metro
Alleged N754.8m fraud: Court adjourns ex-NIMASA DG, Akpobolokemi’s case till Feb. 27
Alleged N754.8m fraud: Court adjourns ex-NIMASA DG, Akpobolokemi’s case till Feb. 27
Justice R.I.B. Adebiyi of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, has adjourned till February 27 and 28, 2024 an alleged N754.8 million fraud against a former Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Patrick Akpobolokemi and former Executive Director, NIMASA, Ezekiel Bala Agaba.
Akpobolokemi and Agaba, alleged to have defrauded NIMASA, were initially charged alongside Governor Juan, Vincent Udoye, Ekene Nwakuche, Adegboyega Olopoenia and a company, Gama Marine Nigeria Ltd., before the charge was amended to involve only both of them.
When the prosecution closed its case, the defendants through their respective lawyers, Collins Ogbonna and E.D. Onyeke, filed no-case submissions.
However, on May 8, 2023 while ruling on the no-case submissions of the defendants, Justice Adebiyi held that the prosecution had made a prima facie case against the two defendants on counts two, three, four, five and seven bordering on stealing.
The trial Judge further held that a prima facie case had been made against the second defendant on counts nine, 10, 11 and 12 bordering on forgery. Though discharged and acquitted on counts one, six and eight bordering on conspiracy, the trial judge ordered them to open their defence on the remaining counts.
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At Wednesday’s proceedings, counsel for the first defendant, Charles Okechukwu, told the court that the defence would not be able to open its defence. “We’ve written an application for adjournment though we know that today is slated for defence, but the defence witnesses that we intended to present, are unavailable for the trial,” he said.
He explained further that one of the witnesses was bereaved and had travelled for the obsequies. “One of the witnesses lost his mother and the service of songs takes place tomorrow, so he is not in Lagos but in Bayelsa,” he said.
He also told the court that the other witness the defence intended to call was also “not available”. Additionally, he told the court that a letter had also been written to the prosecution informing them of the development and so applied for adjournment to subsisting dates.
The prosecuting counsel, S.I. Suleiman, confirmed receipt of the said letter. “We were served with the said letter yesterday and in the interest of justice, we will not object,” he said.
Counsel for the second defendant, Grace Omole, also raised no objection.
Thereafter, Justice Adebiyi adjourned “to the earlier fixed dates of 27th and 28th February 2024 for continuation of trial”.
The defendants were originally arraigned on twelve –count charges bordering on stealing and forgery to the tune of N754.8 million. NNL.
Alleged N754.8m fraud: Court adjourns ex-NIMASA DG, Akpobolokemi’s case till Feb. 27
metro
Lagos Govt insists no attachment to shops, buildings
Lagos Govt insists no attachment to shops, buildings
Lagos State Government has maintained its zero-tolerance stance against illegal construction of extensions and attachments to shops and buildings in any part of the state.
General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Gbolahan Owodunni Oki, an architect, stated this.
He spoke at a multi-agency enforcement carried out to remove extensions and attachments affixed to shops and plazas within the Lagos Island Central Business.
The action, he said, would bring about safety and orderliness to the markets and streets in the area.
A statement by Olaoye Olusegun, Director of Public Affairs at LASBCA, quoted Oki as saying those extensions affixed to shops and buildings within the area were constituting nuisance and a hindrance to rescue operations during emergencies.
He cited the case of fire outbreak in Mandilas building where first responders such as the state fire and rescue services could not access the burning building due to blockage of the roads and streets by traders with their extensions and attachments.
He told all owners of shops and business premises with extensions/ attachments to remove them immediately.
Oki disclosed that the removal exercise would be continuous and extended to other parts of the state.
He stressed that Lagos State would no longer tolerate the level of lawlessness going on in the commercial areas, especially Lagos Island where every available space was being converted to shops extending to the roads.
Oki also frowned on the practice of mounting diesel and petrol generators on rooftops, penthouses and iron staircases of shops and plazas within commercial centres.
