A Superintendent of Police, Ibrahim Sini, has said he turned down a N150m bribe allegedly offered to him by a Lagos-based businessman, Akintoye Akindele to have peace of mind.

Akindele, who was arraigned for the offence at the Federal High Court in Abuja in August 2023, was remanded in the Kuje correctional centre.

According to the charge sheet, the bribe was offered to allow police to permit him to escape abroad and to write a favourable report for him after the investigation.

Sini was said to have led the Inspector General of Police’s team of investigators handling the case against the businessman.

Speaking at a dinner organised to honour him on Friday in Abuja, Sini said, “I am very happy to be here, and I want to appreciate the organisers of this programme. They have beat my imagination, and they have added more grease to my elbow. Yes, I remember when the incident happened. The person in question asked me, ‘Do you want to be rich?’ He said, ‘This is an opportunity for you to be rich’

“So what I said was that it depends on the kind of riches. I would like to have money so that I can lay my head down and sleep at night. I don’t want to have something that will make me think twice and be running from one hole to another. So I would like to do justice and have peace of mind.

“So, I decided to do the right thing so that I can have peace of mind and also stand to do what is right for myself, for my organisation, that is, the Nigeria Police and also for the country at large.”

He advised youths in the country not to trade their integrity for anything.

Sini added, “To the youth out there, I just want to tell them that integrity counts, that it’s good to be up and doing, that it’s possible to be in the midst of a lot of challenges and still stand to be different. Nigeria is our country, and Nigeria shall be great.”

At the event, Sini was given a plot of land in Abuja.

Presenting the document of the land to Sini, the Federal Capital Territory Commissioner of Police, Benneth Igweh, said SP Sini’s conduct has brought pride to the Nigerian Police Force.

“We are proud of you, I want to let you know that your conduct has brought pride to the Nigeria Police Force. We urge other members of the force to emulate SP Sini,” Igweh said while presenting Sini with the documents of the land.

Also, the organisers of the event, the Chief Executive Officer of Vegas Homes, Chukwuemeka Okoye, said Sini’s conduct remains exemplary and should inspire others and Nigerians to note that the Nigerian Police Force has men of integrity and good conduct.

He said, “SP Sini’s actions have not only brought honour to himself and the Nigeria Police Force but have also inspired countless others to stand firm against corruption and uphold the highest ethical standards. His integrity serves as a beacon of hope, demonstrating that even in challenging circumstances, it is possible to remain true to one’s values.

“This honour is aimed at not only appreciating the laudable conduct of Superintendent Ibrahim Sini but to demonstrating that society appreciates individuals of integrity and good conduct.

“We want to also show that the Nigerian Police Force have officers that are professional, above board and with the right incentive to engage in meaningful policing and be worthy examples”.

Peter Obi, former presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, has condemned the federal government for operating multiple budgets concurrently.

In a post on X on Saturday, Obi said this is a blatant disregard for fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability.

Currently, the federal government is operating the 2023 budget, 2023 supplementary budget, and the 2024 budget — and on May 29, President Bola Tinubu said the 2024 supplementary appropriation bill would soon be presented before the national assembly.

According to Obi, this action by the federal government is also a recipe for chaos, confusion, and catastrophe.

“All available evidence has confirmed that the Nigerian government is implementing four national budgets concurrently,” he said.

“This is in blatant disregard for fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability. It is also a recipe for chaos, confusion, and catastrophe.

“This intentionally reckless action will lead to frivolous items in the approved budgets competing with essential projects for limited resources, further exacerbating the suffering of the Nigerian people.”

Obi said Nigerian leaders are disconnected from reality and lack the competence to manage the nation’s finances effectively.

“It indicates that the leaders are out of touch with reality and lack the competence to manage our nation’s finances effectively,” he said.

“Unfortunately, this deliberate act of fiscal recklessness is being undertaken by elected representatives of the people, thereby betraying one of the cardinal pillars of democracy. Leaders are elected to responsibly manage public resources in an organized way.

“I respectfully appeal and in fact, demand that this situation be reversed immediately in preference for a more responsible and transparent approach to budgeting. We must prioritize the needs of the Nigerian people, not the selfish interests of a few. This is a call to action for all Leaders to desist from actions that will further drive the country into economic chaos.”

The former presidential candidate added that neither the national assembly nor the executive has any excuse to promote or condone such unconscionable behaviour.

BudgIT, a civic-tech organisation, has also condemned plans by the federal government to implement four national budgets concurrently.

