Senate President Bukola Saraki, represented by Ajibola Oluyede, who secured relief from extradition for suspected drug kingpin Buruji Kashamu, has re-filed a case that was thrown out earlier today by Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Lagos.
President of the Senate Bukola Saraki Sahara Reporters Media
Justice Buba, who has a reputation for granting spurious injunctions to politically prominent persons, had struck out Mr. Saraki’s earlier case, ruling that the senator’s lawyers had not been able to prove that his rights would be violated in the jurisdiction of Lagos considering that Mr. Saraki neither lives nor works in Lagos.
Mr. Saraki’s attorneys had filed the fundamental rights enforcement lawsuit, claiming that his trial before the Code of Conduct Tribunal was a violation of his rights. The lawsuit named the Code of Conduct Tribunal, the Inspector General of Police, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and the Attorney General of the Federation as defendants, adding that the senator was being persecuted by highly connected persons.
Shortly after Justice Buba dismissed the case today, Mr. Saraki re-filed the same case at the Federal High Court in Abuja. Representing him is Mr. Oluyede, a lawyer described by judicial sources as extremely close to the Chief Judge of the Federation, Ibrahim Auta, and Justice Ibrahim Buba, whom he recently praised glowingly as a “fearless judge” who is not afraid to give controversial orders.
As the lawyer for Buruji Kashamu, sought in the US to face a drug-smuggling charge, Ajibola Oluyede got his client off the hook when the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) sought to arrest and extradite him to the US last June. Mr. Oluyede first persuaded Justice Buba in Lagos to restrain the NDLEA from arresting Mr. Kashamu and then got another judge, Okon Abang, to nullify the extradition process.
Mr. Kashamu, whose election as a senator in Ogun State was last month overturned by an election tribunal, remains free.
One judicial source in Abuja told SaharaReporters that Saraki’s chief lawyer, Mr. Oluyede, “is the kind of lawyer who will shop in Abuja for a judge to do Senator Saraki’s bidding.”
The source added that Mr. Oluyede could have procured an order from Justice Buba prohibiting the Code of Conduct Tribunal from continuing its trial of Senator Saraki if SaharaReporters had not exposed that the deal was afoot.
PREMIUM TIMES has uncovered one of the most fraudulent crude oil deals executed by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, which saw a campaign official and some other suspected cronies of the ex-president smiling to the banks with up to 50 per cent commission from the proceeds of a foreign crude oil lifting contract, turning them into instant billionaires.
In the middle of the shady deal is a Nigerian oil and gas company, Sarb Energy, which acted as a dodgy middleman in a non-transparent government-to-government crude oil sale between the Nigerian and the Zambian governments.
Sarb Energy, incorporated on September 19, 2008, was specifically established for the controversial deal.
This newspaper has established that Sarb Energy has link with at least one political associate of former President Jonathan, whose five-year reign as leader of Africa’s largest oil producer was characterized by allegations of massive corruption, especially in the oil and gas sector.
The company’s directors at inception, according to records at the Corporate Affairs Commission, were Nimi Barigha-Amange, a former Peoples Democratic Party’s senator from Bayelsa (2007-2011), who also served as director of planning, research and strategy for Mr. Jonathan’s re-election campaign in 2014; Sylva Ogbogu, a retired Brigadier General; Akpan Ekpene, the managing director of the company, who executed the deal; and Ogba Properties and Investment Company Limited, a company whose real ownership remained unclear.
For months, PREMIUM TIMES was unable to obtain its records at the CAC.
Sarb Energy corporate ownership structure
Mr. Barigha-Amange was a director in Deltoil Nigeria and Pixy Energy, two other companies with stakes in Sarb Energy.
The crude oil deal
In a testimony he gave at a Zambian court, Mr. Ekpene said he sold the idea of the government-to-government crude oil deal to the Zambian government in 2008, which then gave his company, Sarb, a power of attorney to execute the contract on its behalf.
Under the deal signed with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the Zambian government was to lift eight million barrels of crude oil worth N155.4 billion ($969.6million).
After the deal was sealed on April 20, 2011, Sarb made an initial deposit of $2.5million to the NNPC in the name of the Zambian government.
Rather than Sarb importing the crude for use of the Zambian government at home, it was agreed that the company would sell the commodity to other traders, split profit 50-50 with the government and then remit the Zambian government’s share to official administration accounts.
But that didn’t happen. What indeed happened was that the Nigerians sold the crude and failed to make payments into Zambian government accounts.
Instead, according to Mr. Ekpene, parts of the proceeds were diverted into an account held by Iexoria, a Singapore-based company allegedly controlled by Henry Banda, the Zambian president’s son.
No evidence has emerged till date indicating that Zambia received any revenue from the deal.
The deal sparked controversy in Zambia, with former President Rupiah Banda charged with multiple violations of that country’s anti-corruption laws.
In his testimony during the trial, Mr. Ekpene claimed the proceeds of the deal were passed directly to Mr. Banda and his family.
The Sarb managing director told the court that his company made two wire transfers worth $550,000 from its Access Bank account in Nigeria to a Barclays Bank account in Singapore owned by Iexoria.
Henry Banda, the Zambian president’s son, controlled Iexoria. Both transfers were made before that country’s September 2011 general elections, when Mr. Banda was still president.
A fake consultancy contract was then drawn up between Sarb and Iexoria to support the payments, stating that Iexoria was supposed to carry out a feasibility study for a power plant.
Mr. Ekpene admitted in court the contract was a ruse as no such feasibility study was done. He said that approach was adopted to deceive Access Bank into authorizing the transfers.
He claimed that he also gave Mr. Banda $500,000 through his son Henry, to boost his election campaign. He said that was after Mr. Banda requested $1 million advance payment from the government-to-government oil deal.
Mr. Ekpene also told the court that he helped Banda with campaign materials, which he transported from Nigeria to Zambia, during a trip in which he admitted concealing $260, 000 cash in his luggage.
He said he handed over the cash to Banda at the Government House for his use in the 2008 campaigns.
He said he made the donation to President Banda because the intermediary in the crude lifting deal, Major Richard Kachingwe, allegedly insisted that they needed to support him to win reelection.
