BREAKING: Southeast Govs disown IPOB, say secessionist group not speaking for Igbos

 

Governors in the Southeastern part of Nigeria, under the umbrella of South East Governors’ Forum have declared that members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB are not speaking for the entire region on the call for secession.

The governors who met on Saturday in Enugu State to figure out ways of curbing the current security crisis bedeviling the region condemned all secession agitation in the country.

Chairman of the forum, David Umahi who stated this while addressing newsmen shortly after the meeting, said they believe in one Nigeria.

“We condemn in totality, the activities of violent secessionist groups in the South East and elsewhere.

“We firmly proclaim that we do not support them, they do not speak for South East.

“The impression that South-East leaders are silent over some of our youths’ agitations for secession is not correct.

“South-East Governors, Ohanaeze President, National Assembly members, notable leaders had come out publicly many times in the past to speak against such agitations.

“In order not to mismanage the unfortunate situation, South-East leaders have set up a committee to engage such youths to stop and allow elders speak to address such fears,” he said.

Angry youths allegedly attack Fulani herdsmen, destroy police station at Odo-Owa, Kwara

A group of angry youths in Odo-Owa community of Oke-Ero Local Government Area in Kwara State, on Thursday, protested against the presence of Fulani herdsmen in their community.

It is the second fracas in two months in the community over alleged Fulani invasion.

The first incident happened when the house and hotel of Ramon, an alleged Fulani kidnap kingpin, were destroyed following allegations of criminality against him by the Odo-Owa community.

It was gathered that the youths accused the Fulani herdsmen of being involved in kidnappings in the community.

In the process, they allegedly destroyed houses belonging to Fulani herdsmen during the fracas which occurred at about 2000hours, Thursday night.

The action of the angry youths was to enforce the ultimatum issued to Fulani herdsmen to vacate their community, which expired on Thursday.

It was further gathered that police operatives of Odo Owa police station who attempted to stop the unlawful action of the youths were attacked and their station destroyed.

However, in a response to a text message on the development sent to the spokesman of the state police command, Mr Okasanmi Ajayi said ” The Odo-Owa police station was not attacked by the youths as alleged.

“The youths became agitated as a result of some suspects arrested in connection with a case under investigation,” he added.

Ajayi, said, “the youths dispersed immediately they were made to understand the rationale behind the arrest of those suspects.”

13 injured, 25 cars destroyed as LPG tanker explodes in Lagos

No fewer than 13 persons sustained various degrees of injuries on Thursday night after a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) tanker exploded at Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, opposite Sheraton Hotels and Towers, Ikeja.

Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, Acting Zonal Coordinator, South West Zonal Office, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), confirmed the development to newsmen in Ikeja on Friday, NAN reports.

Farinloye said about 25 cars were destroyed in the explosion which was caused by leakage while the LPG tanker was in motion.

“The fire affected the premises of Ogun State Property Investment Company (OPIC) Plaza besides Sheraton Hotels, which houses different commercial outfits including a Chinese Restaurant.

“After concerted efforts of five fire trucks from the Lagos State Fire Service and two trucks from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency Response Unit the fire was put out.

“The initial search and rescue activities revealed that 13 persons sustained various degrees of burns. Out of this, nine are males while four are females,” Farinloye said.

According to him, the affected victims were attended to at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) for First Aid.

“Preliminary assessment of vehicles damaged indicated that about 25 were destroyed as at now,” he added.

Nnamdi Kanu: Place bounty on your leaders’ heads instead – Shehu Sani tells Northern groups

Senator Shehu Sani, who represented Kaduna Central at the 8th National Assembly, has slammed the Northern groups who placed a bounty on Kanu’s whereabouts.

DAILY POST had reported that 17 Northern groups under the aegis of Northern Consensus Movement (NCM) on Thursday declared Kanu wanted over the killings and destruction of properties owned by Northerners in the Southeast.

The President of the group, Dr Auwal Abdullahi, while addressing a press conference, also placed a N100m bounty on Kanu.

Reacting, Senator Sani faulted the move, stating that the group should have channeled their efforts towards ending the terrorism and banditry currently ravaging their region.

The former lawmaker made the remark on Friday in a post on his official Facebook page.

“We have terrorists and bandits here up north, killing and kidnapping our people; why not the Northern groups place a price tag on the heads of their leaders instead of placing them on someone far abroad,” he said.

