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How N2bn Was Siphoned From FIRS Under Guise Of Duty Tour Allowance – EFCC Witness

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An operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ijeoma Matilda on Wednesday narrated to a Federal High Court in Abuja how N2 billion was allegedly siphoned from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) under the guise of duty tour allowance.

The operative made the revelation while testifying for EFCC in the trial of Emmanuella Eteta Ita, Head of Stakeholders Unit of the FIRS and Surestart School Limited before Justice Folasade Giwa Ogunbanjo.

She told the court that sometime in November 2015, EFCC received an intelligence report alleging that the former Coordinating Director of the FIRS, Mr Peter Hena conspired with the first defendant using the staff of the unit to siphon money from the FIRS through Duty Tour Allowances, DTA, to the tune of over N2bn.

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Led in evidence by EFCC lawyer, Mr Ekele Iheanacho, Matilda who is the fourth witness in the trial explained in detail how the anti-graft agency waded into the matter and found a mouth boggling alleged fraud.

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“We went ahead to investigate the first defendant, (Emmanuella Eteta Ita), she denied receiving any money from Peter Hena.

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“She however admitted that Peter Hena gave her a bag to give to the then EFCC chairman, Mr. Tunde Fowler, the contents of which she said she did not know.

“We further investigated the first defendant’s United Bank for Africa (UBA) salary account, where we discovered various payments from FIRS, for various reasons. We also found out that between 2015 and 2017, she had received a total sum of N277.5m.

“She received another N173, 346,219.50 for DTA and entertainment expenses.

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“From the above sum, we discovered that she transferred N145.8m between 2015 and 2017, to the account of the second defendant (Surestart School Limited).”

The witness further disclosed that the first defendant could only account for N32. 4m during reconciliation of her account.

“We also verified some of the receipts, belonging to Lomein Express Ltd and discovered that 26 of the documents amounting to N76.4m were forged as confirmed by the owner of the company.”

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Also testifying, the 5th prosecution witness, Mr. Ibom Uche, a Director of Accounts with the FIRS told the court that sometimes in October 2020, the EFCC sent a letter addressed to the Executive Chairman of FIRS, which was minuted to him to certify some documents, which he carried out.

He narrated to the court the procedure for funds approval, processing, and disbursement from his office.

Under cross-examination by Benjamin Ogbayi, counsel to the first defendant and Andrew Hassien, counsel to the second defendant, the witness pointed out that he only worked based on the instructions.

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Justice Ogunbajo has however adjourned further hearing to November 26, 2021.

(DAILY POST)

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Tanzania Protesters Loot Singer Juma Jux Fashion Store

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Tanzanian protesters have reportedly looted singer Juma Jux’s fashion store.

Unrest erupted on Thursday after a disputed general election marked by disqualification and detention of the key opposition figures in Tanzania.

The protesters are demanding cancellation of the election results, alleging irregularities in the country’s presidential election.

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READ ALSO:Police Rescue Suspected Phone Thief From Being Lynched In Delta

Amid the development, a controversial post by an X user Bolaji Fesomade alleged that the singer store valued at $780 million has been set ablaze by protesters.

Reacting to the report, Juma Jux’s wife, Priscilla Ojo on her Snapchat account, dismissed the claims, noting that the store was looted and not burnt.

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She simply wrote; “Looted not Burnt”.

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12 Feared Dead In Kenya Light Aircraft Crash

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A small plane travelling from Kenya’s coast crashed on Tuesday, according to the country’s aviation authority, with the 12 people on board feared dead.

The small plane was en route to Kichwa Tembo — a private airstrip located in the Maasai Mara National Park — from the tourist hotspot of Diani when it came down at around 5:30am local time (0230 GMT).

“The aircraft had 12 persons on board,” a statement from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) said.

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It gave no further details, but said that government agencies were already on site to establish the cause of the accident.

READ ALSO:Putin Admits Russia Caused Azerbaijani Plane Crash

The Guardian reports that plane crashes are fairly common in Kenya in the last 18 months. On March 5, 2024, a mid-air collision between a Safarilink Aviation commercial flight and a 99 Flying School training aircraft occurred over the Nairobi National Park, resulting in two fatalities.

