The massive cash withdrawals that put Adamawa officials in trouble

PREMIUM TIMES has obtained a record of alleged massive withdrawals by officials of the Adamawa State Government on which basis the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said it froze some key accounts belonging to the state.

Documents detailing the withdrawals are posted below.

Sources in the EFCC had told this newspaper on Friday that it moved into Adamawa State and froze the government’s bank account as a precautionary measure to safeguard the state treasury amidst evidence of looting uncovered in the agency’s ongoing investigation

The records obtained Saturday showed that the withdrawals were facilitated or made by key officials, including the Secretary to the State Government, the State Commissioner for Finance, former Commissioner for Local Government (now Commissioner for Higher Education), the Accountant General of the State and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Local Government. Those officials have been arrested and quizzed.

The Adamawa State government had on Thursday raised the alarm that the federal government had frozen all the state’s bank accounts.

The move came amidst impeachment moves against Governor Murtala Nyako by the Peoples’ Democratic party, PDP-led members of the state’s House of Assembly.

The state’s lawmakers accused Mr. Nyako and Bala Ngillari, the Deputy Governor, of siphoning funds from the state’s treasury running into billions of Naira.

But the EFCC said its investigation was triggered by petitions alleging massive looting of the treasury by the governor and his cronies through an illegal department called Special Programme and Project Units, SPPU, which engaged in over invoicing and inflation of contract.

“In the course of investigation, a critical analysis of the Joint State/Local Government account reveals massive cash withdrawals,” a source at the commission told PREMIUM TIMES.

According to the source who did not want to be named because it was an ongoing investigation, the Permanent Secretary of Local Governments in the state made cash withdrawals of over N2 billion in 181 different transactions, scattered in tranches of N3 million, N4 million, N8 million and N9 million per transaction from the State/Local Government account domiciled with First Bank between 29th of August 2011 and 2012.

He also made similar cash withdrawals amounting to over N500 million between March 6, 2008, and March 4, 2011, from another Joint account domiciled in Keystone Bank, the source added.

“Other officials of the ministry who allegedly looted the Joint Account include Justina Jari, a Principal Accountant with the ministry who made cash withdrawals to the tune of N600 million from the Joint Account between October, 2009 and February, 2011.

“Another staff of the ministry, Abdulhakeem Mohammed was also alleged to have withdrawn about N3 billion from the account between February 2007 and May 2011. Two other staff, Mercy Wanje and Jumai Salihu were also said to have made withdrawals of N1 billion and N160 million from the account respectively,” the source said.

“On a single day, another staff called Haruna Hamali, a principal store officer made a cash withdrawal of over N70 million from the same account,” he said.

“The withdrawals were made and the money returned to top officials of the state government as narrated and confirmed by the officials who made the withdrawals.

“The state officials were arrested in connection with the withdrawals and other ongoing investigations,” the source added.

Wilson Uwujaren, spokesman of the EFCC, confirmed the freeze order, but declined to make further comments.

Find full details of the withdrawals below.

‎BREAKING: Egypt sentences AlJazeera journalists to 7‎years in jail

The three journalists were arrested in December.

An Egyptian Court on Monday morning sentenced three AlJazeera journalists to jail.

 

The court found Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy, and Baher Mohamed guilty of reporting false news and associating with the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

 

Aljazeera had denied the allegations and the world has accused Egyptian authorities of simply clamping down on media freedom.

 

The twitter hashtag #Free‎AJStaff has been used globally  to demand the release of the journalists who have been held since December, 2013.

 

Details later…

Super Eagles Tasked To Break World Cup Jinx

Following Nigeria's Super Eagles 1-0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina at the ongoing FIFA 2014 World Cup, a former Golden Eaglets’ coach, Godwin Izilein, has urged the Nigerian team not to rest on their oars until they break Nigeria’s jinx at the Mundial.

It could be recalled that Nigeria are yet to surpass the second round at the World Cup finals in four appearances.

PMNEWS reports that since Nigeria debuted in 1994's edition in USA, Nigeria lost at the second round same in 1998 hosted in France, and lost out after the first round in 2002 and 2010.

According to Izilein, the Eagles could only break the jinx if Nigerians stand by the team even when they are not playing on top of their games.

“Outright condemnation of the team is not only wrong but very bad in terms of development,” he said.

The former Eaglets coach said the team’s goalless draw with Iran on June 16 was a big testimony to the fact that there were no longer minnows in football.

Izilein said Nigerians must therefore be courageous enough and fair in their criticism of the national team.

