The Catholic Church has sparked outrage in India after it blamed “consumerism” and bodily “temptations” for the alleged rape of a 15-year-old girl.
Priest Mathew Vadakkacheril, from Kerala in India, was accused of raping the child and later arrested.
The girl was allegedly raped several times and became pregnant, according to India Today. The child has since been delivered at a private hospital and since taken to an orphanage, reportedly without the mother’s consent.
Yet it is the response to the incident among the Christian community in India that is now making headlines.
A Christian weekly magazine, which is backed by a Catholic Sabha or association, blamed the alleged victim for the event and said Mr Vadakkacheril may have momentarily “forgotten his position”.
Father Paul Thelekat from the Bishops’ Council, also commented on the incident and blamed consumerism for the rape.
– Femi Fani-Kayode has accused some members of APC of being behind the abduction of Chibok girls
– He condemned the allegation that Jonathan refused Britain’s help to rescue the girls
Femi Fani-Kayode has raised serious allegation that some men from President Muhammadu Buhari’s camp in the All Progressives Congress (APC) were responsible for the abduction of Chibok girls.
More than 200 girls were abducted during the administration of Goodluck Jonathan in April 2014 and while some of them have been rescued, the whereabouts of others remain unknown especially with the clearance operation in Sambisa forest where they were believed.
The Guardian UK had reported that the British government had reached out to Jonathan to help in rescuing the Chibok girl but he refused
In reaction, Fani-Kayode took to his official twitter page to describe the allegation as childish.
He also claimed that while he girls were actually kidnapped during Jonathan’s administration, some elements in the APC were responsible.
The General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide, Apostle Johnson Suleman, on Monday distanced himself from the arrest and detention of Stephanie Otobo by the police last Friday, March 3, 2017 over alleged blackmail.
The allegation against Suleman came about one month after his interrogation by the Department of State Services over alleged incitement in his sermon in which he advised that Fulani herdsmen who came near his church should be killed.
The cleric in a statement by his Communications Manager, Phrank Shaibu in Abuja, said there was no amorous relationship between the said Otobo and himself, including a promise to marry her.
According to Shaibu, the lady was allegedly arrested by operatives acting on a tip off that she had repeatedly tried to blackmail Suleman, including demanding N500 million from him, failing which she threatened to expose a purported amorous relationship between her and the Pastor.
Our correspondent reported that a legal practitioner, Festus Keyamo, had demanded N500m on behalf of Otobo and also accused Apostle Suleman of allegedly procuring policemen to intimidate and detain his client unlawfully, having earlier promised to marry her.
Shaibu said Keyamo was misled into believing that there was an amorous relationship between Apostle Suleman and Otobo, addding that the lady was “caught up by her own machinations as she was arrested while trying to withdraw money paid into her account by the church in a sting operation coordinated by the police.”
He said, “Unknown to Keyamo, the police was alerted following several attempts by the said lady to blackmail Apostle Suleiman. The police also recorded her conversations while making the frivolous demand.
“The high point of the drama was her attempt to withdraw money paid into her account at the instance of the police. The lawyer should know that his client was arrested by the police with abundant evidence confirming that she is, indeed, a serial blackmailer.”
Shaibu also denied Keyamo’s claim of an amorous relationship and a promise by Suleman to marry Otobo, wondering how such a transaction could have taken place without any iota of evidence.
He said, “Let me place it on record that the lady in question is a self-confessed stripper in a night club in Canada who, like thousands of people that seek help from Apostle Johnson Suleman, called to pretentiously convey her intentions to embrace Christ and also needed financial help to keep body and soul, as she no longer had a means of livelihood after quitting as a stripper.
“Does Keyamo or his serial blackmailing client have pictures of the visit by Apostle Suleman or his representatives to her parents?
“In any case, how could such a relationship have existed when the Apostle and the said lady have never met physically? “How could he have made a promise of a house and a lifestyle comparable to what she had in Canada when he has never been to her house or seen her physically as to have an idea of her living standards?”
According to him, Keyamo must have been misled or excited by the prospects of getting a whopping N500m, both reasons for which two letters were written and sent to Suleman.
