TJ KONNECT

 Olanrewaju Gentry, the husband of Nollywood actress, Mercy Aigbe-Gentry, who has been remanded in the custody, Lagos, after he had face magistrate court. The case was said to have been reported to the Area F Police Command as many Nigerians called for the arrest and prosecution of the suspect, who at a time was reported to be at large. “That you did assault one Mercy Aigbe, by giving her blows on her nose and blood started gushing out, which also caused her grievous bodily harm, thereby committing an offence.” The police prosecutor, Inspector Peter N., said the offences were punishable under sections 157, 168 and 171 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2011. The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges and elected summary trial. His defence counsel asked for his bail in liberal terms. The Magistrate, Aje-Afunwa, admitted him to bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties in like sum. She said the sureties, one of which must have a house within the jurisdi...

Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Waripamo-Owei Dudafa, who is being prosecuted for an alleged fraud of N5.1bn by Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday Justice Mohammed Idris, in a ruling on Monday, said he found that Dudafa was not coerced to make the confessional statement while in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission but that he voluntarily made the confessional statement after being duly cautioned. The court, therefore, dismissed Dudafa’s objection to the admissibility of his confessional statement as well as an asset declaration form he filed and submitted to the EFCC. “There is no evidence before the court that the statement made by the defendant is not a confessional statement. I cannot, therefore, hold that the statement was not voluntarily made,” Justice Idris held, while delivering his ruling at the end of a trial-within-trial to test the voluntariness of Dudafa’s statement. Dudafa is being tried by the ...

  Jamiu was allegedly shot dead by the Divisional Police Officer of the Ijesha Police Station, identified as Muhammed Yakubu and trying to frame Jamiu as criminal. He said, “Some policemen came around 5pm when the event just started. They asked a woman called Iya Aliya what was going on. She told them that it was a birthday party and they left. Around 7.30pm, I was sitting with my friends outside when I heard the blaring of police sirens. The van stopped some distance to the venue of the party and some policemen, led by the DPO, came out and started shooting. People ran helter-skelter. Many people fell into a gutter. “The DPO brought out a pistol and chased some people into a passage. He shot twice at them. A bullet hit Jamiu in the head, while another person, Akeem, was shot in the hand. Immediately they saw the harm they had caused, they entered their van and fled. We went to the Ijesha Police Station, but we were not allowed to make a report. We then went to the Itire ...

Governor Akinkwumi Ambode order Vehicle Inspection Officers to leave Lagos roads (VIO) inother to have more training to know how to relate with the public, because people are complaining. Sources in the Ambode-led administration also said the removal of the officers from the state’s roads was to reposition the outfit. “The story on a painter, whose car got burnt in VIO’s custody, caused a discreet investigation into the activities of the outfit and I can tell you that the report was not palatable. “Apart from this, complaints about the overzealousness of some VIO men have reached a high level.” The governor, who said he would not tolerate any highhandedness in his administration, ordered them out of Lagos roads until further notice,” one of the sources said. A VIO source, however, said the governor told them to leave the roads and go on ‘compulsory retraining on the use of modern technology in order to be humane in dealing with the public,’ adding that the VIOs would b...

Determined to halt the prevailing humanitarian crisis in the northeast, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Gabriel Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Yusuf Buratai; Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Abba Kyari and other government officials yesterday met at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. A source said the military chiefs were directed by President Muhammadu Buhari to meet with Kyari and other government officials and come up with urgent measures that would proffer lasting solution to the humanitarian crisis in the zone. It was learnt that the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) and Chief of Air Staff (CAS) could not make it to the meeting, as they were out of Abuja.The region had been ravaged by insurgency until recently when most parts of the area were liberated through a sustained onslaught by the military. For a long time, the activities of the insurgents had left scores dead and homeless, a development that has result...

