29 Years Old Man Sentenced to 11,196 Years in Prison for Fraud
A disgraced Turkish crypto founder who fled to Albania and his two brothers have been sentenced to 11,196 years in prison each, the Anadolu state news agency reported Friday.
Prosecutors had asked for Thodex boss Faruk Fatih Ozer, 29, to be sentenced to 40,562 years in prison for money laundering, fraud and establishing a criminal organisation.
“If I were to establish a criminal organisation, I would not have acted so amateurishly,” Anadolu quoted Ozer as telling the court.
His two brothers, Serap and Guven, received the same sentence, which was issued late Thursday after a brief trial, Turkish media reports said.
Turkey is known for issuing massive prison sentences, which became more common after it abolished the death penalty in 2004 to help its efforts to join the European Union.
Ozer was initially reported to have fled Turkey in April 2021 with $2 billion in investor assets, although that figure has since been disputed.
Prosecutors said Ozer had transferred 250 million liras in user assets (worth about $30 million at the time) to three secret accounts when he fled Turkey in April 2021, with much of the money ending up in a Malta bank.
The indictment said the Ozer brothers had caused 356 million liras of damage to clients in all.
The case grabbed local headlines because it coincided with a Turkish crypto boom that has since largely subsided due to heavier government regulation.
Turks began turning to various cryptocurrencies as a defence against a deep slide in the value of the lira that began more than two years ago.
Ozer gained further celebrity status after being pictured meeting with ultranationalist pro-government figures.
He was arrested last year in Albania on an international arrest warrant from Interpol.
2 Rejected As Lagos Lawmakers Confirm Sanwo-Olu’s Second Batch Of Nominees
The Lagos State House of Assembly on Thursday confirmed 15 out of the second batch of 18 nominees sent by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu recently.
The confirmation happened after Hon. Mojeed Fatai, Chief Whip and chairman of the screening committee, laid a report of the exercise before the House.
At a sitting presided over by the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, the lawmakers rejected Engr. Olalere Odusote, Mr. Samuel Egube.
However, the House resolved to step down the confirmation of Hon. Tolani Sule Akibu for another day.
Dr. Obasa, commended the committee saying the members did a thorough job screening the nominees. His position was supported by the lawmakers present at plenary.
Those confirmed include:
Dr. Afolabi Abiodun Tajudeen
Mr. Oluwaseun Oriyomi Osiyemi
Prof. Akinola Emmanuel Abayomi
Dr. Oluwarotimi Omotola Wahab Fashola
Mrs. Folashade Kaosarat Ambrose-Medem
Mrs. Akinyemi Bankole Ajigbotafe
Mrs. Bolaji Cécilia Dada
Mrs. Barakat Akande Bakare
Mr. Olugbenga Omotosho
Mr. Mosopefoluwa George
Dr. Yekini Nurudeen Agbaje
Dr. Olumide Oluyinka
Mr. Abayomi Samson Oluyomi
Dr. Iyabode Oyeyemi Ayoola
Hon. Sola Shakirudeen Giwa
Eromosele Ebhomele
Media Assistant to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
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apply to settle permanently in the UK (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’) if you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years and meet the other eligibility requirements
You cannot:
apply for most benefits (public funds), or the State Pension
change jobs or employer unless you apply to update your visa
If your application is successful, you’ll get a full list of what you can and cannot do with a Skilled Worker visa.
Breaking: PEPT Declares that Abuja has no Special Status thereby Dismiss Obi’s 25% Win in Abuja Claim
The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal has ruled that the most talked about mandatory 25% win in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is actually not constitutional.
I the judgement the tribunal dismisses LP/Obi’s Petition on 25 per cent needed to win the presidential election, according to the court, FCT residents have no special privileges as the petitioners claimed and it is thereby dismissed.
Labour party Presidential candidates Peter Obi and his followers has been nursing the hope that they stand a chance the ambiguity of the usage of and of the said section of the constitution present but this has now been put to bed by the declaration of the court of Appeal sitting on the election matter
BREAKING: Court rejects 10 out of 13 witnesses presented by Obi
The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal said it rejected 10 out of 13 witnesses presented by the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.
Justice Haruna Tsammani, who took over to deliver judgment on the substantive petition filed by Obi and LP, said this on Wednesday.
Tsammani said Obi called 13 witnesses, who testified as PW1 to PW13, noting that of the 13 witnesses, only three witnesses whose statements are on oath, were filed along with the petition.
