Headline
Anger As Ameachi Plans To Construct Modern Rail In North, Old Model In Other Parts Of Nigeria
Published
4 years agoon
By
Editor
Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Transportation, incurred the wrath of the Joint Committee on Land and Marine Transportation on Thursday at a budget defence in Abuja for what they called discrimination in rail construction.
The lawmakers accused the Minister of constructing a standard narrow gauge for the Kano-Maradi Rail line to the neighbouring Niger while constructing an old narrow gauge for other parts of Nigeria.
They protested seriously that the budget approvals which the Ministry has enjoyed so far were for equal and national development, asking why other parts of the country were not equally treated.
Amaechi and other heads of agencies and parastatals under the transport Ministry appeared before the Joint Committee for the 2022 budget defence.
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Reacting, the Minister said: “The construction of Kaduna -Kano railways to link up the Abuja-Kaduna rail line has commenced. Survey and Design for Ibadan -Minna – Abuja is ongoing.
“Construction of the 284 kilometres Nigeria. -Maradi (Niger Republic) standard gauge, rail line enabling interconnectivity with countries in the West Africa sub-region for the promotion of trade and commerce.
“This important contribution by Nigeria would be mutually beneficial by adding to the economic growth of the two countries.”
Chairman of Senate Committee on Marine Transport, Senator Danjuma Goje and House Committee Chairman, Pat Azadu kicked against the marginalization of other regions of the country in the construction rail line.
Goje, while querying the Minister expressed his discontentment over discrimination in railway construction, noting that giving Kano-Maradi modern rail lines and constructing old rail lines to other regions was unacceptable for any reason.
The Chairman Committee on Port, Pat Asadu who opened the floor after the Minister presented the budget to the Committee asked why the construction of modern rail lines for one place and constructing old rail lines to other parts of the country.
He queried, “Why won’t you construct narrow-gauge across the country so that we can develop equally. I can’t sit down and approve this. These are done with such impunity, my heart bleeds. This had been reoccurring.”
The Senate Committee Chairman on Marine Transport supported the observation of Hon. Asadu.
He asked, “why you will give us an old rail line and spending a lot of money to standard gauge to Maradi”.
According to him, I completely concur with the statement of Honorable member in the House of Representatives.
Ameachi while responding to the issue raised by the Committee said that the difference between the narrow gauge and standard gauge is speed adding that the country may not get the money to standard gauge across the country.
He said that the negotiation for a loan for the construction of the Kano-Maradi standard gauge line is about to be completed.
He also clarified that his ministry was yet to get money for Kano-Kaduna, Port Harcourt-Maiduguri railway projects. “The only money we have gotten is $1.4bn for the Lagos-Ibadan rail project,” he said.
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On the economic justification for constructing the $1. 3bn Kano-Maradi rail, Ameachi said the project was not based on sentiments but on economic benefits for the country.
He said on completion of the Kano-Maradi and Kano to Lagos railway, all national cargoes from the Niger Republic, like uranium and gold, would be moved through the Nigerian seaport from that corridor.
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Ghana’s President Sacks Chief Justice Over Corruption Allegations
Published
2 hours agoon
September 1, 2025By
Editor
President John Dramani Mahama has dismissed the Chief Justice of Ghana following the outcome of a high-level investigation into allegations of falsifying judicial records and misusing public funds.
A five-member commission, chaired by a Supreme Court judge and set up by Mahama, concluded that the allegations against the country’s top judicial officer were substantiated and recommended her removal.
“After considering the petition and the evidence, the Committee found that the grounds of stated misbehaviour under Article 146(1) had been established and recommended her removal from office,” said the spokesperson to the President, Felix Ofosu, in a statement on Monday.
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“President John Dramani Mahama has accordingly removed the Chief Justice from office with immediate effect.”
The dismissal marks the first time a sitting Chief Justice in Ghana has been investigated and dismissed from office.
While Mahama, who took office in January, has repeatedly pledged to intensify the fight against corruption, it remains unclear whether the embattled Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkonoo, will face criminal prosecution.
Headline
Danish Court Sentences Ex-minister To Prison For Child Abuse Material
Published
2 hours agoon
September 1, 2025By
Editor
A former Danish government minister was jailed for four months on Monday for possession of thousands of images of child sexual abuse.
Henrik Sass Larsen, once a senior Social Democrat who served as industry minister, admitted to having more than 6,000 photographs and 2,000 videos on his computer depicting sexual abuse of children.
