Report from EFCC on how Lagos state Speaker Spent funds on foreign trips and his wife.

EFCC today March 18th revealed how Lagos Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji, squandered money on his wife, foreign trips and how on August 1, 2011, N4.4m was paid to him as “cost of allowance”; and his personal assistant and orderly pocketed N1.2m and N1.1m respectively.

Premium Times reports

The trial of the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, continued Tuesday with the prosecution witness detailing how the defendants allegedly laundered millions of Naira.

Adebayo Adeniyi, the EFCC witness, told the court how the defendants collected N13.5 million for honorarium, N4.5 million for renovation of the Speaker’s residence, and N1.5 million for the Speaker’s Guest House every month for six consecutive months.

Mr. Ikuforiji and Oyebode Atoyebi, his aide, are facing a 54-count amended charge of money laundering amounting to over N600 million.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, accused the Speaker and his aide of receiving the money from the Lagos State House of Assembly without passing through a financial institution.

The trial was adjourned last January for the prosecution to provide a summarized version of the monies collected by Mr. Ikuforiji and his aide.
But on Tuesday, Godwin Obla, counsel to the EFCC, said that he would rather continue with his previous method to avoid any grounds for appeal.

It was a painstaking effort that required Mr. Obla to go through each of the transactions with the witness. The judge admitted that, but overruled the defence’s plea that the prosecution tabulate the relevant sections of the transactions.
“We’ve lost time. We vacated three days for that exercise to be done,” said Ibrahim Buba, the trial judge.
“What I understand the prosecution to be doing is trying to go through the records viz a viz each count of the allegation. They are entitled to do so.
“It is indeed difficult, if not laborious,” Mr. Buba added.

2011 TRANSACTIONS
Mr. Adeniyi continued his testimony by stating how the Lagos House of Assembly paid millions of naira to Mr. Ikuforiji; his wife, Mayowa; his orderly; his personal assistant; as well as the state’s Deputy Speaker.

All the monies were collected by Mr. Atoyebi and paid for in cash, the witness said.
On July 14, 2011, N5.4 million was paid to Mr. Ikuforiji for a trip to San Diego, California; his personal assistant and orderly collected N1.3 million and N1.2 million respectively, according to Mr. Adeniyi.

On August 1, 2011, N4.4 million was paid to the Speaker as “cost of allowance”; his personal assistant and orderly pocketed N1.2 million and N1.1 million respectively. Two days later, N10 million was paid to the Speaker for Ramadan, the witness said.

On August, 2011, N6.4 million was paid to Mayowa Ikuforiji, the Speaker’s wife; and N1.3 million to the wife’s orderly, the witness said.
Between January and June 2011, N13.5 million was paid as honorarium, every month, to the Speaker, Mr. Adeniyi added.

He said N4 million and N1 million were also paid monthly, within the stated period, for the renovation of the Speaker’s official residence and guest house respectively.

Asked why there were columns with Cheque Numbers in the cash register, Mr. Adeniyi responded that: “What they do is that a cheque is raised in most cases in the name of the Permanent Secretary and cashed from the bank.
“It is this cash that is eventually paid and registered in this document, the details of payments.”

2010 TRANSACTIONS
“Basically, these cash payments are supposed to be made through a financial institution, paid to the beneficiaries, not through cash payments. Cash payments stall the tracing of the monies.
“We discovered that some of it was paid into the account of the first accused person. Some of it was used for his credit card and other personal matters,” he added.

During cross examination by Wole Olanipekun, counsel to Mr. Ikuforiji, Mr. Adeniyi said that he was not aware what the Speaker used the monies for.

“Our investigation is not focused on knowing whether he spent the money on his personal house.
“From our investigation, we did not go in depth into who approved the disbursements, we were particular about the cash disbursement which was above the threshold of transactions by a Permanent Secretary.

“Any payment must be made through e-payment, most especially when it is above the threshold,” Mr. Adeniyi said.
When shown one of the cash registers by the defence lawyer, Mr. Adeniyi said that he could not “remember seeing it.”

Mr. Obla objected to that line of questioning, insisting that the defence must tender the cash register as an exhibit before it court be used for cross examination.
The judge, however, said that the defence was at liberty to use any document that had been brought before the court.

“You cannot file a document and your witness said he cannot remember seeing it. If it was filed by the defence, it is a different ball game altogether,” the judge told Mr. Obla.
“Once you have provided this document, it is for them (the defence) to use it at their own time during the trial, not at your own time,” the judge added.
The trial was adjourned till April 28 for continuation of trial.

