10/27/17

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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

A gang of armed robbers on Thursday attacked a branch of the Skye Bank Plc in Ifon, the headquarters of the Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State, killing two police officers attached to the bank and went away with an undisclosed huge amount of money.

The incident put a halt to social and commercial activities in the town for several minutes as residents living close to the bank ran for safety.

The robbery operation was said to have lasted for about 40 minutes.

According to an eyewitness, the hoodlums numbering fifteen stormed the premises of the bank at about 3pm and blew up the bullet-proof door of the bank with substance suspected to be dynamite before gaining entrance.

Some of the robbers were said to have engaged the policemen in a gun duel outside the bank while others robbed the bank’s vault.

It was gathered that stray bullets from the hoodlums killed a yet to be identified man at a medical clinic beside the bank

The eyewitness said, “They came in three vehicles and they were up to 15 in number, they were heavily armed. When they got to the bank they could not enter easily because the bank had stopped attending to customers. So, they had to blow the door up with dynamite.

“For several minutes, they were shooting everywhere, two of the policemen that engaged them were killed but none of the robbers was killed during the shooting.”

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Femi Joseph confirmed the incident.

He said, “It is unfortunate that we lost two of our men in the incident, but we are still on the trail of the robbers, they went to the bank with sophisticated weapon and inspite of that our men still engaged them.

“The CP himself led the team from Akure to the scene it was when they (robbers) knew that we were closing in on them that they ran away with bullets wounds. We shall get them soonest because our men are still on their trail.”
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

The Flag Officer Commanding, Central Naval Command, Rear Adm. Bello Al-Hassan, said the command would soon commence riverine and sea exercises, code-named “Octopus Grip” in Bayelsa and Delta.

Al-hassan, who said this on Thursday while addressing a news conference in Yenagoa, said that the exercise was expected to last from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1.

The FOC said the command was tasked with the responsibility of security of the waterways by providing adequate security within the command’s area of responsibility.

He said the command in Jan. launched “Operation Rivers Sweep.’’

“So far, the operation has recorded huge success in reducing crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and other maritime crimes.

“Between May and Sept. this year, the command seized and destroyed about 870,000 MT of illegally refined crude oil.

“Also, over 400 illegal refineries were destroyed, including 85 boats used by oil thieves,’’ he said.

The flag officer said the aim of the planned exercise was also to assess the operational readiness of CNC fleet and to test the practical skills of its personnel in tackling maritime threats.

He said the Navy was providing an environment that would enable sustenance of economic activities, including Oil and Gas production, the safety of shipping and other activities at sea.

Al-hassan said seven ships and 37 riverine boats would be involved in the operation of the high sea exercise.

(NAN)
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

The Kaduna State Wing of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) on Thursday said it would shut down all public schools if the state sacks any of the 21,000 teachers that failed four examination.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the teachers’ union was reacting to the governor’s statement two weeks ago, in which he announced plans to sack 21,780 primary school teachers who allegedly failed a competency test and replace them with 25,000 new ones.
Audu Amba, NUT Chairman in the state said at a press conference in Kaduna, that the union would embark on total strike if the government sack any teacher.
Amba said that the decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the union executive council held on Thursday.
According to him, the teachers were not tested based on professionalism, adding that the NUT will only recognise test conducted by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria.
“The so-called competency test was not a true test, because you can only test a teacher by supervising him while he teaches in class,” he argued.
The NUT chairman described the 75 per cent pass mark used to determine those that failed as unacceptable, saying, “there is nowhere in the country where such mark is used.”
“What we agreed in the committee was 60 per cent, only for the Governor to use 75 per cent; yes, we agree that there are incompetent teachers among us, but the decision of the state government was not what we agreed at the committee level,” Amba said.
He nonetheless said that NUT would continue to support the government to bring about sanity in the teaching profession by ensuring that only qualified teachers are employed to teach.
“These teachers did not employ themselves; they were employed by the state government only to turn around and declare them unqualified.
“They are our members and we have a duty to protect our own,” he said.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai had revealed that the teachers failed the primary four examination set to test their competency.
He was perplexed teachers who could not pass the examination they set for their students and vowed to replace the teachers.
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

