Former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto accepted a $100m (£77m) bribe from drug cartel kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, a witness has testified.
Alex Cifuentes, who says he was a close associate of Guzmán for years, told a New York City courtroom that he had told authorities of the bribe in 2016.
Guzmán is accused of being behind the Sinaloa drug cartel, which prosecutors say was the largest US drug supplier.
Mr Peña Nieto served as the president of Mexico from 2012 to 2018.
Guzmán, 61, has been on trial in Brooklyn since November after he was extradited from Mexico to face charges of trafficking cocaine, heroin and other drugs as leader of what the US has called the world's largest drug cartel.
According to reporters in the Brooklyn courthouse, Mr Peña Nieto had requested $250m before settling on $100m.
Cifuentes claimed the delivery was made to Mexico City in October 2012 by a friend of El Chapo.
Cifuentes, a Colombian drug lord who has described himself as El Chapo's "right-hand man", worked as his secretary and spent two years hiding from authorities with him in the Mexican mountains, according to prosecutors.
He was arrested in Mexico in 2013 and was later extradited to the United States where he pleaded guilty to drug trafficking in a deal with prosecutors.
Mr Peña Nieto has not responded to the latest claim, but has previously rejected allegations of corruption that have surfaced during the trial since it began in November.
She previously confessed in 2017 that she tried to commit suicide when she was 15. And following her mental health struggles, Paris Jackson has reportedly checked herself into rehabilitation for emotional health.
According to ET, the 20-year-old daughter of the late Michael Jackson, is taking some time out to 'reboot' and 'aid in her wellness plan'.
Paris 'decided that she needed to take some time off to reboot, realign and prioritize her physical and emotional health,' a source of the publication revealed.
'She checked herself into a treatment facility to aid in her wellness plan.'
Fani Kayode has apologised for raising false alarm that EFCC officials yesterday surrounded the CJN's house, asking why they were there. It later turned out that EFCC officials weren't at his home. FFK has now apologised, but insisted some men where there and a TV journalist was also brutalized His 2nd tweet below...
The comedian joined the 10YearChallenge while sharing beautiful images of his family from the pasts, his achievements in his career and material acquisition.
He wrote; ''Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle. Keep on keeping on and never give up. #10yearschallenge #9yearsintheuniverty #bartender #busconductor #scavenger #laudryman #barber #etc #productofgrace💯''
The police in Ebonyi State, on Tuesday, said they had arrested a 25-year-old man, Moris Mbam, who had been parading himself as a solider of the Nigerian Army in the state and beyond.
Punch correspondent gathered that the suspect hails from the Okpuitim community in the Izzi Local Government Area of the state and had been declared wanted by the police since December 25, 2018, after he allegedly held occupants of a residential building in Onu-Ebonyi, a suburb of Abakakili metropolis, hostage for over two hours.
Briefing journalists on the success recorded by the command before, during and after the Christmas and New Year celebrations, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Muhammed Mustafa, pointed out that Mbam was nabbed by police operatives attached to the Central Police Station, Abakaliki, at a commercial bank in Enugu, while attempting to withdraw proceeds of his illegal exploits.
Mustafa stated, “He has been taking people hostage and as he went about intimidating people and claiming that he was a soldier, the police got wind of his activities and our men swung into action and got him arrested.
“And before his arrest, he had been on our wanted list and he was arrested on January 11, 2019. He had for long been parading himself as a soldier before the operatives of the Nigeria Police from the ‘A’ Division (i.e. Central Police Station Abakaliki) arrested him.”
The police boss said the suspect was in the habit of extorting money and goods from innocent citizens under guise of being an officer of the Nigerian Army, adding that on December 25, 2018, he held occupants of a residential block hostage in Onu-Ebonyi and extorted from them N40,000 and one Tecno KA7 Spark phone.
He said the phone had since been recovered.
The suspect confessed to the crime and told our correspondent that he had sold a phone to somebody for N10,000, but the buyer paid him N7,000 instead of the complete agreed sum, stressing that he told the man that he was a soldier so as to get the balance on time.
