Rep in certificate forgery. University says he never attended the programme he claimed in his biodata

Rep in certificate scandal •Disowned by varsity | Print | E-mail Written by Isaac Shobayo, Jos Sunday, 21 October 2012 The authorities of the University of Jos have disclaimed a member of House of Representatives, representing Ningi/Warji Federal Constituency of Bauchi State, Mallam Abdulrazak Nuhu Bature, who had reportedly said he was a holder of  Advanced Diploma Certificate in Public Administration from the institution. He was said to have claimed to be a 2006/2007 graduate of the ADPA programme of the institution in his curriculum vitae but the university insisted that he was never its student. The authorities of the University of Jos through the office of the Registrar recently issued a disclaimer on the federal lawmaker in a national daily on the premise that he was never at any time a student of the university. Surprisingly, within two weeks,  there was  another counter rejoinder  emanating from the same institution retracting the earlier disclaimer. The purported rejoinder as published in two national dallies was said to have emanated from the office of the registrar entitled: “Re-Disclaimer,” and had claimed that the published disclaimer did not emanate from the university, urging the public to discountenance it. Worried by rejoinder  which could discredit  the Institution,  the university authorities through its Deputy Registrar (Information and Publications), Mr. Steve Otowo,  described the advertisement as a forgery designed to confuse the public and re-affirmed its earlier publication that the legislator was never a student of the institution, adding  that the university stood by the earlier disclaimer. "The recent publication claiming that the disclaimer did not emanate from the university is clearly a desperate attempt to confuse issues and it cannot stand. The person was never a student of this university. "For the avoidance of doubt, I wish to reiterate that Abdulrazak Nuhu Bature never applied for, nor was he ever given admission into, the ADPA Programme of this university. He, therefore, did not graduate with the 2006/2007 set as he claimed nor with any other set for that matter. "The ADPA testimonial and certificate that the said Abdulrazak Nuhu Bature claimed to have obtained are forged as the documents did not originate from the university", Otowo said. He said the matter had been reported to the police while the university's lawyer had been contacted over the recent publication which he described as a forgery.

EFCC re-arraigns, Arisekola’s son, others over subsidy scam

  October 11, 2012 | 3:44 am News BY  ABDULWAHAB  ABDULAH, ONOZURE DANIA & MICHEAL OLADEPO For the third time,Abdulahi, the son of the Ibadan based business tycoon,  Alhaji Abdulazeez  Alao Arisekola was yesterday arraigned alongside four others over their alleged involvement in N1.1bn fuel subsidy scam. Abdulahi was earlier arraigned before Justice Habeeb Abiru as well as Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo on a nine count charge for subsidy fraud by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in July, 2012. In a fresh six-count N1.1 billion theft charge brought against Alao,  he was accused alongside Opeyemi Ajuyah, Olanrewaju Olalusi and two companies; Majope Investment Limited and Axenergy Limited before Justice Lateefa Okunnu of the state  High Court, Ikeja. The defendants were arraigned on a six count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence, forgery and uttering of  docu- ments. They were said to have conspired amongst themselves on February 14, 2011 to obtain the sum of N1,110,049,444.35  from the Federal Government of Nigeria by falsely claiming that the sum represented subsidy accruing to them under the Petroleum Support Fund, PSF, for the importation into Nigeria of 15,206.733 metric tons of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), This according to EFCC is an offence contrary to Section 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006. The Commission also accused the oil marketers of obtaining by false pretence the sum of N1,110,049,444.35  from the government on April 18, 2011, by falsely claiming that the sum represented subsidy accruing to them under the Petroleum Support Fund for the importation into Nigeria of 15,206.733 metric tons  of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). They were also alleged to have forged a document enitled, “Shore Tank Certificate” dated 22nd of January, 2011 purporting the document to have been issued by an officer of Q & Q Control Services Nigeria Limited,  the offence allegedly contravened section 467 of the Criminal Code Cap. C17, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2003. They all pleaded not guilty to the offences.  However, the court adjourned the case till  October 19, 2012 for hearing.