Barely two months after its introduction, whistle-blowing has been yielding results. The Federal Government has so far recovered billions in naira and millions in dollars. The most stunning recovery was from former Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director Andrew Yakubu, who allegedly kept $9.7million and £74,000 in a fireproof safe in a community in Kaduna State. Is the policy sustainable without the National Assembly passing a law to support it? Lawyers suggest ways to strengthen the policy.
It sounds incredible. But in just two months, with its whistle-blowing policy, the Federal Government has recovered $151 million, N8 billion, $9.2 million and £74,000. When the policy was introduced, many probably never gave it a chance. Now, the recovery of this huge cash has left mouths agape.
Aside being a tool to strengthen the anti-corruption war, two things stand the policy out.
It provides the government an opportunity to raise cash by recovering loot it had no knowledge of; and it gives the whistle-blower access to substantial financial reward for exposing crime.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the policy last December 21.
The policy’s legislative counterpart, Whistle-Blower Protection Bill 2016, passed the second reading on the floor of the Senate last October 20.
The Bill is one of the five proposed laws sought to be employed by President Muhammadu Buhari as weapons in the fight against corruption.
Others are the Office of the Financial Ombudsman Bill 2015, National Convicts and Criminal Records Bill 2015, Electronics Transactions Bill 2015, and the Nigerian International Financial Centre Bill 2015.
The 2015 version of the Whistle-Blower Protection Bill was one of the 46 bills that the Seventh Senate passed into law within 10 minutes on the eve of the end of its tenure in 2015. They were not signed into law by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Last December 19, Ben Akabueze, Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, said the government planned to infuse N258.6 billion from recovered loot in this year’s budget.
Two months into the policy’s implementation, billions have been recovered, according to Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
On February 12, he listed some of the recovered cash to include $151 million, N8 billion and $9.2 million.
Mohammed said: ‘’When we told Nigerians that there was a primitive and mindless looting of the national treasury under the last administration, some people called us liars.
“Well, the whistle-blower policy is barely two months old and Nigerians have started feeling its impact, seeing how a few people squirrelled away public funds.
‘’Yet, whatever has been recovered so far, including the $9.8million by the EFCC, is just a tip of the iceberg.”
How the policy operates
The policy, co-ordinated by the Ministry of Finance, requires anyone with information about a violation, misconduct or improper activity that impacts negatively on Nigerians and the government to report it.
According to information on the ministry’s website, the disclosure is expected to be made voluntarily and in good faith, by telephone, e-mail or through “a secure online portal” where the status of the report can be checked.
The subject matter of the report may include mismanagement or misappropriation of public funds and assets (e.g. properties and vehicles), financial malpractice or fraud, collection/soliciting bribes and corruption.
Others are diversion of revenues, fraudulent and unapproved payments, splitting of contracts and procurement fraud (kick-backs and over-invoicing etc.)
The policy assures the whistle-blower of anonymity and confidentiality “to the fullest extent within the limitations of the law,” or full protection if the person chooses to be known.
It states further: “Any stakeholder who has made a genuine disclosure and who feels that, as a result, he or she has suffered adverse treatment in retaliation should file a formal complaint to an independent panel of inquiry, that shall be set up to handle such complaint, detailing his/her adverse treatment.”
The problem of reward
At first glance, the reward for whistle-blowers appears to be attractive: between 2.5 per cent and five per cent, but a closer examination of this provision raises several issues.
According to the ministry, “A whistle-blower responsible for providing the government with information that directly leads to the voluntary return of stolen or concealed public funds or assets may be entitled to anywhere between 2.5 per cent and five per cent of amount recovered.
“To qualify for the reward, the whistle-blower must provide the government with information it does not already have and could not otherwise obtain from any other publicly available source to the government. The actual recovery must also be on account of the information provided by the whistle-blower.”
Thus, for a whistle-blower to be entitled to a reward, the information supplied must prompt the holder of the stolen or concealed public funds or assets to return them to the government voluntarily.
What happens where the information supplied is authentic, but the holder of the loot refuses to give it up voluntarily and the government is only able to recover the loot through litigation or some other means? Does this imply that the whistle-blower will get nothing in this circumstance?
For instance, a Federal High Court in Kano on February 14 ordered the forfeiture to the Federal Government of $9,772,000 and £74,000 recovered from a former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Andrew Yakubu.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it recovered the money on February 3, from a building owned by Yakubu in Kaduna, following a tip off by a whistle-blower.
