Okorocha, Fani-Kayode fight dirtyBy Emma Njoku and George Onyejiuwa

• You lack native sense, Gov tells ex-minister
• You’re suffering inferiority complex, ex-minister replies

The media war between Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State and former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has got messier.
Okorocha, in a statement signed by his media aide, Sam Onwuemeodo, yesterday, described the ex-minister as bereft of native sense.
“Fani-Kayode’s only claim to fame is the prominent background of his family without which he has nothing else to show,” he said.
Fani-Kayode had, through his media aide, Jude Ndukwe, expressed doubts about the authenticity of the photograph published in the media from the recent visit of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and some governors to President Muhammadu Buhari in London. He had described Okorocha’s action as “a sign of desperation to serve the evil purposes for which he has been procured.”
Okorocha, in his reaction, dismissed the former aviation minister as a “spoilt and over pampered child.”
But Fani-Kayode countered by referring to the Imo State governor as “a dirty, cheap, fat, ugly frog that mistakes himself for a monkey simply because he can hop…”
Okorocha said Fani Kayode “needs a  psychiatric examination of his mental health.” He said if the ex-minister had any problem with the visit of the APC delegation to Buhari in London he should have dwelt on that rather than going personal without addressing the issue.
“And on our part, as responsible people, we had delayed in responding to Kayode’s attacks or hesitated in joining issues with him because most Nigerians had, before now, doubted his intelligent quotient and had also called for certain clinical examinations.
“Again, there is obviously a very wide gulf between a man who has succeeded in every segment of life through the dint of hard work and, indeed, by God’s grace, and someone whose only claim in the society or his only meal ticket is the late father’s name.
“And we also know that spoilt and over pampered children do not know what it takes to have self-discipline and respect for others,” Okorocha said.
The Imo Sate governor said he began life as a street hawker and ended up being a governor and successful man, both in business and in other areas of life, and also obtained a Masters degree in law from the University of Jos without parental contributions.
“And for him (Fani-Kayode), at the age of eight, he was already at Brighton College, Brighton, in the UK and, also, studied law at London University. And one can see that what Africans call “native sense” might have eluded him. And this “native sense” guides or helps one a lot, including how to talk to people especially superiors,” Okorocha said.
Fani-Kayode, however, said the Imo State governor “is suffering from a terrible and debilitating inferiority complex.”
He described Okorocha as “a primitive and bush villager of questionable paternity whose father remains unknown even to his mother.
“Instead of respecting himself, shutting up and seeking for forgiveness from God for betraying his Igbo people, addressing his elders and betters in an inappropriate and insolent manner, and playing the fool, the village idiot called Rochas Okorocha has, once again, fouled up the public space by opening his dirty mouth and talking about Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, the former Minister of Culture and Tourism and former Minister of Aviation.”
Fani-Kayode said it was not a crime to have been born into a well-to-do family and neither was it a sin. He said Okorocha “has no decorum, no finesse, no decency, no class, no education and no integrity.”
“We repeat that a man who constantly speaks up for and supports a government that consistently slaughters and routinely massacres his own (Igbo) people can only be described as a sociopathic self-hating Igbo, who is suffering from a terrible and debilitating inferiority complex.
“When he finishes his tenure as governor he will crawl back into the filthy cesspit and hole from which he came.
“FFK was never a ritualist, a cultist, a 419er, a sodomite, a traitor or a dirty and unreliable street urchin and scammer. He never ruined the lives of millions, bowed before strange gods and slept in coffins to make his money.
“He never sold his soul to the devil or his body to reprobate men who lust for other men in return for money and power.”
The former minister said Okorocha has much to answer for and “the evil spirits that, by his own admission, have been tormenting him ever since he became governor will soon take their pound of flesh.
“The sword of the Lord is poised to strike and the judgement of God awaits him for his many indiscretions and sins. Thereafter comes hellfire,” Fani-Kayode concluded.

Sun

US Moves to Seize 200ft Yacht, Other Luxury Properties from Kola Aluko, Others

Kola Aluko

 

Alison-Madueke to Kola Aluko: “If you want to hire a yacht, you lease it for two weeks or whatever… You don’t go and sink funds into it at this time when Nigerian oil and gas sector is under all kinds of watch.” – Intercepted recording of an apparent phone conversation between former oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, and oil trader, Kola Aluko

Demola Ojo with agency reports

US prosecutors on Friday moved to seize $144m in assets including a 200-foot yacht and a Manhattan condominium one block from Central Park, calling them the fruits of an international bribery scheme that involved the former Nigerian Oil Minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.

