We visit Kanu in prison - UK govt

The United Kingdom says it has been visiting the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi kanu, in prison.

Nanmdi Kanu, Radio Biafra’s Director

A spokesman for the British High Commission, Mr. Joe Abuku, said this in an email sent to our correspondent on Friday.

Abuku said this in response to an email regarding Kanu’s letter to the High Commission.

The statement read, “We have provided assistance to Mr. Kanu since his arrest in October last year, including visiting him regularly in prison and attending court appearances in an observation capacity.”

The detained Biafran agitator, who is also a British citizen, had written a letter through his lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, that the British government should not abandon him.

He had said, “It is repeating the obvious to state that our client is a full British citizen, by virtue of which position he is entitled to all rights, privileges and protection, guaranteed under the British laws and conventions.”

He also argued that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration had violently abused his fundamental human rights through his prolonged detention in prison custody, adding that there was no way he would get a fair hearing.

We visit Kanu in prison - UK govt

Its Over! Oyakhilome, Anita divorce in UK court

Anita Odegwa Oyakhilome and Chris Oyakhilome, flamboyant pastor and founder of Christ Embassy Church have now finally gone their separate ways, with a seal of a Family court in the United Kingdom.

The court in High Holborn, London, granted  Anita’s divorce wishes based on the unreasonable behaviour and marital infidelity  of her former husband, Chris. The divorce was granted 8 February.

Anita’s lawyers, Attwaters Jameson Hill Solicitors, announced the break up on their website thus:

“We have been requested by Anita Oyakhilome to confirm that on the 8th February 2016 a decree absolute was pronounced in the High Court of Justice Principal Registry of the Family Division dissolving her marriage to Christian Onehirokpeana Oyakhilome.

“Anita Oyakhilome would like to confirm that she is no longer involved in or part of Christ Embassy AKA Believers Loveworld inc.”Anita’s divorce statement.The divorce was filed by Anita on 9  April 2014  on the grounds of “adultery” and “unreasonable behaviours”. The case was marked No FD14D01650.

After months of  keeping the matter out of public domain, a Nigerian online medium, The Cable, brought it back to public consciousness on 29 August. The medium said, apart from “adultery” and “unreasonable behaviours,” Anita cited as grounds for seeking to end her marriage to Oyakhilome, other allegations in the divorce suit are too damning to be reported without inviting the services of lawyers.

The embarrassed church reacted two days after by  deleting Anita’s pictures and personal information from its official website,www.christembassy.org. Anita was supposed to be the Vice-president of the church.Signs that all was not well between Chris and Anita emerged in May 2014. In a post on a Facebook account opened by Anita’s supporters with title, ‘Where is Rev. Anita Oyakhilome?’, Oyakhilome was quoted as saying that his marriage was hitting the rocks and the end was imminent. The post purported to be the summary of Pastor Chris’ speech with United Kingdom-based pastors and deacons of Christ Embassy at the Bermondsey branch of the church on 16 May stated that, “I am here for your concerns about the ongoing domestic issue with my wife and I know it affects you directly, being the ones under her leadership.”He allegedly asked the pastors not disposed to the developments in the church to quit.

He was quoted as saying, “You don’t join a woman to fight her husband. Bitterness is prolonged and accumulated anger. My wife is always angry and bitter. Some pastors’ wives think when they marry a pastor, they are equal to the pastor. My wife thinks so. As a matter of fact, Rev. Tom was her pastor before I married her and Rev. Ray and Evang. Owase were her leaders long before I married her. How come she thinks she’s senior to them now? I already started Christ Embassy before I married her. I didn’t marry her and said we should start Christ Embassy. I was already ‘pastoring.’ I already set my sail and knew my direction before I married her. I only said ‘come and help me. Be careful of the friends you keep. My wife keeps friends who bring out the worst in her and help her see the worst in people, instead of keeping friends that will help her vision, especially as the wife of a global pastor like me.”

The couple’s marriage, two decades ago,  produced two teenage daughters, Sharon and Charlyn.

Its Over! Oyakhilome, Anita divorce in UK court

Nigerian jailed for human trafficking

A mental health nurse has been struck off for smuggling a Nigerian woman into Britain to work as a sex slave under the threat of a black magic curse.

human trafficker

Florence Obadiaru, 50, and two other traffickers from an international prostitution ring forced their 23-year-old victim to fly into Heathrow with a bogus passport in September 2011, a tribunal heard.

Before leaving Nigeria the victim was raped and subjected to a ‘juju’ death ritual where gang members told her if she did not pay them £40,000 she would die.

She was promised a job in the UK so she could repay the debt, but when she arrived she was kept at Obadiaru’s house, sexually assaulted and told she was destined to work as a sex slave in Italy.

The ‘horrific’ plan was only thwarted when Italian authorities spotted the victim’s forged ID and sent her back to the UK.

Obadiaru was jailed for two years in July 2014 after being convicted of trafficking the woman into the UK for sexual exploitation and arranging for her transfer to Italy.

She has now been struck-off the nursing register after a Nursing and Midwifery Council disciplinary hearing.

Chairman of the panel Robert Barnwell said: “You have been convicted of conspiracy to commit a deplorable and horrific crime in which a young woman was trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation, and your conviction goes to the very core of the principles involved in nursing care.

“The public interest element in this case is high, and it is important to mark this case and send a clear message that a conviction of such a crime is unacceptable.”

He added: “You are a mental health nurse who treats vulnerable individuals, however you failed to help a vulnerable woman who desperately required rescuing.”

Obadiaru, of Brockley, south-east London, had worked as a carer for 10 years and had just finished her degree in nursing at Bedford University in Luton.

Her fellow gang members Olusoji Oluwafemi and Johnson Olayinka were jailed for six-and-a-half years and four-and-a-half years respectively in July 2014.

Oluwafemi orchestrated the British side of the human trafficking operation and ‘dogsbody’ Olayinka collected the victim from Heathrow and helped to acquire her false passport.

Jailing the trio, Judge Rebecca Poulet QC had said: ‘This was a sophisticated and carefully planned operation in Nigeria which must have cost considerable amount of money to the traffickers.

“The expected returns were also considerable.

“She was subjected to a juju ritual with the threat of death.

“She would have been forced into controlled prostitution as she had no possible way in which she could conceivably support herself in Italy.”

The judge added: “While I doubt this was the first trafficking you were involved in, I do sentence you on the basis that this involved just the one victim.”

The woman is just one of many victims of an organised crime group based in Africa which traffics young women through England to work as prostitutes in mainland Europe.

Nigerian jailed for human trafficking

Ibori: UK police chief faces probe for alleged bribery

A Metropolitan Police chief, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, will be grilled by Members of Parliament this week over allegations that Scotland Yard and the Crown Prosecution Service were involved in a ‘‘deliberate cover-up’’ of damning evidence of police corruption.