The remaining 10 witnesses, the Justice said, were subpoenaed and their witness statements on oath were only filed after the hearing started.
Tsammani held that by virtue of section 285 of the Nigerian constitution, section 137(7) of the Electoral Act 2022, and other provisions, every witness statement on oath must be filed along with the petition.
He said that based on the Supreme Court authority, once the 21-day window for filing an election petition elapses, the content of the petition cannot be amended.
The Justice stated further that no additional statement on oath can be filed after the close of the specified window since the respondents would not have the opportunity to respond.
Tsammani said the petitioners were aware of the legal provision relating to the filing of witness statements on oath, yet went ahead to present 10 witnesses without their witness statements on oath earlier filed with the petition.
The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) has struck out the Allied Peoples Movement petitions against President Bola Tinubu and his Vice President, Kashim Shettima, for lack of merit.
The PEPT dismissed and described APM’s case filed to nullify Tinubu’s election as “incompetent”.
The court held that issues raised by the APM in its petition contained pre-election matters that could only be determined by the Federal High Court.
Chairman of the panel, Justice Haruna Tsammani, read the ruling.
The tribunal also dismissed the APM petition against the Independent National Electoral Commission and four others.
Listed as 1st to 5th respondents are INEC, All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, Kashim Shettima and Kabiru Masari.
The tribunal ruled on each of the arguments put forward by APM.
Tsammani said the petitioners failed to prove their arguments and the petition was void of merits.
The judge also upheld preliminary objections raised by all the Respondents to challenge the competence of the petition.
Tsammani held that since the petition centered on the qualification or otherwise of Tinubu to contest the presidential election, the APM ought to have gone to court within 14 days after Tinubu was nominated by the APC.
He held that since the cause of action bordered on a pre-election matter, the APM lacked the locus standi to challenge Tinubu’s nomination.
Tsammani also held that the law did not allow a political party to query the process adopted by another political party in nominating its candidate.
The judge also held that invalid nomination or double nomination did not qualify as a ground for disqualification in respect of presidential election as provided in sections 131 and 137 of the Constitution.
The PUNCH reports that the APM asked the court to invalidate the votes of the President on the grounds of the double nomination of his vice, Shettima.
The APM argued that at the time Shettima became the vice presidential candidate of the APC, he was also a senatorial candidate in Borno State.
The case of the APM was opened and closed on June 21 after calling one private witness.
There has been a Fire Scare involving an Inverter Battery at the basement of the Arrival Pick-up section of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) which has since been doused.
The scare which happened at about 08:00hours Wednesday has the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service joining the Aerodrome Rescue and Firefighting Service at the Echo Wing of the Airport.
The thick black smoke emanated from the Battery House as a result of the components of the Batter which was vented to bring the situation under control as the already activated Airport emergency response plan took strategic charge to bring the situation under control.
There is no record of casualty as normalcy has been restored.
Adeseye Margaret
Director
Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service
September 6, 2023
The International Passport is a Right not Privilege of Nigerians – Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister for Interior
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has mandated that no Nigerian should wait for more than two weeks before collecting their passport.
Tunji-Ojo made this known while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Tuesday.
The Minister of Interior also promised that all passport backlogs will be cleared in no more than two weeks, noting that owning a green passport is a right and not a privilege for Nigerians.
Tunji-Ojo decried the way Nigerians experience disrespect when they have to undergo the process of applying for their passports.
He therefore assured Nigerians that there is an ongoing conversation with Nigerian Immigration Service to digitise and centralise passport issuance and renewal process.
The Minister said “clearing all backlogs shouldn’t take more than two weeks.
“The scarcity and delay around fresh passport issuance and renewal fuelled corruption in the sector.
“After clearing these backlogs, no Nigerian should wait for more than two weeks,” he stressed.
“It’s a right and not a privilege, Nigerians want that right to be actually theirs, not by somebody offering you your right.”
According to him, it is not excusable for any Nigerian to be treated disrespectfully because of a passport application.
“What Nigerians want to see is solutions, and that is what the President has constantly told us… No excuses.
“In line with the directive of Mr. President, it can no longer be business as usual.
“We have critically analysed all these scenarios – from going online to fill the form to the point of payment, to the point of picking a date, to the point of biometrics, to the point of issuance of passports. And we understand the service providers involved and have seen one or two things to put right.
