₦33bn police pension Fraud: EFCC gets court order to seize suspects’ property

Click banner for more info

ABUJA—A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday, cleared the way for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to freeze the illicit property of two of the prime suspects in the looting of the Police Pension fund to the tune of about ₦33 billion. The two suspects to lose their property scattered in many locations in Lagos and Abuja, are Atiku Abubakar Kigo and Uzoma Cyril Attang, who are alleged to have used the stolen funds to acquire the assets.

Continue

Pension Fund Administrators to invest ₦3.4tn in infrastructure from part of the growing pension funds

Click banner for more info

Acting Director-General, PenCom, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu

Culled From Punch Nigeria

Pension Fund Administrators will invest part of the growing pension funds in infrastructure after the Pension Reform Act 2004 must have been replaced with a new act.

This was contained in a memorandum submitted by the National Pension Commission to the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service and the House Committee on Pensions at the joint public hearing for the proposed enactment of the Pension Reform Act 2013.  Acting Director-General, PenCom, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, said the commission proposed that the funds should be utilised for national development.

The bill states, “There is a consensus among stakeholders that the PRA should facilitate the optimal utilisation of pool of funds generated by the Contributory Pension Scheme towards national development.” It added that provisions had been made in the bill for the expansion of permissible investment instruments to accommodate initiatives for national development, such as investment in the real sector.

Continue

Pension fraud trial Judge suspended for one year by NJC

Click banner for more info

The judge who presided over the pension scam trial and gave light sentence to one of the accused persons, has been suspended for one year without pay by the National Judicial Council (NJC). JusticeAbubakar Talba of the FCT High Court imposed a mere N750,000 to convicted felon, John Yakubu Yusuf, who stole billions of pension fund.

A statement from the council’s spokesperson, Mr. Soji Oye, read

“The National Judicial Council under the chairmanship of the Honourable Chief Justice of Nigeria, Honourable Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, at its meeting which was held on 24th and 25th April, 2013 suspended Honourable Justice Abubakar Mahmud Talba of the FCT High Court from office for a period of 12 months without pay.

Honourable Justice Talba was suspended from office sequel to the findings by council that he did not exercise his discretion judicially and judiciously with regard to the sentences he passed on one of the accused persons, Mr. John Yakubu Yusuf, in the Police Pension case of FRN Vs Esai Dangabar and 5 Ors.     

Sacked Air Nigeria Workers May not Get their Pension

Click banner for more info

Chinedu Eze

There are indications that the over 700 workers of the now-rested Air Nigeria who were sacked last year may not secure the 25 per cent of their pension deposits.

This is because they were not issued with disengagement letters and the company which relieved them of their jobs did not communicate to the Pension Commission (PENCOM) that they have been sacked, THISDAY has learnt.

The workers are eligible to receive 25 per cent of their contributions to the scheme after they have remained unemployed six months after their sack, but that hope seems to have been dashed as the workers who lost their jobs when the company closed on September 10, 2012 may not receive the contributions, unless the Chairman of the company, Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim, intervenes.

“They certainly deserve better than this” – NLC state position on pension crisis

Click banner for more info

We find it necessary to address you today on the shameful and painful circumstances in which our retired workers who are pensioners have found themselves.

PREAMBLE

For quite some time now, the administration of pension funds has been enmeshed in unprecedented corruption with some public officers, institutions of government and banks generously helping themselves to the said funds, and in the process, deny pensioners their pension. This has thrown pensioners, majority of whom are our members into penury, with some dying in queues of protracted and unending verification exercises that yield little or no result.

Head Of Service Of The Federation Refuses To Join Issues With Maina Over Pension Looting Allegation

Click banner for more info

Head of Service (HoS) of the Federation, Alhaji Isa B. Sali has said he would not join issues with embattled chairman of Pension Reforms Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, as it had since been dissolved and all the members returned to their respective Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).Sali said: “The President has approved the dissolution of the Pension Reforms Task Team and all the members were issued with letters to return to their various agencies.

Senate committee’s report on pension fictitious – Maina’s team

Click banner for more info

The disagreement between the Senate and the Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, continued on Sunday, with the taskforce dismissing the Senate committee’s report on pension as fictitious.

The team stated that  the report of the Senate Pension Probe Committees, chaired by Senator Aloysius Etok (Establishment and Public Service) and Senator Kabiru Gaya (State and Local Government Administration) was unfounded.

The PRTT, in a statement in Abuja by its spokesperson, Mr. Hassan Salihu, specifically said the committees had “grossly misinformed and misled the entire Senate with a fictitious report muddled up with a multitude of naked untrue and misleading unjustifiable conclusions”.

Shocking - Pension Fraudster Runs to Singapore

Click banner for more info

The Indicted Billionaire Civil Servant and Chairman of Pension Reforms, Abdulrashid Maina, who the Nigerian Senate secured a warrant for his arrested as absconded to Singapore.  Mr Maina placed N88 billion pension fund into the private account of his younger brother, Danjuma Zubairu. The money domiciled in Fidelity Bank fixed account number 5030024748 has a monthly interest of over N100 million to Mr Maina.

Pension Thief Remanded In Kuje Prison For Seven More Days Pending Bail Application

Click banner for more info

Embattled Pension thief, Mr. John Yusuf, will remain in prison custody for the next seven days before an Abuja Federal High Court decides whether to grant him bail or not in a fresh four-count charge proferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Yusuf had been remanded in Kuje Prison, Abuja, since he was arraigned for the new charge on January 30.

The court, presided by Justice Adamu Bello, on Tuesday, fixed February 12, 2013, for the hearing of his application for bail.Information Nigeria recalls that Yusuf was re-arrested over the new charge after a Federal Capital Territory High Court handed-down a two year jail term or fine of N750,000 for conniving with others to defraud the Police Pension Office of N27.2bn – a judgment considered a slap on the wrist by majority of Nigerians.

Photos: Protesters Storm Ministry Of Justice Over Pension Thief Sentence

Click banner for more info

 Abuja: Civil Society organizations  today protested the judgement handed down to the former director of Police Pension Board, John Yakubu Yesufu by an Abuja High Court .  The protest which started at the Ministry of Justice was led by Dino Melaye with members of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and others.  

N27bn Pension Thief Rearrested After Outcry

Click banner for more info

There were  indications on Tuesday that public outcry against the light sentence handed an Assistant Director in the Police Pension Office, Mr. John Yakubu Yusuf, by  a  Federal Capital Territory High Court,  forced the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to rearrest him.

The high court presided over by Justice Mohammed Talba had on Monday  sentenced Yusuf  to only two years’ imprisonment with an option of N750,000 fine for conniving with others to defraud  the PPO and pensioners of N27.2bn.

Man gets 3yr jail term for stealing phone, as pension boss is freed for stealing N2 Billion

Click banner for more info

The State Attorney General says he does not understand what the magistrates want

 The man was sentenced to three years in jail for stealing a telephone handset worth N17, 000 even as pension thief who stole N2billion is freed

Less than 24 hours after an Abuja High Court sentenced Pension Thief John Yakubu Yusuf to two years in prison for admitting to stealing around N2 billion, an Ikare Magistrate Court in Ondo State has sentenced another man to three years in prison for stealing a telephone handset worth N17, 000.

The Abuja court had on Monday sentenced the former director of the Police Pension Board, John Yakubu Yusuf, to two-year imprisonment.