Month: April 2024

The Confederation of All Progressives Congress (APC) Support Groups has urged Muslims to pray for peace and a united nation in the spirit of Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration.

Its Director-General, Prof. Kailani Muhammad, gave the advice on Monday, while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the group’s Eid-el-Fitr message to Muslim Ummah in Abuja.

‘As Muslims will mark Eid-el-Fitr, I urge Nigerians, especially Muslim Ummah to continue to keep the peace and to live in unity with one another.

‘It is only with prayers, sacrifice and faith in God that any nation can peacefully navigate the challenges of nationhood as desired by all citizens,” Muhammad said.

The D-G, who congratulated the Muslim faithful for the successful completion of the fasting, charged them to use the period for sober reflection on the state of the nation.

He also urged the law enforcement agencies, including military and police personnel to re-evaluate and improve their security measures against banditry an
d terrorism in the country.

According to him, security agencies must adopt a proactive approach which includes better intelligence gathering, surveillance, quick response teams, and stronger border controls.

‘By doing so, they can prevent security breaches before they occur rather than waiting to react to them after the fact.

‘Building trust, gathering information, and gaining the support of local communities are essential in the fight against banditry,” he said.

He added that the government must tackle the root causes of the security challenge, especially unemployment and illiteracy to avoid terrorists recruiting more uneducated youth into banditry.

The D-G also urged the Federal Government to checkmate the alleged fraudulent activities of oil marketers who refused to reduce the price of petrol in spite of recent drop in dollars.

He emphasised the importance of addressing fraudulent activities by some industry operators, such as metre adjustments and under-dispensing.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

KEETMANSHOOP: A 33-year-old woman allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself with a cloth to the ceiling of the house she shared with her boyfriend at Aussenkehr on Monday.

Namibian Police Force, crime investigations coordinator for ||Kharas region, Deputy Commissioner, Nikodemus Mbango in a crime report issued to Nampa on Monday said the deceased was identified as Mashe Kambungu and her next of kin are aware of her death.

The alleged suicide occurred on Monday morning at the farm and Kambungu was discovered by her boyfriend around 08h30, he said.

‘It is alleged that the deceased was left by her boyfriend in the room sleeping when he went to work in the early hours, however, when he returned, he found her hanging from the roof with a cloth around her neck, lifeless,’ Mbango added.

He further said no suicide note was found, but the police suspect foul play and investigations into the matter continue.

‘The remains are to be transported to Keetmanshoop for an autopsy to be conducted and circumstances su
rrounding the incident require an in-depth investigation whilst waiting for postmortem examination results,’ he added.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has so far recovered N30 billion in the ongoing probe of suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu.

The Chairman of EFCC, Mr Ola Olukoyede, said this in the March edition of the commission’s monthly e-magazine, EFCC Alert, released on Monday.

Olukoyede said the commission had also placed 50 bank accounts under investigation over alleged fraud that involved Halima Shehu, suspended Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Social Investment Programme Authority (NSIPA).

President Bola Tinubu had in January, suspended both Edu and Shehu over alleged payment of N585 million humanitarian funds meant for vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Lagos state, Cross River and Ogun into a private account.

The President also suspended Social Investment Programme and, thereafter, asked the EFCC to take over the case and probe both embattled officials, including anyone involved.

Olukoyede said the anti-graft agency was making progre
ss on the investigation, emphasising the magnitude of the case and the need for Nigerians to exercise patience.

‘With respect to this particular case, we have recovered over N30 billion, which is already in the coffers of the Federal Government. It takes time to conclude investigations; we started this matter less than six weeks ago,’ he said.

According to him, there are cases that take years to investigate. There are so many angles to it. And we need to follow through with some of the discoveries that we have seen.

‘Nigerians should give us time on this matter; we have professionals on this case and they need to do things right.There are so many leads here and there.’

According to him, as it is now, the commission is investigating over 50 bank accounts that we have traced money to.

‘That is no child’s play. That’s a big deal. And again, we have thousands of other cases that we are working on.

‘Nigerians have seen the impact of what we have done so far by way of some people being placed on suspension an
d by way of the recoveries that we have made. You have seen that the programme itself has been suspended,’ he said.

He said the commission was exploring so many discoveries that it had stumbled upon in its investigation.

