CCT Trial: FG files two fresh charges against Saraki

The Federal Government on Thursday filed two amended charges against the Senate President, Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct, CCT.

Saraki is currently standing trial on a 13-count charge bordering on false assets declaration.

Counsel to the Federal Government, Rotimi Jacobs, at the commencement of proceeding for the day after the tribunal Chairman, Danladi Umar had dismissed the application for self-disqualification, urging the tribunal to accept the amended charges filed on April 27 so that, “the record can be set straight to what the defendant is facing.”

Saraki’s counsel, Paul Usoro, however, contended with the appeal, citing Section 216/1 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA. He said the tribunal judge should direct the prosecution to present before the tribunal the fact that necessitated the amendment of the earlier charges.

But Rotimi in his response, argued that the prosecution in pursuant to section 163 of the constitution, has the right to file an amended charge at anytime.

The Chairman of the tribunal, in a short ruling said, “after carefully analysing section 216(1) of the constitution, the prosecution has the right to file amended charges at anytime.

“The application of the prosecution is hereby accepted while that of the defendant contesting the application is refused,” Umar said.

The two charges read, “That you on or about September 16, 2013 within the jurisdiction of this honorable tribunal did make a false declaration in the asset declaration form for public officers which you filled and submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau upon assumption of office as the governor of kwara state in the year 2003 by your failure to declare your leasehold interest in number 42, Remi Fani-kayode street Ikeja, Lagos which you acquired through your company, Skyview Properties Limited from first finance trust limited on December 12, 1996 and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 15(1)(2) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act. CAP. C15, laws of the federation of Nigeria, 2004 and as incorporated under paragraph 11(1)(2),I fifth schedule to the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and punishable under section 23(2) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act as incorporated under paragraph 18, Part I of the fifth schedule to the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

“That you between June 2011 and October 2013, within the jurisdiction of this honorable tribunal, did receive monthly salaries or emoluments as governor of kwara state and at the same time, from the federal government as a senator of the federal republic of Nigeria and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 6(a) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act. CAP. C15, laws of the federation of Nigeria, 2004 and as incorporated under paragraph 2(a), Part I of the, fifth schedule to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and punishable under section 23(2) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and tribunal act as incorporated under paragraph 18, Part I of the fifth schedule to the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).”

Dailypost

My account was hacked – Tee Billz

Following the reported split between singer Tiwa Savage and her husband, Tunji Balogun,  the man on Thursday claimed his instagram account was hacked by unknown persons.

Balogun, popularly called Tee Billz,  denied the controversial posts on his Instagram page, hinting his marriage to the singer has hit the rocks.

He has set up a temporary twitter account  and insisted he did not post the messages on Instagram.

“This is a temporary account. My real account was hacked.

“All the comments  are not true and not written by me Tunji Balogun #teebillz” “I am in the process of getting back my account and have contacted the appropriate authorities.  Read things I’ve written in the past, that’s not how I write,” he said on the temporary account – @teebillzTEMP.

The nation

Kidnapped upcoming artists, DNA Twins, regain freedom (photos)

Upcoming musicians, Blair and Clinton Robert aka DNA twins who were kidnapped on their way to Lagos last Sunday April 24th, have regained their freedom. Their brother, Quincy Robert, announced on his IG page that they have been released. He shared the photos above this afternoon and wrote;

 "It's with great joy and happiness that I announce to everyone that my brothers, Clint & Blair (DNATwins), who were kidnapped days ago, have finally been rescued. A ransom was paid, and we got the boys back. The boys are currently in the hospital. There will be a press release on the details of the incident and rescue. I also want to use this medium to thank everyone for their unending support and heartfelt efforts in the rescue of my siblings. I pray that God, in His infinite mercies, bless all of you abundantly. Amen! Please let people know about this development. Cheers!".

Mercy Aigbe Explains Brouhaha With Police In Osogbo

The Actress was reportedly arrested for allegedly insulting a Police Officer yesterday and today she has explained what happened on her instagram handle.

READ HOW POLICE ARRESTED HER HERE.

Rising stars DNA Twins reportedly kidnapped on their way to Lagos on Sunday (pics from scene of alleged abduction)

Rising music stars, Blair and Clinton Roberts popularly known as DNA Twins were reportedly kidnapped on their way to Lagos last Sunday April 24th. After the cut, you will find the full story as shared by their brother and a witness...

My brothers CLINTON & BLAIR (DNA-TWINS) were kidnapped on Sunday morning en route from Abuja to Lagos. The transport company they used #EKESONS, was attacked, the driver was shot in the eye and the rest of d passengers were robbed but only my brothers were kidnapped. The kidnappers called us and are asking for a N6Million ransom. We think they are being held in KOGI state. The transport company # EKESONS has also denied all this saying that no1 is missing and all the passengers returned safely to Lagos. Please help us spread this and pray that they return home safe. God bless! Tag anyone you think can help.

A witness account below...