Abducted Kebbi student shot dead

 

One of the students abducted from the Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri, Kebbi State, on Thursday has been shot dead during a gun duel between soldiers and the abductors.

The Deputy Force Commander of the Joint Task Force in the North-West Zone, Air Commodore Abubakar AbdulKadir, confirmed this to reporters in Zamfara State on Friday.

According to him, four students and a teacher were rescued during the operation.

“In the early hours of this morning, we have come across the kidnappers. They came to our blocking point, and we engaged them,” Abdulkadir said.

“At that point, they abandoned five of the students and one of the teachers. Unfortunately, I think we have lost one of the students.”

More to follow……

Ohanaeze Ndigbo slams Northern group over N100m bounty on IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kalu

Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, has slammed the Northern groups for placing a bounty on Nnamdi Kanu’s whereabouts.

DAILY POST had reported that 17 Northern groups under the aegis of Northern Consensus Movement (NCM) on Thursday declared Kanu wanted over the killings and destruction of properties owned by Northerners in the Southeast.

The President of the group, Dr Auwal Abdullahi, while addressing a press conference, also placed a N100m bounty on Kanu.

Reacting, Ohanaeze Ndigbo in a statement by its Secretary-General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro on Friday, faulted the move and accused the warring factions in the leadership of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders and Islamic terror organizations of being behind the killings and destruction of properties in the southeast region.

The group called on the Northern groups to place their N100 million bounty on Miyetti Allah and the slain Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau’s successor whom it alleged had foisted heavy havoc on the citizens.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo, however, dismissed the claim that northerners are being killed in the southeast, maintaining that there had not been any killing of northerners recorded anywhere in the region as it further accused the northern groups of embarking on a mission to thwart the ambition of the southeast zone in producing President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor come 2023.

The Igbo organization said, “we would not want to join issues with faceless groups that are not known in the north but in as much as that they are making some attempts to cause crisis in the country by ensuring that the groups not only placing a bounty on Nnamdi Kanu over alleged killings, they are out to escalate the tension in the country.

“For the purpose of record and from the last time, there had not been any killing, except the accidental killing of Ahmed Gulak in Owerri. There had not been killing recorded anywhere in the southeast about northern people except some nefarious activities of unknown gunmen and killer Fulani herdsmen who had been attacking police stations and government facilities and killing both Igbos and indigenes from other parts of the country.

“We want to tell the groups being sponsored by some northern presidential aspirants to place the bounty on the new leader of Boko Haram terrorist group, that had just emerged after the death of Shekau. Nnamdi Kanu has an address in London or in Germany where his headquarters of IPOB is. There is no need of searching for Kanu. He is not in Nigeria, he has an address in London as a British citizen. They should just use the N100 million bounty given to them by northern politicians, who are trying to destabilize the southeast to have easy root for the 2023 presidential ticket of major political parties in Nigeria, especially of the PDP.

“They should place the bounty on Shekau’s successor who has no address, who is living in the forest, the terrorist group that took arms against the government for the last six years. They should not cry more than the bereaved, we will take care of the southeast and ensure normalcy returns. As far as we are concerned, that bounty is inconsequential and political. It is not necessary, only a means to continue to heat up tension in the polity”.

Northern groups place N100m bounty on Nnamdi Kanu

 

IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu is pushing for the creation of an independent Biafra nation

A coalition of 75 northern groups has announced a reward of N100 million for persons who can produce the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu.

The coalition said Kanu had committed ‘crime against humanity.’

The coalition, under the aegis of the Northern Consensus Movement (NCM), disclosed this at a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday.

According to NCM’s Spokesperson Awwal Abdullahi Aliyu, Kanu has been the one instigating hate speech and killings of some northerners doing legitimate businesses in the South-East part of the country.

“We are declaring Nnamdi Kanu wanted for crimes against humanity and for instigating the killing of innocent Northerners in the southeast via his hate speech.

“We want him to answer for the killing and destruction of Northerners residing and undertaking lawful businesses in the southeastern part of Nigeria.

“So, we are placing a bounty of N100m as an offer to anyone who can produce him alive, hale, hearty, and uninjured to us for onward delivery to the security agencies for the continuation of his prosecution.”

Aliyu urged the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and the European Union to facilitate Nnamdi Kanu’s repatriation to Nigeria to face the continuation of his trial for alleged treason.

“We call on both the US, the UK, and the EU, a champions of democracy, rule of law, and freedoms of speech and expression to kindly and humbly respect Nigeria’s sovereignty and facilitate the repatriation of Nnamdi Kanu to Nigeria.

