Six people have been kidnapped by unknown gunmen during an attack on the University of Abuja on Tuesday morning.
The University, in a statement on Tuesday signed by its spokesman, Habib Yakoob, said that the gunmen abducted a Professor of Economics in the institution, Joseph Obansa, alongside his two children.
He said the gunmen gained access to the Senior Staff Quarters at Giri in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the early hours of Tuesday.
Yakoob stated that the gunmen operated undisturbed for over an hour, adding that security agents have since been deployed to track down the criminals.
The school spokesman disclosed that apart from the professor and his children, three persons were also kidnapped.
Yakoob, however, stated that efforts were being made to ensure the safe return of the kidnapped persons.
The statement reads: “Suspected bandits attacked the staff quarters of the University in the early hours of today.
“Our Safety officers, in conjunction with security personnel, mobilised to secure the quarters.
“We have reports that four of our staff and their children were, nevertheless, abducted by the evil men.
“Efforts are being made to ensure their safe return. A sad day for us, indeed!”
Also confirming the incident, FCT Police Command Spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, said apart from the Professor and his two kids, three other persons were abducted in the invasion.
“The CP noted that a combined team of the Police and personnel of the Nigerian Army 176 Guards Battalion were swiftly mobilized to the area to protect the citizens.
“Preliminary investigations however revealed that six (6) persons were allegedly abducted into the forest by the criminals on sighting the security operatives,” Adeh said.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested billionaire businessman, Obinna Iyiegbu popularly known as Obi Cubana.
Naija News learnt that Obi Cubana who arrived at the office of the commission in Abuja on Monday afternoon is being questioned by operatives of the anti-graft agency.
A source that spoke with Punch disclosed that his case borders on alleged money laundering and tax fraud.
The source said, “Obi Cubana was arrested and brought to the EFCC headquarters on Monday afternoon over allegations of money laundering and tax fraud. He is being grilled by detectives as we speak.”
Recall that Obi Cubana trended on social media a few months ago following the huge amount of money that was spent on his mother’s burial.
The event was attended by notable personalities and celebrities in the country.
Claimed source of wealth
Mr Iyiegbu urged young Nigerians to give up seeking wealth through illegal means, saying he has no ‘soap’ for anyone to cut.
Speaking in an interview with BBC Pidgin earlier this year, Cubana said he had his breakthrough when he earned his first million Naira after his National Youth Service Corps program in Abuja.
The one who buried his mom with great fanfare recently said it was in Abuja that he was introduced to the real estate business, where he met a client who wanted to furnish a house. After furnishing the house for the client, Obi received a donation of 500,000 Naira, as he also made over 600,000 Naira in profit for this work.
According to him, “This was the first N1.1 million I earned before joining contract work in Abuja. I signed a contract with PPMC, I made some money, then I bought my Mercedes V-boot. I invested the money I earned in a garden brewery before creating Cubana Group.
He is being questioned at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja. He arrived at the EFCC office around noon on Monday.
Although details of allegations against the Anambra-born tycoon are still sketchy, a source told Channels Television that his case borders on alleged money laundering and tax fraud.
When contacted, the spokesman of the Commission, Wilson Uwujaren said he was yet to be briefed on the development.
Earlier in the year, the Anambra born businessman made headlines and trended on social media following a lavish burial ceremony for his late mother in the South East state.
His meteoric rise to fame has also seen him feature in comedy skits.
Former Kaduna senator, Shehu Sani, has reproached the Muhammadu Buhari administration for its failure to declare bandits terrorists.
As bandits continue to unleash their unrestrained reign of terror in Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and other Northwestern states that has claimed thousands of lives including members of the armed forces, Nigerians from across the country have been calling on President Buhari to declare the bandits terrorists. The call comes from several quarters.
The likes of Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna state have pleaded with Buhari to declare bandits terrorists so that the military will be decisive and firmer in dealing with them. The Senate on Wednesday 29th September 2021 passed a resolution asking President Buhari to declare the bandits as terrorists through a Proscription Order, pursuant to section 2 of the Terrorism Prevention Act, 2011 (As Amended). The Senate asked the president to wage a total war against the criminals, including bombing all their locations, to eliminate them, while also declaring all known leadership of the bandits wanted and track them wherever they are for arrest and prosecution.