President Buhari’s appearance for prayers yesterday may have doused public concerns ‎over his health status, which has continued to heighten tension in the political atmosphere of the country. The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Baru Maikanti and other top government officials also observed the Juma’at prayer in the mosque. Recall that the President last week failed to participate in the usual Friday Juma’at prayer session in the State House mosque located in the Presidential villa. It was the second time ‎President Buhari would be conspicuously absent from Juma’at since his return from the medical vacation.The first, on Friday, March 10, 2017 when he returned, owed ostensibly to his doctors’ recommendation for further rest. “God is the giver of life and health. We are grateful that He has seen our President through the worst period of his convalescence in London. We are thankful that the President has passed a number of benchmarks...

Police in the United Kingdom on Friday confirmed that a young man fatally stabbed in the chest in a playing field at Masefield Crescent, close to his family home, was a Nigerian. The deceased, Seun Isaiah McMillan, stabbed on Tuesday, died from his injuries an hour after making his way to Barnet Hospital at around 8.20pm. Witnesses said the 23-year-old was stabbed after an argument broke out “over money” between a group of young men gathered in the park. Detective Chief Inspector Lee Watling of the Homicide and Major Crime Command said, “We now believe Seun was stabbed in Cowper Gardens in Southgate and at that time there would have been a number of people there that had attended in cars. “We are keen to speak to everyone who was there and would appeal for them to contact us. “We would also appeal to anyone who saw what cars were in Cowper Gardens at the time of the incident to also contact us. “We continue to appeal for any witnesses to the attack, or anyone with any ...

The President of the Nigeria’s Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has revealed why cameramen were stopped from gaining entry into the Senate chamber to cover proceedings. Saraki cited security reason. Through his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Yusuph Olaniyonu, the Senate President said the National Assembly by extension, had nothing against the press. Recall that the Senate yesterday restricted coverage of its proceedings to six television stations. This forced all the cameramen to boycott coverage of the plenary at the chamber. Thirteen television stations had been accredited to cover proceedings in the chamber but the coverage was now restricted to African Independent Television, AIT, Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, Channels Television, Silverbird Television, Television Continental and the in-house New Age. The Senate Press Corps had protested against the restriction and filed a petition to the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senato...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has revealed that the owner of the building where $43,449,947, £27,800 and N23, 218,000 was discovered in Ikoyi, Lagos State. The commission has named Mrs. Folashade Oke, the wife of the suspended Director General of the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, Ayo Oke as the owner of Flat 7B, No. 13, Osborne Road, Osborne Towers. Recall that the agency had laid claim to the money. The EFCC, revealed that Mrs. Oke made a cash payment of $1.658m for the purchase of the flat between August 25 and September 3, 2015. The agency further said she purchased the property in the name of a company, Chobe Ventures Limited, to which she and her son, Master Ayodele Oke Junior, were directors. Payment for the purchase of the flat was said to have been made to one Fine and Country Limited. The EFCC stated that Mrs. Oke made the cash payment in tranches of $700,000, $650,000 and $353,700 to a Bureau de Change company, Sulah Petroleum and G...

Members of staff of the Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation are set to begin an indefinite strike from Tuesday, May 9, over the non-payment of their four months salaries by the management of the station. The members, who addressed journalists on Friday under the aegis of the OGBC chapters of the Nigeria Union of Journalists and Radio Television and Theatre Arts Workers Union, at the NUJ secretariat, Abeokuta, said despite having given three different notices to the management, nothing was done on their plight. Speaking through the RATTAWU Secretary, Biodun Adelodun, the workers said they had given the management notices of 21days, 14 days and seven days, adding that they would give another three days’ notice, which would lapse on Tuesday. These notices, he said, were to serve as avenues for negotiations and amicable resolution of the issue, but there was no response from the management. He said, “The situation that exists in OGBC is pathetic as our members are being owed f...