“This is so he can face his treason, and possibly fresh terrorism and genocide charges against innocent citizens of Nigeria.”

Pastor: Why I killed my wife

 

The pastor in Eket, Akwa Ibom State, who killed his wife and buried her corpse in a shallow grave inside the compound where they were living, has told the police why he did it.

The 49-year-old Chris Enoch, from Ebonyi State, is the general overseer of Omega Word Global Ministries in Ikot Ataku village, Okon, in Eket, while his slain wife, Patience, 40, was a petty trader who used to sell pastries in the local market.

They had five children together, the eldest is 15 years old.

Enoch’s church has been operating inside the same rented compound where he and his family have been living together.

“The suspect, who had domestic differences with his wife, (and) accused her of being the source of his numerous woes in life and infidelity, confessed to have beaten her to death as a result of the unresolved differences on the 9th of June,” the police spokesperson in Akwa Ibom State, Odiko MacDon said in a statement on Thursday.

“In order to cover his tracks, he dug a shallow grave in his compound and buried her. The deceased’s corpse has been exhumed by the Police and deposited in the mortuary for autopsy,” he added.

The Commissioner of Police, Andrew Amiengheme, has ordered the deputy commissioner of police in-charge of the SCIID to take over the investigation, and assured that the suspect would be charged to court after the investigation, MacDon, a superintendent of police, said.

The statement said the police commissioner was “appalled” by the killing, and has appealed to spouses “to be amenable to tolerance and resolve domestic issues before they degenerate into violence”.

The commissioner warned that perpetrators of domestic violence and other crimes in the state would be made to face the law, except they desist from it.

Newsmen reported how the community became suspicious when the pastor’s children complained to neighbours that they had not seen their mother for days after she had a quarrel with their dad.

The youths of the community, led by their president, Effiong Johnson, who is also a ‘community police officer’, went to search the pastor’s compound and were shocked to discover the woman’s corpse buried in a shallow grave.

The pastor was handed over to the police by the community youths.

Spanish man kills mother, eats her remains

 

A Spanish man has been arrested and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment after killing his mother and eating her dead body.

28-year-old Alberto Sánchez Gómez was arrested after the police found body parts around his mother’s home. Some of these parts were found stored in plastic containers. According to him, his bizarre actions were a result of a psychotic episode.

The court rejected Sánchez’s arguments, and he will serve 15 years for manslaughter. And an additional five months for the violation of a dead body. Including €60,000 ($73,000, £52,000) in compensation to his brother for damages.

In February 2019, the police arrived at the home in eastern Madrid on a tip-off. The alarm was raised by a neighbourly friend, who was concerned about the welfare of María Soledad Gómez (deceased). During the trial, it was revealed that Alberto strangled his mother during a disagreement. He then dissected and ate parts of her body over the following two weeks. Alberto Sánchez also fed parts of his mother’s body to his dog.

Woman Arrested For Using Seven-Year-Old Granddaughter As Sex Slave In Enugu

The victim narrated to the vigilantes how her grandmother sent her to various men who had carnal knowledge of her.

The Enugu State Police Command has arrested an aged woman for allegedly giving out her seven-year-old granddaughter to different men as a sex slave, and collecting the money.

The woman, whose name was concealed for investigation purposes, was arrested first by Ugwuagor vigilantes in the Abakpa community in the Enugu East Local Government Area of the state.

It was learnt that the victim narrated to the vigilantes how her grandmother sent her to various men who had carnal knowledge of her.

Another male suspect, identified only as Miracle, from Calabar in Cross River State, who was one of those who had had sexual intercourse with the little girl, was also arrested. The police are still on the trail of other abusers.

“This brother, (referring to Mr. Miracle) if I come to his shop, he will insert his private part in my body. He does this almost every day with the knowledge of my grandmother.

“There's another brother I don't know where he lives, after putting his private part in my body yesterday, he gave my grandmother N1,500,” the girl tearfully narrated.

The victim added that her mother stayed in Lagos.

The Abakpa Police Station Divisional Officer said the matter was being investigated by the division and they would take further action after completing their investigation.

JUST IN: We Are In Hot Pursuit Of Kebbi Bandits – Police

 

The Kebbi State Police Command says its men are in “hot pursuit” of the bandits who raided Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri, on Thursday.

