03082019 - Worsening Insecurity: Suspected herdsmen kill Catholic priest in Enugu

Four men plead guilty to illegal
possession of N1.1bn gold, • 112,
800 cash
By Ikechukwu
Nnochiri
THE Economic and Fi
nancial Crimes Commission,
EFCC, yesterday,
arraigned four men before
the Federal High Court in
Abuja for illegal possession
of gold valued above
N1billion.
The quartet, who were
charged alongside three
companies, pleaded guilty
to a two-counts amended
charge the anti-graft agency
preferred against them.
Those on trial for the
crime that was allegedly
committed in 2018, are
Abba Ali Yahaya, Ali Abdullahi,
Aminu Mahmud
Adam, Alyu Mohammed,
while the affected companies
are, Indo Nigeria
Mining Company Limited,
A. A. Mai Zinari Ltd and
Al-Izzat Trading & Investment
Ltd.
EFCC also alleged that
the defendants attempted
to transport a cash sum of
•112,800 without making a
declaration of the same to
the Nigeria Customs Service
(NCS) as required by
law.
They were further accused
of acting in breach
of both the Money Laundering
(Prohibition) Act,
2011, and the Nigerian
Minerals and Mining Act,
2007.
Meanwhile, all the defendants
pleaded guilty to
the charge marked FHC/
ABJ/CR/80/2019, even as
trial Justice Evelyn Maha
stood down the case to determine
their sentence.
Aliyu Mohammed, who
was described as the Director
of Indo Nigeria Mining
Company Limited and A.
A. Mai Zinari Ltd, pleaded
on their behalf; while
Aminu Mohammed Adam,
described as a director of
Al-Izzat Trading and Investment
Ltd, equally
pleaded for the company.
Another firm, Sino Minmetals
Company Limited,
which was originally cited
as the 4th defendant, was
de-listed from the charge
following an oral application
by the prosecuting lawyer,
Mohammed Abubakar.
EFCC said its investigations
revealed that the 8th
defendant, Mohammed,
ceased to be the Director
of the firm from August 18,
2016, while the alleged offence
was committed on
August 10, 2018, about two
years after.
“My lord in the light of
this, we apply that the
name of the 4th defendant
be struck out from the
amended charge filed on
July 17, 2019”, EFCC lawyer
added.
The application was not
opposed by the defendants
who were represented by
Mr. C. A. Ejugo and Abdulhameed
Mohammed.
Consequently, trial Justice
Evelyn Maha struck
out the 4th defendant from
the charge which the other
defendants pleaded
guilty to.
EFCC disclosed that the
1st defendant, Yahaya, was
arrested at the Nnamdi
Azikiwe International Airport
in Abuja while he was
on board an Ethiopian Airline
flight to Dubai.
He allegedly under-declared
the cash with him
by only declaring $26,000
in the NCS form instead
of the actual •112,800 that
was in his possession.
NEMA braces up for emergencies, builds
staff capacity
By Gabriel Ewepu
THE National Emer
gency Management
Agency, NEMA, yesterday,
disclosed that it has braced
up for emergencies across
the country by building staff
capacity on professionalism
and proactive emergency
response.
Speaking at the 2019
NEMA Staff Retreat held in
Keffi, Nasarawa State, with
theme, ‘Re-engineering
the Agency for Effective and
Proactive Disaster Management’,
North-Central Zonal
Director, NEMA, Bitrus
Samuel, assured residents
in the Federal Capital Territory,
FCT, and other states
in the zone that the agency
is prepared and ready to respond
proactively and rapidly
to any emergency situation.
Representatives from
Benue, Nasarawa, Niger
and FCT attended the twoday
retreat.
He said: “It is a re-engineering
effort of the present
administration under the
From left: Kevin Owoamanam, Risk Group officer, Interswitch, Uche Nebolisa,
Senior Accountant, NLRC, Emeka Awagu, Group Head, Commerce and Digital,
Interswitch and Onifade Abedeen, Account officer II, FCCPC at the raffle draw for
the One Music Africa Fest held at Interswitch Head office, Lagos recently
leadership of Engr Mustapha
Maihaja. His key priority
since he came is to reposition
and re-engineer
the organisation to be a
standard emergency management
outfit.
“His priority has been to
increase the capacity of the
staff through training and
retreats like this to share experiences
to see how all of
us can together take disaster
management to the next
level.
“We want to be a more
professional outfit and the
whole idea is to boost our
capacity to do more and elevate
our current level of
expertise. We cannot but
continue to develop because
techniques used to
address and tackle disasters
in the global arena has also
evolved.
“This retreat would afford
the staff the platform to understand
the direction
which the organization is
going so everyone would be
able to fit in and key into a
proactive disaster management
organization.”
He also maintained that
the agency is not overwhelmed
by the recent
burning of its fire truck and
ambulance by Shi’ite protesters
in Abuja, but rather
is more prepared to respond
to emergencies in
FCT and other neighbouring
states under the zone.
