The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Kaduna

  • EFCC intercepts N49m at Kaduna Airport

    EFCC intercepts N49m at Kaduna Airport

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday night discovered the sum of N49 million in  N200 and N50 mint notes at the Kaduna International Airport with the owner yet to be identified.
    The money consisting of N40 million in N200 notes and N9 million in N50 notes were wrapped in NSPM polythene wrappers and packed into five sacks.

    Two sacks contained only N200 notes, two sacks others had N200 and N50 notes, while the thrid sack contained only N50 notes.

    Head of EFCC Kaduna zonal office, Mr. Ibrahim Bappa said that the money was found at the baggage check-in of the Kaduna International Airport, ostensibly about to be taken out.

    The owner of the bags reportedly fled  when the EFCC operatives, on a tip-off, arrived the airport.

    He said investigation is still ongoing to find the owner of the money and discover if it is a proceed from crime. The money has been handed over to the Central Bank of Nigeria for onward transfer to EFCC recovery account.

    “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Kaduna Zonal Office on the 13th of March, 2017 intercepted an undeclared sum of N49 million in five large black 150kg coloured sack following an intelligence report received by the zone.

    “The report, which was made at about 8:00pm stated that during the routine baggage screening of supposed checked in baggage, five sacks were sighted unattended to and without tags containing fresh bulk items suspected to be money, from the aroma perceived from the sack.

    “The owner of the money later showed up but couldn’t state the exact money in the sack or present any document authenticating the genesis of the monies.
    “However, his inability to give any concrete explanation made him become uncomfortable and he disappeared into thin air before the arrival of the EFCC operatives according to our source of information.

    “They found out that the suspect had fled the airport vicinity leaving the sack behind and upon careful scrutiny of the contents of the sacks, it was discovered that the sacks contained fresh crispy naira notes N200 denomination in 200 bundles totaling N40 million and N50 denomination in 180 bundles totaling N9 million all sealed purportedly emanating from the Nigerian Security and Minting Plc (NSPM) as seen in the labeled sealed packs.

    “There is no arrest yet but investigation is ongoing with a view to identify the owner and apprehend all those behind the crime,” Bappa said.

  • Chocolate City boss Audu Maikori granted bail

    Chocolate City boss Audu Maikori granted bail

    Audu Maikori, the Chief Executive Officer, Chocolate City, Lagos was on Monday granted bail after his  arraignment before a Kaduna Chief Magistrate’s Court over alleged criminal conspiracy and spreading falsehood.The charge sheet indicated that he was also alleged to have incited disturbance of public peace.

    Maikori was arraigned along with one Simon Joseph, as first and second accused.

    Prosecution counsel, Dari Bayero, told the court that the duo, on January 23, 2017 conspired and spread a false story, in the social media, that five students of Kaduna State College of Education were ambushed and killed by Fulani herdsmen.

    “This false information was inciting and capable of disturbing the public peace,” he alleged.

    Bayero said that the the offences were punishable under section 24 of Cyber Crime Act, Laws of the Federation 2015.

    He, however, said that investigation was ongoing, and urged the court to give him more time to conclude the investigation and filed the case to an appropriate court.

    Counsel to the first accused, Mr Reuben James, urged the court to grant his client bail on the ground that the offences for which he was dragged before the court were bailable.

    Similarly, counsel to the second accused, Mr Desmond Tabakwot, also urged the court to grant the second accused bail.

    Chief Magistrate Emmanuel Yusuf said he lacked jurisdiction to try the case, and thereafter granted the accused persons bail in the sum of N100,000 and one surety each.

    He adjourned the case to April 20, for further mention

  • Eight players of Kaduna academy for trials abroad

    Eight players of ACE Academy, Kaduna have been invited for trials in four European countries.

    The Head Coach of the academy, Abdulmumuni Ya’u-Shehu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Kaduna that the players would travel to Sweden, France, Belgium, Italy and Norway for the trials.

    He said the players included Opeh Samuel, Atede Moses, Ismail Saleh and Christopher Nmuze.

    Other are Abdulsalam Abdulsalam, Peter Opunchi, Saeed Abdulganiwu and Patrick Obalor.

    The coach said the players were invited for their skills and hard work and prayed that they would be signed by the various clubs.

    He disclosed that the Academy would soon embark on playing tour of France, Italy and the UK.

     

  • Air Peace, DANA Air, others fly into Kaduna

    Kaduna International Airport was agog yesterday as five domestic carriers, Air Peace, DANA Air, Aero, Arik Air and Medview Airlines operated flights from Lagos.

