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Ogun Speaker Released From Detention, Insists He’s Innocent

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A Federal High Court in Lagos has released Olakunle Oluomo, the embattled speaker of the Ogun State house of assembly.

Oluomo and the Clerk of the House, Adedeji Adeyemo, and Director of Finance of the House, Samson Oladayo on Friday were released after meeting the bail conditions.

The trio perfected their bail condition on Friday and had since returned to Abeokuta

The Speaker who arrived at the assembly complex around 12:18 pm was received by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Akeem Balogun, and Yusuf Amosun.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had dragged the speaker before Justice D E Osiagor of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, over N2.4 billion fraud allegation.

Oluomo was arraigned alongside Samuel Oladayo, and Taiwo Adeyemo on 11-count bordering on money laundering to the tune of N2.4 billion.

Justice Osiagor, in a short ruling, admitted Oluomo to bail in the sum of N300m and two sureties in like sum.

The second and third defendants were each granted bail in the sum of N100m, with two sureties.

The sureties should be public servants on Grade Level 14 and should possess landed property within the jurisdiction of the court.

They must also provide a three-year tax clearance. The judge also ordered the defendants to deposit their International passports with the court.

The speaker upon his release from the EFCC detention, on Friday, went straight to the assembly complex in Abeokuta and was received by members of staff of the assembly back in the office.

Addressing his staff, Oluomo said that he remained innocent of the charges filed against him by the EFCC.

The speaker said he was not an accounting officer of the House and that the assembly has been operating only one bank account since 2019 under his leadership.

Oluomo said running costs and allowances are paid directly into the bank accounts of members and staff of the House.

He said “by law, I am not the Accounting Officer of the House, for emphasis, the House under my leadership operates only one bank account since 2019, through which running costs and allowances are paid directly into the bank accounts of individual Honourable members and staff of the House including the petitioner.

“Also, charges 10 and 11 are for the Eighth legislature before I became the Speaker.

“I also like to say that the refusal to honour the initial invitation of EFCC was because of the method adopted by EFCC is against section 36 of the constitution and we challenged it in court, this is in the public domain as it was widely reported but the EFCC refused to wait for the pronouncement in that case before taking further steps, despite having joined issues with us in court.

“I have always been disciplined and upright in my position, conduct, and dealings with people, I shall continue to remain myself with truth and honour as my goal. I thank everyone that showed love and concern in the last few days. Thanks and God bless you all.”

Speaking on behalf of the Assembly staff, the Chairman of the State chapter of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria, Ayotunde Ojediran, said that the workers were happy to receive the speaker back to the office.

He appreciated the members of staff for remaining resolute and keeping the House running while the trio were away.

Ojediran pledged the commitment and dedication of the entire workers of the House for the overall success of the ninth Assembly.

BIG STORY

Usyk Defeats Fury, Becomes Undisputed Heavyweight Champion

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Oleksandr Usyk emerged as the world’s undisputed heavyweight boxing champion adter defeating Tyson Fury.

On Saturday night, Fury and Usyk engaged in combat at the Kingdom Arena located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Usyk defeated the British fighter 115-112, 113-114, and 114-113 on the scorecards to win the fight by split decision.

In the first several rounds of the battle, Fury came out swinging, but Usyk was able to withstand the British fighter’s assault.

As the battle went on, the Ukrainian gained momentum because of his excellent movement and technical proficiency, which allowed him to block Fury’s strong attacks and land accurate shots of his own.

The highly anticipated battle took a turn for the better when the Ukrainian stopped Fury in the ninth round.

Despite Fury’s valiant effort to recover in the final rounds, Usyk’s dominance had already sealed the victory.

The 37-year-old Ukrainian is the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the world since Lennox Lewis 25 years ago. He has now unified the WBA, WBO, IBF, and WBC titles.

For Fury, it is the first loss in his 16-year professional career, but he will have a chance at a rematch before the end of the year.

In his post-fight interview, the British boxer accused the judges of giving the victory to Usyk because of the war in Ukraine.

“His country is at war, so people are siding with the country at war,” he said.

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Nigeria’s Boniface Scores As Leverkusen Make History With Unbeaten Bundesliga Season

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In the final game of the 2023–24 German Bundesliga season, Bayer Leverkusen defeated Augsburg 2-1 in the BayArena on Saturday thanks to an early goal by Victor Boniface.

In lieu of this victory, Leverkusen, who had already won the Bundesliga, would end the season unbeaten in the league.

In the 34-match league, the unbeaten streak that led to the league title consists of 28 wins and 6 draws.

It made history and cemented the names of Boniface and his colleagues in the Bundesliga as the first team to finish the season undefeated.

Boniface, who won the Bundesliga Rookie of the Year award earlier in the week, started the party atmosphere when he slotted home an Amaine Chadli pass inside the area in the 12th minute before Robert Andrich doubled the lead before the half-hour mark.

Mert Komur’s goal on 62 minutes proved only a consolation for Augsburg as Leverkusen sealed victory in front of their passionate fans.

The Levekusen side is led by Xabi Alonso, who is only into his second year but first full season as coach of a senior team.

The team remains unbeaten in all competitions, with the win over Augsburg extending the run to 51 matches.

They have the chance to finish the season unbeaten in all competitions with victories over Atalanta in the UEFA Europa League final on Wednesday and Kaiserslautern three days later.

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FBI Lauds EFCC, Promises Support As Agency Hands Over Recovered $22k From Convicted Fraudster

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has handed over $22,000 recovered from Hakeem Olanrewaju, a convicted internet scammer, to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).

The EFCC, in a statement on Saturday,said the money was handed over to the FBI in Lagos, as the victim, who was defrauded, lives in the US.

Nicholas Oweibo, the judge of the federal high court in Ikoyi, sentenced Olanrewaju to two years imprisonment for identity theft and impersonation in August 2023.

The judge also ordered that the money recovered from him be restituted to his victim.

Speaking during the handover ceremony in Lagos on Friday, Michael Wetkas, acting director of the Lagos zonal command of the EFCC, said the commission remains dedicated to combating crimes and restoring sanity to the nation.

“We are delighted to be handing over this proceeds of crime today,” Wetkas said, adding that “the EFCC is willing and always ready to do more”.

Charles Smith, FBI legal attaché in Nigeria, thanked the EFCC for facilitating the recovery of the money.

“This type of crime cripples businesses in the US, and for them to recover the money within one to two years gives hope to the affected companies and brings some level of justice, even if not all subjects have been identified,” Smith said.

“We hope our relationship continues and fosters a more cohesive partnership between the two agencies.”

Smith added that the FBI is willing to support the investigation in any way possible.

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