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Tag: Nigerian Newspapers

  • Boko Haram, ISWAP fleeing to North, Central Africa, says Army

    Boko Haram fighters are fleeing to neighbouring countries as well as North and Central African nations, following military bombardments of their strongholds in the Northeast, the Nigerian Army said yesterday.

    A statement by its spokesman Col Sagir Musa said the concerted efforts of troops of Operation Lafiya Dole and the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) had led to the death of scores of Boko Haram fighters have been killed and their remnants are in mass exodus to the border towns outside Nigeria.

    Musa said: “The Nigerian Army wishes to inform the public that due to the combined onslaught on the identified hideouts of elements of the criminal elements of bandits and erstwhile Boko Haram/ISWAP fighters by our troops and the MNJTF, at the fringes of Lake Chad region, there is observed massive exodus of the criminals out of Lake Chad Tumbus to North and Central Africa sub-regions.

    “There are credible reports from very reliable sources indicating massive movements of the criminal groups out of the area towards Sudan and Central African Republic as a result of successful artillery and aerial bombardments of their settlements and as the heat of the onslaught is becoming unbearable.

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    “This mass movement for their lives was necessitated, following the sustained air and artillery bombardments by the Nigerian Armed Forces and coalition forces of the MNJTF, which killed uncountable erstwhile Boko Haram/ISWAP fighters and destroyed their weapons and equipment.

    “The various national troops and the MNJTF are maintaining aggressive patrols and blocking positions against infiltration by the escaping criminals.

    “It is important to note that most of the Tumbus are located along the Quadrangular borders of Cameroon, Chad, Niger Republic and Nigeria. To further annihilate the fleeing terrorists, efforts are ongoing for continued shelling, bombardment and pursuits. Similarly, the countries in these sub-regions have also had been contacted through the MNJTF headquarters.”

  • Seplat pushes for SDGs

    AN indigenous upstream player in the oil and gas sector, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc (Seplat), said it is committed to partnering with relevant stakeholders to achieve one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which is Health for All.

    Pursuant to this, the firm said has brought succour to its host communities and to other indigenes of Imo State through its Eye Can See and Safe Motherhood programmes.

    The firm is operator of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)/Seplat Joint Venture.

    Speaking during the opening ceremony  at the Medical Health Centre, Izombe, Imo State, the wife of the state governor, Lady Ebere Ihedioha who flagged the medical outreach open said: “If all the corporate organisations were to tow this route of Seplat petroleum today, the burden of underdevelopment and social restlessness particularly in the oil producing areas in the state would be greatly reduced. This programme  therefore places Seplat Petroleum at the top of the Corporate Social Responsibility in the state, and by extension has won the hearts of our people.”

    The CEO of the oil firm, Mr. Austin Avuru, the Chief Executive Officer, said: “People are at the centre of everything we do. The NNPC/Seplat joint venture takes delight whenever we have opportunity to deploy these two key programmes specially designed for the wellbeing of our community members and for other indigenes of the state who wish to access the benefits of these health progrommes.”

    Avuru was represented on the occasion by General Manager, External Affairs & Communications, of the firm, Dr. Chioma Nwachuku.

    Through the initiatives, Seplat has provided premium health care in line with its commitment to ensuring the wellbeing of people living in its host communities.

     

  • Fed Govt moves to nail money launderers, terror financiers

    The Federal Government has expressed its commitment to meet global standards for combating money laundering and terrorists financing in the country.

    The move is expected to end financial crimes and other threats to internal security.

    Interior Minister Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola broken the news yesterday in his office in Abuja when the Director/Chief Executive Officer of the National Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) Mr. Modibbo Tukur visited him.

    The minister promised to provide the leadership required to fight the crime so that requisite policy oversight is given to ensure that the ministry, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) perform optimally to meet their obligations as members of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing.

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    “I assure you of my commitment to ensure that appropriate strategies are put in place to meet the global standards for combating Money Laundering and Terrorists Financing,” Aregbesola said.

    A statement by the Director (Press and Public Relations) in the ministry, Mohammed Manga, said the minister explained that if terrorism financing was arrested in Nigeria, the confidence of foreign investors would be boosted and socio-economic activities would be boosted among Nigerians.