“We should cherish what we have, so that they can do better in subsequent matches

The Last Time I Had Séx Was Four Days Ago In South Africa" -- Beautiful Female Artiste Reveals

Emike Ekwe is a Nigerian music artiste popularly known by her stage name, ‘Harmony’.
In this exclusive Interview with Vanguard’s Showtime Celebrity, revealed that she could do a music video completely nude with no pánt or brá. She caught a lot of attention with that revelation. Her new single titled “Chocolate” came out two weeks ago. Excerpts:

I’ve done so many songs, but right now, I have only one song out, Choke. I featured Don Coleone. It wasn’t a big hit though, but my second single produced by Popito and mixed by Brains dropped two weeks ago. I think this one is going to be a hit by the special grace of God.

When did you get into the Nigerian music industry?
I got into the music industry in 2012. That was when I released my first single with Don Coleone and now, I’ve been working hard to get something that will make wave. I just don’t want to release anyhow. Have you done any music videos? I did a viral video for Choke. It’s on Youtube. I had many viewers.

Who inspired you to go into music?
I love Whitney Houston. I actually started singing her songs in primary school. I loved her so much. She inspired me.

You said you could go nudé in a music video? 
I could go nudé in my musical video if that is exactly what my script says.

Can you do a lesbian scene?
If that is what the script says. I can do anything the script says because I am not the scriptwriter. So, definitely anyone who writes the script for my video knows what he is doing. So if that is exactly what the script says, then as an artiste, I have to do it.

What’s the craziest thing you can do on camera? 
I could kíss. I could let a guy touch my bóóbs. I could let a guy smack my áss. I can kíss a girl, like wet kíss in a music video, but if that is what the script says.

Would you say you are promiscuous in real life, or is it just for the act?
In real life, I’m a very free person. In my videos, I’m going to be free, in entertaining; I’m going to go to any length but in real life, yes. I am very promiscuous.

What’s your general view about séx?
Harmony Séx is nice. Everybody needs it. So long as you do it with the right person and you don’t regret after doing it, séx is good for everyone. It makes your mind open. It makes your body open. You think nicely after having séx, so long as you do it with the right person and at the right time.

Are you planning on releasing any uncensored videos? 
You know, it’s so difficult to have an uncensored video in Nigeria because of the culture and the background but like I keep saying, if Rihanna goes nudé, the whole Nigerian men would be crazy like they want to see it. Beyoncé, it’s like she’s the most responsible person on earth, but she goes nudé in her video, and people don’t judge her. She’s entertaining; she’s giving people what they want to see. Entertainment is all about making people see new things. I don’t mind going nudé in my video but I’m don’t want people to judge me based on what I do in my video because at the end of the day, I’m just trying to make people watch something new. I just want to make people feel entertained. That is what I’m out for, so I’ll go to any length to give people a new view.

When was the last time you had séx?
The last time I had séx was four days ago in South Africa.

What does a man do to attract you?
I like men with a good heart. I like men with a very big heart. I like men who tell the truth. A lot of men lie so much because they want to get down and I keep saying to myself, you do not have to lie that much because you want to get down. If she wants to get down, she wants to, but you don’t have to tell so much lies to a girl. Just go straight to the point.

What turns you on?
Kissés. I can’t have séx with a guy that I cannot kíss. Kissés turn me on.

What’s your selling point?
I don’t even know my selling point. Maybe it’s my smile. I can’t say it’s my bóóbs because a lot of people just tell me you’ve got a very beautiful smile. I think my smile is the most amazing thing because people just say ‘oh Harmony, keep smiling.’

How was growing up like for you?
Growing up was so tough. My dad was so strict. A lot of people know my dad but I’m not going to say his name. He was an actor. He’s a very sweet father but strict. He never wanted me to be in the entertainment industry. I guess that’s why it took me so long to grow up and decided this is what I want to do. He never wanted me close to the industry. He knows everything that happens in the industry, so I guess he didn’t want me to pass through all that but at the end of the day, I’m all grown up. I have to decide what I want to do.

How many are you in your family?
We’re two. I and my younger brother.

Where did you study?
I finished from LASU. I studied Public Administration.

What is your philosophy of life?
I feel being good is everything in life because I know that whatever you do will definitely come back to you. So, you have to be good. You have to be good to the people that are good to you. -

How The World Quickly Stopped Caring About The Kidnapped Nigerian Girls In 3 Simple Charts

Hayes Brown, an editor at ThinkProgress.org and a blogger conducted a research dedicated to the kidnap of more than 200 girls from the Government Girls Secondary School in the town of Chibok, located in Nigeria’s northeast Borno state by militants from the terrorist group commonly known as Boko Haram on April 14, 2014.


