Permanent secretary arrested for N14 Billion pension fraud

A Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Niger Delta, Abubakar Kigo and 5 others were arraigned this morning over their involvement in a fraud in which an estimated N14bn was stolen from Nigeria's police pensions administration.

The accused persons were brought to court by the EFCC in whose custody they had been and arraigned before Justice Mohammed Hamza Bello. All accused persons pleaded not guilty to the 16-count charge leveled against them.

Until his promotion to the position of permanent secretary, Abubakar Kigo was the director of the Police Pension Office and it was during his stint there that he allegedly connived with the others to tamper with the pension funds.

The scam had involved the use of over 3,000 bank cheques to make illegal withdrawals by staff of the police pension office.

Daily Trust

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2012 London Olympics team Nigeria captain promises lots of medals

The captain of Team Nigeria track and field team currently training in Atlanta, United States, Saul Weigopwa, has assured Nigerians that the team will not only win medals in all the relay events at the London 2012 games, he assured that many of the athletes, including himself, would make the finals of their events.

Weigopwa, an Olympics bronze medallist, in a statement from Atlanta revealed that the coaching tutorials they are receiving from the new national athletics coach, Innocent Egbunike would bring out the best in most of the athletes.

“The training is tough, but we all love it, if we had been training like this in the last few years, I personally would achieve more on the track, and I could have won an individual level medal at the global level long before now”.

Weigopwa revealed that Egbunike’s training is like a marriage of sports science and inspirational speeches,
“Everything is scientific, you are to follow a laid down plan which could not be altered. Daily, there are inspirational speeches from motivational speakers, pastors and Egbunike himself. Then we are all on the same level, the coach and the athletes, we all do the same thing on and off the track”.

The captain of Team Nigeria posits that the only way they could repay Nigeria for the huge financial investment in the team is to win medals in London,

“With the way we are training now, I can assure you that all the relays team would win medals in London. We just need to perfect the technical aspect as a team, but we would all be running well with the training we are doing now, once the technical aspect is perfect, we could win four relay medals. But personally, I know that with this training, I will not only run a new personal best this year, I will make the finals of the Olympics in the men’s 400m, and once am in the finals, anything is possible, I could win a medal. This is our toughest training ever; all the athletes are focused and ready for London”.

Weigopwa on behalf of his colleagues thanked the Honourable Minister of Sports and Chairman National Sports Commission (NSC) Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi and the NSC for making it possible for them to camp and train in Atlanta, “the only way we can repay the Minister and top officials at the NSC and Nigerians generally is to win medals in London and we promise not to disappoint” concludes Weigopwa.

Nigerian Tribune

President Goodluck Jonathan declares Boko Haram menace will end in June

President Goodluck Jonathan assured yesterday that his government will end the menace of Islamic sect, Boko Haram in some areas of the north by the middle of the year. He said the nation's security forces will take total control of the situation.

Jonathan who spoke in an interview with the South Korea's Yonhap News Agency while attending a two-day summit on peaceful use of nuclear energy, with about 51 other world leaders in Seoul, also gave an insight into the problems faced by the Federal Government in 2010 when his predecessor, late President Umoru Musa Yar'Adua was ill in far away Saudi Arabia without formally handing over the reigns of government to him as the then Vice President.

Speaking on the current security challenges facing the country following the Boko Haram Islamic sect's bombing canpaign in some parts of Nigeria, President Jonathan said, the problem was limited to certain areas in the country, assuring the international community that the problem would be seriously curtailed as the nation's security forces would take total control of the situation by the middle of this year.

"In terms of security challenges, we have some parts of the country where we have terrorist attacks, but it does not affect the whole country. We are in reasonable control. We have the belief that in the middle of this year; in terms of security of individuals, we will have full control. The danger is limited to some parts of the country. It does not extend to other parts of country," he further said.

President Jonathan also said during the interview that there were fears of military coup when late President Yar'Adua fell ill and did not formally hand over power to him, (Jonathan) as the then vice president. He said there were fears of a poosible coup as the country wobbled during the uncertainty surrounding the health condition of his predecessor.

He however said that military coup could not have occured because the country was politically stable.

"I was the President during the transition (period). Before I took over, I was vice president. The President (Yar'Adua) was very ill and people thought there would be military intervention. Today, we conducted election. Politically, we are stable," he said.

Assuring potential investors of a conducive environment to do business in Nigeria, President Jonathan appealed to South Korean companies to invest in Nigeria because of her huge economic potentials.

According to Jonathan, "other areas and the public sector have been opened up. Agriculture, in terms of production of raw materials; and other sectors have been opened up. Not just in private airlines but airports, terminal buildings and other sectors.

"Oil sector had been opened up from the beginning. We have very few chemical companies. It is an area these (Korean) companies can invest. Before 2002, telecommunication was a monopoly. Telecommunication has been opened up to other countries. More Korean companies can invest in all aspects of telecommunication.