EFCC re-arraigns, Arisekola’s son, others over subsidy scam

  October 11, 2012 | 3:44 am News BY  ABDULWAHAB  ABDULAH, ONOZURE DANIA & MICHEAL OLADEPO For the third time,Abdulahi, the son of the Ibadan based business tycoon,  Alhaji Abdulazeez  Alao Arisekola was yesterday arraigned alongside four others over their alleged involvement in N1.1bn fuel subsidy scam. Abdulahi was earlier arraigned before Justice Habeeb Abiru as well as Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo on a nine count charge for subsidy fraud by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in July, 2012. In a fresh six-count N1.1 billion theft charge brought against Alao,  he was accused alongside Opeyemi Ajuyah, Olanrewaju Olalusi and two companies; Majope Investment Limited and Axenergy Limited before Justice Lateefa Okunnu of the state  High Court, Ikeja. The defendants were arraigned on a six count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence, forgery and uttering of  docu- ments. They were said to have conspired amongst themselves on February 14, 2011 to obtain the sum of N1,110,049,444.35  from the Federal Government of Nigeria by falsely claiming that the sum represented subsidy accruing to them under the Petroleum Support Fund, PSF, for the importation into Nigeria of 15,206.733 metric tons of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), This according to EFCC is an offence contrary to Section 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006. The Commission also accused the oil marketers of obtaining by false pretence the sum of N1,110,049,444.35  from the government on April 18, 2011, by falsely claiming that the sum represented subsidy accruing to them under the Petroleum Support Fund for the importation into Nigeria of 15,206.733 metric tons  of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). They were also alleged to have forged a document enitled, “Shore Tank Certificate” dated 22nd of January, 2011 purporting the document to have been issued by an officer of Q & Q Control Services Nigeria Limited,  the offence allegedly contravened section 467 of the Criminal Code Cap. C17, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2003. They all pleaded not guilty to the offences.  However, the court adjourned the case till  October 19, 2012 for hearing.

Gaddafi’s son will receive a fair trial at home’ The Guardian Nigeria LIBYAN government lawyers have guaranteed Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of its former dictator, a fair trial should he face trial in Tripoli. Philippe Sands, counsel for the Libyan government, told the first day of the two-day hearing on whether Saif al-Islam should face justice at home or at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague that accusations by ICC defence lawyers acting for the Muammar Gaddafi’s son that he was physically mistreated by Libyan authorities are false. However, ICC judges will rule on whether Libya is capable of properly trying the man once seen as Gaddafi’s heir-apparent or whether it should extradite him to the Hague. They have no way of enforcing their decision. British-educated Saif al-Islam was caught in the Libyan desert last November and the international court’s prosecutor has charged him with crimes against humanity committed during the uprising that toppled his father. An ICC-appointed defence lawyer who was detained in Libya along with three colleagues for almost a month told reporters in July that her experience showed the dictator’s son could not get a fair trial in his home country. The lawyer, Melinda Taylor, will have an opportunity to speak later in the hearing.

The Guardian. Police Walkie Talkies rendered useleess.

