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ICPC arrests NAHCON director over N90bn hajj subsidy fraud
ICPC arrests NAHCON director over N90bn hajj subsidy fraud
Operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has raided the headquarters of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) in Abuja over alleged mismanagement of the N90 billion intervention for the 2024 hajj.
According to a source, the anti-graft operatives who stormed the hajj house shut down official activities in some strategic offices, including the office of the chief executive officer, finance and procurement departments.
The source who preferred to be anonymous said the sting operation, which lasted several hours has further brought the commission under public scrutiny on the appropriation of N90 billion subsidy granted for this year’s hajj.
Apparently not satisfied with the available records, the anti-graft agency went away with the commission’s director of procurement for further investigation, our source said.
When contacted, ICPC spokesperson, Demola Bakare, confirmed the visit of operatives of the agency to the Hajj house but said it was on routine investigation.
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Although Bakare was silent over the nature of the investigation, he hinted that the raid was necessitated by the refusal of some officials of the commission to honor ICPC’s invitation.
Responding to an enquiry, Bakare said: “Yes, we are investigating the National Hajj Commission. We invited some officials who either failed or refused to honour the invitation. We therefore paid them a friendly visit.
“We didn’t shut down the Commission. ICPC operates within the confines of the law,” Bakare clarified.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had grilled the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of (NAHCON), Mal. Jalal Ahmad Arabi, over the management of the controversial N90 billion hajj subsidy.
The investigation followed series of petitions filed against NAHCON essentially on alleged poor management of services during the 2024 exercise and the utility of Federal Government intervention, the anti-graft agency said.
Nevertheless, NAHCON had clarified the doubt on the allegations and further provided record on how the federal government intervention was allocated in the last exercise.
Addressing a world press conference in Abuja, Arabi said the commission had paid over N1.6 million each to over 50,000 pilgrims and officials to subsidise the high cost of services occasioned by variation on naira to American dollar exchange rate.
ICPC arrests NAHCON director over N90bn hajj subsidy fraud
metro
Police parade suspected ritualists, armed robbers in Osun
Police parade suspected ritualists, armed robbers in Osun
The Osun State Police Command has said that it has arrested seven suspects for possession of human body parts.
The police made this revelation to journalists while parading the suspects at the Command headquarters in Osogbo on Wednesday.
The suspects paraded include Johnson Daniel, Adetunji Okunade, Olaniyan Azeez, Balogun Temitope Asimiyu, Oladapo Hammed, Kazeem Rasak and Asaka Rauf.
Addressing journalists, the Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Giwa-Alade Emmanuel also said suspected human bone fragments, a female pant and note books were recovered as exhibits from the suspects at the point of arrest.
He said, “The above named suspects were arrested upon a credible information from a good spirited individual that, one Johnson Daniel ‘m’ a mortuary attendant at lpetu-ljesa sells portions of human remains deposited at the mortuary to native doctors whose names are listed above.
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“The said suspects use these remains gotten from the mortuary attendant (Johnson Daniel) for different ritual purposes. Daniel also confessed that, he conspired with one other mortuary attendant named Adetunji Okunade ‘m’ to sell remnant of water used in bathing corpses to interested native doctors.
“In the course of investigation, search were conducted at the residences of these suspects which led to the recovery of fragment of substances suspected to be human skull at Asaka Rauf ‘m’ and Oladapo Hammed ‘m’ residences while a female pant and a note book containing instructions on ritual practices were recovered from Balogun Temitope Asimiyu’s residence.”
Giwa-Alade hinted that the suspects have been charged to court.
Similarly, the police paraded Taiwo Adekunle, Adebayo Opeyemi, Hasan Ibrahim, Oba Wasiu and Olajide Oladapo for alleged armed robbery.
Exhibits recovered at the point of arrest include a Ford Jeep with registration number SMK945OS, Hunter motorcycle with registration number WWD604QF, one empty shell cartridge, one Iphone and one magnet.
Police parade suspected ritualists, armed robbers in Osun
metro
Troops kill many terrorists in Kaduna, hostages rescued, arms recovered
Troops kill many terrorists in Kaduna, hostages rescued, arms recovered
Many terrorists have been neutralised in Kaduna State after they were ambushed in a sting by troops.
The troops also recovered weapons, logistics and rescued hostages during the operation that took place on 17 September 2024.
The Nigerian Army announced the triumph in a statement on its social media platform on Wednesday.
According to the statement, acting on credible intelligence, the troops intercepted the terrorists while they are attempting to cross from Alawa Forest in Niger State to Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State.
“The ambush led to a fierce firefight, resulting in the elimination of two terrorists, while others managed to flee. Troops recovered two AK-47 rifles, two magazines, and three motorcycles at the scene,” it said.
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In a separate operation, troops acted on intelligence about the movement of terrorists at Hayin Nakwakina village in Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
“Troops sprung an ambush against the terrorists, neutralizing two of them and subsequently restoring normalcy in the village that had been earlier displaced by the terrorists.
“Troops also recovered two motorcycles, a mobile phone, and machetes abandoned by the fleeing terrorists,” it said.
Responding to a distress call on Tuesday, 17 September 2024, troops rescued 20 hostages who had been abducted by marauding terrorists along the Kwaga-Polewire axis of Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The troops successfully rescued the abductees after a shootout that overwhelmed the terrorists, compelling them to flee.
Troops kill many terrorists in Kaduna, hostages rescued, arms recovered
metro
Another boat capsizes in Zamfara, Four children dead, 12 hospitalised
Another boat capsizes in Zamfara, Four children dead, 12 hospitalised
Another boat carrying 46 passengers capsized in Mashayar Garba Rogo, Bukkuyum town, Bukkuyum Local Government Area of Zamfara state, resulting in the d3ath of four children.
The latest incident occurred around 10:30 am on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, barely a week after a boat mishap in Gummi Local Government Area of the state claimed over 30 lives.
According to a local resident, Malam Aliyu Umar Bukkuyum, two bodies of the children were recovered, while the other two remain missing.
Twelve people are currently unconscious and receiving treatment at General Hospital Bukkuyum.
One of the survivors, Buhari Usman (also known as Messi), reported that the boat had about 50 passengers, mostly children and a few adults, who were travelling across the Zamfara River to reach their farms.
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He explained that midway through the journey, the boat began to behave erratically and capsized despite efforts by the boat captains to stabilize it.
“I personally rescued 12 children and some adults. We managed to save a good number of the victims, but unfortunately, four died. Two bodies have been recovered, while the other two remain missing,” he said.
The Sole Administrator of Bukkuyum, Hon. Nasiru Muhammad (DG), confirmed the incident, attributing it to overloading, anxiety, and failure to follow proper boating guidelines.
He noted that the government is caring for the 12 rescued victims at the hospital and promised that measures would be taken to prevent similar accidents in the future.
Search efforts are ongoing to locate the two missing passengers.
Another boat capsizes in Zamfara, Four children dead, 12 hospitalised
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