James Ibori

According to the Daily Mail newspaper, a court was told that the Met and the CPS repeatedly concealed documents suggesting that officers, investigating a former Delta State Governor, James Ibori, for fraud, were paid to leak details of the inquiry that could have helped him evade justice in 2012.

The extraordinary case centres on Scotland Yard’s prosecution of James Ibori, who once worked as a cashier at a branch of Wickes DIY store in West London before becoming Delta State governor.

Ibori is currently serving a 13-year jail term for money laundering in a UK prison as well as his lawyer, who was also jailed for seven years after admitting fraud, although he claimed he was wrongly advised to do so by his then legal team.

One detective was said to have received at least 19 unexplained cash deposits, totalling thousands of pounds, into his bank account after illegally disclosing sensitive information, a judge heard.

But when the corruption allegations were revealed by a whistle-blowing lawyer, Bhadresh Gohil, he was accused of forging the evidence and charged with perverting the course of justice.

Police privately expressed fears that his devastating claims could undermine the £50m fraud trial.

Last month, the charges against the lawyer were dramatically dropped after the CPS was forced to produce crucial papers, which it had always insisted did not exist, that suggest serving Met officers took bribes.

Although the Met insists no corruption took place, the case leaves the Met Commissioner – already under fire for his refusal to apologise for the Yard’s disastrous historical sex abuse investigations – facing difficult questions from the Home Affairs Select Committee this week, as he was personally warned about the potential miscarriage of justice three years ago.

The CPS’s handling of the case, criticised by former police as well as the defendants, will also increase pressure on Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders, who faced calls to quit over her failure to put Lord Janner on trial.

The Daily Mail further reports that a Met Commander, Peter Spindler, who reported directly to Hogan-Howie, told the BBC the corruption claims were bogus without having checked if documents were genuine.

Gohil told The Mail on Sunday, “I uncovered serious corruption, but when I tried to expose this, I was victimised. Astonishingly, the CPS used the might of the state and all its resources to cover up what had happened, and brought trumped-up charges to persecute me. The truth has finally unravelled.”

The chairman of the Home Affairs Committee, Keith Vaz, said, “Members have indicated they will want to ask the Commissioner, when he next appears before the committee, to deal with the latest developments which raise a number of new questions.”

Ibori: UK police chief faces probe for alleged bribery

UK government considers single secure jail unit for Islamist terrorists

The government is seriously considering placing all convicted Islamist terrorist prisoners in England and Wales in a single secure unit, a proposal for a “British Alcatraz” that is prompting alarm among prison chiefs.

The idea would overturn 50 years of dispersing the most dangerous prisoners in the system and is expected to be backed by a review set up by the justice secretary, Michael Gove, to examine how the 130 convicted Islamist terrorists are dealt with behind bars.

Earlier this week, David Cameron gave a strong hint in a speech on prison reformthat the option of a separate secure unit is being looked at. The prime minister said he was ready to consider major changes in the location of convicted terrorist prisoners to prevent them recruiting up to 1,000 current prisoners who have been identified as being at risk of extremist radicalisation.

“We will not stand by and watch people being radicalised like this while they are in the care of the state … And I want to be clear – I am prepared to consider major changes: from the imams we allow to preach in prison to changing the locations and methods for dealing with prisoners convicted of terrorism offences, if that is what is required,” Cameron said.

However, a leading counter-terror expert warned that bringing together all convicted Islamist prisoners in one “jail within a jail” risks creating a focal point for public protests.

Prof Peter Neumann said: “The trade-off is this: you want to separate terrorist prisoners in order to prevent them from radicalising others yet you don’t want to create a focal point for public protests – a ‘British Guantanamo’, however much of a misrepresentation that might be – or provide an opportunity for terrorist prisoners to create (or recreate) operational command structures inside prison that might not have existed outside.”

Since the 1960s terrorists incarcerated in England and Wales have been dispersed among six maximum security jails. They have then been regularly moved around the dispersal prisons to prevent long-term relationships building up between them.

Any of the current dispersal prisons could be designated to hold all convicted Islamist terrorists and converted to create a segregated terrorist unit or “jail within a jail” within their perimeter. They include Frankland near Durham, Full Sutton near York, Long Lartin in Worcestershire, Wakefield in West Yorkshire, Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire, andBelmarsh in south-east London.

Gove’s review is being led by Ian Acheson, a former prison governor and a senior Home Office official, who is understood to be actively considering recommending a separatist solution and holding convicted Islamist terrorists in one jail.

Downing Street is also understood to be interested in this approach, citing recent developments in France where Islamist terrorists have been concentrated together in isolation wings to prevent them radicalising the much larger Muslim prison population in French jails.

“Michael Spurr [the chief executive of the National Offender Management Service] is very concerned that Acheson is going to come to the wrong conclusion,” said a Whitehall source.

Neumann also warned that a separatist unit could provide an opportunity to create an “operational command and control structure” for Isis in Britain that currently does not exist inside or outside the prison system.

“The second point is now more important than ever. With large numbers of ‘lone operators’ who may not be particularly ideological and who have failed to join the command and control structures of groups like IS, the risk of them connecting with ideological and operational leaders while imprisoned is real. In other words, a policy of concentration may inadvertently help to create the kind of hierarchical organisation that the terrorists found it impossible to create outside,” said Neumann.

The experience at the Maze prison in Northern Ireland in the 1980s, where republican and loyalist prisoners organised themselves along military lines and ran their respective H-blocks, is often cited as the main argument against a separatist solution.

Neumann, the author of an authoritative study comparing prison regimes for terrorist prisoners in 15 countries, said there was a trade-off involved but he thought the current British dispersal system was probably the best way of tackling the issue.

The issue of a single maximum security prison to house the most unruly and disruptive prisoners in the system was raised in 1995 after the IRA breakout from a special secure unit at Whitemoor prison in Cambridgeshire.

The official Learmont inquiry recommended they be housed in a purpose-built US-style supermax prison because the then growing availability of explosives and weapons to criminals posed a much greater threat than before. But it was never implemented by the then home secretary, Michael Howard.

But as Neumann points out in his study, the IRA prisoners in English jails made no deliberate attempt to radicalise or recruit “ordinary criminals” who they saw as unreliable and ill-disciplined: “Many al-Qaida affiliated prisoners, on the other hand, see it as their duty to propagate their faith and political ideology and will consequently exploit whatever opportunities they are offered to approach other offenders and turn them into followers.”

Early last year France started to experiment with separating suspected Islamist radicals from the general prison population at the large Fresnes jail. The “quarantine” programme which also tries to separate returnees from Syria and Iraq from seasoned jihadists was expanded to several Paris prisons in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attacks.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “The justice secretary has asked the department to review its approach to dealing with Islamist extremism in prisons. This is being supported by external experts and sits alongside the cross-government work currently under way in developing deradicalisation programmes.”

