Nigerian pastor jailed for 9 years in UK over fraud

A Nigerian, who works as a school accountant in the United Kingdom, was on Friday given a 9-year jail term by a Woolwich Court after he was convicted of stealing about Ј4.1 million of school funds.

Dailymail reports that the vast sum of money was missing from the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation Trust in South London.

Identified as Sam Kayode, the 59-year old was also said to be a part-time pastor.

Kayode was said to have spent the money on his late wife, Grace, a “second wife”, Olubunmi Halima, 33, and two other female “partners”, names given as Toyin Lawal, 50 years old and Yetunde Turtak.

The court sentenced Kayode, who gets Ј57,000 a year wage, after he was found guilty of obtaining Ј150,000 by theft and Ј3.95 million by fraud.

He constantly looted the school account for 7 years until he was apprehended in 2012, after a school cleaner came across his paper work and made an anonymous call to the Chief Financial Officer.

He claimed to have moved the money to Nigeria where he has a Ј1 million empire with Halima but the Trust could not recover any asset from Nigeria.

They were, however, able to recover only Ј800,000 from the total money he stole.

Apart from spending money on his real wife Grace’s private health care until her death in 2013, he also signed documents showing he was making investments with Halima, and renting flats in Kent for ‘partners’, Toyin and Yetunde.

During trial, Kayode tried to blame the theft on his late wife Grace and an office junior, saying that they conspired to smear him by transferring the money to his joint account in revenge for his adultery.

He denied having affairs with the other women, and said that he lied about marrying Halima.

However, Toyin also denied they were lovers, saying that as her pastor, he paid for her rent for one month when she was short of cash.

Daily Post

Senate leader Bukola Saraki denies forgery charges

The leader of Nigeria's senate, Bukola Saraki, and his deputy have pleaded not guilty to forgery and criminal conspiracy charges.

Mr Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu are accused of trying to forge the senate rules in order to help them secure their positions.

If found guilty they face up to 14 years in prison.

President Muhammadu Buhari has been at loggerheads with Mr Saraki as his party did not want him as senate leader.

Mr Buhari's preferred candidate was not present when the senate elected its president last year.

Mr Saraki's opponents say that that election was not valid and was conducted under rules which they allege were forged.

The case could have widespread political ramifications, correspondents say.

The accused arrived at court in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, in bus accompanied by senate colleagues, the BBC's Chris Ewokor reports.

Mr Saraki is also involved in another court case in which he is accused of false asset declaration, a charge he denies.

BBC

Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote aiming for 50% of Nigeria's crude refined internally by 2021

“Our target is that in the next five years or so from now, we hope and we believe that half of Nigeria’s crude will be refined and exported rather than just exporting crude to go and create jobs elsewhere.”

The words of Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote during a press briefing after touring the construction site of his refinery expected to begin operations in 2019.

He was accompanied on the tour by Nigeria’s vice president Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, and Akinwunmi Ambode, governor of Lagos State, where the refinery is being built and a number of key federal level ministers.

Governor Ambode, said that the Dangote Lekki Refinery, Petrochemical Projects will boost Nigeria’s economy, because it would be a major strategic asset not for Lagos alone but for Nigeria’s wobbly power supply system.

Africa’s richest man disclosed in an interview with Reuters News Agency on Friday (June 24) plans to open Nigeria’s first private oil refinery estimated at a cost of $12 million dollars with the funds to be pooled from multiple sources.

The refinery, which would be complemented by petrochemical, gas & fertilizer projects by Aliko Dangote at Lekki Free Zone (LFZ) in Lagos is expected to be completed in 2018 but start operations the next year.

The Governor of Nigeria’s commercial hub said “Firstly, there is a refinery project that is ongoing, second there is a petrochemical project that is also ongoing. There is pipeline transfer project that brings gas from Bonny down to Olokonla and down to Lekki and then the fourth one is the fertilizer project all in one location.”

The Petrochemical project that is coming on stream by December 2017, whiles the refinery comes on stream by the first quarter of 2019, in between both the Gas project will come on stream by 2018.

The Vice President refinery’s on his part said the Gas Project upon completion has the capacity to produce about three billion cubic feet of gas daily, which would permanently address the two billion cubic feet daily gas required to power the country.

Some of the ministers that were on the trip included Minister for Finance, Kemi Adeosun; Minister for Solid Minerals, Kayode Fayemi; Power, Works and Housing minister, Babatunde Fashola and Industry, Trade and Investment minister Okechukwu Enelamah.

Africa News

Related story: Video - Aliko Dangote building world's largest oil refinery in Nigeria

Niger Delta Avengers want Brexit style referendum for Nigeria

Oil militants who have slashed Nigeria's petroleum production with attacks on pipelines called Sunday for a referendum on breaking up the Nigerian federation.

The Niger Delta Avengers group posted a map on social media suggesting that the West African power house could divide into five countries.

Analysts had predicted that the stunning result of the British referendum to leave the EU would encourage separatists in Nigeria. "Separatist groups will feel emboldened," Nigeria's SBM Intelligence warned in an analysis of the fallout from the British vote.

"President (Muhammadu) Buhari should call for a referendum to enable every Nigerian to vote if they want to stay as Nigerians or not, just like what David Cameron of Great Britain did," the Avengers posted on Twitter.

Based in the southern Niger Delta, the Avengers have allied themselves with separatist groups from the southeastern Igbo people, and said they, too, might demand a separate state. Igbo separatist groups have had a resurgence in the past year. Nigeria suffered a civil war from 1965 to 1970 that killed a million people after the Igbo declared an independent state of Biafra. Former colonial power Britain sided with the federal government while France supported the secessionists.

All Nigeria's oil production is in the Niger Delta and offshore of the southern region. Oil militants and non-violent activists have been demanding a greater share of the wealth from oil, an industry that has massively polluted their lands and destroyed the livelihoods of communities that rely on fishing and agriculture.

Oil provides 70 percent of the federal government's revenue. Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun said the Avenger's attacks — on facilities of U.S.-based Chevron, Dutch-British Shell and Italian Agip — cost the government nearly $60 million in May. The attacks have stopped production at two of Nigeria's five oil refineries, disrupted supplies from two export terminals and made buyers cautious of Nigerian oil.

Nigeria also confronts an Islamic extremist uprising in the northeast by a group allied with the Islamic State that has killed more than 20,000 people and an upsurge in deadly confrontations in the Middle Belt between Muslim nomadic cattle herders and Christian farmers.

ABC

Related story: Video - Niger Delta Avengers set tough conditions for negotiation with Nigerian government

Video - Foreign nationals kidnapped in Nigeria released

The Commissioner of Police in Cross River, Jimoh Ozi-Obeh, on Sunday confirmed the release of five workers of Macmahon Construction Company abducted on June 22.

Two Australians, one South African and two Nigerians were seized by gunmen at Edundun Bridge in Akpabuyo Local Government Area of Cross River.

The police said their driver was killed during the attack.

Ozi-Obeh told newsmen in Calabar that no ransom was paid to release the workers.

He said the success recorded during the rescue was the result of the combined efforts of the security operatives with the support of the state government.

The Cross River Security Adviser, Jude Ngaji, also confirmed the release of the workers.

"I can confirm that they have been released. I was with them a short while ago.

"It is only the two Nigerians that had injuries while one or two others had some scars," he said.

Ngaji said the workers had been treated and that they had spoken with their family members.

News24