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Video: Kano anti-graft agency cannot investigate Ganduje – court

Bankole ABE
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Video: Kano anti-graft agency cannot investigate Ganduje – court

A FEDERAL High Court in Kano State has ruled that the state anti-corruption agency – Kano Public Compliant and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) – lacked the power to investigate former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje over a dollar bribery video.

The court presided over by Abdulahi Liman, stated on Tuesday, March 5, that the offence was a federal one that only the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) could prefer charges against Ganduje.

Liman emphasised that there were limitations to the Kano anti-graft agency’s power to probe the former governor.

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However, the anti-graft agency’s lawyer, Usman Umar Fari, told reporters after the ruling that the organisation would appeal the decision at the Court of Appeal.

The ICIR reported in July 2023 that PCACC summoned Ganduje, currently the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for interrogation over the controversial dollar bribery video.

The commission’s chairman, Muhuyi Magaji Rimingado, had on Wednesday, June 5, 2023, declared that contrary to Ganduje’s claims, the video was not doctored as claimed by Ganduje.

Rimingado spoke at a ‘One Day Public Dialogue on Anti-Corruption Crusade’ in Kano.

In a video that went viral in 2017, Ganduje was seen receiving bundles of dollar notes offered as bribe from a contractor and stuffing them in his dress.

Rimingado claimed that since the video’s release, he had come under pressure from all sides to establish the governor’s guilt or innocence.

He explained that because Ganduje was immune from prosecution during his time in office, it had been hard to establish his guilt or innocence since the committee started looking into the issue in 2018.

Speaking on Channels TV’s Lunchtime Politics on Thursday, July 6, 2023, Rimingado disclosed that the panel had sent a letter of invitation to the former governor, inviting him to come before it and provide any information necessary for the current investigation.

The Daily Nigerian online newspaper publisher, Jafar Jafar, who leaked the video, insisted that the footage published by the paper was authentic and not manipulated.

Jafar explained that the video was captured by his friend who was a contractor with the Kano State government and who had complained that Ganduje received kickbacks, ranging from 15 to 25 per cent for every project executed in the state.

He said this during an investigative hearing into the allegations by the Kano State House of Assembly in 2018.

After the video was released, the Kano State government said Ganduje never collected bribes from contractors.

The government also described the video as “cloned”, adding that the governor would explore every legal means in seeking redress.

A few days after the publication of the video clip, Ganduje told reporters that he was not worried about the impact the video might have on him and that he was innocent of the accusations.

Despite the viral video showing Ganduje allegedly receiving a bribe from a contractor, a court in December 2019 dismissed a suit by the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seeking to investigate the governor.

The Federal High Court sitting in Kano dismissed the suit filed by a lawyer, Bulama Bukarti, who sought an order from the court to direct the EFCC to investigate the former governor.

The court ruled that the EFCC did not have a record of the forensic analysis of the bribery allegations.

Again, recently, Ganduje asked the Kano State High Court to stop the EFCC from investigating him in connection with the video.

 

Bank of Ghana suspends First Bank, GTB FX trading licences over alleged fraud

Harrison EDEH
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Bank of Ghana suspends First Bank, GTB FX trading licences over alleged fraud

THE Bank of Ghana has suspended the foreign exchange (FX) and trading licences of the First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) and Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) over alleged fraudulent operations.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Ghanaian apex bank said the suspension, which would take effect from March 18, 2024, is for one month.

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The suspension comes amid a high level of volatility in Nigeria’s FX market and the efforts by the Federal Government to restore stability.

The statement read in part,” Bank of Ghana has suspended the Foreign Exchange Trading Licences of Guaranty Trust Bank Ghana Limited (GTB) and FBN Bank Ghana Limited (FBN), effective 18th March 2024, for a period of one month, in accordance with Section 11 (2) of the Foreign Exchange Act 2006, (Act 723).

