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Africa Loses $1 Billion Weekly To Illicit Transactions

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Africa Loses $1 Billion Weekly To Illicit Transactions
An agency of the African Union estimates that Africa loses nearly $1 billion every week through illicit financial flows out of the continent chiefly through transactions involving multinational companies.
The New Partnership for Africa’s Development, NEPAD, an AU policy wing, said in a statement on Friday that the region lost $900 billion in illegal financial flows between 1970 and 2008.
Commercial transactions by multinationals accounted for 60 per cent of the unlawful flows, followed by criminal activities such as trade in drugs, weapons and people which all accounted for 35 per cent.
Bribery and embezzlement made up five per cent.
Channels for the illegal flows were trade mispricing, investment-related transactions and offshore tax havens, a report commissioned by NEPAD and the UN’s Economic Commission for Africa said.
For example, a company or official could say a piece of imported equipment costs $100 million when in fact it was exported with an $80 million price tag, NEPAD said in the statement.
The difference can be discreetly deposited in an offshore bank account.
“The development impact of these illicit flows has resulted in loss of tax revenues, damage to economic potential and weakening of governance,” it said.
A report by the African Development Bank, AfDB, earlier this year also showed that Africa was a net creditor to the world through illegal outflows worth between $597 billion and $1.4 trillion in the three decades to 2009.

Gov Al-Makura Denies Links With Ombatse Cult

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Gov Al-Makura Denies Links With Ombatse Cult

Governor Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State on Friday denied any links with the Ombatse group that allegedly killed security operatives at Alakyo village on May 7.

Al-Makura made this disclosure when he testified before the commission of inquiry on the killing of security operatives and ensuing crises in the state.

He said that he had no knowledge of the existence of the group prior to an incident at Nasarawa Eggon in November 2012.

The governor said that there was a protest in November 2012 at Nasarawa-Eggon by some youths who obstructed traffic and held commuters for almost six hours.

He said the youth alleged that the military obstructed their prayer session at Alogani village, adding that he went to the scene and invited them to his residence in Lafia.

He said that it was in his Lafia residence that the name “Ombatse” was first mentioned to him.

The governor, led in evidence by commission’s counsel, Funsho Lawal, denied being the financier of the group as alleged by Ombatse’s lawyer, Zamani Allumaga.

Allumaga had earlier testified before the commission that the governor gave two leaders of Ombatse and Eggon Community Development Association N1 million each when they visited him November 2012

Al-Makura admitted giving out some monies, but explained that he gave N1 million to the youths he invited to his residence for their transportation and refreshment and not N2 million as alleged.

On the allegation that some members of his cabinet sabotaged the ill-fated security operation at Alakyo on May 7, he said there was no evidence that government officials were involved, noting, however, that “sabotage cannot be completely ruled out.”

Al-Makura also dismissed as untrue the allegation that government failed to heed the warning of Eggon elders through retired Justice Ahmed Ubangeri, a former Chief Justice of the state.

The warning was that government should postpone the ill-fated operation in order to allow elders to meet with Ombatse priest, Baba Alakyo on May 9, over activities of the group.

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The governor explained that the deputy governor informed him of the decision of the Eggon elders at about 6p.m on May 7, while he was in Jos.

He said when the information got to him, the security operatives were already on their way to Alakyo.

Al-Makura said that before he could act on the information, another call came from the deputy governor about 20 minutes later telling him that the security operatives were attacked

Westgate Mall Attack: Kenya Sacks 15 Immigration Officers

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Westgate Mall Attack: Kenya Sacks 15 Immigration Officers

The Kenyan government has fired 15 immigration officers following an audit on the Westgate Mall attack in September.

The Interior Cabinet Secretary, Joseph Ole Lenku, on Friday in Nairobi , said that the officers were implicated in the issuance of Kenyan identification documents to illegal immigrants.

“These officers will soon be arraigned in court,” Lenku said.

During the September 21 terror attack, the worst in over a decade, at least 67 people were killed by Al-Shabaab fighters and 175 injured.

He said the purge would extend to many other government departments.

“We want to remove all those who may have been part of the network that is facilitating the issuance of Kenyan identification documents to illegal immigrants who turn out to be criminals,” he said.

The government has redeployed experienced administration officers to the department of immigration to help streamline and reorganise the department.

“These officers will help to streamline and revamp the immigration department as to avoid a recurrence of security lapses we have witnessed in the past,” the official said.

