Echotitbits – Nigeria News

Tag: Looting

  • Abuja Warehouse Looting: NSCDC Dismisses Officer who Carts Away Palliatives

    Abuja Warehouse Looting: NSCDC Dismisses Officer who Carts Away Palliatives

    The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has dismissed a Corps Assistant, Illiya Ibrahim of the Gwagwalada Division Abuja, who was caught in a viral video carting away some items that were stored in a warehouse as Covid-19 palliatives.

    The NSCDC Tuesday night disclosed this In a statement issued by the Media Assistant to the Commandant General NSCDC,
    Gbenga Ekunola, and made available to journalists.

    According to Ekunola, the NSCDC had punished the officer identified as Illiya Ibrahim by dismissing him from the service in relation to the looting of Covid-19 palliatives discovered in a warehouse in Gwagwalada, Abuja on Monday.

    READ ALSO: 

    Abuja Palliative Warehouse: Three Women Feared Dead in Looting Spree Stampede

    The warehouse containing COVID-19 palliatives was discovered by residents around the area who stormed the facility belonging to the Gwagwalada Council Area to loot the items.

    The dismissed officer was seen to have joined the looting spree as the video trending online clearly reveals him carrying away in his hands some items to the cheers of invading crowd.

    Ekunola said in the statement that: “The Commandant General Abdullahi Gana Muhammadu has approved the recommendation of the Junior Staff Disciplinary Committee for the dismissal of Illiya Ibrahim of the Gwagwalada Division for joining hoodlums in looting Covid-19 palliatives discovered in a warehouse in Gwagwalada, Abuja. The recommendation was given after the officer was charged under the public service rule which is related to unbecoming conduct of officers.

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    “This disciplinary measure was taken after series of investigations and deliberations by the junior disciplinary committee and recommendations were made to the management,” Ekunola said.

    The Media Assistant also disclosed that the NSCDC Commandant is appreciative of officers and men of the Corps including members of the public for providing useful information that has continued to assist the Corps in identifying unfit individuals within the ranks for appropriate action.

  • Abuja Palliative Warehouse: Three Women Feared Dead in Looting Spree Stampede

    Abuja Palliative Warehouse: Three Women Feared Dead in Looting Spree Stampede

    Three women have been feared dead, as a result of stampede while several others suffered suffocation during a looting spree that occurred at a huge warehouse located in the Gwagwalada area of the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) Abuja.

    Reports had it that some who were suffocating were helped out of the building and being assisted with sachets of water.

    The looting spree was the climax of restiveness which started at about 8:43am when some youths gathered within the routes to the warehouse.

    The restiveness heightened when the youths, who were later joined by commercial motorcyclists, gathered in hundreds, shouting and expressing anger over the sufferings in the land. The motorcyclists might have fueled the raid as they came with stories of looting and raid incidents from other parts of the country, the Nation Newspaper reported.

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    At about 9am when personnel of the Nigeria Civil Defence and Security Corps (NCDSC), the Nigeria Police and the Brigade of Guards of the Nigeria Army, who arrived the venue early, blocking the roads with their vehicles, could no longer control the crowd and being were overpowered, the youths and women forced their ways into the warehouse, broke the doors and part of the wall and began looting all items inside the building, including COVID -19 palliatives.

    The warehouse, said to have been built within five months by the Gwagwalada Area Council for the purpose of storing the COVID-19 palliatives was further damaged when some hoodlums climbed fences from adjacent compounds near WAEC office while others fought their ways through the back of Fidelity Bank premises, breaking parts of the roofs to gain entry.

    The crowd of looters grew even larger as youths from the surburbs of Angwa Dodo, Wazobia Parks, Tipper garrage, Passo and surrounding areas of Gwagwalada markets also stormed the warehouse of COVID-19 palliatives.

    According to videos circulating on the internet, the crowd of looters were heard saying: “This is our money, these people are wicked to have hidden these products and refused to share them.”