Mr. Ekpene may have, however, lied under oath in court during the Banda trial when he said only 5.7 million barrels of crude were shipped out of Nigeria in the deal, with the last cargo loading in December 2012.
PREMIUM TIMES found, from NNPC and Finance Ministry records, that 11 cargoes, carrying more than eight million barrels, were lifted in respect of the deal.
Insiders say Sarb Energy continued to lift from the NNPC even when the Zambian authorities believed the deal had ended.
The Magistrate’s Court in Lusaka, the Zambian capital, however acquitted Mr. Banda in June 2015, saying the prosecution failed to prove its case that the former leader violated Section 99(1) of the Zambian Penal Code.
No progress with investigation in Nigeria
Even though Sarb and its official, Mr. Ekpene, made startling confessions in court in Zambia, including admitting laundering funds out of the country, it does not appear investigation is making progress in Nigeria.
Mr. Ekpene claimed in court that Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission looked into the contract in May 2013.
But no enforcement action has so far been taken.
The spokesperson for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, said he was not aware that any such investigation was ongoing. He promised to crosscheck with the agency’s investigators and then revert to PREMIUM TIMES.
The spokesperson for the NNPC, Ohi Alegbe, could not be reached Monday.
When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr. Barigha-Amange, the PDP politician, directed all enquiries on the matter to Mr. Ekpene, the managing director of the company.
“I don’t know much about this matter,” the former senator said. “Only the MD can talk about it.”
Mr. Ekpene however declined to comment. He did not answer or return calls. He also did not respond to an email sent to him more than a month ago.
Below is a record of the crude oil liftings in the deal, as shown by market intelligence data.
The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal for Taraba on Saturday nullified the election of Taraba Governor, Darius Ishaku, of the Peoples Democratic Party.
The Tribunal, sitting in Abuja, declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress and a Minister designate, Aisha Alhassan, as the winner of the April 11 governorship election in the state.
The three-member tribunal held that Mr. Ishaku was not validly nominated as candidate of the PDP and therefore did not qualify, from start, to contest the governorship election.
Specifically, the tribunal held that the governorship primaries purportedly conducted by the PDP in the state was done in violation of section 78 (b) (1)(2) of the Electoral Act which guides parties nomination to the position of governorship candidate.
It held that contrary to the provision of the section, PDP conducted the purported primaries at its national secretariat, Wadata Plaza, in Abuja with no clear delegation from the local government areas in the state.
The tribunal sustained the testimonies of the head of election monitoring of Independent National Electoral Commission that the commission was not aware of any primaries conducted by the party in line with the provision of the electoral act which produced Ishaku as the party’s flagbearer.
Section 78 (b) (1)(2) of the Electoral Act states: In the case of nomination to the position of Governorship candidate, a political party shall where they intend to sponsor candidates:
(i) hold special congress in each of the Local Government Areas of the States with delegates voting for each of the aspirants at the congress to be held in designated centres on specified dates.
(ii) the aspirant with the highest number of vote at the end of the voting shall be declared the winner of the primaries of the party and aspirant’s name shall be forwarded to the commission as the candidate of the party, for the particular state.
The tribunal said the defence by the PDP that the primaries were shifted to Abuja because of security challenges in the state was rejected by the tribunal.
It sustained the evidence of the INEC official that there was no primaries election in the state and the emergence of Mr. Ishaku through the purported election in Abuja was after the statutory stipulated time for party primaries had elapsed.
It held that since Mr. Ishaku was not duly sponsored by the PDP, the party had no candidate in the governorship election in the eyes of the law.
The tribunal therefore voided the votes of the PDP and Mr. Ishaku in the election saying “it is a waste’’ and declared the APC and its candidate, who came second, as the valid winner of the April 11 election.
Reacting to the judgment, counsel to APC, Abiodun Owonikoko, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said the judgment was a landmark being the first time the election of a governor would be nullified on the doctrine of wasted votes.
He said with the judgment, the era of impunity in party primaries was gone and it would be a lesson not only for PDP but all political parties.
On whether Mr. Ishaku will vacate the seat immediately, Mr. Owonikoko said the judgment “is not the end of the road, there is opportunity for all the parties to explore whatever the grievance they have’’.
Mr. Owonikoko added that if the governor or the party did not appeal within 21 days, Ms. Alhassan will be sworn-in as governor.
The counsel to the PDP was not available to comment on the verdict of the Tribunal as they all rushed out of the venue after the judgment.
(NAN)
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, says it is deeply concerned about the unfolding political events and developments in the South East and South South of Nigeria.
The PDP also stated that it was not comfortable with the methods being applied by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government in the handling of restive youth in the South South and South East geo-political zones, who are agitating under the Biafra movement, and urged the president to personally intervene as the matter affects the territorial integrity of Nigeria.
The party said it was concerned that the Federal Government and its agencies have failed to approach the situation with the inclusiveness and seriousness it deserves, but have instead been resorting to the use of security forces.
PDP National Youth Leader, Abdullahi MaiBasira, said in a statement on Saturday that President Buhari and his party should be held to account for the escalation of the agitation, which threatens the unity and national security interests of Nigeria as an indivisible entity.
The PDP also urged the ruling party to ensure and guarantee an inclusive administration that will promote harmony among all sections of the country.
The party said there was lack of any clear-cut policy direction that concerns the development, mainstreaming and inclusion of young people in the country by the Federal Government, a worrisome issue that brings to question APC’s campaign promise to generate and give 3 million jobs annually to Nigerian Youths.
“The fact that none of the President’s ministerial appointees confirmed by Senate is below 40 years also puts to question APC’s belief for the next generation of leaders, mentorship and transfer of responsibility. So far, the resultant effect of this lack of clear-cut policy is the stagnation of the economy and laying-off of thousands of people from their jobs.
“Rather than the use of force as an option which usually fails as a solution in this type of self-inflicted socio political problem, President Buhari should as a matter of national interest and practical necessity, make haste to call representatives and leaders of the South East for discussions before the situation deteriorates”, the party said.
The PDP said Mr. Buhari and his party should know that side-lining any section of the country is bound to generate unhealthy relations among all integral parts of the Nigerian people.
The party said that cohesion, development, prosperity and unity should be paramount in government policy and warned that unless and until all sections of the country are accommodated, certain sections will experience civil tension and agitations as a means of expressing their discontent.
