Crime

Ekiti pastor, accomplice bag three-year jail terms

Published

1 year ago

January 13, 2023

An Ekiti State High Court in Ado Ekiti on Thursday sentenced two men – a 63 years old cleric, Rt. Rev. Adereti Ebenezar and 68 years old Chief Akinyede Joseph – to three years imprisonment each for conspiracy and other offences.

They were arraigned before Justice Lekan Ogunmoye on October 18, 2021, on four-count bordering on conspiracy, forgery, false sworn declaration and making documents without authority.

According to the charge, Joseph and Ebenezar on 10th January 2016 at Ilado Street, Iwore, Ifaki Ekiti, “did conspire to forge the minute of meeting of the Registered Trustees of the United Church of Cherubim and Seraphim Organization.”

They were also accused of making “false declarations that they were appointed as members of the Registered Trustees of the church and as well made an amended constitution of the Registered Trustees of the church without lawful authority.”

According to the prosecutor, Gbemiga Adaramola, the offences contravened sections 516, 467, 191 and 473 of the Criminal Code Cap C16, Vol.1, Laws of Ekiti State Nigeria, 2012.

In his statement to the police, one of the Trustees, Faseyi Albert, said, “I was appointed alongside others as the Board of Trustees of the Church in 2001, the appointment was sent to the Corporate Affairs Commission for ratification.

“After the demise of Primate and Archbishop of the Church, Most Rev. S.A. Fadeyi, the Bishop in-council consequently ratified the appointment of Rt. Rev. Tunde Ogunseemi as the new Primate/Archbishop of the organisation in 2015.

“During the manual search conducted by CAC, it was discovered that Rt. Rev. Adereti Ebenezer who was Archbishop 3 of the Church and Chief Akinyede Joseph had manipulated some documents which indicated that the trustees had a meeting and the decision was taken to remove Most Rev. Tunde Ogunseemi’s name, minutes of the same meeting was forged among others and presented to CAC.

“I was also alleged to have been present at the meeting. The matter was later reported to the police for investigation and action,” he said.

The prosecutor, Adaramola, called five witnesses and tendered the petition to the CAC, relieve of the appointment letter, extracts from the meeting, letter from Conference of General Secretaries to the Archbishops, and statement of the defendants, among others as exhibits.

In defence, the defendant, who spoke through their counsel, Ayotunde Ibitoye, called four witnesses and however, pleaded with the court to court to temper justice with mercy.

In his judgment, Justice Lekan Ogunmoye, who said there was overwhelming evidence before the court that the defendants conspired together to forge the signatures of the Board of Trustees member and minutes of the meeting of the Registered Trustees, discharged and acquitted them in count three (false declaration).

Ogunmoye, however, pronounced, “The defendants are sentenced to one-year imprisonment each in counts one, two, and four (conspiracy, forgery and making a document without authority) with an option of N20,000 fine, in each of the counts. The sentences are to run concurrently.”

Crime

Mother of five jailed for forging late Abba Kyari’s signature

Published

15 hours ago

May 17, 2024

NewsDirect

The Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Gwagwalada, Abuja, has sentenced a mother of five, Ramat Mba, to one year imprisonment for her involvement in an employment scam.

Mba also forged the signature of the late Abba Kyari, the Chief of Staff to the former President, Muhammadu Buhari.

The presiding judge, Honourable Justice Ibrahim Muhammad, had last week deferred the sentencing of the convict till Thursday but directed that she should be remanded in Suleja Correctional Centre.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission had arraigned Mba in June 2022 on a 5-count bordering on cheating, fraud and forgery, contrary to Section 13 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000 and Sections 320(b), 366 of the Penal Code Cap 89 laws of Northern Nigeria.

n the course of the trial, the commission, through its prosecutor, Hamza Sani, had led Mba in evidence before the court on how the convict committed the offence sometime in 2020 when she collected N4.5 million from several job seekers, promising to secure jobs for them with the ICPC and National Air Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA).

Also, the documentary evidence tendered showed that the convict fraudulently forged the letterhead of the Office of the Chief of Staff to former President Buhari and his signature.

The letter, addressed to the ICPC Chairman, was a request for the recruitment of three individuals by the commission.

However, the late CoS, in a written correspondence that was also tendered in court as an exhibit, distanced himself or his office from authorising the letter.

The spokesperson for the ICPC, Demola Bakare, revealed the development in a statement on Friday.

Bakare revealed, “The trial judge, Justice Muhammad, in his judgment on May 9, 2024, convicted the mother of five children on counts 1, 2, 3 and 5 that border on cheating and forgery, while she was discharged on count 4 which borders on felony.

“Justice Muhammad, during the sentencing on Thursday, pronounced a six-month jail term or N100,000 option of fine on counts 1, 2 and 3 on the convict.

“The presiding judge, who stressed the status of the convict as a first-time offender and a mother, also sentenced her to one-year imprisonment or N150,000 option on fine on count 5 which borders on forgery.”

Crime

15 worshippers die in Kano mosque attack — Police

Published

18 hours ago

May 17, 2024

NewsDirect

The Kano State Police Command on Friday confirmed the death of 15 persons in the mosque attack in Gadan village in Gezawa Local Government Area of the state.

A man on Wednesday allegedly sprayed the mosque with petrol, locked its doors, and set it on fire, trapping worshippers.

The state Commissioner of Police, Usaini Gumel, told the News Agency of Nigeria in a telephone interview that so far, 15 out of the 24 victims of the incident died.

Initial reports said one worshipper had died from the attack but the death toll later rose after more victims died while receiving treatment at the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital in Kano.

Gumel said that the incident occurred during a dawn prayer at a mosque in Gadan village, leaving 24 worshippers injured.

He said the injured victims were currently receiving treatment at the Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital, Kano.

The suspect, Shafi’u Abubakar, 38 is currently in police custody.

The motive behind the attack was believed to be a family conflict over the sharing of family inheritance.

The commissioner said that the police are continuing with their investigation into the attack.

Crime

Buying pre-registered SIM cards criminal, NCC warns

Published

20 hours ago

May 17, 2024

Anita Anyanwu

The Nigerian Communications Commission has warned Nigerians against buying pre-registered SIM cards, citing the illegal nature of the practice, and could attract severe consequences.

In an advisory note sighted on its X platform on Friday, the telecom regulator emphasized that the use of pre-registered SIM cards compromises the accuracy of consumer information.

“Buying pre-registered SIM cards is criminal and may lead to imprisonment, implication in identity theft, financial fraud, kidnapping and armed robbery,” part of the advisory noted.

The NCC explained that using a pre-registered SIM card undermined the reliability of data collected on consumers, making it challenging for authorities to identify and apprehend the actual perpetrators of crimes.

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The warning aims to educate the public on the risks associated with pre-registered SIM cards and encourage compliance with legal guidelines to enhance national security.

The commission urged to follow the proper procedures for registering SIM cards to avoid any legal consequence.

The NCC made the linkage compulsory, directing all telecommunications operators to enforce complete network barring on all phone lines for which subscribers fail to link their SIM cards to their NINs.

There have been two phases of barring SIM cards not linked to NIN by the telcos – the first occurred on February 28 and the second one occurred on March 29.

The regulator, however, has extended the deadline for linking SIM cards to NIN (last phase) to July 31, 2024, from April 15. This extension applies to subscribers with more than four SIMs.