The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigerians

  • Eight Nigerians sentenced to death in UAE for robbery

    Night Nigerians have joined the death row in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after a court in Sharjah sentenced them to death for a string of armed robberies at money exchanges and cash machines across the emirate in December 2016.

    A ninth man was sentenced to six months imprisonment for being in possession of stolen money.

    He is expected to be deported after serving his sentence, according to Gulf News.

    The convicts were not named but the newspaper said a total of 20 suspects were originally arrested for attacking security guards in four violent attacks at ATMs and money exchanges across Sharjah in late 2016.

    They threatened and assaulted staff and members of the public with bladed weapons in a spate of robberies, three of which were carried out on December 18, 2016.

    The gang — who were all in the UAE on visit visas — were said to be highly organised and plotted a string of orchestrated attacks to ambush security trucks that were transporting money boxes to and from ATMs, and at least one money exchange in Sharjah.

    The first robbery took place at a Dubai Commercial Bank ATM on King Abdul Aziz Street where Dh340,000 was stolen, then two days later they attacked an ATM in Al Safeer Mall in Al Nahda fleeing with Dh700,000, and an ATM in Muweilah where they stole Dh710,000. A fourth attack at a money exchange office near National Paints was foiled by police.

    The police were able to recognise the suspects through surveillance footage captured at the exchange house in the mall.

    Video footage showed the convicts attacking security guards, making off with cash, and in one of the robberies slashing the hands of a security guard with a knife before running away with money boxes.

    Reacting to the death sentence passed on the eight Nigerians yesterday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, described it as unfortunate.

    In a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja yesterday, the presidential aide said the incident was not an actual description of the personalities of the people of Nigeria.

    She said: “It is an unfortunate incident, but it is not an incident that defines who we are as a people.

    ”If a few Nigerians have committed a crime for which they are being punished, thousands of Nigerians are doing great in that same country and are being appreciated and celebrated.

    ”Mr President who meets Nigerians every time he goes on official trips outside the country always appeals to them to be good ambassadors wherever they are.

    ”I must commend millions of our brothers and sisters excelling all over the world.

    “Bad news travels fast, and I appeal to the media to help spread the good news about Nigerians and not concentrate only on the once-in-a-while negative stories.”

    All the convicted Nigerians were not identified by both the Gulf News and Khaleej Times, both UAE local newspapers, which reported the trial.

    A total of 20 suspects were initially held for attacking security guards in four violent attacks at ATMs and money exchanges across Sharjah in late 2016.

    Out of the suspects, nine were convicted.

    The verdict was handed down by Judge Majid Al Muhairi of Sharjah Criminal Court on Wednesday.

  • Nigerians urged to live in peace

    As Christians ended a 40-day fasting and Muslims are preparing to start their own,  a group, the Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo and other Tribes Youths of Nigeria (WAZOBATYON) has enjoined Nigerians to live in peace and unity.

    The group, which is the off-shoot of National Youths Movement for One Nigeria (NYMON), in a stement signed  jointly by its national coordinators,  Alhaji Mudashiru Oladele and Alhaji Musa Usman, and national president, Comrade Joseph Diala, enjoined Nigerians to pray for peace considering a series of reports  that Nigeria might cease to remain an entity.

    The group said that irrespective of tension in the country, especially during and before the election people like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu had managed to pursue peace, especially in a state like  Lagos which accommodates the highest number of population of each tribe in Nigeria without any serious encounter that could have led to serious crises.

    The group thanked Hon Jude Idimogu for uniting all tribes in his constitency,  Oshodi/Isolo II

  • ‘Nigerians lose forex to digital currency platform’

    A group, the United Global Resolve for Peace, has advised the Federal Government to urgently regulate digital and local currency exchange platforms in the interests of stakeholders and the economy of the country.

    It said millions of dollars are being lost in revenue to digital currency exchange platforms every year by the Federal Government, adding that no fewer than 500,000 youths are now into the scheme.

    Addressing reporters at its headquarters in Abuja, its Executive Director, Mr Shalom Olaseni, said  the group has received series of petitions on the activities of Paxful Inc., a digital money exchange agency based in Tallinn, Estonia and payments into the TSA of the Federal Government.

    Olaseni said investigations and telephone conversations with Paxful Inc., showed that the accounts of many Nigerians operating on its platforms had been blocked for several months without cogent reasons, leading to loss of millions of dollars.

    He alleged that Paxful Inc. withheld the funds of users arbitrarily even when it had been established that users do not engage in scam or any fraudulent activities on its platform.

