Tag Archives: Linked

Okorocha Dragged To Court Over Assault Linked To Aides

Posted on by
Reply

Imo state Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has been dragged to court for allegedly ordering his aides to beat up Anthony Amadi and Chigozie Oparaku, who were in the Compound of Captain Emmanuel Iheanacho, when the Governor arrived with a demolition squad that demolished part of Iheanacho’s compound.

This was just as the victims are asking the court to award them N50 million in damages for the varying degrees of injuries that they sustain during the brutal assault by the Governor’s Aides.

The duo said that their only crime was that they had brandished an order of the Federal High court, Owerri restraining the Governor from demolishing Ihenacho’s property, that rather the governor ordered his security details to beat them up.

According to him, “About an hour later, the Imo state Governor, Rochas Okorocha in company of his full security detail came to Captain Ihenacho’s house and the Governor ordered the engineer to demolish Ihenacho’s house, we then went towards the Governor as much as the security details would allow us and showed him the court order, thereupon, the Governor ordered his security details to beat us up and arrest us,” Amadi narrated.

In an affidavit deposed to by Anthony Amadi, he said that on the 7th of July, 2016, while at Captain Emmanuel Ihenacho’s house, they noticed agents of the Imo state government advancing towards Ihenacho’s house with heavy equipment and with intent to demolish the property. They approached the engineer in-charge of the demolition and showed a copy of the restraining order against the said demolition and the Engineer obeyed and withdrew his equipment.

The victims recalled that they were beaten for over half an hour by more than 20 security details of the governor just for daring to show them a restraining order of court against their illegal action.

“At the end, we could hardly stand or walk, and they carried us and dumped us at the Shell Camp Police Station without any medical treatment,” Oparaku they submitted.

Amadi’s left eye still have blood clots and opens with difficulty while Oparaku has an ugly lump on his back all sustained after the beating.

They also said that in spite of the fact that the Imo state Police Commissioner had duly acknowledged a petition by their Lawyer Amadi Obi against the Imo state Governor,that they were dumped in the Shell Camp Police cell without treatment.

“Receipt of the petition was acknowledged the next day, yet the commissioner refused to release us to seek medical care instead we were transferred from Shell Camp Police Station to Owerri Area Command at Fire Service.

We were released on the fourth day without any charge against us. We were only told that we were detained on the orders of Governor Rochas Okorocha and that was exactly what was written on the incident board.”

However, the Chief Press Secretary to the Imo state Governor, Rochas Okorocha, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo said that the Governor has not been served with any court summons.

Credit: Sun

US Opens Criminal Probe Linked To #PanamaPaper Leak

Posted on by
14

The US Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation involving the leaked Panama Papers on offshore shell companies, according to an official letter to the group that brought the records to light.

The letter from the office of Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara, obtained by AFP Wednesday, asks to discuss the investigation with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which worked with media outlets to reveal the documents.

The letter, dated April 3 and obtained from the ICIJ, said Bharara’s office “has opened a criminal investigation regarding matters to which the Panama Papers are relevant.”

His office said it “would greatly appreciate the opportunity to speak as soon as possible” with someone from ICIJ on the matter.

The letter gave no information on the subject of the investigation, and was not a subpoena that would force the ICIJ to turn over any of the 11.5 million confidential documents leaked from Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca.

Access to the documents remains limited to a handful of international media organizations.

Reports from the ICIJ and the media groups based on the Panama Papers link a number of international leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, British Prime Minister David Cameron, and leaders and top officials in Ukraine, China and Argentina, to offshore shell companies that can be used to hide wealth and launder money.

Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson was also forced to resign after the documents showed he and his wife made use of an offshore company.

Brussels Bombers Named As Brothers Linked To Paris Suspect

Posted on by
17

Two suicide bombers who blew themselves up in Brussels are believed to be brothers who were being sought for links with Salah Abdeslam, the prime suspect in the Paris attacks, RTBF television reported Wednesday, citing police sources.

RTBF named the two as Khalid and Ibrahim El Bakraoui, saying Khalid last week rented an apartment in Brussels under a false name where police found Abdeslam’s fingerprints after a raid.

Police arrested Abdeslam, Europe’s most wanted man, in a dramatic operation in Brussels on Friday that had been hailed as a “victory” in Belgium’s campaign against terrorism.

Khalid is also linked to renting an apartment in the southern Belgian city of Charleroi from where Abdeslam and the other Brussels-based Islamic State jihadists set off to carry out the November 13 Paris attacks which left 130 people dead.

A police source told AFP on Tuesday that a man in the middle of three men seen on closed circuit television at the airport just before the twin blasts could be Ibrahim El Bakraoui.

Other reports Wednesday said one of the brothers, who they did not name, could have been involved in the separate attack Tuesday on the Brussels metro station of Maalbeek, which left about 20 dead.

Belgian police earlier Wednesday issued an appeal for information about the two men believed to have blown themselves up at the airport.

The police posted several tweets with the caption “Terrorism: who knows this man?”, showing CCTV close-ups of two men pushing trolleys with suitcases through the airport departure hall.

They gave three slightly different images for each of the two men who the federal prosecutor said Tuesday had likely blown themselves up in the attack.

A third man, dressed in a light coloured jacket and wearing a dark hat, who was shown with the two others in a CCTV grab issued Tuesday, is believed to have fled the scene and is now the subject of a massive manhunt.