“This is due to various breaches of the foreign exchange market regulations, including fraudulent documentation in their foreign exchange operations which have come to the attention of the Bank of Ghana.

“The licence will be restored at the end of the one-month suspension period once the Bank of Ghana is satisfied that they have put in place effective controls to ensure strict adherence to regulations to the foreign exchange market,” the statement added.

The financial regulator called FX market players to heed applicable regulations and guidelines.

Recall that on March 1, 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, revoked the licenses of 4,173 Bureau de Change, BDC, operators for not adhering to regulatory provisions.

The First Bank of Nigeria has yet to issue an official response as of the time of filing this resport.

The ICIR reached out to the official spokesperson of the First Bank of Nigeria, Folake Ani-Mumuney, to get the bank’s reactions to the development, but did not get any response.

Also, the GTB has yet to issue any official statement regarding the development.

Binance pulls out of Nigeria, suspends naira services

Bankole ABE
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Binance pulls out of Nigeria, suspends naira services

CRYPTOCURRENCY trading website Binance has pulled its services out of Nigeria.

 The trading platform asked Nigerians trading on its platform to remove all their naira assets, indicating that it is terminating its services in the country.

To address the extreme volatility in the foreign exchange market, the Federal Government has been taking harsh measures against Binance management in recent weeks. 

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In response to the severe actions taken against it by the Nigerian government, Binance on Tuesday, March 5, deleted all assets linked to the naira.

The platform informed users to trade their naira assets or convert them into crypto before the discontinuation of its services in the country.

Binance stated that from “2024-03-08 08:00 (UTC), any remaining NGN balances in users’ Binance accounts will be automatically converted to USDT based on the conversion rate.”

The action follows the Nigerian government’s accusation that Binance was playing a huge role in the Nigerian foreign exchange crisis.

Binance’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao, was threatened with an arrest order on Monday, March 4, by the House of Representatives.

This was after the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) had arrested two executives from Binance in Nigeria last week while responding to an invitation from the Nigerian government.

The company’s representatives were summoned to testify before the House committee, but they did not respond.

The committee’s chairperson, Ginger Onwusibe, stated that the members had decided not to receive any representation from anyone other than the Binance executives.

The government has asked the cryptocurrency platform to pay $10 billion to settle claims that it manipulated foreign exchange rates and depreciated the value of the naira relative to the dollar.

This occurred amid increasing animosity between Binance and the Nigerian government regarding the company’s operations.

Meanwhile, a crypto analyst, Obinna Iwuno, says traders on Binance are not nameless as they can be traced.

Iwuno, the President of the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria, said this while appearing on Channels Television’s breakfast show, The Morning Brief, on Tuesday, March 5.

Iwuno was responding to an allegation by the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, that $26 billion in dubious transfers went through Binance in the previous year.

“I am a certified cryptocurrency investigator. I am also a certified cryptocurrency compliance specialist. I can tell you that these things are traceable. You cannot perform a transaction, as long as it passes through the blockchain, that cannot be traced,” he stated.

Iwuno stated that his organisation had opposed dishonest businesspeople and had developed numerous programmes to suppress those who engage in unethical behaviour.

 

IMF urges Nigerian government to address hunger

Ehime ALEX
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IMF urges Nigerian government to address hunger

EFCC links banks to 70% of financial crimes in Nigeria

Ehime ALEX
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EFCC links banks to 70% of financial crimes in Nigeria

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has accused Nigerian banks of perpetrating about 70 per cent of the financial crimes in the country.

The anti-graft agency’s chairman, Ola Olukayode, revealed this on Monday, March 4, at the 2023 Annual Retreat and General Meeting of the Association of Chief Audit Executives of Banks in Nigeria (ACAEBIN), The Punch reported.

He lamented the increasing fraudulent activities of the financial institutions and stressed it was raising considerable challenges and concerns for the commission.

Financial crimes include fraud, money laundering, and terrorism financing.

