News
Court remands ex-Punch staff over alleged N950 million fraud
An Ikeja Special Offences Court, on Wednesday, ordered the remand of the former staff of Punch Newspaper Ltd, Olusegun Ogunbanjo, in Kirikiri correctional facility over alleged N950 million fraud.
The presiding judge, Justice Ismail Ijelu, remanded Mr Ogunbanjo pending his arraignment on the alleged fraud.
The court order was a sequel to an exparte application filed and argued by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Dr Babajide Martins, dated June 19, and supported by a 14-paragraph affidavit.
Mr Martins submitted that the court had issued a warrant of arrest against the defendant, Mr Ogunbanjo, on May 28, 2024, after he refused to appear in court to answer the criminal charge against him.
He said the defence counsel, Chijioke Jiakponna, had told the court to produce the defendant for arraignment but did not, before the court issued the warrant of arrest.
According to Mr Martins, in consonance with the law, we filed a written address as well as the affidavit in support of the exparte application.
“The application is seeking an order to remand the defendant pending the arraignment.
“They vied that he failed to appear in court to answer the criminal charge against him. The counsel on record has informed the court to bring the defendant but failed to do so.
“It was the Department of State Security (DSS) that arrested him on June 14. The application is harmless and is in tandem with the law.
“The court should take judicial notice that the criminal charge has been pending since November 2023. On March 28, the court issued a warrant of arrest when he failed to appear in court.”
It would be recalled that aside Mr Ogunbanjo, other defendants in the suit marked ID/21559C/2023 are Olawunmi Ogunbanjo, Vaneloo International Limited, Valeco Global Ventures, Bagco Garba, Taofeek Ogunbanjo, Ifeanyi Odogwu, Bound Media Limited and Godwin Benson.
Mr Ogunbanjo was first arraigned on March 8, 2023 on three counts bordering on obtaining money by pretence, forgery and stealing before the Magistrate’s Court.
The police alleged that the defendant committed the offence between January 2017 and December 2022, in the Ikorodu area of Lagos state.
The defendant was alleged to have obtained N450m from one Olusola lkuyajesin and N500m from one Durodola Balogun under the pretences of using the money to buy stationeries.
He was also accused of forging the organisation’s local purchase orders to carry out the acts.
The prosecution said the offences contravened sections 287, 314, and 365 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2015.
However, the 45-year-old pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail in the sum of N10m with two responsible sureties in like sum.
Since November, when the case was filed at the High Court, he failed to appear in court.
However, while ruling on the ex-parte application on Wednesday, Mr Ijelu said he had carefully considered the prosecution prayers and his submission.
“The ACJL 2021 states that where the defendant is arrested after bench warrant has been issued, the defendant must be brought to court for a remand.
“It is on record that this court issued a warrant of arrest against the defendant on March 28. It is hereby ordered that the first defendant be remanded in Kirikiri Correctional Centre till June 20 for his arraignment.”
He subsequently adjourned the case to June 20 for arraignment.
(NAN)
The Chairman of Bariga Local Government Area of Lagos State, Kolade Alabi, on Wednesday, suddenly slumped at the All Progressives Congress stakeholders’ meeting held at the party’s Secretariat in Ikeja, the state capital.
According to The PUNCH, Alabi, who is the state chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria, was addressing party members when the sad incident occured.
Fortunately, he was immediately revived and rushed away to the hospital in an ambulance for further treatment.
Details shortly…
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, admitted a video recording allegedly showing the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu issuing inflammatory directives which the prosecution claims incited acts of terrorism across the South – East region of the country.
The Wednesday proceedings resumed with the continuation of the testimony of the second Prosecution witness, an operative of Department of State Services (DSS) codenamed PWBBB.
In the video played in open court, Kanu was seen addressing his followers in what he called, “the blessed land of Biafra”, wherein he announced the formation of the Eastern Security Network (ESN), urging followers to defend their land against what he referred to as “Fulani domination.”
He warned political leaders in the region against compromises and issued a directive forbidding the presence of fulani herdsmen, saying, “No Fulani parading as herdsman shall be allowed in our land. If you are an agent of the Fulani, turn your way this evening.”
The device was admitted as evidence alongside a certificate of compliance, despite objections from the defence.
They were marked as Exhibits PWA and PW1, respectively.
The court also admitted a letter dated June 17, 2021, authored by the former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, which accused Kanu of terrorism, murder, and incitement to violence.
The letter, addressed to the DSS, was tendered without objection and marked as Exhibit PWF.
Reading from the document, the witness, who was led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN alleged that Kanu’s broadcasts were followed by coordinated attacks on police stations and correctional facilities, resulting in loss of lives and property.
He quoted the petition as saying Kanu had instructed that security operatives be “brought down” and their weapons seized.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has alerted the public on the activities of Property World Africa Network (PWAN), which holds itself out as a real estate investment company and solicits funds from the public for investment purposes through PWAN MAX.
In a statement on Tuesday, the SEC said PWAN/PWAN MAX are not registered either to solicit investments from the public or operate in any other capacity within the Nigerian capital market.
The SEC said investigations revealed that PWAN’s operations exhibit the typical indicators of a fraudulent Ponzi scheme, including the promise of unusually high returns and failure to honour withdrawal requests from subscribers.
“Accordingly, the public is strongly advised to be wary about investing with PWAN/PWAN MAX, as any person who places such investment with these entities, does so at his/her own risk.
“The commission similarly reminds potential investors of the need to verify the registration status of investment platforms via the commission’s dedicated portal: www.sec.gov.ng/cmos before transacting with them,” the SEC said.
(The Guardian)
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