metro
Okuama massacre: Villagers boycott Reps hearing over fear of arrest
Okuama massacre: Villagers boycott Reps hearing over fear of arrest
Members of the House of Representatives Committee on Defence were in Warri, Delta State, on Wednesday for an investigative hearing into the deaths of 17 military soldiers in Okuama town, Ughelli South Local Government Area, Delta State.
The investigative hearing was held in accordance with the House’s resolution passed on March 19 to explore the remote causes of the tragedy.
Chronicle NG reports that 17 military personnel, including a lieutenant colonel, two majors, and a captain, were ambushed and killed by yet-to-be-identified gunmen while they were in Okuama on a peacekeeping mission.
Following the incident, military soldiers damaged and razed buildings in the Okuama riverine settlement as a form of retaliation, forcing inhabitants to seek safety in the nearby bushes of Ewu Kingdom.
The House committee members, led by Babajimi Benson, arrived at the sitting location at the Government House Annex, Edjeba, in the state’s Warri South Local Government Area, around 10.45 a.m., but had to wait for indigenes from the troubled Okuama community to make their presentations.
However, during the waiting period, sources stated that the locals did not show up due to “fear of arrest or intimidation by the military.”
However, when addressing journalists, the committee chairman stated that the committee has received useful memoranda about the incident from many parties.
READ ALSO:
- Osun teenager sentenced to three-year imprisonment for stealing water taps
- Address 2024 Hajj concerns, reps tell NAHCON
- WASSCE: Lagos govt to pay N1.5bn for 58,000 students
Benson also assuaged Okuama indigenes who were concerned about their safety by stating that “there would be no witch hunt whatsoever.”
He asked members of the public who wish to submit a memorandum to do so in ten copies and submit them to the committee within one week.
He stated that they could submit such memoranda to the committee’s clerk, Musa Aliyu, at the National Assembly in Abuja or at the public investigative hearing.
He said, “The House of Representatives Committee on Defence looks forward to a robust engagement and meaningful contributions from all stakeholders.
“We came in yesterday (Tuesday). We met Governor Oborevwori, and we told him our mission. We’re here today (Wednesday) to see members of the community on camera and by way of memoranda.
“We’ve received a lot of memoranda from them, but they’ve not turned out physically. The window is extended for a week. So we’re still expecting a lot more memoranda from the people of the Okuama community.
“We’ve assured the governor and the people that we have the full backing of the House of Representatives to ensure that this matter is reviewed from both sides and followed to a logical conclusion.”
Benson promised the locals protection and urged them to come forward.
He said, “The community people are scared to come out vis-à-vis another list of wanted people being released. They have sent in a memorandum, and we’re still giving them a week to turn in a further memorandum in the next week.
“The clerk of the house is receiving the memory. We’ve dedicated our time to ensuring justice is done and people return to their community, perhaps better than it was before. We need to be fully armed with enough information before we visit Okuama. We will visit the place after hearing from the victims themselves,” he said.
Okuama massacre: Villagers boycott Reps hearing over fear of arrest
metro
BREAKING: FEC proposes N47.9 trillion budget for 2025 fiscal year
BREAKING: FEC proposes N47.9 trillion budget for 2025 fiscal year
The federal government has unveiled a proposed budget of N47.9 trillion for the 2025 fiscal year.
Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, disclosed this to journalists on Thursday following the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu.
Bagudu revealed that the council had approved the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) for 2025-2027.
READ ALSO:
- EFCC arrests ex-NCMB boss over $35m energy project fraud
- FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects
- Court adjourns Yahaya Bello’s trial till Nov 27
According to the minister, the government has pegged the crude oil benchmark at $75 per barrel, with an oil production target of 2.06 million barrels per day (bpd).
The budget also sets the exchange rate at N1,400 per dollar and aims for a gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 6.4%.
BREAKING: FEC proposes N47.9 trillion budget for 2025 fiscal year
metro
EFCC arrests ex-NCMB boss over $35m energy project fraud
EFCC arrests ex-NCMB boss over $35m energy project fraud
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) told FIJ that they have arrested Timber Wabote, the former executive secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCMB), on the grounds of a failed $35 million Bayelsa refinery project fraud.
Dele Oyewale, the EFCC’s spokesperson, confirmed this to FIJ on Thursday.
“It is true,” Oyewale responded to FIJ’s inquiries.
