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Mobile Theft Lands Bunjulinding Man in Court

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:15:18 GMT

Monday, December 01, 2008

One Yahya Marong of Banjulinding was recently arraigned before Magistrate Pa Harry Jammeh of the Brikama Magistrates’ Court on a charge of stealing a mobile phone.

According to the charge sheet on or about the 15thNovember 2008 at Banjulinding, Kombo North District, Western Region, the accused stole a Mobile phone mark Allcatel valued at D1500 being the property of one Ousman Jallow.

When the charge sheet was read to him in the language he claims to understand, he pleaded not guilty.

Meanwhile he was granted court bail in the sum of D2000.

The case was then adjourned until 3rdNovember 2008.

Author: Yai Dibba

Over 600,000 CFA Theft Case in Court

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:38:53 GMT

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Prosecutor Cadet-Inspector Mballow is expected to furnish the court with some facts in a case involving one Ali Conteh who pleaded guilty of stealing 615,050 CFA. The accused was charged on two counts and the case was presided over by Senior Abdoulie Mback of the Kanifing Magistrates’ Court.

Count one stated that on the 8thOctober 2008, at BakauTown, the accused, Ali Conteh, broke into the house of one Pierre Sarr to commit a felony.

According to count two, the accused on the same date and place stole cash of D15, 000 and 615,050 CFA, property of the said Pierre Sarr.

Cadet-Inspector Mballow applied for an adjournment so that he could acquaint himself with the case, as it was assigned to him the day the accused was arraigned before the court.

Magistrate Mbackeh granted the application, remanded the accused in custody and adjourned the case to the 2ndDecember, 2008, when judgement would be delivered after Cadet-Inspector Mballow has provided the court with the facts of the matter.

Author: Dawda Faye

Teen arrested for faking car theft

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 13:27:22 GMT

Monday, November 17, 2008

"It is suspected that the man took his parent's vehicle without their knowledge and damaged it. After stopping at his school he could not start the vehicle again. He knew that he was going to be in trouble and made up a story," said Inspector Klaas van der Kooi.

Source: http://www.thestar.co.za/?fSectionId=&fArticleId=nw20081117163215875C606464

NIGERIA: Under-development continues to fuel oil theft

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:20:39 GMT

Monday, November 17, 2008

Crude oil smuggling continues unabated in the Niger Delta in southern Nigeria, spurred by chronic under-development, a disaffected youth, and increasing lawlessness.

Mohammed Umar, an Abuja-based oil industry analyst, estimates that at least 100,000 barrels of oil are stolen every day through the process known as bunkering, while Human Rights Watch says it could be as much as 300,000.

As late as 14 November the Nigerian military arrested 22 people on a boat in the Delta on suspicion of stealing thousands of tonnes of crude oil, according to Lieutenant Colonel Rabe Abubakar, military spokesperson in the region.

The Niger Delta, a vast wetlands region, sits atop more than 30 billion barrels of top-grade oil and substantial gas deposits, but it is one of the most impoverished regions in Nigeria, according to the UN Development Programme.

Abubakar said militants and members of local criminal gangs operate hundreds of illegal refineries in the Delta, where they refine oil to sell locally or to ships waiting offshore to transport it to the global market.

Chronic under-development

Much of the oil-bunkering is driven by local militants who, angry at under-development in the region, have taken up arms to demand a greater share of Nigeria’s oil wealth, according to Sofiri Peterside, a Niger Delta researcher in the regional capital Port Harcourt. Militant groups are made up primarily of unemployed youths who have few opportunities to earn a living wage, Peterside said.

According to Finance Minister Shamsudeed Usman since the 1970s Nigeria has produced more than US$300 billion worth of crude from the Delta region. Just 13 percent of the region’s oil revenues return to the Delta’s local economy, according to a 2005 UN Development Programme (UNDP) study.

“Inside the Niger Delta, we don’t see petrol, diesel or kerosene. We don’t see coal tar to tar the roads,” said a local rebel commander known as Tompolo. “We are refining petroleum products to help our people to get light, fuel to cook, even use it to tar our roads. Let them leave us to refine our oil.”

All sides profit

Bunkering has enabled rebel militias to amass money, influence and arms to the degree that they often outgun the military, militia members claim. “The military is no match for us when we mean to confront them,” the militant group Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said in a 14 September press release announcing an "oil war" against military troops.

