Banks plan shut down nation wide over DSS detention of officers

Indications emerged, weekend, that banks operating in the country may shut down operations nation wide in protest over the continued detention of key officers of about 18 banks by the Department of State Services over allegation of money laundery.

The arrest and detention of the officers was generating panic and furor in banking quarters followingover two weeks arrest and detention without charges brought againstthe concerned bankers.

Senior personnel of 18 Nigerian banks have been languishing in detention in the holding facility of the Department of State Services for almost two weeks over allegations of terrorist financing and money laundering alleged by government functionaries to have been perpetrated by Aminu Suleiman Lamido, son of Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido.

Aminu and his brother, Mustapha Lamido were arrested by Economic and financial CrimesCommission, EFCC, over an alleged N10 billion fraud.

They were arrested in Kano and flown to Abuja and have since been under interrogation at the Commission’s headquarters.

The bankswhose staff have been picked up are FidelityBank Plc, First City Monument Bank Plc, FCMB, Wema Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, Skye Bank Plc, First Bank NigeriaLimited, FBN, Sterling Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, Unity Bank Plc, Ecobank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, GTBank, and Citibank. The DSS, it waslearnt, which has been on the trail of Aminu Lamido, had sought an ex parte motion from the Federal High Court, Abuja, to freeze the accounts, in 13 banks, of Adold Engineering Company Limited, believed to be owned by the governor’sson.

The ex parte motion wasgranted by Justice A.F.A Ademola on November 6, 2013.

The fear of the banks, it was gathered, was that the DSS had no capacityto analyse information sent daily to CBN and EFCC related to money laundering.

They argue thatbankson daily basis send report on suspected money laundry activities to the CBN and the EFCC.

stated that: “An order is hereby made freezing the accountsof the underlisted corporate body and financial institutions in the banks (1st 14th respondents) indicated against their names for their suspected involvement with acts of terrorists=financing and money laundering.

“An order is hereby made compellingthe 2nd to 14th respondents (the banks) in this case to deliver up and furnish the State Security Service/applicant in this case with the respective bank statements and mandate cards of the 1st (Adold Engineering) and 2nd respondents (FidelityBank) in this case.

“An order of the Honourable Court is hereby made keeping the above listed accounts frozen until the conclusion of investigations. The ex parte order of the court made is to last for one month from date of service on the respondents with liberty to party(ies) to comply to thiscourt as they deem fit within the said period.”

A bank chief Executive said that in some of the above banks, the chief inspectors were picked. According to the bank executive who do not want his name in print, last week in one of the banksthe Department of State Security officials visited the head office under the guise of inviting the officials to their Lagos office, but unknown to them they were flown in military aircraft to Abuja. Since then no one has been allowed access to the officials. In one of the firstgeneration banks an Executive Director was picked. Among those being detained by the Department of State Security are Bank Treasurers, head of Information Technology and other key officers whose day to dayactivities in the banksare key to the operations of banks. The absence of such key officers is causing the banks a lot...

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5 arrested over suspected ritual murder of 11-yr-old girl

Five suspects have been arrested bythe Police in Plateau State in connection with the ritual killing of an 11-year-old girl, whose eyes and tongue had been removed when her corpse was found.

Four of those arrested were believed to be the actual killers of the girl, who was on an errand for her grandmother with whom she lived in Fillin-Sukwa areaof Jos.

The fifth suspect, identified as a dealer in shoes, allegedly contracted the other suspects to get him the human partsfor N300,000.

A relative quoted the grandmother as saying she sent her granddaughter to buy Masa (a local rice snack) around 7.30a.m., but that she never returned.

After waitingfor a while, the grandmother went to the Masa seller, who told her that the girl came, but was sent on an errand by one of the suspects.

Subsequent efforts to trace the girl failed only for her corp-se to be discovered in an un-completed building, days later.

A neighbour confirmed that the girl’scorpse was found last Friday.

Police Public RelationsOfficer, DSP Felicia Anslem confirmed the arrests, saying investigations were on.

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Unity Bank Dumps Ice Prince After Demanding For N300M Sign-on Fee

For being too expensive, the Fire of Zamani crooner lost his place as the brand ambassador of Unity Bank, a leading bank in the northern part of the country.

The bank decided to sign Ice Prince as its ambassador because of his rising hip-hop brand and mainstream appeal. Things fell apart when Ice prince asked for a sign on fee of N300m which didn’t go down well with the stakeholders of the bank. A Vanguard source however revealed that the bank is now speaking with Kogi born Nollywood darling Joseph Benjamin who has the Northern background they will gladly tap into.