The justice department action targeted Nigeria’s oil man, Mr Kola Aluko’s vessel, Galactica Star, which its builder bills as the “world’s largest fast displacement yacht”, along with condominium units in Manhattan and real estate in Southern California located just three miles from the Pacific Ocean.

From 2011 to 2015, two Nigerian oil men, Kolawole Aluko and Olajide Omokore, alledgedly conspired with others to bribe the country’s minister for petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, in order to win oil production contracts worth $1.5bn, according to a civil forfeiture complaint. At the time, along with controlling the country’s state-owned oil company, Mrs. Alison-Madueke, also headed the Vienna-based oil cartel, OPEC. Nigeria’s federal high court earlier this year charged her with money laundering and she has previously denied any wrongdoing. After awarding government contracts to shell companies owned by the two men, Mrs. Alison-Madueke — known as “the madam” or “Madam D” — was rewarded with a “lavish lifestyle”, according to the US Department of Justice.

Alison-Madueke has since denied any wrong-doing in her relationship with Kola Aluko and Jide Omokore.
A civil forfeiture complaint is merely an allegation that money or property was involved in or represents the proceeds of a crime. These allegations are not proven until a court awards judgment in favour of the US.

“The United States is not a safe haven for the proceeds of corruption,” said acting assistant attorney-general Kenneth Blanco. “If illicit funds are within the reach of the United States, we will seek to forfeit them and to return them to the victims from whom they were stolen.”

Though known as “a small time trader” who had previously earned around $500,000 annually, in less than three years, Mr. Aluko purchased more than $87m of US property and the $82m yacht, according to the complaint, filed in US district court in Houston. According to the complaint, in a conversation with Mr Aluko that prosecutors say Mrs. Alison-Madueke recorded, she criticised him for his lavish spending. “If you want to hire a yacht, you lease it for two weeks or whatever,” she said. “You don’t go and sink funds into it at this time when Nigerian oil and gas sector is under all kinds of watch.”

The two businessmen allegedly purchased millions of dollars worth of property in and near London for the oil minister and her family and then furnished the homes with furniture, artwork and other luxury items from Houston-area stores that she fancied. In January 2011, the Nigerian businessmen and unidentified co-conspirators bought a Buckinghamshire home known as “The Falls” for £3.25m. Two months later, as Mr Aluko was meeting with Nigerian oil officials to discuss a contract, he arranged to buy two properties near London’s Regent’s Parks: a £1.7m home at 39 Chester Close and 58 Harley House on the Marylebone Road for £2.8m. The first property, upgraded with an elevator and new stone flooring and countertops, was intended for the use of Ms Alison-Madueke’s mother and her son, according to the complaint. The men that month also purchased a £3.7m flat at 83-86 Prince Albert Road for the oil minister. Ms Alison-Madueke appears to have favoured furniture stores in the Houston area, which she patronised on periodic visits to the US oil industry capital. On a single day in May 2012, Mr Aluko wired $461,500 from a Swiss bank account to one furniture store and spent an additional $262,091 at a second on the oil minister’s behalf, the complaint says.

The case was brought as part of DoJ’s kleptocracy asset recovery initiative. Mr Aluko and Mr Omokore created two shell companies in the British Virgin Islands — Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria and Atlantic Energy Brass Development — to handle their oil contracts. Though the companies, which prosecutors say were “unqualified”, failed to fulfil the terms of their deals, they were allowed to produce and sell more than $1.5bn worth of Nigerian crude oil. The pair then created additional shell companies to launder the proceeds through the US, prosecutors said. Mr Aluko’s last known address was in Porza-Lugano, Switzerland, while Mr Omokore is described as a resident of Lagos.
According to the Justice Department, the complaint announced Friday demonstrates the Department’s commitment to working with our law enforcement partners around the globe to trace and recover the proceeds of corruption, no matter the source.”

“Business executives who engage in bribery and illegal pay-offs in order to obtain contracts create an uneven marketplace where honest competitor companies are put at a disadvantage,” said Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Andrew W. Vale. “Along with the Department of Justice, international law enforcement partners and other US federal agencies, the FBI is committed to pursuing all those who attempt to advance their businesses through corrupt practices.”