    The carriers operated their scheduled flights on the route following the closure of Abuja Airport.

    Amid tight security, scores of passengers expressed excitement over the use of Kaduna Airport for flights.

    As early as 8.00 am, flights from Lagos started landing at airport.

    Apart from these carriers, ground handling firm, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCo), aviation fuel suppliers, Conoil, So Aviation, and other ancillary services providers were also on ground to facilitate smooth flight operations.

    Apart from scheduled carriers, charter operators were also at the airport to facilitate smooth operations.

    Airport security, aerodrome safety and fire fighters were also on hand.

    It was gathered that government has secured agreement with a private transport firm, Chisco Limited with security escort patrol vehicles to convey passengers between Kaduna and Abuja as well as between Abuja and Kaduna.

  • Airport: FG launches harmonised deparure/arrival cards

    Airport: FG launches harmonised deparure/arrival cards

    The Federal Government on Thursday in Kaduna launched a harmonised departure/arrival cards for air travellers in the country.

    The Minister of Interior, retired Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau while launching the document, said the new cards would replace the multiple cards which hitherto existed at Nigerian airports.

    He said “Federal Government has chosen the Kaduna International Airport to formally launch this unique security document to the travelling public.

    “These cards will replace the multiplicity of cards that hitherto existed and will take care of the interest of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Customs, Port Health Services, NDLEA and others.”

    He explained that foreigners were expected to fill the departure/arrival cards, while Nigerians would fill the departure card only.

    Dambazau said that the document had been scanned and stored in a data bank to be shared with relevant stakeholders, while travel records of passengers would be secure.

    He added that the new measure was part of government’s policy on “Ease of doing business in Nigeria” in line with international best practices.

    Earlier, the NIS Comptroller-General, Mr Muhammad Babandede, said the service
    had put in place all the necessary logistics to implement the policy.

    He said the NIS had strengthened its synergy with relevant agencies like Customs and NDLEA to ensure efficient service delivery.

    He urged officers and men of the NIS, particularly those at the airports, to be professional and diligent in the‎ discharge of their duties.

  • FG to resuscitate Immigration surveillance aircrafts

    FG to resuscitate Immigration surveillance aircrafts

    The Federal Government said it would refurbish three grounded Nigeria Immigration Service surveillance aircraft to boost security at the nation’s borders.

    ‎The Minister of Interior, retired Lt.-Gen Abdulrahman Dambazau,‎ stated this on Thursday when he inspected the Service’s air patrol base in Kaduna.

    He said that due to paucity of funds the government had settled for the option of refurbishing the planes instead of buying new ones.

    Dambazau said that the rehabilitation of the aircraft would be completed before the end of 2017.

    He explained that purchasing a new patrol aircraft would cost at least five million dollars, “which is very expensive at this point in time considering the myriad of challenges confronting the country’’.‎
    ‎
    ‎He stressed that the need for air surveillance to complement land border patrols to effectively secure the nation’s borders.

    The minister said that due to the old model of the aircrafts, there would be need to upgrade them with modern facilities like the night patrol vision cameras and area mapping and surveillance cameras for effective service.

    “‎We are looking at all possible ways to upgrade these aircraft before the end of the year.‎
    ‎
    “We cannot effectively secure our expansive and porous borders which spans over 4,500 kilometres without the use of these aircraft,” he said.

    Dambazau said that apart from border management, the aircraft when operational would also help check cross-border crimes such as terrorism, drugs trade and human trafficking.

    He said that security measures currently being taken by the government were part of plans to secure the nation and attract foreign investors to the country.

    Earlier, the Comptroller-General of NIS, Mr Muhammad Babandede, said that effective air and land border patrols were imperative for securing the nation from terrorism and other trans-border crimes.

    He said that apart from resuscitating the patrol aircraft, the service was also intensifying its land patrols with sophisticated vehicles and bikes to protect the nation’s borders.

    Babandede said that the NIS had started the process of re-training its pilots, engineers and border patrol officers in line with international best practice. ‎

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the three grounded aircraft were Dornier 228 types, configured for mission patrols and equipped with on board stabilized long range observation system and aerial cameras.

    However, most of the components of the aircraft such as the surveillance cameras, monitoring gadgets and tyres have become obsolete and non-functional due to lack of maintenance.

     

  • Kaduna Airport ready for 24 hours operations – NCAA

    Kaduna Airport ready for 24 hours operations – NCAA

    Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has declared the Kaduna International Airport, Kaduna, is fit and ready for 24 hours local and international operations.

    All necessary steps to ensure that the status of the Airport as an Alternate Airport to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, (NAIA), during the closure have been put in place.

