Pres Muhammadu Buhari’s Daughter Gets Called To Bar

Halima Buhari, the 7th child of President Muhammadu Buhari was today called to bar. 247 NEWS IN NAIJA brings you all the photos from the ceremony of the Lawyer who is married to Mohammed Sheriff, here.

Halliburton: Fayose Justifies Claim Of Buhari Wife’s Involvement

By Rotimi Ojomoyela Ado-Ekiti—Counsel to Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, has replied the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, Mrs Aisha Buhari through her counsel, Mary Ekpere & Co, saying the governor’s claim as regards her involvement in the infamous Halliburton scandal was correct and justified in law.

Ozekhome insisted that there are documentary evidences to support the governor’s claim that Mrs Buhari was indeed mentioned in the scandal.
In the letter dated July 8, 2016, Ozekhome affirmed that the statement made regarding the involvement of Mrs Aisha Buhari in the Halliburton scandal was “correct and justified in law, having regards to a court judgment convicting one Mr William Jefferson for bribery in the Halliburton case.” Counsel to the president’s wife, Mary Ekpere & Co had written to Governor Fayose on June 22, 2016, demanding a retraction of the governor’s statement that the President’s wife was involved in the Halliburton scandal, threatening legal action if the retraction was not made within five days.
However, Ozekhome said the statement of Governor Fayose was correct and justified, having been factually premised on an existing court judgment. The letter read; “Our client has referred to us your letter dated June 22, 2016, on alleged defamation of the character of your client , Her Excellency, Mrs Aisha Buhari, the wife of Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, with firm instructions to reply to and reject same in its entirety.

“Our client states and reaffirms categorically that the statement he made as regards the involvement of Mrs Aisha Buhari, the wife of President Buhari, in the Halliburton scandal, is correct and justified in law; having regards to a court judgement convicting one Mr William Jefferson for bribery in the Halliburton case. “Therein, the name of the President’s wife featured conspicuously. At page 22 of the said judgment delivered by the United State District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, USA, in criminal No 1: 07CR209,

the said Mr William Jefferson was sentenced at 9.00 am on November 13, 2009, by Mark D, Lytle. Your client, Mrs Aisha Buhari was specifically mentioned in the judgment. The judge referred to Exhibits 36-87 in the following words, for clarification; “See also Government Exhibits 36-87 (6/26/02 $170,000 wire transfer from account in Nigeria in the name of Aisha Buhari to an account in the name of The ANJ Group, LLC, identifying “William Jefferson” as Beneficiary)… Given the age of the defendant, the severity of the sentence calculated by the Probation Office, the defendant’s frequent travel overseas and unexplained wire transfers from overseas locations to financial accounts used by the defendant, the defendant cannot rebut the presumption at sentencing that he is a risk of flight.

“The said Williams Jefferson is currently serving a jail term in the USA and to the best of our client’s knowledge; this judgment has not been challenged, or set aside by any Appellate court of law anywhere in the world.
“The statement of His Excellency, our client, is therefore correct and justified, same having been factually premised on an existing court judgment above referred to.” On the immunity enjoyed by Governor Fayose against civil and criminal proceedings, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria said; “Your attention is also hereby drawn to Section 308 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as altered, on the immunity enjoyed by our client from civil or criminal proceedings for the period that he occupies the office of the governor of Ekiti State. “You may therefore advise your client to wait until after 16th October, 2018, when our client’s tenure expires. When that happens, we shall join issues with your client in a competent court of law, in the event that your client does not have a change of heart.’’
Source: Vanguard

Se x misconduct: US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, will tender video evidence to House of Rep members on Thursda

US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, will on Thursday July 14th, tender a video evidence of the alleged sexual misconduct of three Nigerian lawmakers in Cleveland, USA last month. Entwistle has been summoned by the House of Representatives joint committees on Ethics and Privileges and foreign affairs investigating the alleged sexual misconduct.
Also to appear before the committee is the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama.
The US Ambassador had in a letter sent to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, accused three members of the House, Samuel Ikon (PDP, Akwa Ibom), Mohammed Gololo (APC, Bauchi) and Mark Gbillah (APC, Benue), of sexual misconduct while they were attending a conference in Cleveland, USA .

