Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, has kicked against the scrapping of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), saying it is not the right time to do so.

The governor stated this during an interview on Channels Television’s Hard Copy which aired on Friday.

He argued that rather than abolishing the anti-graft agency, it should be strengthened to work better in fight corruption cases.

“For me, it is not the right time that we should kill the Economic (and) Financial Crimes Commission whether it has come wrongly or rightly,” Fintiri said.

“We need to strengthen it, we need to make it work better, we need to remove the politics within it that sometimes some people cry that they are being witch-hunted instead of going for the real issue.”

Govs Challenge EFCC’s Legality

The governor also weighed in on the recent suit filed at the Supreme Court by 16 state governors challenging the legality of the laws establishing the commission.

On Wednesday, the apex court fixed October 22 to hear a suit filed by 16 state governments challenging the legality of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The suit, instituted by the Kogi State government and 15 other states, is challenging the constitutionality of the laws establishing the EFCC.

The 15 other states joined in the suit, marked: SC/CV/178/2023, are Ondo, Edo, Oyo, Ogun, Nassarawa, Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa, Enugu, Benue, Anambra, Plateau, Cross-River and Niger.

When asked if Adamawa would join the suit, the governor said he is still discussing with the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.

He explained that he wasn’t aware when the 16 states filed the suit at the apex court to challenge the legality of EFCC.

“As of yesterday, I am not. I am still going through it with my attorney general. If the need be, I will join but at the moment I am not.

“I was not aware when they went to court. Now that I am aware, I will look at the document, I will look at the issues involved,” Fintiri said.

Some suspected gunmen, Saturday afternoon, killed a councilorship candidate, Adeyinka Adeleke, in the Jide Jones area of Abeokuta South Local Government Area of Ogun State.

The victim was said to be the All Progressives Congress Councillorship candidate for Abeokuta South Local Government Ward 15 in the forthcoming November 16 Local Government elections.

PUNCH Online gathered that the assailants stormed the area in a tinted car while shooting sporadically.

Our correspondent learnt from a source privy to the incident that the gunmen attacked Adeleke, shot at him and left him in the pool of his blood.

A video of the incident which surfaced online showed the lifeless body of Adeleke while sympathisers’ voices were heard in the background wailing.

An anonymous source told our correspondent that the incident created palpable tension in the area as residents scampered for safety.

The source said, “Some gunmen killed the All Progressives Congress councilorship candidate for Ibara Ward 15, Adeyinka Adeleke, today.

“The gunmen came in a tinted car, shot him, and hit him with stones till he died. There was tension in the area as people were scampering for safety.”

Another source, who sought anonymity, narrated that the assailants arrived in a tinted car from which one of them stepped out, shot Adeyinka at close range and later smashed his head ensuring that the victim was dead.

The deceased was said to have been a transport union worker in the Panseke area of Abeokuta during his lifetime.

“The Killing happened around 2 pm, it took everybody by surprise… No one knows if it is a cultist attack or not. The people in the area are already locking their shops, everywhere is tensed up now, it is so sad,” the source said.

A senior police officer in the area confirmed the incident to our correspondent while stating that the family took the corpse away.

The police source said, “Yes, the incident happened. His family decided to take his body for burial.”

Meanwhile, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, was yet to respond to messages sent to her line as of the time of filing this report.

Dangote Group is preparing to begin crude oil production to support its $20 billion refinery. For this purpose, the company is seeking a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel with a capacity of 650,000 barrels.

Production is expected to begin at its two Nigerian oil assets, Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 71 and 72, in the fourth quarter of 2024, following initial challenges in securing crude oil supply from International Oil Companies (IoCs).

According to S&P Global Commodity Insights, the FPSO will be essential for producing and storing crude oil, enhancing the operations of the Dangote refinery.

Dangote holds an 85% stake in West African E&P Venture, which has a 45% working interest in OMLs 71 and 72, while the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) holds the remaining 55%.

First E&P, a Nigerian upstream company, is also involved as the operator of the blocks. The oil licenses are situated in shallow waters in the Niger Delta, near the Bonny terminal.