NCC claims due process in police spectrum allocation. A NEW twist has been added to the lingering case involving the sale of the 450MHz spectrum band said to belong to the Nigeria Police Force. The band was allegedly sold by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to a private company, Open Skys Limited. The frequency band 450MHz occupied by the police since 2009 was said to have been sold to Open Skys Ltd. without any competitive bid process as provided by the NCC Act 2003, nor consideration for national security. But the NCC said at the weekend that due process was followed in the allocation and that the process was initiated long before the existing leadership of the commission. The Guardian learnt that the police surveillance system has been left in dire straits, as all walkie-talkies recently acquired by the force have been rendered mere toys in as they are actually not in use due to the displacement of the police from the frequency band. An industry source and an expert on spectrum allocation, who spoke to The Guardian quietly corroborated the claim, saying that the 450MHZ frequency was valued at over $50million, but was sold for less than $6million by the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr Eugene Juwah, on September 26, 2011, to Open Skys Ltd, a company said to be owned mainly by Mr. Emeka Offor and his associates. NigComSat Ltd is said to own 25 per cent of the company’s shares. According to the source, “nothing can be far from the truth. There is actually fraud in the sale of the spectrum. As a result of the illegal sale, I can tell you that the police surveillance system has been left in dire straits, as all walkie-talkies recently acquired by the force have been rendered useless, since the spectrum to which they are supposed to be connected has been illegally hijacked by the NCC.”

Banks record N5.8bn loss to fraudsters

B about 20 hours ago CRIMINALS' penetration into the banking sector operations is gradually slowing down, as the sector recorded a loss of N5.8 billion last year, compared to the preceding year’s figure, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The decline in the criminal activities at the nation’s money deposit banks came on the heels of report that the volume and value of cheque transactions nationwide increased by 11 per cent and 13 per cent respectively. The revelation was contained in the 2011 Financial Statement by the apex bank, obtained by The Guardian, in Abuja, yesterday. The development, according to the report, showded a decline from the preceding year’s record. On the banks’ fraud, the statement said in part: “The number of reported cases of attempted or crystalised fraud and/or forgery in the banking industry declined in 2011. There were 2,527 reported cases of attempted fraud or forgery, involving N29.5 billion, as against 5,960 cases involving N19.7 billion and $19.2 million in 2010. “Of this amount, the actual loss to the banks was N5.8 billion, compared with N11.4 billion and $10.98 million at end of December 2010. The reduction in actual loss was accounted for by improvements in risk management practices in the banking sector. “The fraud cases were perpetrated through various means, including pilfering and theft, suppression and conversion of customer deposits, illegal funds transfer and fraudulent ATM withdrawals, among others.”

Fury over govt’s refusal to appeal ruling on Bakassi abo

ut 18 hours ago THE stark reality that they have permanently lost their homeland, Bakassi, finally jolted them from their long-held hope that fortune could still smile on them. And with the loss of hope came outrage yesterday. It was fury against the Federal Government that refused to appeal the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) 2002 judgment that ceded Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroun. But Second Republic Minister and Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Richard Akinjide (SAN), Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) and Femi Falana (SAN) supported government’s position. Chanting songs like “Bakassi is our birth right, Bakassi is our birth right and we will never let it go”, the Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly Larry Odey, led a protest to the state Governor’s Office in Calabar yesterday. Odey expressed shock over the government’s refusal to appeal the verdict. Some members of the House of Assembly who were a bit rowdy in the protest asked journalists not to cover them as they called for an impeachment of President Goodluck Jonathan for not seeking a review. The state governor, Liyel Imoke who received the protesting lawmakers expressed his appreciation for the action of the House of Assembly. “It is a spontaneous reaction born out of concern and out of passion for those you represent, like you said 3.2 million Cross Riverians that you represent, they have your mandate and come before your authorities and query an issue that affects their wellbeing. “Your comments regarding the recent meeting in Abuja are exactly as you stated. I was in attendance, there were clear directives from the president and if you recall I even spoke to the press and commended the president’s leadership… “What we know is that about 12 mid night today will be the last chance that we have to retain or to even have a fitting chance of the review of the very intractable problem of Bakassi, a problem which has been very careful to manage so that we don’t politicise it because there is a number of humanitarian considerations, a number of security issues and of course being a part of a country.” Imoke continued: “Cross River State on its own has no locus standi to file an action at the ICJ. For us what is important is the authorities at the Federal Government understand the passion and the pain that the people here feel… “We may not meet the deadline for review, I hope we do, in the event that we don’t, I believe very strongly that there is still another opportunity which we will pursue to ensure that justice is done.”