We’ll start going after lawyers who help ‘looters’ escape justice’- EFCC acting chairman says

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The acting chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, says that the antigraft agency will soon start going after lawyers who aid and abet financial and economic crimes. Magu said this at the opening of a one-day workshop organised by the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) in collaboration with the Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption (PACC) at the Rockview hotel in Abuja yesterday Tuesday July 12th.
A statement issued by EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren states that Magu said at the workshop that the EFCC could not stamp out corruption in the country without the support of all stakeholders.
“We consider everybody a stakeholder, as the EFCC does not have monopoly of knowledge to defeat all shades of graft. We will not stop going after people who are involved in laundering money. It doesn’t matter who you are, the law is a respecter of nobody especially those who commit crime. Whether you are EFCC, SAN or whatever, sooner or later we will start going after people who buy properties with stolen funds as well as people who help others to escape justice”he said

Benue attacks: It is unfortunate that up till today, no herdsman has been arrested- state gov, Samuel Ortom says

Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom, says it is unfortunate that no herdsman has been arrested by security operatives since they started carrying out attacks on residents of the state. Governor Ortom said this in an interview with Channels TV;
“We have been appealing to the security agencies. We have been supporting them to ensure that they restore peace and order. It is unfortunate that up till today, there is no time that the security men came back to tell me that one arrest has been made against the herdsmen and their militia”.

11 local government areas in Benue state have come under sustained attacks by the herdsmen.

Rowdy session at House of Representatives following debate on bill to introduce immunity for National Assembly leaders

It was a rowdy session at the House of Representatives today after a bill seeking to provide immunity for the leadership of the National Assembly while in office, was introduced. The bill which is being sponsored by Leo Ogor, the minority leader of the house, is proposing an amendment to section 308 of the Nigerian constitution to allow the national assembly leadership enjoy immunity while in office. Presenting the bill to members of the house, Ogor said;
“The amendment is straight forward but it needs some clear explanation. The amendment seeks to strengthen the national assembly. The leadership should be protected in the period they are in office.”
His opinion was immediately countered by the majority leader of the house, Femi Gbajabiamila, who argued that since the Senate was presently having some issues, discussing a bill on immunity clause for National Assembly members is ill timed.
“We must feel the pulse of the people. There is something about timing, timing in any piece of legislation is important. There are issues in the senate and I pray it’s resolved.”he said
At this point the house became rowdy. After calm was restored, the speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara, said the bill would be sent to the special committee on constitutional review for proper scrutiny. He however passed the bill for second reading.

US Say They Have No Fraud Information Against Aisha Buhari

Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti had alleged a little while ago while reacting to the freezing of his Zenith Bank accounts by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission that the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari’s wife Aisha was involved in the $185m Halliburton scandal in the United States.

However, recent reports by PUNCH claim that the The United States government has refuted such claims. The news agency reports that the acting Public Affairs Officer, US Consulate General, Lagos, Frank Sellin, said this in an email sent them on Tuesday.

 Sellin said this in response to an enquiry made by our correspondent regarding allegations that the President’s wife was wanted in the US and was avoiding travelling to the country.

In a message, Sellin said, “Thank you for the inquiry. We have no information to provide on this matter.”
The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, had, last month, alleged that Mrs. Buhari was involved in the $185m Halliburton scandal.

