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HoR cttee sets date to visit EFCC, prison over Bobrisky case
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The House of Representatives Committee probing allegations of corruption against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Nigeria Correctional Service will visit the Lagos offices of the two agencies on Monday, October 21, 2024.
The allegations were made by controversial crossdresser, Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, through a recorded telephone conversation obtained by a social media influencer, Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan.
The Chairman of the investigating committee, Ginger Onwusibe, told The PUNCH on Monday that the committee would visit Lagos for its investigation.
On Monday, October 1, the panel grilled officials of the EFCC, NCoS and VeryDarkMan over claims that Okuneye allegedly paid the sum of N15m to effect the drop of the money laundering charges against him.
Okuneye was convicted on April 5, 2024, by the Federal High Court in Lagos and sentenced to six months in prison for the abuse of the naira.
On August 5, 2024, Okuneye regained his freedom amid allegations of receiving preferential treatment while in custody.
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, following the development, ordered an investigation and the immediate suspension of the Deputy Controller of Corrections in charge of the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kirikiri, Lagos State, Michael Anugwa, and the Deputy Controller of Corrections in charge of the Maximum Security Custodial Centre, Kirikiri, Lagos State, Sikiru Adekunle.
Fielding questions from the panel, Otse, who presented an audio recording of Bobrisky, claimed that the crossdresser disclosed that he never spent time in a prison facility but in a private apartment throughout his incarceration, after allegedly parting with a huge amount of money.
Officials of the EFCC and the NCoS who attended the investigative hearing denied the allegations.
A week after his appearance, Otse released another audio in which Okuneye allegedly claimed that he paid N5m upfront to a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in an attempt to secure a Federal Government pardon over money laundering charges filed against him by the EFCC.
According to him, the unnamed SAN had initially requested N10m for his legal services but explained that he (Bobrisky) was unable to raise the full amount as the EFCC had frozen his account.
In the audio, the crossdresser allegedly said, “Truth be told, I won’t lie to you, you’re my person. I’m not in prison, but I’m around there. They got me an apartment because of my godfather. My godfather was able to say, Never, you will not smell that prison. Let the world think that, but you will never.
“So, he was able to talk to the Deputy Controller who said that as long as Bob is not posting or saying anything, they can put me close to the place so I can always come inside and see people, and welcome my family. Nobody needs to know.
“I’m supposed to finish my sentence by July, but if we get the amnesty, I could leave by the first week of next month. The SAN asked for N10m, which I could have transferred, but my account is frozen. My godfather gave me N5m and we sent it to the SAN two weeks ago. He has already submitted the pardon request.”
Before agreeing to speak at the investigative hearing, VeryDarkMan caused a drama, stating that until Bobrisky who allegedly made the allegations was similarly made to face the public, he would not entertain any questions from the panel or the media.
It took pleadings from his counsel, Deji Adeyanju, and committee members for him to change his mind after assurances that Bobrisky would similarly be made to tell his side of the story in a public hearing.
Speaking with The PUNCH on Monday on when the panel would invite Bobrisky for questioning, Onwusibe, who represents Isiala Ngwa North/Isiala Ngwa South Federal Constituency of Abia State, said a date would be fixed as soon as the committee returned from a visit to Lagos.
“We are visiting the correctional centre in Lagos and the EFCC office in Lagos on Monday next week (October 21). After our visit, we shall resume hearing,” he said.
Punch
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Davido’s father, Adedeji narrates how govt officials want to frustrate his power plant project
Adedeji Adeleke, the father of the award-winning superstar, David, popularly called Davido, has revealed what he went through securing the environmental permit for his power plant worth over $2 billion.
The billionaire industrialist disclosed this while speaking as a Layperson from the West-Central Africa Division during the Seventh Day Adventist General Conference Annual Council on Tuesday, which was held in Maryland, United States of America.
While sharing his experience as a Baptist member, Adeleke recounted how he ran into bottlenecks with ‘difficult government officials’, with a particular official saying to him that the project would never ‘see the light of day’.
He said he went on his knees and prayed to God because he did not want to accept the government official’s statement as the final say for his company, Pacific Energy which was closely working with Chinese engineering companies for the construction and design of the power projects.
“I am a businessman in Nigeria. I’m into the electricity business. I own a power plant, I generate about 15 per cent of the electricity needs for Nigeria. I have Chinese engineering companies that work for me. I’m building the biggest power plant in Nigeria that will be completed in January 2025. It is a 1,250-megawatt power plant.