“Finally, as young people who believe in the present and future stability of Nigeria; we urge President Buhari to see himself as the father of the nation and try to open his heart to all by carrying everybody along and through that, create enabling environment for peace, progress and development in the interest of all,” the statement said.
Fellow Nigerians, let me tell you about my James Bond stunts in this season of the sensational SPECTRE movie. Yes. The news of the arrest of former strong woman of Nigeria’s Petroleum Ministry, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke in London had hit the airwaves like thunderbolt. No member of President Goodluck Jonathan’s government held the nation spellbound like Madame Diezani. Controversy dogged her every step just as she spawned loads of salacious gossip. She is a newsmaker per excellence.
For starters, Madame Diezani is a paragon of beauty. She’s also very simple but chic and elegant in dressing and appearance. At 54, she would give our much younger ladies a run for their money in the prettiness stakes. She is intelligent to boot and boasts a decent academic pedigree. She is that hot and even her most vociferous critics agree that she combines brains with beauty. Add to that is her marriage to retired Rear Admiral Alison Amaechina Madueke, a former Chief of Naval Staff which boosted her national and political profile.
The only problem was the almost unanimous belief that she had abused her privileged position and appurtenances of office in the discharge of her ministerial duties. It was reported that billions of dollars literally disappeared under her watch. She was under intense heat and scrutiny throughout her reign but seemed unrattled and unfazed by the deluge of dirt splashed at her from every direction. She stayed invincible and definitely unshakable to the end.
Her firm grip on the President was palpable. It was a subject of discussions everywhere. There were rumours of constant clashes with the former First Lady, Dame Patience Faka Jonathan. No one really knew the true story. Mrs Alison Madueke did not help matters by studiously ignoring the lurid pictures painted of her. She rarely granted interviews and when she did, hardly responded to the monumental gist from unrelenting talebearers.
I always wished to have a one-on-one interview with our own Alice in Wonderland or Cleopatra, if you like. Such is the nature of gargantuan fables around this mythical lady. She is the dream of every celebrity reporter. A nice interview and some photo-shoot as icing would be no mean achievement. There are few women in her mould anywhere at any time.
I had studied her trajectory to determine what makes her tick. She was born with silver spoon to the family of Chief Frederick Abiye and Mrs Beatrice Oyete Agama in the garden city of Port Harcourt and grew up in the Shell Camp where she schooled and learnt to speak both English and Dutch. She wasn’t a regular kid like most of us. The way her life was suddenly disrupted at Shell Camp she says would later inform her philosophy during her time as Petroleum Minister. Her family was unceremoniously evicted from the Shell Camp because her father dared to question the promotion process of Nigerians by Shell. She believes that Nigerians must occupy and enjoy the resources God has blessed us with and accordingly she sought to empower Nigerians as a principle, she claims.
The young Miss Agama studied Architecture in England and then at the renowned Howard University in the United States where she graduated. She later obtained an MBA from Cambridge University. She worked at Shell, following in her father’s footsteps, and rose to become its first female Director. The first part of her life story ends there.
The second part begins with her stint in the government of Nigeria where she managed several important ministries including Mines, Works and Transport and finally Petroleum, the chicken that lays the golden eggs. Once she got the juiciest portfolio in the land she was transformed from an Angel to being labelled a femme fatale, a nomenclature that has stuck to her like flies to palmwine. Political opponents of President Jonathan blamed her for all the sins of omission and commission of that Government and she really never was able to keep her head under the parapet. This is why she is in hot demand by reporters, local and international, alike.
Anything about Madame Diezani makes news and goes viral. We met only once at a public function hosted by Alhaji Aliko Dangote in Abuja. We spoke very briefly and she was going to give me her telephone contact but a personal aide intervened and promised to send it to me but never did. So I missed interviewing her. I had loads of satanic questions to ask her and was unsure of how she would have reacted, with calm or fury, but I would have thoroughly enjoyed that auspicious moment as I am sure would have been my readers.
Anyway, the dream never materialised. I simply shrugged my shoulders and moved on. After the demise of the Jonathan government, I assumed it was goodbye to a good story but man proposes and God disposes. I was sitting quietly at home when the news of Mrs Alison-Madueke’s arrest exploded like a bomb. Social media instantly caught fire. We were regaled with tales of how she was captured at home by the London Metropolitan Police for money laundering running into atrocious and unimaginable sums of cash. Some reports said she was planning to buy a property worth billions of pounds in London and even gave a famous address. Those who know London fairly well immediately doubted the veracity of such claims but anything is believable in this season of anomie.
We were later informed by the National Crime Agency (NCA) that arrested her, that only £27,000 pounds was recovered and that she had been released on bail. Then came reports that the energetic EFCC in Nigeria had also invaded her home in Abuja and we imagined this invasion must have been well choreographed and perfectly co-ordinated by the governments of Nigeria and Britain only for NCA to tell us this wasn’t so.
My interest in speaking to Madame Diezani by all means was re-ignited. I was greatly saddened by the dearth of investigative journalism in our clime. I remembered with nostalgia our days at Concord Press of Nigeria, owned by the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola. I had a flashback to the Weekend Concord days when that paper broke all records by publishing endless scoops and I earned repeated accolades from my Editor, and boss for life, Mr Mike Awoyinfa, for the manner I gained incredible access to very important personalities and topical news.
My dream is for Nigerian media to return to those halcyon days and it is not too difficult to achieve. What it takes is for us to have credible journalists who can manage stories responsibly without using media power to terrorise or witch-hunt anyone no matter their personal views or political ideology. A seasoned journalist knows that facts are sacred! Proper investigative reporters have access to even terrorists and rabid insurgents for this reason. However in Nigeria, we tend to reflect our prejudices in the stories we write. Such bias should be reserved for opinions and editorial pages.
Back to Mrs Alison-Madueke, the more I read the conflicting and contradictory reports the more I wished someone could penetrate the seemingly impregnable wall erected by our leaders to get the news behind the news. There were reports that Madame Diezani was battling with the much dreaded breast cancer. Not a few said she was merely pretending in order to escape justice. I wondered aloud how nice it would be to find a journalist who could be trusted with this massive story and bring us face to face with one of Africa’s biggest newsmakers.