If Yakubu fails to overturn the forfeiture order on appeal, does the recovery of the money by judicial means imply that the whistle-blower won’t get any reward?
Similarly, a telecoms firm has gone to court to claim ownership of the N8.4billion traced by detectives to an Ecobank account, following a tip-off from a whistle-blower. Has the court case damaged the whistle-blower’s chances of getting a reward?
Chief Gani Adetola-Kaseem (SAN) suggests that a whistle-blower legislation would make things clearer.
He said: “If the policy is a law, that will make it clearer to people and you can pin the government or anybody to the provision of the statute. I agree that for that reason, if you have the statute, i.e. an act of the National Assembly duly signed and assented to, it’ll make things clearer.”
Also, the whistle-blower’s information source must also not be a public one that the government has access to. One implication is that there will be little motivation for anyone to draw the government’s attention to the availability of such information.
However, according to the minister, not every whistle-blower appears to be interested in a reward.
Speaking in Abuja, at the inauguration of Human Rights Radio on February 13, he cited a whistle-blower who made a disclosure out of patriotism.
‘’I want to put on record that the fellow through whom we recovered N1 billion in an account told us he does not want any commission from the government and that that is his contribution to the country.
‘’But, I can assure you that we are not going to renege on our promise to give appropriate commission to anyone who gives us information that leads to recovery of money through this policy,‘’ Mohammed said.
Protection of whistle-blowers
How will whistle-blowers be protected? The policy does not specify. It merely states: “Any stakeholder who whistle-blows in public spirit and in good faith will be protected, regardless of whether or not the issue raised is upheld against any party.”
It states further: “Any stakeholder (internal or external) who has made a genuine disclosure and who feels that, as a result, he or she has suffered adverse treatment in retaliation should file a formal complaint to an independent panel of inquiry, that shall be set up to handle such complaint, detailing his/her adverse treatment.
“If it appears that there are reasonable grounds for making the complaint, the responsibility will be on the party against whom the complaint of adverse treatment has been made to show that the actions complained of were not taken in retaliation for the disclosure.
‘’Where it is established that there is a prima facie case that a whistleblower has suffered adverse treatment (harassment, intimidation or victimisation) for sharing his/her concerns with the ministry, a further investigation may be instituted and disciplinary action may be taken against the perpetrator in accordance with the public service rules/other extant rules and a restitution shall be made to the whistle-blower for any loss suffered.”
The above appears to suggest that the policy is more concerned with stepping in after the whistle-blower has already suffered adversity as a result of his disclosure. Thus, there is really no protection from harm for the whistle-blower.
Danger of inadequate protection
All over the world, examples abound of whistle-blowers suffering harm or adversity following their disclosure of criminal acts by others.
Nigeria
On May 22, 2015, Mr. Aaron Kaase, a Principal Administrative Officer (Press and Public Relations) of the Police Service Commission (PSC) complained to the EFCC, as well as the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), alleging N275 million fraud against the PSC.
The ICPC investigated and cleared the chairman of the PSC, Mr Mike Okiro, of any criminal infraction.
It was, however, reported that Akaase was suspended indefinitely without salaries. He also allegedly faced threats to his life and family daily.
Also, last Wednesday, the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) management suspended two lecturers for alleged “insubordination and causing disaffection within the university’’.
But the duo alleged that they were being victimised for exposing corruption in the institution.
South Africa
On March 14, 2009, Moss Phakwe, an African National Congress (ANC) municipal councillor was assassinated.
He and a colleague, Alfred Motsi, had attempted to expose corruption in the Municipality and delivered evidence to ANC Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe and to the Office of the South African President.
Another meeting took place with Co-operative Governance Minister Sicelo Shiceka in Rustenburg, attended by Phakwe, Motsi and former Rustenburg mayor Matthew Wolmarans on March 12, 2009. Phakwe had spoken last and handed his dossier to Shiceka.
Before he did so, he had looked at Wolmarans and said: “Hate me, but don’t hurt me.”
Two days later, early in the evening of 13 March, 2009 Phakwe’s body was found slumped over the steering wheel of his car with two bullet wounds.
On July 17, 2012, Wolmarans was convicted and jailed for 20 years for Phakoe’s murder.
