TheNewsGuru

Tag: House

  • Why we’re probing David Mark’s purchase of Senate President’s house – FG

    The Federal Government has explained why it is probing the purchase of the official residence of the Senate President by Senator David Mark.

    Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami (SAN) and the Chairman, Special Presidential Investigation Panel for Recovery of Public Property (SPIPRPP) Okoi Obono-Obla, explained that the investigation was informed by information to the effect that Mark, a former Senate President, unlawfully acquired the property in 2011, without being reflected in the Federal Government’s gazette as required.

    They argued that the house said to be built on 1.6 hectares of land, located in Gudu, Apo, Abuja, is a national monument that was not meant to be acquired by an individual.

    Malami and Obono-Obla’s explanation is contained in the court papers they filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday. It was in reaction to a suit by Mark, challenging the notice of investigation served on him by the SPIPRPP.

    The documents include a notice of preliminary objection, a counter-affidavit to Mark’s motion for interlocutory injunction and a defence to the substantive suit.

    An official in the office of the Chairman of SPIPRPP, Aribatise Olanrewaju, who deposed to the counter- affidavit for Malami and Obono-Obla stated that the panel was empowered to probe the circumstances in which Mark took over the property.

    He said although former President Goodluck Jonathan approved the sale of the property to Mark, the purchase was not gazetted as required by law.

    He said: “The request of Senator Bala Muhammad (the then Minister of the Federal Capital Territory) was approved by former President Jonathan, but on the condition that the sale should be gazetted.

    “However, the sale of the property were never gazette. Notwithstanding the directive of former President Jonathan that the said house should be sold to the plaintiff upon enactment of a Federal Government gazette, the said property was illegally sold to the plaintiff;

    “The sales of these houses were never reflected in the Federal Government official gazette contrary to directive/ minute in the memo of Senator Bala Muhammad to former President Jonathan.

    “I know as a fact that the sale of the said house to the plaintiff was never conducted in a competitive bidding and transparent process; this is contrary to the provisions of Section 15 (1) of the Procurement Act, 2007;

    “I know as a fact that the sale was contrary to the provisions of the Federal Government of Nigeria official gazette No. 82, Vol. 92 of 15 August 2005;

    “The said house is a national monument, which should have never been sold;

    “I know as a fact that the provisions of Part 11 (b) of the Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2008 otherwise known as the Remuneration Act, 2008 provides that Senate President is provided with accommodation by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

    “I know as a fact that the sale to the said house was contrary to the provisions of Paragraphs 1 & 6 (1) of Part 1 of the 5th Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) since the purchaser (the Plaintiff) was a the Senate President he purchased the house.”

    Olanrewaju referred the law that empowered the panel to investigate Mark’s acquisition of the property.

    He said: “I know as a fact that the notice alluded to in paragraph 17 of the affidavit is therefore not a notice of eviction as claimed by the plaintiff/applicant.

    “I know as a fact that the 2nd defendant never declared the plaintiff/applicant acquisition of the said property illegal, but a notice to inform him that the acquisition of the said property was under investigation by the Special Investigation Panel.

    “I know as a fact that the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for Recovery of Public Property was set up by the Federal Government of Nigeria pursuant to the provisions of Recovery of Public Property (Special Provisions) Act, Cap. R4, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004,” he said.

    In their objection, Malami and Obono-Obla faulted the suit by Mark and described it as a ploy to stall his ongoing investigation.

    Obono-Obla, who endorsed the processes filed by the respondents in the suit – the AGF and Obono-Obla – described the suit as speculative and hypothetical.

    He contended, in the objection that the Federal High Court was without the jurisdiction to hear the suit.

    He grounds on which he hinged his argument include that the court has no jurisdiction to grant the relief sought by the plaintiffs in view of the fact that, by virtue of Section 251 (1) (p) of the Constitution, the subject matter of the case has nothing to do with the administration or the management and control of the Federal Government or any of its agencies.

    He said the suit was a disguise to scuttle criminal investigation of the plaintiff (a public officer) using the court.

    Obono-Obla added that: “This court has no jurisdiction to stop the Special Investigation Panel for Recovery of Public Property established pursuant to Section 1 (1) of the Recovery of Public Property (Special Provisions) Act, Cap. R4, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 from carrying out its statutory functions.

    “The 2nd defendant (Obono-Obla) is an agent of a disclosed principal and as such the plaintiff is wrong to sue the 2nd defendant in his official capacity with his personal name.

    “This suit has disclosed no reasonable cause of action; it is speculative and hypothetical,” he said.

    The SPIPRPP, In September this year, issued a 21-day notice to Mark to quit the property or “show cause” why the Federal Government should not “enforce the recovery of the property for public good”.