In a statement issued on Friday by Gabriel Okeowo, BudgIT’s country director, the organisation described the situation as a worrisome development.

He pointed out that globally, budgets are typically prepared to cover 12 calendar months, from January to December.

Okeowo warned that if multiple budgets are implemented simultaneously, projects from the 2023 budget and the 2023 supplementary budget will compete for the limited resources available to the federal government with essential projects in the 2024 budget.

Barring any change in plans, the Nigerian government will purchase an Airbus A330 aircraft seized from an unnamed Arab prince and businessman who could not pay hundreds of millions of dollars he owed a German bank, PREMIUM TIMES reports.

Presidency officials have kept their lips shut about plans to buy a new presidential jet.

However, this newspaper has obtained information that the government has already identified an aircraft for purchase but is scrambling for funds to consummate the transaction.

The identified aircraft is said to be a repossessed one recovered from a troubled oil sheikh who used the aeroplane as collateral for a loan he obtained from an unidentified German bank to buy it. When a bank loan is taken to purchase an aircraft, the aircraft is usually pledged as collateral.

Our sources said the bank repossessed the aircraft from the debtor businessman but found it challenging to sell due to its executive customization.

The aircraft is now in the possession of L & L International LLC, an American aviation firm based in Miami, Florida. L & L International LLC is trying to help the German bank sell it to the Nigerian government.

A Panamanian court has acquitted all 28 people standing trial for money laundering as a result of the Panama Papers scandal.

Leaked in 2016, the secret financial documents showed how some of the world’s richest and most powerful people used tax havens to hide their wealth.

The BBC reports that Jurgen Mossack and the late Ramon Fonseca, founder of Mossack Fonseca, the defunct law firm at the center of the scandal, were among those cleared by the court.

Prosecutors in the case argued that the Mossack Fonseca law firm and their associates created a web of offshore companies to hide money linked to illegal activities in the ‘car wash’ corruption scandal.

‘Operation Car Wash’ was a money-laundering investigation into Petrobras, Brazil’s state-run oil company.

But Mossack and Fonseca denied that they, their firm, or their employees had acted illegally.

Prosecutors had been seeking maximum prison sentences for the duo before Fonseca died in May.

However, closing out the case, which started in April, on Friday, the judge dropped all criminal charges against all 28 defendants.

Baloisa Marquinez, the presiding judge, said the evidence considered by the court was “not sufficient” to determine the criminal responsibility of the defendants.

The Panama Papers, considered the biggest data leak in history, were the product of a year-long investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, and over 100 news organisations.

The leak saw 11 million documents released to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and over 100 news organisations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s associates were said to have “secretly shuffled” about $2 billion through banks and shadow companies.

The Panama Papers scandal also exposed a network of offshore companies linked to people like Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader; Lionel Messi, a soccer star; James Ibori, former governor of Delta; and the son of the late Kofi Annan, former United Nations (UN) secretary-general, to name a few.

The papers referenced 12 current or former world leaders, as well as 128 other politicians and public officials.

Gerard Ryle, ICIJ’s executive director, said the enduring impact of the investigation persists even though the court did not hold the defendants accountable.

The Edo State Police Command has announced the arrest of the suspected killer of Glory Adekolure, a University of Benin graduate.

Adekolure was said to have gone to school for her final clearance on June 13, 2024, but her corpse was found under a tree on a street in the Iyowa Community of Benin City, close to her house.

The suspect was apprehended in Asaba, Delta State, 15 days after Adekolure’s death.

According to the Edo State Commissioner of Police, Funsho Adegboye, in an interview with Channels Television, monitored by our correspondent, on Saturday, the suspect confessed to killing Adekolure and at least eight other young women.

He said, “I am happy to inform the good people of Edo State and the good people of Nigeria that the killer of Glory Adekolure, a 22-year old final year Chemistry student of the University of Benin has been apprehended.

“He was apprehended in Asaba, Delta state. After killing Glory, he ran away, he was aware we were trailing him and due to the painstaking investigations of our anti-kidnapping and cybercrime unit, he was arrested and confessed not only to the killing of Glory Adekolure but to the killing of eight other similar ladies.”

Adegboye said the suspect had not been paraded yet, adding that police are still investigating the incident.

Political appointments in Nigeria are sometimes trailed by controversies, especially when certain patterns are deduced.

Questions about compensation or competence of the appointees also often arise.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari was accused of being religiously and ethnically lopsided in his appointment.

