The Nigerian Army, on Thursday, said it has apprehended personnel for illegal possession of ammunition and explosives during a routine search operation by the Military Police K9 Team, at the Borno Express Terminal in Maiduguri, Borno State.

A statement by Major Gen Onyema Nwacbukwu, Director of Army Public Relations said, “The soldier, Lance Corporal Mubarak Yakubu was found in possession of 756 rounds of 7.62 mm special ammunition and four 36 hand grenades, ingeniously concealed within a small bag of rice”.

“This arrest underscores the Nigerian Army’s zero-tolerance policy towards any form of illegal activity or contravention of military regulations by its personnel.

“Preliminary investigation has revealed that the soldier had been de-inducted from active theatre operations in March 2024 and was undergoing de-induction training at the Nigerian Army School of Infantry.

“The soldier was on a welfare pass from Jaji to Kaduna and Adamawa from April 30, 2024, to May 13, 2024, when the arrest took place.

“The NA wishes to assure the public that it will continue to act decisively to maintain discipline within its ranks and ensure the security of all Nigerians.

“The soldier in question is currently in custody and a thorough investigation has commenced to ascertain the full circumstances surrounding this incident and to apply the appropriate disciplinary measures.

“This proactive measure by the Military Police K9 Team reflects Nigerian Army’s relentless vigilance and its proactive approach to enforcing compliance with military laws and regulations.

“The Nigerian Army remains committed to its role as a professional military organization dedicated to the service of our nation and the protection of its citizenry.”

The Nigerian Army, on Thursday, handed over Lydia Simon, the rescued Chibok schoolgirl, and her three children to the Borno State government for reunification with her family.

The Theatre Commander, North-East Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai, Maj. Gen. Waidi Shuaibu, disclosed this during the handing over ceremony at the Mailmalari Cantonment, on Thursday in Maiduguri.

He said that troops of the 82 Division Task Force Battalion rescued the lady carrying a six-month-old pregnancy, alongside her three children on Wednesday, April 17, in The Gwoza Local Government Area of the state.

Shuaibu said she was number 18 among the girls who were rescued by the Nigerian military.

He recalled that the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls in 2014 made both national and international headlines, culminating in the #BringBackOurGirls campaign.

According to him, several efforts have been made both internationally and nationally to return the girls safely and reunite them with their families.

“One of such national efforts is the conduct of military operations deep within the terrorists’ enclaves, which have yielded positive results to facilitate the rescue of some of the Chibok girls.

“Starting from Esther Marcus, who appears on serial 103 on the abducted Chibok school girls’ list, who was the first to be rescued by troops of 7 Division Gar, till now efforts are still ongoing.

“Just recently on April 17, one more Chibok girl was rescued with her three children from the Mandara mountain by troops of the theatre will continue to do its best to rescue those still in captivity.

“The rescue will be in line with the strategic direction and guidance from the Chief of Defence Staff and the Chief of Army Staff.

“We thank the Chief of Army staff for all the resources he has provided in the theatre to achieve its mandate,” he said.

Also Speaking, the acting General Officer Commanding, 7 Division, Brig. Gen. Abubakar Haruna, said the girl received medical treatment and other care by the division since her release.

Victor Onyejiuwa, the managing director of The Source Computers Limited, has testified against Godwin Emefiele, former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in the ongoing case of abuse of office at the Lagos high court.

Emefiele and his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, are currently facing trial on a 26-count charge.

The former CBN governor and Omoile pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

At the court hearing on Thursday, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) presented Onyejiuwa as the fourth witness in the case against Emefiele.

Onyejiuwa told the court that his company — The Source Computers Limited — provided information and communication technologies assistance to the apex bank between 2014 and 2019.

The witness said the CBN awarded at least five contracts to his company during the period.

He added that in 2017, the apex bank awarded an “enterprise storage and servers” contract to his firm.

Onyejiuwa said after the contract was executed, he was approached by John Ikechukwu Ayoh, a former director at the apex bank, that the “management needs something” from the contract.

Onyejiuwa said Ayoh told him that if he did not accede, the funds meant for the contract would not be approved by the management.

“After the contract had been executed, I was accosted by Mr John, saying the management was requesting something from the transaction,” he told the court.

“He said there was pressure on him. I told him that our payment was being delayed. He told me that if I don’t accede to his request, my payment will not be approved.

“After several back and forth for him to see reasons with me on why I needed to get paid and my obligations with my partners, I succumbed to his pressure.

“I was able to organise the sum of $400k and $200k to facilitate payment of the contract funds. Within two or three weeks after, payment was made. That is what happened.

“I was pressured to give the money. I will appreciate it if the money is recovered by the court.”

Asked by the EFCC counsel to mention the amount allocated for the contracts, he said that the highest contract sum was $1.2 billion in late 2017 when naira traded at N360/$ at the forex market.

The witness added that he was awarded contracts for $2.1 million, N340,000, and N17 million by the CBN.

After Onyejiuwa’s testimony, Olalekan Ojo, Emefiele’s counsel, asked for an adjournment to cross-examine the witness in the next court sitting.

Rahman Oshodi, the trial judge, adjourned the case to May 17 for the cross-examination of the witness.

A REWIND

On April 29, Ayoh, former CBN director, appeared before the court to testify against Emefiele.

Ayoh told the court that he worked at the apex bank from June 2014 to April 2019, noting that he did not work directly under Emefiele.

Ayoh added that he used to report to Adebayo Adelabu, a former deputy governor of CBN, who is now the minister of power.

The witness said he was the head of procurement and support services (PSS) of the apex bank, which was vested with powers to receive bids and select successful bidders.

The former CBN director said he collected money from contractors as gratification of awarding contracts to them based on the instruction from Emefiele.

Ayoh said he collected $400,000 and $200,000 in cash from contractors on two different occasions and handed them over to Emefiele’s personal assistant — John Adetona.