James Ibori Has Hidden Assets In OANDO Plc, Says London Prosecutors At Confiscation Hearing

The Southwark Crown Court in London heard today that the jailed former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, hid some of his assets in Oando, the wealthy Nigerian oil firm, and that funds were moved from the company's accounts into Ibori's Swiss accounts.

The court room was turbo-charged as prosecutors began a confiscation hearing to determine the amount of assets owned by the former governor. It was packed with journalists and some of Ibori's relatives, including his sister, Christie Ibie-Ibori, but Ibori himself was not in attendance.

But OANDO 's Corporate Communications Manager, Alero Balogun, said the company is a publicly traded one, therefore, the management doesn’t control transactions on the floor of the stock exchange.
She said: “We state categorically that Mr. James Ibori does not own ‘a large part of Oando’ and that this statement is incorrect and misleading. Oando is a publicly traded company listed on the Nigerian and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges and does not and cannot control the trading in its securities on the floor of the respective exchanges.

“Based on our current shareholding register, Mr. James Ibori’s shareholding stands at 443 shares out of a total issued and paid up share capital of 6.8 billion ordinary shares, which is clearly insignificant, and cannot be considered as ‘a large part of Oando.”

Oando also stated that “it does accept that sometime in 2004, in the normal course of its business, it sold some of its foreign exchange earnings for Naira and the recipient of the US Dollars was a company which has now turned out to be one controlled by James Ibori. At the time of the transaction, this information was unknown to Oando. The total amount was US$2.7 million made in three separate transactions over a period of about seven months. This amount was insignificant considering the company’s turnover of approximately US$800million in 2004.

“The above constitutes the only transactions between Oando and any company controlled by Mr. Ibori. Consequently, Oando cannot be described as a company where James Ibori has hidden assets as a result of these foreign exchange transactions.”

Culled from Sahara Reporters and Nation

Photos: Saudi man sells goat for $3.46million

A Saudi Business man recently sold a goat for 13million Saudi Riyals which is $3.46 million. The goat has rare features experts say, and that is why traders are interested in the goat and that is the reason why the price is too high

Wow...continue to see cheque

The cheque that sealed the deal

No Nigerian university makes world’s most influential list

The annual Global Universities' ranking by Quacquarell Symonds (QS), was released recently and no Nigerian university made the top 1, 000 most influential schools in the world. Seven universities in South Africa and six in Egypt were among the top 700. Sad for us. Check on it HERE

Gunman kills 12 and injures 15 at Washinton Navy Yard rampage

Aaron Alexis (pictured right), opened fire and killed 12 people this morning Monday September 16th at the Washington Naval Yard in Washington DC before being shot and killed by responding officers. The 34-year-old who worked as a civilian I.T contractor at the military base, entered the complex's cafeteria around 8.30am brandishing an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, shotgun and handgun and began shooting. It is thought that he used another employee of the base's identification card to gain entry to the heavily secured Building 197, where he carried out his deadly attack. Aaron killed 12 people and injured at least 15, who are all in critical conditions.

Aaron, from Fort Worth Texas, served in the U.S. Navy for almost four years before being kicked out in January 2011 for 'misconduct'. The motive for the killing has not been revealed though there are speculations that it could be connected to his dismissal from the U.S. Navy. RIP to those who lost their lives. Read the full story HERE

VP Atiku Abubakar vs political commentator Kayode Ogundamisi

For those who don't know who Kayode Ogundamisi is, he is a social and political commentator, an activist and a blogger. So what happened was, former VP Atiku Abubakar granted an interview recently where he said he bought his mother a house when he was just 14 years old. Kayode saw the interview and thought it was silly and went on Facebook to express his opinion...

Kayode wrote:

"I bought my mother a home as a 14-year-old boy" Atiku Abubakar @atiku  
How did we end up with deluded characters as so called leaders in Nigeria. That former Vice President Atiku would have Nigerians believe he bought a house for his mother as a minor/child is a clear indication that Nigeria's problem is beyond human understanding.)