The Kalaekule and Koronama oilfields, located within the blocks, were discovered in 1966. Shell started production two decades later. Output peaked at 21,000 barrels per day in 1999 but declined by 2003.

The fields are estimated to hold recoverable resources of nearly 300 million barrels of oil and 2.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Production is anticipated to begin in 2026, with a potential output of 43,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2036.

The planned startup of production from OMLs 71 and 72 is expected to help Dangote resolve crude oil supply issues and provide a steady feedstock for its refinery operations.

A suspected car thief, Joseph Ada, arrested by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad of the Lagos State Police Command, has disclosed that he intends to use the proceeds from selling his former boss’ car to fund his father’s burial.

This was disclosed in a statement made available on the RRS Facebook page on Friday.

According to the statement, Ada had duplicated the key of the vehicle while working as a driver to his former boss before he was sacked in June.

Ada allegedly stole the vehicle on Wednesday where it was parked in the Lekki area of the state and proceeded to Ikeja to sell the car.

He was, however, apprehended by the RRS operatives who were acting on actionable intelligence.

The statement read, “Around 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, operatives of Rapid Response Squad, who were acting on intelligence arrested one Ada Joseph, 27 in Ikeja, Lagos for trying to sell his former boss’s car.

“Ada stole the former boss’s Toyota Camry, 2015 model from where it was parked in Osapa, London, Lekki, Lagos around 7:00 a.m. By 11:00 a.m. he was in Central Business District, Alausa to sell the vehicle to a willing buyer.

“The employer had sometime in June 2024 sacked Ada after about a year of working with him. Unknown to the boss, Ada, his driver had hatched a plan and duplicated the car key.”

The statement continued that upon his arrest, Ada confessed that he had stolen the vehicle because he wanted to use the proceed from selling the vehicle to bury his father.

“The suspect confessed to the crime and disclosed that he wanted to use the proceeds of the sale to bury his late father.

“The owner was later alerted, and both the suspect as well as the recovered vehicle have been transferred to the State Command for further investigation,” the statement concluded.

PUNCH Online reported on July 3 that the state Police Command apprehended a 36-year-old robbery suspect, Amos Daniel, who stole his employer’s vehicle on the same day he was hired as a driver.

Daniel had confessed to having taken the car to his church to give testimony of God’s miraculous provision.

The Kano State Anti-corruption and Public Complaints Commission has commenced a probe into alleged N1.5billion foreign scholarship fraud.

The commission grilled two top officials of the state’s Ministry of Higher Education regarding the issue of 1,001 students supposedly studying in India and Kenya.

The state government sponsored 1,001 postgraduate students to pursue master’s degrees in India and Uganda.

The initiative is part of the government’s foreign scholarship scheme which was inaugurated by Governor Abba Yusuf.

Mr Yusuf, who recently hosted a farewell dinner for the first batch of 550 beneficiaries of the scholarship at the Government House, commended ex-governor Rabiu Kwankwaso for introducing the scheme.

It was however gathered that only 418 students were sent abroad for studies, raising questions regarding the whereabouts of the remaining students.

Contacted, the commission’s Public Relations Officer, Kabiru A. Kabiru, confirmed the report, saying the two top officials were interrogated over the alleged scholarship scam.

He said an investigation was ongoing to identify and bring those responsible for the alleged scam to justice.

Mr Kabiru said, “Preliminary investigations uncovered fraudulent activities at the office of the Ministry for Higher Education over the postgraduate students to pursue master’s degrees in India and Uganda.

“We opened an investigation to find out the truth of the matter. Whoever is found to have been involved, will be prosecuted, no matter how highly placed.’’

NAN

Wizkid, the award-winning Nigerian singer, is set to release his new single ‘Piece of My Heart’ on October 18.

The singer announced the release date in a recent Instagram post. He accompanied the post with the caption: “Oct 18th #pieceofmyheart”.

‘Piece of My Heart’ is reportedly a track of ‘Morayo’, Wizkid’s forthcoming album. The singer has been teasing the project for months.

