NEWS
Anxiety: House C’tee Orders Tinubu’s Appointees’ Arrest
Total disregard of the House of Representatives by the highly placed, including key figures in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has moved the hand of the House’s Committee on Public Petition to order their arrest.
The committee passed the resolution on Tuesday, by adopting a motion by Hon Fred Agbedi (PDP-Bayelsa) at the committee’s hearing in Abuja.
The warrant of the arrest was issued against some top appointees of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, mostly Chief Executives of Federal Government Agencies and Departments as well as CEO of top oil majors.
Prominent among the 19 functionaries of the Federal Government listed for refusing to honour the committee’s invitation are the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, and the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Oluwatoyin Madein.
According to Hon Agbedi, the arrest warrant became inevitable following the attitude of the invitees.
He maintained that the legislators’ duties were time-sensitive and the CEOs having been invited four times and neglecting to honour the invitation, left the committee with no other choice.
The warrant of arrest meant that the CEOs would be brought before the committee by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) after due diligence by the Speaker, Rep. Tajudeen Abbas.
Committee Chairman, Hon Michael Irom (APC-Cross River) said that the IGP should ensure the CEOs were brought before the committee on December 14.
The petitioner, Fidelis Uzowanem, had said the petition was anchored on the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) report of 2021.
According to him, the report was a summary of the transactions in the oil and gas industry for 2021 which NEITI put together could be challenged.
In his words, “We took up the challenge to examine the report and discovered that what NEITI put together as a report is only consolidation of fraud that has been going on in the oil and gas industry.
“It dates back to 2016 because we have been following and we put up a petition to this committee to examine what has happened.
“The 2024 budget of 27.5 trillion that has been proposed can be confidently be funded from the recoverable amount that we identified in the NEITI report.
“It is basically a concealment of illegal transactions that took place in NNPCL, they have been in sync with some oil companies where some companies that did not produce crude were paid cash core, an amount paid for crude oil production.”
Uzowanem also pointed out that the cash core payment was being used as a conduit to defraud Nigeria, by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in concert with oil majors.
“We also found that the cash core payment was used as a channel for laundering funds by NNPCL and we found out that NEITI was able to conceal it in its report.
“In 2021 NEITI reported that Total Exploration and Production Nigeria-Ltd was paid 168 million dollars but examination of submission by the company shows that it received 292 million dollars.
“In other words, 124 million dollars was laundered by NNPCL through Total because monies that have been officially paid to Total could not have been concealed if it were not meant for fraudulent purposes.
“Also for Chevron, the dollar payment NEITI puts forward in its report was 76 million dollars but document emanating from Chevron showed that they received as much as 267 million dollars.
“In other words, 191 million was laundered under the cover of Chevron and NEITI concealed that; also, Nigeria Agip Company received 188milliom dollars but none of it was reported by NEITI,” he pointed out.
Some others affected by the warrant of arrest are, the Chief Executive Officer, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), that of Ethiop Eastern Exploration and Production Company Ltd, as well as the CEO of the Western Africa Exploration and Production.
In the bid to deter kidnappers in Edo State, those found guilty of the offence would henceforth face the death penalty, specifically by hanging.
This was contained in a statement on Friday in Benin City by the Chief Press Secretary to the Edo State Governor, Fred Itua.
Expressing readiness to sign the death warrants of convicts, at the stakeholders’ session at the Uromi Town Hall, Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, revealed that the Edo State House of Assembly (EDHA) had passed a bill amending the Kidnapping Prohibition Amendment Law (and Related Matters 2013).
It was gathered that the bill prescribes the death penalty for kidnappers, mandates the confiscation and demolition of properties used in the commission of their crimes.
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Gov Okpebholo informed leaders and members of the Arewa community in Esan land that his administration will not tolerate insecurity, killing, and kidnapping anymore, vowing to deal ruthlessly with all criminal elements in the state.
“I take the issue of insecurity seriously and will not bend the rules but apply them strictly. The new law in Edo State permits us to demolish their properties and confiscate their lands. We will build vigilante team offices on those lands.
“We will bring kidnappers to the public and execute them to show our seriousness according to the laws already passed by the EDHA. I will not be afraid to sign it,” he declared.
