Connect with us

News

Diezani spent £2mon renovation of London property, contractor tells UK court

Published

on

A contractor in the United Kingdom has told a Southwark Crown Courthow his firm renovated and managed luxury property allegedly used by Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria’s former minister of petroleum resources.

Alison-Madueke is facing trial alongside Olatimbo Ayinde, an oil executive; and Doye Agama, her brother; on a five-count charge bordering on accepting bribes.

They threw have pleaded not guilty.

Giving evidence on the fifth day of the trial, Tony Mulcahy, a former director of Bear Rock Construction Ltd, said the company carried out extensive refurbishment works between 2011 and 2014 on several high-value property linked to the ex-minister and her family.

Mulcahy told the court that Bear Rock was hired by Kolawole Aluko, a businessman, to oversee major renovations at 39 Chester Close, North London.

Aluko is a petroleum and aviation mogul who was part of a constellation of Nigerian oil executives, state governors, cabinet ministers, military officials, and tribal chiefs mentioned in the Panama Papers leak.

According to floor plans tendered before the court, the property was fitted with a residential lift, which Mulcahy said was installed because Alison-Madueke’s mother had mobility issues.

See also  Suspend protest to avoid further destructions, Adegboruwa begs youths

He said the top floor of the building was allocated to the minister’s son and that the renovation cost about £2 million.

Mulcahy also told the court that he had direct dealings with Alison-Madueke, including meetings at the property where materials such as stone samples and fabric swatches were reviewed.

Text messages exchanged in early 2014 relating to lighting choices were shown to the court, with Mulcahy confirming that he had Alison-Madueke’s personal mobile number.

A significant part of his testimony centred on financial difficulties allegedly caused by delayed and incomplete payments from Aluko.

Mulcahy described what he called a recurring cycle of requests for payment followed by assurances that were not met. By December 2013, he said Bear Rock was “on the brink”, which he explained meant “going under”.

He told the court that after Aluko promised a £200,000 payment that failed to arrive as agreed, the company withheld a large delivery from Harrods that was being stored, using it as “leverage” to recover the funds. The £200,000 was paid shortly afterwards.

See also  VIDEOS: NDLEA busts trans-border drug cartel, arrests 4 members in Onitsha, Keffi

The witness said the company’s financial challenges persisted into 2014. In April of that year, he emailed Aluko, warning that unpaid bills were “ruining us” and asking whether he should contact Alison-Madueke directly.

According to Mulcahy, Aluko advised him to write a formal letter to the then minister. He said he personally delivered the letter to her residence at St Edmund’s Terrace, after which a payment of £270,000 was made about a week later through Aluko’s company, Atlantic Energy.

Mulcahy also recounted being invited by Aluko to a meeting at One Hyde Park, one of London’s most expensive addresses.

“It really annoyed me,” he said.

“Here is a man who is owing me money, and he invites me to meet him at One Hyde Park.”

Emails presented in court suggested that Tenka Limited, another company linked to Aluko, handled expenses for properties allegedly used by Alison-Madueke, including staff wages, utility bills and maintenance costs.

One internal email from May 2013 instructed staff to replace references to “HM” (Honourable Minister) with “Clients” in account records.

See also  BREAKING: EFCC raids Abuja Bureaux de change offices

Mulcahy told the court that he later sought to recover the outstanding debts through Donald Amamgbo, whom he was introduced to as a lawyer.

Despite several meetings, he said Bear Rock Construction eventually went into voluntary liquidation.

Earlier, British prosecutors detailed to the court how the ex-government official spent £140,000 on luxury furniture and decorative art in a single day.

During the court proceedings on January 27, prosecutors told the court that Alison-Madueke accepted bribes in the form of luxury goods and use of high-level properties from industry figures.

Alexandra Healy, a prosecutor, had told the jurors that the defendant “enjoyed a life of luxury in London”, which was provided by those interested in oil contracts in Nigeria.

On January 29, Jonathan Laidlaw, counsel to Alison-Madueke, told the court that his client had no real influence on award of oil contracts during her stint in office.

Laidlaw had said Alison-Madueke was just a “rubber stamp” for official recommendation.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

Relief as suspected Ebola cases in Adamawa tested negative

Published

on

By

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has said that there are currently no laboratory-confirmed cases of Ebola  in Adamawa.

