Saraki’s lawyers walk-out as Tribunal insists trial must continue

The Code of Conduct Tribunal has ruled that Senate President Bukola Saraki’s trial must go ahead despite filling an appeal at the Supreme Court.
However, in protest against the Tribunal’s position, Saraki’s lawyers staged a walk out at the resumed hearing on Thursday in Abuja.
Counsel to Mr. Saraki, Ahmed Magaji, had enjoined the Tribunal to suspend further hearing pending the determination of the appeal filed at the Supreme Court.
However, the Tribunal chaired by Justice Danladi Umar, ruled in favor of the argument of the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, insisting that the trial would continue.
Mr. Sarakj had on Tuesday filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, asking it to order stay of proceedings on his trial at the Tribunal pending the determination of his appeal.
The Senate President proceeded to the Apex Court having failed to stop his trial at the Court of Appeal.
Two Judges of the three-member panel of the Appellate Court had held that the Code of Conduct Tribunal had jurisdiction to try Saraki and also dismissed all the five issues he raised.
The embattled Senate President is facing a 13-count charge bordering on alleged corruption and false declaration of assets when he was Kwara State Governor from 2003 to 2011.
Meanwhile, the Tribunal has given Saraki one week to reconstitute his legal team and adjourned to November 19, 2015.

Photos: Man crashes his £1 million Ferrari just moments after leaving dealership

A man crashed his £1 million Ferrari just a few minutes after leaving the dealership shop in the Hungarian capital Budapest last Saturday afternoon. See more photos of the crash..

BREAKING NEWS: DSS storms Dasuki’s residence to stop London trip

From ROMANUS UGWU, Abuja
Rattled by the permission the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja granted the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd) to travel outside the country for medical treatment, the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have again invaded the Asokoro Abuja home of the NSA, mounting strong surveillance.
The Federal High Court had this week granted the embattled former NSA, facing multiple charges leveled on him by the DSS, permission to travel to United Kingdom for a medical check-up for his deteriorating health.
Our correspondent who visited the residence of the former NSA can report that the operatives, who had stormed the area in two black patrol vans, were still at the gate of the residence of the former NSA as of the time of filing this report.
Details in Daily Sun of tomorrow

23yr old Nigerian who was shot & killed by his colleague in Atlanta, laid to rest

On Saturday, October 24, Emmanuel Chukwudi Nwankwo was laid to rest at Forest Hills Memorial Gardens after a celebration of life service.

According to Atlanta Police, the 23-year-old security guard was shot and killed by his co-worker Dexter Harper (right), another security guard while at work on Thursday October 1, in Buckhead, Atlanta Georgia. Dexter admitted not just to the killing, but to seeing a demon and hearing the voice of God before he opened fire on Emmanuel. Atlanta police spokeswoman Kim Jones said 26-year-old Harper was charged with murder and taken to the Fulton County Jail.

Homicide detectives said the two security guards were in the skyscraper alone when they apparently began arguing. Police said surveillance video didn't capture the deadly shooting but was helpful in showing them what happened.

 

     "We have two security guards who were working at this location. We are not sure what the motive was.  We have been told there may have been some type of verbal argument that escalated into the gunfire," Atlanta Police Lt. Charles Hampton said.

Powerful testimony in court came from the father of a murder victim minutes before a judge denied bond for the security guard accused of killing his son.

 

     "I believe that this court, on this land, in Atlanta, Georgia, with the state and this case will set a stand," said Emmanuel Nwankwo Sr as he fought to keep his son's accused killer in jail until trial.

     "How do you feel like you have son, an American son, the soul of your son, was murdered," Nwankwo Sr. said.

      "Well, the victim's family should be upset. I mean, anytime anybody passes it's a horrible thing. I'm just going to have to review the case, figure out the facts and see how I can defend him," defense attorney Manny Arora said. 

Police say during interviews, Harper admitted to the shooting because he saw a demon in the victim.

     "Another reason that he gave later on the interview, he said God told him to do it," said Detective Eugene Johnson with the Atlanta Police Department.

     "Based on the comments that were made by the client to the police at the scene, it would appear that there are going to be some mental health issues. I don't know what level they rise to, but we're going to start exploring that," Arora said. 

After prosecutors argued Harper was a danger to the community, himself and his family. The judge denied bond and bound the case over to court.

The judge set another court date for Harper in November. Meantime, Harper's attorney says he'll work to get his clients psychological evaluation done as soon as possible.