The police in Bauchi State have arrested a 10-year-old boy, Salisu Musa, and four others for allegedly vandalising the residence of the lawmaker representing Gololo/Gamawa Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Mohammed Gololo. Apart from Musa, the other suspects are Abdullahi Suleh, 28; Ayuba Tongu, 16; Mahmud Ahmed, 25, and 18-year-old Babayo Musa. The federal lawmaker’s residence had last Monday been allegedly broken into by the suspects, who vandalised property and reportedly stole money. Eyewitnesses said a mob had attacked the lawmaker’s apartment over alleged misconduct, but the police were able to arrest five suspects. The Bauchi State Commissioner of Police, Garba Umar, who confirmed the arrests, said some exhibits were recovered from the suspects. He said, “You will recall that on April 24, at about 2pm, a group of miscreants, suspected to be political thugs, numbering 50, stormed the residence of one Mohammed Gololo, a member of the Natio...

Seven-man kidnapping gang operating in the Goronyo Local Government Area of the state wear arrested by the men of the Department of State Security Service, Sokoto State Command Parading the suspects at the command’s headquarters, the DSS state Director, Alhaji Tijani Kafa, said the suspects were arrested between April 15 and 19, 2017. He added that the leader of the syndicate, identified as Abdullahi Mohammed, aka Hanazuwa, was arrested on April 19, 2017, with a Dane gun through a joint military operation. Other members of the syndicate are Shabi Danmusa, Muhammed Abdullahi, Isah Aliyu, Ibrahim Maye, Yusuf Ibrahim and one Sule — all from Taloka village in the Sabon Birni LGA. Kafa added that the suspected kidnappers, who had terrorised wealthy rural farmers, had made confessional statements and would soon appear in court. He explained that the gang members met their Waterloo when their spiritual head, Muhammed Abdullahi, aka Boka, after an operation, went back to their v...

25 people were said to have been injured when followers of the traditional Egungun religion and some Islamic faithfuls clashed in Kishi town, in the Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State on Wednesday. The clash came at a time when the traditional ruler of the town, the Iba of Kishi, Oba Moshood Arowoduye, was celebrating his 20th coronation anniversary. The fight began on Tuesday when masqueraders in the town were celebrating their festival. It was learnt that a Muslim cleric, popularly called Alfa Lati, told the worshippers not to pass through a street located in Koso, in the Mapo area of the town, where he lived. The source, who preferred not to be named, said, “The Egungun worshippers felt challenged and embarrassed by the order and decided to dare Alfa Lati. They said the street belonged to everyone irrespective of religious affiliation and that no one could stop them from moving freely. They passed through the street, leading to a clash. “Weapons were used in the clash and many ...

As registration for the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination closes tomorrow (Friday), the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has said that an unprecedented number of 1.7m candidates registered for the examination. The Head of Information, JAMB, Mr. Fabian Benjamin, who said that the number of registered candidates have “never been recorded in the history of the board’’, however, noted that JAMB had put in place adequate facilities to accommodate the upsurge in the number of candidates. About 1.2million candidates registered for the UTME in 2015 and 2016 respectively. With a cost of N5,000 per registration form (excluding an additional N500 for the reading text),  our correspondent learnt that the board raked in N8.5bn from the sale of forms. Benjamin, who spoke in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Thursday, noted that the board would conduct the 2017 UTME on April 13. He said, “In 2016, about 1.2million candidates wrote the examination. ...

lagosians will have a rare opportunity to watch  some 10 top Nollywood films today (Friday), as a part of the ongoing Lagos @50 celebration. They are Kunle Afolayan’s new film, Roti, which will premiere at the IMAX Cinema in Lekki. The state Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, is expected to be among the dignitaries and other stakeholders that will see the work. Multiple award-winning 76, which dramatises the 1976 coup in which General Murtala Muhammed was assassinated, will also be screened, while Tunde Kelani’s movie, Maami, adapted from a publication by Professor Femi Osofisan, will also be screened in Epe. Another acclaimed film on the list is The Wedding Party, produced  by Mo Abudu alongside other investors. The movie that comically celebrates an elite wedding is particularly returning to popular view at an auspicious moment and will be in Badagry. The artistes that played its lead characters, Banky W and Adesua Etomi, only on Wednesday announced th...