It was not the first time the anti-graft agency had fingered Nigeria’s banks’ involvement in fraudulent acts, The ICIR can report.

In February 2019, the then-acting chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, accused 10 unnamed commercial banks of money laundering.

The issue has assumed a much more significant impact on the Nigerian economy for over two decades and has given the country a bad image in the international finance circle, according to a Nigerian researcher, Onipe Yahaya.

According to the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC), a financial research and advocacy organisation operated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian financial institutions have reported N159 billion in losses to fraud cases since 2020.

The FITC, in its latest quarterly report on fraud and forgery issues in Nigeria’s financial institutions, disclosed that fraud cases rose by 276.98 per cent to N9.75 billion in the second quarter of 2023, from N2.58 billion in the first quarter of 2023, which resulted in a N5.79 billion loss, representing a 1,125 per cent rise compared with N472 million lost, The ICIR reported.

Early this year, The ICIR reported that FCMB Group Plc lost nearly N1billion to fraud and forgery for the financial year ended December 31, 2023, and in an earlier report that Access Bank lost N5.46 billion to fraudsters in first six months of 2023.

Bank managers perpetrate many of the fraud and forgery activities, The ICIR had also reported.

The Punch’s report showed that 110 top bank executives and junior staff members had been sacked for fraud-related cases in the past two years.

At its 57th quarterly general meeting held in December 2023, the ACAEBIN chairman, Prince Akamadu, tasked auditors to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) for data efficiency and fraud detection.

He urged the fintechs to be mandated to set up fraud desks and hotlines that could be reached when necessary, while he also suggested stricter measures for the bureau de change operators.

The president of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) President, Ken Opara, the umbrella professional body for bankers in Nigeria, had called for the use of technology in internal audit, submitting that it was no longer controversial but was the way to go.

While accusing the banks of the many frauds committed, Olukayode, represented by the director of internal audit at EFCC, Idowu Apejoye, called for concerted efforts by relevant authorities and professionals to tackle the issue.

He said bank-related fraud comprised outright selling of customers’ deposits, authorising loan facilities, forging, and other unhealthy and criminal practices.

There are also those committed outside the banks, which he listed to include hacking, automatic teller machine (ATM) fraud, and conspiracy. 

The absurd one is the collaboration between the bankers and the outsiders, the EFCC boss said, adding “It is estimated that about 70 per cent of financial crimes in Nigeria are traceable to the banking sector, this scenario is disturbing and unacceptable.” 

He charged ACAEBIN to monitor banks’ activities.

Alleged ₦4bn fraud: Abuja court lacks jurisdiction to try me – Obiano

Bankole ABE
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Alleged ₦4bn fraud: Abuja court lacks jurisdiction to try me – Obiano

THE former governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano, has said that the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to try him over the charge bordering on alleged N4 billion fraud preffered against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Obiano, in a motion filed through his lawyers, led by Onyechi Ikpeazu, a senior advocate,on Monday, March 4, challenged the competence of the court to entertain the nine-count money laundering charge.

The former governor argued that an Abuja court should not try him for a crime allegedly committed in Anambra State.

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He also requested that the court drop the accusation against him due to lack of jurisdiction.

But the EFCC’s attorney, Sylvanus Tahir, a senior advocate, asked for more time to respond to the application, which he claimed the defendant had just served him.

Furthermore, the EFCC lawyer pointed out that the Supreme Court had ruled on a few ocassions that a matter involving potential money laundering from any state could be brought before the Federal High Court.

The judge, Inyang Ekwo, postponed the hearing till March 7 in order to consider the motion.

The ICIR reported on Wednesday, January 24, that the Federal High Court in Abuja granted bail to Obiano, who is standing trial over an alleged ₦4 billion fraud.

Obiano entered a not-guilty plea when a court official read the charge to him.

Following his plea, the prosecuting attorney, Tahir,  requested that the defendant be kept in detention until the start of the trial.