The song also features Brent Faiyaz, the American singer and songwriter.

The Grammy winner has yet to reveal the release date for ‘Morayo’. In March, Wizkid revealed that ‘Morayo’ is not an Afrobeats project.

The singer has been in the news over the past few days after he reignited his rift with Davido — after the ‘Unavailable’ singer announced his first single of 2024.

The ‘Made In Lagos’ hitmaker also taunted Ademola Adeleke, Davido’s uncle who is governor of Osun state.

Born Ayodeji Balogun, Wizkid gained prominence in 2011 when he released his debut album ‘Superstar’.

He has released four additional albums including, ‘Ayo’, ‘Sound From The Other Side’ in 2017, ‘Made In Lagos’ in 2020, and ‘More Love, Less Ego’ in 2022.

The singer has also received numerous recognitions, including a Grammy Award in 2021 for his collaboration with Beyoncé on the hit song ‘Brown Skin Girl’.

‘Made In Lagos’ was recently announced as the most streamed Nigerian album of all time on Apple Music

Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has filed a lawsuit against Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), seeking N100 million in damages for the freezing of his accounts since 2019.

Sowore claims that the bank’s action violates his fundamental right to property.

The lawsuit, filed by his lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, at the Federal High Court in Lagos, accuses GTB of freezing Sowore’s accounts without valid justification or prior notice.

Sowore, a former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), opened the accounts in 2015.

He alleged that since 2019, the restrictions on his accounts have caused him significant financial hardship, disrupting his business activities and day-to-day life.

Effiong described the account freezing as unlawful, stating, “The arbitrary freezing of my client’s accounts without due process is not only illegal but also a blatant violation of his fundamental rights.”

Sowore is demanding that GTB immediately unfreeze his accounts and pay N100 million in compensation for the damages caused.

He emphasized that despite multiple complaints and a formal demand letter, the bank has refused to lift the restrictions, leaving him unable to access his funds and forcing him to borrow money to cover his expenses.

The lawsuit outlines that Sowore’s accounts, including his current, savings, and debit card accounts, have been inaccessible since 2019.

The activist is also seeking a court order to prevent GTB from unlawfully interfering with his accounts in the future and to cover the costs of the legal proceedings.

In his statement, Sowore expressed frustration over GTB’s lack of response and the financial embarrassment caused by the restrictions.

He added that the prolonged freeze on his accounts has severely impacted his business operations and personal life.

The charge read, “A Declaration that the Respondent’s act of freezing and restricting the Applicant’s accounts with Account Numbers: (1) 0169510647 (Current Account); (2) 0169510867 (Savings Account); (3) 0169510850 (Current Account); (4) 0171422811 (Master Card/Visa Debit Account Type) and Account Name: Sowore Omoyele Stephen respectively, all domiciled with the Respondent; Guaranty Trust Bank Ltd is unlawful, unconstitutional, null and void and a breach of the Applicant’s right to property guaranteed by the provisions of Section 44 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Article 14 of the African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification And Enforcement) Act LFN 2010.

“An Order of this Honourable Court directing the Respondent to lift the restriction placed on the Applicant’s accounts with Account Numbers: (1) 0169510647 (Current Account); (2) 0169510867 (Savings Account); (3) 0169510850 (Current Account); (4) 0171422811 (Master Card/Visa Debit Account Type) and Account Name: Sowore Omoyele Stephen respectively, all domiciled with the Respondent; Guaranty Trust Bank Ltd.

“An Order of perpetual injunction restraining the Respondent whether by itself, its agents, privies/ or servants from unlawfully interfering with the Applicant’s accounts with Account Numbers: (1) 0169510647 (Current Account); (2) 0169510867 (Savings Account); (3) 0169510850 (Current Account); (4) 0171422811 (Master Card/Visa Debit Account Type) and Account Name: Sowore Omoyele Stephen respectively, all domiciled with the Respondent; Guaranty Trust Bank Ltd.