Wabote is accused of misappropriating public funds for a refinery project that should have improved local energy production.
Vanguard reported that the NCDMB under Wabote paid $35 million to support the development of energy infrastructure in the Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa, yet there was nothing to show for it.
The EFCC picked Wabote up following the arrest of Akintoye Adeoye Akindele, the Managing Director of Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited, for alleged misappropriation, money laundering and diversion of $35 million in public funds.
READ ALSO:
- FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects
- Court adjourns Yahaya Bello’s trial till Nov 27
- We are understaffed, ICPC boss laments
“NCDMB under the watch of Wabote allegedly paid the $35 million to Akindele to build a 2,000 barrel per day (BPD), refinery, jetty, gas plant, power plant, data centre and tank farm at Brass free trade zone (FTZ), Okpoama Community in Brass LGA of Bayelsa State,” a source with the EFCC had explained.
Since December 2020 when the payments were made, Akindele abandoned the project with little or nothing to show for the huge sum he received.
Preliminary investigations showed that Wabote’s NCDMB financed 17 different projects, including the 2,000 BPD refinery in Brass LGA.
There has been a series of public fund misappropriation cases in the energy sector in recent times.
FIJ earlier reported that members of the House of Representatives summoned three ministers to defend how over $2 billion was spent on renewable energy with not much to show for it.
A recent FIJ report also recently detailed how residents of Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa, have not had power in their homes since July due to the vandalisation of the Ahoada-Yenagoa transmission towers caused by unidentified persons.
The Bayelsa state government told FIJ it was the federal government’s responsibility to provide electricity for residents. The state has no renewable energy options reliable enough to power its capital despite the multi-million-dollar NCMB energy project.
Transparency in the energy sector has become necessary at a time when Nigerians have suffered power instability due to frequent grid collapses.
EFCC arrests ex-NCMB boss over $35m energy project fraud
metro
Court adjourns Yahaya Bello’s trial till Nov 27
Court adjourns Yahaya Bello’s trial till Nov 27
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has requested an adjournment in the new case against the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, stating that the 30-day window for the previously issued summons is still active.
The commission has granted administrative bail to his co-defendants, Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu, and asked the court for an extension of time for Bello to appear.
At the resumed hearing before Justice Maryann Anenih of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, EFCC Counsel Jamiu Agoro noted that the court’s order from October 3rd had not yet expired.
“In that wise, we feel it will not be appropriate for us to take proceedings while that 30 days is still running. So we have discussed and agreed to come back on the 27th day of November, 2024, my lord,” he told the court.
READ ALSO:
- We are understaffed, ICPC boss laments
- Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
- Wike claims Adeyanju became activist after he rejected request to be PDP Publicity Secretary
He also mentioned that the previously set date of November 20th was not convenient for the prosecution counsels.
Counsel to the second defendant, Aliyu Saiki, SAN, confirmed that his client had been granted administrative bail by the prosecution and had no objection to the adjournment request. The third defendant’s counsel, ZE Abass, concurred.
The prosecution counsel also requested the court to allow the notice of hearing to be pasted on the last known address of the first defendant.
After hearing from all counsels, the judge granted the EFCC’s application for adjournment and the issuance of the hearing notice.
“I have considered the application for adjournment by the complainant and issuance of hearing notice and the submission by the second and third defendants. The application is granted,” she said.
Justice Anenih then adjourned the case to November 27th for arraignment.
The former governor, alongside Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu, are being prosecuted as 1st to 3rd defendants, respectively, in a fresh 16-count charge instituted against them by the EFCC.
Court adjourns Yahaya Bello’s trial till Nov 27
-
International3 days ago
Belgium University offers scholarship up to €12,000 for Master’s students
-
Sports4 hours ago
BREAKING: Super Eagles qualify for AFCON 2025
-
Railway2 days ago
Nigerian railway adds extra train to Friday, Saturday trips on Lagos-Ibadan route
-
International2 days ago
UK announces 45,000 seasonal worker visas for 2025
-
Aviation5 hours ago
Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight
-
Education1 day ago
12-year-old Nigerian girl Eniola Shokunbi invents air filter to reduce spread of diseases in US schools
-
International3 days ago
Saudi crown prince says Israel committing ‘genocide’ in Gaza
-
Business2 days ago
Top 5 crypto apps that work with Nigerian Bank accounts