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Court Extends Order On Striking Plateau Workers Published on Monday, 17th December, 2012 by pmnews Nnamdi Felix / Abuja A Nigerian industrial court has told striking workers in the central state of Plateau, that it will not lift the restraining order imposed on them. The National Industrial Court imposed the order 7 December and today, it extended it, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive case. The court presided over by Justice Babatunde refused attempts by the state government to commence the hearing of the suit as there was no proof of service on the leaders of the workers union before the court. He urged the state government to seek amicable resolution of the trade dispute and invoked section 20 of the National Industrial Court Act 2006, which recommends out of court settlement between parties, with a view to ending the Seven months old strike in the state. The court also ordered for the publication of the next adjourned date of January 7th 2013, o...

EFCC Arrests Former Police Pension Fund Boss For Interference The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on Monday in Abuja confirmed the arrest of embattled former boss of the Police Pension Funds, Mr. Esai Dangabar for interfering with prpoperties which have been forfeited to the federal government. The statement was endorsed by Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, the Acting Head of Media & Publicity Unit at the Commission Dangabar, is one of the six accused persons being prosecuted by the anti graft agency on a 16 counts charge bordering on conspiracy and criminal breach of trust for their roles in defrauding the Police Pension Office to the tune of N32.8 Billion (Thirty Two Billion, Eight Hundred Million Naira). He was said to be arrested on Thursday December 13, 2012, for interfering with the properties which the court had ordered forfeited to the federal government. Among properties belonging to Esai which have been forfeited to the federal government on interim basis pen...

The National Emergency Management Agency said they have recovered the bodies of the victims of Nigeria’s military helicopter crash in Bayelsa state today. In a statement, NEMA said “the bodies of the six passengers on-board the helicopter” had been taken to the “mortuary”. In another statement by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, Kaduna state Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa and ex-national security advisor Owoye Azazi were among the victims. There were four others identified to be two security aides of the governor and the pilot and co-pilot of the naval chopper. The victims had attended a burial service in Bayelsa state and were returning to Port Harcourt, when the chopper conveying them crashed into the creeks, bursting into flames. There was no survivor. Azazi, considered a close ally of President Goodluck Jonathan, was fired in January following a series of deadly attacks claimed by the radical Islamist group Boko Haram, which has killed hundreds in Nigeria since 200...

Terrorism Trial: Senator Communicated With Boko Haram Spokesman 73 Times Says SSS Nnamdi Felix / Abuja A federal High Court siting in Abuja was on Wednesday told that embattled senator Aliyu Mohammed Ndume who is standing trial on a four counts charge bordering on providing logistics and funding to dreaded Boko Haram sect, had a record of 73 communications in the form of sms, mms and voice calls between 3rd October and 3rd November, 2011, with convicted former spokesman of the sect, Konduga, who is currently serving a 3 years jail term. This disclosure was made by prosecution witness 3, Mr. Aliyu Usman, a forensic expert in the employ of the directorate of state security services, SSS, who started giving evidence in the trial on Tuesday. The witness also told the court that senator Adume saved Konduga's phone number on his own hand set as "Mal Ali BH" while Konduga saved the senator's phone number on his own phone as "INDUME Sen Ali". Bo...

Court Vacates Order Freezing Capital Oil Accounts Nnamdi Felix / Abuja Nearly a month after a Federal High Court made an order freezing his accounts and granting control of his company's assets and facilities to Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, Amcon, reprieve came to embattled Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah, owner of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited, as the court on Wednesday discharged the order it granted freezing the properties of the company. The court had last month granted the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, Amcon, immediate possession of properties belonging to the company and   its owner, Ifeanyi Ubah. The order freezing the company's properties was   made under Sections 49 and 50 of Amcon's Act. While discharging the order, Justice Abdul Kafarati held that Amcon did not have   to destroy or kill a going concern just because it is owing it some debt. He upheld the argument of Mr. Ifeanyi Uba's lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun,...

Ex-Militants sue Jonathan over N63.2b amnesty programme Nnamdi Felix / Abuja The planned inclusion of victims of oil pollution as beneficiaries of the N63.281 billion approved by the National Assembly for the demobilization and training of 3,642 ex militants granted amnesty by the Federal Government in the second phase and third phase of the programme, is generating rumbles within the ex-militants’ camps in the Niger Delta region. Some ex-militants who claimed that they were mobilized during the extended second phase and third phase of the amnesty project after surrendering their weapons to the Inspector General on Friday dragged President Goodluck Jonathan before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, seeking to stop the expansion and or inclusion of victims of oil pollution as beneficiaries of the largess. The former militants led by Mr. Friday Burutu, were miffed that their names were conspicuously missing from the list of the 3,642 ex militants for whom the National Assem...