The defence lawyer, Ikpeazu, attempted to move his client’s bail application. However, the prosecutor responded that he had just received the application and needed more time to respond.

The judge, Ekwo, asked Tahir if the defendant had ever been given bail.

Tahir responded that the prosecution office, the EFCC, gave Obiano conditional administrative bail.

In his ruling, Ekwo granted Obiano bail under the guidelines the EFCC had previously set.

He directed the EFCC to deliver all documentation about the bail requirements to the court within seven days.

Ekwo ordered Obiano not to travel outside his jurisdiction without the court’s permission and to deposit his travel documents with the court, following which the court would notify the Immigration Service about the restriction on his movement outside the jurisdiction.

Ekwo adjourned till March 4 for the commencement of trial.

Obiano was arrested by the EFCC hours after handing over to his successor, Chukwuma Soludo, on Thursday, March 17, 2022, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on his way to the United States.

He was subsequently transferred to the commission’s headquarters, where he was quizzed for days over alleged mismanagement of N5 billion Sure-P funds, N37 billion security votes withdrawn in cash and inflation of contracts.

On Wednesday, March 23, the EFCC released him on administrative bail.

Unable to meet some of the conditions, Obiano was held by the EFCC while his friends and associates tried to secure his release.

Obiano finally met the conditions and was released to his family members.

UniAbuja charges Law, Arts, other non-science students N5,000 for lab coat

Mustapha USMAN
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UniAbuja charges Law, Arts, other non-science students N5,000 for lab coat

Despite increasing its tuition fee by about 100 per cent in 2023, the University of Abuja’s management has levied an extra N5,000 on Law, Arts, Social and Management Sciences students for the 2023/2024 session.

The development came as a shock to many, given the already financial strain caused by the recent increase in tuition fees and the worsening economic crisis in the country.

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Breakdown of law students tuition fee before the introduction of laboratory coat fee
Breakdown of Law students’ tuition fee before the introduction of laboratory coat fee

The ICIR gathered that the university raised the school fee to include the fee for laboratory coat after some students already paid the initial amount, thus mandating them to make an additional N5,000 payment to the school.

Students who spoke with The ICIR decried the additional payment and demanded that the management explain why students who would not be using laboratories during their stay in the school would pay for the laboratory coat.

Breakdown of law students tuition fee after the introduction of laboratory coat fee
Breakdown of Law students’ tuition fee after the introduction of laboratory coat fee

This was despite the reactions that trailed the university management’s increment of the students’ fees in 2023.

The ICIR gathered that sequel to the introduction of the laboratory coat fee, the university’s returning students in the Arts and related faculties pay between N82,000 to N115,500 while their medical counterparts pay N225,000.

The fees also differ from the acceptance fee of N30,000 and other departmental and Students’ Union Government (SUG) fees.

For instance, a Law students in the 400 level paid N66,500 in 2022, but they have been paying N115,000 since the increment was implemented in 2023. With the addition of the laboratory fee, Law students will now be paying N120,500 this session.

Also, returning students of English and Sociology paid N48,000 before the tuition hike in 2023, but with the increase in school fees and the addition of laboratory coat fees, they will be paying N87,000 and N94,000, respectively.

The increase in fees was not a welcome development for certain students, but they could not voice their concerns due to the warning message issued by the vice-chancellor, Abdul-Rasheed Na’Allah.

Na’Allah had warned that any student planning to disrupt the peace in the school because of the fee hike would face severe consequences of their action.

According to him, any student caught engaging in violent activities on campus would face the penalty, including expulsion.

The threat eventually led to the expulsion of Cyprian Igwe, an undergraduate Sociology department student, who urged his colleagues to dialogue on the school’s hike of its fees.

The student, along with one Oladeru Samson Olamilelkan, the Students’ Union’s director of Sports, was “banned from all the university campuses pending the determination of the case” for allegedly calling for a protest.

