted in his sleep. Mostly, it is the middle income families that are targeted. A staff of a private firm with his wife and three kids were traumatized in the dead of night when four gunmen forced their way into their bedrooms. With barely N15,000 cash in the house, their five-year-old was instantly abducted, awaiting ransom. The distraught family ran to the Police in desperation, but the officers advised them to act wisely by heeding the instructions of the gunmen/kidnappers. The family finally raised N500,000 ransom for release of their child.
“Another family, invaded by the gunmen at 2am experienced the same trauma, but with different details. Insisting that it was better for her to be abducted rather than her children, the woman submitted herself and walked for eight hours with the gunmen into the bush. When the husband finally laid hold of the ransom about 12 hours later, he was instructed by the kidnappers on where to drop off the cash and where to pick up his wife.
“To give room for assumed official investigation by the Police, this reporter is deliberately withholding the names of the victims. From testimonies of some of the victims in Jos, there’s ground to suspect that the gunmen are likely people already familiar with the victims.
“A victim reported the experience of his head being kept down to forestall any eye contact, but nevertheless found a voice familiar. Many of the victims are too afraid to speak out. There have been over 40 cases of this epidemic documented by this reporter between January and March 2019.
“On the average, there are between three and four abduction cases in Jos each week. But many sources insist that the cases are understated believing that there are more cases of child abductions right in front of their parents in Jos than are admitted. The kids were usually seized in the absence of cash in the house. And the choice is usually death or abduction. The family chooses to let go of a child while they scrambled to raise money for ransom payments days later. The police have not been able to help the victims, so far. It is believed that many middle income families are taking steps to avert the attendant trauma by keeping at least 100, 000 Naira at home. A troubled family lamented, “we cannot hide our children in the house. The gunmen seem to have information about us. We are helpless.” The kids were usually seized in the absence of cash in the house. And the choice is usually death or abduction, the family chooses to let go of a child while they scrambled to raise money for ransom payments days later. The police have not been able to help the victims, so far.— Ahmad Salkida (@A_Salkida) March 27, 2019
When SaharaReporters contacted Matthias Terna Tyopev, the Police Public Relations in Plateau State, on the allegations, his response was: “Kidnapping on the rise? Which rise? When you say something rises, it means it was five yesterday and 20 today.”
He, however, promised to release official figures “tomorrow”, because work had closed for the day.
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target=_blank>Abducted Policeman Found Dead In Edo Forest
Deputy Superintendent of Police Godwin Oshiogbuwe, who was abducted by yet-to-be-identified gunmen at Ubiaja, Esan South East Local Government Area of Edo State, has been found dead.
His body was discovered in a forest on Ubiaja-Ewohimi-Agbor road by a tactical team in search of his kidnappers.
The circumstances that led to his killing are stull unknown, but there are indications that his police identification card and photographs on his mobile phone gave him away.
His body has been deposited in the mortuary, and an autopsy is scheduled to be carried out on him.
Oshiogbuwe hails from Auchi in Edo State served in Abuja before his death.
DSP Chidi Nwabuzor, spokesman of the Edo State Police Command, confirmed the discovery of the slain officer’s corpse.
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target=_blank>Tempers ‘Run Very High’ Between Dokpesi And Nigeria Immigration Service
Raymond Dokpesi, Chairman of DAAR Communications PLC, owners of African Independent Television (AIT), has spoken on his invitation by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).
Speaking in a question-and-answer session published by AIT on Wednesday, Dokpesi confirmed that he was arrested for about an hour on Friday, March 22.
He also spoke on what transpired when he was questioned at the NIS on Wednesday, confirming that there were “altercations and tempers went very high”.
Dokpesi is standing trial over allegations bordering on benefitting illegally from the N2.1billion from the office of Sambo Dasuki, the former National Security Adviser (NSA) during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
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Dokpesi on his invitation by Nigeria Immigration Service
I just returned from a medical trip overseas last Friday, March 22, 2019, when I was arrested for 50 -55 minutes at the airport. I was told that they have instructions from above to arrest me on my return but after a few phone calls and contacts, the immigration officer at the airport told me that he has instructions from above that I can leave and he gave me back my passport and told me that I should go and that they will reach me subsequently.
On Monday, I received new information and in line with the normal process, I returned my passport to the Federal High Court since I travelled under judicial approval or permission. So I returned my passport and came back and gave notice that I might have to go for a medical check-up so that they will ensure that the operation was successful and that all the organs and everything is properly healed.
So when I got the letter yesterday the 26th, I replied that same yesterday the 26th notifying them that I have returned the passport to the Federal High Court and that it has been duly acknowledged and added all the necessary information and so on. But the officers who interrogated me said that they had expected me to go back to the Federal High Court and obtain the passport with their letter of invitation. I told them that I totally defer from that line of thought.
I have returned. I got the passport from the Federal High Court. I returned the passport to the Federal High Court. If you the immigration service with the instruction from above require my passport, then write directly to the Federal High Court and request for the passport. If you like, you can copy me for me to be able to go there and say, look I am supposed to be a courier, has the Court approved it and I will return it clearly, but that did not happen and that made us have altercations and tempers went very high.
But I stood my ground and said, ‘well I am a Nigerian citizen. I have travelled out for my medical treatment. I am back to the country and I voluntarily came back and have handed over my passport to the appropriate authority.’ They were telling me that the passport was a property of the Federal Government and the Federal Government has a right to withdraw it at any time.
Granted the passport is a property of the Federal Government and Federal Government has a right to withdraw it but I am also a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and there is a judicial process. There is a rule of law, why should we not go through the judicial process and be able to define what is required?
What is the situation of things now?
The resolution now is that of course, they said I should go home, but he left with an annotation that should they have any reason to invite me after they had reviewed my statement that I wrote and the letter I sent to them yesterday, that I should honour the invitation when I do receive it.
Is there any indication that they want to impound your passport?
Definitely, if I had brought my passport today, they would have impounded it; that is what it is. There are no two ways about it, but the passport is with the Court. But even if they decide to do so, like I said, the passport is a property of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, so they can request for it.
Do you suspect any foul play?
I do not suspect any foul play. I can only say what I know but honestly, this is the handiwork of the Buhari Federal Government.
What actions are you going to take now?
Honestly, there is nothing I can do, I am already in court, we have challenged Order 6 and all the Orders that are there. I am a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and it is through my own sweat that I went for treatment.
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BREAKING: INEC Announces Final Details Of Supplementary Elections In Rivers
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the schedule of activities for the resumption of elections in Rivers State.
The governorship and state house of assembly electoral process was suspended on March 10, 2019.
A fact-finding committee was also sent to the state, which came up with recommendations.
A statement signed by Edwin Enabor, Head of Department, Voter Education and Publicity of INEC in Rivers State, on Wednesday noted that the process would continue on April 2.
The statement read: “According to the timetable, a stakeholders’ meeting is scheduled for Saturday, March 30, while the resumption of collation and announcement of results will hold between April 2 and 5.
“Supplementary elections will be conducted where necessary on April 13, results will be announced between April 13 and 15, while certificates of return will be issued on April 19.
“The identified activities for the conclusion of the process flow from the careful auditing by the Fact-Finding Team set up by the Commission’s headquarters to review the circumstances that led to the suspension of the process.”
INEC expressed its commitment to ensuring that the exercise is free, fair, transparent and credible, just as it appealed to the people of Rivers State to “embrace the resumed electoral activities towards bringing a closure” to the 2019 elections.
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