Local residents say members of the Nigerian military also profit from bunkering. Omolubi Nuwuwumi, a member of the Waterways Security Committee – a local government-run body investigating kidnapping, which is also widespread in the Delta – told IRIN some members of the military moonlight for the criminal gangs or rebel groups, “if the price is right”.

“The soldiers are deeply involved. There is no bunkering activity that is taking place in the Niger Delta that the military is not involved in,” Nuwuwumi said. “Eighty percent of soldiers in the region own the best cars – these are people who did not own a motorcycle before coming to the Delta.”

The military acknowledges that a few soldiers might be involved but insists it is addressing the matter. ”There are good and bad eggs in the army,” military spokesman Abubakar told IRIN. “But the commander is out to check the activities of those involved in illegal bunkering. Whether you are military or civilian there is no exception.”

Risky business

Researcher Peterside said the potential wealth from crude oil smuggling feeds the state of lawlessness in the Delta.

Bunkering groups may use money or intimidation to win over community leaders, he said, and fights over ‘bunkering turf’ often foment inter-communal violence. Peterside estimated that so far in 2008 up to 1,000 people have been killed in clashes in the Delta.

Representatives of oil company Royal Dutch Shell, which has dominated oil excavation in Nigeria for over 50 years, warn that the unrelenting scavenging for fuel has grave implications both for the industry and local communities. “Fires easily break out when crude methods are used to tap into the oil pipelines,” Joseph Ollor-Obari, Shell spokesperson in Wari, told IRIN. “There have been several instances where charred bodies are all that were left to tell the story of a failed attempt to tap into the pipelines.”

Since 1998, thousands of people have burned to death in southern Nigeria when ruptured fuel pipelines caught fire.

Ollor-Obari said: “Valves are welded into active pipes conveying crude oil and other products. Once the new tap is in place, the product is siphoned through hoses or pipes and into containers that are transported in boats. Sometimes the thieves use barges that can contain up to 100,000 tonnes of fuel.”

The scale of oil theft is also resulting in serious environmental damage. Nigerian Environment Minister Halima Alao said at a press conference in September 2008 that Nigeria recorded 1,260 oil spills between 2006 and June 2008, 419 of them in the first half of 2008, reflecting a “progressive trend” of theft and sabotage.

“Impossible to stop”

Military spokesperson Abubakar told IRIN the authorities are making some progress. “Just this week we destroyed 180 illegal refineries at Okogbe and Egbe Ede. We destroyed 30 metal storage tanks, 800 drums filled with diesel, and 1,000 empty jerry cans,” he told IRIN. He said the military has helped destroy 300 illegal refineries since April 2008.

Military gunboats have been positioned throughout the region to block waterways and restrict passage for smugglers vessels, he said, and the government has deployed thousands of troops in recent years in the Niger Delta to check bunkering.

But with oil pipelines criss-crossing the Delta over thousands of kilometres, it is nearly impossible to stop illegal tapping, said militant chief Tompolo.

Some residents say it is a mistake for the government to address the bunkering issue as a security rather than a development problem. “There cannot be a military solution to the crisis in the Niger Delta,” said Ebi Okrika, a local philanthropist. “We have seen numerous crackdowns by troops over the years and yet the violence has not abated. The Delta needs jobs, schools, electricity and roads…There is [no development] happening in the Delta…It remains under-developed and desperately poor.”

IRIN

29 Year old Man in Court for Cattle Rustling

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:54:34 GMT

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

One Ebrima Baldeh, a 29 year old, was recently dragged to Basse Magistrates’ court before the travelling Magistrate Amadou Baldeh for cattle theft contrary to section 225 of the criminal procedure code cap 10 vol. III Laws of The Gambia 1999.

According to the statement of the offence on or about the 22ndOctober 2008, at Dingiri village in Upper River Region (URR) the accusedstole 3 goats one male and two female valued at one thousand two hundred Dalasis each, being the property of one Mr. Essa Trawally.

However when the charge sheet was read to the accused and interpreted in the local languages he claimed to understand, he pleaded not guilty.

There the police prosecutor I.P. Touray called three witnesses who all testified that the goats were stolen by the accused person.

According to the presiding Magistrate, the Police prosecutor has proven his case beyond all reasonable doubt and the accused was sentenced to a fine of ten thousand Dalasis (D10,000) in default to serve 3 years in jail.