United States of America
In 1996, Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, a former senior policy analyst for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), filed complaints alleging that a company from the United States was mining vanadium in South Africa and harming the environment and human health.
The EPA did not respond, and Coleman-Adebayo reported her concerns to other organisations. Subsequently, the EPA refused to promote her and she filed a suit against the agency, alleging racial and gender discrimination.
On August 18, 2000, a federal jury found EPA guilty of violating her civil rights on the basis of race, sex, colour and a hostile work environment, under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Her experience inspired passage of the Notification and Federal Employee Anti-discrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (No FEAR Act).
India
In October 2005, Shanmughan Manjunath, a former manager at Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), spoke against adulteration of petrol. He was shot dead on November 19, 2005, allegedly by a petrol pump owner from the state of Uttar Pradesh
Prevention of abuse
One of the reasons the bill failed to fly in the sixth and seventh Senate was because of the fear that it could be used as a tool for witch-hunt.
It was also argued that the bills did not make provision for malicious and false whistle blowing.
So, what happens to a whistle-blower whose allegation is found to be false, malicious and hateful, thereby damaging someone’s reputation?
The policy seeks to prevent abuse by referring false disclosures to law enforcement agencies. It also does not stop aggrieved persons from seeking damages for defamation.
It states: “A first level review will always be carried out to determine credibility and sufficiency of information received. If you report false or misleading information, it will be referred to the enforcement agents for investigation and possible prosecution.’’
Lawyers urge National Assembly to pass bill into law
Lawyers are united in their support for the policy. They suggest that passing it into law would ensure its sustenance.
Seyi Sowemimo (SAN) said: “It is important that it should have legal backing because the policy is also supposed to offer some protection to those who do the whistle-blowing, so that no adversity will come to them and then, of course, I expect that there will be some reward for those who engage in the whistle-blowing.
“So, it’ll help if there’s some legal backing to assure people that yes, this money will come and, really, in a country like Nigeria, if we want this kind of policy to be sustained, it is better to pass it as a law, so that it won’t depend on whether the man who is at the helm of affairs is interested or not in pursuing that policy. It will be law, it will be binding on anybody including the government and as a matter of policy. The National Assembly should not waste time in passing that legislation.”
The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Ikorodu Branch, Levi Adikwaone, said a legislation would offer greater protection for the whistle-blower.
He said: “For the practice of whistle-blowing to be successful, steps must be taken to protect the whistle-blower. The corruption in Nigeria makes it difficult for whistle-blowing policy to be an effective weapon in the hands of the people to assist the government.
“At the University of Ilorin, two lecturers are suffering because of whistle-blowing. They exposed corrupt practices allegedly committed by the management of the school and the next thing is they were dealt with. Now, what is their succour, their fate?
“So, if we have whistle-blowing as a policy, there should be laws to back it up, so that if anybody should expose a crime, such citizen must never suffer on account of that and if that citizen suffers as a result of that, there must be compensation. There should be an enabling environment to ensure that the prospective whistle-blower enjoys protection.”
Malachy Ugwummadu, president of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), hailed the policy’s implementation as a “direct response to the frustrating and debilitating state of affairs and corruption in Nigeria. It is reported that the huge amounts already recovered from various private homes came from just three whistle blowers.
“Thus, what changed that the government could recover such amounts without a single arrest or prosecution? Two things: first, the percentage reward incentive attached to any credible information and second, the security of the information and informant. With every policy in Nigeria, emphasis should now be placed on strategies to prevent the abuse of such information.
“In effect, it is a welcome development. A country that has comprehensively enacted an Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 which expressly provides for plea bargain, parole system, community/suspended sentencing, etc. is gradually moving away from punishment focused criminal justice system to recovery/restitution driven system,” Ugwummadu said.
Plan to Islamize Europe has been perfected by team of fanatical Islamic fundamentalist led by Anjem Choudary.
The full implementation of sharia code has already commence in parts of London.
Video Report obtained from RT news revealed.
Watch the views below and tell us your opinion about that.
It was learnt that some of President Muhammadu Buhari’s aides have renewed attempts to return him to the seat of power in Abuja before the possibly eight-week closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in the Federal Capital Territory Abuja.
