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BENIN CITY--POLITICAL tension heightened in Edo State
yesterday, following the arrest of the speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Uyi Igbe, the Majority
Leader of the House, Philip Shaibu, and the Chief Whip, Folly Ogedengbe, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in Abuja.
The trio, who travelled to Abuja last Monday on the invitation of the EFCC, was said to have been detained
for alleged forgery of the signature of one of PDP lawmakers, Rasaq Momoh, during the impeachment of
Deputy Speaker of the House, Festus Ebea.
Their detention elicited protest, led by the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Kabiru Adjoto, in
Benin yesterday.
Adjoto vowed that they would stage a one million man march in Abuja, if the lawmakers were not released by
yesterday, describing as unfortunate the fact that the EFCC would turn itself into a tool for the PDP to use to
witch hunt APC lawmakers in Edo State.
"If they kill our principal officers, we will fight with our blood," Adjoto warned.
He also raised an alarm over alleged plot by the EFCC and the PDP to eliminate the trio but warned that the
EFCC should be ready to kill the entire Edo people if anything went wrong with their principal officers.
Speaker faints
The situation is even more critical as the speaker who is the son of the Iyase of Benin Kingdom (Prime
Minister), is said to have fainted twice at the EFCC cell in Abuja, following the torture he allegedly received.
Adjoto said: "As I speak with you, the EFCC has arrested the speaker, Edo State House of Assembly, the
Majority Leader, Philip Shaibu, Chief whip, Folly Ogedengbe. They were arrested Wednesday and as we
speak they are being kept under very inhuman condition in Abuja.
"You are all aware that last week, there was a very vicious attack on the legislative quarters. Philip Shaibu
sustained serious bullet wounds, the Speaker was wounded and the Chief whip was wounded equally.
"The EFCC arrested them not minding their health conditions. We are reliably informed that the Speaker of
the House collapsed two times this morning. Philip is bleeding profusely and they are being denied medical
attention.
"As we speak, the reasons for their arrest is that the EFCC said they forged the signature of Rasaq Momoh
when the former deputy Speaker Festus Ebea was impeached.
Concern
"Our concern is this, when did the EFCC become an agency to investigate forgery of signature? When has forgery of signature become a financial crime?
Impeachment of either the Speaker or Deputy Speaker is purely the business of the House. EFCC has no business what so ever with it. We are surprised that the EFCC can reduce itself to investigate a crime that has already been spelt out as a criminal matter
according to the constitution.
" The EFCC is not set up to investigate forgery of signature and that they have reduced themselves shows
that they are not just acting.
"As we speak, the leadership of the PDP in Edo State is at the headquarters in Abuja. And the most worrisome is that the President of the country has given directive that these three principal officers of the Edo State House of Assembly be charged to court and be remanded indefinitely.
That is giving us serious concerns. One will expect the police to investigate that matter, what has EFCC got to do with forgery of
signature.?
"Last week these same people came here to kill us. As we speak, innocent people are being picked up on the
streets of Benin, but the real people have that committed crime not been arrested. They went to PDP
secretariat and were celebrating.
"But as a people, we will not fold our hands and allow this injustice to continue. We are giving EFCC till 4pm
today to release these principal officers. If they refuse to release them, as a people we have resolved to
organize a one million man march to Abuja and Abuja will know that we have arrived."
Source:
Vanguard
Reprieve came the way of Lagos socialite, Fred Ajudua, after a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja this morning discharged him of an alleged $1.69m fraud allegation brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Ajudua in the matter is standing trial along with one Charles Orie for allegedly defrauding two Dutch businessmen of 1.69 million dollars.
The EFCC had alleged that the defendants deceived the victims by claiming that the money was for sundry payments to various government officials.
The EFCC further alleged that the defendants claimed that the payments would help them to facilitate a contract worth 18 million dollars on behalf of the complainants.
While the matter lasted, Ajudua who has been who has been critically ill was refused bail by the court.
At today’s proceeding, the EFCC again failed to produce any of the foreign witnesses in the matter. EFCC counsels, Mrs E.A Sanusi told the court that some of the principal witnesses in the matter had vehemently refused to come to Nigerian to give evidence in the matter sighting the recent outbreak of Ebola in the country.
She said that in the circumstance, the EFCC has not other option but to ask for the withdrawal of the charge.
Following the EFCC submission, Justice Kudirat Ajose subsequently ordered that Ajudua be discharged of the charges.
A sister case where Ajudua is accused of allegedly defrauding Former Chief of Army Staff, Gen Ishaya Bamaiyi of $8.4 while they were both in custody at Kirikiri Prison in Lagos between November 2004 and June 2005 is still before Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye.
Source:
PM News
LAGOS— A 31-year-old internet fraudster, Adio Opeyemi Michael, has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for defrauding a 72-year-old Dutch woman of €200,000 (about N40.6 million) in a romance scam.
The suspect, who is a native of Owu Local Government Area of Ogun State, was said to have met his victim,
identified simply as Jeanet De Jonge, on Netlog dating site and pretended to be a 41-year-old American citizen working as a chef in a Nigerian restaurant and needs a wife.
Spokesman for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, while confirming the report, told Vanguard that the suspect’s profile actually attracted Jeanet and she eventually began sending him money through Western Union and MoneyGram.
He further disclosed that the suspect collected various sums on the pretext that he was going to use the money to perfect his travel plans and obtain the required documents that would enable him travel to Holland to join or visit Jeanet. But his inability or refusal to honour the invitation from Jeanet promptedher to write a petition to the EFCC.
Sources at the EFCC told Vanguard that operatives of the anti-graft agency used information provided by the victim in her petition to track and apprehend the suspect.
Meanwhile, the suspect in his confessional statement said: “She was sending me money monthly, ranging from $800 to $900 from June 2012, through Western Union Money transfer and Money Gram to the extent that Western Union blocked her access.
“So, she requested that I should go to London to enable her send more money there. I contacted a friend in London called Osas Odiah, who was supposed to receive the money and dispatch same to me in Nigeria.
“She first sent €2,000 to my friend’s account in London and he didn’t remit the money to me. I later opened
a Keystone Bank Forex Trade account through which she sent me money.”
According to Wilson, the suspect will be arraigned in court as soon as investigation is concluded.
- Vanguard