UK government considers single secure jail unit for Islamist terrorists

James Ibori neither released from UK prison nor re-arrested – aide

The embattled former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, who is currently serving a jail term in a UK prison, is neither released nor rearrested, a statement by the former governor’s media aide, Tony Eluemunor, said.

James Ibori

There were reports Wednesday that Mr. Ibori was released from prison and rearrested immediately.

The statement said, “The Chief James Onanefe Ibori Media Office hereby informs Ibori’s teaming supporters that the news about the release of their champion and political leader from prison is not true.

“This news had set off a frenzy of activities in the entire South-South geo-political zone, as many people took off from their respective towns and villages to storm Ibori’s home town of Oghara.

“Many kept vigil at his gate; but the vigil was in vain as Ibori has not finished serving his term.

“Perhaps as the magnitude of the lie The News on-line publication told to itself and the nation (in a story it had termed an exclusive) dawned on it, its sister publication, PM News kicked in with another lie; that Ibori had been re-arrested.

“This caused a sleepless night to another set of Ibori’s supporters as they stayed up all night working the phone to find out the true situation.

“The truth is that the exclusive stories published by The News and PM news were exclusive lies. Over 24 hours after the publications, no British authority has confirmed either the news of the release or of the purported re-arrest.

“Many people have asked me how such a malicious story could have been cocked up. My only reply is that Ibori’s political and legal persecutors tried to counter the favourable wind that arose from Ibori’s corner when the case turned against the London Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecutors by late January 2016, when even they agreed that they were corrupt in the way they investigated Ibori and his associates.

“That forced them to withdraw the obstructing the cause of justice charges they had brought against one of Ibori’s lawyers, Mr. Bradesh Gohil.

“Most importantly, the judge that day ruled that all the documents that had been withheld from Ibori and all his associates should be turned over to them and that they were free to go on appeal to challenge even their earlier convictions.

“It was this ray of hope that even Ibori’s conviction may be struck down that the media manipulators attempted to extinguish in the hearts and minds of Ibori’s supporters when they concocted their lies and passed same off as news.

”To prove that the case has turned and the hunters may be feeling the heat, respected British news media such as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), The Times of London and the Guardian of London, last week announced that calls have arisen that Ibori’s and his associates’ accusations of corruption against the prosecution be investigated.

“The New Indian Express of Monday 25 January 2016 reported that “In representations to the judge, Stephen Kamlish, Gohil’s defence team accused the Crown Prosecution Service of “positively misleading the court and the parties as part of their deliberate cover-up of discloseable material”.

“In response, the Judge Tester said, “The crown has offered no evidence for one or both of the following reasons. One, that the allegations of corruption made by Mr Gohil are true, and not false. The second is that the crown has suppressed material both in this court and in other proceedings, including the trial of Ibori.

“The crown offering no evidence can only mean the crown is not prepared themselves to explain their decision, either for the abuse of the court in bad faith or for the police corruption. In those circumstance, it is our duty to our client to raise these matters and this brings into question the safety of these convictions.

“The Indian Express continued: “A Met police intelligence report seen by this paper (The Indian Express) suggests an RISC employee telephoned a police officer working on the Ibori investigation in 2007 and allegedly told him his inquiries were “on the right track”. Separate documents shown to Gohil’s defence team are said to reveal the existence of 19 cash deposits into the same officer’s bank account. The CPS had allegedly denied the existence of the documents.

“It is an incontrovertible fact that the confiscation hearing has not started at all, and remains months away into the future.

“Even today, that remains the case as nothing has changed. The confiscation hearing has not started and nobody, whether Ibori or another person, has been arrested as there is really no need to arrest anyone because of a confiscation hearing”.

James Ibori neither released from UK prison nor re-arrested – aide

48, not 500 Nigerians deported from UK – Immigration

The United Kingdom Government on Wednesday deported 48 Nigerians over immigration related offences.

The deportees came aboard a chartered plane that touched down at the Hajj and Cargo Terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at about 8am, our correspondent gathered.

Lagos airport

The Spokesperson of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Mr. Ekpedeme King, who confirmed the development, said the Nigerians were deported for immigration-related offences.

“Some of them have overstayed their visa,” King said.

According to King, it is part of the duty of the NIS officials at the airport to receive Nigeria deportees from foreign countries.

Top immigration officials at MMIA, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the 48 deportees had nothing to do with the 29,000 Nigerians that the UK was planning to deport back into the country.

The British Broadcasting Corporation had reported in the morning that a plane carrying about 500 Nigerians deportees from the UK had landed at the MMIA. The reported quoted some of the deportees as saying that they were not happy to come back.

However, the NIS officials said only 48 Nigerians deportees arrived from the UK.

Nigeria had recently expressed concern over the UK’s plan to deport 29,000 Nigerians, and has insisted that due process be followed before Nigerians are removed from the UK.

The Federal Government had said the UK must ensure that those been deported are really Nigerians, medically fit to travel and have a role to play in the country – meaning they should be able to fit into Nigerian society.

48, not 500 Nigerians deported from UK – Immigration

British court jails couple over enslaving Nigerian for 24 years

NAN

The Harrow Crown Court in northwest London, has convicted a British couple who was found guilty of keeping a Nigerian immigrant enslaved for more than two decades.

 Damaris Lakin, the Crown Prosecution Service, said on Wednesday in London that Emanuel Edet, 61, and Antan Edet, 58, held their victim captive from the time he was brought to Britain when he was 14 years old.

The prosecutors said the couple was convicted on charges of child cruelty, slavery and assisting in illegal immigration.

He said the couple forced him to work for no pay and threatening him with deportation if he tried to escape.

Lakin said the Edet’s had told the teen when they brought him from Nigeria in 1989 that they would pay him and provide him with an education.

The prosecutors said instead, the victim, now 40, was forced to cook, clean, garden and care for the couple’s children without any pay for up to 17 hours a day.

“He got no education and had only very limited contact with his family and the outside world.

“The couple took his passport, and he had no identity documents, and is forced to eat alone and typically slept on hallway floors,’’ the prosecutors said.

Lakin said the Edets told their captive he would be arrested as an illegal immigrant and deported if he left the house and contacted police.

“He believed this and felt trapped and completely dependent on the Edets.

Lakin said Emanuel and Antan Edet have cruelly robbed the victim of 24 years of his life and they have treated him with complete contempt.

“This was a shocking case of modern day slavery.

The prosecutor said the Edet’s had changed the victim’s name and added him to their family passport as their son when they brought him into Britain.

British court jails couple over enslaving Nigerian for 24 years

Court stops Diezani from leaving UK till next April

Former Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke will not be able to leave the United Kingdom (UK) until April, next year, The Nation learnt yesterday.

Alison Madueke

That is when the investigations into allegations against her are expected to have been concluded, Judiciary sources said.

She is expected to be arraigned before the magistrate for alleged money laundering and bribery,

Mrs Alison-Madueke was arrested last week along with four others by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA).She was granted bail. Her international passport was, however, seized.

