Probe of NIMASA contract scam ‘inconclusive’

A Federal High Court, Lagos, on Wednesday heard that investigation of alleged contract scam at the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) was inconclusive.

An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecutor Ibrahim Ahmed said there were no documents showing whether the contracts, which were alleged to have been split, were indeed supplied.

He was testifying in the trial of former NIMASA Director-General Raymond Omatseye.

EFCC re-arraigned him before Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia on an amended 27-count charge bordering on contract scam.

Omatseye pleaded not guilty to all the counts.

His re-arraignment was due to the transfer of the former trial judge, Justice Binta Murtala-Nyako.

The accused person was charged with alleged illegal transfer of the agency’s fund and contract splitting estimated at over N1.5 billion.

During cross-examination by defence counsel Olusina Sofola (SAN), Ahmed said he asked for the “performance” documents, but was not given.

“I made request for the documents orally from the people who made statements. I also requested for the documents from the contractors,” he said.

The witness said he was, therefore, unable to determine the “performance” of the contracts allegedly awarded by Omatseye.

“According to statements made by the accused person and the contractors, the items were supplied.

“The contractors said the contract was performed. I requested for documents showing performance of the contracts but was not given.

“Because the documents were not available, I wasn’t able to confirm the contract performance,” he said.

Asked by Sofola if he stated his inability to confirm the contract performance in his statement before the court, the witness said he did not write down everything.

“It’s not everything I did in the course of my investigation that is contained in my statement,” Ahmed said.

The EFCC witness, however, said the materials supplied to NIMASA were “almost the same thing” and ought to be awarded to a single contractor.

He added that the contracts were allegedly split to come within the approved threshold for management approval.

Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia adjourned till December 3 for continuation of hearing.

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Central African Republic's UN protection force approved

There has been a break down in law and order in CAR since rebels seized power

The UN Security Council has approved a special 250-strong military force to protect UN workers in the Central African Republic (CAR).

The UN director of humanitarian operations said CAR was "chaotic" and more than half the population was in need of assistance.

"The scale of suffering is among the worst in the world and getting worse," John Ging said.

CAR has been in a state of chaos since rebels seized power in March.

A rebel alliance known as Seleka ousted President Francois Bozize from office, replacing him with the alliance's commander, Michel Djotodia

.

Last month, Mr Djotodia formally disbanded the rebels and integrated many fighters into the national army.

However, rebels linked to Seleka have continued to launch attacks on scores of villages, prompting the emergence of local civilian protection groups. 

Central African Republic

'Tinderbox'

 

The 250 UN troops will be taken from an existing peacekeeping force and based in the capital, Bangui, diplomats said.

The strength of the force will then be strengthened to 560 troops so they can deploy to areas outside the capital where there is a UN presence.

Mr Ging, who has recently visited CAR, said there was a worrying new religious dimension to the violence, with armed groups inciting Christian and Muslim communities against each other.

"We are seeing the seeds of a profoundly dangerous development between communities.

"It's a tinderbox that can ignite into something very, very big and very, very bad," the Associated Press news agency quoted Mr Ging as saying.

The African Union is in the process of deploying a 3,600-strong peacekeeping mission to the country - incorporating a regional force already on the ground.

Earlier this month, France said it was sending some more troops to its former colony where it already has about 400 troops based at the airport in Bangui. 

CAR has huge deposits of precious minerals but has been plagued by chronic instability since independence in 1960.

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DR Congo army 'seizes' Bunagana base from M23 rebels

Government forces in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have captured Bunagana town, the main base of the M23 rebel group, residents say.

The troops entered the town on the Ugandan border in large numbers as the rebels fled, residents told the BBC.

M23 political leader Bertrand Bisimwa was earlier reported to have crossed the border into Uganda as Congolese troops advanced on his base.

The M23 launched a rebellion in eastern DR Congo in April 2012. 

