Justice Babs Kuewumi of the Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted four companies for laundering $15.5 million which Patience Jonathan, wife of the immediate past Nigerian President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, kept in their accounts with Skye Bank.

The companies – Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited; Seagate Property Development & Investment Co. Limited; Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited and Avalon Global Property Development Company Limited – are linked with a former Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Waripamo-Owei Dudafa.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had in August, frozen the accounts of the four companies and seized the $15 million in the course of probing Dudafa for money laundering.

But Patience Jonathan had sued the EFCC and Skye Bank, claiming ownership of the $15.5 million.

The companies had on September 15, pleaded guilty to laundering the money when they were arraigned by the EFCC along with Dudafa, a lawyer, Amajuoyi Briggs; and a banker, Adedamola Bolodeoku. But Dudafa, Briggs and Bolodeoku pleaded not guilty.

Based on the guilty plea of the companies, the EFCC prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, reviewed the facts of the case and told the court how the companies laundered the money.

Oyedepo told the judge that the money was stolen from the State House, Abuja, saying: “the EFCC received an intelligence report showing vividly that the fourth to seventh defendants retained proceeds of crime.

“Our investigations showed that Fetus Iyoha admitted receiving the fund from the first defendant (Dudafa). Iyoha is a domestic staff at the State House.

“He admitted that funds credited into the accounts were given to him from the State House.”

Oyedepo said that Iyoha paid $3,096,377.38 into Pluto’s account; $3,410,534.71 into Seagate’s account; $3,765,711.87 into Trans Oceans’ account; and $250,000 into Avalon Global’s account. He that said the accounts of the companies were domiciled in Skye Bank.

Justice Kuewumi admitted the accounts statements in evidence. He also admitted their mandate cards, certificates of incorporation and statements made to the EFCC by the companies’ representatives.

While convicting the companies for money laundering, the judge said he was satisfied that the EFCC had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.

“I am satisfied that the prosecution has proved its case. I’ll exercise my discretion to suspend sentence until conclusion of trial,” the judge held.

Oyedepo urged the court to order the forfeiture of the money to the Federal Government, adding: “having found them guilty, the court should make a consequential order that the money should be forfeited to the Federal Government.”

But the judge declined the application, saying that he would reserve decision on the money till the end of the case. He said that there was still Patience Jonathan’s suit, where she is claiming ownership of the money.

“The ownership issue is still pending. There’s also a pending suit on the matter.”

He adjourned till December 14 for the trial of Dudafa, Briggs and Bolodeoku.

Six people, including a mother, three of her children and two of their neighbours on Tuesday lost their lives in Ogaminana area of Okene in Kogi after eating a meal made from cassava flour.

The Public Relations Off Government, Mr. Abdulhamid Salahudeen told newsmen on phone that three of the victims died on Tuesday at the Okene General Hospital, while the woman and two of her children had earlier died on Monday in their house.

He said that the woman died alongside three of her children, two sons and a daughter.

According to him, two male children of her neighbour that partook in the meal also died.

He put the ages of the dead five children at between 9 and 15 years.

Salaudeen said that the mother had in the evening of Sunday, October 30, brought the cassava flour (white Amala) from her farmland at Ohuepe village.

He said that the woman prepared a dinner from the yam flour for the family and extended the food to her neighbour.

The officer said the victims later went to bed but developed severe stomach pain over night which later resulted in the death of the woman and two of her children.

He said that neighbours who sensed that the sudden deaths might be due to the cassava flour dinner quickly rushed the remaining three children that partook in the eating to Okene General Hospital where they died on Tuesday.

Salaudeen said that the authority of the local government believed that the cassava flour was poisoned and had informed the police for appropriate action.
%0ppropriate action.

A senior nursing officer at the Okene General Hospital, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the death of the three victims at the hospital on Tuesday.

The nurse said that the victims were brought in late Monday afternoon.

( NAN). [myad]

“If anybody says Fayose is after Hausa or Fulani people, that person has no sense.”

Governor Ayodele Fayose, made this declaration today, Tuesday, when he held a meeting with the leaders of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MABAN), the umbrella body of cattle rearers in Ado-Ekiti to iron out grey areas in the enforcement of the Anti-Grazing Law in the state.
fayose told the Fulani: I have nothing against you or any other ethnic group. Nobody should bring politics into this matter. If a Yoruba person destroys your property, I will defend you too.
“Leaders are not supposed to discriminate and as a leader, I don’t discriminate.
“The law of the land is not against anybody who obeys it but those who flout it.
“It is people destroying other people’s farms that are causing this problem.
“We have given lands to people to farm and they have paid, some for many years to use the lands and when somebody now comes and destroys their means of livelihood and make them suffer losses, we won’t allow that.‎ It ‎is the bad people that make others suffer.
“If anybody says Fayose is after Hausa or Fulani people, that person has no sense.
“During my first term, I appointed a man from Malunfashi as a Special Adviser. This term too, I appointed Musa Kanga into the Pilgrims Welfare Board.
“In Oke Ako-Ekiti last May, two persons were killed, people’s wives raped by those hiding under the guise of rearing cattle.
“I have 83 cows too and I have told the person taking care of them that if he goes against the law and any of them is seized, he will be responsible for that.”