“We have to digitise and we also have to decentralise the whole enrolment system and make it (possible) for people to walk into the nearest post office, people can walk into may be financial institutions and some many other ways. We are still playing with so many ideas.”
DSS Arrested Syndicate Selling Palliatives in Nasarawa State
The Department of State Services (DSS) says its operatives have arrested some suspects behind the diversion of palliatives meant for “vulnerable” citizens in Nasarawa state.
The service said the suspects were arrested in various parts of the state for selling the palliatives, noting that the items have been recovered while an investigation is ongoing in other parts of the country.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Peter Afunanya, DSS spokesperson, said the service carried out an investigation after receiving reports from some state governments.
“Consequently, the Service undertook investigations in that regard and has recovered some of the items as well as apprehended the suspects,” the statement reads.
Afunanya said the service intercepted a “suspected criminal syndicate” in Nasarawa for allegedly diverting and selling palliatives meant for the vulnerable residents in the state.
He said the suspects arrested were officials of Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency (NASEMA) and their accomplices in the marketplaces, including Modern Market Lafia, where the items were being resold.
The DSS spokesperson said the suspects have been handed over to the appropriate body for disciplinary action.
Following the removal of the petrol subsidy, the federal and state governments have rolled out palliatives to cushion the hardship on Nigerians.
The measures include providing financial support and food items to low-income households and increasing the availability of public transportation for workers.
However, there have been concerns about the possible diversion of the palliatives away from the target population.
Nigeria is the Right Place for You…Tinubu Tells Hinduja Group Chairman
President Bola Tinubu has assured potential Indian investors about the enormous profits they stand to make in Nigeria.
He premised this on the pledge that his administration would break every bottleneck that impedes their ease of doing business in the country.
“I am here to personally assure our friends and investors that there is no bottleneck that I will not break. Nigeria will become one of the most conducive places on earth to make good profits and create lasting jobs,” Tinubu told the Chairman and CEO of the Hinduja Group of Companies, Gopichand Hinduja, a conglomerate with a total asset portfolio exceeding $100bn.
“The Indian Industrialist was received by the President within 90 minutes of the President’s arrival in India for a meeting, which began around 8:00 pm local time,” read a statement signed by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale.
The statement is titled, ‘President Tinubu Arrives India and heads straight into top-level investment meeting with Hinduja Chairman after 15a -hour journey’.
Accompanied to the meeting by Nigeria’s Ministers of Finance, Trade & Industry, and Foreign Affairs, Tinubu told his first visitor, Hinduja, that he was in India to attract investments to Nigeria with lucrative opportunities for investors, but most essentially, jobs for Nigerians and new revenue opportunities for Nigeria’s federal and sub-national governments.
“We are here for business. With my support, nothing is standing in your way of enjoying the unrivalled opportunities presented by our massive market and the ingenious & hardworking nature of the Nigerian people. We are open for business,” he stated.
The Hinduja Group Chairman told the President that he witnessed his landmark effort as Governor of Lagos in turning a coastal erosion and water encroachment crisis into a massive free trade zone, where industry now thrives.
He said this was partially responsible for his excitement to partner with Nigeria’s new President to create win-win prosperity for Nigeria’s talented population.
“We believe in you as a leader who has done this before. You know what the challenges are. You know how to fix them.
“We are going to make investments into the billions of dollars under your leadership because we see you are already addressing the systemic problems. I am ready now to sign an MoU and to begin execution.
“You tell me who to liaise with and we will get to work immediately, particularly concerning bus and automobile manufacturing in Nigeria, amongst other areas,” the industrialist said.
Responding to Gopichand, Tinubu said, “Ministers of Trade and Finance, the two of you will follow this up immediately and you will draw up the terms to the satisfaction of both parties.
“If there are any issues at all which require my intervention, they must be brought to my attention immediately.”
The President concluded that his task of making Nigeria great can only be achieved through teamwork and not in isolation.
He noted that when his investors are happy, Nigerians will rejoice by partaking in an inclusive economy where hard work is rewarded and excellence becomes the nation’s reputation.
After the President assigned the collaboration task to the two ministers, the industrialist noted that he had “paperwork stalled in Nigerian bureaucracy for over one year, especially in FCT, but I knew that you would be purpose-driven in this endeavour and God will help you to turn Nigeria’s rich promise into rich reality for all of its citizens.”
