The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has descended on four Nigerians alleged to have been involved in rice scam amounting to N22.4 million.

Those involved are Baba Aliyu, Musa Shuaibu, Joshua Agbaji Unazi and Michael Godwin Okibe and have been charged before Justice A.B.Aliyu of the Federal High Court, Minna, Niger State.

They were charged on a nine-count charge that borders on conspiracy, forgery and criminal breach of trust to the tune of N22.2 million.

They were arrested and arraigned by the Kaduna Zonal Office of the Commission following a petition from one Thomas Ogwu, managing director, Tomgray Engineering Services Limited, who alleged that three of the defendants: Aliyu, Shuaibu, Unazi and Ahmed Abubakar Ismaila(at large), sometime in November 2018, fraudulently convinced him that they work with the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development Staff Multi-purpose Cooperative  Society Limited, Minna, Niger State and requested for a supply of 1,800 bags of Nigerian parboiled rice, worth N30.6 million from his company.

He said that the defendants paid N8.2million only, upon the supply of the said quantity of rice, adding that since then, all his efforts to get them pay the balance of N22.4 million have proved abortive.

He said that he was forced to approach the ministry with a request for the payment of the balance where he was told that the four defendants were not its staff and that it did not place any order for rice.

One of the counts reads: “that you Baba Aliyu, Musa Shuaibu and Ismaila Abubakar (now at large) between November and December 2018 in Minna, within the judicial division of this honourable court did conspire amongst yourselves to act, to wit: conspiracy to obtain 859 bags of Nigeria parboiled rice worth N14.6million only being property of Tomgray Engineering Services Limited, when you falsely represented yourselves as staff and members of Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development staff Multi-purpose Cooperative Society, Minna, which pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.”

Unazi is alleged to have conspired with Okibe to obtain N1.620,000 being proceed from the sale of  the 1,800 bags of rice.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge against them, prompting prosecuting counsel Y.J.Matiyak to ask the court for a trial date and for the defendants to be remanded in custody of Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS).

Counsels to the four defendants: E.N.Anita, Drisu Ajodo and G.E.Edah respectively, prayed the court to grant bail to their clients.

Additionally, counsel to the second defendant, Shuaibu told the court that he has filed an application for fundamental human rights abuse, seeking N5 million damages for an alleged illegal arrest of his client.

Justice Aliyu adjourned the matter to December 10 and January 21, 2020 for hearing on the bail application and judgment on the fundamental rights action respectively and ordered that the defendants be remanded in the custody of NCS.

The First Lady, Aisha Muhammadu Buhari has expressed concern over the increase of AIDS amongst Nigerian youths, even as it is proved that no fewer than 47 AID patients die every day in the country.

Aisha Buhari, who spoke today, November 28, at the 2019 World AIDS Day at the Presidential Villa, Abuja stressed the urgent need for the government o to factor all relevant communities, including the HIV support groups and adolescent and youth communities into the strategies for preventing the spread of HIV.

She is worried at the trend of a growing number of young persons with new infections, especially girls with the implication of increased risk of having new babies born HIV positive.

“This trend will lead to higher chances of spreading the disease and invariably more deaths.

“Our younger generation, therefore, need to be aware and equipped with skills to access HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care.”

Meanwhile a global snapshot on HIV and AIDS released by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), has established that more than 47 children and adolescents died every day from AIDS in Nigeria.

It said that low access to antiretroviral treatment and limited prevention efforts are the leading causes for these deaths, with only 54 per cent of children aged 0-14 living with HIV globally in 2018 – or 790,000 children – receiving lifesaving antiretroviral therapy.

The UNICEF Nigeria Country Representative, Peter Hawkins was quoted in a statement as saying: “progress has been made in the battle against HIV and AIDS, but we must do more, especially when it comes to Nigerian children and adolescents,

“Testing and treating for children and adolescents is a matter of life and death and we must choose life.”

According to latest global data, regional disparities in access to treatment among children living with HIV is very high, with West and Central Africa faring worst.

Access is highest in South Asia, at 91 per cent, followed by the Middle East and North Africa (73 percent), Eastern and Southern Africa (61 percent), East Asia and the Pacific (61 percent), Latin America and the Caribbean (46 percent) and West and Central Africa (28 percent).