About the same period, I was spending some time seeking treatment for cataracts in London and this gave me the opportunity to investigate the Diezani conundrum myself. I made calls to several credible sources including a close lawyer friend who has a solid reputation in such matters. First, I confirmed that, contrary to the belief that she was feigning her illness, she was actually receiving treatment for a most chronic and aggressive form of breast cancer. She had undergone surgery and chemotherapy on several occasions and was being prepared for radiotherapy. Indeed, she had slipped into both natural and induced coma which lasted five days on July 28, as steroids she was receiving had inadvertently raised her sugar level abysmally. Her doctors declared her condition a near-miss. All my sources said it would be unfair and unthinkable for a reporter to invade her privacy in that state.
I believed the world deserves to hear from her, for good or for bad, and so never gave up my dream of getting exclusive access to Nigeria’s most talked about woman. My tenacity paid off two nights ago as I came face to face with Mrs Alison-Madueke at a secret location in London. My bosom friend had called to say someone had mentioned to her that I was critically on her case. Madame Diezani had wondered why a known and certified critic of the Jonathan Administration would want to interview her but was told that despite my opposition to their regime I remained one of the most objective writers in Nigeria. She told my female contact that she reads Pendulum and was impressed at the level of maturity often displayed even when she disagreed with my views. However, Madame Diezani was particularly worried that even in the throes of a most debilitating ailment, she was still being virulently attacked by her fellow citizens.
I told my source that without being judgmental, I think she should understand that many Nigerians believe she and the government she served had brought untold hardship upon the generality of Nigerians especially through the mismanagement of the main source of revenue in our country. She may know better than the rest of us but it is up to her to tell her story. Those who will believe are waiting to hear while those who won’t may never subscribe to her defence. What is important is for her to purge her soul and where necessary offer sincere apologies and penitence.
I was stunned when I got a call from my contact: “are you available to meet Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke on Thursday evening at a private location in London?” I don’t know how many reporters would miss such humongous opportunity. My response was an instant, yes. I was told the location would be communicated to me one hour to the appointed time. That was fine by me.
The only one I could trust to drive me on such a mission was my wife accompanied by her younger sister. We got to the venue almost dead on time and scanned the vicinity. Having read too many James Hadley Chase novels in my school days, I expected to see some unobtrusive bodyguards around if I looked well. I imagined I was right when I saw a dark stocky man in suit prancing about furtively and restlessly. I pressed a buzzer as instructed and the main door swung open. I approached one of the elevators as directed and headed to a particular apartment where my contact opened the door even before I knocked, and ushered me in.
I didn’t see my interviewee but only a fair lady, who looked vaguely familiar. I took a comfortable position and waited with bated breath. I was undergoing a stream of consciousness at supersonic speed. Where is Madame Diezani? Will she meet me or chicken out? Would she open up or just whet my appetite for nothing? How will I ask my satanic questions and in what order? What can I do to make her relax and pour out her heart? Can she trust anyone with her story in her present condition and state of mind?
I was in this interior monologue when Madame Diezani herself sauntered in. I stood up to greet her as she stretched out her hand.
“My name is Diezani, the most misunderstood and abused Nigerian…”
I didn’t know whether to say yes or no. I was perturbed and disturbed. The Diezani before me was not the ebullient woman I used to see on television and in newspapers. Her head had become a Sahara desert of sorts almost totally bald with a sprinkle of freshly growing hair all grey. She requested to sit on a classroom chair as her back was hurting badly and she could not sit so low. Wow, what a terrible time she must be having, I almost screamed out but cautioned myself. Sitting across from me was a woman who was a shadow of herself, almost like an apparition or ghost. I’m sure she saw the horror in my face.
I knew I had to tread gingerly so as not to ignite trouble. I expressed sympathy about her battle with cancer. I told her I was one of the doubting Thomases and wished her God’s mercy and miracle having seen her shocking state. She summarised how her ordeal started and that moment when her worst nightmare was diagnosed. As she spoke, she belched and gasped intermittently, a by-product of the aggressive treatment she’s been receiving. I was visibly worried at a point thinking she may end up in an ambulance if care was not taken. The other lady I met earlier soon came out from wherever and insisted we must stop but Madame Diezani was just getting into the flow of our chit-chat. We were told to round up in five minutes by this chaperone.
I fired shots at her in staccato fashion and raced through my questions. I wanted to cover enough grounds before she returns to hospital after this weekend. I asked about Jonathan, Chris Aire, Kola Aluko and others linked to her in business transactions and otherwise. She said as much as she possibly could in the little time available and promised to say more later. The fair lady soon returned to stop our session. I would have been atrociously wicked to ask for more time though I felt she was in the mood to talk. She stood up delicately and she and the two ladies with her disappeared into the cold night…
Veteran journalist, Mike Effiong, has shared the above photo on Facebook, and revealed that a scorned wife disfigured her randy husband with hot water for having an affair with her own mother.
The woman couldn’t swallow the bitter pill and wouldn’t take a chill pill either, so she emptied a bowl of hot water on her husband.
Some say he deserved even worse . So sad on both sides.
This story is about a 419 single mother who stole my #5,300,000.00 Nigeria Naira worth of = $26,606.00 USD in the name that she is my finance and want to buy me land at Ojodu Berger Ikeja Lagos, Nigeria.
I met this lady Miss Oruku Temitayo on Facebook in August 18, 2012, after few Months of phone conversations, i traveled to Nigeria to met her and see her family to seek her hand in marriage because i love her, while i don’t know that they are groups of 419 who rub people with Romance scam.
After i met with her she took me to Pastor Dayo Ajisafe, as her grandma family father, and to another man name Mr. Tajudeen Oruku, who live at River Bank Estate Ikeja, Lagos Nigeria, we concluded that when i return to Nigeria again i will proceed with the marriage process.nigerian facebook scammer
So when i return back Miss Oruku Temitayo start scamming me from one need to another until i sent her total some of #300,000.00 Nigerian Naira, worth $1,506.00 USD in the year 2013 for her domestic needs.