Students groan over increment

Some students who spoke with The ICIR under anonymity for fear of reprisal from the management called for the reversal of the new development, citing the current hardship.

The students expressed strong opposition to the decision, noting that it had placed an unfair financial burden on their parents, with some also raising concerns about the management’s lack of fair hearing from the students.

They argued that such a financial burden would affect students from poor and middle-income households.

Management, SU keep mum

Meanwhile, The ICIR reached out to the university’s director of information, Habeeb Yakoob who did not pick up his call and return messages sent to his line on the matter as of the time filing this report.

Similarly, Students’ Union president Emito Emmanuel Ayandayo’s line was not reachable when The ICIR contacted her line while messages sent to her Whatsapp were not answered.

Concerns over appointment of ‘capitalists’ in Tinubu’s Economic Advisory Committee

Harrison EDEH
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Concerns over appointment of ‘capitalists’ in Tinubu’s Economic Advisory Committee

THERE are concerns over President Bola Tinubu’s appointment of notable Nigerian ‘capitalists’ into his economic advisory team, as experts argued that the job could create a conflict of interests for the appointees.

Experts said their loyalty would be more to their businesses than advising the government on the common good.

Investopedia describes capitalism as an economic system in which private individuals or businesses own capital goods. At the same time, business owners (capitalists) employ workers (labour) who receive only wages; labour doesn’t own the means of production but instead uses them on behalf of the owners of capital.

President Tinubu, on February 25, inaugurated the Economic Advisory Committee to support his government with ideas on how to address myriads of problems confronting the economy.

Specifically, the committee was set up to support the government in tackling economic challenges facing the nation. The President charged the committee to come up with a policy framework that would help the economy to rebound.

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This move by the government elicited reactions from industry analysts and other Nigerians.

While some described the decision as an afterthought given the current hardships bedevilling the country, some said it was a welcome development despite concerns over capitalists that made up the team.

“You cannot advise the government from outside the government. Let me ask again, what will Dangote do differently? This is someone who uses government waivers for his benefits. What sorts of advice can he give to the government?,” a resource governance expert, Henry Ademola Adigun queried.

He challenged the governors in the team, asking what they had done differently in their respective states.

Governors Charles Soludo and Dapo Abiodun of Anambra and Ogun states are on the team.

Speaking on the current problems confronting the economy, Adigun linked it to a result of bad policies.

“You don’t have bad habits over the years and all of a sudden expect that the problems would end overnight,” he said.

He added “We were subsidising petrol, the dollar, electricity, and everything we couldn’t afford. The problem is not a subsidy, the problem is subsidising what you could not afford.”

“You have an economy where the former government violated the ways and means laws. What President Tinubu is doing is what he can only do at the moment.”

Commenting on Tinubu’s economic team from a different perspective, Ken Ife, a professor of Economics, described the committee as an excellent move by the Tinubu administration.

“It’s a positive signal to the markets. You have the captains of industry and the organised private sector, the key sector champions, finance, and banking. It’s a partnership framework which includes all the local players,” he said.

Meanwhile, Nigeria is currently being confronted with currency problems and double-digit inflation of almost 30 per cent.

This has forced food prices to be almost out of the reach of the average Nigerian, a major concern that has caused labour protests in several states across the federation.

Activist slams N10bn suit on Airtel, MTN, others over NIN-SIM linkage

Bankole ABE
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Activist slams N10bn suit on Airtel, MTN, others over NIN-SIM linkage

A RIGHTS activist, Olukoya Ogungbeje, has filed a suit against some telecommunications companies in Nigeria.

In the suit filed before a Federal High Court in Lagos, Ogungbeje is contesting the recent barring of citizens’ phone lines by MTN, Glo, Airtel, and 9mobile.

He sued the telecom providers for N10 billion, claiming they illegally restricted Nigerians’ access to their phone lines.

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The chief executive officer (CEO) of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Aminu Mada, NCC and MTN Nigeria Communications Plc were joined as responders to his lawsuit.