Credit: Afp

Arrested Boko Haram Kingpin Linked To Chibok Abductions

Posted on by
Reply

A wanted Boko Haram kingpin, Jarasu Shira, was arrested yesterday morning in Damboa, Borno State. The suspect, who also goes by the alias Jarido, was arrested at a motor park at about 8.30am along with 10 other suspected members of the group who escorted him to Damboa to board a vehicle to Biu.

 The suspected terrorists were arrested by members of the vigilante popularly known as Civilian JTF. The JTF provide support to the Nigeria military battling the militant group in the north-east. Shira is said to be number one on a new list of wanted men by the Nigeria military. “He was disguised in a cowboy outfit to escape arrest but the vigilance of the civilian JTF paid off. A source who pleaded for anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the arrest told Daily Trust that the suspect was on his way to Lagos. He is believed to be the leader of the Boko Haram militants in Damboa, Chibok and Askira Uba local government areas of Borno state. The source said the suspect is believed to be a ranking figure in the Boko Haram hierarchy. He is also
A source who pleaded for anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the arrest told Daily Trust that the suspect was on his way to Lagos. He is believed to be the leader of the Boko Haram militants in Damboa, Chibok and Askira Uba local government areas of Borno state. The source said the suspect is believed to be a ranking figure in the Boko Haram hierarchy. He is also
A source who pleaded for anonymity because he was not authorised to speak said that the suspect was on his way to Lagos. He is believed to be the leader of the Boko Haram militants in Damboa, Chibok and Askira Uba local government areas of Borno state. The source said the suspect is believed to be a ranking figure in the Boko Haram hierarchy. He is also
The source said the suspect is believed to be a ranking figure in the Boko Haram hierarchy. He is also thought be so powerful in the group that he might have knowledge of the whereabouts of the Chibok girls kidnapped in April 2014 from their school. The Defence headquarters in Abuja yesterday confirmed the arrest. Defence spokesman Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar said the arrest of Shira was not surprising as security agencies have been arresting several Boko Haram suspects in the North East. Brigadier General Abubakar told Daily Trust last night that the harvest of arrests in the
Defence spokesman Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar said the arrest of Shira was not surprising as security agencies have been arresting several Boko Haram suspects in the North East. Brigadier General Abubakar told Daily Trust last night that the harvest of arrests in the
Brigadier General Abubakar said last night that the harvest of arrests in the north east was as a result of the renewed synergy amongst security agencies. He said these arrests are taking place as suspected Boko Haram members are spotted at motor parks and other routes trying to escape from the north east into other ‘free or safe zones.’ The suspects have been handed over to military authorities in Biu, Borno state. In a related development, a
The suspects have been handed over to military authorities in Biu, Borno state. In a related development, a road side bomb suspected to have been planted by members of the Boko Haram went off on Wednesday when a passing military vehicle stepped on it. Details of the blast remained sketchy at press time.
Credit: DailyTrust

Man Linked To Chibok Girls’ Abduction Arrested

Posted on by
Reply

Nigerian troops have arrested a businessman accused of “participating actively” in Boko Haram’s mass abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls from the northeastern town of Chibok last year, Nigeria’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

Spokesman Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade said Babuji Ya’ari headed a “terrorists’ intelligence cell” for the Islamic extremists while masquerading as a member of the self-defense Youth Vigilante Group. That news confirms suspicions that the vigilantes have been infiltrated by Boko Haram.

Soldiers have told the Associated Press that some of their comrades also belong to Nigeria’s homegrown Islamic extremist group.

“The arrest of the businessman… has also yielded some vital information and facilitated the arrest of other members of the terrorists’ intelligence cell who are women,” Olukolade said in a statement Tuesday night. He did not say when the arrests were made or how many people were arrested.

He alleged that Ya’ari has coordinated several deadly attacks since 2011 on the northeastern city of Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram, and spearheaded the May 2014 assassination of the emir of Gwoza, a religious and traditional ruler who was targeted for speaking out against Boko Haram’s extremism.

One arrested woman, Hafsat Bako, confessed to coordinating the payroll for operatives paid a minimum of 10,000 naira (about $50) a job, the defense ministry statement said.

Read More: cbsnews

60 Year Old Pastor Nabbed With Hard Drugs, Linked To Intl. Syndicate

Posted on by
1

Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have apprehended the resident pastor of the Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim at Agodo-Egbe, Ikotun Lagos, over unlawful attempt to export of 174 kilogrammes of hard narcotic drugs to South Africa, the agency said on Monday.

NDLEA said the suspect, Prophet Michael Raji was arrested following the interception of the drug at the cargo section of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) during pre-shipment examination. “Preliminary investigation has indicated that the 60 year old suspect Michael Raji is a top member of a drug syndicate operating in Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa,” NDLEA said.

The pastor had three international passports bearing his photographs. “One of the passports bears the name Michael Raji while the other two bear the name Kadigun Fatah Ola. It was equally discovered that the church premises where he ministers also serves as a warehouse for narcotics,” NDLEA said.

The seized drugs concealed inside large bags of foodstuff were found to contain 91kg of Methamphetamine and 83kg of Ephedrine with an estimated street value of N609 million.

A Mercedes Benz Jeep was also impounded at his compound during the operation.

NDLEA commander at the Lagos Airport, Mr. Hamza Umar described the suspect as a smooth operator. “I can tell you that this suspect is a smooth operator but we have uncovered his bag of tricks. The drugs were brought to the airport for export to South Africa where it was detected. Investigation eventually traced the movement of the drugs to his church premises where he was arrested,” Hamza stated.

NDLEA quoted the suspect in his statement as saying that he collected the drugs from a friend.

Credit: vanguardngr