President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice Yemi Osinbajo has been presented with a new 10-year diplomatic passport by the Nigeria Immigration service.
The passports were presented by the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, and the Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service, Mohammed Babandede.
Officials of NIS had earlier captured the biometrics of the president and the vice president shortly before the commencement of an extraordinary meeting of the Federal Executive Council inside the council chamber of the presidential villa.
Apart from the 10-year validity, the new passport, according to the NIS has enhanced security and is ”weather friendly”.
The Immigration Service said the new passport has polycarbonate technology that eliminates damage and that it now saves Nigerians in diaspora the time needed to frequently visit Nigerian embassies for new passports.
Here are five things to know about Mohammed Adamu, the new police boss:
VICE-PRINCIPAL, GEOGRAPHY TEACHER
Between 1983 and 1984, Mohammed, on the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) service year, taught geography at the Government Teachers College in Wamba, then Plateau state. And from 1984 to 1986, he was made geography tutor and subsequently promoted to vice-principal at Government Day Secondary School, Gunduma, Keffi in then Plateau state.
JOINED POLICE AT AGE 25
Born in 1961, Mohammed has spent at least 33 years in the service of the Nigeria police force. He joined as a cadet assistant superintendent of police (ASP) in 1986, and he trained at the Police College, Ikeja, Lagos state.
VICE-PRESIDENT AT INTERPOL
Steadily rising through the ranks, Mohammed, from 1997 to 2002, worked as specialised officer at the headquarters of the international criminal police organization (INTERPOL) in Lyon, France.
In 2005, he was an assistant director at INTERPOL. In 2007, he became a director. He was elected and served INTERPOL vice-president responsible for Africa from 2012-2014.
AIG IN CHARGE ZONE 5
Until his appointment, Mohammed has been the AIG responsible for the management and operations of the police in zone 5 comprising Bayelsa, Delta and Edo states. He has held this position since 2016.
HOLDS A MASTER’S DEGREE FROM PORTSMOUTH
Graduating with a bachelor degree in Geography from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria in 1983, Mohammed returned to school about two decades later for a master’s degree in international criminal justice systems at the University of Portsmouth in the UK.
In 2018, he was also awarded a honourary doctorate degree in international relations from Godfrey Okoye University in Enugu state where he had served as police commissioner, The Cable reports.
Disturbing images shared exclusively with DailyMail.com reveal two of R Kelly's 'brainwashed' victims being monitored by a female minder and disguising their identities with baseball caps, scarves and sunglasses.
The images, confirmed as Joycelyn Savage and Azriel Clary by a source, were captured on a public street in Chicago last summer before they entered a hair salon.
Savage and Clary have reportedly hired lawyers to prevent their parents from extricating them from the RnB star's house.
A source, who is an associate of R Kelly, told DailyMail.com that the young women spent two hours inside and that their behavior was 'weird'.
The pair were swamped in oversized, baggy clothes on an 80F day. Another alleged victim, Jerhonda Pace, has previously said that R Kelly dictates strict rules to his alleged cult on wearing oversized clothes to cover their bodies.
The source told DailyMail.com: 'The girls had a ''look-out'' with them, an older woman who was keeping an eye on their behavior and what they were talking about. She was dressed differently, came and went freely and spoke in fluent Spanish.'
Joycelyn went by the name 'Jay' and froze when her real name was used. They seemed excited to be out in public, the source said.
The insider also said that the young women referred to R Kelly as 'daddy'.
Despite having her hair glamorously styled, Joycelyn asked for her hair to be wrapped up in scarves. After she left, she wore a baseball hat and large sunglasses to remain incognito.
The source said that both Savage and Clary were deeply concerned with concealing their identities when they went out in public.
DailyMail.com contacted the salon owner who declined to comment and asked not to be named.
Last Tuesday, an alleged victim of Kelly and the families of two other alleged victims were reportedly preparing to go to Chicago prosecutors with 'sufficient evidence' of sexual abuse and other crimes, TMZ reported.