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The incident took place shortly after both aircraft had departed Wilson Airport. The collision involved Safarilink Aviation Flight 053, a De Havilland Canada Dash 8 carrying 39 passengers and five crew members, and a 99 Flying School Cessna 172M.

AMREF Aircraft Crash

In August, a light aircraft belonging to the AMREF Flying Doctors crashed into a residential area in Mwihoko, Ruiru, Kiambu County, killing six people and injuring at least two others.

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The aircraft, a Cessna Citation XLS (registration 5Y-FDM), had taken off from Wilson Airport and was en route to Hargeisa, Somalia, when it went down under unclear circumstances.

READ ALSO:Fire On Board Forces Lagos-Atlanta-bound Aircraft Diversion To Ghana

AMREF Flying Doctors CEO Stephen Gitau issued a statement confirming the incident. Mr Gitau noted that the aircraft departed Wilson Airport at 2.17 PM before crashing in Mwihoko. He stated that the organisation is “cooperating fully with relevant aviation authorities and emergency response teams to establish the facts surrounding the situation.”

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Foreign Couple Killed in Kenyan Plane Crash, Earlier in January, a light aircraft crash killed a foreign couple aboard. The accident involved a Cessna 185 aircraft that departed from Nairobi and was en route to Mbaruk in Nakuru County. It went down in the lakeside town of Naivasha at approximately 5:14 p.m. local time (1414 GMT).

At the time, Naivasha Police Deputy Chief Charles Mwai suggested that poor visibility due to fog in the area might have been a contributing factor. Aviation experts have been called to the scene to conduct an investigation.

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UK Police Arrest Asylum Seeker Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed

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The UK police on Sunday arrested an Ethiopian asylum seeker and convicted sex offender, whose crimes had sparked anti-immigration protests, after he was accidentally released from prison in an embarrassing blunder by British authorities.

London’s Metropolitan Police said officers arrested Hadush Kebatu in the north of the capital on Sunday morning, nearly 48 hours after he was mistakenly freed around 30 miles (48 kilometres) away.

Kebatu, 38, had served the first month of a one-year sentence for sexually assaulting a teenage girl and a woman, but was reportedly due to be deported when the Prison Service error occurred on Friday.

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His high-profile case earlier this year in Epping, northeast of London, sparked demonstrations in various English towns and cities where asylum seekers were believed to be housed, as well as counter-protests.

READ ALSO:UK Police Hunt Asylum Seeker Mistakenly Freed For Sex Offence

Commander James Conway, who oversaw the manhunt for him, said “information from the public” led officers to the Finsbury Park neighbourhood of London, where he was found.

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He was detained by police but will be returned to the custody of the Prison Service,” he added.

Kebatu is now expected to be deported.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Friday he was “appalled” by the “totally unacceptable” mistake that saw him freed rather than sent to an immigration detention centre.

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The Telegraph newspaper said he was wrongly categorised for release on licence and handed a £76 ($101) discharge grant.

READ ALSO:Alleged Misappropriation: MFM Accuses UK Agency Of Discrimination

Police had appealed Saturday for Kebatu to turn himself in, after reports emerged that he had appeared confused and reluctant to leave the prison in Chelmsford, eastern England.

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A delivery driver described seeing Kebatu return several times in a “very confused” state, only to be turned away by staff and directed to the railway station.

The driver told Sky News he saw Kebatu outside the jail, asking, “Where am I going? What am I doing?”

He was starting to get upset, he was getting stressed,” the driver said.

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READ ALSO:UK Is A Home, Not Hotel, Kemi Badenoch Tells Immigrants, Starmer’s Govt

The father of Kebatu’s anonymous teenage victim told the broadcaster that “the justice system has let us down.”

Police arrested the asylum seeker in July after he repeatedly tried to kiss a 14-year-old girl and touch her legs, and made sexually explicit comments to her.

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He also sexually assaulted an adult woman, placing a hand on her thigh, when she intervened to stop his interactions with the girl.

He was staying at the time at Epping’s Bell Hotel, where scores of other asylum seekers have been accommodated, and which became the target of repeated protests.

AFP

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