“During the course of the design and getting the permit, we ran into difficult government officials. For environmental reasons, our permit was denied, and the particular government officials that I held a meeting with told me to my face that my project would never see the light of the day. But while he was saying that, I was saying in my mind that this guy is talking as if he is God. I was saying in my mind that God should listen to him; Because he is not God, whatever he is saying is null and void.”
“So I left, disappointed and I told my Chinese friends that unfortunately we have difficulty and this project is going to stall. Meanwhile, the project is worth about $2 billion. In the process, a lot of money had already gone into the design and preliminaries. Before we get to the stage where we would need a permit and then break ground. So my Chinese friend was worried because the Afrexim Bank of China was involved so that meant bankruptcy for him. I told him not to worry,” he said.
Adeleke further stressed that his Chinese friend had to travel down to Nigeria to discuss a way out because he never believed that prayer was enough to get the project done, noting that it did as the then Minister of Power granted the approval because he saw that the project was a brilliant one.
Recall that Adeleke had earlier spoken about this power project while delivering a lecture note at the 9th graduation ceremony of Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State in July 2023
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Yoruba Nation: Stop intimidating British High Commissioner, Igboho cautions FG
Yoruba nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, otherwise known as Sunday Igboho, has warned the Federal Government against intimidating the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, over his recent petition on the Yoruba nation.
Recall Igboho had, on Saturday, submitted a 25-page petition to the office of UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, at 10 Downing Street, London, pushing for the recognition of a sovereign Yoruba nation.
In a statement personally signed by Igboho and made available to newsmen on Wednesday, the activist described the reported summoning of Montgomery by the Nigerian government as unnecessary, labelling it an attempt to pressure the diplomat.
He insisted that such moves would not derail the ongoing push for a Yoruba nation.
The statement read, “The British government colonised Nigeria, and we are well within our rights to submit a petition to them regarding our demand for a sovereign Yoruba nation. Nigeria gained independence on October 1, 1960, from the British government, but the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates in 1914 was a decision made by the British.”
Igboho argued that Yoruba people have a constitutional right to demand secession 100 years after the amalgamation, calling the union a “marriage of inconvenience.”
“The main reason we submitted our letter to the UK government is to have them serve as a witness before the United Nations whenever the issue of the Yoruba nation is brought up at an international level,” the statement continued.
He added that the standard response time for such official letters is around two weeks, suggesting that Prime Minister Starmer might not have even read the petition yet.
However, Igboho reassured the Yoruba people that the intimidation tactics of the Nigerian government would not deter the movement.
The statement added, “We remain committed to peaceful, non-violent, and legitimate methods of ensuring the birth of a Yoruba nation. Our people should stay calm and resolute, confident in our collective struggle for emancipation so that we can harness our great potential in a vibrant Yoruba nation once it is created out of the current Nigerian contraption.”
Igboho further stated that the summoning of Montgomery in Abuja would not halt the campaign, adding that he would not hesitate to rally global support for the cause.
“We will continue to seek international backing and bring our agenda before the global community,” the statement concluded.
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TikTok Yanks Off 2.1mn Videos In Nigeria Over Guideline Violations — Report
TikTok said it deleted over 2.1 million videos in Nigeria in the second quarter of 2024 for violating its community guidelines.
According to the Community Guidelines Enforcement Report shared on Tuesday, Tiktok said the action is part of the company’s ongoing efforts to enhance content moderation and create a safer platform for users.
“Key findings show that 99.1 per cent of these videos were proactively removed before users reported them, with 90.7 per cent taken down within 24 hours. These figures highlight TikTok’s commitment to staying ahead of harmful content, ensuring a safer platform for Nigerian users,” the report noted.
The affected videos represent less than 1 per cent of the total uploads in Nigeria during the reporting period.
Globally, TikTok said it removed over 178 million videos in June 2024, with 144 million of those removals facilitated through automated systems.
“With a proactive detection rate now at 98.2 per cent globally, TikTok is more efficient than ever at addressing harmful content before users encounter it,” the short-form mobile video platform stated.
It, however, assured that it would continue to invest in technologies aimed at improving content moderation and understanding potential risks.
It also reinforced its dedication to transparency and platform safety for its diverse user base in Nigeria and worldwide.
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