    He said terrorists financing was a major threat to internal security in the country.

    Aregbesola hailed the NFIU for its roles, with regards to coordinating national legal, regulatory and operational frameworks for combating money laundering, terrorist financing, threats to the integrity of the international financial system and maintenance of internal security in Nigeria.

    Tukur said his team was at the Interior Ministry in recognition of its importance as one of the three key ministries with strategic roles to combat the challenges of money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation of arms.

    Hamman, who also said his team came to brief the minister on the forthcoming mutual evaluation exercise by the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa, identified other parties as the Federal Ministries of Finance, Budget and National Planning as well as Justice.

    He intimated Aregbesola with the proposed assessment of the ministry and 34 other Federal Government agencies by the global community under the auspices of Financial Action Task Force, billed for next month.

    The global task force is saddled with reviewing various countries of the world to see their compliance with their national legislations in the areas of criminalisation of crimes, money laundering and related crimes to ensure that a particular country’s system is not threatening itself to undermine peace and development across the globe.

  • World Bank in talks with Nigeria for fresh $2.5b loan

    THE World Bank and Nigeria are in talks for about $2.5 billion in a new tranche of concessionary lending to Nigeria, the bank’s Vice President for Africa, Hafez Ghanem, has said.

    In the past year Nigeria received $2.4 billion from the World Bank, Ghanem said in an interview in Abuja, on Thursday. “We’re talking about a new set of programs of about the same amount, it should be around $2.5 billion,” he told Bloomberg..

    Faced with revenue shortfalls as the output and price of oil, Nigeria’s main export, fell in the past five years, President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has increased borrowing to finance government spending, with domestic debt at $55.6 billion and foreign loans at $25.6 billion.

    To ease the mounting debt burden, Nigeria has sought more credit with low interest and long repayment periods from institutions including the World Bank and the African Development Bank.

    Nigeria, which vies with South Africa for Africa’s biggest economy, has made a sluggish recovery since a 2016 contraction, with gross domestic product expanding only 1.9 per cent in the three months through June, slowing for the third consecutive quarter. The World Bank in April lowered its 2019 growth forecast for Nigeria to 2.1 per cent from 2.2 per cent..

    “The current economic performance of Nigeria is not enough to reduce poverty,” said Ghanem. “We need to accelerate growth,” saying the World Bank’s focus in Nigeria is to lift about 100 million Nigerians, half of the population, out of poverty, with special emphasis on women’s education, expanding digital opportunities and solving a power crisis that hobbles economic activities.

    “It’s important to resolve the problems of the power sector in Nigeria to bring in more investments,” he said. “Because you need to bring down the cost of power to make the economy more competitive for the development of industries.”

    Read Also: World Bank to tackle flooding in Aba

    The World Bank is supporting digital transformation in Nigeria because of its potential ability to transform other areas of the economy including industry, agriculture and services, according to Ghanem.

    “Nigeria has a comparative advantage in that area because of the youth, a majority of the population is young,” he said. “So if we want to create jobs, we need to invest much more in the digital economy,” he said

  • Lagos affirms commitment on environmental laws

    THE Lagos State government has affirmed its readiness to implement all the relevant laws aimed at achieving a cleaner, hygienic, aesthetic environment by following the provisions of the state Environmental Protection Law 2017.

    Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), Executive Secretary, Mrs. Idowu Mohammed said this yesterday in her Office at Bolade-Oshodi, noting that part of the functions of LAGESC is to monitor and maintain surveillance along the highway, streets and public amenities,  while also reporting any breach of the provision of the environmental laws to the appropriate enforcement authorities.

    She said the state governor; Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu is passionate about the safety of lives and cleanliness of the environment and has directed the LAGESC officials reposed with the mandate to effectively clamp down on all violators of environmental sanitation laws in the State to adequately protect the lives and the environment at large.

    She emphasized the risks inherent in neglecting the use of pedestrian bridges, saying it impedes free flow of traffic as well as unnecessary loss of life.

  • ‘Thugs terrorising Lagos Island’

    LAGOS Island residents have cried out to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIGP) Force CID Annex, Alagbon Close, Ikoyi, to save the area from the menace of miscreants and thugs.

