A 40-year-old carpenter, Sunday Agada, was on Monday docked in a Karu Grade I Area Court in Abuja, for allegedly swindling his client of N400,000.

The police charged Agada with criminal breach of trust, cheating and criminal misappropriation.

The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Prosecution Counsel, Mr Ade Adeyanju, told the court that the complainant, Ochuba Njidea of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) academy in Karu, Abuja entrusted the sum of N400,000 to him for a set of chairs, but with the intent to cheat, he dishonestly converted all the money to his personal use and failed to produce the work as agreed.

During the police investigation, he said, the defendant confessed to the crime.

The prosecutor said the offence contravened the provisions of sections 312, 322 and 309 of the Penal Code.

The Judge, Umar Mayana, granted the defendant bail and ordered that a deposit of N400,000 be made as bail bond.

He said that the sureties must live within the court’s jurisdiction, and their addresses would be verified by court officers.

The judge adjourned the case until October 11 for further hearing.

The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) says the licencing of Deep Blue Industrial Park in Lagos begins a regime of zero fossil energy emission in the country.

The Managing-Director of NEPZA, Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, said this while handing over the Declaration Licence to Mrs Anita Omoile, the Managing-Director/CEO of Deep Blue Industrial Park in Abuja.

Adesugba said that NEPZA fully keyed into the Federal Government’s eco-friendly initiative in the operation of the free trade zones’ ecosystem.

According to him, the Federal Government made history with the approval given the first zero fossil energy emission zone in the South-West region at Imoore, Amuwo-Odofin area of Lagos measuring 115,503 hectares.

“This positions Nigeria as the leading continental hub for regional eco-friendly industrial activities and logistics services with free trade zone status.

“The new dispensation will still witness active manufacturing activities without the usual emission of destructive carbon energy into our space.

“This is in line with the Federal Government policy on promoting green environment.

“The Deep Blue Industrial Park is a manufacturing space that promotes food processing, textile and garment production, renewable energy and electric cars as well as research and development services,’’ Adesugba said.

He said that over 50 international enterprises are ready to move to the site in earnest.

On her part, Omoile expressed satisfaction in the seamless and speedy manner in which the approval was given.

She said that NEPZA under the management of Adesugba had taken the `ease of doing business’ policy of the government to a new level.

“Our partners across the globe are enthused with the development and this shows that the country is beginning to create the right business environment to attract the needed foreign direct investments,’’ Omoile said.

She said that the industrial park would generate over 10,000 jobs and inject an estimated 100 million dollars annually into the economy.

The popular Pro Biafra Agitator, Separatist Simon Ekpa, has sent a powerful message to southeast governors, politicians, cultural, religious, business elites, and Ohaneze Ndigbo led by Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyawu.

Ekpa, the Finland lawyer and the Prime Minister of the Briafra Republic Government in Exile, in a statement on Monday, reminded the leaders of the southeast region that it is not only Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, that is in captivity of President Muhammadu Buhari’s federal government but the economic and political life of the Igbo nation.

See full statement:

“We wish to remind the Old Eastern Region (Biafra) elites that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra and a Prince of Igboland, is still in captivity against the ruling of all courts in Nigeria. Do you people think that only Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is in
captivity? Have a rethink.

“Ninety – Five per cent (95%) of the resources that fuel Nigeria’s the economy today comes from the Old Eastern Region, so why is it that the Old Eastern Region is the most impoverished and least developed of all the regions in Nigeria? Why are there no functional seaports in
the entire Eastern Region?

“Easterners are systematically discriminated against all over Nigeria. Currently, their businesses are targets for sponsored terrorists, haters and political bandits. The elites have left the Eastern Region unattended. Being in the East and doing meaningful, profitable business is extremely difficult due to high overhead costs resulting from systemic discrimination. Easterners dominate import and export trade throughout Nigeria. However, their seaports are willfully shut down.

“Why are the Calabar, Port-Harcourt and Onne seaports closed? What stops the dredging of Azummiri, Oguta Lake, Urashi River, Oseakwa?

“River and the tributary rivers in Eastern Nigeria from being dredged and channelled to the Atlantic Ocean, thereby creating multiple seaports in Eastern Nigeria?

“Furthermore, none of the airports in the Old Eastern Region can be internationally connected directly. Who are the most international travellers from Nigeria? Easterners are the most internationally travelled people in Nigeria, many of whom are Eastern elites. Why are Eastern Elites turning a blind eye to this wanton discrimination? What are Eastern elites doing to the future of their children and future generations? Your present actions, or lack thereof, will determine your story for posterity.

“No good highways connect parts of the Eastern Region and the rest of Nigeria. The Eastern Region has neither running water, electricity, nor functional hospitals.

“One of Igbo’s illustrious sons recently received a jail sentence of ten (10) years in Britain after over two (2) decades in public service, supposedly representing his people in Nigeria. He was arrested in
Britain, while seeking medical attention for his daughter, who needs a kidney transplant. Ironically, he never built or influenced the building of a standard hospital in his community to take care of his
constituents. He is just an example of many elites who neglect their communities and/or constituents but travel abroad for medical treatment. However, their impoverished constituents suffer from a lack of medical attention.

“People of the Eastern Region are continuously suffering, taunted, traumatized and victimized inside One-Nigeria. What are the Eastern elites doing about it?

“Mazi Nnamdi Kanu highlighted to you the need to fix the Old Eastern Region (Biafra) because we are one people. He said that if ‘the powers that be in Nigeria are the reason why you all seem powerless and clueless on how to improve the lives of your people, then the Eastern Region (Biafra) should exit from Nigeria through a peaceful and bloodless referendum, supervised by the United Nations. Your response was, “Onwe ka asi eme ya.” Eastern elites, kedu ka esi eme ya?

“Your Illustrious Son, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who did nothing wrong according to any law known to man, was kidnapped, extraordinarily renditioned to Nigeria, mocked and thrown into captivity. After several trials by Nigerian courts, he was vindicated and absolved of any wrongdoing. As I write, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is still in captivity, and you all continue to maintain a deafening conspiratory silence. Why?

“A case was made at the ECOWAS Court for the Biafra referendum and justice for the killing of your children by Nigerian forces in Operation Python Dance 1 & 2. We want to know the status of the case. A case was made at the same court for Fulani terrorist groups of different persuasion. The same ECOWAS court awarded them billions of naira to stop committing violence in Nigeria. What compensation did your children receive after being slaughtered in droves by the Nigerian State?

“Let this letter serve as a call and demand that you, the Old Eastern Region elites of all dispositions and persuasion, must rally round and organize yourselves for the immediate release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. It is incumbent on you to bring out the innocent illustrious son of Biafraland, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from captivity. It would help if you also freed all.

“Biafran activists are locked away in several dungeons in Nigeria. No Fulani terrorist is in jail in Nigeria, so why should your own children be perpetually detained without due process? Use your allocations, both state and federal, to address the infrastructural decay and lack so that your children can come back home and do their businesses with dignity and not be taunted, harassed and killed by people who are more intelligent and progressive than.

“We are extending an arm of cooperation to you to address these issues. We expect that you take this hand of cooperation extended to you and run with it to solve the above mentioned issues. If you do not, it will not be business as usual”.