The research is based on 5 Goggle trends charts. Here’s only the part of the article that may be interesting for Nigerian readers:

The girls are still missing. Their mothers still protest in Nigeria’s capital. International assistance is flowing into the country to aid in the search. Despite that, the interest in the plight of the nearly three hundred school-aged girls taken over two months ago has plummeted since the story first became the latest cause célèbre on the Internet. It’s a common enough assumption as to become cliche that interest in news stories, barring large flashy developments, tends to fade over time.

But the data backs up that idea, particularly in the case of the story of the three hundred girls from the Government Girls Secondary School in the town of Chibok, located in Nigeria’s northeast Borno state. According to the data, that interest lasted for roughly a week before sharply dropping to the levels seen today. Since the kidnapping finally made its way into the international press, the story has been shared and tracked on social media through the hashtag “#BringBackOurGirls, serving almost as a brand for the abduction, an easy way to refer to the complex situation unraveling.
 
Google offers a service called Google Trends which can be used to examine how many people worldwide search for given terms compared to other points over a certain period. Plugging #BringBackOurGirls into Google Trends, modeling the last 90 days of search traffic, shows a surge of interest in the term peaking on Fri. May 9, before a sharp drop-off the following Monday.

The hashtag originated in Nigeria roughly two weeks after the girls’ kidnapping. Searches for the hashtag on Google skyrocketed the third week of the girls’ kidnapping. A drop-off in interest into the hashtag doesn’t necessary mean that interest in the story writ large is also falling. As a way to minimize the chances of that, ThinkProgress also ran a query for the term “Nigeria girls,” a simple shorthand for the story. The results are similar in terms of a clear peak followed by a substantial drop-off in interest.

A small surge can be seen around May 1, the day after families of the kidnapped girls launched their first protest demanding that the government move faster to locate their sisters, nieces, and daughters. Interest began to climb before — as seen with searches for #BringBackOurGirls — reaching an apex on May 8.

By May 12, when a new video featuring Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau offering to trade the kidnapped girls for the release of jailed compatriots — and allegedly showing around half of the kidnapped girls clad in full-length jilbābs — emerged, the interest had clearly waned.

The other piece to this story is the involvement of Boko Haram, as the identity of the kidnappers was suspected but unconfirmed for the first weeks of the abduction. Once Shekau released his video listing his demands, the searches for “Boko Haram” on Google worldwide peaked. But much like the other search terms, the interest has since fallen off precipitously, though not to the same degree.

Here’s a search for the terms “Nigeria and kidnapping” for each of the days since the girls were first abducted:

Despite the lagging interest, events continue apace in the pursuit of the girls and the efforts to rein in Boko Haram. A full international presence has been mobilized in Nigeria. The United States is currently flying both manned and unmanned missions over Nigeria in an attempt to gain intelligence on just where the girls may be located. Countries as far-flung as Israel — who has sent intelligence experts to aid the government — have even contributed to the cause.

Even as the cameras leave the country, Nigerians in the north, where Boko Haram is strongest, are still fleeing the fighting across the border. “In all 250,000 people are now internally displaced, according to the Nigeria Emergency Management Agency (NEMA),” United Nations High Commission for Refugees spokesperson Adrian Edwards said on May 9. “Some 61,000 others have fled to neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.” But now, Boko Haram’s campaign appears to be following them.

The chance remains that the Jonathan government, which has been sharply criticized for its response to the crisis, could react harshly to such a strong rebuke and what is quickly becoming a referendum on his leadership. So while interest in the tale of Boko Haram and the kidnapped girls is exiting the public imagination around the world, the story remains sharply burned in the minds of Nigerians.

SABC Boss Under Probe For Taking 22-Year-Old 'Wife As Gift’

The acting chief operations officer of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), Hlaudi Motsoeneng is under probe for allegedly accepting a 22-year-old lady who was given to him as wife.

According to local media, Motsoeneng was given the young woman, along with a cow and a calf, by a lobby group of traditional leaders in Thohoyandou, in Limpopo province.

The group are alleged to be seeking greater exposure of their culture.

It was gathered that a newspaper based in Soweto had reported last week that about 10 half-naked women were lined up and Motsoeneng was asked to pick one.


* Hlaudi Motsoeneng
Sources stated that the media boss picked a human resources management student named Vanessa Mutswari.

Vanessa is pictured above bare-breasted next to Motsoeneng, standing behind a trailer on which the other gifts, a cow and a calf had been loaded.