“An Order of this Honourable Court mandating the Respondent to pay to the Applicant the sum of 100,000,000.00 (One Hundred Million Naira) as general damages for the unlawful freezing of the Applicant’s accounts with Account Numbers: (1) 0169510647 (Current Account); (2) 0169510867 (Savings Account); (3) 0169510850 (Current Account); (4) 0171422811 (Mater Card/Visa Debit Account Type) and Account Name: Sowore Omoyele Stephen respectively, all domiciled with the Respondent; Guaranty Trust Bank Ltd.

“An Order of this Honourable Court mandating the Respondent to pay to the Applicant the cost of prosecuting the instant suit.

“And any other order(s) as the Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstance of the case.

“I state for a fact that for years, specifically since 2019, all of the above-listed accounts which I opened with the Respondent have remained frozen, rendered inaccessible and inoperable by the Respondent.

“Up to date, the Respondent has not offered me any satisfactory and formal explanation in respect of the restriction it placed on my accounts.

“I have lodged several complaints yet the Respondent has refused to lift the restrictions placed on my accounts.

“I state for a fact that through my Solicitor, Iboroabasi Ntong, Esq. of Inibehe Effiong Chambers, I wrote a demand letter demanding that the Respondent lift the restrictions placed on my accounts and pay me compensation for the prolonged restrictions placed on my accounts which have incapacitated me from carrying out banking transactions and impeded my legitimate businesses and affairs.

“The demand letter is dated 23rd April, 2024, and it was duly served on the Respondent.”

The case is expected to proceed at the Federal High Court, with Sowore seeking both financial restitution and the restoration of his banking privileges.

The House of Representatives has advanced a bill proposing the establishment of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Federal University of Nigerian Languages, aimed at promoting the study and preservation of Nigerian languages and culture.

The bill, sponsored by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu and eight other representatives, passed its first reading on Thursday.

The bill outlines that the university will be dedicated to fostering education in Nigerian languages and cultures for students of diverse backgrounds, regardless of race, creed, or political beliefs.

According to Section II, Part I of the bill obtained by Naija News on Saturday, provides that the university when established shall, “Encourage the advancement of learning and to hold out to all persons without distinction of race, creed, sex or political conviction, the opportunity of acquiring a higher education in Nigerian languages and cultures.”

Additionally, the university aims to produce graduates equipped to use Nigerian languages for societal growth and engage in research, innovation, and postgraduate training to help harness Nigeria’s natural and human resources.

It is expected to collaborate with other national institutions engaged in language and cultural studies to advance Nigeria’s linguistic heritage.

Outlined responsibilities include providing Nigerian language training and consultancy services, conducting outreach programs, and supporting in-service training and continuing education.

Section 1(2) of the bill emphasizes that the university’s mandate is to develop professionals skilled in Nigerian languages, enhance communication in local languages for national unity, and support knowledge acquisition in these areas.

The federal institution, when established would also “Act as agents and catalysts, through postgraduate training, research and innovation for the effective and economic utilization, exploitation and conservation of Nigeria’s natural, economic and human resources.

“Establish appropriate relationships with other national institutions involved in training, research and development of Nigerian languages and cultures.

“Provide and promote sound basic training as a foundation for the development of Nigerian languages as well promote and emphasise teaching and research activities around Nigerian languages, including outreach programmes, in-service training, continuing education, and adaptive research,” among others.

The mandate of the university as spelt out in Section 1(2) includes “To teach and train high calibre Nigerian languages professionals.

“Provide Nigerian language services and consultancy.

“Conduct research and participate in outreach and community services and facilitate the acquisition of knowledge and skills in different Nigerian languages.”

The President of Nigeria will serve as the university’s Visitor, with powers to conduct periodic visitations to ensure the institution’s operations align with its objectives.

Section 14(2) mandates that visitations occur at least every five years, allowing the President or designated representatives to examine the university’s activities.

The President who is the visitor to the university, in Section 14 (2), is required to “As often as the circumstances may require, not being less than once every five years, conduct a visitation of the university or direct that such a visitation be conducted by such person or persons as the visitor may deem fit and in respect of any of the affairs of the university.”