The US government also stated that Aluko, Omokore and others funded a lavish lifestyle for Alison-Madueke. According to the allegations, they purchase millions of dollars in real estate in and around London for Alison-Madueke and her family members, then renovated and furnished these homes with millions of dollars in furniture, artwork and other luxury items purchased at two Houston-area furniture stores.

In return, the US government said Alison-Madueke used her influence to direct a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to award Strategic Alliance Agreements (SAAs) to two shell companies created by Aluko and Omokore: Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Ltd. and Atlantic Energy Brass Development Ltd. (the Atlantic Companies).

Under the SAAs, the Atlantic Companies were required to finance the exploration and production operations of eight on-shore oil and gas blocks. In return for financing these operations, the companies expected to receive a portion of the oil and gas produced.

However, according to the complaint, the Atlantic Companies provided only a fraction of the agreed upon financing or, in some instances, failed entirely to provide it. The companies also failed to meet other obligations under the SAAs, including the payment of $120 million entry fee. Nevertheless, according to the allegations, the companies were permitted to lift and sell more than $1.5 billion worth of Nigerian crude oil.

The government contends the Atlantic Companies then used a series of shell companies and intermediaries to launder a portion of the total proceeds of these arrangements into and through the US.

“Today’s announcement would not have been possible without the remarkable work conducted by a group of dedicated investigators, attorneys and international partners who were committed to leaving no stone unturned in this case targeting international corruption,” said Assistant Director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, Stephen E. Richardson.

“This case demonstrates that the FBI will not tolerate American institutions and property being used to launder proceeds of foreign corruption and today’s filing is an important step towards recovering identified funds. This should serve as a warning to other corrupt foreign officials that the United States is not open for their business.”

Culled from Thisday

Most wanted criminal shot dead in Anambra-Aloysius Attah

It was the end of the road for a suspected armed robber and leader of a cult group, who had been on the wanted list of the police for five years, when he was shot dead in Anambra State last week.

The suspect, Chukwuezugo, alias Zion, who was shot by a rival cult group in Obosi, Idemili LGA, was among suspected criminals whose cases were announced during the parade of over 100 suspects arrested for armed robbery, child theft, cultism and human trafficking by the Anambra State Police Command yesterday.

Addressing journalists at the command headquarters in Amawbia, Commissioner of Police, Garba Baba Umar, said the deceased’s  accomplice, Okagbue, alias Hajia, in whose shop he was murdered, had been arrested and was now assisting the police with information that could lead to the arrest of other accomplices.

Umar said the police got a distress call over gunshots and promptly dispatched policemen to the area, where it was discovered that the victim had been on the wanted list of the police since 2012 for armed robbery, cultism and drug peddling.

Giving a breakdown of the successes recorded under a short period, the CP said one Oluchi, 24, was arrested on July  8, 2017, for stealing a two-month-old baby, in connivance with her friend, Nchedochi, 26.

Umar said the duo sold the baby to a woman, popularly known as First Lady, now at large.

The CP disclosed that the suspect, in order to conceal her crime, reported to the police station under false pretence that she left her baby in the custody of a woman, who absconded with it.

He said exhibits recovered from the principal suspect included N250,000 cash and one motorcycle that the suspect allegedly bought with part of the money realised from the sale of the baby. 

In the same period, the police attached to the Command Monitoring Unit, Awka, busted a child trafficking syndicate, which allegedly conspired and trafficked one Ifeanyi Odili, 10, for N300,000.

Members of the syndicate nabbed by the police included Rev. Raymond, 60, Angela, 42, Obinigwe, 56, and Jacob, 56.

Also paraded were Ogechukwu, 24, who was apprehended near Enamel bus stop, Okpoko, Awada, along the Onitsha-Owerri road during a robbery.  He claimed that other members of his gang escaped.

The CP said the suspects, on sighting the police, opened fire and the police responded accordingly. One of the suspects, who sustained gunshot wounds on his leg, was arrested, while his accomplices escaped into the bush.

Exhibits recovered from the suspects include one cut-to-size single barrel gun, two live cartridges and charms.

Umar added that between June 26, 2017, and now, the command has responded promptly to distress calls at various locations across the state and foiled many robberies, which led to the arrest of 15 other suspects and over 40 suspected cult members.

The CP called on members of the public to refrain from covering their vehicle number plates, misuse of siren and destruction of billboards and posters of perceived political rivals by political thugs.

Meanwhile, Governor Willie Obiano has charged police officers in the state to discharge their duties with utmost dedication in order to maintain the status of the state as the safest in Nigeria.