Photo: Four fake soldiers paraded in Lagos

Four fake soldiers identified as John Izunwanne, 25, John Otu, 23, Richard Acha, 22, and Simon Anthony, 39, who were arrested at various times along Mile 2 road, Idi-Araba and Agege area in Lagos state, were paraded by the state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni at the force headquarters in Ikeja yesterday October 29th.

When interrogated, one of the suspects, 39 year old Simon Anthony, said he decided to wear the military uniform to secure free transportation from his base in Adamawa to Lagos state

“I was dismissed in January 2014 for falling out from duty. I am from Adamawa state. I wanted to use the uniform to travel to Lagos because I had no transport money. But unfortunately, I was arrested by soldiers,” he told the Nation.

Also one of the arrested fake soldiers, John Izunwanne said he wore the uniform because he wanted to secure free transportation.

“I wanted to go and sign my army recruitment form at Ojo Barracks when I bought the uniform at the Mammy Market. However, on October 7, my friend had a court case and I was to appear in court as a witness. The court was in Agege and I did not have the transport fare to go, so, I decided to wear my uniform to save me the cost of transportation.”

One of the arrested fake soldiers Otu who is a member of the Citizen for Peace and First Aid Missions in Nigeria, said he heard his friends were arrested and went to the police to secure their bail, only to be arrested for wearing the uniform.

JUST IN: Appeal Court Dismisses Bukola Saraki's Appeal

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the trial of Senate President, Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, is in order and should proceed.

Justice Moore Adumen, on Thursday morning, read the verdict of the three man panel, stating that the Code of Conduct Tribunal, was properly constituted.

Photos: Drivers driving on one-way arrested by Governor Ambode's convoy

The governor's convoy arrested the vehicles along Apapa-Oshodi Expressway last night. See more photos after the cut...

Does he look like he was drugged & tricked into making a gay sex tape? (photos)

Earlier this week famed Philly boxer Yusaf Mack (right) claimed gay porn stars drugged and tricked him into making a gay sex tape but that may be a lie as new pictures that surfaced yesterday show him allegedly on set of the porn shoot and he does not appear to be under the influence. His picture is also prominently displayed on the website promoting the flick. See the photos after the cut...

Three new cases of Ebola recorded in Guinea

According to a senior health official in Guinea who spoke yesterday Wednesday, October 28, three more people have been infected with the Ebola virus. According to Fode Tass Sylla, spokesman for the national centre for the fight against Ebola, the three were infected in Forecariah in western Guinea from the family of a woman who died of Ebola and whose body was handled without appropriate protection.

 "In all, nine sick people are being treated at our centres throughout the country and most are connected to the dead woman," he told Reuters, adding that authorities had known of the three fresh cases since Saturday.

Fear of abuse from fans is preventing gay footballers from coming out- Jermaine Jenas

Is the world ready for gay footballer? I doubt it! The player who once donned the colours of London clubs Queens Park Rangers and Tottenham Hotspurs says players are scared of receiving abuse from fans and as a result will do anything to prevent revealing their gay status.

The Mirror last weekend revealed two Premier League stars are set to come out before the start of next season as gay, though neither player's name has been disclosed.

The news received widespread support from within the football community, with Thierry Henry in particular saying it would be great for the sport.

But former Tottenham and Newcastle midfielder Jenas, believes players have no qualms or issues with sharing a dressing room with a gay footballer for a long time now and it is only abuse from the fans that is holding gay players from coming out.


 "I have never come across a single player who has come out in English football, but that's not because of players' attitudes. The place a gay player would get the most support - and the least amount of problems - is from their team-mates." He said in his column for yahoo.


"When you're in a football team you're in it together, no matter what, and every player would accept a gay team-mate with no problem whatsoever.

"It's a fear of being abused at away grounds that most prevents footballers coming out. Football is a game where we still have fans meeting up for a pre-match scrap - we're talking borderline caveman stuff. You can imagine the homophobic songs that would rear their heads if a football player came out as gay."

It should be noted that no Eenglish premier league or even British footballer has ever come out to confirm his gay status.

In 2013 American Robbie Rogers became the second male footballer based in Britain to come out. At the time he was a free agent having been released from Leeds United. After coming out, Rogers briefly retired before reversing his decision and signing for the club Los Angeles Galaxy.

FRC’s investigation of Stanbic IBTC is an orchestrated attack

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The theory is emerging that the Financial Reporting Council’s media attack on Stanbic IBTC is merely the actualization of a script handed down to Jim Obazee, Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) by his benefactors, the Mahtani brothers.