Delta state returns seized money to James Ibori Published by pmnews on Tuesday, 11th December, 2003 Nnamdi Felix / Abuja The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, in a bid to sway the court not to allow the return to Delta state of the $15million seized from former Governor James Ibori, has told a story of a past misdeed by the state. The anti-graft agency recounted in a counter affidavit that sometime in 2008, it returned the sum of N50 million to Delta state which it recovered from Ibori but that the money was later in 2010 wired back to Ibori’s bank account in London in the form of building grant by the Delta state government. The EFCC thus urged the court to refuse the state government’s claims over the bribe money as it is likely to be transfered back to the former governor who is currently serving jail term in London following his conviction on money laundering charges in a London court. A dumbfounded Attorney General of the state, Mr. Charles Ajuyah in his respo...

Prof. Dora Akunyili: alleged assailant freed Published by pmnews Nnamdi Felix /Abuja Nigeria's Supreme Court on Friday discharged and acquitted alleged assailant of former minister of information and communication, Prof Dora Akunyili. The court upheld the appeal of the suspected assailant, Mr. Jude Ugwu. A seven man panel of the cout led by justice Datijo Mohammed affirmed the lower courts decision and held that there was no substantial evidence linking Mr. Jude Ugwu to the alleged attempted crime. Ugwu, alias “agada”, and four others were charged before an Abuja high court for attempted murder of Prof. Akunyili when she was traveling through Anambra to Delta state in 2003 while in office as then Director General of the Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control, NAFDAC. According to the charge, a bullet tore through Akunyili’s headgear when the accused persons allegedly fired at her car. Mr. Ugwu subsequently challenged the competence of the charge against h...

Ex Militants Sue President Jonathan Over N63.2b Amnesty Program Published by pmnew Nnamdi Felix / Abuja The planned inclusion of victims of oil pollution as beneficiaries of the N63.281 billion approved by the National Assembly for the demobilization and training of 3,642 ex militants granted amnesty by the Federal Government in the second phase and third phase of the programme, is generating rumbles within the ex-militants’ camps in the Niger Delta region. Some ex-militants who claimed that they were mobilized during the extended second phase and third phase of the amnesty project after surrendering their weapons to the Inspector General on Friday dragged President Goodluck Jonathan before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, seeking to stop the expansion and or inclusion of victims of oil pollution as beneficiaries of the largess. The former militants led by Mr. Friday Burutu, were miffed that their names were conspicuously missing from the list of the 3,642 ex militant...

Nigeria's Electoral Body, INEC, De-registers 28 Political Parties The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday annouced the de-registration of 28 Political parties. In a statement signed by the Commission's Secretary Abdulahi Kaugama  and made available to media houses late Thursday night, INEC said that the action was in exercise of its powers based on the I999 Constitution as amended and the Electoral Act 2010 as amended. The statement read;         "In the exercise of the powers conferred on it by the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), the Independent National Electoral Commission has today, Thursday, December 6, 2012, de-registered the following political parties:   1.  African Liberation Party (ALP)   2.  Action Party of Nigeria (APN)   3.  African Political System (APS)   4.  Better Nigeria Progressive Party (BNPP)   5.  Congress for De...

Money Laundering: Ex Works Minister Opens Defence Published on Thursday, 6th December By Nnamdi Felix / Abuja Former Works and Housing minister, Mr. Hassan Lawal, on Thursday opened his defence before a Federal High Court siting in Abuja in a money laundering charge brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. Lawal told the court that the N43.4 million which is the subject of the money laundering charge was the proceed of his landed property in Nassarawa state which he sold to repay a bank loan. While adopting his argument for a no case submission over his trial, Lawal said he took a loan from United Bank for Africa, UBA, Plc to buy a former inspector general of police, Tafa Balogun's house at Asokoro district in Abuja which the EFCC had seized and offered to sell to him. He further argued that he sold his landed property to repay the loan and that it was the proceed of that property he credited to his UBA Plc account that has become the su...