Gov Okpebholo called on all to collaborate with his administration to secure the state, “saying security is the business of all and not for security agencies alone.
“The kind of security we want to have in the State is one where security remnants women are paid salaries, unlike before where the people will just put on uniforms without being paid. We are going to employ vigilante teams and pay them salaries and stop people from just putting on their uniforms.
“These people will work with security agencies and they will be trained on how to fight crimes and handle criminals. I will not wait until campaign time to solve your problems. I will start to address the problems facing our people in the market, and everywhere.
“It is time to start profiling people from other States who claim to be from the North and ensure they don’t spoil your name. We will fence the market, put streetlights, build abattoirs for those killing cows. We want to secure the people of Edo State.”
According to Gov Okpebholo, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu loves the North and has been very supportive to ensure that the Uromi killing didn’t lead to more destructions.
“Those destroying the land, causing problems are not even from Nigeria. They are foreigners but the president has vowed to bring peace to Nigeria,” he maintained.
Alh Bawa Umar, Chairman of Arewa in Edo Central, thanked the Governor and the Onojie of Uromi for the peace that has been restored.
He noted that the Governor is doing well in terms of security in the State and the Arewa community will support his administration to ensure it succeeds.
Chairman of Uromi Cattle Market, Alh Isah Muhammad, thanked the Governor for the way he handled the Uromi incident which he said helped to bring down the tension in the area.
On his part, Gen. Cecil Esekhaigbe (rtd), said, “I appeal to the Arewa community to ensure they have a database for all their members to be able to account for all their members. I urge the leaders to advise their members and monitor their activities to ensure they are not criminal activities.”
The Faruruwa community in Shanono Local Government Area of Kano State was thrown into panic on Thursday evening when armed men launched an attack, abducting the son of a prominent local trader.
The attackers, who struck around 7pm, were said to have fired gunshots into the air to disperse residents and create fear as they moved through the community.
Eyewitnesses reported that the gunmen appeared to have set their sights on Alhaji Haruna Halilu, a well-known businessman in the area.
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However, the trader was absent at the time of the incident.
“When they couldn’t get Alhaji Haruna, they abducted his son, Mas’ud,” said Ibrahim Faruruwa, a resident who witnessed the attack.
The Kano State Police Command has since confirmed the incident. Police spokesperson Abdullahi Kiyawa stated that security operatives are already handling the situation.
“We are on top of the situation. Full details will be released once the investigation is concluded,” Kiyawa said.
As of the time this report was filed, there were no clear details on possible casualties or whether any other persons were taken during the raid.
Former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has taken legal steps against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, accusing her of defamation and incitement.
Bello, through his lawyer N.A. Abubakar, on Wednesday petitioned the Inspector General of Police, urging the force to invite the senator to present evidence backing the allegations she made against him at a recent event.
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The former governor insists that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan falsely accused him of being involved in an assassination plot during her homecoming ceremony on April 1, 2025, in Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State.
The petition described her statements as both “malicious” and harmful, urging the police to prosecute her if she fails to justify her claims.
“Where she fails to do so, cause her to be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the provisions of the law for criminal defamation, inciting public disturbance, and spreading false information injurious to public peace,” Bello’s lawyer wrote in the petition.
In addition to involving the police, Bello has also sent a personal demand letter to the senator via another lawyer, R.O. Balogun, asking her to issue a retraction and a public apology or risk facing legal consequences.
Bello’s legal team argues that her allegations violate Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015.
“By accusing our client of plotting an assassination and naming him as a co-conspirator in a purported murder plot (with an attempt to disguise the killing as mob or ethnic violence), Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan has:
“Gravely damaged our client’s reputation by portraying him as a violent and vengeful political actor and misled the public and tried to incite ethnic and political distrust, especially among clans of Ebiraland in particular and the people of Kogi Central in general.
“Brought his name into disrepute on the basis of an allegation so weighty that, if left unchallenged, could harm his political career and personal safety; and abused her parliamentary status and platform by propagating such falsehoods without evidence, in a very public and politically charged setting,” the solicitor noted.
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