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3 confirmed dead, as Lagos suffers cholera outbreak

At least three personswere confirmed dead, while few others were said to have been discharged after treatment in Lagos, followingoutbreak of cholera in at least five local government areas.

This came barelythree daysafter eight persons reportedly died in Plateau State, due to the outbreak of the disease.

Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, who disclosed this, in Alausa, Ikeja, urged residents to report any case immediately to the nearest health facility aswell as maintain high level of hygiene.

According to Idris: “Although, many of the caseshave been treated and discharged in several health facilities, three have been confirmed dead.

“Most of the suspected cases are from Ajeromi, Apapa, Lagos Island, Oshodi_Isolo and Surulere local government areas.”

Idris explained that surveillance and investigationsby hisMinistry had revealed that the suspected cases were contracted from food sources such as the African food salad, popularly called ‘Abacha,’ well water sources, especially in areas like Ikate community, Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area and Badia areaof Apapa Local Government Area, and infected foods from food sellers, and other unhygienic habits.

The commissioner while urging members of the public to be hygenic, noted that cholera “isan acute contagious bacterial disease characterised by severe form of sudden onset of profuse painless watery stools, nausea and profuse vomiting.”

Spiritualist accused of N8.7m fraud

A 34-year-old spir-itualist, Isiaka Adeleke, was yesterday arraigned before an Igbosere Magistrate’s Court in Lagos, for allegedly defrauding one Abdul Oladunjoye of N8.7 million.

The accused is facingcharges of conspiracy, fraud and stealing.

It wasalleged that Adeleke committed the offences sometime in March.

The prosecutor, SergeantAustine Onwemere, informed the court that the accused collected N7 million from Oladunjoye under the pretext that he would pray for Allah’sblessing on the money to facilitate the transport business of the two trucks he wanted to buy.

“The accused also collected N1.7 million from the complaint to purchase one Lexus car from the United States of America for him, a representation he knew to be false,” he stated.

Onwemere told the court that the accused, with intentto defraud, dishonestlyobtained and converted all the money he collected from Oladunjoye to his own personal use.

According to the charge, the offences contravened Sections 285, 312, and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

However, when the plea of the accused wastaken before Magistrate J. A. Adegun, he pleaded not guilty.

Magistrate Adegun granted the accused bail in the sum of N300,000with two sureties in like sum and adjourned the case till November 24.

Kerosene explosion kills13-yr-old girl, injures 2 others

A young lady, identified as Miss Ifeoma Nwofe, was yesterday reported to have lost her life following akerosene explosion at her parent’s Azuiyiokwu, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, residence.

Vanguard gathered that the victim, who suffered severe burns all over her body, could notreceive treatment at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, where she was rushed to because of the ongoing doctors’ strike.

She later died at aprivate hospital due to lack of prompt medical attention.

Other victims and siblings of the deceased, who are still in a critical condition, include Linda 8, and Chiemerie, 10.

According to report, the explosion occurred asIfeoma wastrying to lightthe family’s lantern after electric power cut.

This development has raised suspicion that the kerosene might have been adulterated.

Narrating his ordeal, father of the victims, Mr. Simeon Nwofe, said that Ifeoma returned home to observe her school’s midterm break.

“After hugging her younger ones, she decided to put on the lantern in the house and then the incident occurred,”he said, adding that her remains have been taken to their hometown for burial.

The Special Adviser to Ebonyi State Governor on Petroleum Products, Pricing and Distribution, Mr. Chief Ejem, promised to get to the rootof the matter.

He said: “We will conduct athorough investigation into the incident and prosecute those culpable.

“The government has been doing its best to rid the state of fake petroleum products, but have been thwarted by unscrupulous elements who deal on such products.”


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18-yr-old victim of gang rape commits suicide

An 18-year-old girl, allegedly gang-raped by three boys, has committed suicide at her Amarataresidence. It is a suburb of Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

The deceased, simply identified asJanet, was a native of Oduali in Abua/Odua Local Government Area of Rivers State.

She wasreportedly gang-raped at gunpoint by the boys, who forced her into an uncompleted building last week, while she wason an errand for her elder sister.

A source said: “The girl was sad and devastated after the incident. After she narrated her experience, her sister’s husband, who is a pastor, asked her to describe any of her attackers. She described one of them.

“The boy was traced to his house, but he had absconded. The pastor counselled her and promised to pursue the matter to a logical conclusion.”

It wasgathered that, unknown to her guardian, the distraught girl had decided to take her own life.

The source said the rape victim left behind a suicide note, after which she took a poisonous substance known as Sniper.

She wasdiscovered groaning in pain, and taken to GlorylandHospital, where she died.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Alex Akhigbe, confirmed the incident. He said the Police has launched investigation into the alleged rape charges filed by the girl’s family.



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