National

By Uzair Adam Imam 

The Federal Government has suspended the Accountant General of the Federation, Mr Ahmed Idris, over the allegations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for laundering over N80 billion.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, disclosed this in a statement signed Wednesday, May 18th, 2022.

The statement read in part, “following your recent arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of allegations of diversion of funds and money laundering, I write to convey your suspension from work without pay effective 18th May 2022.

“This is to allow proper and unhindered investigation into the serious allegations in line with Public Service Rules 030406.”

The Daily Reality reported that Idris was arrested by the EFCC over N80billion fraud Monday, May 16th 2022.

By Ibrahim Nasidi Saal

The Independent Corrupt Practices And Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has arraigned Professor John Kester Ifeanyichukwu over allegations of bribery and inducement of officers of the Commission.

In a single-count charge brought before Honourable Justice A.O. Otaluka of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), High Court 12, sitting in Apo, Abuja, ICPC is accusing the Professor of issuing a cheque valued at $40,000 to a staff of the Commission.

The cheque was part of the $50,000 and a house in Abuja, promised to the officer to compromise the investigation by retrieving the accused person’s devices, Macbook S/N Ciml8bugdty3, Macbook S/N W80204j7atn and iPhone Pro11 which were in the custody of ICPC for investigative activities.

John Kester Ifeanyichukwu had earlier been reported to the Commission by the Presidency for alleged acts bordering on corruption, extortion and money laundering.

ICPC, in a charge No: CR/025/2022, informed the court of how the defendant induced one of its operatives to smuggle out a particular iPhone and a laptop and replace them with a dummy that was to be provided by his personal assistant.

The accused person’s action is contrary to section 18 (B) and punishable under section 18 (D) of the corrupt practices and other related offences act, 2000.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to him. Therefore, he was admitted to bail in the sum of N10 million and two sureties in like sum. The sureties must be residents within the court’s jurisdiction, and one of them must have a landed property n Abuja.

The trial judge also ordered that the defendant’s international passport and other valid travel documents must be submitted to the court before the next adjourned date; otherwise, his bail will be revoked.

The case has been adjourned to June 21, 2022, for the commencement of the hearing.

By Aisar Fagge

One of the leading telecommunication companies, MTN Nigeria Communication PLC, has been sued at Federal High Court for poor quality service delivery, invasion of privacy and nonchalant attitude towards genuine complaint of the plaintiffs’ request and therefore demands over 600 million naira as damages.

Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) and Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami were also part of the suit for breach of statutory duty to protect the interest of the plaintiffs and ensure compliance with the Nigeria Communications Act, 2005.

The case was filed by the plaintiffs’ counsel, Barrister Abdulkarim Kabiru Maude and the defendants were served with about 150 pages of process on May 12, 2022, and were given 30 days to respond or face the wrath of the court.

According to the plaintiffs, Barrister Ishaq Abubakar Baba and Barrister Shamsi Ubale Jibril who is the staff of Kano State Polytechnic, on November 24, 2021, between the hours of 8:00 pm and 12 midnight, and also on December 13, 2021, around 7:40 pm and 8:45 pm, the MTN Nigeria PLC deprived them a business opportunity with their clients all because of their poor network service delivery which has caused them serious economic loss and mental injury.

In addition, the plaintiffs also complained of receiving disgusting unsolicited SMS from third parties which were allowed by the MTN. This constitutes a violation of their privacy of telephone conversation and telegraphic communication guaranteed to them by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

The counsel of the plaintiffs seeks “An order of this honourable court awarding the sum of N 50,000,000 (fifty million naira only) against the 1st defendant (MTN) in favour of the plaintiffs for invasion of their right to privacy . . . .”

“An order of this honourable court awarding the sum of N 500,000,000 (five hundred million naira only) to the plaintiffs as exemplary damages against the 1st defendant (MTN) for aggravating their damage through its act of continued . . . “, part of the process reads.

