Mamman Daura, a nephew and close confidant of President Muhammadu Buhari, has been flown to the United Kingdom for urgent medical treatment over an undisclosed ailment, SaharaReporters has reliably gathered.
Daura, 79, was said to have been flown in a private jet to the UK on Wednesday (today) after exhibiting respiratory difficulties with symptoms similar to Coronavirus since last Friday.
The former journalist, who is an integral member of the ‘Cabal’, a group of influential individuals around President Buhari, who help him make key decisions, is said to have had a history of renal crisis and had regularly visited the West for medical attention.
Recall that earlier this month, Daura came under widespread criticisms after he said that zoning of the Presidency in Nigeria should be jettisoned for competence.
Speaking with the BBC Hausa, he said the zoning formula had failed Nigeria and should be abandoned.
In April, another ‘Cabal’ member and late Chief of Staff to President Buhari, Abba Kyari, died from Coronavirus complications.
A key member of the Buhari’s administration, his demise sent panic across Nigeria’s seat of power, forcing drastic safety measures to be adopted to protect the President, who has himself battled an undisclosed ailment and had visited UK several times in recent years for medical attention.
Mr. Olakunle Churchill, ex-husband of Nollywood actress Tonto Dike has finally reacted to claims of being the father of reality show star, Tboss’ baby.
The businessman denied being the father of Tboss’ baby in an Instagram exchange with actor Uche Maduagwu.
Uche Maduagwu wrote;
@olakunlechurchill have been getting questions from fans asking if you are allegedly the biological father of Tboss’ baby, the BBNaija lady?
Responding to the comment, Churchill wrote;
I have seen people tag me severally to post like this, I am not the father of TBoss baby, people should just leave that woman alone, she is a great new mum of a beautiful baby, she is happy and doing great, haters should let her be.
Abdulrahman Bashir, the Chief Executive Officer of Rahamaniyya Oil and Gas Limited has been jailed in the United Kingdom.
Justice Butcher of England and Wales High Court sentenced the Nigerian oil mogul after he was found guilty of breaching multiple orders of the court in a pending suit instituted by Sahara Energy Resources Ltd.
Bashir who was handed a 10 months jail sentence, had been ordered to comply with requests for the release of 6,400.69 metric tonnes gas oil to Sahara Energy Resource Ltd or its agent from Rahamaniyya Oil and Gas Ltd, Jetty 6.436181, Ibafon, Kirikiri Waterfront, of Aero Maritime Street, Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria (“the Terminal”).
This was in line with the deal Ultimate Oil and Gas, the trading arm of Rahamaniyya Oil in the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), entered into a deal with Sahara Energy in 2018. In the signed contract, Ultimate agreed to buy, and Sahara agreed to sell 15,000 metric tonnes in the Vacuum of Gas Oil.
A Collateral Management Agreement (CMA) containing a London arbitration clause was entered into on July 8, 2018 between the two parties and it was further learnt that Rahamaniyya agreed to store the gas oil at its terminal pending payment by Ultimate.
Premium Times reported that Sahara delivered a total of 14,967.159 metric tonnes of gas oil to Rahamaniyya’s terminal in Nigeria and also issued invoices for the gas oil on October 26, 2018 for USD 10,760,728.77. The payment should have been made by August 29, 2019 but Ultimate defaulted in making necessary payments.
In December 2018, Ultimate and Sahara entered into a settlement agreement in which Ultimate confirmed that the value of gas oil that had been delivered was USD 10,760,728.77, and agreed to make a series of monthly payments for it.
Court records showed that some payments were made, in consequence of which some 8,566.469 metric tonnes of gas oil was released to Ultimate. Ultimate, however reneged in performing the terms of the settlement agreement in full by making all the payments due. After various warnings, on May 10, 2019, Sahara terminated the settlement agreement, notifying Ultimate that its agent, Asharami Synergy Plc would take delivery of part of the remaining gas oil from the terminal.
