News

Asset Forfeiture: FG Behind Ekweremadu’s UK Ordeal – Ohanaeze Alleges

Published

3 years ago

November 6, 2022

An apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has accused the Federal Government of masterminding the ordeal of former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu in the UK.

Ohanaeze was reacting to the Friday ruling of a Federal High Court in Abuja ordering interim forfeiture of 40 properties allegedly linked to Ekweremadu.

In a statement on Sunday, the National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, said it was immoral to attack a man whose hands were tied to his back and unable to defend himself.

Ohanaeze Youth Council lamented what it described as a pattern of persecution and humiliation of people from one part of the country by the EFCC, insisting it was time the monopoly of the agency by one part of country is ended through the immediate appointment of a new EFCC Chairman from the south.

“The ex-parte interim assets forfeiture order by Federal High Court, Abuja, is to say the least most cruel and whoever filed that suit at this time that Ekweremadu is incarcerated and unable to defend himself has no conscience or slightest regard for the cardinal pillars of law and justice, particularly the principle of “audi alteram partem” (“let the other side be heard as well”).

“This has also proved our suspicion all along that some highly placed personalities were behind Ekweremadu’s UK ordeal”, he stated.

Ohanaeze wondered when it became a crime under Nigerian laws to own properties or be involved in properties business, especially since the EFCC could not pin any crime on him for over six years that they have been on Ekweremadu’s matter.

“Ekweremadu’s name was not mentioned anywhere in all the scandals supposedly uncovered by the EFCC since the All progressives Congress came to power.

“Moreover, EFCC’s claim that its investigators traced to Ekweremadu properties that he had dutifully declared in his assets declaration is ridiculous and not different from Mungo Park travelling thousands from Scotland to discover the River Niger.

“With court’s direction to the EFCC to publish the said properties in national dailies for any interested persons to show cause why they should not be permanently forfeited to the government, how is Ekweremadu, who is in custody in the UK access documents or properly brief his lawyers to show that the said properties were not proceeds of crime?

“EFCC’s action, therefore, conforms to the worrisome pattern of assets stripping of southern businesses and individuals because having failed to establish any case against the lawmaker for the past six years, the EFCC saw his UK ordeal over the daughter’s health as an opportunity to strip him of his assets and rubbish his reputation, knowing he is not in a position to defend himself. Is that what our anti-corruption and justice system are about?” the statement read.

The Ohanaeze Youth Council Worldwide equally accused the EFCC of working with Ekweremadu’s prosecutors in the UK to keep him permanently in custody to, among other things, perfect their agenda to destroy the lawmaker economically, politically, and socially.

“It will interest Nigerians to know that in a bid to please the London Metropolitan Police, which has been its benefactor since inception; in a bid to confiscate Ekweremdu’s assets; and for whatever promises of ensuring they secure their future outside EFCC after President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, the EFCC penned a malicious letter for the London Metropolitan Police, which the prosecutors tendered against Ekweremadu’s bail in London court back in July.

“In the said letter, the EFCC equally assured the Metropolitan Police that they would move against Ekweremadu’s assets immediately, all in the bid to help the Metropolitan Police present him as a man of means and a flight risk.

“How do the EFCC and London Metropolitan Police explain that Senator Ekweremadu’s matter could not be taken on Monday the 31st October as earlier scheduled and that other days proposed by the Senator’s lawyers were rejected, except Monday the 7th of November, but only for an ex-parte order to be sought and obtained on Friday 4th October, obviously to be weaponised against the prospects of Ekweremadu’s bail on Monday 7th?

“Why is it so auspicious for the EFCC and their London collaborators to orchestrate Ekweremadu’s continuous detention as against allowing him to defend himself in line with the law?

“Why is the EFCC so bent on continually infusing themselves into the case of Ekweremadu’s daughter’s health with extraneous issues?

“Unable to charge Ekweremadu since 2016, shouldn’t an institution truly fighting corruption have demanded for his repatriation so that he could personally answer for himself in Nigerian courts where these matters are alleged to have taken place?” they queried.

The Ohanaeze youth body said it was quite unimaginable that a UK parliamentarian or US congressman could be treated this way by a UK or US agency over a yet to be proven case of conspiracy to traffic a person.

“Their governments would usually insist on the innocence of even ordinary citizens and do all they can to secure their freedom. Even the Nigerian government did exactly the same for Jigawa State-born Zainab Aliyu, who was caught with banned drugs in Saudi Arabia. If the Nigerian Government will not intervene for Ekweremadu as it did for Zainab, why should its agency be working hand-in-glove with Ekweremadu’s prosecutors to keep him continually in detention without bail or accelerated trial?

“From Nuhu Ribadu to Farida Waziri, to Ibrahim Lamorde, to Ibrahim Magu, and now Abdulrasheed Bawa, it has become clear that the monopoly of the leadership of the EFCC by people from the northern part of the country since inception has resulted in the corrosive deployment of the agency against the people from the southern part of the country.

“Could the EFCC have taken this unpatriotic and wicked step against a northern senator fighting a battle of his life, fighting for his reputation, fighting for his freedom and for the survival of a very sick child in a foreign land?

“We therefore hold that now time to end this wicked monopoly at the EFCC and for the south to head the EFCC”, Ohanaeze Youth Council concluded.
DAILY POST

News

VIDEO: Why I’ve Never Tried Convincing My Christian Wife To Convert To Islam — Tinubu

Published

4 hours ago

October 4, 2025

Editor

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has explained why he has never attempted to convince his wife, First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, to convert to Islam, stressing his belief in love, religious freedom, and mutual respect among people of different faiths.

Speaking on Saturday at the funeral service of Nana Lydia Yilwatda, mother of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwada, Tinubu said his marriage to a Christian pastor has never created any conflict in their home.