    When contacted, Paxful Inc. said it closed some of the accounts due to concerns raised by stakeholders especially on the verification of the identity of users of the platform. A statement signed by its Public Relations Manager,  Nina Paragoso, reads in part: “As part of our on going commitment  to reduce fraud and other illicit activity on the platform, a month ago we announced  that we have teamed up with Jumio, a digital customer identity verification company , in order to improve anti-money laundering procedures and combat fraud on our marketplace globally.”

  • Saraki urges Qatar to end visa restriction for Nigerians

    President of the Senate Dr. Bukola Saraki has called on Qatar to end its visa restriction on Nigerians.

    Saraki, a statement by his Media Office said, spoke at a meeting with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Interior  Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, in Doha.

    The Senate president, who led a National Assembly delegation to the 140th General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Doha, lamented that the visa ban was preventing Nigerians from visiting the Middle East nation.

    He noted that lifting the ban would help Qatar showcase its vast opportunities, technological advancement and other achievements.

    Saraki, while calling for more collaboration between the two countries,  lauded the resilience of the Qatari government

    He said there was need to set up a a legal framework to enable skilled persons and professionals in Nigerians to legally work in Qatar.

    Saraki said: “I want to commend your fighting spirit in standing up for your rights. You have demonstrated that you mean well for your people and what you have done is worth emulating.

    “That said, I think both countries  (Nigeria and Qatar) need to strengthen their ties, especially our parliaments.  We need to collaborate to achieve many things together. The collaboration will be good for the two countries and for our people.

    “I want to make an appeal that the visa restrictions placed on Nigerians be lifted. Nigerians are good people and we travel a lot.

    “This restriction is not good for both countries and I urge you to reconsider your position on that. The world needs to see the good things you are doing here, and lifting your visa ban on Nigerians will encourage more people to come here and enjoy your beautiful country.

    “In the area of sports, we need to do more together. Nigeria is a sport-loving country. We have talented people in various parts of the world, including Qatar, doing great things in sports. If we collaborate, we will be able to develop that sector too.”

    Al-Thani promised to look into the visa restriction and ensure it was resolved soon.

    Saraki had bilateral meeting with Mr. Kenneth Lusaka, speaker of Kenyan Parliament, with both leaders calling for more collaboration between their countries.

    The Senate president also met with the IPU President, Ms Gabriela Cuevas Barron,  who will visit Nigeria in June.

  • Assist us with information, AIG tells Nigerians

    ASSISTANT Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 11 Leye Oyebade has appealed to people to support efforts in curtailing crimes by giving information to policemen.

    The police chief, who is coordinating Oyo, Osun and Ondo, said the police had crime-mapped the entire zone to know the various crime peculiarities of the three states in the zone and how to combat them.

    Oyebade, however, said making prior information available to security operatives would go a long way in helping them achieve proactive community policing effort.

    The AIG spoke at the weekend while addressing the people after a 10-kilometre fitness walk organised by a private radio station, Inspiration FM 100.5, Ibadan.

    The police boss led the walk and accompanied by leaders and men of the other security agencies as well as close to a thousand people.

    According to Oyebade, the zonal command is already concluding arrangement to inaugurate the first security stakeholders’ forum, where the people will regularly advise the police on how to upgrade their systems and operations to address heinous crimes in the society.

    He added that the platform would also give room for constructive criticism of the police to enable them become better in their effort of guaranteeing security of lives and property.

    He hailed the radio station management for the fitness walk to help prepare the body to fight sicknesses.

    “Members of the public must partner with the police. In doing that, there will be a lot of advantages in problem-solving, there will be a lot of advantages in organisational transformation of the society, there will be a lot of partnership that will assist us in getting a lot of information from the members of the public, and at the end of the day, we will be able to have a relatively crime-free society.

    “We have crime-mapped the zone to know which crime is prevalent and where and in that wise, we have been able to draw up a technical platform to be able to address heinous crimes.

    “So, what we are appealing from the members of the public is to reach us on time. We have circulated our dedicated numbers and we have the control room numbers, where people can also reach us when they are in distress and we are trying to improve on our response to these distress calls from members of the public.

    “Members of the public should work into a police station and give the information to the DPO. Get his name and if he refuses to act or divulge the source of information, then you can reach out to somebody senior to him. But don’t just go and give information to somebody who you cannot recall his name or his identity, just because you saw him or her in a police uniform on the street. By this way, we have been able to get a lot of information and I want to appreciate even the media because they have been very helpful in this wise.”

    Oyo State Commissioner of Youth and Sport Mr. Abayomi Oke noted that the government decided to support and participate in the initiative because it falls in line with its program.