Sub-section 3 provides that, “It shall be the duty of the bodies and persons comprising the university to make available to the visitor and to any other person conducting a visitation in pursuance of this section, such facilities and assistance as he or they may reasonably require for the purposes of a visitation.”

Moreover, the President will have authority to dismiss council members, except for the pro-chancellor and vice-chancellor, on grounds of misconduct or inability to fulfill their responsibilities, upon recommendation by the university council.

Section 15 (1) reads, “If it appears to the council that a member of the council (other than the pro-chancellor or the vice-chancellor) should be removed from office on the ground of misconduct or inability to perform the functions of his office or employment, the council shall make a recommendation to that effect through the Minister to the President after making such enquiry, if any, as may be considered appropriate.

“If the President approves the recommendation, he may direct the removal of the person in question from office.”

The bill is expected to move to a second reading in the coming weeks, opening the floor for a public hearing where stakeholders can provide input on the proposed university.

On Saturday, Primate Elijah Ayodele, the Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, warned of an imminent gang up against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

The prophet said the gang up would be an offshoot of Akpsbio’s inability to manage his statements.

In a video posted on his social media handle, the clergyman said Akpabio’s remarks would cause disrespect to the current Senate.

According to Ayodele, there would be segregation in the Senate due to Akpabio’s alleged incompetence.

He said: “Akpabio must be careful because they would soon gang up to remove him if he doesn’t manage his statements.

“Akpabio will make the current Senate to be disrespected and those with the voice of the people won’t allow them.

“There will be segregation in the Senate which will be on the account of Akpabio’s incompetence.

“Akpabio will cause trouble for his own removal despite the fact that the Senate President is just a government mouthpiece. This Senate will not be able to change anything, just wait for a rowdy session.”

Buku Abi, the daughter of disgraced R&B singer, R. Kelly, has spoken out publicly for the first time about the alleged abuse that she suffered during her childhood at the hands of her own father.

In a two-episode documentary Karma: A Daughter’s Journey, which premiered today, October 11, Abi, 26, claims she was abused by her father as a child, and she first reported it to her mother Andrea in 2009, when she was 10 years old.

“He was my everything. For a long time, I didn’t even want to believe that it happened. I didn’t know that even if he was a bad person he would do something to me,” she says in the documentary, the first episode of which is streaming now.

“I was too scared to tell anybody. I was too scared to tell my mom.”

Though Abi, who was born Joann Kelly, does not go into detail about the alleged abuse in the first episode, she says that she believes jail is a “well-suited place” for Kelly, 57, to be, as she knows from her “personal experience.”

“I really feel like that one millisecond completely just changed my whole life and changed who I was as a person and changed the sparkle I had and the light I used to carry,” she says. “After I told my mom, I didn’t go over there anymore; my brother [Robert] and sister [Jaah], we didn’t go over there anymore. And even up until now, I struggle with it a lot.”

In the second episode, Buku goes into more detail about the alleged abuse, which she says happened when she was 8 or 9.

"I just remember waking up to him touching me," she recalls, crying. "And I didn’t know what to do, so I just kind of laid there, and I pretended to be asleep."

Buku says she eventually told her mother what happened, and they went to the police and filed a complaint as "Jane Doe," but, she adds in the documentary, "They couldn’t prosecute him because I waited too long. So at that point in my life, I felt like I said something for nothing."

In a statement to People, Kelly's attorney Jennifer Bonjean said, "Mr. Kelly vehemently denies these allegations. His ex-wife made the same allegation years ago, and it was investigated by the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services and was unfounded.... And the 'filmmakers,' whoever they are, did not reach out to Mr. Kelly or his team to even allow him to deny these hurtful claims."

In February 2023, Kelly was sentenced in Chicago to 20 years in prison on charges of child pornography and enticement of minors for s*x. The year prior, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for racketeering and s*x trafficking charges based out of New York. He's currently serving 19 years of his two sentences concurrently, and he will be eligible for release in 2045.