We boarded the bus from Ekeson bus Utako Abuja enroute to lagos, made a stop over at girri junction to pick up three other passengers. We stopped at Lokoja for some refreshments, after a 10-15 mins drive from lokoja, we were ambushed by some unknown gunmen who shot three times at our vehicle,we all ran into a nearby bush leaving all our belongings in the bus, when we got back most of our stuffs were left unscathed except for a few bags. A good Samaritan drove our bus to Ferma office at Kabba Junction, where doctors at the road safety office treated the driver and removed the bullets. The road safety officials took a head count from the passenger manifest and realized that two people were missing, a passenger by name Mr Ijeoma called the Abuja office to report the case and request for a new bus, which they swiftly responded to by confirming that two boys were kidnapped and the kidnappers are demanding a ransom of 6million, also the management sent a bus immediately which i personally found impressive. The bus sent by Ekeson Transport from abuja to convey us to lagos arrived around 3pm and we boarded and left for lagos at around 3:20PM without the twins onboard. The most amazing part of this story is that the transport company has denied this situation happening, they neglected to call the other passengers who survived to at least know how we were doing, they have refused to help with the ransom of 6million I hear now it's 10million and they have denied the boys been boarded on their bus despite evidence attcahed and witness. This incident occurred around 11:40am on Sunday the 24th of April 2016

Photos from the scene of the alleged kidnapping below...

How Gunmen ambushed and attacked their bus "EKESON transport" on their way to Lagos. shot the driver, robbed the whole bus and took away the twins away.

The kidnappers who contacted their family for a ransom of 6Million and demanded it's paid before 25th of April, which was yesterday, has increased the Ransom from 6million to 10Million Naira Today while speaking to their mom because they didn't meet up their earlier bargain. The boys are still alive as at this morning because they were allowed to speak with their mom for confirmation. According to their mom, they were crying profusely and begging for help.  They are presently being held in Kogi state.

The case has been reported to the Nigerian police. But we can't just fold our arms and do nothing. Please if you have any vital information that can lead to finding their whereabouts, kindly visit the nearest police station to give this information. Because the family don't have 10million to pay as ransom. They've not even raise 1M right now. Your information can help save their lives. As they are still doing all they can to try and raise this enormous ransom.

Please do help in every way you can to get the twins safe back to their family.

Below are pictures from the scene of the hijack. The Shot Driver, The Bus and every other

800 Houses To Be Demolished For Lagos’ Fourth Mainland Bridge

The Lagos State Government yesterday disclosed that about 800 houses will be demolished for the construction of the proposed 4th Mainland Bridge.

The State Government yesterday said that 2,200 houses will be saved from demolition with the new alignment designed for the construction of the proposed 4th Mainland Bridge.

Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure Ganiyu Johnson said the old alignment for the bridge was to claim over 3,000 houses which would mean huge economic losses to the economy.

He said with the new design, about 800 houses will now be affected, adding that the affected owners would be compensated by the government.

He explained that when constructed, would drastically reduce traffic volume on Eko, Cater and Third Mainland Bridges.

THE NATION quoted the commissioner saying: “The proposed bridge will traverse from Ajah to North West direction towards the lagoon shoreline to Lagos-Ibadan Expressway via Ikorodu. The approximate length of the road/bridge is 37.9km with a design speed of 140km/h. “Lagos State Government has held discussions with a consortium of consultants in furtherance of the project,”.

He further explained that the significance and value of the project, saying “this lies in its capacity to rapidly decongest the traffic gridlock within the Lekki corridor and redistribute traffic towards Lagos Mainland which serves to meet increased future road infrastructure demands.”

Nigeria’s most insecure food zone

The South West geopolitical zone of Nigeria is increasingly becoming the most food insecure zone of the country, Professor Akinwumi Omotayo, Director, Institute of Food Security, Environmental Resources and Agricultural Research (IFSERAR), at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, has said.

Professor Omotayo disclosed this in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Tuesday in a keynote address at the 29th South West Zonal Workshop on Research-Extension-Farmers Input Linkage System (REFILS) of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Moor Plantation, Ibadan.

In a thought-provoking lecture entitled “Repositioning Agricultural Extension for Sustainable Food Security in Nigeria”, he expressed grave concern over South West Nigeria’s continued dependence on imported food items and food from other regions of the country.

While noting that a comprehensive analysis of the state of food insecurity and dependency in South Western Nigeria “portrays an extremely gloomy picture,” the Agric expert gave a vivid illustration of the estimated dependency levels with some major food commodities.

The chart below is according to Prof Omotayo:

The Prof said: “In the South Western part of Nigeria in particular, indigenous farmers are gradually disappearing, food production is declining rapidly, those once classified as migrant labourers are taking over farms and becoming landlords, wetlands are being taken over and farmed for huge profits by migrants particularly from Northern Nigeria.
Young people are becoming increasingly apathetic and demonstrating complete lack of interest in farming.
The South Western part of Nigeria continues to depend increasingly on imported food items and food from other regions of Nigeria.
Consequently, the South West is increasingly becoming more vulnerable to food insecurity than other parts of Nigeria.”

Shedding light on other factors inhibiting agricultural development in the South West, Professor Omotayo said: “Forests are being converted to non-food production systems, water resources are becoming scarcer, and climate change plus shrinking biodiversity is threatening the viability of farming communities.

“Not much consideration has been given to how to safeguard biodiversity for food and agriculture for future generations as well as maintain a broad gene pool which ensures ecosystem’s resilience.”

Speaking earlier, the Director of IAR&T, Professor James Adediran noted with delight that proven technologies from the Institute and other collaborating centres had been transferred to the extension of Agricultural Development Programmes (ADPs) in the various states through the Monthly Technology Review Meetings.

Professor Adediran however, called for increased funding for research activities in the on-going efforts to boost agricultural extension.

Thenation