State Attorney Kim Foxx said that she was 'sickened' by the Lifetime docuseries, Surviving R. Kelly, where multiple women claimed the singer is a pedophile who allegedly rapes, beats and enslaves women.
Foxx asked anyone who was a victim or has information about a victim to come forward.
There are still no criminal charges against Kelly at this time, , and no investigation has been launched as of yet into the singer.
TMZ reported that Clary and Savage have hired lawyers to stop their parents intervening between them and the singer, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly.
Alicia Keys will be hosting the 2019 Grammy Awards, the singer announced this via a video on her YouTube channel.
“I’m soooo EXCITED to announce that I’ll be hosting the 61st Annual Grammy Awards !! There’s so much in store and I CAN’T WAIT for y’all to see it ALL come to life Tune in on February 10th at 5PM PST / 8PM EST. Only on CBS!”
The Grammy Awards will take place on Feb. 10 at Los Angeles’ Staples Center. The broadcast will air live on CBS from 8-11:30 p.m. ET/PT.
Rihanna is going after her own father in court for using her Fenty brand and his relationship to her to launch a business for himself ... according to new court docs.
In a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ, Rihanna claims her father, Ronald Fenty, recently started a talent development company in 2017 called Fenty Entertainment. The problem ... Rihanna has already trademarked "Fenty" to use in a number of biz ventures, including her well-known Fenty Beauty line.
She claims he's profiting off the reputation she's created with Fenty.
In the docs, Rihanna says her father and a business partner falsely advertised themselves as her reps to solicit millions of dollars, including trying to book her for 15 shows in Latin America in December 2017 for $15 mil ... all without her authorization.
Rihanna claims later her dad even unsuccessfully tried to file a trademark for "Fenty" to use with resort boutique hotels.
She says she's sent multiple cease and desist letters to her father, ordering him to stop capitalizing off of her Fenty trademarks, but says he's ignored them and continued to make money off of Fenty Entertainment.
She's asking a judge to place an injunction on her dad using the name Fenty ... and, of course, for damages.
News went viral yesterday with many media houses saying, Senate President, Bukola Saraki refused to shake hands with now former IGP, Idris. But his office via their official twitter account has released photos of the Senate President shaking hands with the ex-IGP at the Armed Forces Remembrance Day yesterday.
Here's a press statement from the EFCC after news went viral that the commission was at CJN's house to arrest him yesterday. The CJN has debunked this news.
The attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has been drawn to the falsehood which has been spreading on the social media that the EFCC has arrested the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen. This is not only a figment of the imagination of the purveyor of the fake news, but an evil machination by the creator and carriers of the news aimed at creating anarchy in the country.
For the record, the EFCC never went to the house of the CJN for arrest neither was invitation extended to him.
Several calls and short messages received all point to the fact that the brains behind the fake news had one thing in mind: to act as agent of destabilization. We would not give in to their plots.
One of the architect of the fake news, Femi Fani-Kayode, was quoted as saying “Why have the EFCC surrounded the home of CJN Onnoghen and why are they seeking to arrest him? These people want Nigeria to burn! Buhari call off your dogs before it is too late! This is a democracy and not a gestapo state! In the name of God let this madness stop”. Another arrowhead of the fake news, Yinka Odumakin shared a non-existent video which has gone viral.
We want to assure Nigerians that while we would fight corruption in line with the mandate setting up the Commission, agents of darkness, in the likes of Femi Fani-Kayode, Yinka Odumakin and his cohorts, would never be able to manipulate the people against the Commission.
We also want to assure Fani-Kayode, Yinka Odumakin and other purveyors of the evil news to be ready to defend their actions in the court of law as the EFCC will file libel suit against them without further delay.
The national leadership of Road Transport Workers Union has suspended one of the union’s factional leaders in Lagos, Azeez Lawal, popularly known as Kunle Poly.
This comes after the violent clash at the All Progressives Congress (APC’s) governorship flag off Campaign on Tuesday, 8th January 2019, where MC Oluomo was stabbed.
The union also resolved to set up a committee that will investigate the cause of the violence which has been allegedly linked to Kunle Poly.
