A teenager, Lasisi Adewale, standing trial for drug abuse on Friday begged an Area Court sitting at Centre-Igboro, Ilorin, to emancipate him from his parents.

Adewale pleaded with the court to “separate him from his parents,” saying that he was not sure if they wanted the best for him.

“Even though my parents had been catering for my needs since infancy, I do not want anything to do with them again.

“I want to stay far away from them and be on my own without any disturbance,” he said

Earlier, the presiding Judge, Hammad Ajumonbi while ruling, ordered that Adewale be remanded in a borstal home.

The judge said that considering the effort of the father, who wants the best for the child, the court sees it as worthy of granting.

The court therefore ruled that the defendant should be admitted into a institute for two years.

The Judge ordered that the defendant should be guided and allowed to learn any skill of his choice during the period of his stay.

The State High Court sitting in Ogbia, Bayelsa, on Thursday, sentenced four men to 40 years imprisonment each for the kidnapping of the former commissioner of trade and investment, Mr Federal Otokito.

The convicts are Kingsley Obhesi, 24, Joshua Abi 32, Gift Damene, 38 and Powell Inegite, 36.

Justice S.W. Amaduobogha convicted them on counts of conspiracy, kidnap and unlawful possession of firearms.

The Judge held that the prosecution had proven the case of conspiracy, kidnapping and unlawful possession of firearms beyond reasonable doubt.

Amaduobogha consequently sentenced each of them to years of imprisonment.

The convicts were arrested by operatives of the Operation Puff Adder unit of the police command Bayelsa,lsa led by Supol Chris Nwaogbo.

The Prosecuting Counsel, Jerry-Friday, told the court that the convicts on Jan. 20, 2022, at Otuokpoti in Ogbia Local Government of Bayelsa, kidnapped Otokito against his will.

“The captive was taken to the Igbomotoruu the southern Ijaw area of the state with the intent to demand ransom or any other unlawful consideration and thereby committed an offence,” Jerry-Friday said.

Mr. Ibrahim Lawan, Director of Primary Health Care (PHC) in Nangere Local Government of Yobe, is currently on suspension for diverting Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) and, has confessed to committing the crime.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the state’s PHC Board has suspended Lawal for “diverting and misusing” the food supplements.

Mr. Adamu Abba, the board’s spokesman, who announced the suspension on Wednesday in Damatutu, said that a five-member committee had been set up to investigate the matter.

Lawan, while reacting to the allegations in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said that he and some staffers of the PHC “actually tampered” with the therapeutic food supplements.

“Actually, I and some of my staffers have tampered with some of the therapeutic food supplements, but the quantity is not as much as they are alleging.

“The allegation was that I diverted about 120 cartons. This is not true.

“However, I take responsibility for all that happened since I was the leader at the time.

“I am appealing to the state government to tamper justice with mercy since I have cooperated and made investigation easier for them,” he said

NAN reports that the PHC board while announcing Lawan’s indefinite suspension, had named Ibrahim Disa as acting director of the PHC in Nangere.

Disa is expected to be on the saddle pending the outcome of the investigation.

The investigation committee is also expected to recommend a strategy for ensuring accountability in the distribution of supplements and other medical consumables.

NAN reports that RUTF is a packaged, highly nutritious food supplement used in treating severe and acute malnourished children.

The sixth prosecution witness, PW6, Idi Musa, in the trial of Ismaila Mustapha, (a.k.a Mompha) an investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday, July 1, 2024.

Musa told Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, how the sum of N35bn was found in two bank accounts linked to the defendant.

The Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had, on January 12, 2022, arraigned Mompha alongside his company, Ismalob Global Investment Limited, on an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy to launder funds obtained through unlawful activity, retention of proceeds of criminal conduct, laundering of funds obtained through unlawful activity, failure to disclose assets and property, possession of documents containing false pretences and use of property derived from unlawful act.