She later advised me to buy land in Ojodu Berger, Ikeja Lagos, then i asked her to negotiate with the seller and she confirmed that the price is at #5,000,000.00 Nigerian Naira, worth $25,100.00 USD, i sent all the money through money gram and western union money transfer as i preferred to use it to send money to Nigeria.
Below is her mail, ID card names and her bank account details she sent to me on April 15, 2013,
Oruku Temitayo:
4/15, 4:43pm
As she sent it: ——————————————————————————————————————- My oga, how was ur weekend and ur business over there? May d blessings of lord be with you today and ur family in jesus name AMEN, dis is d 2 IDENTITY CARD u can use any 1 of d 2 to send the money, no 1, VOTER’S CARD, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, INDEPEDENT NATIONL ELECTORAL COMMISSION, VIN:
9OF5B12E83296836773, last election card, NAME , ASEGUN, OMOTAYO TEMITAYO, no 2, d one l use to open my ACCOUNT FOR SKYE BANK, STUDENT ID CARD, 2002, LAGOS STATE POLYTECHNIC, ISOLO, NAME OF ACCOUNT, ORUKU. O.TEMITAYO, ACCOUNT NO ,1O55311883,SKYE BANK,ISHERI OJODU LAGOS. Thanks I LOVE U.
Then i first asked her why all the names are not Oruku Temitayo? she start telling stories, after sending her all my money, it dose not seems she care about me, every day from one man to another, many time i called her she is in the car with different men, like at night she will not pick my calls, during the day when i called her she will called me mommy, when i asked why will start telling stories.
Yesterday 25, of October 2015, i decided to call one of the man she took me to his office located at Elephant house Ikeja Lagos, name Pastor Dayo Ajisafe, he is the one who told me today that she got married last year, that i should not be wasting my time, i think they are having problem in sharing my money, i want use this medium to save other peoples in their nets.
When i called Mr. Tajudeen Oruku the man she presented as his senior brother he picked my call and later cut it off and refused to respond to my calls.
This single mother called Miss Oruku Temitayo is a prostitute and a scammer who stealing people money with all kind of stories, and i am sure that she will be among the scammer who murder innocent people in hotels.
I want FBI, EFCC, DSS, SSS AND POLICE to assist recover my money back, good people of our dear Nigeria and Africa, please in the name of God help me share this information’s to save other from being dupe.
Recently, two PREMIUM TIMES reporters, Emmanuel Ogala and Ibanga Isine, traveled through territories liberated from Boko Haram by the Nigerian military in Nigeria’s North-east state of Adamawa.
The tour offered a rare peep into how the communities are recovering six months after the troops pushed the insurgents into the fringes of Sambisa forest.
The trip started from Yola, the Adamawa State capital, through the A13 Highway, up to Madagali area, close to Sambisa forest, and later detouring into Mubi, the second biggest Adamawa town which Boko Haram captured and declared its headquarters in 2014.
Our reporters saw, firsthand, how Boko Haram plundered communities, destroyed homes and spread terror.
This is a moving story of deaths, destruction, looting, starvation, humanitarian crises and government’s irresponsibility.
A diary of their trip is published below.
Yola – American University of Nigeria
We started the journey from the American University of Nigeria Hotel at about 8.am on October 15.
Shortly after our convoy got on the A13 highway linking Yola to Bama on a journey that took us to Song, Hong, Bazza, Michika and Madagali, the lead military escort truck pulled over.
We pulled over too. The escort squad commander approached our driver and looked him straight in the eyes. “Put your tyres wherever we put ours,” he warned, pointing to the military truck ahead of us. “Did you hear me?” he added and our driver nodded.
We were told the warning was to avoid our stepping on explosives or landmines. We were soon on our way and the first major town we entered was Song.
Song
The Three Sister Mountains of Song, AdamawaSong is a beautiful community with awesome landscapes and rock formations. It was the last bastion as Boko Haram fighters approached Yola. Unlike other towns we would later see, Song retained its beauty and infrastructure because Boko Haram never conquered it. We were traveling the route for the first time. As the mountain aptly described as “Three Sisters” came into view with its alluring magnificence, our shutters clapped endlessly as we photographed through windows of our speeding bus. It was indeed an awesome view.
Hong
Hong LGA Housing estate completely destroyed by Boko Haram . Photo: Emmanuel OgalaDriving a few kilometers away from Song, we arrived at Hong, the last territory Boko Haram occupied before their progress towards Yola was halted. Here, the destruction was extensive. The sect torched homes, killed several persons and unleashed terror and barbarity on the community.
In Hong, Boko Haram clearly targeted government buildings, churches, schools and shops. The other surprising targets were political offices. Almost all buildings that had party inscription or logo were torched while an estate built by the local government was completely burnt down. The local government office was destroyed, but it has been renovated and workers have since resumed work. Schools were also open.
The scars of Boko Haram’s onslaught on the town however remained as fresh as if they had only left the previous day. Many buildings bore fresh bullet holes and others were without roofs, having been razed by the rampaging insurgents. Most windows shattered during gun fights are yet to be replaced. Boko Haram military tank destroyed in Kala, Hong LGA, Adamawa state.On the outskirts of Hong, in a small village called Kala, we met the first Boko Haram military tank destroyed by the Nigerian military. Its charred and rusting remains lay knackered by the roadside and its once dangerous nozzle pointed downwards in apparent surrender.
The tank laid metres away from a collapsed bridge residents said was blown up by the insurgents to slow down the advancement of the Nigerian military as the sect retreated from Hong in March. At the bridge head, a completely burnt Toyota Hilux truck belonging to the sect laid on its charred wheels, blocking a part of the road.
Villages around Hong – mainly farm settlements and herdsmen camps – suffered the deadliest destructions. In one attack, residents said Boko Haram killed 40 people.
Mararaba Mubi
Shortly after Hong, we arrived at Mararaba Mubi. The battle here was fierce, security officials told us. This town is key because it is located at an intersection of roads leading into territories occupied by the Boko Haram sect – one to Mubi which the insurgent once captured and declared their administrative capital, and the other to Bazza, Michika, Madagali, up to Bama and Sambisa Forest in Borno state.