By Muhammad Sabiu

Ahmed Idris, Nigeria’s Accountant-General, has reportedly been arrested on suspicion of money laundering and misappropriation of state monies.

According to sources familiar with the situation, Mr Idris was apprehended in Kano by men of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday evening and is being taken to Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, for questioning.

According to sources who spoke with news reporters, the EFCC has been looking into a case of at least N80 billion in public funds being diverted through fake contracts.

According to investigators, the firms utilized to launder the monies were linked to family members and acquaintances of the accountant-general.

Mr. Idris, who was appointed by President Buhari on June 25, 2015, was said to have been avoiding honouring a series of invitations from the anti-graft agency.

The source was quoted as saying, “We kept inviting him but he kept dodging us. We were left with no choice than [sic] to keep him under watch and arrest him.”

However, the spokesperson for the EFCC did not comment on the matter as he could not be reached.

By Muhammad Sabiu

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has begun a quiet probe into the finances of the country’s 18 political parties and presidential candidates.

This came after applicants vying for various political posts in the parties paid exorbitant fees for expressions of interest and nomination papers.

As a result, in a letter, with reference number CB.3383/EFCC/HOPS/HQ/VOL.1/28, titled, ‘Investigation activities’,  the anti-corruption organization has requested that the Independent National Electoral Commission provide it with the bank accounts and other financial information of political parties.

It also demanded that the managing directors of Access Bank and Polaris Bank disclose information on the 14 accounts held by the All Progressives Congress, the Peoples Democratic Party, and another group suspected of being linked to the opposition party.

The ruling APC sold presidential forms for N100 million, while the main opposition party sold them for N40 million. In addition, APC governorship candidates paid N50 million, while those declaring for the Senate, House of Representatives, and state legislatures paid N20 million, N10 million, and N2 million, respectively, for their nomination and declaration of interest forms.

The PDP, on the other hand, sold gubernatorial forms for N21 million, Senate forms for N3.5 million, House of Representatives forms for N2.5 million, and state Houses of Assembly forms for N600,000.

While the minor parties paid lower rates for their forms, many Nigerians were outraged by the hefty nomination fees required by the two leading parties, which Transparency International described as a kind of money laundering.

Last week, on Channels Television’s Politics Today, EFCC Chairman Abdulrasheed Bawa hinted that the agency will monitor campaign finances, particularly the authenticity of monies used to acquire nomination forms ahead of the 2023 general elections.

By Ibrahim Nasidi Saal

Troops of the 93 Battalion have launched a  search and rescue mission for personnel missing in action while responding to a distress call of an attack on the Tati community in Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State in the early hours of Tuesday, May 10, 2022.

The troops acted swiftly after receiving a distress call that the Tati community was under attack by suspected bandits. While pursuing the bandits, troops fell into an ambush staged by the criminals. The troops fought fiercely through the ambush neutralizing four of the bandits.  Sadly, six gallant soldiers paid the supreme price during the firefight, while one person was missing in action.

However, a reinforcement team from the 6 Brigade deployed against the fleeing bandits at Ananum village in Donga Local Government Area of the state, neutralized two additional bandits and recovered one Ak 47 rifle, one pistol, one locally fabricated gun, 2 AK 47 Magazines, 19 rounds of 7.62 mm special, seven rounds of 9 mm ammunition and three motorbikes.

Troops are currently pursuing the bandits and will leave no stone unturned in the ongoing search and rescue operations for the missing personnel.

The good people of Taraba state are urged to be vigilant and report any suspicious movement to security agencies.

By Uzair Adam Imam 

The National Assembly urged the Chinese government to help Nigeria rescue the Abuja-Kaduna abducted train passengers.

Today marks exactly 45 days since the 62 passengers were attacked and abducted while in transition on March 28, 2022.

The Daily Reality reported how bandits stormed the Abuja-Kaduna train, gunned down eight people and abducted over sixty people in March. 