Barely 24 hours after the Senate asked President Buhari to declare bandits terrorists, the House of Representatives also urged the President to do same, to underline the determination of the apex government to combat the wave of criminality and murders perpetuated by bandits all over the country.
A similar call was also made by all the 36 Speakers of State Houses of Assembly at the end of their conference last month (October) in Katsina state while asking the president to declare bandits enemies of the state.
But as lawmakers both at the federal and state levels were passing resolutions asking that the bandits should be labelled as terrorists and other Nigerians added their voices, the FG, through the Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, said that the need to follow due process was responsible for the delay in declaring bandits as terrorists. Sani is not happy with the situation. He lamented that the bandits are killing people regardless of religion and place of worship.
“They killed Muslim worshipers in their mosques in Niger and Katsina state; they killed Christians in their Churches in Kaduna state;if the Government doesn’t want to declare them terrorists,it should declare them federal civil servants,” the outspoken politician wrote on his verified Twitter handle on Monday.
President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, have approved a huge national security-sensitive maritime contract to a medical company in a process the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) says is “embarrassing” and illegal, a PREMIUM TIMES investigation has revealed.
The development has unsettled the Buhari government, with senior officials sparring and trading accusations of bad faith and the BPP complaining of “procedural lapses” in carefully worded memos that only stopped short of directly accusing Mr Buhari and Mr Amaechi of lawlessness
Our investigation is based on several confidential government memos and extensive interviews with insiders familiar with the matter.
The procurement agency said the contract was awarded in clear breach of the Public Procurement Act 2007.
The International Cargo Tracking Note (ICTN) scheme is an electronic cargo verification system that monitors the shipment of seaborne cargo and enables a real-time generation of vital data on ship and cargo traffic in and out of Nigeria, a government memo says, emphasising national security and economic benefits.
An operation of the scheme was initially in effect following a President Umaru Yar-Adua-Goodluck Jonathan era contract between the Nigerian Ports Authority and an operator, TPMS-Antaser-Afrique, which was abruptly terminated by former finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in October 2011.
The controversy surrounding the termination of the contract ended up in a court of arbitration before attracting the interest of the anticorruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Mrs Okonjo-Iweala then said the scheme was hurting businesses. In the short period it was initially implemented, barely a year, more than 40 million euros was generated in revenue, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) said. It is unclear if that revenue was remitted to government in full.
However, the government now finds the scheme desirable again. A transport ministry memo of August 26, 2021, to the Bureau of Public Procurement says that non-engagement of the scheme would continue to cause the country loss of revenue, worsen the country’s maritime security situation, and allow alteration of cargoes and under-declaration.
In what kickstarted the current process that is now stuck in controversy and abuse, Mr Amaechi’s transport ministry, on September 11, 2020, sought the approval of the BPP to conduct a restricted/selected tendering exercise to engage agents or partners for the implementation of the cargo tracking note scheme, documents seen by PREMIUM TIMES showed.
But citing the “convoluted” circumstance of the initial contract, which attracted criminal investigation by the EFCC and the need to regain international confidence, the BPP rejected the selective tender request and, instead, asked the transport ministry to conduct international competitive bidding (ICB).
“This (ICB) was to ensure that experienced international firms with high reputation, integrity, and capacity to deliver participate in the procurement process,” BPP said in an October 22, 2020 memo justifying the need for an openly competitive process.
But “surprisingly,” the BPP noted in a memo, the transport ministry on August 26, 2021, reverted to the public procurement regulator with an approval dated August 19, 2021 from the president to adopt a direct procurement in favour of MedTech Scientific Limited, a healthcare company, in partnership with Rozi International Nigeria Limited, a property development company.
Direct procurement is single sourcing of a contractor with no room for competition either in a selective exercise, which invites interests from a restricted number of companies based on experience and capacity, or an open exercise, which is publicly advertised for companies to express interest and compete.