The NCDC had on Saturday said that there were two suspected cases of Ebola in the north-east state, adding that the individuals had been isolated while contact identification was ongoing.

But in a statement on Sunday, the director-general of NCDC, Jide Idris,
said samples collected from the two individuals, who had symptoms suggestive of Ebola, tested negative after two rounds of testing.

“The report was received by the Adamawa State Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) in the early hours of 30 October 2026, following the identification of two individuals presenting with symptoms suggestive of Ebola, requiring further investigation,” the statement reads.

“Hence the alert that was released early this evening. The individuals have been isolated, and appropriate public health measures have been initiated.

“Samples were collected for laboratory testing to establish the cause of the illness. Fortunately, the samples turned out negative for EBV after two rounds of testing.”

See also  Major News Headlines In The Papers Today: Ede agog ahead of Sunday's inauguration of Adeleke as Osun Gov

Idris commended the Adamawa health commissioner and his team for their “proactive approach”, adding that the NCDC was working closely with the state government to investigate the report of suspected Ebola cases.

“Currently, there is no laboratory-confirmed Ebola case in Adamawa state,” he said.

“The index case previously confirmed in the Federal Capital Territory remains the only confirmed case reported in Nigeria to date.”

He urged the public to remain calm and avoid sharing unverified information or speculating about the situation.

“The public is encouraged to obtain information from official government and public health communication channels,” he said.

Idris described Ebola as a serious infectious disease that requires prompt identification, appropriate clinical management and effective infection prevention and control measures.

“Anyone experiencing symptoms such as fever, severe weakness, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhoea or unexplained bleeding, particularly following relevant exposure, should seek immediate medical attention and inform healthcare workers of any relevant travel or contact history,” he said.

See also  Tinubu knocks PDP, LP at APC rally in Osun, says ‘They will labour to death’

“Individuals should avoid self-medication and follow the advice of healthcare professionals.”

Nigeriaconfirmed its first Ebola case in more than a decade on October 20, after a 42-year-old Swiss woman tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain in Abuja.

The patient, who had travelled from Uganda to Nigeria, was subsequently isolated and treated by Nigerian health workers.

On Monday, the federal governmentevacuated the patient to Switzerland aboard a medical plane.

Her husband, who was identified as a close contact, was also evacuated to Switzerland.

Ali Pate, coordinating minister of health and social welfare, said the patient was clinically much improved, stable, conscious and communicating, with her laboratory test results approaching baseline levels.

Continue Reading

News

Good morning! Nigerian Newspapers Headlines: 2027: S’West ADC leaders revolt against Atiku

Published

on

By

1. Many leaders of the African Democratic Congress in the South-West have expressed dissatisfaction with what they described as the marginalisation of the party’s structure in the region by the ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

The ADC leaders, including some state chairmen and governorship candidates, alleged that Atiku had been conducting his political activities in the region through his friends and allies, while leaving the party structure sidelined as presidential campaign activities prepared to gather momentum.

2. A United States federal court has rejected an attempt to obtain discovery from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and DCI Group in an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). 

3. The Zamfara State Commissioner of Police, CP Muhammad Bello, has confirmed the “rescue of three of the six Islamic clerics kidnapped on September 12 while travelling to Talata Mafara, Zamfara State.” Bello gave the confirmation in an interview with select reporters in Gusau. He said the rescue followed a multi-agency collaboration and seamless synergy between the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, the Department of State Services, DSS, and police operatives.

See also  VIDEOS: NDLEA busts trans-border drug cartel, arrests 4 members in Onitsha, Keffi

4. The Grand Patron of the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement, Chief Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, and the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, have set a target of at least 1.5 million votes for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election. According to a statement, the target was announced on Saturday in Osogbo during the inauguration of the movement’s state and local government structures.