Governor Fayose emphasized not leading cows along major roads and city centres, saying that had caused fatal vehicular accidents in the past.
He said: “If you have not been to London or America, I guess some of you have been to Mecca, did you see cattle breeders leading their cattle across city centres and major roads, with the cows defecating everywhere?
“This is not done and it is not that the people in those places don’t have cows they breed too.”
On the claim that marshals appointed to enforce the Anti-Grazing Law‎ were shooting cows, the governor said it was untrue, adding that the marshals were not armed.
On the demand by the MACBAN leaders that they be part of the patrol teams to enforce the law, the governor acceded and commended their effort to support his administration in getting rid of bad eggs among the cattle breeders.
Governor Fayose also said a meeting of community leaders, government officials, MACBAN members and security agents would hold later in the week for further deliberations.
The Ekiti State MACBAN Chairman, Alhaji Muhammad Nasamu, commended the governor for his frankness and openness.
Nasamu noted that the meeting had disabused the minds of his members about wrong information being circulated by some people about the governor and the state government.
He said: “Seeing you face to face and hearing from you has quelled all the strange stories we are hearing.
“Leaders from across the federation have been calling me saying where are you‎ and that they have been hearing funny stories from the state, but now we know the truth.
“Ekiti is my home and anybody who spoils the name of Ekiti is spoiling my name.
“Today that we have met, we are suggesting that farmers and Fulani rearers be part of the marshals who will patrol across the state. When that is done, there will no longer be any trouble.
“Those in the office don’t know what is happening in the bush and we will try and bridge the communication gap.”
The Ekiti MACBAN Secretary, Alhaji Zaiyanu Mohammed, said his members were also not in support of cows destroying people’s means of livelihood.
Moahmmed added that being part of the patrol teams, his members would be able to detect herdsmen with ulterior motives.
“Some cattle rearers passing through the state may want to perpetrate criminal acts, but our members, when they are part of the patrol teams, would be able to communicate with them and detect such people.
“When their vehicles are stopped, we will ask for their identity and anywhere they claim to come from, we have phone numbers of MACBAN leaders across the country and anyone not identified as our member by MACBAN leaders from wherever he claims to come from would turned back or handed over to security agents.”
Mohammed lauded Governor Fayose for proving critics wrong by giving his members audience and showing willingness to let them conduct their business in peaceful atmosphere.

The meeting, which took place at the Government House, had the Ekiti State Executive of MACBAN and representatives from across the local governments in the stat‎e in attendance.
Fayose expressed happiness that the leaders of MACBAN decided to contact the state government instead of listening to rumours being peddled around by the opposition. [myad]

Niger Delta militants have disowned elders from the region who held a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari today, Tuesday, at the Aso Villa, Abuja, saying that the elders cannot represent them.

The militants emphasized that none of the stakeholders who met the President had the proper knowledge of the plight of the Niger Delta people, stressing that bombing of oil facilities in the region will continue

In separate statements, the Niger Delta Peoples Democratic Front (NDPDF) and the Concerned Militant Leaders (CML) expressed dissatisfaction that no former militant leader was among those chosen to be part of representatives of the region in the meeting with government.

Leaders of the two groups, General Ben and General Playboy maintained that such a meeting without any recognized former Niger Delta militant would not protect the interest of the people of the region.

They also doubted the Federal Government’s sincerity on the $10 billion development fund to be earmarked for the Niger Delta.

“Pipeline bombing cannot stop because the people going for the meeting do not know why they are going there. It is not the first, second, or third time and would not be the last. So, we cannot be deceived or bamboozled by whatever tag is given to the meeting.

“We insist on implementation of the report of the National Conference and other reports on the development of Niger Delta region. Anything short of this is insincere and will not be accepted. For a genuine peace, past reports of several commissions on Niger Delta must be visited,” they said.

General Playboy said: “Our elders and leaders are not helping matters at all. They do not really know the plight of Niger Delta people because they are wealthy, quite rich and do not take issues about the region seriously.

“They do not know the common people in the region because they are not based in Niger Delta and cannot show holistic commitment to our struggle. Our elders represent themselves, and not the people in the rural areas.

“We don’t need people who will play politics with the genuine struggle of Niger Delta people. We don’t want people, who are not agitators. The real agitators are people like Alhaji Asari Dokubo, High Chief Government Tompolo, Egberipapa, General Africa, General Joshua and many others.

“These are the kind of people that can negotiate for our people. They know the plights of the Niger Delta people because they live in the same environment with them. They are not based abroad. They come down to the communities to know the feelings of the people. Such people should represent us.”

General Playboy, however, noted that their position did not mean that they were disrespectful to the elders in the region, insisting that they (elders) were not needed at the meeting with the President. [myad]