IMO BREAKING NEWS BLOG

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has reaffirm government's commitment to retaining the acting Chairman of the Economy and Financial Crime Commission Ibrahim Magu despite challenges and rejection from the Senate. The acting President made the disclosure while commissioning Economy and Financial Crime Commission office in Kaduna state.

Represented by the Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai, the acting President said the present administration is committed to fighting corruption and is sure that Ibrahim Magu is the best option for government to head the anti graft agency.

The EFCC he says has helped the Kaduna State Government to recover over four hundred million naira from the past administration in the state.

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) confirmed on Thursday that one of its helicopters crashed into a pool of water in Maiduguri, Borno State. However, no life was lost in the incident. The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has constituted a panel of inquiry to unearth the cause of the incident. A statement issued by NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Olatokunbo Adesanya, said members of the board of inquiry are already in Maiduguri to carry out their assignment on the crash which occurred in the early hours of Thursday.

The statement reads: “A Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Agusta 109 Light Utility Helicopter has suffered a mishap while undertaking a liaison mission targeted at further enhancing the synergy between the Nigerian Army and the NAF in the ongoing counter-insurgency operation in the North East. “The incident, which occurred today, 6 July 2017, was as a result of an airborne technical fault with the helicopter. “The experienced NAF pilots, however, successfully ditched the helicopter into a pool of water to minimize damage and loss of lives. “Consequently, there were neither any injuries nor loss of lives to anyone on board or on the ground. “The Chief of the Air Staff has immediately directed the constitution of a board of inquiry to determine the exact cause of the incident while efforts are ongoing to recover the helicopter and members of the board are already in Maiduguri to commence work.

“The NAF continues to solicit the understanding and support of the general populace as it daily strives to ensure the security of Nigeria and Nigerians.”

The donations from GoFundMe campaign launched by The PUNCH Newspapers and other social media activists for the family of slain hero cop , Sergeant Chukwudi Iboko , are now ready for disbursement.

Sergeant Chukwudi Iboko died from gunshot wounds
sustained when he and his colleagues confronted armed
robbers at an Owerri, Imo State branch of the Zenith Bank in March .

Donors , believed to be Nigerians , from different parts
of the world had contributed a total of $ 21 , 249.

The processes for the clearance of the donations took over two weeks as extant US and Nigerian financial regulations had to be complied with before the funds were released by GoFundMe.

The processes were managed and overseen by GoFundMe, three representatives of PUNCH , Ms . Adeola Fayehun of KIRWA Foundation ; Mr Kayode Ogundamisi and Mr Oloyede Sowore of Sahara Reporters .

After the deductions of relevant fees and charges $ 19 ,394. 77 was cleared for transfer to the beneficiaries .

According to the information on the GoFundMe website , the payment processing fee is 2 .9 percent , and another $0 .30 per donation . GoFundMe also charges five percent platform fee , which comes to a total of 7 .9 percent , plus $ 0 .30 per donation .

At the expiration of the fundraiser, GoFundMe paid
$ 19 ,394. 77 into the receiving account of KIRWA Foundation , an America - based charity organisation that collaborated with The PUNCH on the fundraising .

The processing bank charged $ 40 for wire transfer, leaving a balance of $19 ,354.77 for onward transfer to Nigeria . The $ 19 ,354. 77 was wired on Monday from the United States, but it is expected to be on hold until Wednesday morning because of the July 4 Independence holiday.

The money has now been wired to the bank account of one of the two trustees that had been nominated to manage the fund — the Rock of Ages Empowerment Foundation , headed by Mr. Ignatius Ezeigbo.

The second trustee chosen to manage the disbursement of the fund is the Development Support Initiative , whose director is Mrs. Jackline Odiadi .

The two NGOs have agreed to manage the funds for free and without making any deductions therefrom .

The PUNCH , along with Mr. Kayode Ogundamisi , the social media activist who spearheaded the creation of the appeal fund , will work with the two non-governmental organisations to ensure the judicious and immediate disbursement of the fund to the widow and Sergeant Otu Attang , the only policeman who survived the armed robbery incident but lost one of his eyes during the robbery .

It may be recalled that in less than five days after The PUNCH and social media activists launched the fundraising campaign on June 11 , 2017, kind -hearted Nigerians donated $ 21 ,249, which is in excess of the $ 15 , 000 target .

The late sergeant in whose honour the project was initiated , Chukwudi Iboko, died on February 23 , 2017 , after confronting some robbers who invaded a Zenith Bank branch on Wetheral Road , Owerri, Imo State .

The late father of eight , in a 2 .58 - minute video clip released in June 2017 , could be seen engaging a four -man robbery gang in a gun battle , during which he shot dead one of the robbers.

The video , which went viral on the social media , also
captured Chukwudi being shot at by one of the robbers after he ran out of a security post at the entrance of the bank .
Investigation by The PUNCH revealed that the victim died a day after the incident .

