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Obi-Datti One Million March Grounds Benin, Ex-Edo Attorney-General Joins Movement [PHOTOS/VIDEO]

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Benin City, the Edo State capital was held for several hours on Saturday, October 1st, 2022, as the Obi-Datti Movement embarked on one million-march in solidarity for Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, and his deputy, Yusuf Baba-Ahmed, ahead the 2023 elections.

Cab drivers, bus drivers, wheelbarrow pushers and shop owners closed their shops to join the solidarity movement.

Vehicular movements from adjoining roads to the centre of Benin metropolis popularly called Ring Road were all obstructed for several hours as the supporters in their large numbers joined the peaceful movement with branded T-shirts and blaring music.

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Vehicles from djoining roads as Airport Road; Sokponba Road; Akpakpava Road, Sapele Road; Mission Road; Forest Road and Ekewan Road had to take a U-turn as the routes were all taken over by the Obi-Datti supporters.

READ ALSO: Labour Party, Peter Obi’s Supporters Shut Down Awka In Solidarity March

The one million-march was led by Edo State Labour Party Chairman, Kelly Ogbaloi and former Attorney-General of the State, Osagie Obayuwana.

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Speaking, Obayuwana described Labour Party as party of the masses, adding that the movement was not about LP in particular but about a new Nigeria.

Obayuwana charged the people to go home and take the message to the nook and cranny of the state with the view of changing the narrative.

He said the country is rich and can afford to take care of its citizens adding that just recently some individuals were refunding money in millions all in the name of renting allowances.

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Obayuwana said those who were given the money were already having their houses stating that with Obi, such corruption will stop and the money meant for the people will no longer go into the hands of few individuals in the country.

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Abuja Court Jails Ex-legislative Aide For N120m Fraud

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A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Jabi on Monday sentenced a former legislative aide and banker, Mr Goni Yilkan, to eight years in prison for obtaining N120.58 million by false pretence.

Justice F. E. Messiri found Yilkan guilty of a two-count employment scam charge, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission revealed in a statement issued via its X handle on Tuesday.

Yilkan, who hails from Nguru, Yobe State, was found guilty on a two-count charge of obtaining money by false pretence, contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act, and consequently sentenced to eight years imprisonment without option of fine,” the statement read.

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According to EFCC, the convict was arraigned alongside one Mohammed Adamu in October 2023, following investigations into a petitioner’s claims of being defrauded by the convict.

READ ALSO:Google Faces Court Battle Over Breakup Of Ad Tech Business

One of the charges read: “That you, Mohammed Goni Yilkan, Mohammed Adamu and others at large between 3rd January 2020 and December 2021 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory with intent to defraud obtained the sum of N120, 580, 550 (One Hundred and Twenty Million, Five Hundred and Eighty Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty Naira) from Mrs. Hindatu Bello under the false pretence that you had the capacity to secure jobs for her candidates in various Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria which pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”

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In the course of the trial, EFCC said the petitioner explained that “Yilkan deceived her between 2020 and 2021 into believing that he had the capacity to secure employment slots in government agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

“On this strength, the petitioner collected varying sums of money from over 60 jobseekers, amounting to N120,580,550.00 (One Hundred and Twenty Million, Five Hundred and Eighty Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty Naira), which she allegedly remitted to the convict.”

However, the purported employment offers never materialised, prompting Bello to petition the EFCC.

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READ ALSO:Court Dissolves Marriage Over Frequent Fights

The prosecution, led by Cosmas Ugwu, called six witnesses and tendered documentary evidence, while the defence, led by J.A. Oguche, presented two witnesses, including Yilkan himself.

In his judgment, Justice Messiri held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, convicted Yilkan, but discharged and acquitted his co-defendant, Adamu.

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The judge further sentenced Yilkan to eight years’ imprisonment without an option of fine.

Earlier, The PUNCH reported that the EFCC Ilorin Zonal Directorate arrested 28 suspected internet fraudsters in Kwara State.

The suspects, according to a statement on Monday, “were picked up in the early hours of Tuesday during sting operations carried out in Tanke, University Road, Oshin, and Agbabiaka areas of the state capital.”

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Soldiers Who Sold Arms To Terrorists Sentenced To Death

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A special court-martial of the Nigerian Army in Maiduguri, Borno State, has sentenced three soldiers to life imprisonment and another to 15 years for illegal arms deals carried out in connivance with police officers and terrorists.

The trial, presided over by Brigadier General Ugochukwu Unachukwu, acting General Officer Commanding 7 Division and Commander of Sector 1, Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), took place at the Officers’ Mess of the Theatre Command Headquarters in Maiduguri.

Delivering judgment, Brigadier General Mohammed Abdullahi, president of the court-martial, pronounced Raphael Ameh, a sergeant; Ejiga Musa, a sergeant; and Patrick Ocheje, a lance corporal, guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

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Omitoye Rufus, a corporal, was however handed a 15-year jail term.

READ ALSO:Tricycle Riders Sentenced To Five Years Over WhatsApp Group Mobilising Protest Against Nigerian Gov

The soldiers were convicted of offences ranging from theft and unlawful dealing in ammunition to aiding the enemy, all punishable under the Armed Forces Act.

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Ameh, who served as an armourer at the 7 Division Garrison, was found to have conspired with a deceased colleague to steal ammunition from the division’s armoury.

He worked with police officers to conceal weapons in bags of beans and smuggle them to Enugu and Ebonyi for criminals.

Abdullahi revealed that bank records linked Ameh to over 100 suspicious transactions between July 2022 and June 2024.

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READ ALSO:US Court Sentences Osun Monarch To Prison Over $4.2m Fraud

Musa, while serving as armourer of 195 Battalion, was discovered to have collaborated with Ocheje and police officers in selling an AK-47 rifle and large quantities of ammunition.

Records showed he collected more than ₦500,000 from the transactions before he was arrested while attempting to sell more ammunition.

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Rufus was convicted for selling 40 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition to a police officer, while Ocheje, who was deployed at the forward operating base in Molai, was found guilty of diverting ammunition during communal clashes at the instigation of a police officer.

He also stole an AK-47 rifle belonging to a colleague.

READ ALSO:Popular Singer Hamisu Breaker, TikToker G. Fresh Sentenced To Prison For Naira Abuse

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The court held that their actions directly endangered military operations and national security, amounting to aiding the enemy.

Condemning the convicts, Abdullahi described them as “bad eggs” who betrayed the trust, discipline, and honour expected of soldiers in the fight against insurgency.

He restated the army’s zero-tolerance stance on the sale of arms or ammunition to adversaries “in whatever form or guise.”

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BREAKING: Bodies Of 8 Missing Policemen Recovered In Benue

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Lifeless bodies of the eight policemen who were declared missing after a deadly attack on security operatives at Agu Centre, on the border of Katsina-Ala and Ukum LGAs of Benue State, have been recovered.

Dr Justin Shaku, Chairman of Katsina-Ala LGA disclosed this to reporters in Makurdi on Monday.

According to him, “this brings the number of officers killed to 11 (10 policemen and one BSCPG)”.

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READ ALSO: Benue Assembly Amends Law, Renames State Varsity

The unfortunate incident occurred on Friday, when a team of security operatives came under the attack of armed invaders.

Three personnel were immediately confirmed dead while eight others were declared missing.

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