The multi-agency exercise comprising the Lagos State Building Control Agency, Lagos State Neighbourhood Watch, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Central Business Districts and Lagos State Environmental Services amongst others, witnessed the removal of attachments to shops around Nnamdi Azikiwe Street, Dosunmu, Ereko, Eyin Eyo, Martins, Balogun and its adjoining streets.
The removal is part of the recommendations of the Dosunmu Fire Incident Committee headed by the Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations, Mr Gbenga Oyerinde.
metro
BREAKING: Workers stranded as Labour pickets Jos DisCo, NERC
BREAKING: Workers stranded as Labour pickets Jos DisCo, NERC
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have picket the headquarters of Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JED) along Ahmadu way in the metropolis.
The sealing of office was carried out by Plateau chapter of NLC and TUC officials in compliance with the directive of the Organised Labour over the hike in Electricity Tariff.
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It was gathered that workers of the electricity company were locked out by an enforcement team as early as 6:30 a m.
According to The Nation, Jos Disco spokesman Dr. Friday Elijah said: ” The office of JED has been picketed. We were locked out, when we came to the office. It has been sealed, nobody is allowed to entered, even my self ( the spokesman) and the chief security officer also outside.
All of us came this morning for work, we were locked out. The office has been picketed and sealed.
The chairman of Plateau chapter of NLC, Comrade Eugene Manji, the place has been picket and sealed in compliance with the directive of our National headquarters.
BREAKING: Workers stranded as Labour pickets Jos DisCo, NERC
metro
Socialite declared wanted over murder, cyber stalking
Socialite declared wanted over murder, cyber stalking
Nigerian Police has declared Dorcas Adeyinka, a Lagos socialite and blogger, wanted for alleged cyberstalking, kidnapping, and murder, among other things.
Police advised the public to “arrest and give over the suspect to the nearest police station or the office of the IGP Monitoring Unit, Force Headquarters, Abuja.”
The police also characterized Adeyinka as a married female Yoruba blogger from Ekiti State and Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State.
She is estimated to be 1.64m tall, with an oval face, tribal markings, a pointed nose, a wide mouth, full and white dentition, and a light complexion with black eyes.
The police further stated that she lives in the United Kingdom and frequently visits Ikeja, Ogudu, and Fagba in Lagos State, as well as Otta and Sango in Ogun State.
According to reports, a Chief Magistrate Court in Wuse Zone 6, Abuja, summoned two social media users for allegedly defaming Adeyinka by publishing her nude photo online.
According to the court summons dated Thursday, May 9, 2024, obtained by our correspondent, Chief Magistrate Emmanuel Iyanna ordered the two defendants, Tolulope Adeoye, aka Abike Jagaban, and Tolulope Odegbami, aka Olowosibi, to appear in person before the court on June 4, 2024, to answer the charges leveled against them by the complainant.
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The summons stemmed from a criminal complaint filed by the complainant’s lawyers, led by Pelumi Olajengbesi of Law Corridor, an Abuja-based law company. The socialite accused the defendants of posting her naked photo on social media and mocking her.
The application partly read, “On March 5, 2022, Abike Jagaban shared the complainant’s nude pictures on YouTube, directing her followers to different online platforms where the complainant’s pictures were/are shared and ridiculed the complainant in the process.
“The video was captioned, ‘Abike Jagaban on Dorcas Adeyinka, aka TMS Blog.’ These actions have exposed the complainant to contempt, hatred, and detestation, as some people can be seen making disparaging remarks against the complainant in the comment section of the above-referenced post.
“Abike Jagaban has also bullied the complainant in another video titled, ‘How Abike Jagaban bullied Dorcas Adeyinka,” among others.”
The complainant informed the court that the defendants’ claimed activities constituted criminal defamation and violated Section 391 of the Penal Code.
Meanwhile, in suit number CR/93/2024 with motion number MN/140/2024, Magistrate Iyanna directed the complainant to serve the defendants with the criminal summons and all subsequent court processes through their social media handles or pages, @Tolulope Omolara Ghaba (Facebook) and @Princess Tolulope Ajike Olowosibi (Facebook).
The magistrate adjourned the case to June 4, 2024, and ordered that the two defendants appear in court on that date.
Socialite declared wanted over murder, cyber stalking
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