Obiano gave the charge at the police headquarters when he made a surprise appearance when the police command received the mobile police squad from MOPOL 27, Katsina, which was on a working visit to the state. Obiano  told the squad that the state, under his watch, had zero tolerance for cultism. 

Culled from Sun

Inquiry needed into 'Saudi Arabia's funding of Islamist extremism in UK'

Theresa May speaks with members of the welcoming delegation after her arrival in Riyadh in April Credit: Bloomberg

A public inquiry must be launched into the Gulf states' funding of the Islamist extremism in Britain that is fuelling terrorism, according to a think tank.
A clear and growing link can be drawn between overseas money, which mainly comes from Saudi Arabia, and the recent wave of atrocities in the UK and Europe, the Henry Jackson Society said.
The kingdom's 60-year campaign to export hardline Wahhabi Islam has led to support for mosques and Islamic institutions that appear to have links to extremism, the organisation said.

It found there have been "numerous" cases of Britons who have joined Jihadist groups in Iraq and Syria whose radicalisation is thought to link back to foreign-funded institutions and preachers.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud shakes hands with Theresa May in Riyadh in April Credit: Reuters

Prime Minister Theresa May, who visited Saudi Arabia earlier this year, has been accused of "kowtowing" to the kingdom by "suppressing" a report into the funding of extremist groups in the UK.
An inquiry was ordered in 2015 but reports have suggested the findings may never be published because of the sensitivity of the investigation's information regarding Saudi Arabia.
Labour MP Dan Jarvis said: "This report from the Henry Jackson Society sheds light on what are extremely worrying links between Saudi Arabia and the funding of extremism here in the UK.

"In the wake of the terrible and tragic terrorist attacks we've seen this year, it is vital that we use every tool at our disposal to protect our communities.
"This includes identifying the networks that promote and support extremism and shutting down the financial networks that fund it.
"I'm calling on the Government to release its foreign funding report, and guarantee that the new counter extremism commission will make tackling the funding of extremism a priority."

The Henry Jackson Society, which describes its approach to foreign and defence policy as "robust", called for a public inquiry into the issue.
Foreign funding for British extremism comes mainly from governments and state-backed foundations in the Gulf along with Iran, its study showed.
Report author Tom Wilson said: "There is a clear and growing link between foreign funding of Islamist extremism and the violent terrorism we have witnessed across the UK and Europe.
"The key now is to get ahead of the issue and find out the full extent of what has been going on. A public inquiry would go some way to informing the debate.
"While entities from across the Gulf and Iran have been guilty of advancing extremism, those in Saudi Arabia are undoubtedly at the top of the list.

"Research indicates that some Saudi individuals and foundations have been apparently heavily involved in exporting an illiberal, bigoted Wahhabi ideology."
A Government spokesman said: "Defeating the evil ideology of Islamist extremism is one of the greatest challenges of our time. The Commission for Counter-Extremism, which the PM announced earlier this year, will have a key role to play in this fight.
"We are determined to cut off the funding which fuels the evils of extremism and terrorism, and will work closely with international partners to tackle this shared global threat, including at the upcoming G20 summit."

Culled from Telegraph

Etisalat CEO, CFO Resign as Crisis Deepens

• NCC, CBN in crucial meeting with telco, banks
• Commission’s board to meet Tuesday

Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja and Emma Okonji in Lagos

The debt crisis rocking Etisalat Nigeria took a new turn Monday when the company’s chief executive officer (CEO), Mr. Matthew Willsher, and chief financial officer (CFO), Mr. Wole Obasunloye, resigned their appointments.

Their resignation came a few days after its Emirati non-executive directors (NEDs), representing the interests of Mubadala Development Company and Emirates Telecoms Group Company (Etisalat Group) also stepped down from the board, following the Nigerian company’s inability to meet its loan repayments amounting to $1.2 billion to 13 Nigerian banks.

The resignations also followed Etisalat Group’s reporting disclosure on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange two weeks ago that it had pulled out of Etisalat Nigeria and was transferring 45 per cent of its stake and 25 per cent of its preference shares in its Nigerian subsidiary to United Capital Trustees Limited, the legal representative of the lending banks.

Aside Etisalat Group, other shareholders of Etisalat Nigeria include Mubadala Development Company with a 40 per cent stake and Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services (EMTS), representing the Nigerian shareholders, with 15 per cent.
Etisalat had in 2013 approached a consortium of 13 local banks for a loan of $1.2 billion for network upgrade and expansion. The money was sourced in dollar and naira denominations.

