News & Announcements

Amid a divorce battle, legendary singer, Paul Okoye of the P-Square group, has been dragged to court by his estranged wife, Anita, over infidelity during their marriage.

Last year, the news about the sudden separation between Paul and his estranged wife, Anita, broke out with the latter reportedly citing unfaithfulness on the part of her husband.

Recall that the pair met in 2004 during their undergraduate days at the University of Abuja and got married on March 22, 2014, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Their union has produced three children; Andre — born in 2013 — and the twins, Nathan and Nadia, born in 2017.

Last year, Anita filed for divorce. She requested the dissolution of her marriage with Paul, as per a partly redacted court document that surfaced and went viral on social media platforms.

According to the petition filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Anita cited “irreconcilable difference” as her reason, asking Paul to challenge it if he felt disgruntled.

But in another court document released on Friday, Anita filed a lawsuit against Paul Okoye at a High court in Abuja. She also revealed several chats with the singer and other women.

The Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal on Friday, July 1, 2022, convicted and sentenced Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, senator representing Delta North Senatorial District at the National Assembly, to 7 years imprisonment and ordered that his two companies, Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd and Summing Electrical Ltd, be wound up in line with the provisions of Section 22 of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2021.

The Appellate Court’s ruling followed the appeal’s success by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, challenging the judgment of Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court which on June 18, 2021, discharged and acquitted the defendants of a two-count charge of fraud and money laundering.

EFCC had arraigned the three defendants over the acquisition of a property named Guinea House, Marine Road, in Apapa, Lagos, for N805 million. 
Part of the money paid to the vendor, precisely a sum of N322 million transferred by Suiming Electrical Ltd on behalf of Nwaoboshi and Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd, was alleged to be part of the fraud proceeds.

But in his judgment, Justice Aneke held that the prosecution failed to call vital witnesses and tender concrete evidence to prove the elements of the offenses for which it charged the defendants.
Justice Aneke said the evidence of PW2 “proved that the third defendant obtained a loan of N1.2 billion from Zenith Bank for purchase of additional equipment and as the provision of working capital.
“It also proved that the loan of N1.2 billion together with interest of N24 million was properly granted to the third. Nothing else was proved by the complainant or prosecutor in this case,” the judge said.
He claimed a fatal blow was dealt with the case of the prosecution by its failure to call officials of Sterling Bank “to testify and probably tender exhibits F and F10”.Consequently, he discharged and acquitted the defendants.

However, ruling on the EFCC’s appeal today, the Court of Appeal held that the trial judge erred in dismissing the charges against the respondents. It said the prosecution had proved the ingredients of the offense and consequently found the defendants guilty as charged.

The fallout from Shakira and Gerard Pique’s breakup continues, with the former couple now working on finding a solution over the custody of their children.
Shakira is arguing that Milan (9) and Sasha (7) should spend the next few years with her in Miami, while the defender wants them to stay in Barcelona.

According to La Vanguardia, both have put their trust in the hands of two law firms in order to resolve the issue.

Both firms are well-known for handling cases like this, as it isn’t the first time they’ve represented high-profile clients in custody battles.
Shakira wants the children to move to Miami, with Pique having visiting rights, but the Barcelona defender doesn’t want them to be put in such a new and different environment.
Instead, Pique wants them to stay in Barcelona, where they were born.

Thus, it seems Shakira and Pique are further apart than ever following their breakup, though that may change given the well-being of Milan and Sasha is a priority for both.
In the meantime, it’s the lawyers that are now looking to settle the matter.

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, on Wednesday linked the killings in the state to the Federal Government.
The governor alleged that the Federal Government sent ‘people’ to kill farmers in the state.
Speaking with Arise TV, Ortom said the alleged action of the Federal Government has made it impossible for his administration to generate Internally Generated Revenue, IGR.

He lamented that the killings have led to the spread of Internally Displaced Persons in the state.
He said, “My IGR is low because of the security situation in the country; I can’t raise IGR. Today, as I talk to you, over 1.5 million people are IDPs and are no longer going to farms.

