Former Director of the Department of State Services, DSS, Mike Ejiofor has revealed why Binance executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla escaped from custody.

He blamed the escape on negligence and compromise.

Recall that the Federal Government has been investigating money laundering and terrorism financing transactions allegedly done on the Binance currency exchange platform.

To this end, Anjarwalla, who holds British and Kenyan nationalities and serves as Binance’s Africa regional manager, was being tried by the Nigerian government before he escaped while under a 14-day remand order issued by a court.

Ejiofor described the escape of Anjarwalla as a national embarrassment to Nigeria.

Featuring on Arise Television, the former DSS Deputy Director, questioned the decision of the National Security Adviser, NSA, to keep the suspect in custody.

According to Ejiofor, “Honestly, this is a national, if not international embarrassment for our own image as a country. It raises a lot of questions. Who was prosecuting the executives, EFCC of course and he should have been in the custody of the EFCC, so why the custody of the NSA?

“Does the NSA have facilities to keep suspects? A lot of questions really. So, I have come to the conclusion that it is either gross negligence on the part of the officers on duty or compromise.

“But, more likely, it is the issue of compromise. Somebody in custody ordinarily, shouldn’t have come in with lots of materials. You are given basic amenities in custody. So, how did they now have access to go to the mosque to go and pray? Somebody who is in custody? Where was he kept? A lot of questions have been left unanswered.

“Now the reason I said the issue of compromise is more likely is that, if he went to pray and absconded, the people on duty should have raised the alarm that we cannot find this man because he cannot just move out of custody, straight to the airport.

“So, the period with which he escaped and it was noticed, he must have gone to his house to pack his things and possibly have access to another passport that was not in the knowledge of the security agencies. So, compromise is more likely than negligence.”

The fraud, bribery, and conspiracy charges filed against the former Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke, have been dismissed by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court.

The dismissal came after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) failed to substantiate its allegations against Adoke, leading to his acquittal on all counts.

During the ruling, Justice Abubakar Kutigi addressed the “no case” submission put forward by Adoke’s defense, stating that the EFCC did not adequately prove the charges of fraud, bribery, and money laundering.

Consequently, Adoke was discharged and acquitted, marking a pivotal moment in this high-profile case.

The court scrutinized the claims of illegal tax waivers allegedly granted to multinational oil firms Shell and Eni but found them unsupported by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) or any other governmental authority.

Similarly, the accusation that Adoke received a N300 million bribe lacked evidential backing, leading to the dismissal of this charge as well.

This judgment may signal the end of protracted litigation related to the OPL 245 oil field saga. This case has seen Nigeria facing setbacks in various international and local legal fronts.

Notably, the EFCC acknowledged a lack of sufficient evidence against Adoke and other defendants, except for Rasky Gbinigie, who is accused of forgery related to company documents.

The House of Representatives has vowed to recover two helicopters, Bell 206L4 BZB and Bell M2061- L4, belonging to the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, NCAT, Zaria, sold to private individuals.

The Chairman, House of Reps Committee on Public Assets, Rep. Ademorin Kuye, said this at the investigative hearing on the sale of the two helicopters in Abuja on Thursday.

Kuye expressed worry over the sale of the two helicopters to private individuals when the college was left with none for training.

The committee also quizzed the process leading to the sale of the helicopters as security agencies, including the Nigerian Air Force, Navy, and the Police, indicated interest in purchasing them.

The security agencies were, however, denied by the management of NCAT.

The three security agencies, according to various submissions, did not only indicate interest in purchasing the helicopters by writing but also visited the college but were denied the opportunity to purchase them.

Acting Rector, NCAT, Shaka Imalighwe, said though he was the Deputy Rector of the college at the time the helicopters were sold, he was not part of the team/committee that facilitated the sales.

Imalighwe said that he took over the management of the college in an acting capacity in January 2024.

The Committee said despite initial appeals to NCAT to provide certain documents regarding the process that led to the sale of the helicopters in May 2023, they had not been able to provide it.

