Law & Crime
Court remand 35 yrs old suspect over assassination attempt on Oil Minister

By David Owei
A Magistrate Court sitting in Yenagoa has ordered the remand of a 35 years old man, Susaine Morgan over the alleged attempt to assassinate the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri and unlawful possession of two assault rifle (AK 47) in Ekeremor town in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
The remand warrant, issued by the State Commissioner of Police, Francis Idu and filed in court by Police Prosecutor, ASP Stella A. Jerry-Friday Esq, was approved by the Magistrate to allow the detention of the suspect for 30 days at the correctional Service Center at Okaka and allow the Investigating team of the Police to arrest six others now at large.
A source within the Court told newsmen that the remand warrant, in a suit filed with reference number YMC/51C/2025, for the detention of the suspect in the Minister’s assassination attempt was charged with allege attempt to kidnap and unlawful possession of firearms (two AK 47).
According to the charges, “the defendant was arrested in the afternoon hours of 1st day January,2025 in Senator Heineken Lokpobiri’s residence at Ekeremor Town in Ekeremor Local Government area of Bayelsa State for offences of conspiracy, armed robbery, attempt to kidnap and unlawful possession of firearms (two AK47).”
It was also gathered that the request for remand of the suspect was done due to the limited power of the police to continue the detention of the suspect without an order by the court, “as investigation is ongoing. The Police is on top of the case and tracking the six other suspects at large.”
A police source also confirmed on Monday that such request is normal and if the suspect is granted bail, “there is the likely hood that he will interfere with police investigation due to the serious nature of the case and other fleeing cohorts are yet to be arrested will be influenced and may not be arrested by the police.”
According to security report, seven of the suspects had gained entry into the palatial country home of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri on New Years Day and hid among the crowd of visitors to pay yuletide visit, “but information filtered to the armed military men that some persons were armed and dangerous among the visitors.”
“Due to the large crowd, the soldiers, who could not open fire, ordered everyone to lie down. It was only the arrested suspect, who was with the bag conveying the weapon, that got arrested. Others mixed up with the panicked crowd and escaped. They started shooting inside the community and attacked a filling station in anger and made away with sum of N400,000.”
“They also invaded the Ekeremor town water front and snatched a speed boat to escaped.” It was gathered that the arrested suspect had made useful statement on the persons allegedly involved and the police are on their trail”.
While reports claimed the suspects are allegedly indigenes of Ekeremor Local Government, others claimed the attempt may be political and over the struggle for the control of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State.
Law & Crime
Niger CJ frees 45 awaiting trial inmates of Suleja’s Prison custody

By Uthman Baba-Al-Naseer, Minna
A total of Forty Five inmates on awaiting trial and Convicts have breath the air of freedom during the visit of the Chief Judge of Niger State, Justice ♎ Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik statewide working visit to Correctional Centres
The Chief Judge commenced the four days working visit on the 6th,March 2025 in Suleja Federal Medium Correctional centre where five convicts were pardoned for being remorseful while serving their jail terms.
Justice Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik,in continuation of the visit to bring relief to the correctional facilities across the state, was at the Minna old Medium Correctional centre between Monday, 10th,and Tuesday,11th,2025 and a total of twelve Convicts were discharged.
Also, the Chief Judge ordered for the summary trial of fourteen others to be given lighter convictions from the date of their arrest and detention in the correctional Custody.
At the Minna new Medium Correctional centre in Tunga, a total of twenty five other inmates standing trial were discharged by the Chief Judge while twelve inmates standing trial on various Offences had their cases reviewed.
Justice Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik concluded the working visit to Children remand home at Angwan Daji where she released five under aged children two among them were kidnapped.
Equally,the Chief judge granted bail to two siblings Anas Umar,and Mubarak Umar who were arrested at Gauraka in Tafa Local government area of Niger State.
They were alleged to have been in possession of aluminum believed to have been stolen and sold to scrap dealers (Yan gwongwon).
The Chief Judge directed the Ministry of women affairs to take the adoption of the two siblings with the aim of keeping them in their custody for proper upbringings.
Justice Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik, while expressing her disgust on the increasing rates of crime among juveniles,in the state, she called on parents and guardians to leave up to their responsibility of inculcating proper upbringings to their children.
She noted that the involvement of Anas into crime was initiated by his brother stating that their parents have deviated from their parental responsibilities.
Law & Crime
Rivers Crisis: State Assembly in another troubled water ……. Wants DSS to Probe CJ over alleged age forgery

Law & Crime
How Kwara’s UBEC N5.78 Billion Funds Was Allegedly Diverted

By Our Reporter
The trial of the immediate past Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, and his Finance Commissioner, Ademola Banu, over alleged misappropriation of N5.78 billion in public funds continued on Wednesday, March 11, 2024, before Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar of the Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin.
At the resumed hearing on Wednesday, the EFCC presented its second witness (PW 2), Dr. Musa Oladimeji Dasuki, a retired Permanent Secretary at the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), who served between 2011 and 2020.
Led in evidence by EFCC counsel Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, Dasuki testified that the Kwara State Government, under the leadership of the first defendant as governor and the second defendant as finance commissioner, requested UBEC funds for the years 2013 and 2014 to pay teachers’ salaries.
According to Dasuki: “The then Commissioner for Finance, Ademola Banu, who is the second defendant in this case, initially made an oral request for the release of the 2013 UBEC Matching Grant to pay teachers’ salaries. However, we insisted that such a request must be made in writing. Subsequently, the commissioner sent a letter conveying His Excellency’s approval for the release of the funds. As a result, the money was deposited into the state government’s account domiciled with Skye Bank Plc.”
Dasuki further explained that SUBEB initially opposed the request because they knew it would affect ongoing projects. However, they eventually approved the release after receiving assurances from Banu that the funds would be repaid once the state received its allocation from Abuja.
“A letter was written to that effect from the office of the Commissioner for Finance, signed on his behalf, and the money was released immediately upon receiving the letter,” he added.
Despite the assurances, Dasuki stated that the money was never repaid.
“According to the 2013 action plan submitted to UBEC, the funds were intended for the construction of 40 standard classroom blocks with offices, 40 VIP toilets, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centers in primary and junior secondary schools across the 16 Local Government Areas of Kwara State. However, many of these projects could not be executed because the funds had been diverted,” he said.
He further testified that many contractors protested due to non-payment for completed projects.
During cross-examination by Jimoh Mumini, SAN, counsel to the first defendant, Dasuki confirmed that neither the former governor nor the finance commissioner was a member of SUBEB. He also clarified that the loans were obtained on behalf of the state government, not in the defendants’ personal capacities.
Further hearing has been adjourned until Thursday, March 13, 2025.
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