    Rather than “show cause” as requested by SPIPRPP, Mark head before the Federal High Court where he lodged the suit and prayed the court to among others, quash all steps taken by the panel to evict him and recover the house from him.

    The case will come up for hearing on January 22, 2018before Justice Gabriel Kolawole

     

  • Jibrin yet to fulfil resumption condition – Reps

    The House of Representatives said yesterday that its suspended member, Abdulmumin Jibrin, is yet to fulfil the major condition set for him before he could return to the House.

    The House had on September 28 last year suspended Jibrin for 181 legislative days. The House also set a condition that the suspended lawmaker must apologize for “embarrassing” his colleagues in the media.

    But one year after, Jibrin is yet to apologize, spokesman of the House Abdulrazak Namdas (APC, Adamawa) told journalists in Abuja yesterday.

    Our correspondent reports that the House sits at plenary from Tuesday to Thursday, while its legislative days are counted from Monday to Friday. But within the period, the lawmakers embarked on series of breaks, including annual recess, which lasted for more than two months.

    Asked if Jibrin’s suspension period was over, Namdas said: “I talked with the chairman of the ethics and privileges committee, and he said the period is not yet over. “Besides, when we passed the resolution, we said he (Jibrin) should apologize before the expiration of his suspension period, but he is yet to do that. If he does that, it’ll be known by everybody because it’ll be public,” he said.

    Namdas could not give the exact date for Jibrin’s resumption.

    But Jibrin, in a reaction through his media aide, Godwin Onyeacholem, said he viewed Namdas’ comments as “insensitive and insult” to the people of his Kiru/Bebeji Federal Constituency.

    “I wish to state that Jibrin’s position on this issue remains, as always, immutable. He has maintained that denying his constituents representation for one good year is unconstitutional and negates all known democratic principles, just as asking him to apologize for doing no wrong is a negation of all known social norms.

    “It is somewhat weird that the official spokesman of the House claims that he does not know the exact date that Jibrin’s purported suspension would lapse. That in itself speaks volume of the subterfuge and sinister motives around the whole issue.”

  • Flooding: House will soon pass climate change commission bill – Dogara

    Flooding: House will soon pass climate change commission bill – Dogara

    …Commiserates with Benue flood victims

    Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has condoled with the government and people of Benue State over the flooding that has displaced over a hundred thousand people in the state and destroyed properties in 12 local government areas.

    The Speaker also expressed deep sympathy for all the victims who lost their livelihoods, homes, business, farmlands, and families of those who died in the unfortunate natural disaster.

    He disclosed that the House is in the final stages of providing legal framework to address natural disasters caused by the effects of climate change.

    “I sympathise with the government and people of Benue State over the loss caused by the floods that ravaged their homes, farmlands and businesses and displacement of over 100,000 people from their homes.

    “This is one flooding too many and emphasises the urgent need for targeted solutions to the problems affecting our environment.

    “The House of Representatives has already gone far in this regard, with a Bill for the Establishment of an Agency dealing exclusively with Climate Change issues”

    He further enjoined “National Emergency Management Agency, Ecological Funds Office and other relevant government agencies to urgently come to the aid of Benue State and the victims”.

  • Photos: Evans leads detectives to his Igando, Ejigbo dens

    Billionaire kidnap kingpin, Chukwudubem Onwuamadike, a.k.a Evans, who was arrested, recently, by the police for coordinating several high profile kidnappings, yesterday, led police operatives to two houses in Ejigbo and Igando areas of Lagos state, where he kept some of his victims for months.

    Evans revealed during the visit to his Igando hideout, located at Green Street, that he kept five persons including Chief James Uduji and Francis Umeh at the Igando den.

    He stated that he vacated the den when people started suspecting his activities in the area.

    He further disclosed that he rented the apartment in 2014 stating that he kept Francis Umeh for five months in that apartment before he moved to the other house in Ejigbo.

    The kidnap kingpin also took detectives to another bungalow at Orisunmbare by hospital junction in Jakande estate, Lagos where he had another hideout.

    Residents of the areas where Evans operated were shocked that such a thing was happening around them without their knowledge.

  • I Go Dye builds house for mum

    I Go Dye builds house for mum

    Nigerian comedian, Francis Agoda a.k.a I Go Dye has put smiles on the face of his mother. The talented entertainer recently built a house for his mum.

    According to reports reaching TheNewsGuru, the house is a palatial edifice, painted in all-white with stripes of gold to give off a picture of sheer magnificence. Though the location of the house hasn’t been disclosed, but the picture has been made available.

