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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesdayarraigned a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, and three others with money laundering.
Alison-Madueke, who was described in the charge as “still at large”, is charged alongside, three officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on seven counts of money laundering.
They are: Christian Nwosu, Yisa Olarenwaju and Tijani Bashir.
The charges were read over to the three accused at the Federal High Court, Lagos who were present in court, and Nwosu, pleaded guilty to the charges, while Adedoyin and Bashir pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The prosecutor, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo then informed the trial judge, Justice Mohammed Idris that Nwosu had elected to enter into plea bargain with the EFCC.
Oyedepo added that already Nwosu had made a refund of N5 million and surrendered the title document of a landed property he purchased for N25 million in Delta State.
Reacting, Nwosu’s lawyer, Mrs Adeku Nbangba, confirmed the position and pleaded with Justice Idris to temper justice with mercy in deciding the fate of the accused.
The judge adjourned till April 7, for sentencing and ordered that Nwosu be remanded at the EFCC custody.
Meanwhile, the judge granted bail in the sum of N50 million each to Adedoyin and Bashir, adding that they should deposit their international passport with the court’s registrar.
The prosecution had alleged that the accused committed the offence on March 27, 2015 by accepting bribe from the ex-petroleum minister.
They were also alleged to have conspired to take possession of the sum of about N264 million which sum they reasonably ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act of gratification.
The accused were also said to have made cash payments of the sum of about N235 million, which sum exceeded the amount authorized by law, without going through a financial Institution.
EFCC further alleged that Bashir (fourth accused) also made cash payment of about N70.1 million to Adedoyin (third accused) without going through a financial institution and which sum exceeded the amount authorized by law.
The prosecution also alleged that Bashir also directly took possession of the sum of about N165 million which sum he ought reasonably to have known formed part of an unlawful act of gratification.
In count seven, Nwosu (second accused) was alleged to have directly used the sum of N30 million which he ought to have known formed part of an unlawful act of gratification.
The offences are said to have contravened the provisions of sections 15 (3), 16 (2) and 18 (a) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Amendment Act, 2012.
Nigeria has unveiled its Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) containing strategies to bail the country out of recession and spur growth and prosperity.
President Muhammadu Buhari launched the document in Abuja on Wednesday almost two years after he assumed office as new President of Nigeria.
The plan which is the brainchild of the Ministry of Budget and National Planning contained 60 critical initiatives expected to help get Nigeria out of recession and reposition on the path of growth.
Some of the initiatives included stabilising macroeconomic, energy infrastructure and driving industrialisation.
Speaking at the brief ceremony that preceded the meeting of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, Buhari said that his government was determined to turn Nigeria from a consumer nation to a producing one.
“We are determined to change Nigeria from a consumer nation to a producing nation”, he said.
The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, in his welcome address said that the initiative was in line with the change agenda of the government to revive the ailing economy.
“This is, therefore, a fulfilment to re-invigorate the economy”, he said.
Senate President Bukola Saraki, the Speaker of the House of Representatives,Yakubu Dogara and the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) and Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, lauded the initiative.
Meanwhile, some financial experts have expressed optimism that there would be increased liquidity in the capital market in the second quarter of this year if the plan is stepped up for quick implementation.
They said that the sustained economic recovery measures of the Federal Government would impact positively on the market this quarter.
Dr Uche Uwaleke, the Head of Banking and Finance Department in Nasarawa State University, Keffi, said that the market would witness enhanced liquidity during the period with the appreciation of the naira.
Uwaleke said that the lower inflation rate and the expected passage of the 2017 budget would also help to boost liquidity in the stock market.
“For the equities market, the year-to-date return currently stands at a negative of 5.96 percent. However, for the second quarter of 2017, I expect a positive turnaround in the fortunes of the stock market, ” he said.
Sewa Wusu, the Head of Research at SCM Capital, said that investors were still exhibiting negative sentiments because of the current poor macroeconomic environment in the country.
Wusu said that the market outlook looked positive in the second quarter in view of the recent economic recovery measures of government.
An economist, Prof. Akpan Hogan-Ekpo, urged the Federal Government to implement the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) effectively.
Hogan-Ekpo, the Director General, West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) in Lagos, made the call while delivering a convocation lecture at Bayero University Kano.
“The government has launched the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan which if properly implemented will enable the economy to exit the current recession, while the growth component will ensure an average growth rate of 4.5 percent from 2017 to 2020,” he said
According to him, there is an urgent need for the Federal Government to adhere strictly to the plan if the economy is to get out of the recession.