“The Federal Government and COAS have sent people to kill farmers in their farmland.
“We are now in the rainy season, but farmers are no longer going to their farms, so how do I raise IGR?”

U.S singer, R. Kelly has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for using his status to run a scheme to sexually abuse children and women.
In September, a jury in New York convicted the R&B artist, 55, of racketeering and sex trafficking crimes.
The Chicago native – whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly – was also fined $100,000 (£82,525).
He currently faces separate criminal charges in three other cases.

Kelly – known for hit songs like I Believe I Can Fly and Ignition – was found to have used his celebrity status and sphere of influence to lure women and children into sexual abuse over two decades.
At his sentencing on Wednesday, US District Judge Ann Donnelly said the celebrity had used sex as a weapon, forcing his victims to do unspeakable things and saddling them with incurable diseases.
The sentence, she said, would act as a deterrent from committing similar crimes in the future.

Jurors at Kelly’s six-week trial in Brooklyn heard how he trafficked women between different US states, assisted by managers, security guards and other members of his entourage.
The court also heard how Kelly had illegally obtained paperwork to marry singer Aaliyah when she was 15 in 1994, seven years before the singer died in a plane crash.

The certificate, leaked at the time, listed Aaliyah’s age as 18. The marriage was annulled months later.
Federal prosecutors had recommended that Kelly be sentenced to more than 25 years in prison, given the seriousness of his crimes and “the need to protect the public from further crimes”.

But his lawyers called for a sentence of 10 years – the mandatory minimum for his conviction – or less.
They portrayed Kelly as growing up poor in a household rife with domestic violence and suffering sexual abuse from a young age.
Credit: BBC News

JJC Skillz, the husband of actress, Funke Akindele-Bello, has announced that their marriage is over.
In a post on his Instagram page on Thursday, JJC Skillz said he moved out of the house three months ago and they had been leading separate lives.

He said, “Dear Friends and family, I need to let you know that Funke and I have separated. While it lasted we shared a lot of things together and have created 2 beautiful children. 

“The last two years have been extremely difficult for us. I know I have tried my best to fix things but I believe it is beyond repair now. Three months ago and at Funke’s insistence, I moved out of the house and apart from AMVCA have not been able to get Funke to sit down in an amicable manner to discuss the future of our relationship.

“I’m making this announcement so that the public is clear that we both are pursuing separate lives. We still have issues that need to be addressed such as the custody and wellbeing of our children which is paramount as well as business interests that need to be disentangled but I have no doubt that these will be resolved one way or the other.”

The 9th District Assembly and Conference of Rotary International, comprising Ghana, Guinea, Togo,
Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, among others, held in the capital city of Freetown, Sierra Leone,
for five days – March 22-26 — to fraternize in the fellowship of the global Rotary family.
Rotarians from different countries converged for an event that unveiled the oneness and togetherness of
the Rotary family where everyone, including the newly-inducted and incoming members, were treated
with love and cordiality in an atmosphere of camaraderie. No wonder the First Citizen of the Republic
of Sierra Leone took time off his busy schedule to make an appearance and speak to the delegates.
His Excellency, The President, Brig Julius Maada Bio (retd), in his usual style of presentation, brought
humor to the listening pleasure of the audience made up of Rotarians, Rotaracts, Interactors, etc.
He described Sierra Leone as one of the most peaceful countries in Africa, and the people as one of
the friendliest in the world even as he encouraged participants to enjoy the leisure of the seafood and
other delicacies available in the country.

President Bio noted: “I have been impressed with the emphasis on the power of one that is central to
the principles of your organization – the idea that each individual is a global citizen and, working with
others can touch lives in the other parts of our planet, including Sierra Leone.”
On her part, the immediate past Assistant Governor of Rotary 9101, Rotarian Sheila John, who also
co-chairs of the Host Organising Committee of the event said she felt honored and was delighted to
have her fellow Rotarians from over 10 countries in Africa to Freetown to deliberate on the progress
and challenges of their Club, adding: “Rotarians in Sierra Leone wish you all a wonderful and
successful time in our beloved country. Thank you.”