    He called on other private organisations to key into the various opportunities for development available in the state.

    General Manager, IFM, Ibadan Mrs. Olufunmilayo Olasogba said the station decided on the initiative as a way of helping people with busy schedules, who couldn’t make out time to exercise their bodies to and also to encourage many people to do same at the same time.

    She added that the radio station was worried by the rate at which people suddenly die, especially educated and well-informed people, as a result of too busy schedules that wouldn’t make them have time to take care of themselves.

  • Nigerians watching Kwara, say Buhari/Osinbajo groups

    Groups, supporters and loyalists of the All Progressives Congress in Kwara State (APC) have celebrated the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari, his deputy, Yemi Osinbajo and Governor-elect AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq at the just concluded elections.

    Leading the celebration was the Buhari/Osinbajo Continuity Agenda (BOCA) in conjunction with other support groups at the national level.

    Speaking during the event, the state Coordinator of BOCA, Hajia Hafsat Bimpe Byll, said the whole country is watching the governor-elect “to see what he will achieve, having won the elections”.

    Hajia Byll: “For Kwarans, the victory is very symbolic in the history of the state politics, as no party has ever recorded a landslide victory across all the three senatorial zones. This is indeed a revolution by the people that  led to the great victory.

    “We hereby implore all Kwarans to give maximum support to the incoming administration to move the state to greater heights so that the struggle for freedom and victory would not be in vain. “

    Read also: Rivers PDP, AAC row over alleged N3b offer

    The coordinator hailed the re-election of President Buhari and Prof. Osinbajo at the polls, adding this achievement has made them game-changers in the history of the country’s politics.

    “For the first time, Nigeria conducted elections without acrimony. The president and his vice not only won, the election was also free and fair to which the international community testified. This achievement is an eye opener for all Nigerians to know that it is possible to have elections without unnecessary expenses by government and individuals.

    “Let it be on record that the success of APC in Kwara State and across the country can be ascribed to the milestone achievements of the Buhari administration in the various sectors.”

  • Freight Forwarders issue 72 hours ultimatum to Customs

    Freight forwarders operating in the Lagos Western Zone, Thursday issued a 72- hour ultimatum to the Federal Government to call the Comptroller General of Customs, Col Hameed Ali to order and address the multiplication of Customs task forces at the ports.

    They threatened that if the situation is not reversed by next Monday, they will withdraw their services from the port.

    At a joint press briefing held in Apapa Thursday, various associations which includes Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) and National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, lamented that the customs boss had allegedly deployed a team from Abuja to checkmate activities of the various commands.

    The freight forwarders identified 10 various units of customs constituting bottlenecks inside the port to include, CG Strike force, compliance team, Federal Operations Unit, Monitoring, Special Force, CG task force, information team, customs police, among others.

    The latest development which spiked tension in the port was the recent deployment of a special team from Abuja to inspect third party cargoes at the port.

    Speaking at the meeting, Tin Can Chapter Chairman of ANLCA, Prince Segun Oduntan said the CG committee was sent to Apapa port last Thursday under the guise of inspecting some third party containers.

    He however said that the team has taken over the job of resident customs officers.

    He claimed that cargoes are now being detained inside the ports while agents are made to pay exorbitant demurrage to terminal operators, adding that 24 -hour cargo clearance is now a mirage, as a result of this anomaly.

    Also speaking, Western Zone Coordinator of NAGAFF, Tanko Ibrahim, said that agents have complained to the customs area controllers who appeared powerless and subsequently directed the operators to channel their complaints to the CG in Abuja.

    Tanko alleged that “Last week, we saw officers from Abuja who said they were sent to the terminals to inspect some third party containers. But since then, they have remained permanent inside the port”

    “They now randomly select ‘C’ numbers of containers and after cargoes have been released, they would ask you to reposition it for examination and we are made to pay for re-examination”

    Also speaking, Chairman of Tin Can chapter of NAGAFF, Azubuike Ekweozor, lamented the activities of shipping companies and terminal operators in addition to the excesses of Customs.

    He complained that vessels coming into Nigeria to discharge containers are supposed to return with the same number of empty containers but that rather than obey this law, the vessels carry export to other countries.

    On his part, Apapa chapter chairman of NAGAFF, Ndubuisi Uzoegbo, urged the customs CG to build trust in his officers on the field. He also said that freight forwarders should be carried along by the customs whenever they make policies affecting their operations.