Various attempts made by Sahara to obtain delivery of the gas oil were futile, leading to the lawsuit which was filed both in Lagos and in the United Kingdom.
Justice Butcher who delivered the third order following a contempt of court judgement;
“The basis of the sentence was that Mr Bashir had committed continuing breaches of the order of Mr Justice Robin Knowles of 1 August 2019 and of the order of Mr Justice Bryan of 6 September 2019.”
There was also a binding indication that the sentence could be reduced to six months if Mr Bashir complies with the relevant order which had previously been breached. He was also fined £500,000 while Adebowale Aderemi, its manager, was fined £10,000.
King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the ruler of Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, August 18, had a telephone conversation with President Muhammad Buhari.
The conversation, according to the Saudi Press Agency, was lengthened towards how to stabilize and rebalance global oil markets.
Legit.ng gathers that part of the discussion was accentuated on the importance of compliance to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreement and the agreed-upon compensation mechanism by all member states.
Nigerian striker scores 2 goals to help top European club stretch their unbeaten run to 9 games The two leaders also discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and opportunities for their further development in the future.
The conversation between President Buhari and the Saudi king came barely three months after the Nigerian president and the prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, his excellency Imran Khan, had a phone conversation.
A tweet-statement from the official page of the presidency confirmed that the conversation between the two leaders held on Thursday afternoon, May 7. The point of discussion, according to the statement, was based on the global initiative on debt relief canvassed by leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement Contact Group (NAM) for developing countries.
The House of Representatives has, again, summoned the management of DSTV over increment of the cable television’s subscription tariffs on June 1.
The House Ad Hoc Committee Investigating the Non-Implementation of ‘Pay As You Go’ Tariff by Satellite Broadcast Service Providers issued the summons, asking DSTV, owned by South Africa-based Multichoice, to appear before it next Tuesday.
At its investigative hearing in Abuja on Tuesday, the committee gave StarTimes two weeks to review its subscription fees to reflect the current new 7.5 per cent Value Added Tax.
StarTimes, which is domiciled with the Federal Government owned Nigerian Television Authority, had increased its subscription rates by 30 per cent, claiming VAT increment and increase in number of channels provided.
The committee, however, faulted the claim.
Chairman of the committee, Mr Uyime Idem, said the directive was to allow Startimes to have a tariff that reflect the current economic realities, including the VAT and exchange rate.
The lawmakers decried that the tariff hike came at a time when Nigerians were suffering serious economic hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The management of Startimes, however, justified the increment.
The Chief Operating Officer, Startimes, Mr Tunde Aina, said, “The organisation is currently operating the ‘pay as you watch’ tariff to meet the aspirations of a section of the Nigerian society, who are sparsely at home all day, all week, all month and all year round.”
Aina also explained that the increment was to enable Startimes offset extra costs incurred in the cause of its operations, occasioned by high exchange rates in the acquisition of equipment outside Nigeria as well in power generation to run its operations.
Musa Gowon is the son of former Nigerian Head of State, whose paternity was disputed for a long time but finally was accepted by Yakubu Gowon after a Comprehensive DNA test in March 8, 2016.
Musa is the product of a love affair between Gowon and Edith Ike Okongwu, a former Public relations specialist. Edith was in a love relationship with Yakubu Gowon, which was aimed at marriage but broke up during the civil war.
Edith travelled to Germany, when their love affair broke up and Gowon later married Victoria. After the war, Edith returned to Nigeria and Gowon disputed the paternity of Musa, the issue became a legal tussle between Edith Ike Okongwu and General Yakubu Gowon, the then head of state.
However, the case ended in favour of Edith Ike Okongwu. Musa was caught in the United States over allegations of drug trafficking, which on conviction earned him, 40 years jail term. In 2015, Musa was released by the government of Barack Obama on grounds of prerogatory of mercy and deported to Nigeria.