    Spokesman of NCAA, Sam Adurogboye stated this in a statement Tuesday.

    He said navigational equipment have been well calibrated and fully functional to facilitate continuous smooth landings and takeoffs.

    He said: “Therefore, towards a seamless flight operations in line with Standard and Recommended Practices (SARPs), all relevant departments and directorates with full complement of staff have been redeployed to Kaduna from the aviation agencies.

    “The Regional Managers of NCAA Abuja and Kaduna offices are on ground to allow for smooth integration of the additional staff coming to Kaduna.

    “To sustain the safety and security of airline operations, a team of Aviation Safety Inspectors (ASI) from the Directorate of Airworthiness Standards (DAWS), Directorate of Consumer Protection, (DCP), Directorate of Air Transport Regulations (DATR), Directorate of Aerodrome and AirspaceStandard, (DAAS) and Aviation Security Personnel are already at the airport.”

    He said the National Security Committee has designed and got approval for the Security programme to cover the airport and its environs during the six weeks closure.

    Adurogboye said relevant aviation agencies, the Regulatory Authority, (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigerian Customs and Excise, (NCS), Nigerian Immigration Service(NIS), Nigerian Police Force and other security services are all at the airport to provide unhindered facilitation of passenger traffic and flights.

    He said: “At the commencement of flights, it is expected that the Ethiopian Airlines (ET) will be the first scheduled airline to arrive the Kaduna International Airport upon the closure of Abuja Airport.

    “The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA), wishes to assure all passengers that all hands are deck to conduct a safe and secure air transport operations at all airports in Nigeria.”

    In a related development, DANA Air said  it will commence flights to Kaduna on March 8, 2017.

    The airline said it will operate four daily flights from Lagos to Kaduna  while there will be one flight each from Uyo and Port Harcourt to Kaduna keeping strictly to its scheduled time of departure.

    The Accountable Manager of Dana Air, Mr Obi Mbanuzuo while speaking on the new schedule said: “We will commence four daily flights from Lagos to Kaduna and one flight each from Uyo and Port Harcourt to Kaduna on 8 March, and we intend keeping to our scheduled time of departure. From Kaduna to Lagos, our new schedule caters to the needs of all our passengers .”

    He said :” With  our on-time performance still unrivaled, our desire is to ensure that passengers connecting Abuja from Kaduna meet their appointments and commitments, while those visiting Kaduna can trust us to take them there on-time.’’

    Meanwhile, another domestic carrier: Air Peace said it has deployed  staff  to  Kaduna Airport to ensure smooth operations .

    In a statement the airline’s Corporate Communications Manager, Mr.  Chris Iwarah said the carrier has already deployed its staff to the Kaduna International Airport in readiness for diversion of Abuja-bound flights to the facility from March 8, 2017.

    Iwarah assured that Air Peace was fully prepared to operate flights into and out of the Kaduna airport during the shutdown of the Abuja facility.

    He confirmed that the airline would operate flights from Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Benin, Calabar, Owerri and Sokoto into and out of Kaduna.

    Iwarah urged air travelers to frequently visit the airline’s website, www.flyairpeace.com and social media platforms to get daily information on its flight operations during the closure of the Abuja airport.

    The airline’s staff, he added, would be available at all its offices to assist air travelers and provide up-to-date information on the Kaduna flight operations.

  • Xenophobic attacks will lead to calamity in Africa, says Obasanjo

    Xenophobic attacks will lead to calamity in Africa, says Obasanjo

    Former Nigeria’s President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has critisised South African leaders for allowing xenophobic attacks to continue in the country.

    He was however quick to say that, if the leadership of the country allows its youths to continue killing other fellow Africans, it will be a calamity for South Africa and the African continent as a whole.

    The former President who featured on Kaduna based Liberty Radio Programme, Guest of the Week at the weekend said “it is understandable to say the South African youths are being childish, but it is unacceptable for their leaders to watch them go on rampage against fellow Africans.”

    He however stated categorically that any leader who allows xenophobic attacks to linger under his watch is not fit to be an African leader.

    According to Obasanjo who spoke extensively to Liberty Radio on the newly established Obasanjo Presidential Library, no African country can attain development in isolation.

    “They must move together as a continent if the desired development is to be achieved.

    “What all African countries must remember is that, Nigeria fought for
    decolonisation of most of that African countries. But, whether anyone
    remembers what Nigeria did for decolonisation of African countries or not is not even an issue, the issue, the issue is that any African must not be treated as unwanted in any part of Africa.

    “Any leader who allows xenophobic attacks to happen and linger under his watch is not fit to be an African leader.