Daily Trust had reported how armed men broke into the school some hours ago.

Teachers and students were among those abducted while a policeman was shot dead.

In a statement, DSP Nafiu Abubakar, Police Public Relations Officer in Kebbi, said the attackers would be made to face the law.

“A combined team of Police operatives is currently in hot pursuit of bandits who today, June 17, 2021 attacked the Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri, Kebbi State. The team comprising operatives from the Police Mobile Force, Anti-kidnapping and Counter-terrorism units are currently combing nearby forests, routes and suspected hideouts of the criminals.”

“The Kebbi State Commissioner of Police, CP Adeleke Adeyinka, mni while condemning the attack which resulted in the unfortunate death of one policeman and gunshot injury to one of the students has assured parents and guardians of students that the Command is following credible leads and intensifying efforts to track the assailants and ensure the rescue of the missing students and teachers.

“Following the attack, three teachers and yet to be ascertained number of students are still missing.

“Meanwhile the Commissioner of Police appeals to residents of Kebbi State to assist the Police with prompt information that would aid in solving the crime and apprehending the criminals. He assures that the Command will do everything within its power to ensure that the abducted persons are safely reunited with their families and perpetrators brought to book.”

BREAKING: Fresh Xenophobic Protests In South Africa As Violent Groups Threaten Bloodshed On Nigerians, Others

Violent posters were shared widely in the town calling on the non-nationals to leave the Soweto area before Wednesday, June 16.

Violent groups on Wednesday led a protest in Soweto, South Africa, calling for the expulsion of foreigners and non-nationals which led to tension in the South African city.

SaharaReporters learnt that the protest was tagged “Operation Dudula” which saw violent groups calling for a protest against foreigners – a march which started at 8 am at a hall in the Diepkloof area of Soweto.

Violent posters were shared widely in the town, some of which were obtained by SaharaReporters, calling on the non-nationals to leave the Soweto area before Wednesday, June 16.

It is not clear yet the steps which the South African authorities are taking on the matter, but the police were seen around the protesters trying to prevent them from breaking into people’s shops.

A local member of Operation Dudula, however, claimed they were targeting criminals such as drug peddlers, cult members, and others.

Some other protesters claimed that they wanted “undocumented, immigrant business owners, to be removed from the area.”

Soweto is South Africa’s largest and most influential township, from where large xenophobic attacked originated in previous years.

A Nigerian lawyer based in South Africa also confirmed the fresh protest in Soweto, saying since 2008, they had lived with the “ominous increase in xenophobic threats and attacks on an annual basis.”  

He said, “This recent incident under discussion is not an isolated incident but one of the many ugly manifestations of xenophobia.  

“I must confess that the South African Government is trying its best to curb and contain it but, many of these incidents are instigated by politicians and the so-called elite so to gain political mileage and to score political points 

“Some of the attacks are instigated by lack of service delivery and the rising economic crisis, there are incidences of competition amongst locals and foreigners and there is also the element of jealousy, in the sense that the locals observe several foreigners whose businesses are thriving as opposed to theirs. Meanwhile, these foreigners had arrived in South Africa with vast business experiences and substantial capital. 

“If you carefully observe some of the latest xenophobic attacks, you can tell that the locals don't want foreign long haulage drivers to move the cross-border goods trailers and trucks in and out of South African borders. The foreign drivers don't mind being paid less than the government-approved minimum wage, while the South Africans who are unionized want to insist on the minimum wage and more pay increases.”

The last pronounced wave of xenophobic attacks was around July 2019, when a Deputy Director-General of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Mrs. Elizabeth Ndubuisi, was murdered in her hotel room in South Africa, among other killings and violence.

No Harm Must Befall IPOB's Lawyer, Ejiofor—Igboho Blows Hot Over Military Invasion Of Barrister's House

Yoruba freedom fighter, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has warned that no harm must befall Ifeanyi Ejiofor, counsel for the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Igboho made this known in a statement issued on Wednesday by his spokesperson, Olayomi Koiki.

Ifeanyi Ejiofor

In the statement, the Yoruba agitator noted that Ejiofor is not only a lawyer for IPOB and its leader, Nnamdi Kanu but also Igboho and the Yoruba agitators.

It was stated that the lawyer, who is a personal lawyer of former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, stood on many occasions for the Yoruba agitators.

Igboho reiterated his former stance that an attack on IPOB or the people of the South-East is an attack on him and other Yoruba agitators.