Mr Amaechi and procedural lapse, breach of law
After the October 22, 2020 letter of the BPP rejecting the selective tendering exercise the ministry of transport initially requested, Mr Amaechi ceased further communication with the bureau until he was able to circumvent due process to obtain Mr Buhari’s approval for direct procurement, which he then communicated to the bureau on August 27, 2021.
In the period between October 2020 and August 2021, Mr Buhari had in a letter dated May 17, 2021 directed that an international competitive bidding exercise be adopted in line with the BPP’s earlier position.
But Mr Amaechi brushed aside the instructions of the president and the BPP and went ahead to have the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, where the tracking note scheme is now domiciled, to commence a restricted tendering exercise extending invitations to nine companies. This was done because of time constraint, the ministry claimed in the memo of August 27 to the BPP. Curiously, the same president changed his position afterwards and did not only authorise to use selective tendering but in favour of two named companies.
That procedure contravened Section 40(1) of the Public Procurement Act 2007 as there was no approval from the Bureau before adopting Restricted Tendering Exercise, the BPP said in two separate memos to the Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Gambari, and the ministry of transportation’s permanent secretary, Magdalene Ajani.
“Even more worrisome”
While the restricted tendering exercise, which the BPP said was illegal, was ongoing, Mr Amaechi decided to jettison the process and consequently “hand-picked” MedTech Scientific Limited, in partnership with Rozi International Nigeria Limited, out of the firms selected to compete for the contract.
He then sought and obtained Mr Buhari’s anticipatory approval to engage MedTech without any competition, a development that was inconsistent with the president’s earlier directive and the public procurement law.
“This procedure is clearly against the spirit and intent of the Public Procurement Act 2007 and if challenged has the potential to embarrass the government,” the BPP said in a memo to the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Gambari. A similar position was communicated to the transport ministry but the BPP said nevertheless it could not stop the contract given the president’s approval.
The BPP said the transport ministry did not provide the basis for picking MedTech and Rozi International to partner for the project. The ministry had said the companies selected to participate in the selective tendering process were chosen on the basis of “proven records of experience, competency, and reliability to execute the services.”
However, as the PREMIUM TIMES investigation revealed, neither MedTech nor Rozi International had any record of success in delivering maritime traffic tracking service.
MedTech was incorporated in Nigeria in 2008 with an office in Lagos. The directors are Lifesign Healthcare Limited, a UK-registered company, Ramzi Nabil Abou-Hassan, Iyabo Rojaiye, and Kolawole Ojetimi. Mr Abou-Hassan is a health practitioner, his Linkedin profile suggests, and the managing director of Lifesign Healthcare Limited, UK Companies House records show.
On Linkedin, Mr Abou-Hassan said of his involvement in the coast of West Africa, which covers Nigeria, that “It is our intention to continue to leverage our experience of almost 20 years in this region to help build capacity in a very difficult environment and where the level of public healthcare has suffered much neglect for over three decades.”
On the other hand, Rozi International was incorporated in 1991 in Bauchi State, with a Wuse Abuja address, CAC records show. According to the records, the company’s nature of business is property business development, and the directors, as well as shareholders, are Robert Zeitoun, and Issam Zeitoun.
The BPP said the profiles of the two companies were not forwarded for review and therefore could not comment on their “suitability to execute a project of this magnitude and complexity.”
The transport ministry’s spokesperson, Eric Ojikwe, did not comment after we sent written questions to him via a text message.
It is not clear if Mr Buhari saw the profiles of MedTech and Rozi International or questioned Mr Amaechi in this regard before granting his approval. Presidential spokespersons, Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu, did not comment. They did not reply to separate text messages to their telephones, nor did they answer calls.
“Insulate the president’s office from embarrassment”
Despite the arbitrariness of the procurement process, the BPP said it could not stop Mr Amaechi since he had managed to gain Mr Buhari’s anticipatory approval. An anticipatory approval means the granting of a procurement request before the statutory consideration and endorsement of the Federal Executive Council.
Nevertheless, the BPP separately told Mr Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Mr Gambari, and the ministry of transport that “it is not correct” for the “exalted Office of His Excellency, Mr President, to be drawn into routine administrative approvals particularly contract-related matters that are open to litigation.”
“This procedure should be strongly discouraged,” it wrote.