Author: Abdou Rahman Sallah

Youth Arraigned in Court for Theft

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 07:21:20 GMT

Friday, October 31, 2008

One Ebrima Faal was recently arraigned before Magistrate Pa-Harry Jammeh on a charge of stealing.

According to the statement of offence on or about 25th September 2008 at Farato Village the accused allegedly stole the following items a wallet containing D500, 000, one radio valued at D125, an ID Card among others being the property of one Samba Kebbeh.

When the charge sheet was read to the accused, he pleaded not guilty.

There he was urged by the court to produce his birth certificate and the case was deferred as a result of that.

Author: Abdoulie Nyockeh & Lamin Darboe

Brikama Man in Court

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 07:15:56 GMT

Friday, October 31, 2008

One Saikou Drammeh of Brikama was last Tuesday arraigned before Magistrate Pa Harry Jammeh of the Brikama Magistrates’ Court on a theft charge.

According to the particulars of the alleged offence on 26th October 2008 at Brikama Jidda, the accused Saikou Drammeh stole a peddal bicycle valued at D2500 being the property of one Jaffari Liegh. He denied the charge.

The prosecuting officer applied for adjournment in order to bring to his witnesses to court.

The application was granted and the case was adjourned until a later date.

Meanwhile the accused was granted court bail in the sum of D3000 with a Gambian surety.

Author: Yai Dibba

2 perm secs, others in court today

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 07:33:29 GMT

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Dr Badara Loum and Suruwa Jaiteh, former permanent secretaries at the Department of Agriculture are today, Wednesday, expected to appear before Justice Wowo of the Criminal Court Division of the High Court.

The two are facing charges of theft filed against them by the state. They both pleaded not guilty. The trial was initially presided over by Justice Monagen whose tenure came to an end earlier this year.

Hamadi Sowe, the last man facing trial on concealment of treason in the 2006 foiled coup plot led by the then chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Gambia Armed Forces, Colonel Ndure Cham, is also expected to appear before the same judge.

Author: by Sanna Jawara & Fakebba Camara

Man Convicted for Theft

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 06:00:23 GMT

Monday, October 27, 2008

One Lamin Bojang was recently convicted for stealing and sentenced to a fine of D2000, in default to serve six months’ imprisonment.

He was also ordered to compensate the complainant the sum of D6000 to cover the cost of his properties, or else he would serve another four months’ imprisonment with hard labour.

The sentences are to run concurrently.

According to the prosecuting officer Sub-Inspector Fadera, the accused invited the complainant to stay in their compound.

He stated that when the complainant went out one day, the accused broke into the complainant’s room and stole his belongings worth D9630.

Sub-Inspector Fadera added that the accused absconded for two months after which the police arrested him.

In administering his sentences Magistrate Abdoulie Mbackeh of the Kanifing Magistrates’ Court stated that the accused deserved some punishment as a deterrent. He further stated that the accused had betrayed the trust bestowed on him by his friend, the complainant.

Author: Dawda Faye

In Carnegie Minerals saga

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:40:29 GMT

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Northfield ‘aide’ charged

Marc Maurice Alfred Vanmaldegum, a dutch national, was yesterday arraigned before Senior Magistrate Lamin George of the Banjul Magistrates Court for helping a prisoner to escape, contrary to Section 109 of the Criminal Code, Cap 10 Volume 3.

The Dutchman is accused of facilitating the escape of Mr Andrew Charles Northfield, managing director of the defunct Carnagie Minerals Company Ltd, The Gambia, who was facing 4 counts of criminal offenses at the High Court of The Gambia. The charges against Andrew Charles Northfield range from economic crime to theft. However, Northfield fled from the country in September 2008.

The accused, Vanmaldegum, informed the court of his intention to consult his lawyer, Badou Conteh, who was absent. “I don’t know the charge against me, and I am not even sure if my lawyer is aware of my presence in court. I was not given access to my lawyer. As such, I doubt if I can take a plea in his absence,” he told the court.

The magistrate told the accused that he could take his plea even if his lawyer is absent as it is just a matter of procedure. He also urged the police prosecutor to allow the accused to consult his lawyer on or before the date of the next session, 6th November, 2008.

The accused was sent to remand until his next appearance in court.

This development followed the application by the police prosecutor, Sub-Inspector Badjie, objecting to bail for the accused.

Author: by Sanna Jawara