This, according to him, was in respect of approval of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, and the Ministry of Aviation as well as newspaper publications advertising the intention to sell the helicopters.

Imalighwe told the committee that the helicopters were in service and being maintained by relevant aviation bodies when they were sold.

The acting Rector of the college also confirmed to the lawmakers that at the moment, there was no single helicopter in the institution for training.

The lawmakers argued that it was wrong for NCAT to have used an unlicensed auctioneer to sell the helicopters.

The committee directed the immediate past and current Minister of Aviation to appear before it in the next investigative hearing.

Also summoned was the Ministry of Works, Ministry of Finance Incorporated, MOFI, both immediate past and present Rectors of the College, among others.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it did not monitor the national convention of the Labour Party (LP).

On Wednesday, the LP conducted its national convention at the Grand Seasons Hotel, in Nnewi, Anambra state.

Julius Abure was re-elected as chairman of the party at the convention.

However, Rotimi Oyekanmi, media aide to Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the conduct of the convention was not monitored by the electoral umpire.

Oyekanmi did not specify why INEC did not monitor the convention.

The convention was initially slated for March 29 but was later changed to March 27. The leadership of the party had said the date was changed because the initial day falls on Good Friday, a very important date for the Christian faithful across the world.

The venue was also changed from Abia to Anambra.

Speaking on the change of venue, Kehinde Edun, LP national legal adviser, said the party duly informed INEC about the change in venue and date.

“So, we are at liberty to pick any venue of our choice. We only need to inform INEC about the change in venue and the time,” Edun said.

There have been calls for the party to suspend its national convention.

On March 17, the house of representatives caucus of the LP called for the suspension of the convention to enable the party “properly plan” the event.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has described Abure’s re-election as “an illegality”.

On March 16, the NLC and LP traded words over calls for the suspension of the party’s convention and resignation of Abure as chairman of the party.

Kano State government has announced a subsidy of N500,000 for each of the 2,906 intending pilgrims that have registered with the Kano State Pilgrim Welfare Board (KSPWB) for the 2024 Hajj exercise.

The board said the subsidy is aimed at cushioning the effect of the sudden increase of N1.9 million Hajj fares recently announced by National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) which was attributed to instability of foreign exchange rate.

The director-general of the board Alhaji Lami Dan Baffa, made this known on Wednesday in Kano during a media briefing.

Baffa said those to benefit from the Hajj Subsidy are those who have already paid part-Payment to the Board, saying over two thousand nine hundred intending Pilgrims have already made their part payment with the board.

“We consider the current economic hardship people are facing and the increase of Hajj Fares is a great challenge to many intending Pilgrims , that’s why we came up with the Subsidy initiative to alleviate the sufferings of intending Pilgrims.

“Intending pilgrims that still wish to participate in 2024 Hajj are by this release advised to proceed and pay the balance of N1.918,032.91 latest by 11:59pm of 28th March, 2024,” he said.

With this subsidy, intending pilgrims from Kano are expected to pay a balance of about N1.4 million.

NAHCON had earlier announced an increase Hajj Fares of N1,918,032.09, making up a total of N6,617,032.91 whereas fresh intending pilgrims are required to pay N8,254,464.74 as the full Hajj fare for this year as required by the NAHCOM.

The Defence Headquarters has declared eight persons wanted in connection to the killing of army personnel in Okuama community, Delta state.

The 17 army personnel were killed on March 14 during an operation in the community.

DHQ named those declared wanted as Akeywiru Omotegbono, Ekpekpo Arthur, Andaowei Bakrikri, Igoli Ebi, Akata David, Sinclear Oliki, Clement Oghenerukevwe and Reuben Baru.

The names of the deceased soldiers are A.H Ali, D.E Obi, S.D. Ashafa, U. Zakari, , Yahaya Saidu, Danbaba Yahaya, Kabir Bashir, Abdullahi Ibrahim, Bulus Haruna, Sole Opeyemi, Bello Anas, Alhaji Isah, Clement Francis, Abubakar Ali, Adamu Ibrahim, Hamman Peter, and Ibrahim Adamu.