It is made up of army deserters who say they are fighting for the rights of the minority Tutsi ethnic group.

At least 800,000 people have been left homeless since the conflict started.

About 10,000 people fled to Uganda this week, with about half of them arriving on Wednesday, said Lucy 

Beck, a spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), the Associated Press (AP) news agency reports.

Heavy shelling

On Monday, the UN special envoy to DR Congo, Martin Kobler, said the M23 was all but finished as a military threat in DR Congo.

His comments came after government forces captured five M23-held areas, including Rumangabo where the rebels had a big military training camp. 

The government forces have been backed by a UN intervention brigade deployed earlier this year to confront the M23 and other armed groups.

The BBC's Ignatius Bahizi in Uganda says residents in Bunagana told him there was heavy shelling, before the town fell to government forces. 

Bunagana, a town of several thousand people and the headquarters of Mr Bisimwa, is on the Uganda-DR Congo border.

Mr Bisimwa had surrendered to Ugandan security operatives after crossing the border in a convoy of two vehicles, Uganda's state-owned New Vision newspaper reported. 

He left Bunagana when government and UN forces were about 5km (three miles) away from the town and he was being questioned by Ugandan security operatives, the paper said. 

However, M23 officials denied that Mr Bisimwa had fled. 

They told our reporter that the M23 political leader had travelled to Uganda to sign a peace accord with the government. 

Peace talks hosted by Uganda broke down last week. 

The UN and DR Congo government have repeatedly accused Rwanda and Uganda of backing the rebels. They deny the allegation. 

Eastern DR Congo has been wracked by conflict since 1994, when Hutu militias fled across the border from Rwanda after carrying out a genocide against Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

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See What Actress Chika Ike Has To Say On The On-Going ASUU Strike

Nollywood actress, Chika Ike took to her twitter page to share her opinion on the on-going ASUU strike affecting Nigerian universities which started on 1st July, 2013.

See tweets below

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UN and French forces in 'large-scale' operation in Mali

French, Malian and UN forces have launched a "large-scale" operation in Mali, France's military says.

France sent troops to oust Islamist rebels from northern Mali earlier this year

Spokesman Col Gilles Jaron told the AFP news agency that several hundred French soldiers were involved in the mission in the north of the country.

It was aimed at preventing a resurgence of "terrorist movements", he added.

On Wednesday, a suicide bomb attack on a UN Stabilisation Mission in Mali (Minusma) base in Tessalit killed civilians and two Chadian peacekeepers.

The UN Security Council stressed that those responsible would be held accountable and reiterated its support for Minusma.

The Malian leader of a splinter group of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Sultan Ould Bady, said it had attacked the base because the Chadians were "working for France".

France sent troops to oust Islamist rebels from northern Mali in January.

The rebels were quickly pushed back from the main urban centres. Some retreated to hideouts in the mountains and desert, from where they launch occasional attacks.

'Stabilisation'

Col Jaron of the French military's general staff said the operation - called "Hydra" - was "the first time we have seen forces of significant size working together" in Mali.

Its goal was to "put pressure on any terrorist movement to avoid their resurgence", he added.

The colonel stressed that the mission was not linked to any recent attack.

"This is one those operations that are conducted regularly... to participate in the stabilisation of the country," he explained.

He did not say when the operation started or on which areas it was focused, nor provide exact numbers or details on the forces taking part.

A spokesman for the Malian army, Lt-Col Souleymane Maiga told the Reuters news agency: "It's an operation to sweep identified areas in the three northern regions [Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal]. It will last as long as is needed."

BBC Africa analyst Mamadou Moussa Ba says this is the first time French troops have publicly been involved in operations against Islamist militants in Mali for several months.

France has 3,200 soldiers in the country but plans to reduce the force to 1,000 by February, several months later than originally planned.

It handed over responsibility for security to Minusma in July. However, the UN force has less than half of its mandated strength of more than 12,000 military personnel and has appealed for reinforcements.