The airport is scheduled to be shut down for at least six weeks starting from midnight on March 7, 2017. President Buhari left Nigeria on vacation on January 19announcing that he would be back in Abuja on February 6. However, on the planned date of return, President Buhari wrote to the Nigerian Senate extending his return to Nigeria indefinitely. The Nigerian leader told senators that he would remain in the U.K. to await the results of tests ordered by his doctors.
Presidential spokesmen have been adamant against revealing to Nigerians the specific nature of Mr. Buhari’s illness. Instead, they have either claimed that the president was merely resting in London or that he was undergoing some medical checks that necessitated a delay in his return to Abuja.
Sources close to Mr. Buhari disclosed that the president’s doctors in the U.K. have recommended that he stay in London for as long as four months in order to complete a rigorous regimen of treatment for a prostrate-related ailment as well as Crohn’s disease.
Our sources revealed that President Buhari is afflicted with internal organ disorders that have caused him to lose weight and wrecked his appetite.
“Some of Mr. President’s associates are mounting pressure on him to return to Abuja as soon as possible, and especially before the [Abuja] airport is temporarily closed,” a knowledgeable source told our correspondent. He confirmed that President Buhari was yet to complete his treatment for his prostate ailment as well as Crohn’s disease, a condition that plagues his intestines.
Our sources said President Buhari’s inner circle, led by his cousin, Mamman Daura, and his personal assistant, Tunde Sabiu (also known as “Tunde Idiagbon”), were behind the decision not to disclose the nature of the president’s ailments to the Nigerian public. The two insiders are reportedly managing a cabal around Mr. Buhari to control and leverage power in Abuja.
Our investigation showed that the cabal had effectively shoved aside President Buhari’s wife, Aisha Buhari, relegating her to Abuja. Instead, one of President Buhari’s daughters, Halima, is now the only direct relative given free access to the ailing president in London.
Halima, a daughter from Mr. Buhari’s first marriage, recently returned to Abuja on a British Airways flight. One source claimed that her return to Abuja was possibly to prepare for her father’s temporary return to Nigeria.
Our sources revealed that, even if President Buhari returns soon, he would need to travel out again to London in a few months to continue his treatment.
“It doesn’t make sense for Mr. President to return to Abuja immediately just to serve the political interests of some people when his doctors want him to go through all his treatment,” one of our sources said.
The suspect cried after she was arrested and paraded at the command’s headquarters in Bauchi on Friday, March 3. The newborn, whose cry attracted neighbours, was rescued alive after being in there for nearly over 12 hours.
The baby was immediately rushed to the Abubakar Tafawa University Teaching Hospital for medical attention. James said she threw her baby away due to her husband losing his job and the economic hardship in the country.
She said: “Things are hard. My husband has no job. He had an accident three months ago and it affected his manhood. He is still in the hospital receiving treatment. We don’t see food to eat. We are dying of starvation. I delivered at home and threw the baby in the toilet because I don’t know how we are going to take care of it. I didn’t tell my husband.”
However, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Zaki Ahmed, said the case was being investigated, revealing that the baby had been handed over to social welfare officers at the hospital.
Just as the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof Itse Sagay, Thursday took a swipe at two agencies of the administration for still engaging in untidy deals, President Mohammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption fight has taken more knocks, it was revealed yesterday.
While the Federal Govern-ment has adopted and placed incentives for whistle blowing as a means of fighting corruption in the country, top government officials have slapped the government policy by terminating the career of an assistant director, who raised the alarm that the sum of $229,000 and N800,000 had been diverted by key officials in the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa, an agency under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The whistle blower, Mr. Ntia Thompson, an assistant director with the Directorate for Technical Cooperation in Africa, who blew the lid in the fraud that embarrassed the key masterminds, was initially suspended from work on December 19, 2016 and was finally dismissed from service on February 7, 2017.
According to a public notice, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, KHADIJA BUKAR ABBA IBRAHIM, who supervises the DTCA, approved the compulsory retirement of Ntia from work with immediate effect.
Although it was not clear as at last night if the letter had been served on the sacked director, a copy of the notice of his dismissal had been posted on the DTCA public notice board.
The sack letter signed by Sanda S. Isah, Head of Administration Department in DTCA and addressed to all staff, said, “ I am directed to inform you that following the recommendations of the Senior Staff Appointment Promotion and Disciplinary Committee on Acts of Serious Misconduct against Mr. Ntia U. Thompson, the Honourable Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chairman Presidential Inter-Ministerial Committee on the DTCA, has approved the Compulsory Retirement of Mr. Ntia U. Thompson from the services of the DTCA with effect from 7th February 2017.
