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Akpobolokemi, others used NIMASA’ s intelligence gathering funds to buy massaging chairs –Witness
Eyewitness Reporter
A Lagos Federal High Court on Wednesday heard how a former Director-General of the Nigeria Maritime and Administration Agency (NIMASA) Dr. Patrick Ziadeke Akpobolokemi and his management team recklessly spent the agency’s N18 million meant for intelligence gathering on massage chairs for themselves.
A prosecution witness, Mrs. Margaret Ekong, while being led in evidence by the prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo, told Justice Ayokunle Faji that she supplied the chairs to Akpobolokemi.
Ekong told the court that Akpobolokemi took delivery of three of the chairs allotted to him, adding that Akpobolokemi took one of the chairs to his Banana Island house, one to his mother’s house, and the last one to his house in Delta State.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness also told the court that the second defendant in the case, Captain Bala Agaba, who is currently serving a seven-year jail term on fraud and breach of trust charges, took two of the chairs as well as others.
Mrs. Ekong further told the court that she was paid for supplying the massaging chairs with the money voted for intelligence gathering.
According to the witness, the chairs, were supplied in 2013 and payment was made in 2014 after a series of reminders.
When Oyedepo asked the witness where she got payment for the chairs from, Ekong replied that it was from NIMASA.
The ninth prosecution witness Ekene Nwakuche also testified and he claimed that all transactions were done through cash transfer or withdrawal were his responsibility.
Nwakuche said he joined NIMASA in 2013 and was seconded as a personal assistant to Agaba.
Nwakuche also told the court that the Access Bank branch on the ground floor of the NIMASA building in Apapa was the one the agency used for transactions.
Justice Faji adjourned till November 29, 30, and December 1, for the continuation of the trial.
Parts of the charges against the defendants read: “That you, Patrick Akpobolokemi and Captain Ezekiel Bala Agaba on or about the 10th of July 2014, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Court converted the sum of N86Million, property of NIMASA which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of proceeds of an unlawful act to wit: criminal breach of trust and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 15 (2)(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 as amended and punishable under section 15 (3) of the same Act.
“That you, Patrick Akpobolokemi and Captain Ezekiel Bala Agaba, on or about the 10th of July, 2014, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this court converted the sum of N18,080,000, property of NIMASA through Kachos Nigeria Limited, which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of proceeds of an unlawful act to wit: criminal breach of trust and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 15 (2)(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 as amended and punishable under section 19 of the 1999 Constitution.
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Korea deepens collaboration with Nigeria Customs, fetes Adeniyi
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Oyebamiji, NIWA boss, assures international community of Nigeria’s irrevocable commitment to secure, safe waterways transportation
Funso OLOJO
The Managing Director of National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Bola Oyebamiji, has taken his campaign for safe and secure water transportation in Nigeria to the international audience in London where he reiterated the irrevocable commitment of the Authority to accident -free navigation on Nigeria’ s inland waterways.
Oyebamiji, who was in London, attending the 46th Consultative Conference of Contracting Parties in International Maritime Organization, (IMO) Headquarters in the United Kingdom, vowed that no stone would be left unturned to champion the constitutional obligations of the Authority and achieve its mandate under the umbrella of Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, in line with the Renewed Hope agenda of the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He said the safety on Nigerian Waterways remains nonnegotiable as the Authority was irrevocably committed to nip in the bud the scourge of boat mishaps occasioned by noncompliance with the safety standards by the reckless boat operators and defaulters.
NIWA boss further disclosed said insights at the ongoing conference would further help to improve and develop Nigeria’s inland waterways for navigation as part of the cardinal objectives of the Authority.
Oyebamiji joined other stakeholders, intellectuals and experts in the maritime sector across the globe, where they are dissecting the topical issues bordering on Marine Geoengineering; Marine Litter and Microplastics and CO2 Sequestration in order to decisively tackle critical ocean challenges across the world.
According to him, by implementing the London Protocol, Nigeria can significantly advance its inland waterways sector, aligning it with sustainable international practices, protecting marine ecosystems and strengthening socio-economic benefits.
The Protocol which has serious implications on the Nigerian Maritime sector is centered on issues relating to inland waterways as it shapes environmental practices, safety and sustainability.
Some of the issues being deliberated on were; environmental protection; strengthened waste management practices; international compliance and standards; capacity building and training; enhanced monitoring and enforcement; support for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and health and livelihood support respectively.
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