    They said last Sunday, the criminals, comprising about 22 men, shot a resident and injured several others, while terrorising several streets on the island.

    The mayhem, they added, had scared away many residents, including those of Issa Williams Street, Oke Arin Street, Doherty Street, Idumota, Idumagbo, Dosunmu Street and Ofin Canal area.

    They urged the police to move fast, apprehend the troublemakers and prosecute them.

    Three residents, Alhaji Fatai Otun, Alhaji Ayinla, Alhaji Isiaka Emmanuel and Alhaji Idowu Onikoyi Johnson, stated this on behalf of the people.

    They spoke through their lawyer, A.S. Fashina in a September 17 petition to the police titled ‘Save Our Souls: threat to life, violence, conduct likely to cause breach of peace, unlawful possession of fire arms, conspiracy and murder.

    The petition reads: “Our clients informed us that on Sunday the 15th of September, 2019, mayhem was unleashed in some parts of Lagos Island by miscreants and thugs led by their leader … wielding dangerous weapons e.g. guns, knives, bottles, cutlasses, terrorising the peace of the community.

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    “These activities took place along Issa Williams Street, Oke Arin Street, Doherty Street, Idumota, Idumagbo, Dosunmu Street and Ofin Canal area.

    “Due to these gangsters’ activities, many were injured and an innocent life was lost at the front of Diamond Bank Oke Arin and another one at Ofin Canal Street, who we were informed, was gunned down by these dangerous gangsters.

    “Our clients also informed us that due to these incidents, residents living on Lagos Island especially the above mentioned streets now live in fear of losing their lives and properties and many have relocated.”

    They implored the AIG to “use your good offices and look into our clients’ claim and investigate the individuals in view of what is recently happening in Lagos Island.

  • Worker arraigned for ‘raping’ hawker

    AN Ikeja Sexual and Domestic Violence Offences Court on Thursday heard how a construction worker, Emmanuel John, allegedly raped a 39-year-old woman in an uncompleted building.

    A police sergeant, Olakunle Orebe told the court that John allegedly raped the woman, who was hawking beans and yam (also known as ewa agoyin), on June 20, 2017 at No 14 Akins Addo Road, Ajah.

    Orebe, attached to the Gender Unit at the Ikeja police command, said that the victim, a Togolese, was alleged raped by John and his friend, one Obinna (now at large), at about 11:45 am on that fateful day.

    The 34-year-old construction worker, who has been in prison custody since 2017, is standing trial on a lone count charge of rape before Justice Sybil Nwaka.

    Led in evidence by the State prosecuting counsel, B.T. Boye,  Sgt. Orebe said that the defendant and the case file was transferred to him from Langbasa Police Station, Ajah on June 23, 2017.

    Orebe told the court he visited the crime scene and also interviewed the survivor.

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    “The survivor told me that she was hawking her usual food items when one man (Obinna) came and called her, on the pretence of buying beans and yam.

    “The victim narrated that the defendant asked her to come and sell to his friend, John,(the defendant), who was already waiting inside the uncompleted building.

    “She said that she quickly followed behind him to the uncompleted building and met his friend. But instead of requesting for food, they ordered her to remove her clothes. The defendant forcefully removed her clothes, held her hands while his friend had sexual intercourse with her.

    “The victim told me that the defendant thereafter took turns with his friend, Obinna, to rape her.”

    During cross examination by the defence counsel, Akinyemi Adetunyi, the police officer said that the defendant made a confessional statement at the station admitting that he had sexual intercourse with the victim.

    In his confessional statement, John stated that he had sexual intercourse with the woman on an agreement of paying her N500.

    Justice Nwaka adjourned the matter till October 9.

     

     

     

  • NGO hails Fed Govt’s move to reform prison

    A non-governmental organisation, Anchor Heritage, has lauded the Federal Government for signing into law, the Nigerian Correctional Service Bill to reform the prison system.

    The new bill repealed the Nigeria Prisons Act and proclaimed the treatment of prisons as a correctional centers.

    Anchor Heritage President Bidemi Oladipupo said the government’s move aligned with the vision and plans of the group.