“In view of the above, Mr. Ntia U Thompson ceased to be a staff of the DTCA with effect from 7th February 2017.
“All members of staff and the general public are hereby advised to take note”. The letter was signed and placed on the public notice of the DTCA on Friday with a handwritten instruction ‘Please Read’.
However, competent staff within the agency, who believe that the money in question was actually diverted wonder why both the police and the anti-graft agency whose attention was drawn to the fraud, turned a blind eye to the inimical act and allowed the suspects to go scot-free and boldly unleash their fangs on the victim.
Competent senior officials in the DTCA provided documents to allege some of the 14-member panel raised by the government to probe the allegations of breaching service rules levelled against the whistleblower could have been compromised.
The officials provided a list of 11 new senior staff hurriedly employed by the leadership of the DTCA without advertisement or declaration of vacancies by the directorate in order to silence the panellists and get them to ease out the whistleblower from the establishment.
The document shows that the 11 ‘new staff’ were all employed as either Administrative Officer or Accounts Officer on the same date of December 30, 2016, just a day to the end of the year.
The officials confirmed that the new employees are either direct children or relatives of the panel members who were supposed to interview Mr. Thompson and write a report based on the civil service regulations and decide on whether he should be commended for the act of patriotism which he showed by reporting the diversion of the money in question.
One of the officials in the DTCA said, “If the government wants to know the truth about the identities of the 11 new staff and their relationship with the members of the panel that recommended the dismissal of Mr. Thompson, it should ask for the names of the new workers, their state of origin and their parents and see if they are related to the panellists.
“We have all the names and we can give them to the government any time they are ready to do proper investigation to know if the right thing was done and whether a minister and other top officials benefitted from the diverted cash or not,” one of the aggrieved workers at DTCA said.
It was not clear whether the sack of the staff would be approved by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, which has not been informed of the ugly development.
Whistle blowing a new concept introduced by the present administration to horn in graft, has reportedly led to the recovery of billions of Naira so far but it is not clear why many top government officials are frontally opposed to it.
It will he recalled that Ntia, as assistant director in charge of Servicom Unit at the DTCA had written a petition to the EFCC last December drawing attention to the surreptitious withdrawal of the sum of $229,000 and another N800,000 from the agency’s account purportedly for the purpose of celebrating the the tenth anniversary of the Nigerian Technical Cooperation Fund (NTCF) which was allocated $36,852.00, and monitoring of various projects executed from the Trust Fund across Africa.
However, when Ntia got wind of the diversion of the fund, he immediately reported the ugly development to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission asking it to investigate the fraud .
Findings showed that although the EFCC waded into the matter and compelled the affected officials to refund the sum of N800,000, no further action was taken against the officials to refund the $229,000 which they had already taken.
But a few days after the EFCC had begun investigation into the scam, the whistle blower was summoned by the DTCA and queried on why he leaked official documents to the anti-graft agency and the media thereby exposing the agency to embarrassment.
Arising from the police report, the DTCA on December 19, 2016 formally suspended Mr. Thompson from work and asked him to surrender all property in his disposal to the agency with immediate effect. The suspension letter with ref. No. DTCA/P.082 Vol 1 was entitled, “Letter of suspension from duty” and signed by Sanda Isah, Head, Department of Administration/Secretary SSAPDC.
The letter said, “You will recall that you indulged in a series of acts of serious misconduct bordering on “violation of official oath of secrecy”, “absence from duty without leave” and “disobeying lawful instructions from superiors”. “Even though these acts were established to be heinous violation of the provisions of Chapter 3, Section 4, Rules 030402 (e, f, I, n, t, and w), management considered and meted on you the compassionate penalties of “letter of reprimand, letter of serious warning, and a query for abandoning official duties in defiance of lawful instructions from superiors, respectively.
Yet, these infractions did not abate. “It will also be recalled that on the 14th of July 2016, you wrote a petition to the Inspector General of Police in which you alleged threat to your life and that of your family members by the Acting Director-General, Mr. Mohammed Kachallah and Mallam Garba Alhaji Mohammed, Head of Programme Management of DTCA.
