THE Lagos-Ibadan speed train will roll out on December 7, the Nigeria Railway Corporation Managing Director, Fidet Okhiria, has said.

Speaking exclusively with our correspondent in his office in Ebute Meta, Lagos, Okhiria, an engineer, said the corporation would begin operation on the $1.6 billion double track with a Diesel Multiple Unit, (DMU), with more rolling stocks slated to be injected as the corridor stabilises.

He said the DMU would depart Ibadan in the morning for Lagos and to Ibadan in the evening.

The NRC chief, who said the train would only stop in Ibadan, Abeokuta and Lagos for now, added that more stations will be included as the stations are delivered.

He said the corporation is still trying to fine-tune everything pertaining to the fare, adding that a final decision regarding the fare would be decided at a meeting next Monday.

“We are concerned at ensuring that the fare is moderate because the government must give back to Nigerians. The rail is one of the dividends of democracy and Nigerians must enjoy the benefit of allowing government work for them,” Okhiria said.

He said soon Nigerians would see the benefit of a reliable, functional and convenient train service, as the Lagos-Ibadan speed train will change the transportation narrative in the country.

Okhiria, who again pleaded for the understanding of Nigerians on the breakdowns experienced on the Abuja-Kaduna rail corridor, said the faulty locomotive had been repaired and services had been restored.

UNITED States (U.S.) President-elect Joe Biden said on Wednesday that the White House has so far been “sincere” in helping his transition to power.

“It has not been begrudging so far, and I don’t expect it to be,” he told NBC News in an interview.

He spoke as he unveiled his choice of top officials for when he takes over from Donald Trump in January.

Trump finally agreed to allow the formal transition process to begin on Monday, nearly three weeks after the presidential election.

Yet he still refuses to admit defeat, repeating unsubstantiated claims that the November 3 vote was “rigged”.

Trump’s efforts to challenge the results in key states in courts have so far failed. On Tuesday, Pennsylvania and Nevada officially certified Biden’s victory, a day after the same outcome was announced in Michigan.

Trump is expected later yesterday to join his lawyer Rudy Giuliani in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where what is being described as a “hearing” of the state senate’s Republican majority on allegations of voter fraud is taking place.

State officials have denied the allegations, and on Monday Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court dismissed a Trump campaign lawsuit aimed at invalidating millions of mail-in votes.

Speaking to NBC’s Nightly News, Biden confirmed he had not yet spoken to the president but added that he did not expect the beginning of his term to be affected by the delay in beginning the transition.

“It’s a slow start but it’s starting and there’s two months left to go. So, I’m feeling good about the ability to be able to get up to speed,” he said.

There were, he said, plans for him to meet the COVID-19 task force in the White House about vaccine distribution and access.

As well as getting the Presidential Daily Brief – an update on international threats and developments – Biden can now access key government officials and millions of dollars in funds as he prepares to take over on 20 January.

Biden, who previously served as Barack Obama’s vice-president, said his time in office would not be a “third Obama term” because “we face a totally different world than we faced in the Obama-Biden administration”.

“America is back” and “ready to lead the world, not retreat from it”, he said when he introduced his future team earlier on Tuesday in Wilmington, Delaware.

He also told reporters he had discussed the Irish border issue with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other leaders.

Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday congratulated Biden — becoming one of the last major countries to do so.

The Chinese leader said both countries should “stick to no conflict or confrontation, mutual respect [and] the spirit of win-win cooperation” moving forward, according to state media.

Xi also stressed the need for “healthy and stable development of U.S.-China relations with the fundamental interests of both peoples.”

His message comes more than two weeks after several other major countries had congratulated Biden.

A PETITIONER from Ogoni in Rivers State, Nyordeh Sylvanus, has told retired Justice Chukwunenye Uriri-led nine-member Judicial Commission of Enquiry how his three-day old daughter was allegedly killed by a stray bullet shut by men of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) on August 14, 2014.

He said the incident happened in Rukpokwu area of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.

Governor Nyesom Wike set up the panel to investigate alleged brutality by SARS men in the state, in compliance with the Federal Government’s directives on the heels of October #EndSARS protest across the country.

The panel held its inaugural sitting in Port Harcourt, the state capital, on November 24, 2020.

Sylvanus told retired Justice Chukwunenye Uriri-led nine-member Judicial Commission of Enquiry to ensure he gets justice for the soul of her baby.

He said: “We woke up on August 15, 2014, to observe that one of the bullets from SARS operatives, who were shooting from the night of August 14, 2014, penetrated my roof and killed my only daughter, a three-day old baby.

“I picked the bullet on the morning of August 15 and went to SARS office. But I was stopped at the entrance to the office by operatives who asked me to go back or join my dead daughter.”

Also, a victim of alleged police assault in Rivers State, Lucky Eze, has demanded N20 million compensation from the police for the slap she allegedly received from some officials of the now disbanded Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS) in the state two years ago.

Eze, who was a supervisor at a filling station in Ahoada-East Local Government Area at the time, told the panel that he suffered hearing problem after the incident on August 28, 2018.