The International Rotary President, Shekhar Mehta, noted that Rotary was an institution of community
service where ordinary people are motivated to reach top height, and serving people was the service of
paying rent on earth. “I hope you take the knowledge gained at this District Conference back to your
Clubs to help them succeed throughout the coming year. Together, we will achieve great things as we
serve to change lives.”

In November 2021, when Sierra Leone’s finance minister Dennis Vandi presented his government’s budget for the 2022 financial year to parliament for approval, he told MPs that total expenditure and net lending for the period January to September 2021 amounted to Le8.71 trillion (19.5 percent of GDP), of which recurrent expenditures was estimated to increase to Le7.74 trillion by the end of last year.

Last Friday, 24th July 2022, MPs were shocked to learn from the finance minister that government spending this year – 2022, has been revised upwards to Le13.2 trillion (25 percent of GDP), reflecting the increase in both recurrent and capital expenditures, with recurrent expenditure going up to Le9.4 trillion (17.7 percent of GDP).

Seven months after tabling his 2022 Budget for approval to MPs, the finance minister was in parliament presenting his government’s supplementary budget and statement of economic and financial policies for this financial Year, 2022, asking for more money to spend – a whopping Six Trillion Leones more than was spent last year, taking the government’s planned expenditure for this year to Le13.2 trillion, as rising costs of living and poverty cripple millions of households in the country.

Defending the government’s decision to increase spending, the minister said:  “Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, you recall that in presenting the 2022 Budget, the recovery of the economy was predicated on an end to the COVID[1]19 pandemic and its positive effects on growth and service delivery. Growth was initially projected to reach 5.9 percent in 2022 and average 4.4 percent in the medium-term. Unfortunately, an entirely unpredictable event reared its ugly head. After nearly two months into the implementation of the 2022 Budget, the war in Ukraine broke out in February 2022.

“The war has had devastating consequences on the world economy in general, with already overstrained supply chain disruptions. This impact has, in part, further severely disrupted supplies of essential commodities, including fuel, fertiliser, and wheat, leading to supply shortages and a sharp increase in prices.

“Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, we are submitting to this Noble House a Supplementary Budget for the Financial Year 2022 for the following reasons: Firstly, the macroeconomic and fiscal assumptions that underlined the 2022 Budget no longer hold. As Russia and Ukraine are major suppliers of agricultural and energy products, including oil, gas, metals, wheat, corn, and fertilizer, countries, including Sierra Leone, are already experiencing uncertain supplies and higher prices. The sharp rise in global food and energy prices coupled with the general uncertainty has slowed down domestic economic activities, undermined domestic revenue collection, and created pressures on the budget.

“Secondly, given the urgent need to protect the poor and vulnerable from the soaring food and energy prices, we will adopt mitigating measures, which I will present later in this statement.
“Thirdly, given the need to ensure fiscal and debt sustainability and to facilitate the implementation of the emerging expenditure priorities, the Government engaged development partners, including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the African Development Bank, for the provision of additional financial resources. Thankfully, reflecting Government’s commitment to implementing policy reforms, the World Bank will provide additional budget support and project grants to support energy and education programs. We also plan to use a larger share of additional Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) allocated by the IMF to support the budget. The African Development Bank is also providing support under the African Emergency Food Production Programme.

“Fourthly, to expand the fiscal space to finance the emerging expenditure priorities, we are introducing additional tax policy and tax administration measures. These measures are aimed at increasing domestic revenues over and above the original projections.
“Against the background of the general uncertainty in the global economy, combined with higher food, fuel, and fertilizer prices, the initial growth projection of 5.9 percent for 2022 has been revised downwards to 3.6 percent.”

