The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a husband and wife, Baba Sule Abubakar Sadiq and Hafsat Kabir Lawal, alongside two others, Abdullahi Bala and Ladani Akindele, before Justice Amina Bello of the Kaduna State High Court for obtaining money by false pretense, money laundering and stealing to the tune of N197,750,000 (One Hundred and Ninety Seven Million, Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira).

They were arraigned on six-count charges on Monday.

According to EFCC, the defendants allegedly colluded among themselves and defrauded their victims through different guises, including impersonating the wife of the Governor of Katsina State, Fatima Dikko Radda.

One of the charges reads: “That you Hafsat Kabir Lawal, Babasule Abubakar Sadiq, Abdullahi Bala, Ladani Akindele Ayodele, sometime in December 2024 at Kaduna within the jurisdiction of this honorable court with intent to defraud did obtain the sum of N89 million Only from Aminu Usman which money you caused to be paid in to the Taj Bank plc account number 0009914725 belonging to Abdullahi Bala under the false pretense that you had the sum of $53,300 to exchange for the Naira equivalent which pretense you knew to be false and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (1) of the advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 punishment under Section 1 (3) of the same Act”.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to them.

Prosecution counsel, Bright C Ogbonna prayed the court for a trial date and for the defendants to be remanded in a Correctional Facility.

Counsel to the 1st and 2nd defendants, M.S Katu (SAN), counsel to the 3rd defendant, ⁠Jazuli Mustapha and counsel to the 4th defendant, Paul A. Okachi informed the court that they had filed and served their various applications for the bail of their clients and that they were ready to proceed.

Ogbonna vehemently opposed the applications on the grounds that they were not ripe for hearing. In response, all the defense counsel prayed the court to allow for an oral application for bail.

After listening to the submissions and arguments made by both parties, Justice Bello agreed with the prosecution and consequently remanded the defendants in a Correctional Facility and adjourned the matter till March 17 for hearing of bail applications.

Investigations showed that Hafsat contacted the petitioners as one of the wives of the current governor of Katsina State, Malam Dikko Radda. Using that guise, she allegedly obtained the sum of N89 million and another N108 million from a petitioner claiming to have $118,300 to sell to them.

Further investigations showed that Hafsat’s husband, Sadiq( the second defendant) provided his wife with two sim cards and registered the same with the True Caller as Fatima Dikko Radda. He then allegedly contacted the fourth defendant, Ladani Akindele who was his former colleague at a new generation bank, and asked him to provide him with the contact number of the Chairman of Unity Bank, Hafiz Bashir, through whom he got the contact number of the petitioner who is a bureau de change operator.

Hafsat thereafter contacted the petitioner, Aminu Usman, and collected a total sum of N197,750,000 from him, claiming that she had dollar equivalent of the money ($118,300) to offer him.

EFCC says the money was said to have been deposited into the bank account of the 3rd defendant, Abdullahi Bala, provided by the first defendant, and the money was allegedly distributed among the four defendants and laundered through various means.

US university Johns Hopkins on Thursday announced plans to lay off more than 2,000 of its employees around the globe, noting that the move is coming on the heels of President Donald Trump’s administration’s massive reduction in foreign aid funds.

In a statement made available by the school on Thursday, the leading scientific said, “This is a difficult day for our entire community. The termination of more than $800 million in USAID funding is now forcing us to wind down critical work.”

The university is based in Baltimore, Maryland, the largest city an hour’s drive north of the US capital, but is eliminating at least 1,975 jobs in projects across 44 countries and 247 jobs in the United States.

New US President Donald Trump and his senior advisor, billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk, have embarked on a campaign to slash federal spending, targeting in particular support from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for foreign aid, research and development.

Johns Hopkins University is one of the institutions hardest hit by these drastic reductions. In early March, its president Ronald Daniels explained in a message to students and professors that federal money accounted for nearly half of the backing it funds received last year.