‘If it is about seeing people in jail, well let them wait, everything has a process to follow.

‘So, Nigerians should wait and give us the benefit of the doubt,’ Olukoyede stated.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), has called on electricity distribution companies to be transparent and accountable while implementing the new tariff.

NSE President, Mrs Margaret Oguntala, made the call in Abuja, at the Quarterly Presidential Media Parley with the theme ‘Charting New Paths for Growth and Development through Engineering.’

Oguntala said that although the NSE was not against the tariff increase, customers should be protected and their needs met without being short-changed.

She also called for strict sanctions on electricity distribution companies that failed to meet the minimum 20 hours of supply to the customers.

‘Policies are made but what is the framework for implementing these policies? How effective are they in the long run?

‘If there are no sanctions for the DisCos and you claim to be giving someone in B and A 20 hours of supply but you are not actually doing so, what happens?

‘We are saying that there must be sanctions for defaults and do you do that where there are shortfal
ls?

‘The DisCos must be held responsible, which means that the metering must be very transparent.

‘We have asked the question of what will happen during downtime when there are repairs; all these must be put into consideration for the policy to work.”

Oguntala equally stressed the need to help indigenous companies to grow, adding that it was the only way the nation’s economy would grow and also provide jobs for young Nigerians.

She also recommended the establishment of a construction fund with a single digit interest rate that would finance projects for Nigerian companies.

The president reiterated NSE’s commitment to support sustainable development and national development in Nigeria.

She said that it was the responsibility of engineers to create, design and build; bringing solutions to problems and transforming the environment for betterment of life.

According to Oguntala, her administration is running on five strong pillars as the strategic agenda for the two-year tenure.

‘We are intentional about
putting our voice and actions in the public domain, especially concerning our professional opinion on matters of national importance.

‘In fact, one of the cardinal objectives of the NSE is to provide value-adding professional advice to government and other stakeholders in nation building.

‘This is for the purpose of achieving holistic and sustainable development for our dear country on all fronts.

‘Believing that engineering forms the formidable bedrock for holistic development of any nation, we have called this media parley to put out our views and opinions on some topical issues bordering on critical aspects of development in Nigeria,’ she said.

Oguntala said that the NSE was being repositioned to strategically contribute to nation building through its agenda of membership development and improving stakeholders’ collaborations.

She said others included re-enforcing international relations mechanisms, re-imaging the NSE for better publicity and governance structure and improved community impact

The pre
sident said that following the pillars outlined above, NSE had been engaging with strategic stakeholders in different sectors for collaborations and partnerships that would ultimately yield the desired outcomes.

She said the NSE was partnering with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs on advocacy for Vocational Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (V-STEM) education, especially amongst female children.

Oguntala said that partnership on a Mentor/Mentee scheme that would stimulate the interests of girl-children in V-STEM education, which would ultimately be to the advantage of Nigeria’s rapid technological advancement in the future, was also in view.

She added that the NSE was also supporting the resuscitation of the Junior Engineers, Technologists and Scientists (JETS) Club in secondary schools by organising National competitions among others.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has warned schools, supermarkets, hotels and others against charging for services in the country in dollars or any other foreign currency.

Olukoyede, in the latest edition of the commission’s monthly e-magazine, called EFCC Alert released on Monday, threatened to jail anyone found dollarising the economy.

The EFCC boss warned that anyone caught collecting the dollar for services or goods would be treated as a criminal under relevant Nigerian laws.

He vowed that the commission would go after schools, supermarkets, hotels, estate developers and business operators that used the dollar for transaction instead of naira.

‘We have also started securing convictions.

‘Schools that charge Nigerians in dollar, supermarkets that trade in dollar, estate developers that sell their property in dollar, hotels that are invoicing in dollar, we are coming after you and we have made arrests in that area.

‘Yes, if foreigners are coming in an
d the only means of transacting is their credit card, and dollar, why not, you will get that.

‘But document it properly as against selling things within the system, local economy and you will be using dollar as the medium of exchange, it is illegal.

‘Our law does not allow for that. And we have also effected some arrests,’ he said.

According to him, this is making impact as the rate at which some people advertise goods and services in dollar has really gone down.

‘We are not going to relent. We are going to continue until we eradicate mutilation of currency, and illegal dealing in forex. Another area is in the area of illegal forex trading.

