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EFCC Presents Three Witnesses in Alleged N93.8m Contract Fraud Trial

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EFCC Presents Three Witnesses in Alleged N93.8m Contract Fraud Trial

EFCC Presents Three Witnesses in Alleged N93.8m Contract Fraud Trial

The trial of  an alleged N93, 800, 000.00 (Ninety Three Million, Eight Hundred Thousand Naira) fraud case  involving one Muhammad Suleiman Gumsuri  commenced before Justice Umaru Fadawu of the Borno State High Court, Maiduguri, on Tuesday, September 14, 2021 as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, presented three witnesses.

The Maiduguri Zonal Command arraigned the defendant on August 10, 2021 on a one-count charge.

The defendant was alleged to have fraudulently obtained the sum on the pretext of supplying non-food items to “Save The Children”, a Non-Governmental Organization.

The charge reads: “That you, Muhammad Suleiman Gumsuri, sometime in February 2021, at Maiduguri, Borno State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court with intent to defraud did obtained the gross sum of N93, 800,000.00 (Ninety Three Million Eight Hundred Thousand Naira) only from Shettima Mohammed through Karlton International Company’s account number 1023671556 domiciled at UBA and Amir Goni Abdullahi’s Fidelity Bank account number 6012182416 via your account number 0141428771 domiciled at GT Bank and Fidelity Bank account number 6323579712 respectively, all bearing Muhammad Suleiman under the guise that the said sum represent payment for the supply of Non-food items to Save the Children, an NGO, and which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and Punishable under Section 3 of the same Act.”

The defendant pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the charge.

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At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, first prosecution witness, Peterclaver O. Okwor, an operative of the EFCC, while being led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Mukhtar Ali Ahmed, told the court that the defendant requested for the sum of N93.8million from the petitioner in order to execute a contract for the supply of non-food items which he claimed to have secured from ‘Save the Children’ an NGO, with the agreement that the money would be paid back and proceeds from the contract shared by both parties.

In his words, ‘‘the complainant transferred the sum in tranches to the defendant’s accounts domiciled in Fidelity and Guaranty Trust Banks respectively totaling the sum of N93.8million.

 “‘Letters of investigation activities’ were written to the banks and responses were provided to the EFCC. Analyses of the responses received from the bank, confirmed that the sum of N93.8million was paid into the accounts of the defendant by the complainant.’’

Okwor revealed that the defendant confessed in his written statements with the EFCC to have collected the above mentioned sum through his accounts in order to finance the purported contract.

PW2, Maina Muhammad, a staff of Fidelity Bank who was also led in evidence by the prosecution counsel,  Mukhtar Ali Ahmed told the court that the account opening balance of the defendant as at 24th February, 2021 was N14, 122.87 (Fourteen Thousand, One Hundred and Twenty-Two Naira, Eighty-Seven kobo), ”but shortly after that day, the sum  N40million was transferred into the account of the defendant in tranches  by one Ali Shettima Mohammed and the defendant transferred same in tranches to some beneficiaries with a closing balance of  N2, 500.57 (Two Thousand, Five Hundred Naira, Fifty-Seven kobo).”

PW3, Usman Bala, a Marketing Officer with the Guaranty Trust Bank told the court that, “there was an inflow into the account of Muhammad Suleiman Gumsuri in tranches from the nominal complainant which was well over N50million and the mentioned sum was dissipated by the defendant.’’

The petition written against the defendant and statements of the defendant were tendered and admitted in evidence, while the documents from Fidelity and Guaranty Trust Banks were admitted as exhibits C and D respectively.

Justice Fadawu thereafter adjourned the matter to September 20, 2021 for continuation of trial.

EFCC Presents Three Witnesses in Alleged N93.8m Contract Fraud Trial

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VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution

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VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution

By: Michael Mike

Vice President Kashim Shettima has expressed deep grief over the passing of prominent Nigerian businessman and philanthropist, Alhaji Aminu Alhassan Dantata, saying the nation has lost an irreplaceable institution.

The late Dantata, an uncle of Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, passed away at the age of 94 in Abu Dhabi in the early hours of Saturday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to Mustapha Abdullahi Junaid, his Personal Private Secretary (PPS), who confirmed the death.

In a condolence message, Vice President Shettima praised the late businessman for his lifetime of service, describing him as “a living bridge that connected us to our past.

“We have not just lost a leader; we have lost an irreplaceable institution,” Senator Shettima said, describing Dantata as “one of the greatest titans in Nigeria’s philosophical history” whose departure marks the end of a vital chapter in the country’s economic and democratic evolution.