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    In a report by The Nation items looted were listed as bags of rice, cartoons of indomie noodles, spagetti, macaroni, bags of fertilisers, Indorama products, brand new motor bikes, grinding machines, bags of salt, bags of Sugar, and cartoons of soaps.

    However, by 11.23am, some reinforcements of security operatives forced their ways into the massive warehouse, which had COVID 19 written on it and shut it down without the use of tear gas or fire any shots, which could lead to stampede and more deaths.

  • ‘How Magu Allegedly Re-loots Recovered Funds’

    ‘How Magu Allegedly Re-loots Recovered Funds’

    Suspended Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has been accused of re-looting funds recovered by the commission as well as bribery.

    Magu, who is currently being interrogated by a Presidential Investigation Committee on the EFCC-Federal Government Recovered Assets and Finances from May 2015 to May 2020, headed by retired Justice Ayo Salami, has been accused of mismanagement and lack of transparency in managing recovered assets by EFCC.

    A final report of the presidential probe panel obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) had seriously indicted and implicated Magu on various allegations levelled against him.

    The new facts have emerged on how interest rates accruing from N550 billion recovered by EFCC in the period under review were allegedly re-looted.

    Read Aldo… You’re unfit to lead an agency like EFCC, PDP condemns Magu 

    Magu is now expected to disclose the whereabouts of the missing interest funds running into millions of naira.

    NAN also observed that the Final Report of Presidential Committee on Audit of Recovered Assets (PCARA) that covered the period of May 29, 2015, to November 22, 2018, had also confirmed the concerns of the public about contradictory recovery figures emanating from Magu.

    “It is quite disturbing that conflicting figures are being circulated in the public space by EFCC as the amount of recovered funds.

    “For foreign currency recoveries, EFCC reported a total naira equivalent of N46,038,882,509.87, while the Naira equivalent of the foreign currency lodgments was N37,533,764,195.66, representing a shortfall of N8,505,118,314.21.

    “These inconsistencies cast serious doubt on the accuracy of figures submitted by EFCC. It is the committee’s view that EFCC cannot be said to have fully accounted for cash recoveries made by it.

    “While EFCC reported total Naira recoveries of N504,154,184,744.04, the actual bank lodgements were N543,511,792,863.47. These discrepancies mean that EFCC’s actual lodgment exceeded its reported recoveries by N39,357,608,119.43.

    “It must be pointed out that the discrepancy of more than thirty-nine billion naira does not include interest accrued in this account since it was opened.

    “It, therefore, casts serious doubt on the credibility of the figures and means that a substantial amount of money has not been accurately accounted for.

    “Failure to report on the interest on actual lodgements clearly establishes that the interest element of over N550 billion has been re-looted relating to the period under review.

    “This is an apparent case of manipulation of data in a very brazen and unprofessional manner and this has greatly eroded the public confidence in the anti-corruption efforts,’’ the report stated in part.

    Read Also…. Buhari Breaks Silence on Magu, Says Suspended EFCC Acting Chairman Not Above the Law

    NAN also reports that PCARA revealed how the investigative reports on EFCC’s activities by the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) exposed acts of corruption and money laundering against some EFCC officials, including Magu.

    “The NFIU reports established that the Acting Chairman has been using different sources to siphon money from EFCC, and in some cases collecting bribes from suspects.

    “The report has shown that a particular Bureau de Change, owned by Ahmed Ibrahim Shanono linked to the Acting Chairman based in Kaduna has more than 158 accounts and has been receiving huge sums of funds.

    “The link to Magu was also established by the payment of N28 million to Falana who is a close associate and ally of the Acting Chairman,’’ PCARA report further revealed.

    NAN reports that the Salami probe panel is expected to continue sitting on Monday, while Magu’s lawyer, Oluwatosin Ojaomo, had on Friday applied for an administrative bail for his client, who is facing corruption and other charges before the panel.