“Reflecting the continuous increase in international fuel prices, the Government was compelled to adjust the domestic fuel pump price upwards to avoid supply shortages. This, combined with higher food prices, the depreciation of the exchange rate, and other factors, have led to an increase in consumer prices. Inflation rose to 24.4 percent in May 2022 from 16.7 percent in January 2022, with food inflation increasing to 26.3 percent from 15.7 percent over the same period.”

He then went on to tell MPs that “the key objectives of the Supplementary Budget are: (i) to safeguard macroeconomic stability through prudent fiscal and proactive monetary policies; (ii) to protect the vulnerable segments of our society from the higher food and fuel prices by expanding existing social safety programs and enhancing support to the energy sector; and (iii) to complete the implementation of ongoing projects as outlined in the original 2022 budget.”

So how does the government hope to pay for this massive increase in spending, if the economy is not expected to grow as previously predicted? Government borrowing will rise to over 80% of GDP.
“Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, following the impressive performance in 2021 on the back of the recovery in economic activities and improved tax administration, domestic revenue collection weakened during Quarter 1, 2022. Domestic revenue collected in Quarter 1, 2022, recorded a shortfall of Le 330 billion and was also lower than the amount collected during the same period in 2021. Several revenue streams were below their respective quarterly targets, including Petroleum Excise duties, Goods and Services Tax, Fisheries Royalties, and Timber Export Levy’, the finance minister told MPs last week.

“In general, the weak revenue performance can be attributed to the delay in adjusting fuel prices, reduced tax compliance, public resistance to tax reforms, especially the use of the Electronic Cash Register (ECR) , and supply chain challenges in the export of bauxite and timber logs.”

So, what is the Bio-led government going to spend the increased expenditure on this financial year?
This is what the minister told MPs: “Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the sharp rise in food and fuel prices occasioned by the war in Ukraine has worsened the food security situation in the country, pushing more vulnerable people into poverty. To cushion the impact of the crisis on the poor and vulnerable households, the Government is implementing several mitigating measures and will seek external financing to complement domestic resources to implement these measures.

“(a) Monetary Policy Response. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the Bank of Sierra Leone will continue to focus on its core mandate of ensuring price and financial sector stability while supporting the Government’s economic recovery program.

“Monetary policy implementation during the first half of 2022 is challenged by the high inflationary pressures driven by the rising energy and food prices and the continued depreciation of the exchange rate. Like most central banks around the world, the Bank of Sierra Leone responded appropriately by raising the Monetary Policy Rate by 75 basis points in March 2022 to dampen inflationary pressures.
“(b) Establishment of the Food and Fuel Facilities by the Bank of Sierra Leone. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, given soaring food and fuel prices coupled with the depreciation of the exchange rate, the Bank of Sierra Leone in April 2022 established two new temporary Special facilities: a Special Food Facility in the sum of US$50 million to support the importation of rice, flour and sugar; and a Special Fuel Facility in the sum of US$50 million to support the importation of fuel.

“These facilities are expected to ensure adequate supply of these commodities in the market, reduce the pressure on the exchange rate and stabilize domestic prices.

“(c) Expanding Social Safety Nets. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, at the request of the Government, the World Bank has agreed to reallocate funds to the Contingency Emergency Response Components (CERC) of the FREE Education and Social Safety Nets and Youth Empowerment Projects to facilitate the preparation of emergency operations. The objective is to mitigate the impact of higher food and fuel prices on vulnerable groups, including school children and the very poor in our society. Under the FREE Education project, US$12 million will be provided to scale up the school feeding program to cover fifteen districts, including Western Rural; hygiene pads for school girls, teaching and learning materials, and examination fees.

“Under the Social Safety Nets and Youth Empowerment Project, the allocation for cash transfers will be increased from US$4 million to US$10 million to scale up the coverage of the cash transfer program. The Emergency Cash Transfer Programme will target an additional 35,000 beneficiaries (mostly women) engaged in productive activities in urban and rural communities. This will increase the total number of beneficiaries to 70,000.

“Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, we will also use the additional SDR resources allocated by the IMF to support the implementation of activities in the Supplementary Budget. Part of these resources will also be utilised to support the expanded school feeding program (Le60 billion) and Cash transfers (Le20 billion).
“(d) Emergency Food Production Support. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the Government has also secured financial support from the African Development Bank under the African Emergency Food Production Facility in the sum of US$2.1 million to support farmers with agricultural inputs, especially fertiliser, to enable them to boost production with a view to addressing the looming food security crisis.
“(e) Support to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, you will recall that Government established the MUNAFA Fund and approved the sum of Le100 billion to enhance access to finance for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) from 2020 to 2023. 35. To date, the Government has released the sum of Le30 billion into the Fund. Of this amount, Le26 billion has been disbursed to Financial Services Providers for on-lending to micro, small and medium enterprises. About 75 percent of the beneficiaries are women. The government will disburse additional funds to scale up the programme as part of efforts to mitigate the impact of the Ukraine war on MSMEs.

“(f) Fuel and Electricity Subsidies. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the recent upward adjustment in domestic pump prices is not sufficient to cover the cost of fuel at the pump level. Thus, total indirect subsidies on fuel amount to Le 380 billion for the period January to June 2022. In the case of electricity, the rise in the price of fuel has led to an increase in the subsidies provided by Government to the energy sector. Reflecting the higher fuel prices, total subsidies to the energy sector are now estimated to increase to Le538 billion from Le122 billion in the original budget.”

As the widespread blackout continues in the capital of Freetown, questions are being asked about the massive $36 million owed by the government to the Turkish company that has been providing offshore powered electricity from their ship. The company has suspended its contract with the government and is demanding payment.

The Presidential Candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has said he is still searching for his running mate.
Tinubu, who has been in the news since the Independent National Electoral Commission published particulars of 2023 candidates, spoke at the presentation of “Mr. Speaker”, a book in honor of the speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila.

In the INEC Form CF001 submitted on June 17, 2022, Tinubu did not provide details of his primary and secondary schools as the spaces were left blank. He also did not attach copies of his certificates, which he stated in an affidavit, had been stolen.

This generated speculations that the APC flag-bearer could be hiding some details or was unsure of his credentials.

Speaking in Abuja during an event to mark the 60th birthday of Gbajabiamila, Tinubu said the search for his running mate was ongoing.
At the event to celebrate Gbajabiamila, Tinubu hailed the working relationship between the celebrant and his deputy, Hon Ahmed Wase, saying he needed to learn from them.

He said, “Femi with your determination, and grit, you are a contributor to our democratic growth, thank you. You have character. You are a great mentor and you are doing a good job charting a path to success. You’ve done a good job and I say thank you, thank you.

“What you did during my primary is a story for another day. I’ve spent more time, too many times and people might be bored, they might be envious too, they might be jealous. I won a landslide, I thank you.
“I could see his deputy (Wase) sitting down there too, you are a very good symbol of unity, dependability, and honesty, thank you. Thank you for both of you. You’ve not rocked the boat. I will need to learn from both of you, how you made the pair work because I’m still searching for my running mate.”

A 33-year-old man identified as Gabriel Volts has been arrested by the Nigerian police in Delta State for allegedly beheading his son for ritual purposes.

In a statement by the police spokesperson, Bright Edafe, the suspect took his one-year-old son from his mother and proceeded to Etinabobo bush in Edo State, where he used a handsaw to cut off the head of the little boy. 

“The Delta State Police Command has arrested one Gabriel Volts aged 33years who allegedly beheaded his son for ritual. The suspect used a handsaw to cut off the head of his one-year and eight months old son at Etinabobo bush in Edo State for ritual purposes and buried him by the palm tree.

“The suspect was arrested after the child went missing, and the suspect lied to the wife that the son was with his sister in Warri, which turned out to be false. This prompted the wife to be suspicious; so she reported to the police. The suspect has confessed to the alleged crime,” the police spokesperson said.