Anti-corruption war begins • ICPC seizes 24 property from three civil servants

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Tribunal has commenced a clampdown on very wealthy civil servants.
Already, the agency has seized 24 property and several cars from three civil servants with one of them having 18 property.
A document obtained from the Office of the Chairman of the ICPC, Mr. Ekpo Nta, with the title 'Notice of Seizure of Movable and Immovable
Properties Pursuant to Section 45 (4) a – (b) of the
Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Ac
2000, revealed that the commission seized the
property from three officials of the Ministry of
Niger Delta.
It stated that the property was seized because they
were “excessive of the emoluments of the affected
officers.”
Although the document, dated August 11, 2015, is
silent on the status of the officials, it was gathered
that the three officials are all principal account
officers of the ministry, which has been one of the
focuses of investigations by the ICPC in recent
times.
The Niger Delta ministry officers listed in the
document are Poloma Kabiru Nuhu, Mangset
Longyl Dickson and Daniel Obah.
The ICPC boss said the decision to seize the
property would be served on the appropriate Land
Registries and Departments in all the states where
the property are situated.
He stated, “The commission is investigating a
matter involving some staff (members) of the Niger
Delta Ministry, with certain movable and
immovable property owned by the said staff.
“The commission is of the opinion based on the
aforementioned investigation that these movable
and immovable property owned by these people
who are staff of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs
are excessive, having regards to their present
emoluments and all other relevant circumstances.
The commission hereby notifies the entire public
that all movable and immovable properties owned
by these staff (members) and listed hereunder are
seized.”
According to the ICPC boss, one of the officers,
Nuhu, has 10 hectares of land, covered by Right of
Occupancy at Kuje valued at N50m.
It was stated that the same officer has an
uncompleted duplex at Diamond Estate, Apo,
Abuja, that is worth N90m.
Nta also said Nuhu has 16 plots of land which are
all covered by Certificate of Occupancy in different
parts of Gwagwalada, Abuja.
Another civil servant on the ICPC list, Dickson, is
said to have a plot of land at Kubwa District,
Cadastral Zone, Abuja. The property is valued at
N7m.
The third official, Obah, is said to own different
plots of land in Abuja and Port Harcourt, Rivers
State.
Nta said Obah has a four-bedroom duplex at
Karsana South District, Abuja, valued at N60m.
He is also said to have a plot of land at Ozuoba,
Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Other plots of land said to belong to Obah are
located in Umuodili Odubo Community in Rivers
that is worth N16.5m; Olipobo Rumuekini Layout,
Obio Akpor Local Government Area valued at
N18m and another plot at Livingstone Estate
Umuogodo, Igbo Etche in Obio Akpor Local
Government of the Rivers State.
The PUNCH had exclusively reported on July 30
that the Federal Government’s anti-corruption
operatives had been sent after ‘super rich’ public
officers who had multiple property and other
assets suspected to have been the rewards of
graft.
According to the report, the searchlight of the anti-
corruption agents was on civil servants that
possess questionable property in the Federal
Capital Territory.
It was
also
reported
that
operatives in the Assets Tracing, Recovery and
Management Unit of the ICPC had been asked to
haul in suspects for interrogation and recovery of
ill-gotten assets in their possession.
The ICPC was reported to have strengthened the
ATRMU by posting more personnel to the unit to
ensure the success of its campaign.
On Wednesday, the Auditor-General of the
Federation, Mr. Samuel Ukura, had recommended
the recovery of about N183bn being funds meant
for the development of Niger Delta but which was
allegedly diverted for other purposes.
Ukura, who stated this in three special audit
reports to the Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr.
Salisu Maikasuwa, explained that the amount was
discovered in the periodic checks carried out by
his office on the activities and programmes of the
Niger Delta Development Commission between
2008 and 2012.
According to him, N70.4bn was paid as
mobilisation to various contractors who never
reported to site, while N90.4bn was the extra-
budgetary expenditure for heads and sub-heads
without approval by the legal authorities.
He also said N10bn was tax deductions without
evidence of remittance to the Federal Inland
Revenue Service; N5.8bn was payment to
contractors for projects not executed, stalled or
abandoned, while N1.2bn was undeducted taxes
from contractors.
Ukura added that N3.1bn was transfer made to
unauthorised accounts; N1.7bn was staff
outstanding staff advances which were never
accounted for and N785m out of N1.1bn meant
for the supply of furniture to various schools in
Delta State was diverted.
He explained that the funds for the furniture
supply was certified paid whereas inspection
carried out by the Auditor-General’s office revealed
that no single chair was distributed during the
period under review.

Boko Haram Threatens Borno Residents

The deadly Boko Haram sect has left a letter at the scene of the explosion that killed over 50 people at a market in Sabon Gari, threatening Borno residents to join the group or die.
Local vigilante said threat letters at the site of the blast cautioned the locals to wake up and join force with the terrorists to fight ‘Holy War’ against ‘infidels’ or face more attacks.
Wakil Modu has said that, the warning letter supposedly written in ‘Hausa’ by the insurgents advised the people that, fighting the cause of Allah is a holy business, which all who believe must wake up to join in the blessing of henceforth.


READ ALSO: Boko Haram Kills 6 In Maiduguri
The vigilante added that they have reported several times for action to be taken principally at Talala and Ajigil area of Damboa local government area, where it was considered to house Boko Haram members, but nothing was being done about it.
He said: “Last week a Fulani man brought a report, which said that he saw a Boko Haram member with sophisticated weapons and a tanker. When he told us we went and reported but nothing happened. The attack on the market, we got a hint, but the market is an open place people can sneak in. We are still calling on government to do something because this is the third time the market is being attacked although this is the worst attacked so far.”
President of Chad, Idriss Deby recently disclosed the Boko Haram now had a new leader. He did not say what had happened to Abubakar Shekau, but said he had been replaced by Mahamat Daoud – who has not been heard of before.
There had also been reports that the faction of the sect reached President Muhammadu Buhari and pleaded for peace talks.
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Boko Haram Kills 6 In Maiduguri

The deadly Boko Haram sect has killed 6 people and kidnapped four women during an attack near Maiduguri, Borno state capital.
Many of the locals feared that the heavy shooting that caused a panic on August 11 might be the result of an attempt to seize the town by the terrorists.
Sources said that the gunshots were heard around the Maimalari barrack in the town centre.
READ ALSO: See The Pastor Who Give His Members Snake To Eat
Timothy Ibrahim, a resident, who stays around the area, has said that “because the gunshots went on for about 30 minutes, we thought that the town was under attack”.
He added: “We even thought that the insurgents were attempting to take over the Maimalari barrack and that the military was repelling them with the gunshots.”
It was gathered that the troops confronted the militants at Bale Mammanti in the suburbs of Maiduguri.
A member of a youth vigilance group, who pledged to be anonymous, said: “The militants stormed the village of Bale Mammanti on the outskirts of Maiduguri last night in Jere Local Government Area. They killed six civilians and they abducted four women.”
According another local, Saheed Bunu, who escaped to Maiduguri, the Boko Haram raided the community at about 6.30pm.
He said: “We fled into the bushes last night because we knew that we were the targets but this morning,  we discovered that all our cattle, rams and foodstuffs were carted away.”
READ ALSO: Boko Haram Victims To Undergo Plastic Surgery
President Idriss Deby of Chad has disclosed today, August 12, that Boko Haram has picked a new leader, fuelling speculation that Abubakar Shekau may indeed be dead.
Shekau has been missing in the sect’s videos in the last five months, lending force to the belief that he has been killed.

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