VP Atiku Abubakar saw his comments and responded on Twitter. See Atiku's Tweets after the cut...

"Escape from wilderness" A must read from Charly Boy

A piece from Charly Boy. Please read...

Does anyone know how I really feel right now? So alone and empty, God! how I feel the pain. If you're in the wilderness like me, then you know it can be insane. Here my eyes are bleeding tears and my smiles are protecting my fears. I can't even go around and fake happy, because I’m in stagnation and it is hitting me from all direction. There is this disturbing feeling that time is passing me by, yet I’m paralyzed, I can't move and I can't think too far. At nights I can't sleep too easy, my heart is sore and my mind perpetually clustered with things that leave me shaking. Oh God! Why? I have prayed, I have fasted but nothing has changed, and it's almost a year now. My dreams are nothing but nightmares of all the negatives in this wilderness. What's happening to me? Look at me, I have always enjoyed comforting and giving directions to people in pain, right now I can't even save myself and I have refused to take my own pills. 

Na so life be? On top of all of this, I’m so f.....king broke it’s a shame. No! It's not just that I’m low in cash, but most importantly, it is about being in this state of  helplessness, I’m not too proud to ask anyone for  favour, but who will believe I need financial help when they have put me on such a high pedestal. Wow, is this a case of Grace to Grass? Who would guess I’m dying slowly when all they can see is my biceps and triceps.  I have always been the joy giver, I have put smiles on millions of faces and have inspired and motivated an army of youths, yet I can’t seem to talk myself out of this rot, out of this wilderness, hummmmm!!  Why won't this feeling of hopelessness leave me alone, I know I can do more than I’m doing for now, I know I deserve more. Too many times I have asked God, why me, why do I have to go through this wilderness. I am hardworking, forward looking, positive thinking, so why do I have to suffer like this. Is it the system or is it me, what the heck is this dark cloud that has come over me. I no longer look forward to tomorrow or getting out of my bed, because a new day comes without hope. Nothing seems to make sense anymore; nothing around me inspires me again. I feel like I’m vegetating, I feel as if I I’m glued to this limbo, with no hope of an escape. Now I’m hugging myself, not sharing myself with my loved ones because I am suddenly taking out my frustrations on the people around me. Oh! Lord I must take control of my life; again, I must escape from this wilderness.

 Does this sound a bit or a lot like your story right now? Are you in that dark place in your life, where everything more or less seems to be grinding to a halt and you don't know what to do? Well it happens to the best of us.  I have learnt that in all things, one should give thanks. Most of the time we are not entirely grateful for what we possess, because we always believe that we need more than we have right now. If this is the case, we will continue to need more. This circle will perpetuate as long as our mind believes it’s true. If we focus on what we have and not what we lack, we will always have enough, because it will always be enough. Yes it is hard to stay cool when things are not sitting right the way we would like in our lives. We are the one who loses in the end, if we lose the lesson. Shey you dey feel my yarn? In this wilderness I have learnt that a rich man is not someone who has the most, but someone who needs the least. Yesooooooo!!!!!  I’m sharing all this with you so I can feel lighter. We will always have problems, often tested by circumstances outside our control, but we certainly can control our reaction to those situations. 

We have the power because our inner world (cause) affects the influence we allow the outer world (effect) to have on us. Being in the wilderness is always a result of anxiety about the uncertain future. So stop and ask yourself. "What's the specific uncertainty that is causing me to be afraid" once you have identified that uncertainty, it is usually easier to simply accept its presence in your life, just for the time being. I know that life is about the journey and not the arrival. We don't need to arrive if we accept that we are already there. Not everyone woke up this morning and not everyone is going to bed tonight. Life has no guarantees; every minute we are living is a blessing that has to be experienced in the moment. It's not always easy, but it's always an option a choice. Your choice.