"There is one key area that I want to emphasize. Nigeria is a very green area for investors. Before this time, during the military rule, you do not know who would be the next president. When a new government came, there were new policies and those policies were not attractive to investors.

"Basically from 1999 to date, we have established democratic government. For investors, Nigeria has strong laws and media. No president can just change laws that can affect investors especially. We encourage investors". He pointed out that he specifically preferred the Korean investors to focus attention on the power sector.

"I want investment in power sector. For now, we are quite low. We want South Korean investors."

Vanguard

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Nigerian security forces arrest 5 with 'Al Qaeda-links' over German kidnap

Nigerian authorities have detained five men, including a Mauritanian, believed linked to Al-Qaeda's north African branch over the January kidnapping of a German, two security sources said Tuesday.

Four of the suspects were arrested in a raid on a supermarket in the northern city of Kano owned by the Mauritanian on Thursday, while the fifth was held in a separate raid, the sources said.

"Guns and a laptop were recovered in the store and the documents found in the computer, including an AQIM operation manual, showed that the suspects are linked to AQIM and were involved in the kidnap of the German engineer in January," one of the sources said in describing the supermarket raid.

AQIM is the abbreviation for Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the extremist group's north African arm.

It has not been known to operate directly in Nigeria, though some have suggested links between AQIM and Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram.

German engineer Edgar Raupach was kidnapped on the outskirts of Kano in January. AQIM said last week it was holding the German and that it wanted to swap him for a jailed Muslim woman, a private news agency in Mauritania said.

A video obtained by the ANI agency and seen by AFP showed Raupach, his hands tied behind his back, surrounded by masked gunmen.

Germany has confirmed one of its nationals was kidnapped in northern Nigeria, and the German construction company Bilfinger Berger has said he is one of their employees.

"The arrests are an important lead that could help in resolving the kidnapping of the German," one of the security sources said.

The initial raid on the store was carried out on suspicion that the suspects were tied to Boko Haram, but investigations after the arrests led authorities to suspect they were linked to AQIM and the kidnap, the sources said.

The second source, speaking of the Mauritanian, said "he turned the upper floor of his store into a hideout where he housed his three Nigerian accomplices."

Nigerian authorities have come under intense pressure over the kidnapping as well as violence blamed on Boko Haram. They also faced criticism after a failed bid to rescue an Italian and a British hostage earlier this month.

The British and Italian hostages were killed by their captors before they could be rescued in a joint operation with British security forces, authorities said.

Nigerian authorities blamed the kidnap of the British and the Italian on a faction of Boko Haram, which had not been previously known to carry out abductions. A purported Boko Haram spokesman denied any involvement.

A security source however had offered an explanation that implicated the group by association, alleging that the mastermind was a man named Abu Muhammad who was affiliated with AQIM and Boko Haram.

The source said the kidnappings were aimed at collecting ransoms which could be used to finance Boko Haram activities, and that in return Abu Muhammad would be given security cover by the group to carry out further abductions.

Abu Muhammad died in custody after being wounded in a raid which led to his arrest, Nigerian authorities have said.

There has been speculation that criminal groups may be seeking to profit from the security situation in northern Nigeria, where authorities have been unable to stop scores of bombings and shootings blamed on Boko Haram.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation with 160 million people, is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south.

AFP

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28 retired police officers die waiting for over due pension

Chief Effiong Orok, the Chairman of Association of Retired Police Officers of Nigeria (ARPON), Cross River Chapter, says 28 pensioners have so far died in the state awaiting the payment of their pension.

The chairman disclosed this on Friday in Calabar to newsmen, saying that many of their members had died without enjoying their retirement benefits.

"We are now appealing to the Federal Government to assist us as many of our members are dead in the process."

"At the centre of the whole episode are the pensioners, whose welfare the whole exercise is all about and who are left in the blizzard of suffering."

Orok appealed to the Federal Government to pay the retired police officers in the country, adding that 28 of their members' names were not on the pay roll.

"Many pensioners whose names were on the pay roll before the biometrics' verification of July 2011, do not see their names in the pay roll again. "

The chairman said that those whose names appeared were paid once in every three months, pointing out that "since the year started, we have been paid once."

Orok appealed to the Joint Senate Committee on Establishments, States and Local Governments, to be more proactive in pension fund matters so that retirees would not be suffering.

"It is our candid opinion that those fraudulent officials who steal pension funds do so because they are not supervised by those the laws give such responsibility. "

He said there was need for government to expedite action on the exercise and cause the money to be released as members were really suffering and dying in silence in their hamlets and villages.

Orok, however, said that the Federal Government should, at the conclusion of the current investigation, review the archaic pension laws as such laws were responsible for the fraud in the system.

"The expected pension law which the National Assembly will make should make pension one of the enforceable rights of the senior citizens with attendant heavy punishment for those who will violate such laws."

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Federal Government had, few weeks ago, released N24 billion to settle the arrears of pension of retired police officers.

Daily Trust

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