Referring to a “historical relationship” between the “first American research university” and the government, he warned that students, researchers and professors would see damage to programs designed to improve health, hygiene and medicine across the world.

– Drinking water –

Thursday’s announcement confirmed that the cuts hit the university’s medical school and school of public health as well as Jhpiego, a global non-profit organization founded more than 50 years ago and which works to improve health in countries worldwide.

“Johns Hopkins is immensely proud of the work done by our colleagues in Jhpiego, the Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the School of Medicine to care for mothers and infants, fight disease, provide clean drinking water, and advance countless other critical, life-saving efforts around the world,” the university said.

The university receives roughly $1 billion annually in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and is currently running 600 clinical trials, according to The New York Times, which added that Hopkins is one of the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit challenging such cuts.

USAID, the largest funding agency for Jhpiego, distributes humanitarian aid around the world, with health and emergency programs in around 120 countries.

Trump, whose appointees are dismantling the humanitarian agency, signed an executive order in January demanding a freeze on all US foreign aid to allow time to assess expenses. Critics warn that slashing USAID work will endanger millions of lives.

Kaduna- Former Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasiru El-Rufai, has said that he sought the permission of former President Muhammadu Buhari before he left the All Progressives Congress, APC, and joined the Social Democratic Party, SDP.

He spoke in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, monitored by our correspondent in Kaduna, yesterday.

According to him, there was nothing he does without seeking the consent and advice of Buhari.

He said: “The APC has derailed, the party is no longer abiding by its founding principles. Everyone is working for himself, looking for money. The government is commercialised, everything has a price tag.

Justice has been kept at bay, those who worked for the party were ignored instead of being compensated. If there is any position or appointment, they give it to a Lagos boy, etc.

“That is why we’ve been speaking, we spoke, we said this is not the party we know. The party is dead. I said the only option is for me to meet Pastor Tunde Bakare, because he dragged me into APC. He took me to Buhari. I did not join the APC because of Buhari, it was Pastor Bakare, who dragged me to APC and courtesy demands I should let him know.

“Buhari too, I told him I was leaving the party, I sought his blessings and prayers. He said he has given me his blessings and prayers. We are the ones in politics, he (Buhari) is now father of the land and has been praying for us, so what remains?

“I’ve publicly denounced my membership of the party, they can go and hold on to the party, they can eat the party alone like food,we’ve given up.”

Asked if he decided to leave the party to avoid being expelled, El-Rufa’i said it would have been much better for him to be expelled from the APC.

“That would’ve been much easier for me, but look at it, as I kept on saying, I did not leave the party, it’s the party that dumped me. Why did it left me? First of all, I was marginalized, not involved in all party activities. Not that I was invited and refused to honour the invite, I was completely sidelined.

“Secondly, what we had planned to implement when we form government, it’s not what’s being implemented,” he alleged.

On the widespread assertion that he left the party because he was not considered for the ministerial appointment, El-Rufa’i said that was just a popular view.

“But did I even look for the ministerial position? I know those who even paid money to be appointed as ministers.

“Yes, I was at the screening because the President begged me. It was in the public glare, not the two of us for him to say he had never begged me. It was in Kaduna where he begged me to come and work with him. Even then, I did not agree until when we sat down and he told me what he wanted. That the problem of electricity had refused to allow the country to progress. He said he would like to be the President that would finally resolve the power problem and he begged me to come and help him achieve that. I told him that I would look at the challenge he gave me and would consider working with him. I thought he meant it.”

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State during the 2023 general election, Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, met with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday.

According to TheCable, the meeting, which was not publicly announced, reportedly took place between 2 pm and 4 pm.

Naija News recalls that Jandor recently resigned from the PDP, citing “indiscipline and anti-party activities” within the party, but he has yet to disclose his next political move.

Jandor was previously a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) before defecting to the PDP to contest the Lagos governorship election.

However, his run was marred by internal party divisions and what he described as a betrayal by the PDP’s national leadership on the eve of the election.