    “If youths are behaving childishly, then, what is the leadership doing? It is understandable to see children behaving childishly, but if the leaders also behave childishly, that is a calamity for that country and for Africa”.

    Speaking about the Presidential Library, where he built a Church and Mosque, the former President said, as a leader of the country, he needed to lead by example, without bias to any religious group.

    He said he was raised in a community where Christian and Muslims co-exist
    peacefully and he had lived with that all his life, adding that, even as
    President of Nigeria, he used to fast during Ramadan and during lent.

    The former President however condemn the situation where people now kill one
    another in the name of religion, saying anyone who kills in the name of
    religion is an enemy of God.

    On the fight against corruption, former President Obasanjo commended
    President Muhammadu Buhari led administration on the anti graft war,
    reiterating that Buhari has not disappointed him, except that he is weak in
    the area of economy.

  • Kaduna kicks off CPS with payment to retirees

    Kaduna kicks off CPS with payment to retirees

    Kaduna State has implemented the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) with the commencement of payment of retirement benefits retirees, Director-General, National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, has said.

    She congratulated the retirees on their meritorious service to state.  She said the implementation of the CPS was a milestone acheived through diligence of Governor Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai.

    According to her, the main essence of the Pension Reform of 2004 was to ensure that retirement benefits are paid as at when due and in a sustainable manner.

    She expressed joy that the retirees would clearly experience its positive impact, adding that the current economic challenges provides an opportunity to implement strategies for effective financial management by the states. She added that the huge liabilities which usually build up in the old Defined Benefits Scheme can be mitigated by the adoption and implementation of the CPS by states.

    She said the CPS provides a mechanism for eliminating these liabilities while the regular contributions into the scheme are undoubtedly less burdensome.

    Executive Secretary, Kaduna State Pension Bureau, Dan Ndackson who also spoke at the event said the CPS law was imade in 2007 in the state, but the contributions commenced in March 2008.

    He noted that implementation was not in total conformity with the provisions of the law before now.

    Ndackson said presently, in order to deliver on its mandate, the Bureau successfully completed the administrative procedures that resulted in the merger of the defunct Bureau of Pension in 2016.

    He noted that while building on the successes of the pensioners’ verification exercise that took place in the state in 2015, the Bureau has vigorously embarked on pensioners’ payroll cleansing in the state.

    He said as at last month, there were 9,655 pensioners in the payroll of state pensioners and 6,728 in that of local government areas compared to the 11,531 and 6,734  in the payrolls as at July 2015.

  • Sultan to lead Islamic scholars in prayer for Buhari, Southern Kaduna

    The Sultan of Sokoto and the President-General of the Jama’atu Nasirl Islam (JNI), Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III has ordered the National Headquarters of the JNI and the Council of Imam’s and Ulama, Kaduna state Branch to lead a prayer session for the crises in southern Kaduna and the quick recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari.
    Addressing a joint press conference yesterday at the JNI headquarters, the Secretary-General, JNI and the state chairman of the Council of Imam’s and Ulama, Dr, Khalid Aliyu Abubakar and Sheikh Baban Tune respectively said the Vice President-General, JNI and Emir of Zazzau, Dr Shehu Idris, the governor of Kaduna state, Malam Nasiru El-Rufai, speaker of the Kaduna state House of Assembly, security agencies and distinguished Islamic Scholars too numerous to mention will be in attendance at the event slated for Sunday, March 5th, 2017.
    They said, The event will deliberate on the southern Kaduna issue and the ill health of president Muhammadu Buhari which has now become an issue of discussion in all nooks and crannies of the country right from the upper and lower chambers of the legislative leaders of the country, that is why the Sultan of Sokoto, ordered that JNI comes together with the Council of Imama’s and Ulama who is a formidable council of those who steer the affairs of our mosques by leading prayers and giving sermons on Friday and lead the prayer.
    “It is a religious duty for us to work together in order to seek Allah’s intervention to relive us of these trialling moments is very important. Preparation is in top gear, come Sunday, March 5th, 2017 the prayer session will hold in Kaduna and we pray that it brings the state out of this quagmire bedevilling the country and may He grant our president good health to come back and continue steering the leadership of the country.”
    They prayed to Allah to relive the country of the ‘pang’ of poverty in the country adding, “May Allah relieve the state of this cancer of violent conflicts in southern Kaduna and bring relive in the North East and other parts of the country where we have such skirmishes.”
    They assured that they will not do anything that will go against the laws of the land but seek to find solutions to the ‘cancer; of insecurity bedevilling the state.