    He said “Many containers have been abandoned in Apapa because of high tariffs and demurrage from Shipping companies and terminal operators, most offices in Apapa today are empty, shipping companies have forced many of our colleagues back to the village”

    “The Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo should come over and address all these issues, he is the one in charge of Ease of Doing Business, when Okonjo Iweala was there as coordinating minister, she came to the port on physical inspection and she addressed us.”

  • Rivers: INEC to resume collation of election results

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed 13th April 2p19 for supplementary election in Rivets state.

    Besides, the commission is to resume collation of results of the last governorship and state Assembly election between April 2nd to 5th.

    INEC However noted that election had been concluded in 21 state constituencies.

    The collation of the results for the election held on March 9 was suspended due to violence allegedly carried out by soldiers and armed thugs.

    Consequently, the Commission set up a Fact-Finding Committee that visited Rivers State and submitted its report which revealed that while election could not hold in a few areas, it was successfully concluded in others with the declaration of winners in 21 state constituencies.

    Collation was ongoing at the time of the suspension of the process.

    Announcing the outlined activities and timeline to resolve the electoral logjam in Rivers State, INEC National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said the commission will on 30th March 2019 have a meeting with critical actors in the state after which the headquarters of the commission will release a guideline for the continuation of the process.

    Okoye who disclosed this at a press briefing at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja noted that there will also be an inter-agency meeting between the commission and other relevant agencies a day before the stakeholders meeting in Rivers.

    Revalidation of observers, the commission said, will be done simultaneously in Abuja and Rivers State between March 25 and March 31.

  • YCE to Buhari, Southwest governors: don’t disappoint Nigerians

    THE Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), also known as “Igbimo Agba Yoruba”, yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari and his deputy, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, to ensure they do not disappoint the majority of the citizens, who voted for them.

    It enjoined the administration to address  issues of insecurity, unemployment, epileptic power supply, farmers/herders clash and others.

    The group also urged Buhari and Osinbajo to see the additional term of four years as a conviction by the majority of Nigerians, who participated in the election that something good would come out of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration at the end of the day.

    These were contained in a congratulatory message issued by the council in Ibadan. It was signed by its president, Dansaaki Ade Agbede, a retired colonel.

    The YCE also felicitated with the newly elected governors in Southwest – Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Abdulrahmon AbdulRazak (Kwara) and Gboyega Oyetola (Osun) – as well as the lawmakers-elect.

    It maintained that the mandate of another term given to Buhari and his deputy should be a wake-up call to them to redouble their efforts.

    The statement also urged the elected Southwest governors and lawmakers to see themselves as one and work for the progress and growth of the Yoruba nation.

    It said: “Politics is over now and political parties’ dichotomy should be jettisoned for the common good of all in the region.

    “We charge them all to see the Yoruba nation as the epicentre of all their activities henceforth. We call on all of them to forge a common front towards advancing our cause as a nation. They should not distance themselves from the people that gave them their mandates and when the need be, they must not hesitate to seek wise counsel from the elders.

    “As a non-partisan body, our doors are opened to all of them, irrespective of whichever political parties they were elected and we are putting it across now that our eyes are on them, They must be conscious at all times that they are being watched. We equally pray that our creator will abide and guide them through the onerous task,” the YCE stated.

     

     

  • Libya deports another batch of 174 Nigerians

    Another batch of 174 Nigerians stranded in Libya, a North African country, were on Thursday night deported.

    The deportees were received at the cargo wing of the Lagos international airport by officials of National Emergency Management Agency.

    The coordinator of NEMA’s Lagos Territorial Office, Mallam Idris Muhammed, said with this batch, the total number of stranded Nigerians deported from Libya is now 12,574 .

    In addition, Muhammed said over 4,900 of the deportees have been given empowerment training by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) through special funding facilitated by the European Union.

    He said most of them have set up various businesses in their occupations.

    He explained that Thursday’s flight was the 64th flight since the Programme of Assisted Voluntary Returnees initiated by European Union, but being implemented by the IOM, started in April, 2017.

    The deportees were brought back aboard Al Buraq Airline in Boeing 737-800 aircraft with flight number UZ 389-390 and registration number 5A-DMG from Sebha City and arrived Cargo Wing of MMIA, Ikeja, Nigeria about 9:45 p.m.

    The deportees comprise 62 adult females, 11 female children and 11 female infants , bringing the  total  number of females to 84  while the males comprise 74 male adults, 12 male children and 15 male infants making it a  total of 90 males .

    Whilst addressing the deportees on arrival, the coordinator assured them of Federal Government’s readiness to continue supporting and collaborating with other development partners in providing enabling environment for the realization of their potential.