He insisted that he “would have won” the election but for a “false claim of alliance” that allegedly misled PDP supporters into voting for another candidate.

During the 2023 governorship race, the incumbent Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the APC secured 762,134 votes, while Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party came second with 312,329 votes. Jandor finished in third place with 62,449 votes.

In his resignation letter from the PDP, he expressed disappointment in the party’s leadership, saying, “I am here before you today without a heavy heart and a clear conscience. We have dedicated ourselves to the ideals of democracy—both good governance and the pursuit of a better Lagos.

“However, it has become evident that the leadership of the PDP, both at the national and state levels, has failed to uphold its principles.”

He also hinted at a potential move to another party, stating, “We will consult widely with everybody and then take the decision to collapse our structure to another platform. The major thing now is that we have left the PDP.”

The details of Jandor’s meeting with Tinubu remain unclear, but sources within Aso Rock suggest it was a fence-mending move that could pave the way for his return to the APC or an alliance ahead of the 2027 general election.

Prior to his meeting with Tinubu, Jandor had also visited former Heads of State, Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar, in Minna, Niger State.

He later met with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and senior officials of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), fueling further speculation about his next political steps.

Confirming the development, Jandor’s spokesperson, Gbenga Ogunleye, stated: “I can confirm that Dr. Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran (Jandor) met with President Bola Tinubu on Monday. He has also met with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former President Ibrahim Babangida, former Head of State Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, and SDP’s 2023 presidential candidate, Prince Adewole Adebayo, among other notable figures. These meetings are part of his ongoing consultations following his resignation from the PDP. 

“The PDP National Secretary and other party leaders recently visited him, appealing for a reconsideration of his resignation.

“Dr. Adediran is scheduled to meet with his political associates and key stakeholders in Lagos over the weekend and will address the media on Monday, March 17, 2025.”

Presidency lampoons OBJ for warning Tinubu govt may dwarf Buhari’s ‘fraud’ index

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has launched a scathing critique of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, declaring it the worst in Nigeria’s democratic history.

Obasanjo, however, said the current government of President Bola Tinubu appears to be following the same path of misgovernance and corruption and may surpass Buhari’s record.

The former president made these assertions in the first chapter of his newly released book, “Nigeria: Past and Future.”

The book was one of the two new books the former President unveiled last week in commemoration of his 88th birthday.

Obasanjo, in the book, as reported by The PUNCH on Thursday, described the N15.6tn Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway project as wasteful and corrupt.

He also slammed Tinubu’s administration for spending N21bn on a new official residence for Vice President Kashim Shettima, calling it a misplaced priority and conduit designed to embezzle public funds.

He said, “Typical examples of waste, corruption and misplaced priority are the mucky Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road on which the President had turned deaf ears to protests and the new Vice-President’s official residence built at a cost of N21bn in the time of economic hardship to showcase the administration hitting the ground running and to show the importance of the office of the Vice-President. What small minds!”

The former President, however, said corruption was worst under Buhari’s watch, with the strong support of his Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN).

“The most atrocious waste, enthronement of corruption and discouragement of officials fighting corruption took place under the watch of President Buhari and the devil’s workshop, his Attorney General, Abubakar Malami,” Obasanjo said.

He, however, asserted that the Tinubu government might surpass Buhari’s record.

“Given about two years of President Tinubu in office, it appears that the game of short-changing the over 230 million Nigerians continues because everything is said to be transactional and the slogan is ‘It is my turn to chop,’” Obasanjo added.

Buhari could not be reached for comment on Thursday as his spokesman, Garba Shehu, did not respond to calls and text messages on the allegations against the ex-president.

Malami also declined to react to the book, saying he had not read it.

Malami said in a voice note, “Indeed, I will be able to respond. However, I would not like to comment on mere speculations. I am not certain such allegations were made. Even in his own case, if you recall, during a Hard Talk interview, similar allegations of corruption were raised against him, and he is well aware of that.