The destruction here was extensive and resulted from both Boko Haram assault and Nigerian Military air raids. The first major destruction we met in Mararaba Mubi was the headquarters of Eklisiyar Yanuwa Nigeria, EYN, an indigenous orthodox church. It was completely destroyed by the insurgents. Its walls were ripped with bullets, even before it was bombed. The EYN church, we were told, suffered the highest casualty, partly because it is the most popular Christian community in the territories captured by Boko Haram.
Meters away from the church, as we headed towards Uba, we galloped over a burrowed patch along the A13 highway. We were told a Boko Haram tank is buried underneath after it came under aerial bombardment from a Nigerian Army gunship. As the gunship pounded the tank into the earth from the sky, its components flew off destroying nearby houses.
As we proceeded to Uba, ruined houses, with burnt roofs and bullet-riddled walls laid on both sides of the road. Interestingly, a lot of houses in some of the communities we passed were not torched. Even locals can hardly tell the criteria the insurgents used in selecting properties they destroyed.
Hildi
In Hildi, we met the fourth Boko Haram military tank destroyed by the Nigerian Military. It was thoroughly charred and its main gun pointing to the ground in humiliating surrender. Destruction in Hildi was minimal, at least from what we could see. But we were told that villages around the area were served heavier destruction.
Uba
Uba is an interesting town made up of one tribe, two governments, and two traditional rulers. It is just like Kansas City in USA. The town is separated by the A13 Highway. As you head up north, the turning to the right takes you to Borno state, while the left turn leads to Adamawa state. One can visit the two states a thousand times in one day by merely walking across the highway.
The Borno side looks more developed. We were told it has more amenities and got electricity two years before the Adamawa side.
The town did not suffer major damages after it fell. Only the primary school on the Borno side was destroyed. The town was bustling on both sides when we visited, and appears filled to the brim, as if no one fled when Boko Haram descended on the area.
Kudzum
Locals fixing the Kudzum Bridge destroyed by Boko Haram.As we went deeper into the territories that were under the control of Boko Haram for longer periods, checkpoints manned by more of local vigilantes and less of soldiers increased. The local vigilantes brandished locally-made guns but depended largely on charms to fight the sect members. They are believed to have supernatural power to identify members of the sect who dare travel the A13 highway. Their checkpoints were longer than those manned by the military and consists of mainly logs positioned on the road in a way cars would have to snake through at very low speed.
Soon, we reached the Kudzum Bridge. It is longest on this stretch of the highway and suffered the worst damage.
Before our arrival, the Catholic Bishop of Yola, Stephen Mamza, had mobilized young men to the bridge to help push our cars across in case we get stuck. Like many other bridges destroyed by Boko Haram, they bombed the central pillars forcing the bridge to cave in midway. Weeks before our arrival, we learned the bridge was totally unusable by cars because it steeped at a very tight angle. After the area was retaken by the military in March, villagers started reconstructing the bridge, sand-filling the acute angle created by the collapse to create a curve. Bishop Stephen Mamza donates to Kudzum Bridge workersA steep drive by our excellent driver saw us race into the curve and crossing into the other side.
One would have expected government engineers to be deployed to reconstruct the bridges, but that’s not the case. Only villagers are working on them.
On the other side of the bridge, we stopped to take pictures and hail the local workers. The Catholic Bishop offered some money to the workers and they cheered him. Many other travelers made similar donations to keep the work ongoing.
A few kilometers from Kudzum, we arrived at the Dilchim Bridge, also destroyed. We, however, learned the Nigerian military blew it up in an attempt to slow down Boko Haram’s march to Mubi in 2014.
Bazza
Bazza, the hometown of Bishop Mamza, was badly hit by the insurgents and occupied for six months. As we drove into the town, the police station on the outskirts of the town was open. It had two buildings, the one in front was still in ruins; a sad reminder of Boko Haram’s footprints.
Deeper into the town, we saw razed houses without roofs and those with bullet holes all over their walls. Most shops were still closed. Boko Haram had an occupation strategy for Bazza. They inflicted minimal damage on the buildings in the beginning of their occupation. They shared the buildings among themselves after sacking most residents. Most of the damage on the town was caused by Nigerian Military’s aerial bombardments, we were told.
While Boko Haram spared the houses, their short reign left a devastating humanitarian crisis. We were told the highest military officer killed in the insurgency died in Bazza. After they took the town, they sealed it, ensuring no one left. A boy who survived the terror said Boko Haram prevented residents from going to the market, farms, schools, and churches.
“If you were caught going to farm, they will cut your throat,” he said.
The sect looted homes for food, furniture, and electronics. Children were conscripted into their army and forced to convert to Islam.
At the centre of the town is the St. Mary’s Catholic Church, established in 1958. As we turned into the church, naked high tension electric cables hung loosely across the entrance.
As our bus approached the cables, we screamed at the driver to stop, fearing electrocution. The driver screeched to a halt inches away from the cable. The Bishop laughed as he turned around to explain that since Boko Haram invaded the area, there had been no electricity. A combination of airstrikes and Boko Haram destruction brought down almost all the electricity cables from Mubi to the area.
While the Bishop was still explaining, four men ran under the cables and lifted them with their bare fingers to enable us drive through.
At the church, hundreds of villagers including Christians and Muslims had gathered, each clutching an empty sack. Since the insurgents took the town, residents have been faced with severe food shortage with majority starving. Immediately the town was liberated, the Catholic Church in Yola began shipping food and drugs to them.
On the day we visited, Bishop Mamza had come with trucks-load of food and medical supplies. Since Boko Haram took the town, there’s been no medical personnel in the town. Only the military is providing medical assistance to residents.
“A military doctor visits from Mubi once in a while since the town was liberated,” Bishop Mamza told us.
Before sharing sacks of maize and sorghum, Bishop Mamza and the Secretary of the Islamic Council of Nigeria, Adamawa state chapter, Dauda Bello, addressed the women who had waited under the scorching sun for the food aid.
The bishop also handed over trucks-load of medical supplies to the military health workers and we were soon on our way to the next town, Michika.
The only abandoned Boko Haram military tank not completely destroyed by Nigerian Army.
Catholic Church, Bazza
The Catholic church in Bazza took a great hit. A destroyed statue leans on a wall near its former stand.
Volunteers used bare hands to lift naked power lines to let our bus drive through. There’s been no power in Bazza since Boko Haram attacked.