One of the counts reads: “Ismaila Mustapha, Ahmadu Mohammed (at large) and Ismalob Global Investment Limited, sometime in 2016, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired amongst yourselves to conduct financial transactions to the tune of N5,998,884,653.18 ( Five Billion Nine Hundred and Ninety-eight Million, Eight Hundred and Eighty-four Thousand, Six Hundred and Fifty-three Naira Eighteen Kobo), with the intent of promoting the carrying on of specified unlawful activities to wit: obtaining by false pretence.”

He pleaded “not guilty” to the charges when they were read to him.

On September 22, 2022, Justice Dada ordered that the trial of Mompha would continue in absentia after he jumped bail.

At Monday’s proceedings, Musa, while being led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, S. I. Suleiman, narrated how he knew the first and second defendants in the course of investigations into the alleged criminal activities.

He told the court how the Commission had received intelligence from the Federal Bureau of Investigations, FBI, informing it that the first and second defendants were into cybercrime in the United States of America, USA.

In his testimony, he said: “Sometime in 2019, we received intelligence from the FBI, USA. The letter was addressed to the Commission, informing us that the first and second defendants were involved in cybercrime, otherwise known as Yahoo Yahoo.”

According to him, in the course of the investigation, some letters were written to two major banks requesting the account statements of the second defendant linked to the first defendant.

In his further testimony, he told the court that “The account statements were received and analysed.

“During the analysis, we discovered a heavy flow of N30bn through the account of the first defendant (Mompha) in one of the banks and about N5bn in another bank account.

“Letters were written to the FBI, and the Special Fraud Unit of the Commission, regarding the defendant’s claim that he was into Bureau De change business, in view of the volume of these transactions.

“A letter was also written to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and other relevant agencies”.

He also told the court that the investigation revealed that the first defendant did not reside in Nigeria and that efforts to reach him proved abortive.

The PW 6 said: “A letter was written to the Nigeria Immigration Services, NIS, on October 16, 2019, to arrest the defendant anytime he was seen in the country.

“On October 18, 2019, the first defendant got information that the Commission was looking for him, while he was in Nigeria. So, he quickly got to the airport and boarded a flight in order to jet out of the country to evade arrest.

“The team got the information through the NIS officers at the airport. By then, Mompha had already boarded the flight. So, they had to call him to come down and he was immediately arrested. He was subsequently handed over to the EFCC by the immigration officers”.

When asked about the findings regarding the defendant’s bank account, Musa said over N30bn was discovered, adding that “ he told us that he was into Bureau De Change business. But investigation showed that he was not.

“We have already concluded investigations in that regard. The offences border on money laundering, operating BDC without a licence before a Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos.”

He also told the court that a report from the FBI’s forensic analysis revealed that Mompha’s iPhone was used to send account details to a United Arab Emirates telephone number, which he used to search for Swift Codes of a bank.

“Upon his arrest, all the properties recovered from him were registered with the Exhibits Section in the EFCC office.

“Most of the properties were released to him on bond, except his iPhone 8 which is still with the Commission.

“The items are proceeds of crime because when he was given the Assets Declaration Form, he did not include those items”.

The prosecution then tendered both the first defendant’s statement as well as the Asset Declaration Form.

They were admitted as evidence as exhibits P5 and P6 by the court.

Consequently, Justice Dada adjourned the case until Tuesday, October 8, 2024, for the continuation of the trial.

Vice President Kashim Shettima has announced that the death toll from Saturday’s suicide bomb attack in Gwoza has risen to 32, with 26 others still receiving treatment for their injuries.

Shettima revealed that 42 people were brought to a specialist hospital, with 14 already discharged after receiving treatment.

“So far, 32 people lost their lives. Forty two (injured) were brought from Gwoza. Out of them two died. So far, 14 have been discharged, the remaining 26 are in hospital. And by God’s grace the government of Borno (state) will do its best to ensure it supports them and takes care of them.” Shettima said.

The Vice President, who condemned the attack, offered his condolences to the families of the victims and also conveyed the condolences of President Bola Tinubu to the people of Gwoza and Borno State.

Shettima also made a personal donation to all the victims.