The president, who arrived in Jos, Plateau State around 2 p.m. for the ceremony at the COCIN headquarters church, said he inherited Islam from his family and has always upheld the principle of freedom of religion.

He noted that both he and the First Lady serve the same God and would ultimately be answerable to Him, adding that what matters most are people’s deeds, character, and love for others.

Tinubu urged Nigerians to embrace tolerance and peaceful coexistence, emphasising that hate should never have a place in the country.

He also prayed for the repose of the soul of the late Lydia Yilwada and asked God to grant comfort and blessings to those she left behind.

He said, “Hate is not an option for us. Love is what you preach, that we should love one another.

“Nobody, nobody determines what God has ordained. God’s ordained action and his promises are what matter. I inherited Islam from my family. I didn’t change. But my wife is a pastor. She prays for me.

“No conflict. And I never did at any single time try to convince her or convert her. I believe in the freedom of religion.

“We are praying to the same God. We are answerable to the same almighty God. We will answer to him. We will account to him. Our deeds, our character, our love for our fellow beings are what are important.

“May the almighty accept the soul of Lydia and give all that she left behind blessings and glory, so we say, may her soul rest in peace.”

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Tribune Online (@tribuneonlineng)
Advertisement

News

UK Police Quiz Six After Fatal Synagogue Attack

Published

7 hours ago

October 4, 2025

Editor

Six people arrested on suspicion of “terrorism”-linked offences after a fatal car-ramming and knife attack on a UK synagogue remained in police custody on Saturday, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged people not to take part in pro-Palestinian protests.

Two people were killed and three others seriously wounded in Thursday’s attack in northwestern Manchester on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

Police shot dead the assailant, Jihad Al-Shamie, a 35-year-old UK citizen of Syrian descent, within minutes of the alarm being raised.

Three men and three women are in custody.

The attack has heightened fear among Britain’s Jewish community.

Police said they were patrolling places of worship across the city “with a particular focus on providing a high-visibility presence within our Jewish communities”.

The attack on Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in north Manchester was one of the worst antisemitic incidents in Europe since the October 7, 2023, attack in Israel led by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive on the Gaza Strip has killed at least 66,288 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to health ministry figures in the occupied territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

The Gaza conflict has inflamed passions in Britain, with frequent pro-Palestinian rallies in cities that some critics allege have stoked antisemitism.

A “global movement for Gaza UK” protest went ahead in London late on Thursday, with police making 40 arrests.

London’s Metropolitan Police asked organisers delay another planned demonstration backing the banned Palestine Action group later on Saturday.

However, organisers Defend Our Juries rejected the calls.

A spokesman said the group “stood in solidarity” with the Jewish community over the attack.

– Accidental shooting –

Starmer urged protesters not to join the pro-Palestinian rally.

“I urge anyone thinking about protesting this weekend to recognise and respect the grief of British Jews. This is a moment of mourning. It is not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain,” he said on X.

During the attack, Shamie was seen “with a big knife, banging his knife into the glass, trying to get through”, synagogue chairman of trustees Alan Levy, who helped barricade the doors, told ITV News.

“The heroes of the congregation who saw what was happening then came to the doors because he was trying to break the doors down to get in,” he added.

A UK police watchdog, meanwhile, said it would look at the police shooting of Shamie.

The probe would also look at the shooting of a second victim who suffered a fatal gunshot and a third person who was shot but survived.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said there was no evidence anyone other than police used firearms at the scene.

“Our independent investigation will look at the circumstances surrounding the fatal police shooting of Jihad Al-Shamie,” it said in a statement.

“A post mortem has today (Friday) concluded another man who died at the scene suffered a fatal gunshot wound.”

IOPC investigations are standard practice in situations where the use of force by police may have resulted in the death of a member of the public.

News

Edo Inaugurates Committee On Drug Abuse, Healthy Living

Published

11 hours ago

October 4, 2025

Editor

L-R: ACGN, NDLEA, Fidelis Cocodia, Deputy Governor of Edo State, Hon. Dennis Idahosa and Coordinator, Office of the First Lady, Edo State, Mrs. Edesili Okpebholo Anani during the Inauguration

Edo State Government has inaugurated Drug Control Committee for the state and local governments, aimed at curbing the menace of drug abuse in the state.

Inaugurating the committee, Governor Monday Okpehbolo said the committee was not only saddled with the responsibility of curbing the menace of illicit substances, but to promote healthier living across communities in the state.

Represented by his deputy, Hon. Dennis Idahosa, Okpebholo described the initiative as “a vital step in our unwavering commitment to stopping the menace of drug trafficking and substance use among youths.”

The governor, who bemoaned the rising tide of drug dependency and its impact on society, pointed out that the committee’s creation aligns with the national drug master plan and represents a bold stride toward protecting Edo future generations.

On his part, Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, represented by ACGN, Fidelis Cocodia, Zonal Commander, Zone 13, emphasised grassroots interventions, awareness campaigns, and support systems as the backbone of the fight against drug abuse.

Edo State commander of the NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju disclosed that while national drug use prevalence stands at 14.4 percent, Edo state surpasses the average at 15 percent.

He noted that the state is one of the hardest-hit states in the country, warning that the trend has fueled crime and heightened youth vulnerability.

The state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Cyril Oshiomhole pledged to make Edo a model in drug control through rehabilitation, youth enlightenment, and second-chance opportunities for recovering addicts.

Coordinator, Office of the First Lady, Edo State, Mrs. Edesili Okpebholo Anani, described drug abuse as a pandemic, noting that “you hardly see a crime without drugs being involved.”

She added that women’s empathy and influence must be harnessed in the campaign against drug abuse.