“In light of the fact that His Excellency, President Obasanjo, has also been a victim of unsubstantiated allegations of corruption over time, I find it unlikely that he would make similar claims without specific references—such as who provided the alleged bribe, when it was given, how much was involved, under what circumstances, and who facilitated it.

“All these details are necessary when making an allegation. But if the claim remains vague, I find it difficult to conclude that His Excellency indeed made such an assertion—especially given that he himself has faced similar accusations in the past.

“So, kindly refer me to the specific page, and if possible, provide a scan or an extract so that I can respond objectively. I have not yet gone through the book to confirm whether such allegations were indeed made by His Excellency, President Olusegun Obasanjo.”

The PUNCH later sent some relevant pages of the book to the former AGF. He had yet to respond as of press time on Thursday.

The Presidency, however, came hard on former President Obasanjo on the controversial Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway.

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, during an interview on Television Continental, stated that the N15.6tn coastal highway was a visionary legacy project with enormous economic potential.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, in a post on X, said “Former President Obasanjo seems to see himself as the only Nigerian created by God who knows what is good for Nigeria per time.

“If, as President for eight years, he couldn’t fix the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and Lagos-Abeokuta road, we can’t take his latest view on the Lagos-Calabar highway as well-informed.”

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, speaking in Akure, Ondo State, said, “The project is not wasteful and corrupt. I have read on social media where people were saying that why is the government or the contractor not explaining, but as the Minister of Works, I am qualified to explain the project.

“It is natural and normal for people to criticise, but I’ve run the benefits of the project and the cost analysis. The jobs are already done about 70 per cent and the project will bring a lot of prosperity to the citizens. I’ll ask those criticising it not to follow the road.”

Emphasising that the first section of the project would be completed next year, Umahi said, “I want to commend the President. His peers are jealous and angry but that means he is doing very well, especially on what nobody has been able to do.

“The project is transparent, it is great in return of investment. I want to urge everyone to ignore distractions.”

In his book, Obasanjo particularly criticised Buhari for failing to live up to the ideals he once championed as a military ruler in 1983.

Recalling how Buhari justified his coup against the civilian administration of Alhaji Shehu Shagari by condemning corruption and electoral malpractice, Obasanjo regretted that Buhari presided over a government that became the worst in Nigeria’s civil administration.

He explained that in 1983 when giving the reasons why the democratically-elected government of the late Alhaji Shehu Shagari was toppled by the military, Gen Buhari (retd) had cited mismanagement of public funds hurting and making the country’s economy to be weak, lack of credible polls, among others as the reason for the military take-over.

In the book, Buhari was quoted to have said, “The last general election was anything but free and fair…There is ample evidence that rigging and thuggery were relative to the resources available to the political parties.

“This conclusively proved to us that the parties have not developed in the presidential system of government in which the nation invested so much materials and human resources.

“The corrupt, inept and insensitive leadership in the last four years have been the source of immorality and impropriety in our society…We deplore corruption in all its facets.”

Obasanjo, however, said that as good as Buhari’s 1983 speech was, he failed woefully to match his words with actions, even when he had the opportunity to serve the country for eight years as a democratically elected President, his administration was the worst in the nation’s history of civil governance.

He said “Good points and good words which Buhari failed to follow when he became president eleven years later.

“Words are cheap and what needed to be done was left undone during Buhari’s civil administration regime from 2015 to 2023, the worst civil administration regime so far in Nigerian history.

“Maybe those ideas and thoughts were not his; he just came to read them as  written for him. Only Bola Tinubu’s administration seems to be competing with Buhari’s for now.”

In the chapter titled “From the Beginning Till Now: The Missing Key,” Obasanjo reflected on Nigeria’s post-independence leadership, highlighting bad governance, corruption, and self-interest as persistent obstacles to national progress.

He said successive governments, both military and civilian, have always identified bad governance, bad leadership, and corruption as major contributing factors to the country’s stagnated development and abject poverty, but would eventually do little or nothing to change the narrative.