For President Bola Tinubu who suceeded him, the common accusation, though still tender, is that he favours people of Yoruba descent.

The former governor of Lagos, it appears, has a knack for appointing people who had served the state, especially those who worked with him as far back as the return of democracy in 1999.

Here are some recent presidential appointees who served in Lagos government in the past.

OLATUNJI BELLO — FORMER ENVIRONMENT COMMISSIONER NOW IN FCCPC

On June 24, Olatunji Bello was appointed as the chief executive officer of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).

Bello is a lawyer, administrator, and journalist. He studied law and  holds a master’s degree in international law and diplomacy from the University of Lagos and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2002.

He was the former secretary to the Lagos state government.

He had his first public service stint under Tinubu when he became managing director, Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency, in 2010.

In 2011, he was appointed as  commissioner for environment under the administration of Babatunde Fashola and served in that capacity till May 2015 when he was appointed as secretary to the Lagos state government by Akinwunmi Ambode.

DAYO MOBEREOLA — FORMER TRANSPORTATION COMMISSIONER NOW IN NIMASA

Tinubu appointed Dayo Mobereola as director-general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) in March.

Mobereola was the commissioner for transportation in Lagos from 2015 to 2016. Before his appointment, he was the managing director of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) from 2002 to 2015.

He holds a Ph.D and an M.Sc in transport economics from the University of Wales, United Kingdom.

Before joining public service, Mibereola was the deputy managing director and project development director at AFM Consulting Plc, London.

He was also a senior economist at British Petroleum Shipping Limited; and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Transport, both in England and in Nigeria.

AYODEJI ARIYO — FORMER FINANCE COMMISSIONER NOW IN BPE

Tinubu appointed Ayodeji Ariyo Gbeleyi as the director-general of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) in June.

In January 2022, ex-President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Gbeleyi as the board chairman of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN),

Gbeleyi served as commissioner of finance in Lagos from 2013 to 2015 under Fashola with concurrent responsibility for the oversight of the office of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP).

He is a fellow of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN).

Gbeleyi is also an alumnus of executive programmes of London Business School, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and Lagos Business School.

JIDE IDRIS — FORMER HEALTH COMMISSIONER NOW IN NCDC

Jide Idris was a three-term commissioner for health in Lagos.

He served as health commissioner under the governments of Tinubu, Fashola and Ambode.

Idris also served as a permanent secretary in the Lagos state ministry of health.

In February, Tinubu appointed him as the director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC).

Idris succeeded Ifedayo Adetifa who headed the NCDC since September 2021.

He graduated from the College of Medicine, University of Lagos (CMUL), before obtaining his master of public health (MPH) degree at the Yale University, US.

Idris is a member of the American Public Health Association (APHA) and the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).

DELE ALAKE — FORMER INFORMATION COMMISSIONER NOW IN SOLID MINERALS

Dele Alake was Tinubu’s commissioner for information and strategy from 1999 to 2007, after serving as his special adviser in the same capacity.

In June 2023, Tinubu appointed Alake as his special adviser on special duties, communications and strategy, and later as minister for solid minerals development in August.

Alake was born in October 1956 and holds a bachelor of science degree in political science and a master’s in mass communications from the University of Lagos.

WALE EDUN — FORMER FINANCE COMMISSIONER, NOW FINANCE MINISTER

Adebayo Olawale Edun served as the Lagos state commissioner for finance for two terms from 1999 to 2007 during Tinubu’s tenure.

He was appointed minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy in August 2023 after serving as Tinubu’s special adviser on monetary policies.

Edun completed his bachelor’s degree in economics at the University of London and his masters in economics from the University of Sussex, England.

He is a former chair of ChapelHillDenham Group, and an executive director of Lagos merchant bank, Investment Banking & Trust Company Limited, now Stanbic IBTC.
He is also the founder and chair of Lagos Boxing Hall of Fame.

HAKEEM MURI-OKUNOLA — FORMER LAGOS HEAD OF SERVICE, NOW TINUBU’S PRIVATE SECRETARY 

Muri-Okunola is another figure who was in active service of the Lagos state government, though not in the capacity of a commissioner.

In September 2023, he resigned as the Lagos state head of service after five years to take up appointment as Tinubu’s principal private secretary.

Muri-Okunola was appointed personal assistant to Tinubu between 2003 and 2005. After serving as his personal assistant, Tinubu appointed him executive secretary of the land use and allocation committee.

He became permanent secretary in 2011 — about 10 years after joining the civil service — and was posted to the Lands Bureau in the Governor’s Office.

