metro
Imo owing me N8bn security votes, says Okorocha, faults corruption claims
Former Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, has faulted allegations of corruption levelled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the state government.
Indeed, he said rather than being prosecuted for corruption, he should be the one laying claims to the benefits he ‘rejected’ while serving as governor of the state for eight years.
“How much is Imo State government money?” he asked while speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today Monday night.
The ex-governor also said, “Imo State is really owing me because I never collected my security votes; I am supposed to collect N8 billion if I have to make claims for security votes I did not collect.
“I fed myself throughout in the Government House when I was there, I used my personal cars. Those who say I was broke are liars. If you talk about Nigerians blessed by God, I raise my hand to be one of them. I was Rochas before I became governor, in fact, governor made me poorer.
“I had Rochas Foundation Schools – so many of them, over 18,000 before I became governor; to feed these children and educate them, it doesn’t cost anything less than N500 a day. Calculate that and know whether there is any day I wake up that N10 million, N15 million does not go out of my pocket.”
Before the interview, Okorocha, now at the Senate representing the Imo West senatorial district, was slammed with a 17-count charge to the tune of N2.9 billion by the EFCC.
The anti-graft agency filed the charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja about the same time the lawmaker was declaring his intention to run for the office of president in 2023.
He was accused of conspiring with others, including a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and five companies to steal from public coffers.
Reacting to the suit, Okorocha stated that it was not the first time he would be facing such action from the EFCC, saying it was politically motivated.
According to him, the anti-graft agency has continued to disobey court orders relating to the alleged abuse of his fundamental human rights.
The former governor, however, advised the EFCC not to allow itself to be a tool for politicians but investigate allegations and get real facts before taking necessary actions.
“The story of Rochas and EFCC, the story of Rochas and politics of Imo State has been a long dragged one,” he said. ‘I am not aware of this suit, but what I do know is that the stage I found myself with EFCC, I had an order against EFCC from Federal High Court on the abuse of my human rights, but the EFCC has refused to obey that order.
“It’s been one drama or the other but what is happening actually is that I don’t want to say it is politically motivated, but it is looking more like it.
“Go to Code of Conduct Bureau and see my worth before becoming governor and since I finished, there has never been any property of the government, any cash of government found in my coffers or (that of) any of my family members. There is not anything that I have that has been traced to Imo State government’s money while I was in office.”
metro
BREAKING: EFCC freezes 300 illegal forex accounts
BREAKING: EFCC freezes 300 illegal forex accounts
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has frozen 300 illegal forex accounts trading on a peer-to-peer platform.
The EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, revealed that the accounts were suspended on Monday following a court order.
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Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday, Olukoyede explained that over $15bn passed through one of the forex platforms in the last one year, outside the financial regulations.
He said the EFCC action was taken to ensure the safety of the foreign exchange market and protect the economy
BREAKING: EFCC freezes 300 illegal forex accounts
metro
Policeman shot dead corps member at LAUTECH convocation party
Policeman shot dead corps member at LAUTECH convocation party
A trigger-happy policeman well known as Saheed SARS allegedly shot a NYSC corps member identified as Iyanda Damilola to death in Ogbomoso Local Government Area of Oyo State on Tuesday.
According to a news report, Saheed is an operative of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Oyo State Police Command.
Saheed is well-known among Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso students, for assaults, particularly against “Yahoo boys“.
In 2020, he was heavily chastised on social media after allegedly posing with a white Mercedes-Benz car he claimed to have purchased.
The deceased’s brother, Iyanda Oluwafemi, who graduated from LAUTECH on Monday, claimed he was wounded by bullets fired by Saheed.
Speaking with our correspondent, Oluwafemi, a graduate of Accounting and Management Sciences from the institution, said the deceased was his brother and that he had attended his convocation, after which they headed for an after-party the same day where he was shot dead by the trigger-happy cop.
He further revealed that the late Damilola was serving in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
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He said, “Yesterday was our convocation, and we were at a lounge (name withheld) for a convocation party around 2 a.m. when we heard that some people were fighting outside. When we discovered that the place was getting rowdy, we stepped out only to see policemen dispersing the crowd and shooting directly at the people.
“I sustained bullet wounds, but my brother, who came for my convocation, was shot in the head. He was confirmed dead at the LAUTECH Teaching Hospital and was taken to the mortuary this morning.
“As I speak with you, I am at the clinic for my treatment. The wounds are deep, and I cannot but seek justice for my innocent brother.”
When asked if he recognized the police officers who arrived for the operation, Oluwafemi said he was certain of Saheed SARS because he led them to the location to disperse the gathering.
“I saw him handling the gun; he was shooting with one hand until he shot my brother,” he added.
When contacted, SP Adewale Osifeso, the state police public relations officer, stated that an investigation was ongoing and that updates would be supplied as they became available.
“Investigation is ongoing. Updates will be provided accordingly, please,” he wrote in a text message.
Policeman shot dead corps member at LAUTECH convocation party
Education
Abuja British school shut over student bullying viral video
Abuja British school shut over student bullying viral video
Abuja-based Lead British International School has been shut down for three days after a viral video showing an incident of bullying in the school.
This was announced on Tuesday during a press briefing attended by concerned parents on the school premises.
The viral video, which captured a female student being subjected to physical and emotional abuse by her peers, had sparked public outrage.
The footage depicted the victim being repeatedly slapped by another female student in an interrogation session.
The incident prompted widespread condemnation and calls for swift action to address the issue.
Head of Lead British International School, Abraham Ogunkambi, issued a statement on Tuesday, in response to the incident.
He stressed the school’s disapproval of the incident, adding that an investigation into the matter had commenced.
“The school management is treating this matter with the utmost seriousness,” Ogunkambi said.
He added that the school had already been in contact with the victim and her parents, offering support and counselling services to help them manage the emotional and psychological effects of the incident.
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