Also speaking at the
event, consultant, Adekunle
Oni tasked the federal government
to improve the
welfare of workers in the
public service and those
who are retirees in order to
effectively tackle corruption.
“Before the Gen Mohammed
Murtala purge of
1975, public servant don’t
own house or businesses,
they relied on government
job and were living in government
quarters. When
they were pushed out of
government quarters, they
had nowhere to go meaning
they were not corrupt.
SATURDAY Vanguard, AUGUST 3, 2019 — 9
NUPENG suspends planned nationwide strike as
NNPC wades in
By Victor Ahiuma-
Young
NIGERIA Union of Pe
troleum and Natural
Gad Workers, NUPENG, has
suspended its planned nationwide
strike following intervention
by the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation,
NNPC.
NUPENG had planned to
down tools and begin a nationwide
strike to compel
Chevron Nigeria Limited,
CNL, honour agreement it
reached with the union on
June 20.
But announcing the suspension
of the planned
strike in a statement yesterday,
President and General
Secretary of the union, Prince
Williams Akporeha and
Afolabi Olawale, respectively,
directed members to demobilize
and go about their
normal duties.
NUPENG assured the
public that there would be no
disruption of fuel supply, and
therefore no need to panic.
MultiChoice Talent Factory
to host Masterclass in
Cinematography
MULTICHOICE Nigeria has announced that its
flagship corporate shared value (CSV) initiative,
MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF), will hold another Masterclass.
The Mastercalss, which holds in Lagos on 13
August, will be in Cinematography.
In the upcoming edition of the Masterclass, MultiChoice
will be bringing international award-winning film expert,
Christian Epps as a resource person to teach cinematography
and help upskill Directors of Photography in the
film and television industry to help them take their craft
to the next level.
Speaking the one-day Masterclass, Femi Odugbemi,
MTF (West Africa) Academy Director said: “We recognize
the importance of continuous improvement in visually
telling our stories and Cinematography is a key pillar
of that objective.”
Epps is the founder/CEO Of Lights, Camera, Diaspora!,
a Los Angeles-based social enterprise non-profit that
bridges the gap between the African and African-Diaspora
entertainment industries.
His career as a lighting designer has spanned more
than three decades across major motion pictures, broadcast
television, commercials, live theatre, dance, music
videos and special events. He supervised the critically
acclaimed award-winning film, Selma, featuring Oprah
Winfrey, and has also worked with many renowned filmmakers,
including Spike Lee.
In 2006, Epps was hired to design the THISDAY! Festival,
which led to multiple concert and television projects
every year in Nigeria. Among his many achievements in
Nigeria, Epps in 2017 received Africa Diaspora Awards’
Creative Person of The Year Award.
Mbata Foundation doles out
N100m for empowerment program
A
Lagos based philanthropist cum businessman, Prince
Alex Mbata has doled out N100m to empower Nigerians
under the aegis of his humanitarian foundation.
The Prince Alex Mbata Foundation at an event held Thursday
in Lagos splashed N100,000 each on some of the beneficiaries
of the program.
The promoter of the Foundation, Prince Alex Mbata said
he is only doing the will of God with the charity work.
Quoting from the scripture, Mbata noted that Jesus Christ
charged his followers to go about doing good as he also did.
“I m doing the will of my father (God) with this Foundation.
It was through a divine order that I set up the Prince
Alex Mbata Foundation. We are giving out N100m to empower
Nigerians. I am using it to bless people as God commanded
us to do in the scriptures. What God would be
asking us on the last day is this: I was hungry, did you feed
me? I was thirsty did you give me water to drink? I was
naked, did you cloth me? With this Foundation, I want to
cloth those who are naked, feed those who have nothing to
eat. And my prayers is that the seed I have sowed into their
lives would blossom and become like the mustard see. I
want to see poverty eradicated through the seed that I m
sowing,” Mbata said.
Umute community gets new
monarch
HIS Royal Highest, Oseyenim Fidelis Chukwuji
has been coronated as the new traditional ruler
of Umute community in Aniocha South Local Government
of Delta state.
The colourful ceremony was attended by royal fathers
from other neigbouring commnities and representatives
of the state government. Top politicians
in the state also attended the ceremony.
Prayers were offered for the peace of the community
and the state during the ceremony.
The statement reads in part:
“The National leadership of
Nigeria Union of Petroleum
and Natural Gas Workers
(NUPENG) wishes to inform
the rank and file members of
the Union and the general
public that following the intervention
of Mallam Mele
Kyari, the Group Managing
Director and his management
team to avert the proposed industrial
action of NUPENG
over the blatant breach of
agreement reached with the
Union by Chevron Nigeria
and its contractor and considering
the fact that appreciable
progress is being made as
discussions continue, that
the Union hereby suspends
with immediate effect the
planned industrial action
slated for next week.
“It should be put on
records that this abrupt suspension
became inevitable
due largely to the timely intervention
of Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC) having engaged
NUPENG and all
concerned stakeholders at
two separate meetings on
Thursday 1st and Friday
August 2, 2019, to correct the
anomalies and ensure that
the agreement is respected.