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EuroBasket: GB fail to make the second round after defeat to Ukraine

Great Britain missed the chance to make the second round of EuroBasket for the first time as they slipped to an 87-68 defeat at the hands of Ukraine in their final game in Ljubljana.

Great Britian missed out of the second round of EuroBasket after losing to Ukraine

Sunday's win over Germany had given Joe Prunty's men hope of advancing from Group A, but they were behind for almost the entire contest against Ukraine, slipping to a comprehensive defeat.
GB did at least manage to keep things close in the first quarter and with Kieron Achara sinking a three-pointer at the end of the first 10 minutes they trailed just 21-18.
But a 27-13 second for Ukraine in effect killed the game off and Britain never looked like getting themselves back into the game from there.

Balanced attack

Andrew Lawrence and Devon van Oostrum each had 12 points for GB to lead all scorers, while Kyryl Natyazhko and Ihor Zaytsev paced a balanced Ukraine attack with 11 points apiece.
The result meant that while Ukraine went into the second round, either Belgium or Israel were certain to finish ahead of GB and clinch the third and final qualifying spot from the six-team group.
The campaign was nevertheless a reasonable one for Britain's young team, who claimed two victories - over Israel and Germany - from their three games.

SOURCE - SKYSPORT

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Frank Lampard aims to mark his 100th England cap with win

Frank Lampard says he is more concerned about helping England beat Ukraine in Tuesday's World Cup qualifier than winning his 100th cap for his country. 

The Chelsea midfielder will become only the eighth Three Lions player to reach the milestone if he features in Kiev. 

England top Group H but will be leapfrogged by Ukraine if they lose. 

"The main thing is to get the result," said Lampard, 35. "I just hope to be involved. It wouldn't be enjoyable to get to 100 and not do it right." 

Lampard's goals for England

Frank Lampard has scored 29 times since being handed his England debut by Kevin Keegan against Belgium in 1999. His favourite goal? "It would be the header at Euro 2004 against France," he said. "It was my first major tournament goal. We lost the game but the fans were terrific."

Lampard made his England debut under Kevin Keegan and alongside Alan Shearer, Paul Ince and David Seaman in a 2-1 friendly win over Belgium at Sunderland's Stadium of Light in October 1999. 

Since then he has gone on to score 29 times for his country and has captained them five times. 

He will join a select band of centurions to have played 100 times for England if he features against Ukraine, a list that includes current international team-mates Steven Gerrard and Ashley Cole. 

England, who go into Tuesday's game with limited options in attack after Daniel Sturridge joined the list of players unavailable because of injury and suspension, might lead Group H but their place at next year's World Cup in Brazil is far from guaranteed. 

Roy Hodgson's side are level on points with Montenegro, although with a superior goal difference, but third-placed Ukraine are only a point behind the top two. 

"I never dreamt of getting anywhere near 100 caps to be honest," added Lampard. "I will be very proud, 100 is a long time [playing], but first and foremost we need three points. 

"I'd love to fly back from Ukraine with three points because that would put us in a strong position." 

Reflecting on his previous 99 caps, the former West Ham forward said: "I've enjoyed every minute of travelling and playing for my country. What an honour that is. 

 

"The carrot of Brazil, I would love to take part in that and everyone in the squad would." 

Ukraine have won their past four qualifiers - scoring 18 times - and while Hodgson's side comfortably overcame Moldova 4-0 at Wembley on Friday, Ukraine hammered San Marino 9-0. 

Lampard's late penalty rescued England a 1-1 draw when the teams met at Wembley in September 2012. 

"They had a bad start to the group but against us they played with a lot of talent, they have a lot of technical ability and pace on the wings," added Lampard. 

"I don't think we were at our best that night but to not lose when you're not at your best is a good thing," added Lampard. 

"We'll go there conscious they're a strong team but confident in our own abilities.

"We've got the team to get a result, no doubt." 

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