General Yakubu Gowon in 2016, after a Comprehensive DNA test declared Musa, his biological son and reintegrated him into his family for rehabilitation. Musa is now married to Vivienne Agbonkhese and doing very well as he is being rehabilitated to take his rightful place in the family.
A saucy couple have gone viral after they were spotted having sex during a Zoom meeting.
The shamed staff member was caught in the act with a female companion after he forgot to turn his camera off during a virtual city council meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The council meeting, about the Rights of Children and Adolescents, was organised by the city council of the city of Rio de Janeiro. It was chaired by a member of the Socialism and Liberty Party, Leonel Brizola.
According to local newspaper Metropoles, the committee meeting was to discuss how to guarantee food for students in the municipal system during the pandemic.
The staff member was seen sitting on a bed, naked, with a woman beside him before they began to have sex in full view of the camera.
The report said the councilors involved in the meeting noticed the sex act but decided to ignore it and continue to discuss the matter at hand.
In a statement, Brizola said the episode was an “involuntary indiscretion” and regretted that the actual topic of the meeting was not being highlighted in media reports.
Brizola said: “As soon as we noticed what was happening, we immediately asked the people controlling the audio and video of the participants to take it off the feed
“Us councillors and other participants do not have any input in controlling or editing videos on Zoom.”
It is unclear if the staff member involved in the sex act has been punished for the incident.
A former governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim, is involved in a dirty fight with a Nigerian woman he had a romantic relationship with, and at some point told the police the woman assaulted him inside a hotel room in Abuja.
The woman, whose name is Chinyere Amuchienwa, is from Imo State. She lives in Lagos where she deals in luxury items.
Mr Ohakim, 63, was governor from 2007 to 2011. He lost the election in 2019 when he contested again for the seat in Nigeria’s South-East.
He has been married for 39 years to Chioma Ohakim, a lawyer. They have five children and grandchildren.
In a petition dated January 20, which he sent to the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, Mr Ohakim said, “On Saturday, January 18, 2020, Miss Chinyere physically assaulted me. She deceived me and lured me with a meeting request. I subsequently invited her to my hotel room at BON Hotel, Asokoro and she arrived at about 20:15 p.m.
“Directly I opened the door quite innocently, pandemonium took over, she bounced on me grabbing me by my shirt with all her strength and gave me a violent push.”
Mr Ohakim continued, “As I staggered to recover, she rushed for my phone on the table and a struggle ensured (sic). Directly I retrieved the phones from her she immediately rushed to grab something from her bag which I strongly suspected to be a gun.”
Mr Ohakim said he ran outside his room, shouting for help.
The incident, he said to the police, could be confirmed from the hotel’s CCTV.
He said he “immediately” filed a complaint at a police station in Asokoro against his estranged mistress.
The former governor told the police that Ms Amuchienwa is a 56-year-old divorcee.
He said Ms Amuchienwa has been his friend whom he “lavishly extended a lot of favour to” and that she was even involved in his failed 2019 governorship election campaign, but that the relationship went sour and since then she has been threatening to “blackmail” and “destroy” him.
He said he was “completely terrified” and wanted the police chief, Mr Adamu, to intervene in the case.
He promised in his petition to provide specific evidence to the police to back up his allegations against Ms Amuchienwa.
Mr Ohakim described himself to the police as one who holds the traditional titles of “Ogbujingidi of Igbo land and the Otumba Tomitope of Yoruba land”, including “other 51 chieftaincy titles across Nigeria,” besides being a former governor of Imo state, a businessman and a “defence and security contractor.”
The police responded to Mr Ohakim’s petition and asked him to report at the force CID for an interview on June 1. They requested him to bring along specific evidence he said he had, including any other useful information that could help in the police investigation.
The police letter was signed by Abdulkadir Jimoh, a commissioner of police.
The former governor and his estranged mistress reported at the force headquarters and were both interviewed by the assistant inspector-general of police in-charge of the Force Intelligence Bureau.