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Man Rapes 8-Year Old Boy In Jigawa

The Jigawa State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has arrested a 20-year old boy in Jigawa for raping another boy who is 8.

The suspect was arrested on Sunday when they were hinted about the incident. A medical check-up was also carried out and it confirmed the little boy was raped.

The suspect later confessed to the crime and said he usually gives the little boy N20 each time he wanted to lure him into the act.

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Frightening scale of reoffending revealed: 148,000 criminals caught this year had at least FIFTEEN previous convictions

Almost 150,000 criminals convicted or cautioned last year had committed 15 or more previous offences,  figures revealed last night.
The ‘frightening’ re-offending rates mean this group alone have been responsible for  more than two million crimes between them.
And shockingly, the number of such career criminals has increased by 14 per cent in just five years.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said the figures exposed the abject failure of the criminal justice system to get to grips with repeat offenders and showed the desperate need for action to tackle persistently high reoffending rates.
Mr Grayling said the public – and the Government – were ‘fed up with crooks doing their time and going straight back to crime’. The Justice Secretary has proposed radical reforms to the Probation Service aimed at reducing recidivism among hardened criminals.
Charities and private firms will be paid ‘by results’ to engage with criminals and help them turn their lives around.
But his reforms have faced fierce opposition from unions – who are planning strike action next week – and probation chiefs.

Reform: Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said plans to privatise the probation service will save taxpayers millions

Last night Mr Grayling said: ‘People should stop and think about what these bleak figures represent – too many devastated victims, too many wasted lives and broken families, and millions in taxpayers’ money squandered.
‘Simply put, the situation is grim and it will only get worse by sitting on our hands and doing nothing.
‘Our reforms will help us put a stop to this, for the first time making it possible for every offender coming out of prison to receive at least 12 months’ support and supervision.
‘And we will only pay for services in full where they are proven to cut reoffending, making sure public money goes further.’
The previously unseen Ministry of Justice figures show some 148,641 criminals with 15 or more cautions or convictions to their names offended again in the year to  March 2013.
That total is up 14 per cent in five years, from 130,153 in 2008.
This group are therefore responsible for at least 2.25million crimes – although the true extent of their criminality will be much higher, as the figures do not capture how many more crimes than 15 each had committed.
In addition, many will have carried out further offences which went undetected.
The statistics also show that more than half a million offenders with at least one previous conviction or caution committed a further crime in the same period.
That includes 95 per cent of those given short jail sentences of less than 12 months.

Under pressure: The Goverment is being urged to suspend plans to overhaul the probation service. Probation trusts have said the plans pose a risk to public safety while the probation officers union is planning to strike

In addition, more than 350,000 of those convicted or cautioned in the same period had served some kind of community sentence.
Justice officials said the statistics exposed the ‘frightening scale’ of reoffending.
Experts say crime is increasingly committed by a small group of hardened offenders who return to crime again and again.

The previously unseen Ministry of Justice figures show some 148,641 criminals with 15 or more cautions or convictions to their names offended again in the year to March 2013

Peter Cuthbertson, director of the Centre for Crime Prevention think-tank, said: ‘These are appalling figures. Thugs are going through a revolving door of probation and soft justice and then reoffending time and again.
‘We need to do far more of what works – tough prison sentences. Locking up serious, repeat offenders cuts crime and protects the public.’
Under the new reforms Mr Grayling’s department will award contracts worth £450million to private and voluntary groups who will supervise some 225,000 low and medium-risk offenders.
The remaining rump of 31,000 high-risk offenders, including  dangerous violent and sexual  criminals, will remain under State control.
Criminals given short-term jail sentences, who currently are not supervised at all after their release from jail, will be given at least 12 months supervision and rehabilitation on release from prison.
This ‘Rehabilitation Revolution’ will, it is hoped, make a significant dent in reoffending rates.
The figures expose how reoffending remains persistently high – despite some recent falls – and  tens of thousands of criminals  continue to offend after completing community service or probation programmes.
Members of the National Association of Probation Officers (Napo) union are due to strike next Tuesday over the policy.
And yesterday the Guardian reported that the chairmen of the Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Warwickshire probation trusts have told the Justice Secretary the plans will risk public safety.
The Ministry of Justice has said that more than 700 organisations worldwide have expressed an interest in carrying out the work, including hundreds of British firms.
In a letter to the Justice Secretary, Jane Wilson, chairman of the Leicestershire and Rutland probation trust, said the current timetable had ‘serious implications for service delivery and therefore increases the risk to public safety’.

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