YEMI CARDOSO — FORMER COMMISSIONER FOR BUDGET, NOW CBN GOVERNOR

He was a banker, stockbroker and consultant. He was appointed as the chairman of the board of Citibank Nigeria. He was also a member of the Cities Alliance’s Africa Think Tank Group.

Yemi Cardoso was appointed commissioner for economic planning and budget in Lagos in 1999 when Tinubu became governor of the state.

In September 2023, Tinubu appointed him as the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Ex-governor of Anambra State and 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party or LP, Mr Peter Obi, has called on President Bola Tinubu to release the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu as ordered by the court.

Obi while addressing journalists in his hometown of Anambra on Saturday said the continued detention of Kanu when the court had granted him bail was against the rule of law in the text that was made available.

It’s not clear when the court granted Kanu another bail apart from the 2017 bail.

Before he was granted bail, he was brought before the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges bordering on treasonable felony filed against him by the Federal Government.

However, the court revoked the bail and issued a bench warrant for his arrest after he failed to present himself as required.

The IPOB leader was rearrested in Kenya in 2021.

Since then, he has been in detention and has failed to secure another bail after several applications.

The latest denial of bail was handed down to Kanu on May 20 when the presiding judge at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Binta Murtala Nyako, held that, he had jumped bail in 2017 and would not be grnated another.

The judge said, “You have an option of appeal. Please exercise your right of appeal,” in the ruling that was delivered few weeks after Kanu had failed in an earlier bail application.

But Obi explained that, “Government must obey the law as the rule of law is an intrinsic asset that we must cherish and live with. And I have always said that I am going to discuss with every agitator.

“I plead with the government to ensure that all those who are in similar conditions are released and discussed with. We are a democratic nation and we should not be doing things that are arbitrary and not within the law,” he stated.

He challenged the government to work harder to curb insecurity, noting, “The primary work of government is the security of lives and property.

“Like I always say, the primary duty of any government is security of life and property. It is the foundation on which people live in a nation because nobody can stay in an insecure place.

“And it is worrisome what is happening in Nigeria where people wake up everyday with
news of killings, abductions and kidnappings, which have made Nigeria one of the most insecure places on the surface of the earth and it requires urgent attention”.

On what’s happening in the South East, Obi said, “As I thank the governments in the zone for their efforts, there is a need to do more. I want our governors to come together as a family to solve this problem. I am saying this with the little experience I had when I was there.

“As the federal government appears to have overshadowed everybody, the governors should urgently come together. They can even invite those of us who have been there to interact with them to chart the way forward.

“Yes, there was an attempt in the past that failed, but I don’t believe in failure. There should be more effort to make it work. They should also work with security agencies, vigilante groups to achieve the desired objective.

“Even with an economic agenda, I want to see the South East governors work more closely. We want to see them come together and also bring together other groups in the zone.”

He also said he is against destructive protest, stating that, “I’m against destruction of government assets and property, because it is still our scarce resources that we are going to use to repair them.

“Peaceful protest is allowed, but it must be for a reason and not personal interest of some people. It must be properly articulated and properly directed.

“I recall when people said they were protesting police brutality and I said to them no, let’s rather deal with the leadership issue.

“If we have good leaders, their agents can’t be bad. The problem is leadership. If the leaders are competent, have the capacity and doing the right thing, their agents will follow their examples.

“I want to use this opportunity to say that all those who are being held because of one protest or the other should be released, whether they are freedom fighters, EndSARS protesters because there is freedom of speech..

“We are a democratic country and people have the right under the constitution to express themselves freely. They also have the right to peacefully protest and we must listen to them.

“We must listen to those who say they are not happy, that is why it is a democratic nation. We should stop acting dictatorial and behave as if this is not a democratic country.

“I know we are in a state of capture, but then, we should act in a manner that shows some decency.”

On whether there are plans for him to join other politicians to form a mega party, Obi said: I’m more particular on how the poor Nigerians can feed.

“I will rather talk about things that are affecting Nigerians today. We politicians are preoccupied by elections, and that is not what I’m after. I’m talking about how we can reduce the prices of food?

“Our people are dying of hunger. How do we make life more conducive for the poor Nigerian? How do we make our people earn more money? How do we pull people out of poverty? That should be our concern, and not forming a mega party.

“But if forming a mega party will provide all these things I have illustrated, then I’m all for it. But if it is for state capture, so that you can take power and continue with the consumption, consumption, consumption, that we see today, I will say no. But if it is to move it to production, production, production, then I say yes.”