Bazzans on the Bishop’s food aid program gathering with empty sacks
Bazzans on the Bishop’s food aid program gathering with empty sacks
Bishop Stephen Mamza addressing Boko Haram victims that gathered to receive grains.
Bishop Stephen Mamza and
A victims carrying her food aid on her head.
Michika
Michika is a bigger town. As we approached it, the signs that Boko Haram once ruled the area grew stronger. All the way from Bazza, signposts and wall paintings visible along the A13 highway had been defaced. Boko Haram did not permit the use of English alphabets in Michika. Almost all signposts were defaced – some with black background and a large red dot in the middle. Others were defaced haphazardly with any paint color they could get. Even MTN logos on kiosks were blacked out.
Boko Haram had an occupation strategy for Michika. After invading the town September 7, 2014, they destroyed churches, libraries, party buildings, shops, markets, and anything that did not align with their belief and government. They, however, spared the nicest houses and shared it among themselves.
A resident told us how his house was used as clinic by Boko Haram’s medical team. Other beautiful apartments used by the insurgents as residents bore Arabic inscriptions and large black paint dots.
When we entered the St. Annes Catholic Church in Michika, it was full with residents – both Christians and Muslims – who had come to receive food aid from their beloved Bishop. Most of the buildings in the once expansive church complex were totally destroyed. The main cathedral was torched but it still stood because it had a steel roof. Inside, the walls were smeared and darkened by Boko Haram’s attempt to burn it down. The altar was desecrated and burnt.
The wood and zinc-roofed residence of the parish priest located behind the church suffered greater damage. Everything it had was burned to the ground and so were other buildings in the compound.
Again, the Bishop and the Imam prayed for the victims who had gathered to receive aids inside the church, and handed out few of the half-full sacks of cereals that lined the premises to kick-start distribution. The Bishop also handed out medical supplies to the volunteer health workers from the town.
Like Bazza, the story in Michika is of deaths, starvation, looting, abduction of young women, incarcerations, and forced conversion to Islam.
Just outside the city centre, the Mohammed Bu Amaiwa Library – the only library we saw during the trip – laid in complete ruin. Every building within its premises was destroyed. On the other side of the road, shopping complexes, markets and political party buildings were torched. Party logos on office walls were also smudged with black paints.
On the outskirts of Michika, we met a crane seating on the back of a haulage truck. Both were burned completely. The crane belonged to the American University of Nigeria, Yola. The university had leased it to the Nigerian Military to repair a tank. After the repairs, as they made their way back to Yola, Boko Haram ambushed them. The crane engineer, the truck driver and one other person were killed and the vehicles burnt. American University of Nigeria crane. Leased to Nigerian Army. Attacked by Boko Haram. Three died.Meters away, we galloped through another small bridge bombed by the insurgents.
The plains on the outskirts of Michika were green and dotted with farmers. Pockets of herdsmen led their cattle in the outstretched grass plains. The cattle spotted in the area were exceptionally plum and bigger than the ones in cities.
The Bishop explained that Fulani herdsmen suffered severely during the insurgency. He said Boko Haram raided camps maintained by the herdsmen; killed the rearers before rustling their cattle and taking the Fulani women hostage.
“Their sufferings were mostly unreported,” the Bishop said.
Most signposts in Michika looked like this. Smudged.
What seemed like a PDP office was vandalized, and party logo smudged out in Michika
Boko Haram spared the nicest houses and shared it among themselves. This apartment on the same street with the catholic church was occupied by a leader.
An elderly man inspecting sacks of grains readied for distribution inside St. Anne’s Catholic Church, Michika. Boko Haram’s destructions imposing at the background.
Victims listening to Bishop Mamza and Imam Bello inside St. Annes Catholic Church, Michika
Bishop Mamza and the Secretary of the Islamic Council of Nigeria, Adamawa state chapter, Dauda Bello distributing grains to victims in St. Anne’s Catholic Church, Michika, Adamawa
Bishop Stephen Mamza handing in medical supplies to health workers in Michika
A shopping mall completely destroyed by Boko Haram insurgents.
Shuwa – Madagali
The Catholic Church took its greatest hit is this community.
Shuwa is a few kilometers away from Madagali which lies ahead on the northern flank, with the Republic of Cameroon located beyond some spiky mountains on the east. Residents spoke about a Boko Haram camp located less than 10 minutes drive to the community. Sambisa Forest, considered Boko Haram’s last stronghold also lies further west.
The St. Pius De 10th Catholic Church, Shuwa, has a very large compound which housed a cathedral with a parsonage, a clinic, an event centre, and a farm. These were destroyed completely. The church was bombed and the altar desecrated.
On our arrival, more women – both Christians and Muslims – had gathered, all the way from Madagali town, Gulak and surrounding villages to receive food aid from the church. According to Bishop Mamza, at least 1000 families are on the list of his food aid programme in Shuwa. He said the church conducted screening to identify families in dire need of food. The Bishop also left medical supplies with the local church.
The Catholic Bishop is the only source of humanitarian aid to the communities we visited. Residents told us they’ve never received aids from anyone else, not even the government or international donor agencies. According to Bishop Mamza, the German-based Catholic Charity Organization, Missio, provide the largest chunk of aid to victims of insurgency in the state.
However, the food aid is clearly not enough. Each family gets about 20 kilograms of maize and sorghum, barely enough to last for a few days.
“It is God,” Joseph Jidda, a teacher in Madagali who had come for the food aid said when asked how they survive. “We are in hardship here,” he said. Joseph Jidda walking beside the destroyed residence of the Parish priest of St.Pius De 10th Catholic ChurchMr. Jidda lost his wife and home to the insurgents. He fled Madagali to Jos, Plateau state, with his 10 kids shortly before Boko Haram conquered the town. Having returned barely two weeks before our visit, Mr. Jidda said Madagali is still unsafe. He recounted how the insurgents made a surprise comeback but were halted by the Nigerian Military.
During the past three years, farming had come to a standstill in Madagali. Residents recounted how Boko Haram sneaked into the surrounding villages at night with bicycles and wheelbarrows to steal food and kill villagers.
Two weeks before our visit, the insurgents raided Barkin Dushe, a nearby village and killed seven people, including three women, after looting their food and properties.