The Bureau also told the Chief of Staff to advise the president to rescind his anticipatory approval granted to Mr Amaechi in order to ensure an international competitive bidding exercise that is not compromised and to protect the president from embarrassment.
Meanwhile, the BPP also raised a question about the required security clearance from the Office of the National Security Adviser. The NSA had expressed security concerns in a July 16, 2021, memo.
We could not confirm if both Mr Buhari and Mr Amaechi obtained any security clearance before approving the contract to MedTech and its partner Rozi International.
Mr Amaechi and a history of violation of procurement process
Mr Amaechi has at various times got himself mired in arbitrary conduct around procurement processes involving agencies under his supervision, suggesting an aversion for due process.
In a number of contract processes involving the NPA, Mr. Amaechi inserted himself arbitrarily. In one case, he directed the NPA to restore a boat service contract with logistics giants, Intels, in disregard for an ongoing open bidding exercise in which the company had been disqualified.
In this case, the BPP intervened and submitted that Mr Aamechi’s position could create a monopoly and leave a pattern of gaining contracts in ways other than a transparent competitive tendering process.
In addition, in the matter of NPA’s port dredging contract, Mr. Amaechi directed that contracts be extended for a year beyond original expiration dates instead of a bidding exercise, which the BPP had approved.
More light has been shed on the bribery allegation involving former Commander of the Intelligence Response Team, Abba Kyari, who was suspended on July 31.
Sources in police that spoke with Punch confirmed that the former deputy commissioner of police is still on suspension and had not been secretly recalled by the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba.
Kyari has been under investigation over a bribery case involving self-confessed internet fraudster, Abbas Ramon, popularly known as Hushpuppi.
The FBI in a document had alleged that the embattled police officer connived with Hushpuppi to defraud a Qatari businessman of $1.1 million.
Recall that the IGP on Thursday noted that he has not received any extradition request formally.
The IG said, “I have not received any extradition request formally. But I have read from other places that there was an extradition request. I’ve not seen it and that is one.
“Two, when this issue of Kyari started, we took our own action by constituting a panel to look at the allegations that were made against the senior officer.
“The allegations were based on fraternising with Hushpuppi and even receiving some series of instructions on extrajudicial torture and so on. We looked into all these allegations via the committee that was set up by the DIG and we submitted our report to the SGF on the findings of our investigation.
“We just received the legal advice from the office of the Attorney General on what to do next in terms of asking the officer to account for what we have gathered in the course of our investigation.”
Social media giant, Facebook on Thursday announced that it has changed its corporate name to Meta.
The Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, in the announcement disclosed that the development is part of a major rebranding.
The platform further stated that the change does not apply to its individual platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, but the parent company that owns them.
This is coming after series of reports about Facebook, based on documents leaked by Frances Haugen, an ex-employee.
Haugen had accused the company of putting “profits over safety”.
Ex Akwa Ibom South Senator, Nelson Effiong, who was kidnapped on the 5th of September,2021 as at 9pm, at the newly opened Highbrow club along Oron road in Uyo, the state capital, is yet to be released by his abductors.
This is the second time, the lawmaker has being abducted, having earlier been taken hostage in 2009, 2 years after leaving the office as Akwa-Ibom third speaker of the State House of Assembly in 2007.
The former APC lawmaker, has from time accused Nigerians of exaggerating insecurities under the President Buhari Era.
Effiong has now spent 50 days under the roof of his abductors who demands the sum of N200 million as ransome to free the Ex lawmaker.
The E-Naira speed wallet has disappeared from the Google Play Store barely 48 hours after its launch, The PUNCH has observed.
However, our correspondent learnt that the eNaira merchant wallet, which is designed for businesses, is still running and has over 10,000 downloads on the Google Play Store made available to Android users.
Checks on the Apple App Store showed that the eNaira speed wallet was still active but had been upgraded.
To access the eNaira, users have to download the ‘speed wallet’, which allows them to conduct transactions with speed and ease. It is a digital storage that holds the eNaira and is held and managed on a distributed ledger.
Before it disappeared, the speed wallet had a rating of 2.0 from 2, 150 reviews as of Tuesday evening with many complaining of glitches.