In his evidence before the panelists, Eze pleaded for justice and demanded that the police authorities refund the money he spent on treating himself.

“I came here to ask for justice for the brutality and wickedness visited on me by the police on January 28, 2018. I have been having hearing problem since them. I have five medical reports from five medical doctors of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) confirming that the slap created a hole in my right ear.

“I am here to seek justice for two reasons: one is to be able to continue with my treatment, which I abandoned due to lack of funds. I didn’t deliberately abandon my treatment; I did so because there was no money to continue. Secondly, I am seeking justice for the brutality they meted on me. I ask this panel that I be compensated with N20 million,” he said.

Justice Uriri aid the panel had received 171 petitions from groups and individuals.

The chairman explained that all the petitions would be heard within one month and warned against unnecessary excuse from members.

He said: “By virtue of our terms of reference, time is of essence. As the result, the panel shall sit on daily basis at 10 o’clock in the morning. Closing time shall be determined by the volume of work the panel has for the day, meaning there shall be no closing time.

“Except on the production of dully authenticated medical certificate, adjournment shall be from day to day.”

THE Federal Government has opened talks with the Government of the United Kingdom (UK) over recent #EndSARS protest in Nigeria and the reaction of the UK Parliament to the development.

The UK Parliament debated the protest, the violence that trailed it and the alleged role of security agencies in the killings at Lekki tollgate.

There have been reports claiming that the UK Parliament had proposed sanctions against Nigerian government officials over the developments.

Addressing State House Correspondents on Wednesday after the week’s virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama said Nigeria had communicated the events surrounding the protest to the UK Government.

He said: “On the issue of UK Parliament; yes, we have reached out to the UK Government. The meeting that took place were among parliamentarians; they don’t speak for UK Government, which acts for the United Kingdom. The UK Government has also heard the side of the (Nigerian) government regarding everything that has happened.

“So, we have been in touch with them and engaging with them. And of course, as in any democracy, the members of parliament are able to also air their view.

“But what is important is that a balanced picture is made available to them before they take any decision.”

The minister also spoke on his visit to the Southeast, as directed by President Muhammadu Buhari, in the aftermath of the #EndSARS protest and the attendant violence.

According to him, Southeast governors are making moves to ensure that citizens of the region as well as their businesses and properties are protected against reprisals.

Onyeama was reacting to the directive to Southeasterners in other parts of the country in the wake of the #EndSARS protests.

“It is work in progress and it is all about building trust. The Southeast governors did address the issue of ethnicity in this whole situation and it was in that context that they committed to assuring the security of groups that are not from the zone of their protection and reaching out beyond their zone to their counterparts to also ensure the security of Southeasterners living in other parts of the country.”

THE Trial of former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, on money laundering charges continued in his absence yesterday as a witness, Mrs. Rouquayya lbrahim, narrated how he stole over N14billion from the federal pension account.

Testifying before the Federal High Court in Abuja as the ninth prosecution witness, PW-9, Mrs. Ibrahim said investigations revealed that Maina pilfered pension funds, in connivance with the former Head of Service of the Federation, Mr. Stephen Oronsaye.

The witness who is an investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, attached to the Anti Money Laundering and Countering of Financing of Terrorism, AML/CFT unit, said she was a member of the pension fraud task team that uncovered how names of fake pensioners were used to siphon funds by Maina and his alleged accomplices.

She said the EFCC was in 2010 invited to join in the verification exercise of pensioners, together with other organizations that included the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, ICPC, and the Department of State Service, DSS.

The witness said: â€œDuring the course of that verification, my colleagues who were part of the exercise discovered a payment mandate for pensioners bearing names of several individuals for the total sum of about N94 million and they decided to sample some of the names.

“On that list they discovered that two names on that list were fake pensioners. As a result of that, a report was written to the Commission by the team that went for the verification, recommending investigation of the matter.

“Based on that, the pension fraud team was created. We started our investigation by writing to all the banks in existence as at that time, about 32 of them, requesting for the pension account of the Head of Service.

“We also wrote the Accountant General of the Federation, requesting for the pension account of the Head of Service. Part of the request was that we also asked the AGF to furnish us with the approvals for the opening of those accounts.

“Part of what our investigation revealed was that the Head of Service at that time, Mr. Stephen Oronsaye, was operating 66 illegal accounts. After we received responses from the banks and other organizations we wrote to, our investigation was able to establish that basically, there were five modus operandi that the suspects who we were investigating at that time, were stealing monies from the pension accounts.

“In total, we were able to establish that at least N14billion was stolen from the pension account.”

The witness told the court that some of the ways Maina and his alleged accomplices stole funds were through making of payments to fake pensioners, through fake collective allowances, through non existent contracts and particularly biometric contracts.’’

She said the Defendant also made illegal payments to National Union of Pensioners, NUP, and to another association called Association of Retired Civil Servants.

“What we discovered was that the suspects, if they were using fake pensioners, would require from the associated persons and companies to give them account details, pension funds would then be paid into those accounts, after which they would withdraw cash and hand over to the person that asked them to send the account numbers.

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