In a view to stem the increasing political violence in Kwara State, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, has banned street rallies and processions.
The governor, in a special broadcast, yesterday, said: “Political campaign rallies have commenced, ahead of the general elections. In keeping with the tradition in our state, these campaigns are expected to be robust, but peaceful.
“Unfortunately, we’ve witnessed increase in criminality as a result of political activities, with a consequent threat to law and order.
“We will not let our state slide back into the dark era of fear and violence. No individual, group or political party will be allowed to disrupt the harmony that defines us as a people. In this regard, there is no doubt that the full weight of the law will be brought to bear on perpetrators of the violence we have witnessed.
“Anyone found to have either contributed to the recent violence or apprehended for involvement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, no matter their status, background or political affiliation.”
The governor said Kwara State’s peace, security and harmony cannot and will not be sacrificed for the ambition of any individual or political party.
Lol. Fela Anikulapo's son has replied a fan who says singer Falz is the modern day FELA, saying it's a pity Femi Kuti couldn't step into the shoes of his father. See his Femi's reply after the cut.
Luck ran out on a dismissed policeman, Usman Zubairu, when he was apprehended for allegedly stealing motorcycles from unsuspecting riders in Lagos.
Punch Metro gathered that the man, who was dismissed from service in 2014, operated under the guise of being an active policeman to deceive his victims.
It was learnt that Zubairu met his Waterloo while he was about to play the same trick on a motorcyclist.
One of the victims, Chinda Ayuba, said he agreed to release his motorcycle to Zubairu because he believed that he was a policeman.
He stated, “A man stopped my motorcycle and introduced himself as a policeman. He told me to take him to Ijora from the Maroko area of Lagos, and I told him that I could not go there. He begged me to help him and promised that no policeman would arrest me.
“While on our way, he saw two boys and asked me to stop. He asked the boys what happened and they explained that some policemen had seized their motorcycles. He asked the boys to give him N1,000 each in order to assist them to get their motorcycles back. He then collected my motorcycle and asked me to wait with the two boys. I waited till sunset but he did not come back with my motorcycle.”
Another victim, Abdulmalik Isah, said Zubairu identified himself as a mobile policeman and took him to the Maroko Police Station where his motorcycle was stolen.
The 26-year-old stated, “He claimed to be a mobile policeman and made me to take him to the Maroko Police Station. On getting there, he asked me to follow him inside, which I did.
“He told me to wait for him at the station that he wanted to buy something outside. After some time, I decided to come out to check my motorcycle and I could not find it where it was parked. I waited from 2pm till 6pm before I made a report at the police station.”
Isah added that Zubairu was apprehended and handed over to the police when he tried to steal another motorcycle from a rider in his area.
The Adamawa State indigene, however, said he went into stealing as a means of livelihood after he was dismissed from the police force.
The suspect stated, “I was recruited to the Nigeria Police Force in 2001 and I was later mobilised to the Mopol 9 Squadron in Kano State. In 2014, I killed a man while on duty and I was dismissed. I was charged to court for murder and while I was awaiting trial in prison, the family of the deceased decided to withdraw the case from the court in 2017.
“I came to Lagos in August 2018 and because I didn’t have a means of livelihood, I started stealing and re-selling motorcycles.
“I have stolen about four motorcycles and I sell the motorcycles to one Yerima at Tin Can, Apapa, Lagos. I only get to see Yerima between 3.30am and 4.30am, because he is always on night duty.”
Zubairu was subsequently arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court on two counts of stealing.
Acting IG Mohammed Adamu has reportedly reversed some last-minute postings and redeployments carried out by former IGP, Idris few days before his retirement.
It was gathered that the redeployment of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal, by the former IG was overturned while other senior officers who were also posted to new commands and formations had been asked to stay action until further notice, Punch claims.
This development, sources said to the paper, meant that the redeployment order by Idris would not be obeyed unless sanctioned by the acting IG.
Shortly after meeting with the DIGs in his office at the force headquarters, Adamu was seen going from floor to floor, meeting officers and familiarising himself with his men.