He had denied the charges, saying he had the material because he was trying to find out who had abused him as a child.
Prosecutor Maria Cingari said she was “satisfied” with the verdict but added that it was sad that someone “who managed to make the most out of their life despite a bad start finds himself in such a situation.”
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“You should never be in possession of child pornography, no matter the reason,” Cingari added.
During his trial, the 59-year-old told the court he had received a link in 2018 to a 50-year-old video showing him being sexually abused when he was three years old.
He testified that he received another video clip in 2020, in which a three-year-old girl was raped in his presence when he was around the same age.
The two videos disappeared after he viewed them, he said.
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He told the court he regretted not having contacted the police when he received the videos.
Sass Larsen was also accused of being in possession of a child sex doll, but the court did not find him guilty on that charge.
His lawyer, Berit Ernst, told reporters that “we’ll see if it is a definitive end or if we will appeal.”
The scandal came to light last March and led to his expulsion from the Social Democratic Party.
At the time, Social Democratic Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen expressed her shock over the case.
AFP
Headline
Nigerian Man Pleads Guilty In US To $405,000 Romance Scam Against American Women
Published
2 days agoon
August 30, 2025By
Editor
A40-year-old Nigerian man, Daniel Chima Inweregbu, has pleaded guilty in the United States to charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, as well as money laundering, in connection with a romance scam that defrauded American women of more than $405,000.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana, in a statement on Thursday, said Inweregbu and his co-conspirators ran the scheme between July 2017 and December 2018, using a fake online persona named “Larry Pham” to lure victims on dating sites and social media targeting US citizens.
Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson said that Inweregbu, described as a citizen of Lagos, Nigeria, pleaded guilty on August 21, 2025 before United States District Judge Nanette Jolivette Brown to two of the counts pending against him.
The counts which include conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and using an assumed name to commit a mail fraud scheme, Attorney Simpson said were in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1341, 1342, 1343 and 1349 (Count 1), and conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1956(a)(1)(B)(i), 1957, and 1956(h) (Count 12). INWEREGBU’s plea stemmed from his role in a lengthy romance scam targeting American citizens.
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According to court documents, a “romance scam” was a confidence scheme in which the perpetrator feigned romantic intentions towards a victim, gained their affection, and used the victim’s goodwill to commit fraud.
“These fraudulent acts might involve such acts as obtaining access to the victim’s money, bank accounts, credit cards, passports, e-mail accounts, or national identification numbers; convincing the victim to transmit things of value to the perpetrator or his witting or unwitting co-conspirators; or inducing the victim to, unintentionally, commit or participate in the commission of financial fraud against third parties on behalf of the perpetrator,” the statement read.
It added, “Between at least July 1, 2017, and December 16, 2018, Inweregbu, and his co-conspirators, devised and operated a “romance scam” whereby they sought to obtain money and property from multiple American women, including 4 victims, by means of false and fraudulent representations and promises.
“Specifically, Inweregbu and his co-conspirators created profiles on social media and online dating sites using the alias “Larry Pham,” purportedly a middle-aged male, to attract middle-aged female victims.
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“The co-conspirators, including Inweregbu, used online messaging platforms and email, to contact victims, introduce themselves, and appeal to victims’ longing for companionship. If the victim responded favorably, Inweregbu and his co-conspirators began to cultivate a romantic relationship that emotionally attached the victims to “Larry Pham.”
“Once the relationship was established, the defendant and his co-conspirators, posing as Larry Pham, requested victims send them money under various scams and ruses to domestic bank accounts they opened and managed. Inweregbu’s scheme resulted in actual and intended losses to the victims of over $405,000.
“Thereafter, Inweregbu and his co-conspirators laundered the funds, by conducting financial transactions using the proceeds of their wire and mail fraud scheme, designed in whole or in part to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the proceeds, by directing the victims’ funds through intermediaries.
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“Inweregbu faces up to twenty years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a fine of $250,000 as to Count 1. He faces up to twenty years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a fine of $500,000 as to Count 12. He also faces payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee per count. Sentencing before Judge Brown has been scheduled for December 4, 2025,” the partly read.
Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson, according to the statement praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter and expressed appreciation for the great support provided by United States Department of Justice Office of International Affairs and the United States Department of State.
“Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg, Chief of the Public Integrity Unit, is in charge of the prosecution,” the statement noted.
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