“In African tradition, when such an elderly person transitions, a vital chapter of our history departs with them. He was indeed among the great titans, a living bridge that connected us to our past,” VP Shettima added.

The Vice President extended heartfelt condolences to the Dantata family, expressing hopes that they would “find the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss,” even as he prayed that Almighty Allah would grant the deceased Jannatul Firdaus.

Born into the legendary Dantata family of Kano, Alhaji Aminu built on his father’s commercial legacy to become one of Nigeria’s most influential business figures. His empire spans construction, manufacturing, banking, agriculture, and the oil and gas sectors.

Beyond business, Dantata was renowned for his extensive philanthropic work, funding schools, mosques, health centres, and supporting widows and the underprivileged across Nigeria.

VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution

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Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting

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Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting

By: Michael Mike

The Senior Officials Meeting between Nigeria and the European Union (EU) will be held on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd July 2025 in Abuja to prepare for the upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting and to explore areas of cooperation.

A statement on Saturday by the Press Officer, EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Modestus Chukwulaka, read: “The Delegation of European Union to Nigeria and ECOWAS wishes to inform that the Senior Officials Meeting between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the European Union (EU) will be held on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd July 2025 in Abuja.

“The agenda of the very important meeting is to prepare for the upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting and to explore areas of cooperation.”

According to the statement, the Senior Officials Meeting will be co-chaired by the Regions, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria, Ambassador Janet Olisa, Director, and the Deputy Managing Director for Africa Department, European External Action Service, European Union, Mr Mathieu Briens.

The statement revealed that the agenda of the meeting is expected to entail wide-ranging discussions that would focus on various aspects of the Nigeria – EU partnership, such as: Cooperation on multilateral and regional issues; Peace, Security and Governance; Humanitarian situation; Trade and Investment; Human Development: Health, Education, Social Protection; Science, technology, innovation and digital transition; Migration; Energy, climate change and green economy transition among others.

Nigeria and the European Union share a deep, long-standing partnership inspired by mutual values and interests as well as support for multilateralism and rule-based international order, the statement said.

Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting

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Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People

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Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People


…. Donates relief materials to displaced persons in Yelwata, IDP camp

By: Michael Mike

Former Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri has charged former governors, legislators, traditional rulers and other stakeholders in Benue state to set aside rivalry, unite and act with urgency to save their people from incessant attacks and killings.

Waziri, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police and Principal Partner, Brookfield Chambers Abuja stated this on Saturday 28th June 2025 while donating relief materials to victims of the recent gunmen attacks in Yelwata community and displaced persons at the internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Makurdi, the Benue state capital.

Some of the items donated under the banner of Women, Youth, Children and Crime Organisation (WYCCO), a non-governmental organization founded by her, include: bags of rice, sugar, tubers of yam and other household items.

She said: “This is no time for division. It is no time for political squabbling or ego-driven manoeuvring. Among us are men and women who have led this state — former governors, legislators, traditional rulers — individuals with influence and authority. The time has come to set aside our differences and stand united, for the sake of the ordinary Benue man, woman, and child.

“That is why I stand here today to make this urgent and heartfelt appeal to our leaders: cast aside rivalry, unite, and act. Act with urgency. Act with purpose. Because what we face now increasingly resembles a deliberate, coordinated effort to erase our people and our heritage.

“We must take heed of the words of Sir Winston Churchill, who once said:
‘Our difficulties and dangers will not be removed by closing our eyes to them.’
Another of Churchill’s warnings is just as relevant to our present predicament:
‘If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed… you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival.”

Waziri, while stating that her call was a build up to the earlier proposal by President Bola Tinubu during his recent visit Beforehand Benue, noted that meetings alone would not solve the problem, urging that: “But let us be sincere: peace will not come from meetings alone. To end the cycle of violence, we must confront its roots. Before the Yelwata massacre, communities in Gwer West, Apa, and Guma had already endured weeks of killings, kidnappings, and raids. These horrors did not emerge in a vacuum; they are symptoms of deeper issues.

“We must therefore confront the real causes — ethnic and religious tensions, unchecked banditry, and the rise of cultism as well as the abuse of illicit drugs. These forces must be tackled, along with the herder-farmer conflict, with honesty and courage. We cannot afford to keep going in circles. And there is no room for blame games. Our leaders — and indeed, all of us — must be pragmatic. So today, let us commit, as one people, to healing our wounds, reclaiming our land, and ensuring that never again will a child in Benue grow up in a camp instead of a home”

She said the development in Benue must be of “concern to all sons and daughters of Benue regardless of whether we live within its borders or far away in the diaspora to find out the root cause of these attacks with a view to proferring solutions that will bring an end to these barbaric acts”

Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People

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