Ms Amuchienwa told PREMIUM TIMES, Saturday, that Mr Ohakim did not tender any supporting evidence or call any witness during the police interview, an assertion this newspaper could not verify.
Mr Ohakim’s phone number returned “cannot receive call at the moment” when this newspaper tried repeatedly to reach the former governor over the weekend.
A text message sent to his phone line was also not delivered at the time of filing this report.
PREMIUM TIMES, Saturday, contacted Emmanuel Ohakim, a brother to the former governor, but the call was switched off immediately our reporter finished introducing himself. He did not call back or pick subsequent calls from the reporter.
Ms Amuchienwa, on her part, tendered some documents to the police to counter Mr Ohakim’s claims.
Mr Ohakim, through his lawyers, J. N. Egwuonwu & Co., wrote to the inspector-general of police on July 20 requesting copies of the documents tendered by Ms Amuchienwa, including her account statement with Access Bank, which the lawyers said she claimed she used to transfer some money to Mr Ohakim.
Patrick Agu, a lawyer in the chambers, promised to get back to PREMIUM TIMES on the status of the case and to also let the paper know if the documents tendered by Ms Amuchienwa were released to them. But he did not call back. He did not also pick subsequent calls from the reporter.
Ms Amuchienwa, in her response to PREMIUM TIMES’ questions, admitted she was in a relationship with the former governor.
“I am an adult and I am entitled to date anybody I choose to,” she said.
Ms Amuchienwa, however, said the quarrel between her and Mr Ohakim was about some money she said the former governor took from her and was yet to pay back.
She also said Mr Ohakim visited her shop in Lagos and carted away designer’s suitcase, bags, shoes, and other luxury goods, which he has allegedly refused to pay for.
Mr Ohakim, in his petition, addressed this claim by Ms Amuchienwa. He said he got the items as gifts from her.
“Two or three times she travelled out, she bought some gift items for me purely unsolicited and in reciprocal to mine. Items such as coffee, perfume, bag and shirt,” he said.
Those were not gifts, but things Mr Ohakim picked on credit, Ms Amuchienwa said.
Ms Amuchienwa, during her interview with PREMIUM TIMES, called Mr Ohakim a “scammer”.
“I kept asking (Ohakim) every day, ‘What do you do for a living?’ The day I knew he was a scammer was the day he made a voice note and mentioned that he took my $200,000.”
Ms Amuchienwa sent the voice note to PREMIUM TIMES via WhatsApp, but this newspaper has not been able to verify if the voice is that of Mr Ohakim.
On the incident at BON Hotel, Abuja, Ms Amuchienwa disputed the claims by Mr Ohakim.
She said she was invited to the hotel by the former governor and that she accepted the invitation because she thought it was about the money he was allegedly owing her.
“I was invited to the hotel, the appointment was made (since) last year when I said I would not see him anymore…. And it’s still based on the money Ohakim is owing me. We don’t have any reason to meet anymore, we don’t even have any communication anymore.”
Ms Amuchienwa said Mr Ohakim snatched her phone, ran out of the hotel room with it when she declined to sit down with him.
She said she walked down the stairs to the hotel reception and reported the incident to the hotel officials.
Shortly after, police officers from the Asokoro police station visited BON Hotel on Mr Ohakim’s prompting.
All the items in her handbag, she said, were poured out at the reception and no gun was found as alleged by Mr Ohakim.
Both Mr Ohakim and Ms Amuchienwa were subsequently interviewed at the Asokoro police station over the incident.
Ms Amuchienwa said she declined a ride from the former governor when both of them were done and were about leaving the station.
Mr Ohakim in his petition to the police chief, Mr Adamu, said Ms Amuchienwa, accompanied by people he suspected to be hired thugs, used a vehicle to barricade the entrance to his residence in Abuja in May last year.
Ms Amuchienwa told PREMIUM TIMES the allegation was false.
She said she went only with a driver to Mr Ohakim’s residence, met with his orderly and peacefully asked if he (Ohakim) had left her money with him.