“In view of the weighty nature of this allegation, the police carried out a thorough inquest into the matter and turned in the final report. The report exonerated the two officers mentioned in the allegation of criminal intimidation thereby establishing that you made “false claims against government officials”.
“Against the backdrop of these serious infractions, the Inter-Ministerial meeting of the Senior Staff Appointment, Promotion and Disciplinary Committee met and looked into these issues in line with the provisions of the PSR. The committee recommended for your suspension from office pending the outcome of a final report of a sub-committee set up on the matter.
“In view of the above, you are hereby suspended from office immediately in line with the provisions of Chapter 3, Section 4, Rules 030205 and 030406 of the PSR. You are therefore directed to hand over all official documents/properties in your possession to the most senior officer in the unit.”
Obinna Ela, one of the gang members of the most vicious kidnap kingpin, Henry Chibueze, popularly known as Vampire, said that their squad unleashed more mayhem and terror on the members of the public after freeing their leader (Vampire) in a commando-like manner at the premises of the Owerri High court, Imo State, on January 27, 2017.
Chibueze, who was facing trial on offences bordering on kidnapping and murder, was forcefully freed by men armed with sophisticated weapons on a day his fate on the matter was reportedly said to be decided by the court .
Speaking to newsmen in Owerri, the state capital on Thursday, while being paraded by the police, one of the arrested kidnap suspects said that Vampire took him to four kidnap operations after his escape from the court.
Though he denied being among the gang that masterminded the onslaught at the High Court, Ela said that he coordinated four abduction operations with Vampire and was paid N100,000 by the ring leader.
He also said that a police officer was allegedly their driver during the kidnap operations and that they were shuttling through, Imo, Abia and Rivers states, respectively
The 26-year-old suspect who hails from Orlu Local Government Area of the state was unable to disclose the identity of the police officer as the operatives of the command battled to control the crowd that besieged the headquarters to behold the dreaded gang.
Addressing journalists, the Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, who paraded the dead body of Vampire and four other members of his gang, said that the police special force working under the supervision of the state Commissioner of Police, Taiwo Lakanu, swooped on the hideout of Chibueze in the early hours of Thursday.
The police spokesperson said that the police engaged the gang in a gun duel for hours in the dreaded Omu Awa forest in the Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State and killed Chibueze while four of his men were arrested.
He gave the names of the nabbed ones as, Obinna Ela, Arinze Abecheta, Chukwuebuka Ikeazota, Samuel Ugochukwu and Clifford Aheana and added that ammunitions were recovered.
Moshood recalled that Chibueze was a cultist who turned a vicious and dangerous kidnapper and armed robber and was declared wanted by the police since 2013.
He said that Chibueze, was responsible for several cases of kidnappings, murder of notable personalities like the killing of his girlfriend, Sandra, and eight members of her family in Lagos State for allegedly stealing his N45 million share of the N110 million ransom paid by the family of one of his victims in Omoku, Rivers State.
The Police spokesperson said that, Chibueze, whom he described as a serial killer had confessed to have killed over two hundred people in kidnap and armed robbery cases.
While he asserted that the apprehended members of the gang would be charged to court at the end of investigations, Moshood said “The Inspector General of Police wishes to assure the good people of Imo State and other states of the federation of adequate security and implore them to cooperate with the police personnel deployed in their localities”.
The rate at wish marriages of nollywood’s star’s crash in recent time can only be compared with the rate Naira crashes against dollar in capital market as witnessed by Nigerians under the present Federal Government.
From Tonto Dike’s Marriage to Emeka Ike’s marriage that was recently dissolved by a court in Lagos State. Now Prince Eke a popular nolloywood action movie star’s marriage with Music star Muma Gee join the long train of failed marriages of Nollywood stars…
The attraction was magnetic! She was the singing diva and he, a Nollywood star. And before one could say Jackie Robinson, they were headed for the altar to tie the nuptial knot in a grand ceremony held in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The wedding of Prince Eke and Muma Gee was one of the biggest society events of 2011. However, five years after, there are feelers from the couple that it might be all over for the duo; no thanks to Muma Gee who filed for divorce earlier in the week.