People familiar with Obazee’s reputation however, betrayed little surprise noting that he had always been known to swing like a pendulum in the direction of money and power.

It would be recalled that Obazee earned his notoriety when he took on the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and present Emir of Kano, SanusiLamidoSanusi, for blowing the whistle when about $20 billion allegedly took flight from the nation’s treasury during the immediate past administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Obazee instigated a phantom audit and investigation of Sanusi’s tenure and subsequently produced a shady indictment of Sanusi thus providing an excuse for Jonathan to suspend the former CBN governor and invariably terminate his appointment as leader of the apex bank. He is currently using the same tactics against Stanbic IBTC to help the Indians achieve their aim of forcefully grabbing more stake in the bank. Obazee allegedly suspended the affected parties over fabricated allegations of misconduct.

Nobody knows if truly, Bhagwani and Ratan Mahtani commands Jim Obazee, Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) by a pay-leash, but everybody thinks Obazee has sold out to the Indian brothers and owners of Churchgate Nigeria Limited. And the reason is hardly farfetched: the recent suspension ofthe registration of four directors of Stanbic IBTC and that of its audit engagement partner, KPMG, by the FRC, was reportedly masterminded by the Mahtanis through their alleged pawn and gofer in the FRC, Obazee.

The FRC issued the suspension accusing the affected parties of what it called, ‘financial misstatements.’ The council also called on the Central Bank Nigeria (CBN) and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to investigate Stanbic IBTC and KPMG. The council in a report released on Monday, also noted, that KPMG Professional Services, remains suspended until its innocence in the matter is ascertained.

But reacting to the report, Stanbic IBTC Holdings described the FRC allegations as “inaccurate and unfortunate,” noting, that “although the matter is in court, we are constrained to respond to certain aspects of the report for the benefit of our stakeholders and the general public.

“Stanbic IBTC is a very responsible organization and fully complies with all extant laws and regulations in Nigeria and international best practices applicable to the conduct of its business,” claimed the bank. Although the FRC named four directors suspended to include AtedoPeterside, Sola David-Borha, Arthur Oginga and Dare Owei, but the bank said, “Contrary to the media reports, the Directors of Stanbic IBTC have NOT been ousted. The directors, who are from Nigeria and elsewhere, are reputable individuals who uphold the best corporate governance practices and whose credibility, integrity and proven track record are impeccable”.

According to FRC, “the schedules supplied to the council by Stanbic IBTC revealed that the total fee paid to KPMG Professional Services for non-audit services was inconsistent with what was disclosed in the financial statements for the years under review.”

The Mahtani brothers who naturalized to Nigerian citizenship, have been fingered in series of corruption cases recently; they have been accused of fleecing Nigeria off crucial taxes even as they strategically hound competitors off the business arena. Recent developments indicate that they are at their antics again, trying to muscle innocent Nigerians to take over their businesses or force them to part with huge stakes. Their current move against Stanbic IBTC and its executives have raised several eyebrows in the financial business sector as stakeholders are wary that they just might have their way given Stanbic IBTC’s seeming inexperience and unsavoury skills at engaging the brothers and their stooge, Obazee, in the filth of mudslinging, which is unfortunately the forte of Obazee and the Mahtanis.

Why the Mahtanis are gunning for Stanbic IBTC’s jugular.
The Mahtanis used to own 100 per cent of the former Regent Bank Plc which in the various mergers and acquisitions that took place in the Nigerian finance industry teamed up with IBTC and Chartered Bank in 2005 to form IBTC Chartered Bank Plc and they held significant shares of the hybrid institution resulting from that merger.

However, the Mahtanis’ stake suffered significant decline when IBTC Chartered Bank Plc in further consolidation, aligned with Standard Bank in 2007. At the end of this second merger, the equity of the Indians was notably diluted and it seemed like they were left holding the short end of the stick, with just a paltry amount of shares in Stanbic IBTC Plc.

Ever since, the Indians with Nigerian passports have resorted to desperate tactics to arm-twist the financial institution to their advantage.

Senate screens INEC Commissioner nominees, Soyebi Adedeji

 

The senate has screened INEC Commissioner nominee Soyebi Adedeji. He was appointed by the Council of State on October 21st.

During his presentation, Soyebi spoke on the advantages and disadvantages of E-voting. He stressed that there is no election that is flawless in the world. The INEC Commissioner nominee spoke on the need for some modifications in the use of card readers as well as the need for training and re-training of their staff.