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        March 24, 2020 Press Statement PDP Mourns, Extols Senator Rose Oko. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is shocked and grief-stricken over the death of Senator Rose Oko (PDP, Cross River). The party described Senator Oko, who was the Chairman of Senate Committee on Trade and investment, as exceptionally patriotic; a brilliant legislator and excellent administrator, who discharged every responsibility given to her with unequaled enthusiasm, commitment and forthrightness. Senator Oko was indeed an outstanding leader who gave her all towards the development and stability of her constituency, Cross River North Senatorial Zone, Cross River states and our dear nation, Nigeria at large. Our party mourns. Our prayers and thoughts go out to the Senator Oko’s family at this moment of grief. The PDP deeply condoles the Oko family, the people of Cross River North Senatorial zone, the National Assembly as well as the government and people of Cross River sta...

      National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has thrown his weight behind the preventive measures being taken by the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to stop the spread of novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) within the State. Tinubu said Gov. Sanwo-Olu had shown leadership in the implementation of the response strategy to manage confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and tracing of suspected cases, even beyond the borders of the State. The former Lagos State Governor described coronavirus as “mysterious enemy”, saying leaders across the globe were in for a “challenging period” as they take actions on daily basis to combat the ravaging epidemic. Tinubu spoke on Tuesday after a private meeting with Governor Sanwo-Olu at the State House in Marina. The APC National Leader said: “First of all, I congratulate the Government of Lagos State for what has been done so far and the regular information that the Government is...

      Lagos State Government, on Tuesday, took more restrictive measures to break the cycle of transmission of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the State. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu directed all markets and stores trading in non-essential commodities to close for seven days. The directive takes effect from Thursday, March 26. Also, the Governor reduced the number of people that must participate in a public gathering at any given time from 50 to 25. Sanwo-Olu disclosed that he had instructed the Chief Judge of the State, Justice Kazeem Alogba, to close all High and Magistrate courts across the State from Thursday to support the efforts being made to stop the epidemic. Other public places shut by the Government include parks, playgrounds and recreational centres within the State, regardless of ownership. In a televised briefing after the State’s Security Council meeting held at the State House in Marina, Sawno-Olu said the restrictive measures were necessary, given the...

       The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Gombe Zonal office has arraigned one Sanda Jonathan Lamurde before Justice Nathan Musa of the Adamawa State High Court on a 21-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, forgery and using fake documents as genuine. . . The former Adamawa Commissioner of Finance who also served as Chairman, Committee on Internally Displaced Person's Welfare during the tenure of Bala Ngilari is alleged to have diverted about N379, 500, 000 (Three Hundred and Seventy Nine Million Five Hundred Thousand Naira) meant for the purchase of food items for Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs in Adamawa. . . He is also alleged to have forged cash/credit invoice of AIG Enterprises to raise payment vouchers of fictitious contracts and converted the funds to his own personal use.More photos below.

     24th March 2020 By Fred Itua, Abuja As part of moves to contain the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Abuja, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Muhammad Musa Bello, has imposed a partial lockdown on the territory. Addressing newsmen in Abuja, the minister, restated the earlier closure of schools and religious houses. He warned of dire consequences should the directive be flouted. He further announced a ban on all social gatherings, including Parks, Gardens, Event Centres, Night Clubs, Bars, football viewing centres and others. The minister also directed that civil servants of the FCT Administration on GL12 downwards stay away from work indefinitely. He said only those on essential duties like fire, medical, environmental and security services are exempted from the policy. Bello who announced that more isolation and treatment centres would be opened in the territory if need be, also directed a partial closure of markets, saying only those selling essen...

    24th March 2020 Three members of staff to the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). A presidential source confirmed the development. Meanwhile, all the aides at the Vice President’s wing, with the exception of his media aide, did not turn up for work. A source said the VP reported late to work Monday afternoon, unlike his usual practice. Most of his aides had face masks and hand gloves on when they came to work on Monday. Meanwhile, the Presidential Villa is on a gradual lockdown as nonessential staff have been asked to stay home.

      ANAMBRA STATE POLICE COMMAND DIARY In compliance with the directives of the Commissioner of Police Anambra State Command *CP John B.Abang,fdc* the Command Medical Officer, CSP, Dr. Emelike and his staff are conducting temperature checks on officers and men at the State Command headquarters as precautionary measures against Coronavirus. Consequently,hand sanitizers were also placed strategically for use by the officers. Meanwhile,HODS and DPOS were equally enjoined to replicate same at their respective offices as well. More photos below.