The cabinet secretary noted that the government is also seeking to amend the laws that govern the registration of persons.

“This will help to strengthen the identification process before one is given an identity card. I have given instructions that if cards are not collected within three months, they be destroyed,’’ he said.

Court Grants FG Ownership Of $15 Million Ibori Bribe Money

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Court Grants FG Ownership Of $15 Million Ibori Bribe Money

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has awarded to the federal government ownership of the $15 million allegedly offered by a former Delta state governor, James Ibori, as bribe to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to stave-off arrest and prosecution.

Justice Gabriel Kolawole averred that the Delta state government failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the money belongs to it.

The EFCC had in July 2012 approached the court through an ex- parte application, requesting for an order forfeiting the Ibori bribe which had been lying in the vaults of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for more than five years to the federal government as unclaimed proceed of crime.

In a motion filed by its lawyer, Rotimi Jacobs, the EFCC urged the court to dismiss the claim by the Delta State government to the alleged bribe and order the final forfeiture of the sum to the federal government in line with the provisions of Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.

Counsel to the Delta State government, Timipa Okponipere, had asked the court not to give the money to the federal government, maintaining that as at April 25, 2007 when Ibori allegedly offered the bribe of $15m bribe to the EFCC, he was still the governor of the state, with all rights and privileges attached to the office.

He asked the court to declare that the $15m is property belonging to government of Delta State and its people.

Okponipere further asked the court to hold that any application or order granting the money to any other entity other than the government and people of Delta State was illegal and of no effect.

The court, however, disagreed with the Delta State government’s counsel and ruled that the money be awarded to the federal government.

Military Imposes Curfew In Yobe

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Military Imposes Curfew In Yobe

Iro Babyola, Damaturu

A staff of Media Trust, publishers of Daily Trust Newspapers, Abdulwasiu Akinsanya, was among the many civilians killed in Damturu, Yobe state, by members of the blood thirsty Boko Haram sect, in multiple attacks Thursday night.

The Military has announced a 24 hours curfew in the town following the attack.

The insurgents, in a pattern identical with previous attacks, invaded military and police locations as well as public and private buildings in the town between 5:30pm and midnight.

Abdulwasiu until his death was attached to the printing section of Media Trust at the Maiduguri regional office and was reportedly caught in crossfire while travelling to Kano together with his family.

His Wife, Bilkisu Akinsanya, confirmed that her husband was killed around 5.30pm when their vehicle broke down in Damaturu shortly before the Boko Haram insurgents launched the attacks.

“I and our children were with him when he was killed. The dead body of my husband has been taken away to a hospital by security agents,” said Bilkisu, who is now taking refuge with her children at the Maisandari Police divisional headquarters in Damaturu.

Although the numbers of casualties could not be official gotten as at the time of filing this report, residents who spoke to journalists said the attack which lasted five hours was massive and kept everyone in fear for the duration.

They said guns and Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs, were deployed by the sect members in the attack judging by the sounds they heard and that by Friday morning, corpses were seen on the roads in some part of the town.

The spokesman of the 3 Division, Special Operation Battalion, in Yobe state, Eli Lazarus, a captain, who confirmed the attack said that security forces in the state capital were involved in a gun battle with the insurgents.

He said that a 24-hour curfew had been imposed across Yobe state with immediate effect as the battalion continued its operation to rid the state of insurgents.

Though the army did not give details on the extent of damage or number of casualties, sources said the 234 army Battalion along Maiduguri road, the mobile police base, the police Area Command, the state CID all along Gujba road were burnt down and some detainees freed.

It was also gathered that the insurgents looted the General Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital in the area, making away with two brand new ambulances and huge quantity of drugs at the hospital.

37 Gaddafi Era Officials Indicted, Charged For Murder

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37 Gaddafi Era Officials Indicted, Charged For Murder

A Libyan investigative judge on Thursday indicted 37 Muammar Gaddafi-era officials on charges related to attempts to crush a 2011 uprising that eventually toppled the long-serving dictator.

The defendants, including Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, are charged with genocidal murder, incitement to rape, ordering the killing of peaceful protesters and setting up armed militias to kill civilians during the uprising.

The case is to be heard by the Criminal Court in Tripoli, which has yet to set a date for the beginning of the hearings.

“Now that the case has been referred to the Criminal Court, the defendants’ appearance before the court will be obligatory,” al-Sediq al-Sur, an official at the prosecutor general’s office said.