The former President had scathing remarks for some of the officials under the watch of former President Buhari.

He said though it was difficult for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to secure convictions of VIPs involved in grand corruption, this difficult task was achieved with the jailing of former governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye, for 10 years and his Taraba counterpart, Jolly Nyame for 12 years over N1.126bn and N1.64bn embezzlement of state funds respectively.

Dariye and Nyame were released from the correctional facility in the Kuje council area of the Federal Capital Territory on August 8, 2022, four months after they were granted state pardon.

At a Council of State meeting presided over by former President Buhari in April 2022, Dariye and Nyame were among 159 inmates pardoned.

The two former governors, who were both jailed for fraud, were granted pardon on the grounds of age and ill-health.

Nyame was convicted in 2018 and given 14 years imprisonment for diverting public funds, but his sentence was later reduced to 12 years in 2020, following a ruling by the Supreme Court which affirmed the judgment of the court of appeal on the matter.

Dariye was sentenced to 14 years in prison for N1.126bn fraud, but his jail term was reduced by four years, following a verdict by the Supreme Court affirming an earlier judgment by the appellate court.

Speaking on their pardon, Obasanjo said it was based on the strong advice of Malami as AGF.

The former president said Buhari sought the advice of the Council of State to grant the two former governors presidential pardon on health grounds.

“But for my absence at the Council of State meeting when the governors were granted the presidential pardon, I would have rather said that the governors should be released from jail on health grounds and not granted presidential pardon.

“Words circulated later that neither of them had a life-threatening illness; it was all made up.

“It was all part of Malami’s financial shenanigans and he played many of such to his advantage. His principal concurred, condoned, turned a blind eye and a deaf ear and paid lip service to fight corruption while cohabitating comfortably with corruption in multifarious ways.

“I was made to understand that some officials of the EFCC were terribly disappointed, discouraged, downcast and lost the pep in doing their work of fighting corruption as a result of this government action,” Obasanjo said.

He noted that another sore thumb in the administration of Buhari was the shameful way the project of a new national carrier for the country was handled by the former aviation minister, Hadi Sirika, said to be a close blood relation of Buhari.

“Hadi Sirika believed that he was fooling Nigerians when after N85bn had been budgeted for the establishment of Nigeria Air and released, the dishonourable minister reputed to be a close blood relation of Buhari hired an aircraft from Ethiopia Airline, painted it in Nigerian colours and left it as a parting gift to Nigeria and Nigerians.

“Later, he denied having spent N85bn on the project and that, from 2016 to 2023, all of the money voted and budgeted for Nigeria Air was N5bn.

“Where has the money budgeted for the establishment of Nigeria Air gone? Neither the outgoing president nor the incoming president has done enough about it.

“You can do anything, and no matter how atrocious, if you are rightly connected, there will be no consequence. In the circumstances of outgoing and incoming presidents, you can get away with murder unless you do not rightly belong. There are selective justices and selective consequences at best.

“For the minister of aviation, it was the most reckless and condemnable audacity, barefaced stealing with the encouragement and condonation of the presidency.

“About 230 million Nigerians were being taken for a ride as if we were all stupid fools. Without consequence, he would get away with his action and others would do worse,” Obasanjo stated.

He added that there were many more in Malami and Sirika’s class within the cohorts of the Buhari administration.

The EFCC is currently prosecuting Sirika and three others, Fatima Hadi Sirika, Jalal Sule Hamma and Al Buraq Global Investment on six count amended charges bordering on contract fraud to the tune of N2,825,032,220.97.

The former President feared that Tinubu’s cohorts may outdo Buhari, judging by the first one or two years in office.

The octogenarian said he blew the whistle on his ex-minister for power and steel, Dr Olu Agunloye, on the alleged fraudulent $6bn Mambilla Power Project contract to tackle the sore and repulsive corrupt practices of officeholders in the country.