The Chairman Senate Committee on Land Transportation, Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, expressed sadness over the failure to rescue the victims 45 days after.

Also, the people concerned have shown great sadness over the government’s failure to rescue their loved ones and threatened that the train service must not resume until those abducted have regained freedom. 

The lawmaker representing Oyo North in the National Assembly decried that the attack had created fear in the minds of Nigerians who had started embracing the railway.

He said, “The Chinese government makes money from the many rail projects that are being handled by CCECC in Nigeria, so asking them to help us is not out of place.

“Nigerians are no longer ready to listen to the number of passengers that have been carried by the trains since they were commissioned. Nigerians are not interested in what has been put in the various stations by the CCECC. What we want to hear now is the effort being put into rescuing those people in captivity.

“If a Chinese national was among those people abducted, we know that the Chinese government would have come to rescue him.

“I remember when an American was kidnapped, the Americans came and took him away from where he was held captive. We know that with the level of technology that the Chinese have, even without leaving Beijing, they can help us track where these people are, or even give us enough intelligence that would aid their rescue,” he added. 

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) will commence a two-week warning strike on Monday, May 16, 2022.

According to the ASUP president, Anderson Ezeibe, the decision was borne out of the emergency meeting of the union National Executive Council on Wednesday, May 11, 2022.

However, this is coming amidst worries over the extension of strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

ASUP decried that the federal government has refused to meet their demand, making it necessary for the union to embark on a strike.

Recall that ASUP has suspended its industrial action declared on the 10th of June, 2021, following the Memorandum of Action (MoA) which the government had signed.

The union said in a statement, “Non-release of arrears of the new minimum wage: The owed 10 months arrears for the Polytechnics is yet to be released. The composite amount covering all Federal Tertiary Institutions to the approximate figure of N19Bn currently exists as an AIE in the Accountant Generals Office.”

“We are deploying this medium to equally appeal to members of the public to prevail on the government to do the needful within the two weeks period so as to avoid an indefinite shutdown of the sector,” the statement added.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Adamu J. Garba, a tech-entrepreneur and presidential aspirant on the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform, has withdrawn from the presidential race.

In a press release on Twitter on Tuesday, May 10, 2022, Garba cited the monetisation of the political space as the reason for his withdrawal from the presidential race. He argued that the nomination form is recklessly high and amounts to the commercialisation of the political space.

“Our generation should not set an example as part of the people that supported the financialisation/commercialisation of our political space, especially the public office, considering the prohibitive cost of the nomination forms. The highest in the world.” He stated.

Garba also stated that the APC would not conduct a primary election despite the humongous amount of money for the party’s expression of interest and nomination form.

“We further discovered that even if we went ahead to obtain the form, the party has foreclosed the plan for primary election because of the presence of the request for a Letter of Voluntary Withdrawal on page 18 of the nomination form.” He wrote

Garba claimed he had raised the sum of eighty-three million from online donors. As to what will happen to the donation consequent of his withdrawal, he said donors would be refunded upon request.

According to Garba, the withdrawal from the presidential race is not the end of the journey, and his supporters, whom he thanked graciously in the press release, should patiently wait for further directives.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The families of the abducted Abuja-Kaduna train victims threatened that the train service must not resume unless all the abducted passengers are rescued.

Speaking through their spokesperson, Dr Abdulfatai Jimoh, the victims’ families said adequate security measures must be put in place to guarantee the safety of prospective passengers.

The Daily Reality reported how bandits attacked the Kaduna-Abuja train, killed eight persons, and abducted many passengers last month.

The bandits in a video threatened to kill all the victims if the federal government refused to negotiate with them.

However, reports disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari had directed the NRC to set up a situation room for the coordination of the rescue mission for the passengers.

But the families lamented that “Still, one week after this presidential directive was issued, the NRC has never contacted the relatives of the kidnapped victims nor established any situation room.

“This display of gross incompetence and insensitivity should lead to appropriate punishment,” they said.