We found out that Boko Haram uses starvation as a tool of warfare. Farmers in most villages they conquered were killed and others prevented from farming. In Madagali, the farmers are scared of entering their farms to avoid walking into landmines planted by the insurgents.
Apart from farms that have been abandoned, schools have been closed down in Madagali for over a year. It was only three months back that the Nigerian Military volunteer teachers began organizing classes for primary school children, said Mr. Jidda.
In most villages and towns we passed along the way, we found a people eager to get back their lives. Many had already returned to farms while a few schools have reopened. We saw boys and girls in uniforms returning from school while a few shops were opened for business.
With the presence of troops and their soaring popularity, residents said they feel safer than ever before. The only missing part in the healing process is the government. The apparent government neglect that contributed to the escalation of the insurgency still exists. There are no attempts to provide aid to victims. No attempts to restore damaged power lines, rebuild bridges, roads, and pay compensation for houses destroyed while the battle raged. There’s no sign of the government beyond the soldiers we met at checkpoints.
We could not continue into Madagali town because the day was far spent and it was unsafe to travel the routes at night.
Two days after our trip, Boko Haram attacked Darin Madagali, a village close to Shuwa, killing 12 people.
We returned to Bazza where Bishop Mamza had arranged lunch for every member of our team. But the clergyman did something that brought tears of joy to our eyes. He offered his bedroom to the Muslims in our team to perform ablution and offer their afternoon prayers.
After taking a brief rest at Bazza, we continued to Mubi through Vimtim, hometown of former Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh.
The parish office of St. Pius the 10th Catholic Church, Shuwa
Women who had turned up for the food aid in Shuwa thanking the Bishop as he left.
Vimtim
As we made our way back to Kudzum, before making a left turn towards Mubi, Bishop Mamza explained that at some point, Boko Haram felt so comfortable ruling the occupied territories that they began importing iron rods to fix bombed bridges in the area.
As we entered the Kudzum-Mubi Road, the pattern of destruction was the same. schools, churches – mostly EYN – and some homes were selected and burnt.
On this stretch of the journey, we drove on the worst road since we began the journey. Boko Haram did not destroy any bridge on this stretch, perhaps, there was no need to slow anyone down – one can hardly run faster than 10 kilometers per hour on the road. At a point, flood had washed away up to 80 percent of a culvert, forcing drivers to circumvent through the nearby bushes.
A spot on the Kudzum-Mubi road where Nigerian Army apparently took a serious hit
A spot on the Kudzum-Mubi road where Nigerian Army apparently took a serious hit
A spot on the Kudzum-Mubi road where Nigerian Army apparently took a serious hit
A spot on the Kudzum-Mubi road where Nigerian Army apparently took a serious hit
A spot on the Kudzum-Mubi road where Nigerian Army apparently took a serious hit
Burnt trucks littered the road as we got into Mubi North local government area. Just before we reached Vimtim, home of Mr. Badeh, we met what seemed like a Nigerian Army convoy that had been attacked by the insurgent. A heavy duty delivery truck with Nigerian Army registration number, carrying ammunition and its escort trucks knelt on their wheels, completely charred. Burnt bullet casings littered the ground. It is unclear how it happened, but it was apparent the Nigerian Army took a fatal blow in the attack.
Meters ahead, we met another Boko Haram tank destroyed during an air raid by the Nigerian Military.
On reaching Vimtim, we found that the most outstanding building – a duplex belonging to Nigeria’s former defence chief was destroyed.
When Boko Haram conquered Vimtim, we learnt they occupied Mr. Badeh’s beautiful home and used it as an operational base. The house was, however, destroyed by Nigerian Military fighter jets targeting insurgents who occupied it. Its charred walls and collapsed roof was visible from outside the locked gates.
Interestingly, Mr. Badeh had evacuated his kins and valuables from the building one week before Boko Haram arrived. The villagers suspect he had foreknowledge of the insurgents’ arrival, an allegation to former army chief has repeatedly denied.
Mubi
As we approached Mubi, there was minimal destruction. Life seemed normal. We met the first police checkpoint in our journey.
In many villages along this stretch, young boys gathered around billiard tables and snookered away. It appears snooker is the most popular game around the Mubi area.
In Lira, everything looked normal. It was market day and trading was in full course.
At the entrance to Mubi, we met a major Nigerian Army checkpoint. It had a functional tank and looked like a small base.
Mubi is a big city, the second largest in the state. How it fell to Boko Haram is still puzzling to many locals. The story among residents is that only about 15 Boko Haram fighters took the town and no shot was fired in the operation.
They sacked the city’s Emir from his palace and appointed a Boko Haram Emir to govern the town. They also took over the city’s main mosque and appointed an Imam to oversee the delivery of sermons, based on the sect’s deadly ideology. They destroyed the EYN church in the city. They also destroyed five banks – Diamond Bank, GT Bank, First Bank, Union Bank, and United Bank of Africa – and looted whatever they could find. Only two of the banks have managed to re-open since the city was liberated.
Residents said they got forewarning from Boko Haram before the invasion. Boko Haram invasion strategy included writing residents with dates of planned invasion – a strategy that also worked for them in other towns we visited.
In those letters, residents were asked to surrender to the authority of the insurgents. Before Mubi was taken, residents said they received letters from Boko Haram announcing the date they would arrive to take over the town. Residents said the city was unusually full to the brim at the time as the insurgents had taken over the surrounding villages forcing those villagers to flee to Mubi. Many residents attempted to escape the city, to Yola – the state capital and the only safe place at the time – but were prevented by Nigerian soldiers.
On the forewarned date, 15 Boko Haram fighters reportedly arrived the town. Residents say after the insurgents arrived, soldiers guarding the town boarded their trucks and fled. “They were the first to run,” a resident said.
We traversed the rough Mubi Road back to Yola at night. It was dangerous and some of our team members were scared but we were lucky. We didn’t run into any ambush by the insurgents.
Some of us became became even more afraid after locals kept warning us that we risked attacks by the insurgents, a situation which might have warranted our military escorts not to return to Yola through the A13 Highway we used earlier in the day.
But we arrived safely in Yola, thanking our stars, and disappearing into our hotel. Mubi-Yola highway
