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EFCC demands certificate to prove death of former Petroleum Ministry Director standing trial over P&ID scam

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Wednesday expressed doubt over the claim by Barrister Daniel Alumun that Grace Taiga, a former Director of Legal, Ministry of Petroleum Resources was dead.

Alumun had on November 4, 2023, informed the Federal Capital Territory High Court that his client, Grace Taiga had died.

Taiga is standing trial before Justice Olukayode Adeniyi on allegations bordering on bribery in the controversial Gas Supply Processing Agreement between Process and Industrial Development and the Federal Government of Nigeria.

She was first arraigned on September 20, 2019, in the case marked, FCT/HC/CR/504/19. The further amendments to the charges, Taiga was subsequently re-arraigned twice on October 3, 2020, and January 10, 2021.

In the 13-count amended charge preferred against her by the anti-graft agency, Taiga was accused of receiving a bribe through her offshore bank account in signing the controversial GPSA.

The EFCC claimed that she violated various laws by entering into the agreement without the approval of the Federal Executive Council and without obtaining a Certificate of No Objection to the contract from the Bureau of Public Enterprise.

She, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The EFCC closed its case on February 27, 2023, after calling eight witnesses.

The court then adjourned till November 4, 2023 for the defendant to open her defence.

However, when the case resumed on November 4, 2023, Taiga’s lawyer, Alumun, told the court that the defendant had died on August 1, 2023, at a hospital in Abuja and therefore urged the judge to dismiss the case, a prayer that the EFCC expressed reservation about.

When the case came up on Wednesday this week, the prosecuting counsel for the EFCC, Mohammed Hussain, insisted that Tiaga’s death certificate must be produced before the court.

“My Lord, the certificate must be brought to the court as stipulated by the law before any decision can be taken,” the prosecutor said.

But Taiga’s counsel told the court that the death certificate was not ready and pleaded with the court to give him time to produce it.

Justice Adeniyi, consequently, adjourned the matter till March 6, for further report on the death certificate.

In October last year, a London arbitration court set aside an $11bn award secured by P&ID against Nigeria over the failed gas processing plant contract.

Justice Robert Knowles held that the process through which P&ID secured the 2010 contract to build a gas processing plant in Calabar, Cross River State, was fraudulent.

The judge, however, dismissed the allegation that Nigerian lawyers worked against the country’s interest by aiding P&ID.

“Notwithstanding Nigeria’s allegations, I have not found Nigeria’s lawyers in the arbitration to be corrupt. However, the case has shown examples where legal representatives did not do their work to the standard needed, where experts failed to do their work, and where politicians and civil servants failed to ensure that Nigeria as a state participated properly in the arbitration,” the judge said.

 

 

 

 

 

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Tinubu: My govt has created 650,000 jobs via National MSME clinics In 19 states and FCT

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President Bola Tinubu on Monday disclosed that his government has created 650,000 jobs through its National Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Clinics in 19 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Tinubu also vowed to remove all bottlenecks militating against Nigerians turning ideas and skills into successful businesses.

The President made this known via his verified X handle, @officialABAT and explained that a tailor should not need millions of naira to buy industrial machinery before she can grow her business while a food processor should not have to build a factory before producing at scale.

This, he stated, informed why the Federal Government, “under our Renewed Hope administration, is investing in shared MSME hubs through our National MSME Clinics, giving entrepreneurs access to modern equipment, reliable power and production facilities without carrying the full cost alone.”

According to Tinubu: “Today, 21 shared facilities across 19 states and the FCT are supporting businesses and an estimated 650,000 jobs. ReadPolitical News

“Nigerians do not lack ideas, skill or ambition. Too often, they lack access to the tools and infrastructure needed to turn them into successful businesses.

“Our job is to remove those barriers.

“When small businesses can produce more, at lower cost, they become more competitive. They grow. They employ more people. They create income and opportunity for Nigerian families.

“Giving Nigerian enterprise the tools to succeed is how we build prosperity from the ground up. That is the Nigeria we are building.”

 

 

 

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Experts raise alarm on Shawarma, Cancer, Kidney Disease

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Health professionals have warned that regular consumption of shawarma containing high amounts of salt, sugar, fat, seasoning and processed meat may contribute to hypertension, obesity, diabetes and kidney disease.

Excessive salt can raise blood pressure and put additional strain on the kidneys, while high-calorie sauces may contribute to weight gain.

Nutrition experts advised Nigerians to eat shawarma in moderation, use less mayonnaise and other sauces, choose lean grilled meat and add more vegetables. Consumers were also urged to check vendors’ cleanliness and avoid food prepared where ingredients are exposed to flies, dust or poor handling.

 

A recent report by experts also warned that frequent consumption of Shawarma may increase the risk of other food-borne infections and long-term health problems.

The report contains documented cases of people who suffered vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach pain and weakness after eating shawarma, with some requiring hospital treatment.

According to the report,  poor hygiene could allow bacteria and other contaminants into shawarma, causing illnesses including cholera, dysentery, typhoid and salmonellosis.

It also raised concerns about mayonnaise and creamy sauces kept without proper refrigeration and warned that poor storage could encourage bacterial growth and increase the risk of food poisoning.

A study cited in the report found bacterial contamination in ready-to-eat shawarma sold on the streets

Experts also raised concerns about processed meat such as sausage, noting that the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies processed meat as carcinogenic to humans.

 

 

 

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Phone communication exposes married woman in the case of Abuja resident who died in a hotel

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The mystery surrounding the death of a man whose body was found by the roadside in Abuja has taken a new turn, with police tracing the case through his missing mobile phone to a married woman who allegedly spent time with him at a hotel.

The FCT Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Sanusi, disclosed this on Saturday in Abuja, saying investigators arrested Rukayat Muhammed after tracing the deceased’s final communications.

The man was found dead on August 26 along the Kubwa Expressway, near Katampe under the bridge, after his family had earlier reported him missing.

According to the police, the case initially raised suspicion of a possible “one chance” incident. Investigators, however, established that the dead man was the missing person after identifying his remains.

Sanusi said the deceased’s mobile phone was missing and had been switched off. Police investigators subsequently traced his last known communication, leading them to Rukayat, a resident of Garki Area 2.

Investigators reportedly discovered that Rukayat, who is married, was allegedly in a romantic relationship with the deceased. The police said she had saved his contact under the name “Safiyat.”

The CP said the pair had lodged at Good Samaritan Guest House on 2nd Avenue, Gwarinpa, where the man later died.

Sanusi said Rukayat allegedly discovered that the man was no longer breathing but failed to alert the police or hotel management. Instead, she allegedly took his phone and left the hotel.

The case took another turn when hotel management later discovered the man’s body inside the room after attempts to contact the occupants failed.

Rather than reporting the discovery, two hotel staff members, Ibrahim Omeiza and Kefat Bitrus, allegedly removed the body from the room and transported it to the Kubwa Expressway, where they dumped it under the Katampe bridge.

The police said the action was apparently intended to distance the hotel and its management from the death.

Sanusi said detectives were still working to establish exactly how the man died and determine the individual roles of those connected to the incident.

He warned that anyone found to have participated in the death, concealment or abandonment of the body would face prosecution.

The commissioner said the investigation remains ongoing.

 

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