Dino Melaye denies instigating impeachment proceedings against Pres. Buhari

Dino Melaye has released a statement denying media reports that he is instigating impeachment proceedings against President Buhari. Read the statement below.
Senator Representing Kogi West Senatorial District in the Red Chambers of the National Assembly and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory, Senator Dino Melaye has debunked rumours doing the round about his involvement in some moves to impeach the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
It is pertinent to note that the incredulously machinated misinformation was orchestrated by forces bent on destabilizing the upper chambers of the Nigerian Parliament for selfish reasons. One of the mushroom and faceless online platform used to promote the ill-fated, calumnious write-up has been notorious for serving as the propagandist machinery of political commercialists who are pushing for the extension of their fiefdom to the National Assembly.
While I remain unimpeachably committed to the leadership of the Senate, I believe the respected arm of government charged with the onerous responsibility of law making should be given the independence to conduct its business.
It is untrue and malicious ; the narrative of the attack dogs of demagogues who have decided to turn Nigeria upside down for failing to choose leaders for Senators. I am a responsible Nigerian, role model and a champion of anti-corruption and equity which my party stands for . I therefore urge the general public to discountenance the libellous publication as I will continue to respect the history, culture and excellence of my Kogi West people on the floor of the Senate. The true threat to the current Republic are those who believe a Nigeria not led by them must not exist. Thanks and God bless.
Signed Sen. Dino Melaye

8-year-old Girl Uses Kung Fu To Fight Off Home Invader

A young girl іn Southern California managed tо fight оff а potential kidnapper іn hеr home bу uѕіng а Kung Fu move. Police told Fox 2 thаt thе man broke thrоugh thе window аt thе 8-year-old girl’s home іn El Cajon.

Hе thеn wеnt upstairs tо grab hеr аnd attempted tо drag hеr dоwn thе stairs bеfоrе ѕhе managed tо uѕе а Kung Fu pressure move оn hіѕ neck tо escape. “I didn’t еvеn know. I laid asleep whіlе аll thіѕ wаѕ happening,” thе girl’s mother told NBC San Diego оf thе incident.
Thе ѕаіd ѕhе rесеntlу learned thе move, whісh ѕhе called “the Cheetah Paw” аt hеr Kung Fu class аnd decided tо uѕе it, “Because іt hurt him.” Police uѕеd а K-9 tо search fоr thе home invader, whо thе girl ѕаіd “smelled lіkе garbage,” but wеrе unable tо find him.

David Cameron Receives Standing Ovation As He Bows Out As PM

David Cameron addressed the British Parliament today for the last time as Prime Minister as his resignation becomes official today.

In his final address, he said

“The last thing I’d say is that you can achieve a lot of things in politics — you can get a lot of things done. And that in the end — the public service, the national interest — that is what it’s all about. Nothing is really impossible if you put your mind to it. After all as I once said, I was the Future once.”

He received a standing ovation from the Parliament immediately after his speech. He will be replaced by by former Home Secretary, Theresa May.

Reps Direct IG To Probe Murder Of Abuja Female Preacher

The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a resolution mandating the Acting Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to ensure a thorough investigation of the killing of a preacher, Mrs. Eunice Elisha Olawale.
Mrs. Olawale was murdered early hours of Saturday while carrying out her routine morning preaching around Gbazango-West area of Kubwa in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Kubwa zone of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in separate statements, condemned the killing of the female preacher, who was said to be the wife of an Assistant Pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Elisha Olawale and called on the relevant authorities to fish out those responsible for the mother of seven’s murder.
While the FCT Police Command said on Sunday that six suspects were arrested in the murder, the House of Representatives urged Mr. Idris to ensure that perpetrators of the heinous crime are not allowed to go scot-free.
The resolution of the House followed a motion of urgent national importance by a member, Hon. Babatunde Gabriel Kolawole (APC Ondo).
Moving the motion with the title: “Gruesome murder of Mrs. Eunice Olawale in Kubwa, Abuja and the need to protect other citizens in the FCT”, the lawmaker said the woman was hacked to death in the early hours of Saturday, while preaching the gospel a few meters from her house in Kubwa, by unidentified miscreants.
“The late Mrs. Eunice Olawale is from Ilawe (Ekiti State) while her husband, Pastor Elisha Olawale is from Ikare-Akoko in Ondo state, and that she was allegedly murdered by miscreants who were said to be annoyed by her early morning preaching in the area”.
Rep. Kolawole, who pointed out that the incident had caused ethnic tension to build in the nation’s capital because some people are claiming she was murdered by extremists while others attributed the killing to miscreants, called on the House “to be proactive to prevent the breakdown of law and order and further loss of lives”.
When Speaker Yakubu Dogara called for a vote on the motion, it was overwhelmingly supported by members.
The lawmakers thereafter observed a minute-silence for the late Mrs. Olawale.