After the killing of the army personnel, President Bola Tinubu and the military high command promised that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.

On Wednesday, the personnel were buried at the military cemetery in Abuja and were posthumously conferred with national honours by President Tinubu.

The president also offered scholarships to children of the late officers.

Speaking during the burial ceremony of the late personnel at the military cemetery in Abuja, Taoreed Lagbaja, chief of army staff (COAS), said it was “highly demoralising” that the soldiers were killed by those they were equipped to protect.

The army chief added that it took over 72 hours of searching to recover the vital organs of some of the deceased soldiers.

He added that the Nigerian Army exercised “a lot of restraint” in the search for missing arms and body parts of the deceased soldiers.

The army chief also said some of the widows of the slain officers are pregnant.

“The Okuama killing has added to the care of the Nigerian Army and, by extension, the Nigerian state, 10 widows, three of whom are four, five, and eight months pregnant, 21 orphans, and many other dependents, which include parents,” Lagbaja said.

Men of the Rivers state police command have arrested a witch doctor and 25 others suspected to be members of a car-snatching syndicate responsible for the snatching of 79 cars in the state.

While parading the suspects before newsmen, the state Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, said the shrine believed to be used by the “juju-priest” in fortifying the criminals for their operations had been confiscated.

The police boss mentioned that Chidube, Anthony and Kelechi (a car mechanic) were major culprits in the car-snatching business, disclosing that Chidube trains his men on car snatching and he was linked to all suspects arrested while Kelechi is an expert in removing trackers. He added that the suspects used a spare key to steal the car while most of the cars stolen were taken to Kano and Anambra states, where they sold them off, even as scraps.

‘’Their witch doctor has been arrested. He tells them when it is safe to go for an operation. We also have a team of robbers, who follow you when you go to the bank. When you resist them, they attack and fire you. Their firearms have been recovered.

The syndicate began operating in January 2023 and has been responsible for the theft of more than 40 cars. They all came to Port Harcourt from different states to perpetuate their criminal enterprise. Their operation sees them snatch cars or steal them from where they are parked.

The cars are then classified into those to be sold or those to be sent to a scrap yard in Mgbuka-Obosi, Onitsha, to be ‘butchered’ for spare parts.” he said

Allen Onyeoma, the CEO of Air Peace, has said that those who earn two hundred thousand Naira monthly in Nigeria are better off than those earning two thousand pounds in the United Kingdom.

He said this while appearing as a guest on TVC.

Speaking to the host about the economic crisis and strength of the Naira, Onyema said he agrees that the bulk of the issue is "artificial".

He added: "Go to London, if you earn two thousand pounds a month in London, you're a pauper. What two thousand pounds can afford you is like two thousand Naira."

He continued: "The person earning two hundred thousand Naira in Nigeria is better."

Onyema added that with earnings of 200,000, a Nigerian can afford a maid, a driver and other domestic staff.

He said he believes completely that the Naira has more value than is being projected when compared to other foreign currencies.

He added that Nigerians should stop demonetising the country.

Watch below.

opular singer, Yemi Alade has said despite her obvious success and fame she rarely wins awards in Nigeria because of her refusal to grant organisers’ requests for sex.

The ‘Johnny’ crooner disclosed that a lot of entertainment executives have requested sex from her in the past with the promises of better opportunities.

She said she has no regrets turning down their offers because she at least has her dignity and fans who adore her.

“There was a time in the industry when everyone wanted to sleep with me and it was like, ‘Yemi, if you don’t do this, you won’t have that. Today men are the reason I don’t win awards in Nigeria,” WithInNigeria quoted her as saying.

“Going down with men was like a bridge I had to cross to get on some platforms, get some deals and even awards. When I made my decision never to engage in sexual activities for gains, lots of opportunities were automatically blocked for me.”