metro
Ponzi scheme: Police arrest four Beninois, two others in Gombe
The Gombe State Police Command has arrested six suspects over attempt to defraud residents of the state.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Ishola Babaita, made this known at a news conference on Friday in Gombe.
Babaita said that the arrest was made possible through its community policing strategy as well as the proactiveness of the command to rid the state of any form of crime and criminalities.
According to him, the six suspects comprise two indigenes of Gombe State and four from Benin Republic, who entered into the country illegally and were arrested in Gombe on January 18.
He said: “On January 18 at 8:30pm, the Command received information that three Hummer buses brought some group of young men numbering about 109.
“Immediately, Police operatives in synergy with the Department of State Services were dispatched to the scene and the people were invited to the DSS facility, where they were interrogated.
“The two Nigerians were transferred to the police for discrete investigations and possible prosecution, while the four Beninois were handed over to the Nigerian Immigration Service, which later returned them back to the police.”
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Babaita said during the interrogation, the suspects claimed that they were into online networking business called QNET.
He said that the documents tendered “as Independent Representatives (IR) of the QNRT revealed that an IR is not an employee, agent or official representative of QNET.
“This means that as IR, they are to be solely responsible for complying with applicable local laws, ethical practices and paying taxes on commissions and assumes all risks related to their IR entrepreneurial activities.”
According Babaita, the 109 youths were recruited into the state by the six suspects to serve as marketers.
He said that based on investigations, it was established that the suspects were into Ponzi scheme to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.
He added that at the conclusion of the investigation, all suspects would be charged to court.
Babaita urged residents of the state to be wary of those they transact business with to avoid being defrauded.
However, one of the suspects, 26-year-old Abdullahi Yusuf from Gombe, while speaking with newsmen, denied that the business was fraudulent, saying it was an online networking.
Yusuf said he started the business in Benin Republic, but decided to come to Gombe State to empower youths with the knowledge of networking.
Yusuf, who insisted that the business was not fraudulent, said he was ready to defend himself in court.
Solomon Micah, a 27-year-old indigene of Taraba State, who was recruited as a marketer, said that he paid N500,000 to register for the business and got $50 as bonus.
The News Agency of Nigeria also reports that some of the alleged marketers were paraded along with the six main suspects at the Police Command Headquarters.
The Eagle
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Bandits attack Matawalle’s hometown in Zamfara kill one, kidnap many
Bandits attack Matawalle’s hometown in Zamfara kill one, kidnap many
Rampaging bandits operating in North-West Nigeria have attacked Maradun town, the headquarters of Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara, killing one person and kidnapping several others.
Maradun is the hometown of Bello Matawalle, the former governor of the state and present Minister of State for Defence in the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government.
Although, police authorities in the state are yet to comment on the latest incident an indigene of the town Nura Maradun told Channels Television that the bandits stormed the town around 1 am on Friday with sophisticated weapons.
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He said they fired indiscriminately to scare residents. According to him, the bandits went from house to house to abduct residents of the town.
“They came in around 1 am and operated till 4 am unchallenged. They went on to search house by house looking for people to be kidnapped,” he said.
“From what I can confirm to you now, one person was killed, and about eight persons most women have been taken away. Some of the women kidnapped are daughters of the Emir’s brother.”
Bandits attack Matawalle’s hometown in Zamfara kill one, kidnap many
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Eight illegal security guards arrested in Anambra
Eight illegal security guards arrested in Anambra
The Anambra command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), says it has arrested eight suspected unlicensed private security guards with four pump action guns.
During the parade of the suspects in Awka, the state capital on Thursday, Olatunde Maku, the NSCDC state commandant, said the arrest was made in response to intelligence reports.
Maku added that the suspects are currently undergoing investigation, after which they would be charged to court and prosecuted.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that some of the suspects were impersonating the Anambra Vigilance Group while others were hired by hotels to provide security services, in spite of knowing that the outfits were not licensed or registered,” NAN quoted the NSCDC commandant as saying.
“Meanwhile, four pump action guns with 16 live cartridges were also recovered from them.
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“All the suspects are currently undergoing investigation, after which they would be charged to court and prosecuted.
“This raid is in continuation of the execution of the NSCDC mandate and we will not leave any stone unturned in discharging our responsibilities.
Maku said that the NSCDC is the only agency responsible for licensing, monitoring, and supervising private securities companies in Nigeria, and the raid aims to prevent illegal security outfit proliferation.
The commandant urged licensed private guard companies to adhere to the law and report any suspicious activities or security outfits to the Corps for prompt action.
“I want to put all illegal security outfits on notice to dismantle their operations or face the consequences.
“We will clamp down on any illegal outfit, arrest and prosecute their operators, and recover illegal weapons in their possession.
“This is to restore sanity in the operations of the private security sector and ensure the safety and security of residents.”
Eight illegal security guards arrested in Anambra
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American school gives EFCC conditions to return $760k Yahaya Bello’s children fees
American school gives EFCC conditions to return $760k Yahaya Bello’s children fees
The American International School of Abuja (AISA) has reached out to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), asking the agency to provide “authentic banking details” for the refund of fees paid for the children of the immediate-past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.
Bello is alleged to have made an advance payment of $720,000 in school fees for five of his children from the coffers of the Kogi State Government.
The children are in grade levels 2 to 8 at the school.
The EFCC operatives on April 17 laid siege to Bello’s residence in Abuja in an attempt to arrest him over an alleged N80.2 billion fraud.
While the operatives were at the house, the current Governor of Kogi, Usman Ododo, arrived at the property and reportedly whisked Bello away.
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In a letter addressed to the Lagos zonal commander of the EFCC, the school said the sum of $845,852 had been paid in tuition “since the 7th of September 2021 to date”.
AISA said the sum to be refunded is $760,910 because it had deducted educational services already rendered.
“Please forward to us an official written request, with the authentic banking details of the EFCC, for the refund of the above-mentioned funds as previously indicated as part of your investigation into the alleged money laundering activities by the Bello family,” the letter reads.
“Since the 7th September 2021 to date, $845,852.84 (Eight Hundred and Forty-Five Thousand, Eight Hundred and Fifty-Two US Dollars and eighty-four cents) in tuition and other fees has been deposited into our Bank account.
“We have calculated the net amount to be transferred and refunded to the State, after deducting the educational services rendered as $760,910.84. (Seven Hundred and Sixty Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ten US Dollars and Eighty-Four cents).
“No further additional fees are expected in respect of tuition as the students’ fees have now been settled until they graduate from ASIA.”
American school gives EFCC conditions to return $760k Yahaya Bello’s children fees
Bandits attack Matawalle’s hometown in Zamfara kill one, kidnap many
Eight illegal security guards arrested in Anambra
Weeks after Iran’s attack, Israel discovers another massive surface-to-surface missile
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