Chelsea will host AFC Bournemouth according to the quarter final draw for the Carabao Cup, in a match to be played at Stamford Bridge, the week commencing 18 December.
Coincidentally, Chelsea will also be hosting Bournemouth in the English premier League this weekend.
The London club last met Bournemouth in the League Cup in 1994/95, winning a second round tie 2-0 on aggregate.
In the other draws, Championship club, Bristol City have a mountain to climb as they would face Manchester United.
Arsenal will face West Ham, while Leicester City will host Manchester City.
The much expected draw today, was done late following technical problems experienced for two hours in a failed attempt to broadcast on Twitter.
The draw was intended to be shown live at 16:00 BST.
However, after four announcements explaining the delay, it was finally shown as a pre-recorded video, the BBC reported.
A statement from the EFL read: “The EFL has received an apology from Twitter UK for the delay which is believed to have occurred as a result of a faulty encoder.
“The EFL has requested a full explanation into the events that led to this afternoon’s unacceptable delay.”
A Twitter spokesman said: “We’re sorry for the issues that led to the delay of today’s round five draw. We would also like to apologise to the thousands of supporters who had been patiently awaiting news of who their team would be playing.”
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

The Kogi State Government said it has established a payroll fraud of N157.38million perpetrated by the bursar of the state polytechnic and four others.
All the indicted officers, who have been suspended from office, are all senior staff in the Bursary Department of the Kogi State Polytechnic.
Government said today that the money was diverted into the private accounts of the five officers, over three years, from April 2014 to May 2017.
The suspects who will soon face trial are: Dr Okia Abel Adama, the School Bursar; Momoh Adeyanju Yahaya, the Chief Accountant for Part-time Programme; Omale Isaac Damian, the Chief Accountant-Budget and Planning; Ebiloma Ilenwa, the Assistant Chief Acountant-Pay Roll, and Falodun Alfred Toyin, the Pay Roll Officer.
Government said N39.2million out of the money was pilfered through a bogus two-year salary arrears, while N41.7m was creamed off the staff salaries under an equally bogus deduction.
According to Petra Akinti Onyegbule, chief press secretary to the governor, N76.499m represented salary overpayment, which the five officers diverted into their private accounts.
“All the five of them have been suspended by the Governing Council of the Institution and they shall be prosecuted by the State Government in order for them to face the consequences of their fraudulent actions”, Onyegbule said.
“The State Executive Council on Wednesday gave the approval to prosecute the suspects, and subsequently directed the Attorney General and Commissioner For Justice to take the necessary judicial actions against them.
“It should be noted that the state is prosecuting them so that the stolen funds will be recovered back into government coffers, and for them to also face the full wrath of the law, if found guilty”.
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Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo

Fugitive former militant, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, has lost some of his assets to the Federal Government, temporarily, over his evasion of the court to answer fraud charges.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos today dismissed an appeal filed by him, seeking to set aside the decision of the Federal High Court, Lagos which empowered the EFCC to attach all the properties belonging to the ex-militant.
Justice I. N. Buba of the Federal High Court, Lagos on February 19,  2016 made an order attaching Tompolo’s properties for failure to appear to answer the charges against him.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on December 15, 2015 instituted a Criminal charge against Tompolo and nine others over allegations of fraud at Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA. 
However, despite substituted service of the Court Summons effected on him, Tompolo refused to appear in Court.
Consequently, Justice Buba issued a warrant of arrest against him. Armed with the Warrant of Arrest, the Commission launched a manhunt for him, but could not effect his arrest.
On February 19, 2016, the Commission, through its counsel, Festus Keyamo, SAN, prayed the Court for an order attaching the properties of Tompolo by seizure, pending his arrest or appearance before the Court.
The court granted the Commission’s request prompting Tompolo to appeal against the decision.
However, in a unanimous judgment today, the Court of Appeal held that Tompolo cannot be heard complaining that his properties are attached by the Court below, when he has not come to answer to the summons against him. 
The court held that the option available to Tompolo is to appear before the Federal High Court to apply for the order to be discharged, instead of filing the Appeal. The Court of Appeal was of the view that his private right of property has not been breached by the said order.
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Nigerian Air Force (NAF) says it has returned four Super Mushshak aircraft loaned to it by Pakistan Government.
Air Commodore Olatokunbo Adesanya, the Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF Headquarters, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.
He stated that the aircraft were for ab-initio flying training of pilots at 401 Flying Training School, Kaduna State.
Adesanya added that “the disassembled aircraft were loaded aboard cargo aircraft and flown out of Air Force Base, Kaduna State on Oct. 23.
“The aircraft were temporarily made available by Pakistan Government at no cost to NAF for training of pilots in December 2016, prior to delivery of 10 trainer aircraft ordered by NAF.”
The director explained that NAF used the four Super Mushshak trainer aircraft to train four instructor pilots and graduated 16 ab-initio student pilots, including two female pilots.
He explained further that the training took place at the 401 Flying Training School, Kaduna State.
Adesanya said the training had enhanced NAF’s ability to train its pilots locally, thereby helping to build the needed capacity to further prosecute the fight against insurgency in the North-East.
He said “having taken delivery of the first batch of five new trainer aircraft, there was no need any longer to retain the aircraft, hence their return, in line with the agreement between the two countries.”
The director added that NAF was expecting to receive the remaining five new Super Mushshak aircraft it ordered before the end of December.
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The Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Amb Thomas Quartey on Thursday said African countries were losing an average of 50 billion dollars annually through Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs).
Quartey said this in Abuja at a preparatory meeting towards Nigeria’s role as the champion of the 2018 African Union theme, “Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation”.
He said the money was being siphoned through the activities of multinational companies operating in the continent who siphoned its resources through massive corruption.
“This is taking place through weak transparency and accountability mechanisms that allow tax avoidance, trade misinvoicing, abusive transfer pricing, and many other ways used to deny Africa to reap its resources dividends.
“As a result, the continent loses an annual basis, an average of 50 million dollars through the IFFs.
“These funds could be used to drive socio-economic development and structural transformation of this continent to address major problems of unemployment, inequality, poverty and underdevelopment,” he said.
According to him there is also evidence that the social, legal, political and economic aspects of development are linked, and that corruption in any one sector, therefore, impedes development in all of them.
He said that where corruption was tacitly accepted as a means of doing business efforts to improve legal and regulatory frameworks were unlikely to succeed.
He said corruption flourished in an environment where public and private sector structures such as the rule of law and transparency of proceedings failed to protect and treat fairly the various stakeholders.
“In the extractive sector, illegal logging and mining, diversion of oil revenue and illicit appropriation of public assets have emerged as the overwhelming challenges of corruption,” he added.
He said the problem of corruption in Africa could not be tackled by crafting policies, which are exclusively domestic-oriented.
“At a minimum, there is need to sharply increase the transparency of the international financial system and to augment the capacity of States, so as to place an obstacle to illicit financial flows,” he said.
The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Olukunle Bamgbose, said the meeting was to brainstorm on the best way to consolidate common programmes and processes for continent-wide application of the anti-corruption agenda in all Member States.
Bamgbose said Africa would succeed in its anti-graft war if all countries in the continent stand as a united force, with the same vigour and commitment to combat corruption.
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

The President, Muhammadu Buhari, is presiding over the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

The weekly meeting which holds every Wednesdays was shifted to Thursday, October 26, 2017.

A tweet from the presidency’s handle @ngrpresidency, shows that the meeting is underway and the main focus is the 2018 budget.

The Buhari administration has indicated it wants to return to the January to December budget cycle.

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