Policemen ‘kidnap’ electrician, beat him with machetes and extort N40,000 – Newstrends
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Policemen ‘kidnap’ electrician, beat him with machetes and extort N40,000

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Chibuke’s leg injuries sustained during the beating and shirt after the ordeal

Emmanuel Chibuike, a 22-year-old electrician, has accused policemen attached to Ogidi police division, Anambra State, of extorting N40,000 from him.

Chibuike told FIJ that on December 19, he was at New Parts in the Onitsha area of the state, preparing to board a commercial vehicle to Nkwelle at about 1 pm, when policemen snatched his phone and ordered him into their 18-seater bus.

He said seven officers, four in uniform and three in plain clothes, were on the bus.

They accused him of fraud, threatened him and beat him with fists and machetes as they drove to the front of their station.

Chibuike told FIJ that the policemen never admitted him into the station but demanded N50,000 from him while at the gate. He parted with N40,000, half of which went into the bank account of Elendu Sunday Ozuma, one of the policemen.

Recounting his ordeal, Chibuike said, “While on my way to Nkwelle around 1 pm, I stopped at New Parts to board a bus. Then policemen came from nowhere.

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“The first policeman snatched my phone when I was still collecting my change from the keke rider that drove me to New Parts. I turned, ready to drag my phone from whoever it was, then the second policeman told me that he was a policeman in plain clothes.

“I calmed down. They told me that their commander wanted to see me, so I went straight to where their other men were, including the commander.

“The moment I got there, they dragged me inside the bus. No questions asked. They cuffed me, called me a thief and a ‘Yahoo’ boy. Before I could even show them my business card, they started beating and harassing me. I tried everything I could to attract the attention of people but they were seven and with guns.

“They tore my clothes and my bag. They drove off straight to Ogidi police station (area command) and threatened to shoot me ‘and nothing will happen’.

Proof of transfer of payment to the police officers

He said he gave N20,000 cash to the policemen to make up N40,000 in exchange for his freedom.

Chibuike said he had been living in fear since the incident and feared the worst should he encounter the officers again.

FIJ, on Tuesday, sent a message to Ikenganyia Anthony, spokesman for the Anambra police.

He said he had contacted the station’s DPO and would investigate the matter further.

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BREAKING: FEC proposes N47.9 trillion budget for 2025 fiscal year

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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.

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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

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EFCC arrests ex-NCMB boss over $35m energy project fraud

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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.

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“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

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Court adjourns Yahaya Bello’s trial till Nov 27

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Yahaya Bello

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.

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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

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