Once upon a time…
The first time the pair met, it was at the naming ceremony of Emeka Ike’s child at a Redeemed Christian of God (RCCG) parish in Lagos. For Prince Eke, it was love at first sight. Recounting that first meeting in a chat, Eke said: “The reception she accorded me was not warm. She even laughed at me. It took me about 40 minutes to decide whether to approach her or not. She was the woman I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with and I knew it as soon as I saw her.”
Corroborating her estranged hubby, Muma Gee also gushed in an interview: “We met inside the church during Emeka Ike’s child dedication ceremony. Emeka introduced us to each other and that was how our love story started. My husband proposed to me the same day I met him. He knelt down to propose to me and since then, I have remained his faithful wife.”
No sex before marriage
According to interviews granted by the singer, owing to her strong Christian faith, they shelved courtship and opted for marriage immediately. “I didn’t want to commit any sin at this stage of my life because I have cleansed myself,” Muma Gee had revealed after their wedding.
To ensure that Prince Eke was the right man, she insisted there would be no sex before marriage. “I told him that if the whole thing was a gimmick to bed me, he was on a wrong mission. He promised we wouldn’t have sex until we were married. That gave me the conviction my hubby was different from others,” Muma Gee said in another interview.
Children
Indeed, it was with joy that the couple had their first set of kids, a lovely boy and girl on April 18, 2014. They had taken to social media and posted adorable pictures of their bundles of joy. The pictures had gone viral and Prince Eke at every opportunity posted images of his wife and family, saying how much they meant to him.
According to an industry source who spoke on grounds of anonymity, Prince Eke was the perfect husband and Muma Gee, the lovely wife. Together they presented a front that sent colleagues in the industry going green with envy.
In 2016, their bond waxed stronger after they had a baby girl on Prince Eke’s birthday and that further sealed their union. So overjoyous was the actor that he posted on sociak media a picture of the baby with the caption “My bundle of joy …my birthday mate, mydaughter. ..#GLADIATOR #AwesomeGod#OKWULUOKA,”.
Indeed, Prince Eke and Muma Gee were the poster couple of Nollywood.
The way the cookie crumbles
Contrary to the promising picture the couple painted, it was with shock that on December 16, 2016, cracks began to appear on the wall after Eke took to Instagram to declare that his wife had abandoned home and her three month-old baby. He said he had become a single father of three kids while he accused his wife of frolicking with different men at niteclubs in Abuja.
“This is no cheap publicity,” Prince Eke had stated. “I am not washing my dirty linen in public neither do I want to evoke pity. How nice is it for a woman to abandon her three-month old baby for four weeks and run off to Abuja with God knows who and is being seen at public joints and nightclubs with different men?
“I really can’t stomach it any longer and at this point, the world should know for posterity sake,” he allegedly wrote in a post which he later deleted.
His statement had aroused reactions on social media. While some blasted him for washing their dirty linens in public, others took sides with him.
Muma Gee had replied swiftly in a chat on HipTV. Hear her: “I got married and became a full time housewife for five years. I gave the marriage all my life, all my time, but if the persons involved are restless a bit, you can’t be in control.”
Prince Eke had fired back a while later declaring that Muma Gee was into fetish practices: “If infidelity, adultery and certain fetish activities do not make you restless, then prepare to rest in peace,” Eke allegedly posted.
Could this have been the straw that finally broke the camel’s back?
Game over
On January 15, 2017, Eke finally pronounced that his marriage to Muma Gee was over after an initial statement credited to him that the music act was not the breadwinner of their home. Only last week, after months of silence, the drama reached a climax with Muma Gee suing for divorce.
Entertainer learnt that repeated attempts by friends, elders and colleagues to resolve the marriage impasse failed and neither party was ready to bulge. However, given Prince Eke’s latest post, Muma Gee felt it was time to move on, hence she filed for divorce.
A source said: “The latest development coincided with her performance at the Silverbird Man of The Year Awards, a platform which she used to relaunch her career. It is obvious that Muma Gee is ready to carry on with her life and embrace single motherhood,”
Confirming the crash of the marriage recently, Don Saint, Muma Gee’s publicist said the reason for the divorce was that Muma Gee was scared for her life after the alleged latest threats from her estranged hubby.
With Muma Gee’s latest move, it is obvious that the romance could be over for good. However, this could turn out to be a long and dirty divorce as both parties are at daggers drawn.