     

    He once said in an interview:” All my early days were spent in the village with my grandmother, who nurtured me with so much traditional values that later amused my peers when I got back to primary school in Warri. There was so much difficulty for my age mates to comprehend my ideas and values of life. It was seen most times that I was saying things that were not achievable because they felt I knew more than my age. I had difficulty also conforming to their standard and it took me sometime to study their moral upbringing, which had so much difference from the way life was in the village and living with an old woman. More so, the challenges of life are so much, it took me strong personal conviction to stand firmly on my belief and dreams”.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • JUST IN: Melaye escapes death as gunmen invade house

    The Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District (APC) in the Senate, Dino Melaye on Saturday escaped death by the whiskers as gunmen invaded his house in Ayetoro-Gbede in Kogi State.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the gunmen numbering about ten arrived the house at about midnight through the bush and opened fire from different directions on the house.

    The house was riddled with bullets while two of the vehicles parked in the estate were damaged by the hoodlums.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Melaye was in his country home at Ayetoro-Gbede in Ijumu Local Government Area for the Easter holiday at the time of the attack.

    The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, ASP William Aya told newsmen that the police received a distress call from the senator at about 1 a.m. and immediately responded.

    He said the hoodlums escaped before the police arrived, thereby making arrest impossible.

    Aya said the Commissioner of Police, Mr Wilson Inalegwu had set up an investigation committee headed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations to unravel those behind the attack.

    On his part, Melaye said the hoodlums arrived at about midnight and started shooting sporadically at the main building in the compound.

    He said the shooting lasted for almost one hour, adding that apart from the building riddled with bullets, two of his vehicles were damaged.

    The senator said he suspected Mr Taufiq Isa, the Administrator of Ijumu Local Government to be behind the attack.

    According to him, the attack is most likely due to his incessant verbal attacks on the State Government.

    “I got a rousing welcome from Kabba to my home town on Friday and I know it angered the power that is in the state which mobilised for this assassination attempt on my life.

    “At about midnight, we started hearing gunshots. They fired more than 200 rounds of bullet into the house. This attempt to kill me will not stop me from speaking the truth.

    “If I speak the truth, I will die, if I lie, I will die. I’ve decided to speak the truth and die. I’m not afraid of death. I only respect men, I don’t fear them.


    “I am championing an administrative course. I will continue to speak and be the voice to the voiceless. I’m not deterred; I remain resolute to make Kogi better. Noting will stop me from coming home.”

    Melaye also chided the police for not responding quickly to his distress call, saying that the house of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in the town was a stone thrown from the scene of the attempt on his life.

    “The DPO did not come to my house until three hours later. Even the area Commander in Kabba was not notified until I called the Commissioner of police. I suspect a satanic collaboration between Taufiq Isa and the police in Aiyetoro because the duo held a meeting two days ago.

    “Only God will protect us in this country but definitely not the police”, he said.

    In a swift reaction, Isa denied having a hand in the attempt on the life of the Senator, saying that he had been busy for sometime taking care of his sick wife.

    “I’ve never been a violent man. My running battle with Dino Melaye, if any, is because I have asked him to stop vilifying the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.

    “Let him (Dino) prove it. I lost my uncle a week ago; I’m still attending to my sick wife and busy supervising the APC re- registration programmes. I’m a democrat and law abiding. I challenge Dino to prove his case,” he said.

     

     

    NAN

     

  • He ‘sleeps’ with his daughter, urinates around the house, wife tells court

    He ‘sleeps’ with his daughter, urinates around the house, wife tells court

    A civil servant, Blessing Ilo, on Tuesday told a Nyanya Customary Court, Abuja, that her husband has been having canal knowledge of his biological daughter.

    Ilo testified in a divorce petition she filled against the husband, James Akpan.

    “All the while I was living with my husband and that little girl of 12 years, I don’t know that my husband was always having sex with her when am out of the house.

    “I would not have suspected anything because when my husband brought the little girl into the house, he told me that she was one of his children from another woman.

    “Also, the girl was still a child that no sane man will lust after,” she added.

    The petitioner told the court that on a particular occasion, the little girl confessed to the police that her father usually tie her hands before having sex with her.

    Ilo said that she had to move out of her husband’s house because he was always messing up the house, especially when he was drunk.

    “My husband always urinate around the house whenever he is drunk; sometimes on the bed or on the floor of the room.

    “Worst of all, one day he woke up in the night and went straight to the kitchen, opened the bucket of drinking water and urinated into it,” she said.

    She also said her husband does not provide food for the family, adding “not even his child’s school fees.”

    The petitioner begged the court to dissolve the marriage and grant her custody of the only child of the union.

    The respondent was not present in court.

    The judge, Jemilu Jega reiterated that the respondent was served on three different occasions but refused to appear in court.

    He adjourned the case till Feb. 9 for judgment.