Headlines
How Ismaila Mompha Was Arrested with N20m Watches – EFCC
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday provided details of how Ismaila Mustapha was arrested last weekend.
Mr Mustapha, more famous as ‘Mompha’, was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos while trying to depart Nigeria for Dubai on October 18, the agency said in a statement.
Operatives found five watches worth N20 million on him, spokesperson Wilson Uwujaren said.
The statement came hours after PREMIUM TIMES reported news of Mr Mustapha’s arrest by anti-graft operatives on allegations of fraud.
Mr Uwujaren earlier confirmed the arrest but told PREMIUM TIMES addition details were underway. Shortly after the close of business on Tuesday, the EFCC disclosed that it received intelligence reports about Mr Mustapha’s alleged fraudulent activities and closed in on him just as he was preparing to depart Nigeria.
He had been based in Dubai for several years where he reportedly runs a money-changing business, according to his social media claims.
The EFCC punctured Mr Mustapha’s business as a ruse, saying he had been using bureau de change as a cover for illicit trade and money laundering enterprise.
Mr Mustapha “perpetrates his fraudulent activities under the guise of being a bureau de change operator,” the anti-graft body alleged.
“Investigations have also revealed” Mr Mustapha has been using his money-changing business, which he jointly owned with his siblings, “as a decoy to launder his proceeds of crime,” officials said.
Mr Uwujaren said Mr Mustapha had “volunteered useful information to the operatives and has admitted being reasonably involved in the first two cases he was alleged to be involved.”
The EFCC credited “actionable cross border intelligence received from collaborative law enforcement agencies about his alleged involvement in the criminal activities” for the arrest, adding that the intelligence “further strengthened our suspicion.”
At the point of arrest, five wristwatches with a total worth of over N20 million were recovered from Mr Mustapha, who would be charged to court as soon as investigation is concluded, EFCC said.
Premium Times
The Presidency has dismissed claims that Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent comments were directed at the political situation in Rivers State or President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s constitutional decisions on the matter.
In a statement on Friday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, the Presidency described the reports as a “gross misrepresentation.”
The statement clarified that Vice President Shettima’s remarks at the public presentation of a book by former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), were misconstrued by some online platforms and individuals.
“These reports have distorted the Vice President’s comments in pursuit of a mischievous agenda,” it stated.
“They twisted his account of how the administration of former President Jonathan considered removing him as Borno Governor during the insurgency to falsely link it with current events in Rivers State.”
The Vice President, who spoke at the launch of OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block in Abuja on Thursday, was said to have referenced the past solely to commend Adoke’s professionalism while in office, and to reflect on Nigeria’s constitutional evolution regarding federal and state relations.
“For the avoidance of doubt, President Tinubu did not remove Governor Fubara from office. The constitutional measure implemented was a suspension, not an outright removal.
“This action was taken in response to the grave political crisis in Rivers State at the time, with the governor facing a looming impeachment and the State Assembly complex under demolition,” Nkwocha clarified.
The Presidency insisted that the action taken by President Tinubu in declaring a state of emergency and suspending the Governor was fully in line with Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which authorises such measures when there is a breakdown of public order requiring extraordinary intervention.
According to the statement, the President’s proclamation invoking Section 305(2) was subsequently ratified by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the National Assembly, confirming the legitimacy and constitutional propriety of the decision.
“The action of President Tinubu in suspending Mr. Fubara and others from exercising the functions of office averted the governor’s outright removal. To conflate suspension with removal is misleading,” the statement further noted.
Nkwocha also stressed that Vice President Shettima’s comments were delivered extemporaneously and intended to underline the importance of public accountability and historical documentation.
He referenced the Vice President’s mention of past public servants, including Adoke and former Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to illustrate principled leadership.
“His remarks were not in any way a criticism of President Tinubu’s actions, which the Vice President and the entire administration fully support and stand by without reservation,” the spokesman stated.
The Vice President, the statement added, remains in “loyal concert” with President Tinubu and is committed to implementing all constitutional measures necessary to safeguard democracy and uphold order across the country.
Concluding, the Presidency called on media organisations and political actors to desist from misrepresenting public remarks for sensational or partisan purposes.
“We urge media organisations and political actors to desist from the destructive practice of wrenching statements from context in order to fabricate nonexistent conflicts,” Nkwocha said.
Headlines
Akpabio Relieves Natasha of Committee Chairmanship Position, Appoints Akwa Ibom Senator As Replacement
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has replaced suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora/Non-Governmental Organisations.
In her place, Akpabio named Senator Bassey Aniekun Etim (Akwa Ibom -East).
The Senate President, who made the announcement on the floor in Abuja on Thursday, did not give any reasons.
The committee position had remained vacant since March when the Senate suspended the Kogi-Central Senatorial District lawmaker for six months for flouting the Senate’s rule on the seating arrangement and seat allocation.
The suspended lawmaker, at a point, chaired the Senate Committee on Local Content before Akpabio reassigned her to the Committee on Diaspora/NGO, shortly before she ran into trouble with the Senate over her conduct on seat allocation.
The Supreme Court has affirmed the 2024 governorship election victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asuerinme Ighodalo.
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba, the apex court ruled that the appeal lacked merit. It upheld the earlier judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had both declared Okpebholo the validly elected governor.