His widow , Rose , in an exclusive interview , lamented that one of their eight children , Chukwuebuka , died from shock on the day of the father’ s burial , adding that the police authorities had abandoned her and her surviving children .

She also said Zenith Bank only paid for the burial of her
husband .

Readers had challenged The PUNCH to create a platform to raise funds for the deceased policeman ’s family , with many Nigerians pledging to support the cause .

With the support of some activists, The PUNCH took up the challenge and created a GoFundMe account for the family on Sunday, June 11 , 2017, setting a target of $ 15 , 000. In less than 24 hours, the target was exceeded with the highest donation being $ 1 ,000, while the least was $ 5.

Copyright PUNCH

President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, at the plenary on Wednesday threatened to send out lawmakers making noise during the session. He noted that the noise from senators who were talking while the plenary was ongoing, was disturbing the process. Saraki, who was angered by the development, urged senators who had personal issues to discuss to proceed to the coffee room if they would not observe the rule of the chamber to keep quiet during plenary.

The Senate President’s threat followed a point of order raised by Senator Jubrin Barau on the lack of decorum in the chamber while Senator Baba Kaka Garbai was making his presentation. Barau cited Orders 9 and 10, which mandate senators to maintain decorum when in session. Saraki, in his remarks, called on the senators to respect the rules of the plenary. He said, “Distinguished colleagues, the noise in the chamber is too much. Those who have issues to discuss should go to the coffee room and allow others to contribute so that we will not be forced to walk you out of the chamber.”

After making the general comment, Saraki particularly called on Senator Kabiru Marafa to either go to the coffee room or keep quiet if he did not want to be part of the plenary. “Senator Marafa, if you do not want to contribute, you should go to the coffee room and allow others to make contributions,” he said.

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Wednesday ordered the Federal Government to “immediately release to Nigerians information about the names of high-ranking public officials from whom public funds were recovered and the circumstances under which funds were recovered, as well as the exact amount of funds recovered from each public official.” The judgment was delivered to by Hon Justice Hadiza Rabiu Shagari following a Freedom of Information suit number: FHC/CS/964/2016 brought by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project. The suit followed disclosure last year by the Federal Government of funds recovered from some high-ranking public officials and private individuals.

In her judgment, Justice Shagari agreed with SERAP that “the Federal Government has a legally binding obligation to tell Nigerians the names of all suspected looters of the public treasury past and present.” Joined as Defendants in the suit are the Minister of Information Alhaji Lai Muhammed and the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture. Justice Shagari also granted the following reliefs: A DECLARATION that by virtue of the provisions of Section 4 (a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2011, the Defendants are under a binding legal obligation to provide the Plaintiff with up to date information relating to the following:
1. To widely disseminate including on a dedicated website information about the names of high ranking public officials from whom public funds were recovered since May 2015
2. The circumstances under which stolen public funds were returned

SERAP is now processing a certified true copy of the judgment.

Two years may have gone since Senator Bukola Saraki was elected as the President of the Nigerian Senate, but Nigerians are yet to come to grasp with the bickering and Machiavellian politics that played out in the days leading to the inauguration of the 8th Senate.

Ripples Nigeria, in a chat with different actors who played prominent roles in the exercise, can confirm that Nigerians are yet to be told the whole truth.

Our correspondent, who had a long conversation with a key player, was told how Saraki allegedly betrayed his close allies and struck a last-minute deal with senators of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to clinch the Senate Presidency seat.

The insider, who is a serving senator, also opened up on the origin of the war between Saraki and the immediate-past Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, which later claimed the latter.

He said by the design and arrangement reached by senators elected on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), key loyalists of Saraki were also penciled down to get away with juicy positions.

The insider told our correspondent that these loyalists, who are predominantly former governors, footed the Senate Presidency campaign of Saraki, with the hope that they will recoup their investments when elected as chairmen of juicy committees.

“Many Nigerians do not really know what happened in June, 2015,” he began. “We had series of meetings in the house of Saraki, Ahmed Yerima and Danjuma Goje, where we agreed among our faction on who will get what after the emergence of Saraki.”

Continuing, he said: “We agreed that Saraki will be the Senate President, Ndume will be the Deputy, while Yerima will be the chairman of Appropriation committee. Goje was to serve as chairman of Finance committee. Other supporters, including Dino Melaye, were promised juicy positions.

“Ndume, Yerima, Goje and others contributed millions of naira to the project. I know that Ndume contributed about N20 million since he was going to be the Deputy Senate President. Yerima was the highest donor.

“But while we were working hard to ensure that Saraki was elected, he was busy having secret meetings with PDP senators. At first, we thought the meetings were mere rumours, but we were wrong. He was protecting himself.

“We stuck out our necks for Saraki. For instance, Nigerians do not know that Saraki spent the night at the car park of the National Assembly just to avoid arrest? We advised him to come there. He got to the National Assembly in a Toyota saloon car at about 6.30pm of 8th of June, 2015.