"We stand shoulder to shoulder with them in this battle," he said.

The freedom fighter, therefore, warned that should anything happen to Ejiofor, anyone involved in the attack will not go scot-free.

The statement read, “Chief Sunday Igboho has waited for days for a possible reaction from the relevant security agencies on the reason for the bloody and violent invasion on the Anambra state country home of Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor's but all to no avail.

“Those that attacked his home tried to assassinate him and in the process, they killed his personal assistant and several other people in his home and burnt their bodies to ashes. They did this as Barrister watched the whole episode helplessly from where he hid in his home.

”For the records, Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor is not only the lawyer to IPOB and Mazi Nnamdi Kanu but also a lawyer to our leader Chief Sunday Adeyemo and our group. He is also a personal lawyer to our dear brother and highly respected uncle, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, former Minister of Aviation and he is a friend and supporter of the sons and daughters of Oduduwa.

"On many occasions, he has stood in for us and our members, and today we are standing in for him. We have said it before and we say it again that any attack on IPOB or the people of the East is an attack on us. We stand shoulder to shoulder with them in this battle.

"It is on the strength of these hard facts that we wish to warn the relevant security agencies that if anything onward happens to Barrister Ejiofor that the consequences will be serious, and no one directly or indirectly connected with this desperate hunt for innocent life, will go scot-free.

"We know the individuals who are funding this whole thing and we wish to put it on record that this is the second time they tried to take our lawyer's life. It must be the last. Such an attempt must never happen to him again.

“We demand that all Barrister Ejiofor's domestic staff that were abducted during this bloody attack on his peaceful home be released by the security agencies without further ado.

“We counsel for peaceful co-existence. Let wise counsel prevail."

Biafra Republic Will Be Free Even If You Kill Many Of Us—Nnamdi Kanu Tells Nigerian Government

Kanu, who had on several occasions, accused the Nigerian Army and police operatives of killing IPOB members as a means of quelling the agitation reiterated that no amount of killings can halt their agitation.

Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has said that the alleged continued assaults on members of the group and people in the South-East cannot stop the actualisation of the sovereign nation of Biafra. 

Kanu, who had on several occasions, accused the Nigerian Army and police operatives of killing IPOB members as a means of quelling the agitation reiterated that no amount of killings can halt their agitation.

Meanwhile, the security agencies in the South-East had also named the IPOB members and its security wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN) as the brains behind several attacks and killings of their men as well as destruction of government facilities.

Kanu, who is calling for a referendum to allow the secessionists decide whether to be part of Nigeria or a separate nation, said killings would not solve the problem.

According to him, the actualisation of Biafra would still take place despite the alleged killings.

He made the remark on Thursday in a tweet via his official Twitter handle.

 “At the end of this tortuous journey, history will record that referendum, NOT bullets, determined their fate.

“It matters not how many they kill; one outcome is inevitable, Biafra MUST emerge a FREE nation. The sooner the Caliphate understand (sic) this inevitability, the better for all," Kanu said on Twitter.

EFCC To Prosecute Orji Kalu All Over Again – Bawa

Abdularasheed Bawa

 

Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Abdulrasheed Bawa has said former Abia State governor, Orji Uzor Kalu will be prosecuted by the agency all over again.

The anti-graft agency boss also said he is not perturbed over the threats to his life and he is determined to prosecute the many pending cases under trial.

Bawa disclosed this on Thursday while addressing journalists during the weekly ministerial chat at the State House in Abuja.

He gave insight into ongoing prosecutions, challenges, and increasing cases of financial crimes since his assumption into office 100 days ago.

He also clarified reports accredited to him concerning the involvement of a Minister in the laundering of about $37 million into real estate. He disclosed that he simply made reference to an old case involving a former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Madueke.

The EFCC Chairman further disclosed that since his first 100 days in office, the agency has been working on a number of proactive strategies including a special control unit against money laundering, established particularly to address non-designated financial institutions including car dealers, real estate, jewellery dealers, among others.

Bawa said he is confident that when the unit is fully established, corruption will significantly decline in the country.

He then added that the agency is equally working towards the development of a biometric ownership database to address money laundering.

According to him, most proceeds of crime are laundered through real estate and have become a huge challenge. He gives examples of property acquired especially in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt where billions of naira are laundered through this means.

He, however, declined to disclose actual perpetrators or the properties involved.

He revealed that since his assumption, a number of recoveries have been made including N6billion, $161million, £13,000 pounds, €1,730 among others.