Obasanjo laments wastes

Speaking on how the chief executives both at the federal and state levels encouraged waste and corruption, he cited the examples of Agunloye, Buhari, and late President Umaru Yar’Adua.

He said while some waste could be inadvertently occasioned by lack of knowledge, capacity and general inadequacy to do otherwise, some are deliberate and have cost the nation a fortune.

Obasanjo explained that under the military leadership of the late Gen Murtala Mohammed whom he served as his Vice, the nation lost $150m on balloon communication for the Ministry of Communication in the eagerness to improve on telecommunications.

He said, “The contractor and our external and internal consultants along with engineers in the ministry assured us that the balloon communication would work, but it had to be abandoned as unworkable after close to $150m had been expended.”

Obasanjo said this was a good example of inadvertent waste just like continuous issues of gas flaring said to have cost the nation a revenue loss of a whopping $59bn as of the end of 2023.

The former President, however, observed that the decision of Buhari during his military leadership to arbitrarily cancel the contract for the metro line in Lagos State, which was meticulously negotiated by the then governor of the state, the late Lateef Jakande, was a grievous error.

The contractor, Interinfra, reportedly went to court in Europe and obtained 650m French francs which is about $100m, almost the amount of money the project would have cost.

He said that was how, his successor, Yar’Adua, also disregarded the legal counsel and cancelled the concession agreement on the Ajaokuta Steel Plant with the affiliate facility of the Iron Ore Mining Company with Global Steel Holding Ltd.

“The contract would have lawfully become null and void and the government entitled to more than $26 million as damages from the Indian firm.

“This was because the firm appeared unable to pay the first tranche for the Ajaokuta shares before the first anniversary of the agreement (May 25, 2008). This failure would have given Nigeria a right to over $26 million as liquidated damages under Clause 12 of the Ajaokuta Share Purchase Agreement.

“Instead, the Federal Government agreed to part with about $496 million to settle a $5.23bn claim by the Indian firm. It was another waste of resources that could have gone for the provision of infrastructure for Nigeria,” he lamented.

He disclosed further that “With the heavy payment by Nigeria for inappropriate actions of revocation of agreements and contracts by Presidents Buhari and Yar’Adua, there seems to have developed a new industry in Nigeria of local contractors and foreign contractor seeking old contracts and agreements, purchases and transactions that can be unearthed to punch holes in them to make bogus claims with the arbitrator, judge or mediator being procured to join the sharing formula.

“This, I believe, is the case of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Ltd and Olu Agunloye for Mambilla on which I blew the whistle.  Agunloye and his cohorts, for personal aggrandisement, were taking Nigeria for a ride.

“Some families are spuriously appearing for properties developed by governments more than 50  years ago or more acquired, paid for and developed by government and these families are claiming compensation again with the support and collusion of people in government. The government has to be milked dry once the claimants’ mouths are watered. What a people!”

Presidency defends project

The Presidency described the N15.6tn Lagos-Calabar coastal highway as a visionary legacy project with enormous economic potential.

Darem in an interview of TVC, said the coastal road would bring enormous economic potential to the country, adding that the project would be one of the best infrastructure in the country.

“Lagos-Calabar coastal highway is a visionary legacy project with enormous economic potential.

“Recall when the Lekki-Epe corridor was opened, everyone thought that President Bola Tinubu, who was then Governor of Lagos, didn’t know what he was doing.

“That corridor has opened up in the last 15 years, and some of the highest rates of real estate have sprung up. We’ve seen the Dangote refinery, we’ve seen the Lagos Free Trade Zone and a lot of developments along that corridor.

“Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, when completed and fully utilised, will be one of the best projects ever put out by any President of this country.”

Also speaking, the Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, in a statement on his X handle, said “While it is common for many elder statesmen to write books aimed at sanctifying their days as the leader of the country, despite obvious flaws, another elder statesman, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has just published a memoir containing claims that would further relegate his integrity as the leader who opened Nigeria to the cankerworms of corruption, by neglecting important projects that could have changed the trajectory of this country if he had focused on what mattered in his days.