The other responders are Airtel Networks Nigeria Ltd, Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Ltd. (EMTS 9 Mobile) and Globacom Ltd.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), The applicant claimed in his affidavit that the respondents threatened to block or deactivate Nigerians’ mobile phones whose numbers were not linked to their National Identity Number (NIN).

He claimed that in response to this threat, he approached the court and, on February 22, secured an order prohibiting the defendants from blocking or deactivating Nigerians’ phone lines while the litigation was being decided.

The applicant further claimed that the respondents ignored the court and blocked many Nigerians’ cellphone lines, including his on February 28 in violation of the court order.

Consequently, Ogungbeje requested a declaration that the respondents’ actions, including blocking and deactivating phone lines from February 28 to date, violate an existing court order.

He also sought an order suspending the directive limiting Nigerians’ access to their phone lines, and an order requiring the respondents to unblock and unlock the affected phone lines immediately.

 Similarly, the applicant sought a permanent injunction prohibiting the respondents from taking any further action against the affected citizens.

A date for hearing his new lawsuit has yet to be fixed. 

The ICIR reported on Thursday, February 29, that the NCC said there would not be an extension of the February 28 deadline for linking SIM cards to NIN.

Reports suggested that about 12 million lines might be affected by the directive after the deadline expired.

According to the NCC, SIM-NIN linkage is the process of attaching one’s NIN to a phone number to validate the person who registered the SIM card.

In a notice dated December 20, 2023, the NCC directed telecommunication companies (telcos) to block SIMs that had yet to be connected to the NINs of their owners by February 28, 2024. 

Besides, the NCC requested that by March 29, 2024, Global Satellite Mobile (GSM) Communications companies ban individuals whose NINs have been submitted but not confirmed.

The ICIR reported that the Federal Government in April 2022 directed telecommunications operators to immediately bar outgoing calls from SIM cards not yet linked with the NIN.

The Federal Government had earlier mandated that telecommunications subscribers link their SIMs with their NINs in December 2020.

Meanwhile, the Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday, February 22, restrained telecom operators from deactivating or barring any line or SIM whose user did not link to the NIN.

Ruling on a restraining order application brought by Ogungbeje on February 22, the judge, Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa, prohibited telecom carriers from executing such an action.

Police arrest 15 suspects over warehouse looting in Abuja

Mustapha USMAN
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Police arrest 15 suspects over warehouse looting in Abuja

THE Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested 15 suspects in connection with the vandalism and looting of a warehouse belonging to the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) in Abuja.

The police public relations officer in the FCT, SP Josephine Adeh, made this known in a statement on Sunday, February 3, in Abuja, noting that two security guards employed by the warehouse management were among the suspects arrested. 

On Sunday, March 3, The ICIR reported how some residents invaded the government-owned warehouse and stole foodstuffs, including bags of maize, around the Tasha community in the FCT.

One of the residents, Jaafar Aminu, who spoke with the Daily Trust, said the looting continued without interruption until 9 am.

He said both residents and people from nearby Jiwa and Karmo communities gathered at the location to join in the looting.

Meanwhile, reacting to the incident, the police spokesperson said the police were informed about the attack on the Agric. Department Strategic food store on March 3.

She further noted that 26 bags of maize, five motorcycles and some vandalised aluminium roofing sheets were recovered from the suspects.

The attack has resulted in the vandalism and looting of the warehouse. The command wishes to state that normalcy has since been restored to the area and the situation is under control,” she said.

The ICIR reported that although the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) spokesperson, Manzo Ezekiel, debunked the allegations that the warehouse belonged to the agency, the Agricultural and Rural Development Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) later confirmed that it owned the warehouse.

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Many  Nigerians, including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), over the last few weeks have been protesting the worsening economic conditions in the country. 

The protests, driven by growing frustrations over the high cost of living, have drawn widespread reactions to the challenges faced by poor and ordinary citizens across the nation.

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