Custom officials impounded about six luxury vehicles which they claimed had no import duties from unnamed car dealer's showroom, this make the car dealers mobilised and gave the officials a hot chase and set patrol vehicle ablaze. The incident, which took place along the Rabah Road, in Kaduna North Local Government, occurred at about 3pm when Customs officials had gone on patrol to impound vehicles without import duties from car dealers in the city. At about 4pm, the men of the Kaduna State Fire Service were still battling to put out the fire on the patrol vehicle. Motorists and other road users as well as passersby scamper for safety while security operatives from the ‘Operation Yaki’ outfit cordon off the area. An eyewitness let us know that the Customs officials had gone to an unnamed car dealer’s showroom around  the Isa Kaita road area and impounded about six luxury vehicles which they claimed had no import duties. However, according to the eyewitness, on getti...

The Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Mounting Humanitarian Crisis in the North-East has indicted the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal, for mismanagement. The investigative panel specifically asked relevant agencies to prosecute the suspended SGF for allegedly awarding contracts worth N500m, through the Presidential Initiative on North-East, a rehabilitation programme under his office, to a company in which he had interests. This was part of the recommendations in the final report by the panel, which was laid before the Senate by its Chairman, Senator Shehu Sani, at the plenary on Wednesday. The report was later sighted by our correspondent. In the final report, the panel recommended that “all resources that have been misapplied or stolen by public officials should be retrieved and anybody found culpable of contravening any of the provisions of the Public Procurement Act 2007 and the Federal Government Financial Rules and Regulations, per...

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said a major challenge with the anti-corruption drive of the Federal Government is the lack of successful prosecution of high-profile corruption cases involving ‘Politically-Exposed Persons’. Obasanjo added that despite the efforts of successive governments, corruption still posed a challenge to the progress and development of Nigeria. The former President said this while delivering an inaugural lecture organised by the National Open University of Nigeria, in Abuja, on Tuesday. The lecture was titled, “Leadership, Governance, and the Challenges of Development in Nigeria: The Way forward.” Obasanjo, who admitted that Nigeria’s poverty and seeming lack of direction was caused by leadership, said the institutions in the country needed to be strengthened to ensure transparency and accountability. He said, “Nigeria’s poverty, insecurity, lack of unity and cohesion, youth restiveness and seeming directionless are conscious and unconscious...

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and other related offences has secured the conviction of 321 human traffickers in the country. Our correspondent learnt that apart from the 321 convicts, NAPTIP is currently investigating 3,407 cases of trafficking. The agency’s Director General, Mrs. Julie Okah-Donli, confirmed these statistics at a briefing, noting that the policy of whistle-blowing would soon be extended to human trafficking. Okah-Donli added that some of the 41 girls rescued from Mali on February 27 by the Federal Government had been enrolled in universities. She said, “An analysis of our overall statistics shows that a total of 4,744 cases were reported and 3,407 being investigated. We also rescued 10,685 victims while the agency has convicted a total of 321 persons. “Concerning awareness creation, NAPTIP officers have commenced a weekly awareness campaign at diverse public places as parts of efforts to stem the tide of human traffick...

A corps member serving in Zamfara State, Fidelis Chalokwo, has been declared wanted by the Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola, over N30m varsity school fees fraud involving 940 students. Our correspondent learnt that the 940 students of the institution risked being restrained from sitting for the second semester examination. The affected students were considered ineligible by the bursary department of the university to sit for the examination because they had reportedly not yet paid their school fees. According to the Students Union Government of the institution on Tuesday, preliminary investigations into the N30m school fees fraud linked Chalokwo, a former student of the university, now performing his NYSC programme in Zamfara, of executing 70 per cent of the fraud. “More than 70 per cent of the students swindled of their school fees said they paid to Fidelis Chalokwo, who is now performing his NYSC programme in Zamfara,” said Abubakar Lawan, the SUG Vice-Pres...