“By underplaying the importance of the Lagos-Calabar project in his latest book, OBJ has not only affirmed to those who witnessed his administration’s several failures to address the needs of the country when he had the opportunity, but he has also put in written form, a position which generations to come will indeed question when the road that will end up as one of the most significant endeavours of any Federal Government in the history of the country finally becomes a reality.

“Despite spending eight years in government and failing in his attempt to force himself on Nigerians for a further four years, Baba Obasanjo failed woefully in addressing the infrastructural needs of his state; indeed, it took former President Buhari just three years to deliver the first modern rail to pass through baba’s backyard in Abeokuta.

“The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was southwest and indeed one of Nigeria’s most important road projects in recent times, both baba and the PDP spent 16 years without getting the project beyond 30 per cent completion until Buhari happened.

“What about the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway that has now been inherited by Governor (Dapo) Abiodun in 2024 because the President who hailed from the state failed to make it a reality, despite having all the power and goodwill to do so?”

The presidential aide queried the corruption allegations in the Obasanjo administration, as he asked the former president to attempt to explain to Nigerians why he failed to help the country transit into a great country under his leadership.

He said, “Should we delve into the corruption that brought Nigeria’s power sector to its knees despite the claims of spending billions of dollars to fix the same under his administration? Or his failure to revive our refineries, killing our steel industry and fraudulent privatisation of NITEL, among others?

“President Obasanjo must emulate others before him by returning to his writing board to at least attempt to explain to Nigerians why he failed to help Nigeria transition into a proper country under his leadership, despite emerging at a time when the goodwill was at an all-time high, compared to these days when President Tinubu now has to take all the decisions they failed to take.

“Like the Sokoto-Badagry Highway and Lagos-Abuja Highway, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road is a project that will change the economic landscape of our country for life and former President OBJ must pretend not to be jealous of the master strategist who is rewriting the history of the southwestern presidency by fixing all that needs to be fixed across the country.”

He concluded that Tinubu would not be deterred by distractions, adding that Nigerians who understood development would also not be distracted.

The trial of suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, over alleged non-disclosure of assets resumed on Thursday at the Federal High Court in Abuja, with a prosecution witness revealing that investigations uncovered over ₦200 million in Kyari’s accounts, exceeding his official earnings.

Naija News reports that the witness, a Chief Investigator with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Ahmed Yero, told the court that the money was traced through Kyari’s Bank Verification Number (BVN) linked to 12 accounts, 10 of which were active.

Yero, testifying as the ninth prosecution witness (PW-9), said his team was assigned on February 14, 2022, to investigate the defendant’s financial activities under the NDLEA’s Directorate of Assets & Financial Investigation.

According to Yero, Kyari initially declared only three bank accounts, but forensic analysis of his BVN records, obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), revealed he owned and operated 10 active bank accounts, including domiciliary accounts in Dollars, Euros, and Pounds Sterling.

“One of the accounts is a salary account through which the 1st defendant (Kyari) received salaries and allowances from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF),” Yero said.

The witness added that NDLEA analyzed Kyari’s bank records for 16 years, from 2006 to 2022, and discovered that deposits into his accounts significantly exceeded his known police earnings.

The NDLEA investigator further disclosed that funds tagged as “operational funds” were wired directly from the CBN into Kyari’s accounts. However, a substantial portion of these funds was transferred to family members and associates.

“We calculated everything the defendant earned in salaries and other entitlements and compared it with inflows into his account. Our analysis showed that over ₦200 million was received beyond what he should have earned officially,” Yero testified.

The witness told the court that Kyari refused to provide a written statement to the NDLEA, insisting that he would only explain himself in court.

Meanwhile, the court admitted into evidence Kyari’s bank statements and BVN analysis, despite objections from his defence counsel, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), who reserved his reasons for challenging the admissibility until later in the trial.