Reports informed that she’s so happy to be given out as a gift.

* 22-year-old Vanessa

When the photos of the event were published, the SABC boss came under attack with people describing the offer of a "wife" as "barbaric".

South African women’s groups have protested against the act, asking Motsoeneng to be investigated and the girl immediately returned to her family.


* Motsoeneng and Vannesa (circled)

"The use of women as gifts as if they were livestock is a serious regress and an insult to the gains of 20 years of democracy and freedom, particularly the contribution of women,” women’s ministry spokeswoman Kenosi Machepa said.

Gender commission spokesman Baloyi said an investigation has been launched and the girl’s family contacted.

As at the time of compiling this report, Motsoeneng has not responded publicly to the allegations.

Soyinka: Jonathan Has Case To Answer On Ekiti Elections

The 2014 Governorship Elections in Ekiti State may have come and gone, but Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, wants President Goodluck Jonathan to tell Nigerians who authorised the military to prevent some governors of the All Progressives Congress, APC, from attending the final governorship election campaign in Ekiti State.

Soyinka made this statement while briefing newsmen on Saturday, 21 June, 2014 in Lagos, urging the affected governors to seek redress in court.

He also described the actions of security operatives in Ekiti as a dangerous precedent that should not be swept under the carpet.

Soyinka also called on the National Assembly to set up a commission of enquiry to unravel those behind the act, even as he regretted that the military dishonoured itself for accepting to be used to influence a democratic process.

It could be recalled that Governors Rotimi Amaechi of RiversState, Aliyu Wammako of Sokoto and Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State were among the APC governors stopped on Thursday by security forces from attending the rally of Governor Kayode Fayemi, their party’s candidate in yesterday’s election in Ekiti State.

According to Soyinka: "To prevent governors from entering Ekiti is unconstitutional. The matter should be charged to court.

"Supposing the governors were thugs, we will say that what the army did was constitutional. When the army starts acting like thugs, I see no difference between their action and waylaying the governors. So I am asking the military; when did you take up the job of electoral thugs? The governors should sue whoever is responsible."


* Professor Wole Soyinka
The Nobel Laureate explained that the action against the governors was the kind a former Police Commissioner in Rivers State, Mr Matthew Mbu, considered a proper conduct.

He said: “I want us to think about this. When did Police Commissioner Mbu join the military? When we spoke in this hall people said what business does Wole Soyinka have with Rivers, what does Femi Falana have in Rivers State? What we were saying that day was that if we allowed this kind of conduct to be accepted, there will be escalation. It will happen in dangerous dimensions in any other place in Nigeria.’

”We have a responsibility in any part of Nigeria where the rights of the citizens are violated. It does not matter whether the person is a motor mechanic, governor or legislator. We have a responsibility to cry out and to tell Nigerians, ‘if you don’t speak now, it will come to you. And it is going to come with fatal consequences’. It is about time we put a stop to that.”

Soyinka added that, “Who gave orders like that? Is it the Chief of the Army Staff? Is it a General somewhere? Is it the Korofo as they call them? Enough is enough. Fayemi has a name, Amaechi has a name, Oshiomhole has a name. Why is it that those who prevented them from exercising their citizens’ rights do not have names? It is always ‘order from the top’.

"Sometimes we don’t even know where the top is. It happened in Rivers State. And now there is ‘order from the top’ to stop the governors. That type of language should stop. The military is being paid from the public purse. They are now taking sides in a political election. What do we do about this situation? The legislative houses must live up to their duties. They must wake up to their duties.

"There has to be a commission of enquiry about what actually happened. We want a specific investigation. We want to know who is responsible. Who gave the order? We want these people to be called to give evidence. All the governors should sue for the violation of their human rights. They should make a case out of it.

"Let us make an example once and for all. We can not continue with this kind of misconduct which makes us a laughing stock all over the world. Can you imagine what happened in the States just yesterday afternoon. Can you imagine the language that is being used to describe Nigerians. People were asking about what was happening in the wonderland of ours. Some said they heard that some governors were stopped, while one was tear-gassed.”

Meanwhile, the Independent National Electorla Commission, INEC, on Sunday, 22 June, 2014 declared Ayo Fayose of People Democratic Party, PDP, as the winner of the Governorship Elections in Ekiti.

Incumbent Governor, Kayode Fayemi was declared second ahead of Bamidele Opeyemi of Labour Party.

Few hours after INEC’s announcement of the results, Governor Fayemi had accepted the results and congratulated Fayose on his victory.