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A staff member of a Microfinance bank at Kemta Oloko, Abeokuta, Mr Olumide Openaike, who has been missing since Wednesday, January 17, has been found in Mokwa, Niger State.

 

The wife of the banker, who also works at a microfinance bank in Onikolobo, Abeokuta, Temitope, broke the news to our correspondent on Thursday .

 

She said, “I am happy to tell you that my husband has been found in a place called Mokwa in Niger State. He called me on Tuesday afternoon.

 

“He got the phone from one of the residents there because he said those who abducted him collected his phone. We then told him to make a report at the police station there; the police officer on duty who spoke to us said he was in Mokwa.

 

Transportation money was then arranged and sent to him; he got to Ibadan yesterday, Wednesday, where he slept. His family members are at Ibadan. He will be back in Abeokuta today.”

 

WhatsApp message partly reads, “Please, I want to let you all know that Mr. Openaike Francis Olumide has been missing since yesterday, Wednesday (17/1/2024) in the morning on his way to his working place. That was when we last heard from him till now. No one has seen or heard anything about him which has never happened before. RCCG Ogun 28 brethren and his family have been in great shock and confusion for his disappearance.”

 

The spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, SP Omolola Odutola, confirmed the incident earlier in the week to our correspondent.

 

Odutola said, “One Temitope reported the case of a missing person involving one Olumide Openaike on Wednesday, January 17 around 7pm. He is said to be light in complexion.

 

“The police formations across the state are already aware and we shall keep spreading the message to give adequate publicity with the ultimate aim of finding him and reuniting him with his family.”

 

Temitope had on Sunday told our correspondent that her husband, who left home for his workplace on Wednesday, January 17, failed to return home

The Supreme Court, has upheld the election of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State.

 

The court, in a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, on Thursday, dismissed as lacking in merit, an appeal the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr. Tonye Cole, filed to challenge the outcome of the governorship election that held in the state on March 18, 2023.

the lead judgement that was delivered by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, the apex court said it found no reason to dislodge the concurrent verdicts of the Court of Appeal and the Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, which upheld Fubara’s victory at the poll.

 

The court held that Cole did not establish that the election was not conducted in compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.

 

It will be recalled that the APC pulled out from the case against governor Fubara of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, while it was being heard by the Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.

 

Despite the position of the party not to challenge the declaration of Fubara as winner of the gubernatorial contest by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mr. Cole, vowed to prosecute his petition to its logical conclusion.

 

INEC had declared that Fubara of the PDP polled a total of 302,614 votes to defeat his closets rival, Cole of the APC who got a total of 95,274 votes.

 

Dissatisfied with the outcome of the poll, Cole approached the tribunal to challenge it.

 

The appellant, among other things, alleged that the Rivers State governorship poll was marred by corrupt practices, insisting that it was not conducted in substantial compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.

 

More so, Cole, alleged that Fubara did not validly resign his previous position as required by the law, before the election held.

 

He alleged that Fubara continued to sign documents as the Accountant-General of Rivers State, even after he was nominated as the candidate of the PDP for the governorship election.

 

Consequently, he urged the tribunal to nullify the Certificate of Return that was issued to Fubara and declare that he was not the bonafide winner of the election.

 

Cole further prayed the tribunal to declare that he was the authentic winner of the gubernatorial contest.

 

However, both the tribunal and the Court of Appeal dismissed his case for want of merit.

 

Though the appellate court, in the verdict it delivered on November 28, 2023, affirmed the unanimous judgement of the tribunal that dismissed Cole’s case, it, however, faulted the lower court over its position that the petition was invalidated by the withdrawal of APC which has the statutory responsibility of nominating and sponsoring a candidate for the election.

 

The appellate court held that the fact that APC withdrew from the petition against Fubara’s victory, did not prohibit its candidate, Cole, from pursuing the appeal in his own right.

 

The Supreme Court had earlier dismissed a separate appeal that was entered against Fubara by the candidate of the Allied People’s Movement, APM, in the election, Innocent Kere.

 

The appeal was dismissed after the Appellants, through their lawyer, applied to withdraw the case.

 

Abuja: Chief Edozie Njoku, National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to prevail on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to obey orders of courts, affirming him as national chairman.

Chief Njoku also urged the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to intervene on the matter.

He made the call while addressing newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja.
He wondered why an agency of government would vehemently flout valid court orders and choose the ones it would obey.
“It’s not just that INEC is not obeying a Supreme Court judgment delivered on March 24, 2023; INEC has also disobeyed an injunction and an order of a High Court of the FCT, Bwari, to recognise me as the National Chairman of APGA.

(Chief Edozie Njoku, National Chairman, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), speaking to newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja.)

