VIDEO: Yahaya Bello’s Loyalists Seek Spiritual Help Over N80Billion Fraud Case With EFCC, Pray He Becomes Next Nigerian President
Photo Credit: Sahara Reporters
Some loyalists and supporters of the embattled former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello have sought spiritual intervention over his issues with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC has been making efforts to arraign Bello on 19 counts bordering on alleged money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N80.2 billion.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, last Tuesday, ordered EFCC to serve a copy of the 19 criminal counts against the fleeing Yahaya Bello to his lawyer.
The EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede, during the week, said he would resign from office if Bello was not eventually prosecuted for the fraud allegations levelled against him.
However, in a viral video seen by SaharaReporters, a group of his loyalists are seen at a shrine seeking spiritual intervention that will enable the former governor to escape justice in the money laundering charges brought against him.
The loyalists who spoke in Igbira, a prominent local language in Kogi, described Bello as a good man and prayed that he succeeds Bola Tinubu as the next president of Nigeria.
“The good things Yahaya Bello did is what he's going to reap,” one of them is heard saying in the video.
He continues: “We heard he allegedly stole money and the issue with EFCC that for which they want to arrest him are all lies. He didn't steal any money.
Naira depreciates to N1,305/$ in parallel market
Photo Credit: Vanguard
The Naira yesterday depreciated to N1,305 per dollar in the parallel market, from N1,255 per dollar on Tuesday.
Similarly, the Naira depreciated in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market, NAFEM, to N1,308.52 per dollar.
Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange rate for NAFEM rose to N1,308.52 per dollar from N1,300.15 per dollar on Tuesday, indicating N8.37 depreciation for the naira.
Consequently, the margin between the parallel market and NAFEM rates narrowed to N3.52 per dollar from N45.15 per dollar the previous day.
Flights diverted as fire breaks out at Lagos Airport
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The E54 Bridge of Murtala Muhammed International Airport Terminal One suffered a fire outbreak in the early hours of this morning.
Smoke was detected billowing from the E54 Bridge, leading electrical engineers to immediately cut off power to the airport’s E Wing.
A statement by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Federal Airports Authority, FAAN, Mrs Obiageli Orah Director, said that although the fire was brought under control at 06:41 am, all flight operations in Terminal 1 of MMA have been diverted to the D Wing.
The statement reads: “At 05:29 hrs, smoke was detected billowing from the E54 Bridge, leading electrical engineers to immediately cut off power to the entire E Wing. The Airport Rescue and Firefighting Services (ARFFS) team was quick to respond, arriving at the scene by 05:30 hrs. Initial suspicions point to sparks from an electrical unit as the cause, but a thorough investigation is ongoing to ascertain the cause of the fire.
“The incident, which had escalated into a fire, was brought under control by 06:41 hrs. Efforts to ventilate the smoke from the building are in progress.
In the meantime, all flight operations in Terminal 1 of MMA have been diverted to the D Wing. More details will follow shortly.”
Burkina Faso army killed 223 villagers in revenge attack – Human Rights Watch
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The Human Rights Watch has said that Burkina Faso’s military massacred more than 220 civilians, including at least 56 children, in a single day this year.
According to a report by BBC, in the attacks on 25 February, Burkina Faso’s army killed 179 people in Soro village and 44 others in the nearby Nondin village, an HRW investigation revealed.
HRW termed the mass killings “among the worst army abuse” incidents in the country in nearly a decade.
However, the BBC said Burkinabè authorities have not commented on the report.
Last month, public prosecutor Aly Benjamin Coulibaly appealed for witnesses to identify the group behind the mass killings. He put the preliminary death toll at 170.
Villagers who survived the attack told HRW that a military convoy with over 100 soldiers descended on Nondin village, about 30 minutes after Islamist fighters passed nearby.
The soldiers went door-to-door, ejecting residents from their homes.
“They then rounded up villagers in groups before opening fire on them,” the report added, citing witness and survivor accounts.
They arrived in Soro, about 5km (3 miles) away, an hour later, also gathering and shooting at villagers, the survivors added.
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