Internet fraudsters numbering 1,502 have also been apprehended between January to June 2021and efforts are underway to file about 800 of them. A hundred cases will be filed in court.

Culled from Channels.

Gunmen Kidnap Four Chinese Rail Workers, Kill Police Officer In Ogun

Four Chinese railway workers working on the Lagos-Ibadan railway have been kidnapped.

A police officer attached to them was also killed during the attack which was carried out on Wednesday around Kila, a village between Ogun and Oyo states.

Eyewitnesses said the gunmen were dressed in black kaftan when they stormed the site of the rail project at Adeaga/Alaagba and killed the policeman while struggling to abduct the Chinese workers.

They were reported to have laid an ambush in the surrounding forest for the expatriates.

Confirming the incident on Thursday, the police public relations officer in the state, Abimbola Oyeyemi said the victims were ambushed around the area by eight gunmen.

He added that the tactical team of the command has been mobilised to ensure the rescue of the abducted victims

“The gunmen numbering about eight were said to have invaded Adeaga/Alaagba village, near Kila, in Odeda local government area of the state,” the police spokesperson said.

The police spokesperson said until the arrest of the perpetrators nobody can ascertain the identities of the victims.

He, however, promised that the kidnapper would be hunted and brought to justice, to serve as a deterrent to others.

Court Sentences Former Bank PHB Boss, Francis Atuche To Over 6 Years In Prison

A Lagos High Court sitting in the Ikeja area has sentenced former managing director of defunct Bank PHB, Francis Atuche to over 6 years in prison.

In a judgment that lasted over 10 hours, Justice Lateefat Okunnu convicted Atuche alongside a former Chief Financial Officer of the bank, Ugo Anyanwu.

The two were convicted on at least 6 of a 27-count amended charge of conspiracy to commit a felony and stealing brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

While Atuche who was found guilty on counts 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 23 of the charge would serve a 6-year term for each count,  Anyanwu will serve a 4-year jail term for counts 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 22 and 24 of the amended charge.

They are to serve their jail term consecutively. This sentence is coming after a trial that lasted over 12 years.

In delivering her sentence, Justice Okunnu held that the EFCC successfully proved its case against the convicts beyond a reasonable doubt.

The judge rejected claims by the defendants suggesting that they were merely professionally negligent.

She specifically held that Atuche and Anyanwu abused their powers, ignored established rules and regulations thereby putting the bank and depositors’ funds in danger.

The court also came to the conclusion that the convicts corruptly took advantage of their positions to confer on themselves undue financial benefits without regard to the health of the bank.

“The convict stole from the bank and depositors and because of their action, taxpayers money was used to bail out the bank”.

Justice Okunnu held that she had considered the plea of the convicts, but there must be consequences for wrongdoing, adding that sentences are not just for punishment but also for deterrence.

She also ruled that the defendant should make restitution of the amount stolen from the bank. They are to pay back the sum of N25.7billion to the Federal government to replace the funds stolen from the public to bail out the bank.

According to the Judge, they are to serve their jail terms at the Kirikiri maximum correctional facility in Lagos.

Atuche’s wife cleared

Justice Okunnu however, cleared Atuche’s wife on the charge of conspiracy and stealing.

According to the judge, the EFCC failed to link her to the crime and insisted that suspicion no matter how strong can not take the place of fact.

The judge held that it was not proven that she was aware of the source of the funds she received into her account from her husband and she had no powers to take any decision to influence the transaction.

Charges

The EFCC had alleged that between November 2007 and April 2008, the accused persons stole about N25.7bn belonging to the bank.

The anti-graft agency had also claimed that of the total N25.7bn, they stole about N14.7bn by fraudulently describing it as a loan to some companies and subsequently converted the said sum to personal use.

The Commission had listed the companies as Future View Securities, Extra Oil Limited, Resolution Trust and Investment Limited, and Tradjek Nigeria Ltd.

The EFCC also alleged that another N11bn stolen by the defendants was used to purchase about 984,375,000 units of Bank PHB shares for themselves.

According to the commission, the sum used for purchasing the shares was described as a loan to some companies including, Guesstrade Services, Sentron Trading, Montrax Investico, Claremount Management Ltd., Trenton Trade, and others.

In proof of its case against the accused persons, the EFCC called 12 witnesses who gave oral evidence. It also subpoenaed 6 others to present some documents which were admitted as exhibits by the court.