    “Our organisation has embarked on empowerment programmes across prisons in the Southwest and Northcentral, empowering over 400 inmates as part of our contributions to the prison reform process,” he said.

    He called on the Federal Government to partner the private sector in providing services for congested Nigerian prisons in line with global best practices.

    “We believe that empowered inmates will re-integrate easily into the society to become productive citizens,” he said.

  • SGF, Ribadu, others to reposition Adamawa APC

    The Northeast zone of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has inaugurated a 39-member Central Steering Committee to reposition the party in Adamawa State.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that part of the committee’s assignment was also to reconcile the aggrieved aspirants and candidates for positions during the 2019 general election.

    The party, in a statement yesterday in Abuja by its National Vice Chairman (Northeast), Alhhaji Mustapha Shaliu, said the committee was set up to develop a programme of action for its repositioning and strengthening.

    NAN recalls that the party had, since the last general election, been embroiled in crisis, leading to the victory of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the polls.

    Shaliu said the committee, headed by Abdulrahman Adamu, had the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha and the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as co-chairmen.

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    Other members of the committee, according to him, include the former governor, Mohammed Jibrilla (Bindow), ex-Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Dahiru Bobbo, Sen. Jonathan Zwingina and Sen. Ahmed Barata, among others.

    He said the committee was also charged with the task of proposing modalities that would ensure free and fair primaries ahead of the coming local government election and future elections.

    Shaliu said it was also expected to propose ways and means of raising funds for running the affairs of the party.

    “Its other tasks are to develop an effective media and public enlightenment programme for repositioning the party to its winning form.

    “To co-ordinate and support the election petitions by the party at tribunals and courts.

    “To carry out any other function as may be directed by the National Working Committee of the APC,” he said.

  • Lawyer’s N1.4m fraud trial resumes Oct 2

    A LAGOS Magistrates Court has fixed October 2 to resume the trial of a lawyer, Moses John Jackson, charged with stealing N1.4 million from a 77-year-old journalist, Mr Segun Adenuga.

    Jackson was arrested by the State Criminal, Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCID), Yaba, Lagos, following a May 23 petition by Adenuga, a 50-year sports journalism veteran.

    In the petition, Adenuga said he had known Jackson for 22 years.

    It reads: “When my mother died on August 12, 1995, she left a building which I had to supervise for the family at 19, Ramonu Street, Ikate, Surulere, Lagos.

    “At that time, I invited lawyer Moses Jackson to start collecting rents from the tenants on monthly and yearly basis since 2002.”

    Jackson, Adenuga alleged, collected N600,000 but did not remit it to him.

    Speaking further, he said, “When the family decided to sell the house, I approached Jackson and he told me we had to obtain a Letter of Administration before we could put the house on sale.

    “I gave Jackson the sum of N280,000 to add to the money already collected as rents from the tenants to procure the Letter of Administration which he told me was almost N900,000.”

    According to him, Jackson got a buyer, Faith and Works Ministry Church, which bought the house at N7.5million.

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    He added: “I offered Jackson the sum of N500,000 again from the proceeds of the sales as his commission. However, a negligible few of my family members kicked against the shares given them and sued me to court. I have since refunded the sum of N7,500,000 back to the Church since October 4, 2016, but Jackson has failed to refund the money he collected from me, knowing full well that he did not obtain the letter of Administration, which the money was meant for In 2009.”

    The SCID arraigned Jackson on November 23, 2018, on a two-count charge of obtaining by false pretence and stealing.

    Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Raman Inuegbe told the court that Jackson committed the offence between 2002 and December 9, 2009 at No 19, Ramonu Street, Ikate, Surulere, Lagos.

    Inuegbe alleged the lawyer, “with intent to defraud, did obtain from Segun A. Adenuga the sum of N1.4m under the pretence that you will procure a letter of administration for the sales of his late mother’s property, a representation you knew to be false.”

    The court also heard that “On the same date, time and place, Jackson did steal the sum of N1.4m property of Segun A. Adenuga.”

    According to the prosecutor, the offences infringed Sections 287(9)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e) and 314(1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

    Jackson pleaded not guilty and was granted bail on self-recognizance.