5. Nigerians lose no less than N75bn annually to visa application expenses across foreign missions, with rejected Schengen visa applications alone accounting for an estimated €11.5m, equivalent to about N19bn in 2025.
This is according to a visa-cost analysis report obtained by Sunday PUNCH from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

6. With one accord, the governors of Enugu, Imo, Ebonyi, and Anambra States yesterday urged the people of the Southeast to avoid political distractions, and vote massively for President Bola Tinubu in next year’s presidential election. Governors Peter Mbah, Hope Uzodimma, Francis Nwifuru and Charles Soludo, said it was necessary for the zone to support Tinubu’s re-election bid to enable him consolidate the gains of his administration’s economic reforms

See also  Nigeria reopens land, air borders with Niger Republic, lifts sanctions

7. Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has said Nigeria’s security challenges predate the administration of President Bola Tinubu, noting that terrorism, insurgency and banditry had been entrenched in the country before 2023 when Tinubu assumed office. He said the country’s security problems were rooted in years of porous borders, illegal arms proliferation, youth unemployment and the spread of extremist ideologies.

8. Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike has directed supporters of President Bola Tinubu to deliver their polling unit in the forthcoming 2027 general elections. Addressing the supporters, Wike framed the upcoming general elections as a critical opportunity for residents of the nation’s capital to rectify past electoral missteps and unite under a strategic development banner.

9. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has removed the name of the Kano State governorship candidate of the National Democratic Congress, NDC, Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, from its updated list of candidates for the 2027 general elections. A check on the commission’s website shows that the names of Gwarzo and his deputy were conspicuously missing from the updated list.

See also  Suspend protest to avoid further destructions, Adegboruwa begs youths

10. Four young men have been arrested by the Bauchi State Police Command for allegedly abducting and gang-raping a 12-year-old girl in Sakwa District, Zaki Local Government Area of the state. The suspects were arrested following a complaint by the victim’s 50-year-old father, who reported the incident at the Sakwa Divisional Police Headquarters on Thursday.

Continue Reading

News

Wale Tinubu, Rabiu, others Join President Tinubu in Makkah for Umrah

Published

on

By

The Group Chief Executive Oando Plc, Jubril Adewale Tinubu; Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, and several other Nigerian business mogul have joined President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, for the performance of Umrah, the lesser Islamic pilgrimage.

The presence of the prominent Nigerian business leaders alongside the President in the holy city has drawn attention, bringing together three influential figures from Nigeria’s political and business communities in a moment of religious observance.

Tinubu and Rabiu, both prominent names in Nigeria’s corporate landscape, were seen alongside the President dressed in the traditional white Ihram garments worn by Muslim pilgrims performing Umrah.

Umrah, unlike the obligatory Hajj pilgrimage, can be undertaken at any time of the year. It involves a series of religious rites in Makkah and holds profound spiritual significance for Muslims across the world.

For the Nigerian business community, the appearance of the corporate leaders alongside the President also offers a glimpse into the intersection of faith, business and public life, particularly when influential figures come together outside the usual settings of boardrooms, corporate engagements and official functions.

See also  Tinubu knocks PDP, LP at APC rally in Osun, says ‘They will labour to death’

The development comes as President Tinubu undertook the pilgrimage to seek divine guidance and offer prayers for Nigeria’s peace, unity, stability and progress.

According to the Presidency, the President performed the Umrah rites early Friday, October 30, at the Grand Mosque, Masjid al-Haram, where he circumambulated the Holy Ka’abah.

Speaking after completing the spiritual exercise, Tinubu described the pilgrimage as significant, linking it to his commitment to Nigeria and its people. He also expressed gratitude to Allah for the opportunity to pray for the country.

The President’s prayers reportedly centre on national harmony, security, economic prosperity and the need for Nigerians to live together peacefully.

Rabiu also used the occasion to express his hopes for the country, describing it as an honour to accompany the President on the spiritual journey. He prayed for lasting peace, unity and prosperity in Nigeria.

For Tinubu, whose Oando Group occupies a prominent position in Nigeria’s energy industry, the journey offered a departure from the familiar world of corporate leadership and business engagements. Rabiu, similarly, is a major player in the country’s industrial sector, with interests spanning manufacturing, cement and food production.

See also  Woman sells two daughters for N300,000, blames hardship

Their appearance in Makkah alongside the President underscores the presence of leading figures from Nigeria’s private sector at an important spiritual moment for the country’s leader.

Umrah, often described as the lesser pilgrimage, is a significant act of worship in Islam. Unlike Hajj, which takes place during a specific period in the Islamic calendar, Umrah can be performed throughout the year.

President Tinubu is expected to return to Nigeria next week after completing his spiritual engagements in Saudi Arabia.

Continue Reading

Trending News