Gaddafi was captured and killed by opposition insurgents in October 2011 in his hometown, Sirte.

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His son, Saif al-Islam, is being held in the western Libyan city of Zintan, where he is being tried in a separate case.

Libya has resisted pressure from The Hague-based ICC to hand over Gaddafi’s son for trial on charges of crimes against humanity during the uprising.

The ICC, which issued its arrest warrant for the younger Gaddafi in June 2011, has questioned whether he would receive a fair trial in the North African country.

Defend Yourselves, Borno Govt Tells Citizens

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Musdapha Ilo, Maiduguri

Following continuous attacks on communities in Borno State, the government has asked the people of the state to be responsible for their own safety, by doing “everything” possible to protect themselves from members of the Boko Haram sect.

Deputy Governor Zannah Umar Mustapha who said this on Thursday at the palace of the district head of Kawuri, explained that the government was not shelving its responsibility of protecting lives and property of citizens, but needed the support of the people to adequately combat crime and insurgency in the state.

Mustapha had gone to commiserate with the people of Kawuri following attacks by members of the Boko Haram sect in which three persons were killed, 18 injured, with about 150 houses and shops burnt or destroyed.

He said that if the people of Maiduguri had relied solely on the security provided by government agencies, they would still have been tormented by the life-snuffing group, and urged them to take their destinies in their hands.

“The people of Maiduguri has since realised that and it is working for them as nobody can carry gun to go and killed a fellow human being without being arrested and brought to justice. I urged you to do the same by ensuring that you rise up to defend yourselves,” he said.

Mustapha said the government was concerned about the insecurity in the state and would do everything within its powers to restore peace to the area.

The deputy governor also annouced the donation of two new golf cars and two hundred and fifty thousand naira to youth volunteers in the village.

Some of the people of Kawuri who spoke to journalists, revealed that residents of the town were afraid to carry sticks and machetes like others in Konduga and Maiduguri because Kawuri village appeared to have many informants of the sect living in the village due to its proximity to Sambisa forest where military troops and insurgents have been battling since the declaration of state of emergency.

They alleged that the insurgents always visited the village in search of information, food and women and have not at anytime attacked the village until recently when they had problem with a youth volunteer group who came from Maiduguri.

BPE Faults NCAA Over Armoured Cars Purchase

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BPE Faults NCAA Over Armoured Cars Purchase

The Bureau for Public Procurement, BPP, has indicted the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, for not following due process in the purchase of controversial BMW armoured cars for the aviation minister, Stella Oduah.

The agency made this clarification while making a presentation at the one day public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation on Thursday in Abuja.

The public hearing is to enable the committee investigate the purchase of two BMW armoured cars which has generated controversy in the last few weeks.

The House, on October 22, sequel to a motion by the Minority Whip, Samson Osagie, mandated its aviation committee to investigate the matter and report to it within one week.

Ayo Aderigbigbe, a director in the BPP, who represented the director-general of the agency, told the committee that BPP was not involved in the transaction by the NCAA or the ministry.

He explained that the action of the NCAA in respect of the purchase of the said vehicles was outright violation of the provisions of the Public Procurement Act

Moreover, he said that any goods worth more than N100 million was beyond the approval limit of the NCAA, and must go to the Federal Executive Council, FEC for approval.

Also, the chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, Nkiruka Onyejiocha, and other members of the committee accused the NCAA of violating the provisions of the 2013 Appropriation Act.

The Representatives said that NCAA also violated the constitution of the country which stipulated the way public fund should be spent.

As the members questioned the director-general of NCAA, Fola Akintokun, and the former acting director-general of the agency, Joyce Nkemakolam, on the purchase of operational vehicles, it was discovered that the NCAA went beyond what was appropriated for it in the year 2013 budget.

While the National Assembly appropriated a sum of N240 million for NCAA for the purchase of 25 operational vehicles in the 2013 budget, officials of the agency went out of their way to commit the sum of N643 million for the purchase of 54 cars instead.

Nkemakolam even revealed that the purchase was financed through a lease agreement with some banks.

said he: “We sent a letter to the Ministry on April 5 and got approvalon April 15 to go ahead with the lease financing in line with best procurement practices. First Bank, Stanbic and Union banks emerged as potential lessors for the 54 cars at N643,88,250.00 million.”

“First Bank eventually won and we were expected to complete the payment in 36 months before we finally own the vehicles. In conclusion, I wish to point out here that we are expected to pay N23,249,181.00 million monthly, so ownership of the vehicles is still with First Bank.”