At least seven people were reportedly killed on Saturday after two suspected suicide bombers attacked some wedding guests at Marrarraban Gwoza in Borno state.

Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication focused on the Lake Chad region, reported that many of the victims were said to be returning from a wedding ceremony when the first suicide bomber detonated her explosive near a motor park.

Makama said the suicide bomber was identified as a lady in her early 20s, adding that the injured ones were taken to the hospital in Gwoza.

Also, another bomber, disguised as a mourner, detonated an explosive in Gwoza LGA as residents were preparing for the burial of those killed in the first attack.

Makama said one person reportedly died and 16 others were injured during the attack.

The publication added that Yusuf Lawal, Borno commissioner of police, confirmed the incident.

Meanwhile, the military has imposed a curfew in Gwoza LGA to enable them to secure the town from any further threat.

In March 2024, two people were injured after an improvised explosive device (IED), strapped to a suspected suicide bomber, detonated near a mosque in Biu LGA of Borno state.

Germany scored twice in the second half to overcome Denmark 2-0 in the second round of the 2024 European Championship.

Kai Havertz’s penalty and Jamal Musiala’s well-taken goal made the difference against a spirited Danish side at the BVB Stadion on Saturday.

The Germans, who were shaky in their last group game, started the second-round clash a better side and thought they had the lead early on, but a review by the video assistant referee (VAR) ruled it out for offside.

The Danes eventually settled into the match, but their newfound confidence was scuttled when the game was suspended after 36 minutes due to heavy rain and lightning.

The players were forced off for 25 minutes before the match was resumed, but both teams went into the interval with the score goalless.

The eventual breakthrough goal came dramatically in the 53rd minute after VAR cancelled Joachim Andersen’s goal for Denmark for offside before awarding a penalty against the same player for handball.

Havertz duly stepped up to dispatch the penalty, handing Germany a controversial lead.

The scoreline was extended in the 68th minute when Musiala latched on to a long punt forward before slotting into the bottom corner to send a vociferous crowd into celebration mode for an impending passage into the last eight.

Die Mannschaft held on for a comfortable win and progressed to the quarter-final stage, where they will face either Spain or Georgia.

In the other match of the day, Switzerland scored once in each half to claim a deserved 2-0 win over Italy, knocking the holders out of the tournament.

Remo Freuler and Ruben Vargas were on target as the Swiss bagged the shock win to book a place in the last eight.

A Nigerian couple has been arrested in Anambra State and handed over to the police.

The couple was arrested over the treatment meted out to their five underage sons in the Osumenyi community, Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State.

Mr Uche and Mrs Peace Mbonu are accused of alleged child abuse, starvation and refusal to provide necessities for their five underaged boys.

The arrest was carried out by the security operatives of the Nnewi South LGA before they were handed over to the police through the state Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Ify Obinabo.

This was made known on Saturday, June 29, in a statement by the media aide to the commissioner, Chidimma Ikeanyionwu.

The statement read, "On why they starved the kids, the couple denied the allegation and stated in their defence that the kids are always in the habit of eating raw rice, which makes them infuriated.

"While pleading for pardon, the couple said that they always feed the kids but that the children prefer eating raw rice, which they don’t know where they picked up the behaviour from.

"On his part, the oldest of the kids, Chigbo Mbonu, revealed that Peace Mbonu is his father’s third wife, and ever since she came into their family, they have faced a lot of untold hardship.

"Chigbo Mbonu, who is currently 17 years old, said that they feed once a day for the days their stepmother will give them food but rely on raw rice and palm kernel after hunger must have greatly dealt with them.

He went ahead to explain that he, at some point, stopped schooling because he helped his father in his block industry. He noted that he moulds blocks with four bags of cement on a bad day and six bags on normal days.

"Further physical examination of the children by the Women Affairs commissioner showed that they have been greatly starved and in need of medical care.

"It is important to note that Mr Uche Mbonu has married two wives before finally settling with the third one Peace Mbonu, who was his sales girl, and that the kids are all product of his previous marriages.

"According to the security operatives who helped in apprehending the culprits, they explained that after they got the husband, his wife Peace ran to Nnewi, her maternal home to hide before they eventually apprehended her too."

While reacting to the development, the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Ify Obinabo, condemned the act and stated that the state government will continue to ensure that child labour, abuse and all forms of maltreatment are reduced to the barest minimum.

The couple has since been handed over to the police for further investigation, after which the matter will be charged to court.