       ANAMBRA STATE POLICE COMMAND DIARY: *Arrested Six suspects and recovers twenty three handsets,cash sum of (#102,000) and other valuables reasonably suspected to have been stolen from their victims* On the 23/3/2020 at about 4:50pm,following intelligence report,Police operatives attached to B' Division Awka arrested at UNIZIK temporary site, Awka five suspected members of a notorious syndicate who specializes in stealing phones from unsuspecting passengers in commercial vehicles and using the handsets to hack into bank accounts of the victims to siphon their money. 2. The suspects are, (1) Uche Louis 'm' aged 21years from Mbieri Imo State, (2)Junior Abamu 'm' aged 25years from Uromi Edo State, (3) Chinemelem Anugwam 'm' aged 21years from Mbano Imo State, (4)Agaro Afo 'm' aged 26years from Ideze, Delta State and, (5)Abraham Patrick 'm' aged 25years from Obubra Cross River State respectively. 3. Their arrest was sequel to an ea...

       OGUN: COVID-19 UPDATE Do not panic! This is to announce that we have a confirmed case of the Coronavirus in Ogun State. According to the Honourable Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, the patient is a 62-year old male resident of Sagamu with recent travel history, who returned to the Country on March 17, 2020. Currently, the patient has been transferred to the Isolation Centre at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu for isolation and further observation. The priority now is to provide adequate care for the patient, while we continue to sensitise the general public on preventive hygiene measures.

      In view of government’s directive on the ban of high density gathering due to the COVID 19 virus, which subsequently informed the closure of Public and private schools across the State, the Ogun State Government wishes to inform parents, guardians and the general public of the commencement of electronic visual learning on the State owned Television station, OGTV. The digital classrooms for child ren of primary and secondary schools across the State, according to the Special Adviser on Special Adviser, Primary Secondary and Technical Education in the State, Mrs Ronke Soyombo, is “tagged OgunDigiClass is an initiative of the State Government in collaboration with the Ministry of Education Science and Technology is to ensure that learners are still undergoing the learning process while on the unplanned impromptu academic recess. “OgunDigiClass would daily feature top-notch educators who would handle core topics in English and Mathematics at both Primary and Secon...

      Nigerians have been advised to be wary of fraudsters who now pose as Directors of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) to dupe unsuspecting members of the public. This was contained in a public notice on the activities of fraudsters signed by the Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris FC NA, in Abuja. He revealed that the fraudsters usually identify themselves as Dr. Charles Wabande using the mobile number telephone number 09043177807 and Hajia Binta Bello using the mobile number 08038898704. Idris explained that in their operations, the fraudsters make telephone calls to unsuspecting public service staff and retirees, claiming that they are Directors of IPPIS and that they can facilitate the payment of the staff or retiree’s outstanding arrears. He said the fraudsters, who usually demand money for their proposed services, also tell the unsuspecting persons...

       The Federal Government has alerted Nigerians to the existence of an Android-based malicious and fraudulent Coronavirus Ransomware Application, which claims to provide updates on the virus and infections near the user. In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the Ransomware blocks access to users' personal data and accounts and threatens deletion, unless users pay One Hundred US Dollars ($100) in Bitcoin within 48 hours. He said the Ransomware App, detected on the website  www.coronavirusapp.site , prompts users to download an Android App purportedly for coronavirus map tracking and heat map visuals. Alhaji Mohammed said the development confirms warnings against cyber criminals seeking to exploit the growing spread of the virus for nefarious gains. He therefore called on the general public not to download the Ransomware App and to seek updates on the pandemic only from the app...

     Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, has tested positive for coronavirus, according to information emanating from his aide. Mukhtar Gidado,  Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, disclosed this in a media statement on Tuesday. The governor had earlier admitted he met and shook hands with Mohammed, the son of former Vice-President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday.More details later.

      # COVID19Lagos   Updates - Lagos confirms 4 additional #COVID19 cases between yesterday evening, 23rd March and today 24th March, 2020. - The total confirmed cases in Lagos as at 1.10pm today 24th March, 2020 is 29 #COVID19 Lagos Alert I hereby notify you that all participants at the African Magic viewers’ Choice Award (AMVCA) held on14th March at @EkoHotels may have come in contact with one of the confirmed cases in Lagos and are most likely to have been exposed to #COVID19 Infection. Attendees at the said event are therefo advised to: 1. Observe strict self- isolation. 2. Call our  # TollFree  line 08000corona if they notice any of the  # COVID19  related symptoms 3. Let's  # TakeResponsibility  by practicing  # SocialDistancing  to prevent the spread of the virus.

      The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Lagos zonal office, on Monday, March 23, 2020 secured the conviction and sentencing of David Obi and Sunday Onuigwe to seven years imprisonment each before Justice Olabisi Akinlade of State High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos for N22.5Million fraud. The convicts were found guilty of the five-count charge preferred against them by the EFCC. The convicts were arraigned sometimes in 2012 by the anti-graft agency on five counts which bordered on conspiracy to obtain money by false pretence and obtaining money by false pretence. They however pleaded not guilty to the charges. One of the charges reads: "That you David Obi, Sunday Onuigwe and Anthony Woke (now at large) on or about the 21th July, 2011 at Lagos within the Ikeja Judicial Division with intent to defraud did obtain the sum of N6,900,000.00 (Six Million, Nine Hundred Thousand Naira) from Chris Ubosi, the Managing Director of Megalectrics Limited by falsel...