The lawmakers lamented that Nkemakolam demonstrated serious disregard to the National Assembly by neglecting its legislations, by making spending money that was not appropriated by parliament.

”So you got approval from the Ministry of Aviation and you know what Section 84 of the constitution says, that you cannot withdraw from the consolidated account or any public fund without recourse to the National Assembly?” Onyejiocha queried.

Dissatisfied with the explanations given by the NCAA team, the committee mandated them to come back on October 29 with bank statements from their operational accounts with the First Bank, Sterling Bank, UBA, FCMB, Zenith Bank and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

The lawmakers also insisted that the minister of aviation must conclude or abandon her official engagement in Israel and appear before the committee next Tuesday as a matter of compulsion.

G7 Governors Appeal Court Ruling On New PDP

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G7 Governors Appeal Court Ruling On New PDP

The seven governors the breakaway faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, have appealed the judgement of a Federal High Court, Abuja last week which restrained it from using PDP’s logo and colours, while also upholding the election of the party’s special convention.

Chukwuemeka Eze, spokesman for the Abubakar Baraje-led faction, said on Thursday that the notice of appeal was filed by its team of lawyers after an emergency meeting in Abuja.

He said the faction was convinced that it had a good case and was determined to ensure that Tukur and “his cohorts” were not allowed to hold sway as the leaders of PDP.

“Our teeming members and supporters should, therefore, entertain no fears whatsoever and should remain steadfast as we seek to legally establish our case and logically conclude our mission to rescue the PDP from anti-democratic forces so as to restore the noble vision of the party’s founding fathers,” he said.

The Federal High Court had held that by the provisions of Section 222 and 223 of the 1999 Constitution, Section 80 of the Electoral Act, 2011 and Section 49 of the PDP Constitution, 2012, the 1st to 5th defendants are not entitled to nullify the results of the election of the PDP special convention.

It also ruled that “the 2nd to 5th defendants are not entitled to be officers of the party having not participated in the election, which took place during the special convention of the party.”

Meanwhile, the PDP says it has no plans to sanction the Baraje-led splinter group of the party if it returned to the party’s fold.

Olisa Metuh, the national publicity secretary of the party, told newsmen on Thursday that no disciplinary measure was being contemplated against the group by the party’s leadership in the spirit of true reconciliation.

The G7 governors, as they are called, are those from Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto, Adamawa, Niger, Kwara, and Rivers states.

Lecturers’ Strike Beyond FG, ASUU – Ezekwesili

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Lecturers’ Strike Beyond FG, ASUU – Ezekwesili

A former education minister, Oby Ezekwesili, has called for an urgent “neutral approach” from well-meaning Nigerians to the ongoing strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, saying that the strike “is now beyond government and the union”.

Ezekwesili who spoke on the sidelines of a one-day dialogue on Education in Abuja on Thursday, said both parties have so far failed to set the ground rules for a principal negotiation.

“This is no longer a matter between the government and ASUU, this has become a matter between the people of Nigeria, government and ASUU,” she noted.

The former minister recommended a way out of the dilemma: “I think the citizens must now demand a neutral approach in the search for a solution to the kind of university system that we want to run. In this drive, we must see the need for urgency”.

Earlier, Ahmed Makarfi, a senator and former governor of Kaduna State, noted that Nigeria as multi-religious and multi-ethnic nation, had all the necessary ingredients to develop into a great nation.

Makarfi expressed regrets that lack of purposeful leadership from the country’s birth had stifled its march to progress.

“It doesn’t take much to see that if we have as a people harnessed and deployed our disparate individual endowments and abilities in pursuit and promotion of the collective good of the country, no force will be capable of stopping our historic march to greatness,” he said.

He noted that government on its part had at various times come up with measures that would facilitate integration and unity, but ineffective implementation of policies had continued to deter progress.

Makarfi maintained that only an effective education system, delivered in appropriate environment, would enable Nigerians see things in their proper context.

House of representative member, Nnenna Ukeje, who co-chaired the event, said unity schools were the greatest investment in human resource that Nigeria had ever made.

Ukeje said instead of fostering the ideals for which unity schools were established, things that bind the country together were being downplayed, while those things that divide us were exaggerated.

The dialogue, organised by Unity Schools Old Students’ Association, USOSA, had the theme “Good Governance and National Unity”.

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