On Monday, the London  Westminster Magistrate’s Court on Marylebone Road approved the holding of the £27,000 cash seized from her, following an application brought by the NCA under the Proceeds of Crime Act in the UK.

The court also ruled that the cash can be held for six months – till April, next year when she is expected to be arraigned after investigations.

It was learnt yesterday that the court also granted the order that she should remain in London while investigations last.

Mrs Alison-Madueke will only be able to travel after an application has been brought before the court and approved.

She had previously denied any wrongdoing when it was alleged that $20b of oil money had gone missing when she was in office between 2010 and 2015

The NCA, which leads the UK law enforcement’s fight to cut serious and organised crime, is working in league with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the probe of the former minister.

Last Friday when Mrs Alison-Madueke was arrested in London, her Abuja home was raided by the EFCC.

The NCA has national and international reach and the mandate and powers to work in partnership with other law enforcement organisations to bring the full weight of the law to bear on serious and organised criminals.

The Proceeds of Crime Act says: “The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (“POCA”) sets out the legislative scheme for the recovery of criminal assets with criminal confiscation being the most commonly used power.

“Confiscation occurs after a conviction has taken place. Other means of recovering the proceeds of crime, which do not require a conviction, are provided for in the Act, namely civil recovery, cash seizure and taxation powers.

“The aim of the asset recovery schemes in POCA is to deny criminals the use of their assets, recover the proceeds of crime and disrupt and deter criminality.”

Court stops Diezani from leaving UK till next April

Alison-Madueke"s brother to face trial for bribery

UK court okays seizure of £27,000

•Hardley Petroleum Solutions Limited
(Believed to be used for money laundering)
•Company registered in Manchester 27/06/2013
•Company dissolved in Manchester 10/02/2013
•Company didn’t file any account when operating
•Directors: Ugonna Madueke, Abu Fari, Somye
Agama and Abiye Agama

Former Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke is to be arraigned in London with her brothers for alleged bribery and money laundering, it was learnt yesterday.

Diezani-Alison Madueke

Investigations by our correspondent in the United Kingdom showed that she was arrested with her brothers Abiye Agama and Somye Agama.

They are directors of Hadley Petroleum Solutions Limited, a company the authorities believe to have been used for money laundering. The other directors are Ugonna Madueke and Abu Fari.

The company was registered in June 2013 in Manchester, but was dissolved less than two years later in February this year without filing any account.

Abiye, 33, a point man of the firm, is a computer engineer and manager. He was a director in 11 other companies. He resigned from seven of them.

The United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) last week arrested Mrs Alison-Madueke and five others as part of the investigation into allegations of bribery and money laundering. They were granted bail.

It could not be ascertained why the former minister was not arraigned.

But she had previously denied any wrongdoing when it was alleged that $20 billon of oil money had gone missing when she was in office between 2010 and 2015

However, a London (Westminster Magistrate’s Court) on Marylebone Road yesterday approved the seizure of $41,000 (£27,000) cash from her.

The seizure of the cash followed an application brought by the NCA under the Proceeds of Crime Act in the UK.

The court ruled that the money can be held for six months.

There was confusion earlier in the day that Mrs Alison-Madueke had appeared in court. However, it turned to be incorrect. She was not taken to court and had not been charged with any offence.

President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to curb corruption, saying “mind-boggling” sums were stolen during the Jonathan administration.

The NCA leads UK law enforcement’s fight to cut serious and organised crime. It has national and international reach and the mandate and powers to work in partnership with other law enforcement organisations to bring the full weight of the law to bear on serious and organised criminals.

The Proceeds of Crime Act says “The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (“POCA”) sets out the legislative scheme for the recovery of criminal assets with criminal confiscation being the most commonly used power.

“Confiscation occurs after a conviction has taken place. Other means of recovering the proceeds of crime which do not require a conviction are provided for in the Act, namely civil recovery, cash seizure and taxation powers.

“The aim of the asset recovery schemes in POCA is to deny criminals the use of their assets, recover the proceeds of crime and disrupt and deter criminality.

“Since 2010, more than £746 million of criminal assets has been seized (to 2013/14) across all four methods of recovery – a record amount.

“Over the same period, assets worth more than £2.5 billion have been frozen denying criminals access to these resources and £93 million has been returned to victims,” said a factsheet.

Alison-Madueke"s brother to face trial for bribery

UK has legal right to request Alamieyeseigha"s extradition

The Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay, says the United Kingdom has every legal right to demand for the extradition of a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, to London.

Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha
Photo credit: Punch

The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Andrew Pocock, had said Alamieyeseigha, who was pardoned by former President Goodlcuk Jonathan, has an outstanding case of money laundering to answer in the UK and that the UK government will not give up until Alamieyeseigha is brought to justice.

Pocock had said, “The former governor skipped bail in the UK on a charge of money laundering and returned to Nigeria. So, he has an outstanding charge in the UK, which is there for him to answer.

“We have already discussed it and the Nigerian government knows our views. But we would like to see him return and answer the charge in the UK.”

However, former President Jonathan’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe, had said there was no need for Nigeria to send Alamieyeseigha to the UK since he had been punished and pardoned by the President.

Okupe argued that the offence was committed against the people of Nigeria and the UK had no business with Alamieyeseigha.

However, Sagay told our correspondent on Sunday that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government would do well by extraditing the former governor to the UK.

He said, “Alamieyeseigha allegedly committed a separate crime by laundering money in Britain and that is not a crime in Nigeria but a crime against British Criminal Law and so, Goodluck Jonathan cannot pardon him for that.”

When asked if the absence of an Attorney General could stall the case of extradition of Alamieyeseigha, Sagay said there was no rush as the country’s new ministers would soon emerge.

He said, “Certainly, the case can be stalled but there is a pact between Britain and Nigeria which obliges us to extradite offenders who they are looking for. There is a process. A judge will give consent once there is evidence that there is a prima facie case against him in England.”

When asked if the case would not be seen as political prosecution or a witch-hunt, Sagay dismissed such claims as balderdash.

He said, “This is the new defence for criminal prosecution which is being drummed up in Nigeria. It does not exist in law. Witch-hunt has never been a defence in court. The plea is guilty or not guilty. You are a real witch if you are guilty and should be hunted.”

UK has legal right to request Alamieyeseigha"s extradition

Breaking: Alison-Madueke arrested in London by UK Crime Agency

The immediate past Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, was on Friday arrested in London, PREMIUM TIMES can exclusively and authoritatively report.

Alison Madueke

The former minister, who was one of the most powerful officials of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, was arrested Friday morning alongside four other people by the UK National Crime Agency.

The identities of the four other people arrested along with her could not be immediately ascertained.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt she was arrested for offences related to bribery and corruption being investigated by the UK National Crime Agency.

Two top British officials in London have confirmed the development to this newspaper. They requested not to be named because they had no permission to speak on the issue.

When contacted, the British High Commission in Nigeria confirmed that some arrests were made Friday but declined to disclose the identities of those involved.

Joseph Abuku, Press and Public Affairs Officer, said, “This morning, five people between the ages of 21 and 60 were arrested on suspicion of bribery and corruption offences. The crimes are being investigated by the National Crime Agency.

“The National Crime Agency does not confirm identity at arrest nor provide information that could be used to corroborate the identity of an arrested individual.”

It is not clear whether the former minister was arrested based on request from the Nigerian government.

President Muhammadu Buhari had on September 27 hinted that those who misappropriated billions of naira belonging to Nigeria’s state oil company NNPC, would soon be prosecuted.

Mr. Buhari said at a meeting with President Xi Jinping of China in New York that his administration was determined to fully sanitize Nigeria’s oil industry and make it totally free of corruption and shady deals.

The President did not, however, say how soon the prosecutions would start or if indeed investigations had been concluded and whether culpable individuals had been identified.

The NNPC under the immediate past administration of President Goodluck Jonathan was involved in several shady deals, many of which have been cancelled by the present government.

However, Mrs. Alison-Madueke, accused of several corrupt dealings, has stayed away from Nigeria since Mr. Buhari was sworn-in as president.

Breaking: Alison-Madueke arrested in London by UK Crime Agency

My Ex-boyfriend"s Mother Kidnapped My Children - Mother Cries Out

A Uk based Nigerian, Oluyinka Adeyeye has cried that the mother of her ex boyfriend has abducted her two kids.

The 65 years old woman, Claudette Amobi who hailed from Enugu State whisked the children away after claiming to take them for holiday.

Adeyeye cried that she has not talked to her children for months, adding that their grandmother won’t answer her call and when she did, would claim the children are not around.

The mother of two who said she was never married to the father of her two children, said she left him because of anger issues. She claimed that Chijioke Amobi (the father of the kids) beat her mercilessly when she was pregnant with the second child.

She said  “The paternal grandmother of my children is refusing to return them back to the UK, from Enugu Nigeria and has said many times she will not release them to me. There was no agreement that they will live with her for ever, she is quite elderly around 65, and none of her 4 children have achieved much in life, our prayers are with them.

“My name is Oluyinka Adeyeye, I am the mother of Abigail Amobi and Joanna Amobi. We are all British Citizens, I was a single mother, did not marry their father (Chijioke Amobi), due to him beating me up whilst I was pregnant with my second child.’

“Unfortunately their father is constantly in and out of prison, and still has anger issues, our prayers are with him.

I reside in London, and have been for many years , the children were born in London, have lived with me from their birth till the time the paternal grandmother (Claudette Amobi Enugu State) took them on holiday. The children travelled on UK passports and Interpol has been informed.

“She does not pick my calls , always stating the kids are not around, I have not spoken to my children in months. I am their only stable parent, no child should be forced away from their mother. I will make as much noise as I have too. She may claim the children were not well taken care of by me or were maltreated, in that case she must file a report of child abuse in the UK, what is she afraid of. She visits the UK twice a year and refused to see me June 2015 when she was here. If my children state the were maltreated in my care any intelligent person would let the children come to UK and make a statement to the UK police about whatever happened to them.

“I have reported to the UK police and foreign office, regarding the paternal grandmother. I will know make the children Wards of the Court, and petition for a return order. I have been advised by a Senior police officer in Abuja to contact a very good lawyer to help my case. I will definitely make my case public, international, global, the whole world will know my story”

My Ex-boyfriend"s Mother Kidnapped My Children - Mother Cries Out

How Buhari can recover stolen billions – UK Ambassador

Following President Muhammadu Buhari’s resolve to fight corruption, British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Sir Andrew Pocock has said the President should break up the entire system and pick areas of interest, one after the other to recover stolen funds from the Federal Government coffer.

General Buhari

Pocock said rather than addressing corruption as a whole, the President could look into the military’s budget in terms of procurement or monies diverted from the Federation Account.

The Ambassador, speaking during a live programme on ChannelsTv disclosed that the Nigerian Military, for instance have annual budgetary allocation of about $5 billion, which according to him is sufficient to equip the military.

Buhari on Tuesday vowed to recover stolen billions from the nation’s treasury during his meeting with the 36 state governors.

The state goernors have been experiencing cash crises following their inability to pay workers’ arrears in their respective states.

Pocock said; “Part of the issue is to trace and return stolen monies but that is only a tip of the iceberg. The real question is to break up the system routines, organisations and individuals that contribute to the leeching of Nigerian public money overseas. More important is to assault the mentality of seeing public money as a free gold.”

The envoy who stated that he was not in any way giving advice to the President disclosed that Buhari might succeed if he fights corruption across board.

“The way to do it is to pick areas of primary focus and zero in on that. So if you are looking at military reform, it might be to look at procurement. If it is to look at the oil sector, it might be revenue diversion, money that never reaches the federation account never mind oil theft. So to breakup corruption cocoon   into project sizes, you can focus on a particular difficulty,” he said.

He added that the Swiss government had been reactive in returning some of the stolen monies by former Military Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha.

According to Pocock, the present administration should complement its moves with actions to showcase that impunity is no longer a norm in the country.

Speaking on British intervention on insurgency, the ambassador disclosed his country’s readiness to partner in the fight.

He said the British government was ready to train the Nigerian Army battalion and brigades in Maiduguri.

“What we need more is access. Nigerian army should allow us to talk to the very senior people. Allow us access to the troops; provide us with the tools that are required, communications, and uniforms. The troops are there but not as well equipped as they might have been. That can be rectified. Nigeria has a military budget of 5 billion dollars a year that is more than adequate to provide the basic inputs the troops need.

“They should be trained to give them confidence that they have good chance of staying alive and winning,” the envoy added.

How Buhari can recover stolen billions – UK Ambassador

Nigerian lover proposed after 6 months, then said he only wed me for a visa

 

WHEN Deana Charles walked down the aisle, she could not wait to spend the rest of her life with the man she loved.

Ben Mowah and Deana Charles

But just half-an-hour after the pair exchanged their vows, she discovered her Nigerian groom had been texting another woman.

And Deana was left further humiliated when hubby Ben Mowah admitted he had only married her for a visa.

Deana, 23, says: “My whole world came crashing down when I found out my marriage was a fake.

“I loved Ben with all my heart. We’d made loads of plans for the future and he seemed desperate to start a family.”

Sales assistant Deana, from Tiverton, Devon, met Ben, 25, on a dating site in 2010.

She was instantly attracted to his looks and was hooked after he struck up a flirty conversation with her.

She says: “I wasn’t serious about finding love, I’d only signed up for a bit of a laugh.

“As soon as I saw Ben’s picture, though, I was smitten. He had gorgeous brown eyes and a great body — just my type.

“We started chatting and he explained he’d come to the UK from Nigeria to study for a business degree.

“I couldn’t imagine being so far away from my family and friends and I told him he was really brave.”

Ben was persistent online and was keen to meet up as soon as possible.

Deana was nervous at first but, three months after they started talking, she agreed to travel to London to meet him for a day of sightseeing.

She says: “It was the perfect first date.

“Ben took me to see Big Ben and we went to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.

“As soon as we shared our first kiss I could feel myself falling for him.

“He asked me to stay for a few days and I said yes. It felt like I’d known him for ages.”

Days turned into weeks and, after a fleeting visit home to pick up some belongings, Deana agreed to move in with Ben in Catford, South East London.

She says: “I was surprised when he asked me to move in with him so soon but I was also really excited.

“But my mum was really concerned that I was giving up everything for someone I’d only just met.

“Some of my friends said the same. No one was completely sure of him. I just shrugged off their concerns because I was convinced he was the right man for me.”

In August 2011, six months after they first met in person, Ben popped the question.

She says: “Ben asked me to marry him while we were having breakfast at home. It wasn’t very romantic. He didn’t even get down on one knee, but he did buy me an imitation diamond ring.

“I was shocked he wanted to marry me so soon but I was completely in love.”

Though she’d dreamt of a big, romantic wedding, Ben was determined to wed as soon as possible.

So Deana agreed to a register office wedding in January 2012, with a low-key reception at a local Chinese restaurant.

She says: “My family were concerned but they all turned out and supported me.

“When I walked down the aisle Ben told me I looked stunning. And I meant every word of my vows.”

After the ceremony, Deana urged Ben to call his family to tell them the good news.

She says: “He was reluctant to get his phone out. He eventually agreed to call his mum but when I looked over his shoulder at the screen, a message flashed up from a girl.

“She’d texted Ben to tell him she loved and missed him. My legs turned to jelly as I remembered she was his ex-girlfriend in Nigeria.

“I was in pieces but Ben begged me for another chance. He said he’d only text her because of last-minute nerves.

“I didn’t want to storm out of my wedding so, after lots of tears, I let it go.”

Deana tried to start a happy married life, but the text message always weighed down on her conscience.

She says: “I wanted to wait a few years before getting pregnant as I was still worried about the message. But Ben was determined to be a dad. I thought it was his way of showing he was serious.

“We tried for a baby but we struggled to conceive.”

But 13 months into their marriage, Deana borrowed Ben’s laptop and her worst fears were confirmed.

She says: “My heart stopped when I saw he’d been sending messages to a girl on a social network site and she had sent him explicit pictures.

“Ben told her he loved her and wanted a baby with her.

“Minutes later I received a message from the girl — she felt so guilty, she’d messaged me to come clean.”

Devastated Deana confronted Ben. She says: “When he realised there was no way back, he told me he’d only married me for a visa.

“It explained why he’d been so keen to get me pregnant — the authorities would find it harder to deport him.”

Disgusted Deana packed her bags, returned to Devon the next day and filed for divorce.

After two years, Ben finally agreed to it.

Deana says: “I felt relieved. Looking back, I realise how naive I was. Ben was due to finish his degree when he proposed, which meant his student visa would expire.

“He had to get me up the aisle as soon as possible.”

Deana, who has not spoken to Ben since their divorce and no longer knows where he lives, says: “It took me a long time to trust another man but I have recently met someone and am trying to move on.”

Ben says: “My mate used to send me dirty pictures of girls he was seeing. I knew my wife would get jealous if she saw them on my phone so I got rid of them or sent them to my email. She must have checked my email that day and then found the pictures.”

Trust your gut instinct

RELATIONSHIP expert DR PAM SPURR says: “Unfortunately Deana fell into the trap of being swept off her feet and didn’t listen to her intuition.

“It was practically screaming everything was moving too fast. And she ignored concerns of family and friends and her own gut instinct saying something was amiss — even with Ben’s marriage proposal.

“Sometimes it’s pride that keeps someone in a relationship, sometimes it’s hope that things will change for the better.

“Such denial is extremely powerful and stops you looking at the tell-tale signs of a cheat.

“If your intuition is saying things are rushing and there’s too much pressure, put the brakes on.

“If trusted family and friends are waving a red flag, don’t ignore it — they have your back, after all.

“Don’t end up like Deana finding out in the most painful way her whirlwind love was all about a visa.”

Culled from thesun.co.uk

Nigerian lover proposed after 6 months, then said he only wed me for a visa

Money laundering: Obasanjo Foundation fires CEO

The Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation has sacked its London-based Chief Executive Officer, Anne Welsh, following video evidence allegedly showing that she had been involved in money laundering activities for many years.

Olusegun Obasanjo

It was learnt that Welsh, a former investment banker, met the former president during a conference in Brussels, Belgium in 2011 when she was the Chairperson of the Sickle Cell Society.

The video footage, which was discreetly shot by one of the participants at a United Kingdon meeting in December 2014, showed how Welsh allegedly plotted a $4.9m (N980m) scheme to exploit the Ebola Virus Disease tragedy in West Africa through helping a group of ‘Lebanese businessmen’ who wished to donate money to Obasanjo Foundation for some work in Sierra Leone.

The video, which was obtained by SaharaReporters and viewed by Saturday PUNCH, revealed that the group demanded that it would make a donation of $2m (N400m) to the foundation if it helped it launder the balance of $2.9m.

Welsh assured the potential ‘donors’ that it would not be a problem as she was well-grounded in the art of being discreet.

“I had to go through training, through president Obasanjo, political training for one year to become discreet,” she said in the video.

She added, “Sometimes, we get dollars from people who give money to our foundation and they say they don’t want it to be known that they donated the money, but they want to have a letter on our letterhead paper and a letter from Obasanjo just to say ‘Thank you for your kind donations to the foundation for the work to support Ebola’. That’s it. That is what we normally do.”

The group, however, told her they did not care how the money given to the foundation was spent as long as their interest was protected.

Welsh then demanded from the group an interest of 30 per cent of the $2.9m. “At least 30 per cent; think about the hard work I’m going to put into this, you will be so grateful to me,” she proposed.

The video evidence also showed that the group agreed to give her the 30 per cent, which was $900,000 (N180m), and detailed how the money would be transferred via a Nigerian bank which she uses.

In an apparent reaction to the allegations, the Obasanjo Foundation had sacked Welsh for plotting to help some Lebanese businessmen to launder millions of dollars.

The former president, Obasanjo, told SaharaReporters that he and other trustees of the organisation as well as staff members of the foundation were deeply saddened and disturbed by the allegations against Welsh.

He said the foundation had forced her to resign and had launched a full-scale investigation into the allegations. He also said the matter had been reported to the London Metropolitan Police and the UK Charity Commission for a thorough probe.

“We have asked the two authorities to investigate the matter exhaustively,” Obasanjo said.

In her reaction, Welsh confirmed details of the meeting, stating that she was indeed present, but denied that any wrongdoing took place.

She also confirmed that she clearly stated her name over the course of the meeting, but refused to disclose any of the “so much secret things” she said she had done with Obasanjo.

When our correspondent contacted the office of the former president to seek more clarifications on the issue, it was gathered that he had left the country.

His Chief of Staff, Mr. Victor Durodola, however, confirmed the development to our correspondent.

“It is true and it is sad, “he briefly said.

Money laundering: Obasanjo Foundation fires CEO

Cameron, four Nigerians win in UK election

In one of the most keenly contested general elections in British history, four Nigerians won seats to the revered parliament, making it the first time such feat would be recorded

Top left: Osamor; top bottom: Onwurah; middle: Cameron; top right: Grant; top bottom: Umunna.

Against all odds, David Cameron has won his re-election bid in one of the fiercest polls in British history.

Cameron, Prime Minister of Britain, led the Conservatives to almost a landslide victory against the Labour Party – a development that forced arch-rival – Ed Miliband to step down as head of the opposition.

With the victory, Cameron returns to the iconic Number 10 Downing Street, the official residence of British Prime Ministers to continue with his work of massive reforms and making Britain greater.

But it is not only Cameron that has been left smiling following the announcement of winners – four politicians of Nigerian descent also tasted victory during the general elections in the Queen’s land.

Before Thursday’s keenly contested polls in Britain, not many within and outside it were familiar with Chuka Umunna, Helen Grant, Chi Onwurah and Kate Osamor. But by mid-day Friday, the four have almost become celebrities of sort after an elaborate media focus on them.

The four Nigerians won seats into the British parliament, making it the first time such would be happening in the highly conservative United Kingdom. While Umunna, a Labour Party politician who has served Streatham as Member of Parliament since 2010 and has enjoyed a meteoric political rise in recent years is a relatively known face outside Britain, the profile of the other three was largely unknown until Friday, a day after the keenly contested elections, even though Grant and Onwurah had been Members of Parliament over the last five years.

Umunna

Born on October 17, 1978 to a Nigerian father – Bennett and British mother – Patricia, Umunna began his education at Hitherfield Primary School in Streatham, South London, and the Christ Church Primary School in Brixton Hill. He later moved to St. Dunstan’s College, Catford, Southeast London where he played the cello and became a respected prefect in the school.

Pursuing higher education, the eloquent Umunna bagged an upper second class in English and French Law from the University of Manchester before going to study for one term at the University of Burgundy in Dijon, France. He would later pick up an MA at the Nottingham Law School.

Umunna did not just get to the top all of a sudden – he slowly but vigorously climbed his way to the centerpiece of British politics. In 2002, after graduating from the university, the 37-year-old began working as a solicitor for Herbert Smith, a law firm based in the heart of London. Four years later he joined Rochman Landau, specialising in Employment Law.

However, he soon began writing and providing commentary on the Labour Party, as well as broader social and economic issues, usually in his capacity as a member of the Management Committee of the Labour-aligned Compass pressure group. He also wrote articles for the Financial Times, Tribune, The Voice, The Guardianand the New Statesman, and began to appear on various radio and television programmes as a commentator. Umunna would later go on to establish and edited an online political magazine, The Multicultural Politic.

In early April 2013, his law firm was linked to favourable updates made on his Wikipedia page in 2007, which included a reference to him being tipped as the “British Barack Obama”. Earlier in June 2010, he was elected a member of the Treasury Select Committee while in October of that year, he was appointed to serve as a Parliamentary Private Secretary and, in May 2011 rose to the position of Shadow Minister for Small Business and Enterprise until his promotion to the Shadow Cabinet.

Grant

Grant, born on September 28, 1961, is a Conservative Party politician and solicitor who was first elected into the British parliament in 2010. By that feat, she became the first black woman to be selected to defend a Tory seat and the Conservatives’ first female black parliamentarian. She has served as Minister for Sport, Tourism and Equalities.

In September 2012, Grant received her first government appointment when she earned the dual roles of Under-Secretary of State for Justice and Under-Secretary for Women and Equalities. She was born in Willesden, North London to an English mother and Nigerian father but grew up with her mother’s family after her parents separated. She lived with her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

Onwurah

Onwurah, born on April 12, 1965, is a Labour Party politician, who was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament for Newcastle upon Tyne Central. Onwurah is Newcastle’s first black MP.

During the depression of the 1930s, her maternal grandfather was a sheet metal worker in Tyneside shipyards. Her mother grew up in poverty in Garth Heads on Newcastle’s quayside. Her father, from Nigeria, was working as a dentist while he studied at Newcastle Medical School when they met and married in the 1950s.

After Chi’s arrival in 1965, her family moved to Anambra State when she was still a baby, only two years before the Nigerian Civil War. The situation forced her mother to take the children back to England while her father stayed back to fight for the Biafran army. She had been a strong voice in the parliament and her victory this time around only goes to confirm her rising reputation in British politics.

Osamor

Osamor, a National Health Service manager, would be representing Edmonton constituency in London on the platform of the Labour Party. A respected trade union activist and women’s charity trustee, she made funding the NHS and standing up to government cuts the main theme of her campaign.

Emerging one of the Labour Party’s shining lights during a generally poor election outing, Osamor was declared winner in the North London seat with 25,388 votes. Her closest rival, Gonul Daniels of the Conservative Party ended up with 9,969 votes, making it an overwhelming victory for her.

The triumph of the four parliamentarians is seen as a major boost to Nigeria’s international image especially at a time when leadership has also changed hands at the centre in the oil-rich country. The victory is also viewed as cheering news for Nigerians resident in the United Kingdom who are often the subject of racism and segregation in the highly conservative region.

Cameron, four Nigerians win in UK election

UK repatriates three prison inmates to Nigeria

The United Kingdom has repatriated three Nigerians in UK prisons under the prisoners exchange agreement signed by the two countries.

The convicts who were brought into the country earlier this year, have been remanded in an undisclosed prison in the country.

Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, who said this while responding to questions from journalists in Abuja on Thursday, stated that more Nigerians in the UK prisons would still be transferred to local prisons in Nigeria before the end of the year.

“The prisoners exchange agreement is in place and the United Kingdom has repatriated three Nigerians in the UK prison since January this year and  more prisons would also be transferred. The programme would continue after the exit of this administration, there is a committee in place to ensure the sustenance of the programme,” he explained.

Responding to allegations of manipulation of the ongoing recruitment into the Nigeria Immigration Service by some applicants, Moro stated that his ministry has no hand in the conduct of the exercise, noting that the recruitment was being handled by the Presidential Committee set up by President Goodluck Jonathan.

According to him, those accusing the interior ministry of manipulating the recruitment exercise were not being fair, stressing that the Presidential Committee was solely responsible for the process.

Moro regretted the loss of lives during the failed NIS recruitment exercise, describing it as “the lowest point for the ministry which has cast some clouds over the level of achievements by the ministry.”

He however insisted that if given another opportunity to handle the recruitment exercise, “I will do the same thing in a different manner,” adding that the ministry adopted a strategy to ensure a transparent recruitment process,but unfortunately, things did not go as planned.

He said, “The idea was to rid the exercise of corruption, job-for-money and money-for-job that was pervading everywhere. I plead with Nigerians and the families of the victims for understanding.”

UK repatriates three prison inmates to Nigeria

Corruption: Court orders extradition of ex-Mint boss to UK

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday ordered the extradition of a former Managing Director of Nigerian Security, Minting and Printing Company, Mr. Ehidiamhem Okoyomon, to the United Kingdom to face criminal charges.

Mr. Ehidiamhem Okoyomon

Justice Evoh Chukwu ordered that Okoyomon be extradited to the UK within 30 days.

He ordered the former NSMPC boss to be remanded in prison pending the time the extradition processes would be completed.

The court was delivering judgment on the extradition application filed on September 29, 2014 by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN).

The court had earlier on Monday struck out a separate suit filed by Okoyomon challenging his arrest and detention by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission based on the request by the British High Commission in Nigeria for his extradition.

The court held in its judgment in Okoyomon’s suit that the Attorney-General of the Federation having filed the application for his extradition, his suit had become academic.

The court also dismissed his preliminary objection to the AGF’s extradition application.

It held that Okoyomon, through his counsel, Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN), “has no defence for this application and did not make any attempt to counter it.”

It also held that the AGF had satisfied all the requirements under the Extradition Act Cap E25 of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 for the extradition of the man who was said to have been indicted for criminal offences in the UK.

Okoyomon’s lawyer, Izinyon, had argued in both the preliminary objection and in his counter-affidavit opposing the application that there was no reciprocal extradition treaty between Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

He argued that the 1931 Extradition Treaty between the United States of America and the United Kingdom as well as the London Scheme of Extradition within the Commonwealth both of which the AGF anchored the extradition application on were not enforceable in Nigeria.

He maintained that Nigeria was not a party to the treaties and that they had not been domesticated by the National Assembly in accordance with the provisions of section 12(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

He argued that the Extradition Treaty of 1931 had been repealed in Nigeria by virtue of section 21(3) of Schedule 4 of Decree 87 of 1966.

He also argued that the London Scheme for Extradition was an agreement between the United States of America and the UK, which had yet to be domesticated in Nigeria.

He said having not been domesticated in accordance with its provisions in Article 22, the London Scheme for Extradition could not be applicable in Nigeria.

But Justice Chukwu in his combined judgment on both the notice of preliminary objection and the substantive suit, upheld the argument of the AGF’s lawyer, Mr. Muslim Hassan, and dismissed Izinyon’s contention.

The court held that the Extradition Treaty of 1931, made to be applicable in Nigeria in 1935, had not been repealed.

It held that the treaty was not among the ones repealed by the provisions of Decree 87 of 1966.

It also held that the London Scheme for Extradition had been domesticated in Nigeria by virtue of provisions of section 12 of the constitution.

The court held that provisions of section 12(1) of the constitution were only applicable to such treaties signed after the 1979 and 1999 constitutions of the Federal Republic Nigeria.

The court held, “The 1931 Treaty between the United States of America and the United Kingdom signed on December 22, 1931 and made to be applicable to Nigeria through a legal instrument in 1935 under section 315(4) of the constitution is deemed to be an Act of the National Assembly by virtue of the provisions of section 315(1) of the constitution is an enforceable law in Nigeria and is not required to be subjected to the provisions of section 12(1) of the constitution.”

The UK government, through the British High Commission in Nigeria had in July 2014 requested the Nigerian government that Okoyomon be extradited to answer questions over his alleged role in the bribery allegation involving officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the NSMPC and the Securency International Pty of Australia between 2006 and 2008.

The offences were said to have violated the provisions of the Corruption Prevention Act of the United Kingdom.

After the hearing of the extradition application on October 22, 2014, Justice Chukwu had ordered Okoyomon to remain in EFCC custody pending when judgment would be delivered.

Okoyomon’s lawyer, Izinyon, while opposing the application, insisted that there was no existing extradition treaty between Nigeria and the UK.

Izinyon added that extraditing his client to face trial in the UK when part of the crime he was being wanted for in the UK was allegedly committed in Nigeria, would amount to subordination of Nigeria’s sovereignty to that of the UK.

He said, “We don’t want extradition. Since part of the alleged crime was committed here (Nigeria), we are ready to face trial in Nigeria.

“In fact, extraditing him to the UK is subordination of our sovereignty to that of the United Kingdom.

“The issue of fair hearing in the UK does not arise. Are we saying there is no fair hearing in Nigeria?”

Izinyon, in adopting his preliminary objection and counter-affidavit to the extradition application, said two statutes – the Extradition Treaty of 1931 and the London Scheme for Extradition – relied upon by the EFCC were no longer applicable in Nigeria.

“Combination of these two instruments does not in whatsoever, howsoever, cannot and does not confer locus on the Attorney General of the Federation to make the application,” Izinyon said.

Corruption: Court orders extradition of ex-Mint boss to UK

Jeffery Okafor who killed CBBC presenter guilty of murder in UK

Jeffery Okafor, who stabbed a CBBC actor to death outside a nightclub in central London has been found guilty of murder.

Jeffery Okafor

Okafor, a Nigerian attacked Carl Beatson Asiedu in Vauxhall in August 2009 when a late-night row escalated into violence. The court was told he confessed to his girlfriend before fleeing to Nigeria using his brother’s passport.

Beatson Asiedu, who appeared in the CBBC series M.I. High, was also a part-time DJ known as DJ Charmz.

DNA found on gloves

On the night he was killed he was with friends and had performed a set at the Club Life nightclub near Vauxhall station. Outside the club he and his friends were approached by a larger group of men, which included Okafor, and an argument broke out.

The court heard it was at this time the DJ became separated from his friends and was stabbed by Okafor, 24.

A post-mortem examination concluded the cause of Mr Beatson Asiedu’s death was a single stab wound to the front of the chest.

Sarah Whitehouse QC, prosecuting, told Woolwich Crown Court: “After the attack, Jeffrey Okafor actually confessed to a girlfriend that he had stabbed Carl Beatson.”

Okafor confessed in a phone call within an hour of the attack and days later he told the same woman that he had stabbed the DJ in the stomach.

She said he gave her a pair of black gloves to look after which were later passed to police.

DNA which may have come from the victim was found on one of the gloves.

The prosecution said four days later Okafor boarded a flight from Heathrow Airport to Lagos using his brother’s passport.

He was extradited from Nigeria in November.

Okafor, of East Dulwich, south-east London, is due to be sentenced on Friday.

Culled from BBC

Jeffery Okafor who killed CBBC presenter guilty of murder in UK