      The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Kaduna Zonal Office on Monday, March 23, 2020 arraigned one Alhaji Modu Ali Kotoko on a two-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, obtaining by false pretence and cheating before Justice Mohammed Tukur of the Kaduna State High Court. . . Kotoko's journey to the dock began when the Kaduna office of the Commission received a petition from one Abdullahi Mohammed Wuroji, Magaging Director, Waram Nigeria Limited, a Limited Liability Company in Kaduna. . . The complainant alleged that in 2018, the defendant met him and introduced himself as an aide to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (a former Nigerian Vice President) and lured him to give him 13 brand new cars, shoes and clothes worth N65,680,000 (Sixty-five Million, Six Hundred and Eighty Thousand Naira) and N34,800,000 (Thirty-four Million, Eight Hundred Thousand Naira) under pretence that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar requested for the cars and money to prosecute his 201...

      The Uyo Zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has secured the conviction of one James Maduakolam Amadi over N2,665,000 (Two Million, Six Hundred and Sixty-five Thousand Naira) fraud. . . He was convicted by Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court sitting in Umuahia, Abia State and sentenced to three years in prison. . . Amadi's journey to jail began on July 9, 2018 when the zone received a petition dated July 3, 2018 by one Soyabuchi Unaegbu. . . According to the petitioner, the convict claimed he did an online business, which he required money for in order to pay some of his associates. Unfortunately, he fell for the ploy and transferred millions of naira into Amadi's account and the accounts of his partners including one Duruiheme Augustus Ndubuisi. . . Acting on the petition, Amadi was subsequently arrested and arraigned alongside Ndubuisi on October 22, 2018, but they pleaded "not guilty", setting the stage for the com...

      The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on March 23, 2020 presented three witnesses against Abba Yusuf, a permanent Secretary in the Borno State Road Maintenance Agency, BORMA, who is facing a 36-count amended charge before Justice Aisha Kumaliya of a Borno State High Court, Maiduguri. . . Yusuf is being prosecuted alongside Mustapha Kura, transport officer, and Abubakar Mustapha, cashier for criminal conspiracy, forgery, obtaining money by false pretence, misappropriation and diversion of public funds. . . Testifying as the first prosecution witness (PW1), Mustapha Muhammad narrated how transactions made between Muhammad and the first defendant did not conform to financial regulations. . . Led in evidence by counsel for the EFCC, Mukhtar Ahmed, he said he was in court because of a petition he wrote to the EFCC in respect of a financial transaction that took place while he was the Chief Accountant of BORMA.One more photo below.

      A former Senior Special Assistant to the Kwara State Governor on Sustainable Development Goals, Ope Saraki was on March 24, 2020 arraigned before Justice Babangana Ashigar of a Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State. . . Saraki, a cousin to the immediate past Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki is facing charges for money laundering. . . The charge reads: "That you, Ope Saraki, sometime in February 2019, whilst being the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Kwara State on Sustainable Development Goals at Ilorin within the jurisdiction of this honourable Court, did receive cash payment of N11,180,000.00 (Eleven Million, One Hundred and Eighty Thousand Naira) from one Kunle Adimula, an employee of Kwara State Government, which sum exceeded the cash payable to an individual and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 and 16 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 (as amended) and punishable under section 16 of the same Act.",More p...

      The Benin Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on March 23, 2020 secured the conviction of Joan Uruvbu (alias Jay Jay) on a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy and intent to defraud before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court sitting in Warri, Delta State. . . One of the counts reads: "That you, Joan Uruvbu (alias Jay Jay) Daniel Mercedes, Paul Tommy and Sally (all at large) between 2018 and 2019 in Benin City within the jurisdiction of this honourable court did conspire to used attached E-mail to obtain personal identification information of others online to use same to file fraudulent tax returns with the Inland Revenue Service (IRS) of the United States of America ( USA) and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section (27)(b) of the cybercrime(prohibtion prevention etc) Act ,2015 and punishable under Section 36(1) of the same Act." . . In view of her plea, the counsel for the EFCC, L.P. Aso prayed the court t...

      Lagos State Government has adopted a number of biosecurity measures at every facility within the Oko-Oba abattoir and lairage complex as well as other slaughterhouses in the State to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 and other infectious diseases through these facilities. The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Prince Gbolahan Lawal explained that the Government has stopped all non-essential activitie s of food vendors and other non-related abattoir practices. Lawal added that the ban on all religious gatherings or other activities that involve more than 50 people would be strictly enforced at the abattoir and slaughterhouses in Lagos, adding that operators are also expected to provide hand sanitisers and a distance thermometer at the entrance of these facilities. The Commissioner emphasised that it is essential for all unit heads to sensitise butchers in their respective abattoirs on the dangers and preventive measures of COVID-19, asserting that the stak...