‘Coupled with the activities of the CBN, we are trying to ensure that those involved in currency trading are properly licensed, regulated, and do their documentation properly,’ he stated.

Olukoyede, while explaining the efforts in ensuring success of the anti-graft war under his leadership, condemned some Nigerians who continued to celebrate criminals in the country
, stressing that such practice was anti-societal.

‘I wondered why some Nigerians should be closing their eyes to the atrocities being committed against the nation by those being investigated for financial crimes but trying to attack the commission for doing its job.

‘The moment EFCC starts investigating someone, those who have benefited from him one way or the other, will close their eyes to what they have been deprived of by reason of that financial crime.

‘They then concentrate on attacking the agency. They use media propaganda and even sometimes physical attack, yet we are working for Nigerians.

‘We are working to preserve integrity in the way we do things and so we need the support of Nigerians,’ he said.

According to him, people are given money to procure arms and they won’t do it, and so expose those at the warfront to all kinds of danger and peril.

‘It is important for us to come together as a people. Outsiders are not going to clean Nigeria for us. We are here. Someone like me I only have one pa
ssport, the green passport.

‘Corruption is so damaging, and that is why we are where we are today.

‘Go to other African countries, small countries across the globe, you will see development, you’ll see good roads, you’ll see quality health facilities.

‘Even the issue of insecurity that we are talking about, one way or the other, it can be linked to corruption.

‘I keep telling people that there is nothing wrong with us fundamentally as Nigerians but the system we run, and the processes that we follow are the things that are causing problems for us,’ he said.

According to him, there are bad guys all over the world but over there, their system is strong enough to checkmate them and to ensure that there are consequences for wrongdoing.

‘So, we need to come together and say wrong is wrong irrespective of whether we are related to the person or not. That is when I’ll believe that we are ready to fight corruption,’ he said.

The chairman reiterated his call on the need to establish a special court to try corru
ption, given the negative effect of corruption on development in the country.

‘If we agree that corruption has contributed greatly to underdevelopment, then we must adopt extraordinary means to fight it.

‘I have always been an advocate for creation of special courts, and I will continue to be.

‘I believe that the time has come for this, and I also appeal to members of the National Assembly to help us in facilitating this.

‘This will be a great boost to the corruption fight in Nigeria. We have laws and regulations guiding our investigations,’ Olukoyede said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Police Command in Ebonyi has arrested a woman who specialises in abducting and selling children and equally rescued no fewer than six of the children.

The woman, Ngozi Blessing Abia, also known as Mercy Francis, has carried out her nefarious activities in Lagos, Ebonyi, Anambra and Edo.

Investigation into her activities began in January 2024 when one Nkwuda Francis reported that the woman, who posed as a member of the National Youth Service Corps, had kidnapped his two young children.

DSP Joshua Ukandu, Spokesman of the Command said in a statement on Tuesday in Abakaliki, that the children were later found in Anambra, where she sold them.

‘He complained that his children were kidnapped from his house at Nwezenyi Igbeagu, Izzi local government area of Ebonyi after the suspect rented a room in the compound.

‘The children, aged 3 and 7, were later found to have been taken by Ngozi Blessing-Abia, which was revealed to be the suspect’s true identity.

‘Following a diligent investigation by officers attac
hed to the gender unit of the command, the suspect was located in Oba, Anambra, where the children were rescued and returned to their family.’

Ukandu added that two women, Lovina Iwuorah and Ndifereke Wisdom Clement, whose children were abducted in Ohaozara, Ebonyi, had identified the suspect as the conspirator.

He said that she sold their three children to an orphanage home in Benin, Edo.

‘The proprietor of the orphanage has been detained and is providing valuable information to the police,’ the command spokesman said.

‘Additionally, one Chinasa Uwezoke from Lagos, upon learning of the arrest, visited the command and identified the suspect as someone, who had gained her trust and subsequently took her three children to the market, only to flee with her 3-year-old son.’

The command spokesman said that the boy was later recovered from where she sold him and had been reunited with his family.

‘The suspect’s modus operandi is to rent an apartment, fraternise with her unsuspecting neighbours, gain their tru
st and abduct their children for pecuniary gains,’ he added.

Ukandu advised property owners and caretakers to thoroughly screen potential tenants and for parents to educate their children about safety and interaction with strangers.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria