IMO BREAKING NEWS BLOG

A Nigerian court seized $21 million on Monday from bank accounts linked to a former oil minister accused of corruption as investigators continue to claw back her fortune. Federal High Court Judge Abdulazeez Anka ordered the immediate forfeiture of 7.6 billion naira ($21 million, 17.9 million euros) allegedly held in local bank accounts by Diezani Alison-Madueke, who was once one of Africa’s most prominent female politicians. Nigeria’s anti-graft Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which accuses Alison-Madueke of corruption, argued in court that she had illicitly laundered the funds with the help of top oil officials.

Since leaving office in 2015, Alison-Madueke has been implicated in bribery, fraud, misuse of public funds and money laundering cases in Nigeria, Britain, Italy and the United States. The former President of the global oil cartel OPEC, the first female to hold the post, Alison-Madueke has always denied the allegations which involve billions of dollars syphoned from oil deals and state accounts. The ruling followed two applications by the EFCC which earlier this month successfully seized properties worth $44 million that Alison-Madueke allegedly purchased with the proceeds of corruption.

President Muhammadu Buhari, elected in 2015 on an anti-corruption platform, is seeking to stamp-out Nigeria’s widespread graft.

President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated the national female basketball team, D’Tigress, on winning the 2017 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket tournament in Mali and qualifying for the 2018 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Spain. Buhari also joined other sports-loving Nigerians in saluting the heroic performance of the victorious D’Tigress over their Senegalese counterpart in the final of the 2017 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket tournament on Sunday.

The President, in a statement by the Special Adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, commended the players for displaying uncommon strength, confidence, skill and dexterity in their victory over the defending champions. He urged members of the team and their handlers to remain focused and dedicated even as they prepare for greater glory to Nigeria at the forthcoming FIBA World Cup.

The President assured the team, its managers and the Nigeria Basketball Federation of his support and that of the Federal Government to ensure that they excel against other top competitors in Spain.

"Catastrophic" flooding in the US state of Texas is only expected to worsen in coming days as waters rise following a storm of historic proportions. A record 30in of rain (75cm) has already fallen on the city of Houston in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, turning roads into rivers. But forecasters say that number could nearly double later this week. On Monday President Donald Trump also approved an emergency declaration for neighbouring Louisiana.

Harvey made landfall as a category-four hurricane late on Friday, bringing flooding described by officials as "unprecedented". It was later downgraded to a tropical storm. Up to 2,000 people have been rescued in and around Houston, the fourth-largest city in the US, where about 6.6m people live in the metropolitan area. The area is expected to have received a year's rainfall within a week. Five people are reported dead. Helicopters have plucked victims from rooftops.

Governor Greg Abbott has activated the entire Texas National Guard - some 12,000 so-called "civilian soldiers" - to assist national forces in search and rescue operations.

A controversial Indian guru convicted of rape on Friday has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Indian media reported that Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's followers set a vehicle alight just ahead of sentencing. Violence after Friday's verdict in Panchkula in northern Haryana state had killed some 38 people. The self-styled holy man was found guilty of sexually assaulting two female followers and jailed for 10 years for each, to run consecutively.

There were initial reports of a 10-year sentence but his lawyers confirmed the sentencing was of consecutive, not concurrent, terms. Prosecutors had called for a life sentence. A lawyer for the victims said 50 women had come forward with allegations of rape and they would be seeking further investigation in the case. "We believe there are at least 48 more victims who were sexually abused and who may have been killed or are too scared to come out and testify against Ram Rahim," lawyer Utsav Singh Bains told AFP.

Ram Rahim Singh denies charges of murder in two cases due to be heard next month.

The Federal Government on Thursday directed the National Broadcasting Commission to sanction any radio or television station that broadcasts hate speech. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, issued the directive in Abuja at the Annual Lecture Series of the NBC and the 25th Anniversary of the Commission. The Minister said that the directive was part of efforts to stem the growing tide of hate speech in the country. “As a matter of fact, the challenges facing the NBC have never become more daunting, considering the increasing propensity of some radio and television stations across the country to turn over their platforms to the purveyors of hate speech.

“It is the responsibility of the NBC to put these broadcast stations in check before they set the country on fire. “As the NBC celebrates what is a milestone – a quarter of a century – in its existence, I urge the Commission to redouble its efforts in discharging its mandate. “The NBC must ensure a strict adherence to the Broadcasting Code, and errant stations must be sanctioned accordingly to serve as a deterrent.

“The nation looks up to the NBC to restore sanity to the broadcast industry. The Commission cannot afford to do any less at this critical time. It cannot afford to fail the nation,” he said.

A former Minister of Aviation, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, has appealed to elder statesmen across the country to  prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to resign from office and attend to his health. Fani-Kayode said though Buhari has returned from his medical vacation in London, “the strong and fearful Buhari Nigerians used to know would never be seen again.”

Debunking the allegation that Buhari chose to work from home because of the invasion of his office by rodents, the former minister said there was no way the Buhari that Nigerians used to know could be chased away from his office by mere rats.

Fani-Kayode, who stated this in an interview with journalists in Abuja on Thursday, asked elder statesmen across the country to prevail on the President to resign and attend to his health.