Ms Amuchienwa also responded to Mr Ohakim’s allegation that she could not account for over N100 million she received from him for the prosecution of the 2019 governorship election campaign in Ideato North Local Government Area, Imo state, where she was the co-ordinator.
She said the former governor could not provide any evidence or witness to substantiate the allegation when the police at the force headquarters requested him to do so.
“They asked him (Ohakim), ‘you said you gave her N100 million, how did you give it to her?’ He said he was the one who carried it (in cash) to her. Nobody was there? No signature?” Ms Amuchienwa told PREMIUM TIMES.
“I have never asked him for N700 million (as he is claiming in his petition),” she said. “I don’t blackmail. All I want is for Ikedi Ohakim to give me back my money.”
She, however, declined to mention the total money Mr Ohakim was owing her.
“Ikedi (Ohakim) brought land document and showed to me, he said the land belonged to him. The land is on the airport road in Lagos, he even took us there. He said he was waiting for payment from the buyer of the land and that when they pay him he would be able to pay (me my money).
“It was when this trouble started that we discovered the land didn’t belong to Ikedi Ohakim. It is this land he has been using to scam me.
“The witnesses who are aware that I gave him money have volunteered their statement to the police,” Ms Amuchienwa said.
PREMIUM TIMES asked Ms Amuchienwa if she did not consider that Mr Ohakim’s wife could have been at home when she went to meet Mr Ohakim’s orderly.
“Is he married? Why do you people want me to get into that point? Is Ikedi Ohakim married?” she responded.
Ms Amuchienwa said Mr Ohakim gave her a “fake diamond ring” as an engagement ring.
The former governor, in his petition to the police, confirmed he bought a “very expensive diamond ring” for Ms Amuchienwa. He, however, said the ring was just a gift to her and that he bought it in response to a request from her.
Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resigned late on Tuesday, hours after mutinying soldiers seized him from his home following months of mass protests against alleged corruption and worsening security in the West African country.
The news of Keita’s departure was met with jubilation by anti-government demonstrators, while leaders of the military coup said they would enact a political transition and stage elections within a “reasonable time”.
Keita announced his decision to step down in a brief address on national broadcaster ORTM at around midnight. Looking tired and wearing a surgical mask, the 75-year-old said his resignation – three years before his final term was due to end – was effective immediately.
He also declared the dissolution of his government and the National Assembly.
“If today, certain elements of our armed forces want this to end through their intervention, do I really have a choice?” Keita said from a military base in Kati outside the capital Bamako where he and his Prime Minister Boubou Cisse had been detained earlier in the day.
“I wish no blood to be shed to keep me in power,” he said. “I have decided to step down from office.”
Hours later, the soldiers behind the coup – calling themselves the National Committee for the Salvation of the People – appeared on state television in military fatigues, pledging to stabilise the country.
“We are not holding on to power, but we are holding on to the stability of the country,” said Ismail Wague, Mali Air Force’s deputy chief of staff.
“This will allow us to organise within an agreed reasonable timeframe, general elections to equip Mali with strong institutions, which are able to better manage our everyday lives and restore confidence between the government and the governed.”
There was no immediate comment from Mali’s opposition leaders, but earlier on Tuesday, the M5-RFP coalition behind the mass protests signalled support for the mutineers’ action, with spokesman Nouhoum Togo telling the Reuters news agency it was “not a military coup but a popular insurrection”.
Barcelona have sacked Eric Abidal as Sporting Director, the club announced in a statement on Tuesday, a day after dismissing coach Quique Setien.
“FC Barcelona and Eric Abidal have reached an agreement for the ending of the contract that united them,” the club said on its website.
Like Setien, Abidal, a former French international defender, has paid the price after Barca ended a season of internal conflict by surrendering the La Liga title to Real Madrid and then suffering a humiliating 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Angry supporters had hoped they would be held immediately but that possibility was ruled out, meaning under-fire President Josep Maria Bartomeu will continue.