Access to treatment by children living with HIV in Nigeria is only 35 percent.

Mothers’ access to antiretroviral therapy to prevent the transmission of the virus to their babies has increased globally, however, reaching 82 per cent, up from 44 per cent less than 10 years ago. This figure in Nigeria is 44 percent, up from 22 percent in 2009.

Peter Hawkins said: “it is good news that more and more pregnant women are receiving antiretroviral treatment to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, which has helped avert about 2 million new HIV infections and prevented the deaths of over 1 million children under five years old around the word.

“But we need to see the same kind of progress in ensuring that children who already have the virus are receiving lifesaving treatment. HIV programmes need to be fully funded and equipped to preserve, protect and improve the quality of life for Nigerian children. We cannot and must not abandon these children,” said Hawkins.

Additional data from the report include:

• In 2018, around 160,000 children aged 0-9 were newly infected with HIV, bringing the total number of children in this age group living with HIV to 1.1 million.

• 89,000 children under the age of five were infected during pregnancy or birth and 76,000 were infected during breastfeeding in 2018

140,000 adolescent girls were newly infected with HIV in 2018, compared to 50,000 adolescent boys.

To end HIV/AIDS as a public health threat for future generations, UNICEF is urging governments and partners to:

Improve HIV testing and treatment data for children and adolescents to better respond to the needs of this vulnerable population.

Invest in and implement effective and innovative interventions to urgently close the persistent testing and treatment gap for children and adolescents living with HIV.

A policeman in Imo State, Paul Joseph, on Wednesday reportedly committed suicide over alleged delayed promotion.

It was said that Joseph, who hailed from Taraba State, was long overdue for promotion to the rank of Inspector but had yet to be promoted by the Police Service Commission.

A source at the bank he was attached to said: “While staff were resuming for work for the day, they heard gunshot at the security house at the gate. Upon enquiry, they discovered that the policeman had killed himself.”

Joseph is said to have been venting his anger over the alleged refusal of the police authorities to promote him to the rank of an Inspector.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the police in Imo, Orlando Ikeokwu, confirmed the incident and said the deceased’s corpse had been deposited at a morgue.

Source: PUNCH.

An Abuja Grade 1 Area Court, sitting in Lugbe, the suburb of the nation’s capital, has declared Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, representing Bayelsa West Senatorial district, wanted with a bench warrant issued for his arrest for contempt of court.
The court was angered by the Senator’s alleged failure to honour its summon on a suit accusing him of presenting a forged NYSC Exemption Certificate. The suit, filed by Benjamin Youdiowei, a chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa, said that Ewhrudjakpo’s NYSC Exemption Certificate with code No: 139708 dated Feb. 2, 1998 on his nomination form to INEC was fake.
Youdiowei alleged that Ewhrudjakpo is still in possession of the document which he continued to use as part of his credentials. He stated that the defendant committed the offence of cheating, impersonation, forgery which were at variant with sections 363, 368, 366 and 324 of the Penal Code.
At the resumed trial, Seidu Jibrin, Counsel for the plaintiff, told the court that the matter was fixed for hearing but expressed concerns that the defendant had consistently failed to honour the summons.
This was even as Ijere A.O, Counsel to Ewhrudjakpo apologized for the absence of the defendant adding that his client traveled out of the court’s jurisdiction. He prayed the court to grant the defendant one more date to enable him appear.
Jibrin opposed the application of the defendant’s counsel and prayed the court to issue a bench warrant to ensure Sen. Ewhrudjakpo appears under section 352(1), 131 and 134 of the Administration of the Criminal Justice Act 2015.
Jibrin told the court that Ewhrudjakpo was aware of the case, adding that the defendant was duly served with the notice of sitting.
The counsel for the defendant, however, opposed the application of the complainant counsel and for warrant of arrest to be issued.
He prayed to the court to grant his client one more grace in the interest of justice.
Delivering his ruling, the judge, Abubakar Sadiq held that the defendant was aware of the case but chose to stay away.
“In the circumstances, I hereby issue a bench warrant against the defendant.
“I also order that the matter should be referred to the Wuye Police Station for further investigation,’’ he said
Sadiq further ordered the police to report to the court before Dec. 11, 2019.