Headline

Job Racketeering: Reps Grill FCC Officers As Victims Recount Ordeal

Published

2 years ago

August 8, 2023

Editor

… Say they paid millions into ex-FCC officer’s Account

Mr Andulamalik Ahmed and Ali Yaro both victims of alleged job racketeering at the Federal Character Commission (FCC) say they paid N1 million and N2 million respectively for job placement in the commission.

Ahmed and Yaro made this known when they appeared as witnesses at the ongoing investigation by the House of Representatives ad hoc committee probing job racketeering and mismanagement of IPPIS in Abuja on Tuesday.

Speaking on the issue, Ahmed, an indigene of Adamawa said he met the driver of the Commissioner, representing Taraba, Mr Yisha’u Gambo who promised to get him a job in the FCC on the condition that he paid the sum of N1 million.

He however said he refused to pay the money to Yisha’u because he was an ordinary driver.

“It was Yisha’u who introduced Mr Harunu Kolo, a former staff of the FCC and the desk officer of IPPIS in the commission.

“I paid N1 million into Kolo’s account when I confirmed that he was a staff of the commission, I refused to pay to the driver for security reasons.

“I transfered N1 million to Kolo’s account. We initially agreed on N1.5million with Gambo, a driver to the Commissioner, representing Taraba.”

He said 27 of them were issued appointment letters having paid the requested money, adding that in spite of the fact that appointment letters were issued, they were not posted to any designated MDAs.

“The Head of Human Resources in FCC confirmed to us that our appointments were genuine before they cleverly took it from us. I was engaged for two years before I was disengaged without posting.”

He said contrary to information by the FCC that there was no recruitment since 2017, there was recruitment in 2021 and all the commissioners had a hand in the recruitments exercise.

“Kolo convinced me to pay so that our employment can come after that of Directors and the Commissioners.”

Ahmed who betrayed emotion begged the committee to help get his job back, adding that he was not satisfied with receiving salary without doing the required job.

On the other hand, Yaro , another witness from Borno said he was made to pay N2 million to secure a job in the FCC.

“I paid N2 million into Badamasi Jalo’s account, another victim but acting as agent for collection of monies for Kolo.

“Kolo and Badamasi both assured me that I will get appointment letter in January,” he said, adding that he was captured on IPPIS on Aug. 5, 2021 but never got placement.

“I graduated 11 years ago and I had a chance to become Boko Haram but I refused because I wanted to be a good citizen,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rep Yusuf Gagdi, the Chairman of the committee said the testimonies from the two victims should encourage all Nigerians who have been shortchanged to appear.

“I am very happy that you said you had the offer to become a Boko Haram but refused.

” We cannot cry like you but our hearts blead for this country, we are going to do justice for you, we are not here to wich hunt anybody.

“You have told us who you gave money to. We will invite you again for a closed-door meeting with the other 27 victims , ” he said.

Gagdi re-invited Kolo to again appear before the committee on Wednesday by 10 a. m.

He also summoned the driver to the Taraba Commissioner and the Secretary to appear before the committee .

Headline

Welcome Home, Israel Confirms Return Of 20 Hostages From Gaza

Published

1 day ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

Israel said that the last 20 living hostages released by Hamas on Monday had arrived in the country.

“Welcome home,” the foreign ministry wrote in a series of posts on X, hailing the return of Matan Angrest, Gali Berman, Ziv Berman, Elkana Bohbot, Rom Braslavski, Nimrod Cohen, David Cunio, Ariel Cunio, Evyatar David, Guy Gilboa Dalal, Maxim Herkin, Eitan Horn, Segev Kalfon, Bar Kuperstein, Omri Miran, Eitan Mor, Yosef Haim Ohana, Alon Ohel, Avinatan Or and Matan Zangauker.

AFP

Headline

20 Members Of Gang Blacklisted By US Escape Guatemala Prison

Published

1 day ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

Twenty members of a gang designated a “foreign terrorist organisation” by the United States have escaped from detention in Guatemala, a prison chief said Sunday.

The members of the Barrio 18 gang “evaded security controls” at the Fraijanes II facility, prison director Ludin Godinez said at a news conference.

He received “an intelligence report” on Friday warning about the “possible escape” from the prison, which is southeast of the capital, Guatemala City.

Godinez said they were investigating possible acts of corruption.

Washington last month blacklisted Barrio 18, an El Salvador-based gang which has a reputation for violence and extortion, as part of its crackdown on drug trafficking.

The US embassy in Guatemala condemned the prison escape as “utterly unacceptable.”

“The United States designated members of this heinous group as the terrorists they are and will hold accountable anyone who has provided, provides, or decides to provide material support to these fugitives or other gang members,” the embassy said on X.

It called on the Guatemalan government to “act immediately and vigorously to recapture these terrorists.”

According to Interior Minister Francisco Jimenez, there are about 12,000 gang members and collaborators in Guatemala, while another 3,000 are in prison.

The country’s homicide rate has increased from 16.1 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2024 to 17.65 this year, more than double the world average, according to the Centre for National Economic Research.

According to the Salvadoran government, the gangs Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha, better known as MS-13, are responsible for the deaths of about 200,000 people over three decades.

The two gangs once controlled an estimated 80 percent of El Salvador, which had one of the highest homicide rates in the world.

Headline

South Africa Bus Crash Kills 40 Including Malawi, Zimbabwe Nationals

Published

1 day ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

At least 40 people, including nationals of Malawi and Zimbabwe, were killed when a passenger bus rolled down an embankment in South Africa, a provincial transport minister said Monday.

The bus travelling to Zimbabwe crashed around 90 kilometres (55 miles) from the border on Sunday after the driver apparently lost control, Limpopo province transport minister Violet Mathye said.

“They are still working on the scene, but 40 bodies have already been confirmed to date,” Mathye told the Newzroom Afrika channel. The dead included a 10-month-old girl, she said.

Thirty-eight people were in hospital and rescuers were searching for other victims, she told eNCA media.

The bus was travelling from the southern city of Gqeberha, around 1,500 kilometres away, and its passengers included Malawians and Zimbabweans who were working in South Africa. The crash may have been caused by driver fatigue or a mechanical fault, the minister said.

South Africa has a sophisticated and busy road network with a high rate of road deaths, blamed mostly on speeding, reckless driving and unroadworthy vehicles.

AFP