Crime
Senate invites EFCC, BPP, others over unrecovered N6.5bn
An ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives has summoned stakeholders in the Lagos International Trade Complex (LITC) concession over unrecovered N6.5 billion.
The committee that is investigating the lease of Federal Government owned assets made the resolution sequel to a unanimous adoption of a motion by Rep. Sani Bala (APC-Kano state ) at a public hearing on Tuesday in Abuja.
The stakeholders include the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) the Lagos International Trade Complex, Aulic Nigeria Ltd, Plaza Owners Association among others.
Earlier, the Director of Admin and Human Resources in LITC, Mr Francis Dajilak told the committee that the complex was concessioned to Aulic Nigeria Ltd in 2007.
He said that five major stakeholders including the Department of Security Service (DSS) existed in the complex before the concession.
Dajilak explained that after the concession, there were issues between the existing stakeholders and the Aulic which delayed the implementation till 2008.
The director said that between 2008 and 2017 when the contract was terminated, Olic did not remit funds to Federal Government as agreed in the contract.
According to him, between 2008 and 2017 when the contract was terminated, Aulic Nigeria Ltd was owing to a tone of N6.5 billion.
The director said that all efforts to recover the funds after the termination of the contract proved abortive.
Dajilak said that upon recovering the complex, the entire place was in a mess and the EFCC was invested to recover the funds.
He told the committee that EFCC made the but later released owners of Aulic after a few weeks with no amount paid into government coffers.
Dajilak said that the LITC approached BPP to help recover the funds but no positive result has been achieved.
Mr Godson Okoye, Counsel to Plaza Owners Association operating in the complex told the committee that, if the complex is well managed, it could generate N12 billion annually.
He requested that the committee should give the association a few days to put their position into writing and submit it to the committee.
Okoye said that a lot was going wrong in the complex and a lot of their members had lost a lot of money.
The counsel said that some big businessmen operating in the complex had relocated to neighbouring countries as a result of bad management.
In his ruling, the Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Dan Asuqu (PDP-Cross River) said that the committee was interested in recovering the funds.
He said that the committee was also interested in protecting the interests of Nigerians who had invested monies in the complex.
According to him, we will do all that is within our powers and the Constitution, even if it means making heads roll or stepping on toes.
The chairman said that the committee is also interested in generating funds for the government saying all will be done to ensure government makes more than N12 billion annually from the complex.
The Anambra State Police Command has foiled a cult initiation ceremony in Nawfia, Njikoka Local Government Area of the state.
Spokesperson for the Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday in Awka.
According to Ikenga, the operation was carried out by police operatives around 9:30am on June 15, leading to the arrest of six suspects at the scene.
Recovered during the raid were one Jojef pump action gun, two cartridges, and a golden-coloured Lexus SUV with registration number ATN 202 AE. Other items found include two cutlasses, two scissors, a cap bearing the inscription of the Supreme Vikings Confraternity, charms, and substances suspected to be hard drugs.
“They are currently undergoing police interrogation to get more insight into their modus operandi, after which the case will be charged to court on the conclusion of the investigations,” Ikenga stated.
The police spokesperson reassured residents of the command’s unwavering commitment to fighting cultism and other related crimes across the state.
An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, on Wednesday, remanded two persons, Olaitan Fasasi and Kehinde Tobiloba in a correctional facility over alleged attempted murder.
Fasasi, 40, and Tobiloba, 26, whose addresses were not provided, are being charged with conspiracy, attempted murder and membership of a secret society.
The Magistrate, Mr L.A Owolabi, did not take the plea of the defendants for want of jurisdiction.
Owolabi directed the police to forward the case file to the Director of Public Prosecution for legal advice.
He thereafter adjourned the case until May 31 for mention.
The Prosecutor, Josephine Ikhayere, told the court that the defendants committed the offences at about 5.02p.m on Feb. 15, at Mushin, Lagos.
She said that Fasasi, Tobiloba and others now at large, attempted to commit murder by shooting at a resident, Alfred Ademola.
“They armed themselves with a locally made gun. They belong to Eiye Confraternity, a group proscribed by law,”, she said.
Ikhayere said that the offences contravened Sections 230(1) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2012.
He said that the actions of the defendants also contravened Section 2(3)(a)(b)(c)(d) of the unlawful societies and Cultism Law of Lagos State Law.
An Area Court in Jos, on Tuesday, sentenced one Jeptha John, to three months imprisonment for stealing a Redmi mobile phone valued at N165, 000.
The judge, Shawomi Bokkos, sentenced the John after he pleaded guilty to the offence.
The judge, however, gave the convict an option to pay N20, 000 fine and N50, 000 restitution to the complainant.
Bokkos said that if the convict defaulted in paying the restitution, three months should be added to his sentence to make it six months imprisonment.
Earlier, the police prosecutor, Insp Monday Dabit, told the court that the case was reported at the B Division Police Station, Jos, on Dec. 1, 2024, by Ms Nerat Danjuma.
He said that the complainant alleged that the defendant trespassed into her house and stole her mobile phone valued at N165, 000.
The prosecutor further told the court that the offence contravened the Plateau State Penal Code, Law of Northern Nigeria.
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