Kyari’s Agriculture Claim Lacks Evidence – Witness

Under cross-examination, the NDLEA witness acknowledged that Kyari was once regarded as a “super cop” due to his crime-fighting role but stated that the embattled officer failed to provide evidence to support his claim that he was involved in agriculture.

“He declared some assets, including landed properties in Maiduguri, Borno State, but failed to declare others,” Yero added.

When asked whether Kyari had ever been convicted before any court, Yero admitted he was not aware of any prior conviction. However, he noted that some of the undeclared assets traced to Kyari were claimed to belong to his late father or wife.

The witness also admitted that there is no law prohibiting a person from owning multiple bank accounts but maintained that Kyari’s accounts contained funds that exceeded his known income.

Earlier in the proceedings, a Compliance Officer from Sterling Bank, David Ajoma, tendered three bundles of documents, including statements of accounts linked to Kyari.

Following the witness’s testimony, Justice James Omotosho adjourned the trial till March 24, 2025, while the NDLEA disclosed plans to produce two additional witnesses in the case.

Aside from the 10-count charge on asset concealment, Kyari is also facing an eight-count charge in another case, where he and four members of his former Intelligence Response Team (IRT) are accused of tampering with cocaine seized from two convicted drug traffickers at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.

Kyari is on trial alongside ACP Sunday J. Ubia, ASP Bawa James, Insp. Simon Agirigba and Insp. John Nuhu.

All defendants have pleaded not guilty and remain in custody pending the determination of their cases.

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday declared that Nigeria was on the brink of bankruptcy before his administration swiftly ended the fuel subsidy and implemented critical economic reforms.

Speaking while receiving a delegation of former National Assembly colleagues from the aborted Third Republic at the State House in Abuja, Tinubu explained that the urgent measures were necessary to safeguard the nation’s financial future and protect coming generations.

Tinubu said, “For 50 years, Nigeria was spending money of generations yet unborn and servicing the West coast of our sub-region with fuel. “It was getting difficult to plan for our children’s future.”

Naija News reports that the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, detailed the president’s remarks in a statement titled, ‘For 50 years, we were spending the money of generations yet unborn: President Tinubu.’

Reflecting on the conditions upon assuming office, the President pointed out the severe economic and social challenges facing the country, stating that bold action was needed to avert financial collapse.

“We faced serious headwinds when I took over, very challenging times. Nigeria would have been bankrupt if we had not taken the actions that we took, and we had to prevent the economy’s collapse,” he said.

The President credited Nigerians for their resilience and support for his policies, noting that their sacrifices have contributed to the recent economic improvements, particularly in stabilizing the exchange rate and reducing food prices.

“Today, we are sitting pretty on a good foundation. We have reversed the problem; the exchange rate is stabilizing. Food prices are coming down, especially during Ramadan. We will have light at the end of the tunnel,” he assured.

Tinubu reiterated his commitment to democracy, calling it the best route for Nigeria’s economic, social, and political development.

He also praised those who remained steadfast in upholding democratic values, reflecting on his experience in the Third Republic and how it shaped his political journey.

Delegation Commends Tinubu’s Policies

Speaking on behalf of the visiting delegation, Senator Emmanuel Nwaka lauded the administration’s initiatives, particularly the Nigerian Education Loan Fund and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP), highlighting their role in easing financial burdens on citizens.

“I appreciate you for what you are giving to students because the student population is the largest demographic in the country. I’ve spoken with many of them, and many have benefited from it,” Nwaka said.

He further praised the credit scheme, saying: “CREDICORP is a major way of fighting corruption. You see a young man, fresh out of school, who wants to buy a car or house and has to pay in cash. But with this credit system, people can finance their needs properly. I’ve been following its activities, and we are delighted.”

Other members of the delegation included Senator Bako Musa, Terwase Orbunde, Hon. Wasiu Logun, Amina Aliyu, Obi Anoliefo, and Eze Nwauwa.