However, citing the economic downturn of 2015-2016 and naira devaluation, which negatively impacted on the dollar-denominated component of the loan, Etisalat wrote its creditors informing them of its intention to halt the repayment of the loan in instalments, until such a time that it was able to raise more money.
Unsatisfied with the excuse from Etisalat, the banks threatened to take over the operations of the telecoms company should it fail to meet its payment obligations.
The situation forced Etisalat to enter into negotiations with the banks, seeking unreasonable write-offs, which the banks rejected.

Banks involved in the loan deal include: Zenith Bank, GTBank, FirstBank, UBA, Fidelity Bank, Access Bank, Ecobank, FCMB, Stanbic IBTC Bank and Union Bank.
THISDAY had exclusively reported that a breakdown of the amounts owed the banks showed that Zenith Bank has the highest exposure to Etisalat amounting to $262 million and N80 billion, GTBank has the second highest exposure of $138 million and N42 billion, Access Bank follows with $131 million and N40 billion.

Etisalat also owes UBA $125 million and N38 billion; FirstBank – $79 million and N24 billion; Fidelity Bank – $56 million and N17 billion; Stanbic IBTC – $25 million and N7.5 billion; FCMB – $15 million and N4.5 billion; and Ecobank – $10 million and N3.1 billion.

But Etisalat, in a statement two weeks ago, had countered this information, stating that it had paid $500 million up till February 2017. It said the outstanding loan to the lenders stands at $227 million and N113 billion, a total of about $574 million if the naira portion is converted to US dollars.
THISDAY had also reported that the CFO of the company was alleged to have diverted an estimated $700,000 realised from the sale of its telecommunications masts to IHS, a Nigerian towers and telecommunications infrastructure provider, instead of using the funds to repay the banks.

According to bank officials, they had financed the importation and purchase of the towers through Huawei of China to help build the infrastructure backbone for Etisalat.
But when the telco earned foreign currencies from the sale, Etisalat failed to repay its US dollar loans as was done by other telcos like MTN and Airtel.

As a result, the lending banks had resolved to take over the firm and pursue the prosecution of Etisalat’s directors.
However, their bid to take over Etisalat was halted by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecoms industry regulator, which made it clear that its licence was not transferable without its approval. NCC’s position was backed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The suspicion is that the mass resignations were an attempt by the directors and senior executives of Etisalat to absolve themselves of criminal and civil liability over the debt default.
As of press time, the NCC and CBN were in yet another crucial meeting with the banks and officials of Etisalat to address the crisis.

It was expected that a decision would be made on the appointment of new directors, CEO and CFO for the company and may be announced Tuesday.
An insider source told THISDAY that the banks are bent on restructuring the board and management of the telecoms company to reflect their interest.

Also, another industry source disclosed that the board of NCC would hold an emergency board meeting Tuesday morning in Abuja to work out a plan to stem the value erosion and crisis of confidence that have hit Etisalat arising from the non-resolution of the debt crisis.
An NCC board member, who spoke with THISDAY in Abuja Monday, said that unless the matter was “handled strategically”, the current challenges facing the company might lead to the loss of subscribers on the Etisalat network, job losses, and erosion of investor confidence,

“I have just received a notice for an emergency meeting; the issue of Etisalat will be discussed and addressed. We have some other meetings that are coming up very soon where the issues will be addressed. One thing we don’t want to happen is for the company to collapse,” the board member told THISDAY.
“That is why an institution like AMCON (Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria) was floated by the federal government. That is why you have Arik Airline still flying today, in spite of the huge financial challenges. It is not in our interest as a commission or as a nation to allow Etisalat to go down.

“We will look into it and find ways to solve the problem. If the foreign investors are no longer interested in the company we will reposition it in such a way that it will attract other investors. I am sure other people will be interested. I don’t think workers will lose their jobs because we are going to look into the case of Etisalat,” he added.
He also said that NCC was doing its best to ensure stability in the sector by ensuring that the necessary infrastructure is put in place to enhance efficiency in the sector.

He further revealed that the NCC was also looking at the ICT centres, including those in higher institutions in order to make them more effective; to make sure that clients or subscribers are not over charged and ensuring that there are customer centres across the country, where people can lay their complaints and instantly get attended to.

  Culled from Thisday