“Instead of INEC to obey the enforcement judgement of the High Court or appeal same, they rushed and got a stay on a committal charge, which had given them 14-day grace period to purge themselves of contempt.

“The court has come out to say that INEC Chairman is in contempt of court and Victor Oye who submitted the names and held a congress and convention is also in contempt.
“But that’s not our problem.

“We are calling on Nigerians, we are calling on President Bola Tinubu and also calling on the AGF to look into the issue.
“Where it is that a parastatal can get a stay from the Court of Appeal, on a committal judgement that already had been given?
“Prof Mahmood Yakubu and Oye are relying on the stay to flout and disobey a direct order of the court,” he said.
Njoku, therefore, called on well-meaning Nigerians to appeal to the INEC chairman to obey a valid order of the court.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Supreme Court had, on March 24, 2023, in a suit marked SC/687/21, affirmed Njoku, as the Chairman of APGA.
Meanwhile, Njoku had expressed the readiness of the party for the forthcoming Edo and Ondo governorship elections.

He disclosed that party’s primaries for the governorship elections in the two states are expected to commence next week and last for about one month, adding that the party’s timetable would soon be out.
Njoku told the people of the states that “APGA is a party that has a lot to offer them, irrespective of any setbacks that we may have been passing through.

“I want to assure all that governorship aspirants from Edo and Ondo that have been calling to express their willingness to contest on our party platform that they should be rest assured that a free, fair and transparent primary which has remained elusive to others will be made the cardinal virtue and practice in APGA.”(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)/ Flowerbudnews

 

By Biola Lawal

Abuja (Flowerbudnews): The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has arraigned a former governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano for an alleged N4 Billion Naira fraud.

He was arraigned  before Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja.on Wednesday.

He was arraigned on nine- count charges bordering on money laundering, diversion of funds, stealing and corruption to the tune of N4billion, EFCC Spokesman, Dele Oyewale disclosed in a statement, a copy of which was made available to Flowerbudnews.

Count one of the charge reads: “That you, Chief Willie Maduabuchi Obiano, whilst being the Executive Governor of Anambra State of Nigeria between March 2014 – March 2022, sometime between the 16th February, 2018 and 9th March, 2018 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, did make cash transaction through a non-financial institution by instructing one Uzuegbuna Okagbue, your then Chief Protocol Officer / Deputy Chief of Staff to transfer the aggregate sum of N223,371,000 (Two Hundred and Twenty Three Million, Three Hundred and Seventy One Thousand Naira only)  from the Anambra State Government Security Vote Account No 5030050875 domiciled at Fidelity Bank Plc into Connought International Services Limited, Fidelity Bank No 5540007709 ( a non-financial institution) which was converted to the equivalent of $600,000.00 (Six Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) and collected in cash from one Ayuba Tanko and handed over to you in cash by the said Uzuegbuna Okagbue and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) in 2012 and punishable under Section 16 (2) (b) of the same Act.

Count four of the charge reads: “That you, Chief Willie Maduabuchi Obiano, whilst being the Executive Governor of Anambra State of Nigeria between March 2014 – March 2022, sometime between 13th February 2018 to 2nd March 2022, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, indirectly transferred through Mr Willie Nwokoye, your then principal private secretary, the sum of N1, 206, 760,310 Billion ( One Billion, Two Hundred and Six Million, Seven Hundred and Sixty Thousand,  Three Hundred and Ten Naira only)  from the Anambra State Government Security Vote Account No: 5030050875 domiciled in Fidelity Bank Plc into the Fidelity Bank Plc Account No: 5600251033 belonging to Moment of Peace Ventures (an entity that had no business relationship with the Anambra State Government ) which funds were dissipated for purposes unrelated / unconnected with the security affairs of Anambra State, which you reasonably ought to have known that such funds formed part of the  proceeds of your unlawful act, to wit: (Stealing and Corruption) and you thereby committed an offense contrary to Section 15 (2) (b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) in 2912 and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act”.

He pleaded not guilty to all the charges when they were read to him.

In view of his plea, prosecution counsel, Slyvanus Tahir, SAN,  asked for a trial date while praying the court for the remand of the defendant in a Correctional Centre pending the date of the trial.   Counsel to the defendant,  Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN,  drew the attention of the court to a bail application before the court.

While ruling, Justice Ekwo thereafter  asked the prosecution to provide  the particulars of the administrative bail  granted the defendant by the EFCC, stating that the court will adopt the terms of the bail.

He also ordered that the defendant’s passport and traveling documents be kept in the custody of the court and the Nigeria Immigration Service be notified of the arrangements.

Additionally, Justice Ekwo ordered the defendant  not to travel outside jurisdiction without the permission of the court and

adjourned  the matter to March 4, 5,6 & 7, 2024 for trial. (Flowerbudnews)