He also stressed the need for government to invest in infrastructure, particularly in power, roads, railways and housing, among others.
“In a recession, recurrent expenditure, mostly personnel cost, will stimulate aggregate demand; sub-national governments owe salaries and allowances to workers, the sooner these workers are paid, the better for the economy”.
Photo Credit: Instagram | @buhari.sallau
The police command in Enugu has warned masquerades and their assistants against assault, molestation and intimidation of Nigerians in the state under whatever guise.
The command’s public relations officer, Mr Ebere Amaraizu, gave the warning in a statement in Enugu on Monday.
Amaraizu said that the police would arrest anyone caught committing any offence under the guise of masquerade shows. He said that people’s rights should not be infringed upon in any show or festivity.
He advised communities to celebrate their culture and masquerade festivities within the confines of the law.
“The police have frowned at the report received concerning the alleged recklessness of some masquerades and their assistants on the issue of assault, molestation and intimidation of good people of the state.
“Anyone caught committing offence or wrecking havoc on members of the public under the guise of masquerade festivities will be promptly arrested and prosecuted,’’ he said.
In a related development, the command through its operatives in Nsukka Police Divisional Headquarters, has nabbed one of the assistants of Oriokpa masquerade, Nnamdi Okoro, in Nsukka on March 26.
Okoro was alleged to have assaulted Mr Ezeugwu Lawrence, which caused him injury on his head at Ugwuoye axis of Nsukka.
“Okoro is now helping police operatives in their investigation.
“He will be arraigned properly in court after investigation,’’ the police spokesman said.
The Catholic Diocese of Nsukka in Enugu state has expressed anger over the attack on a seminarian by a group of masquerades, popularly called “oriokpa Nsukka”, in the area.
The Bishop of Nsukka Catholic Diocese, Prof. Godfrey Onah, on Sunday condemned the beating of a seminarian into coma by masqueraders popularly called Oriokpa.
Onah who made the condemnation on Sunday in Nsukka during church service, urged law enforcement agencies to treat masqueraders that block roads, beat, and extort money from people as terrorists and cultists.
“It’s unfortunate that in this 21st century some youths in Nsukka area will cover their face and block roads, beating and extorting money from people who are going about their legitimate businesses in the name of masquerading.
The security agents should treat these criminals who hide under the guise of masquerade as a culture to harass and harm law-abiding citizens as terrorists and cultists ,” he said.
On March 29 a seminarian serving in Nsukka diocese, Lawrence Ezeugwu, was beaten into coma by a group of masqueraders who blocked the road at Ugwuoyia, Nsukka.
“This is a sacrilege and abomination and the church will ensure that all those involved are brought to book as well as fight to put this evil culture to an end.
“As bishop of the diocese I am ready to lay down my life in fighting to stop this inhumanity to man by masqueraders in Nsukka who block roads and intimidate innocent residents,” he said.
Onah said the matter was immediately reported to the police and police had arrested one of the masqueraders .
He described the Oriokpa masquerade in Nsukka as a cult and a form of idol worship and vowed to deal with any catholic members engaging in masquerading no matter the position of that person in the church.
“The Nsukka Oriokpa masquerade is evil cult and a form of idol worship. anybody engaging in it is worshiping idol,” he said. Mr Ebere Amaizu, the Enugu state Police Public Relation Officer confirmed the incident and said one of the masqueraders was already in police custody.
“The police in Nsukka have arrested one of the masqueraders that beat and gave a knife cut to a Catholic seminarian on Wednesday.
“Investigation and efforts are being intensified to ensure that all those involved in that unfortunate incident are arrested and charged to court,” he said.
No fewer than 32 communities in Igboetiti Local Government area of Enugu state on Wednesday received certificates for achieving “Open Defecation Free (ODF)” status in the state.
Mr Charles Egumgbe, the Enugu state Commissioner for Water Resources, said with the attainment of the status, diseases associated with the open defecation would soon be history in Enugu state. “We have gathered here today to celebrate 32 communities from Igboetiti Local Govenment that have achieved ODF and it is worthy to note that out of 30 communities verified recently 13 scaled through, while 19 were declared earlier.
“Enugu State feel blessed that we have passionate development partners like, Water Aid Nigeria, UNICEF, WHO, DFID, Bill Gate Foundation and other non-governmental organisations both local and international who have been collaborating with the state to realised this objective.
“We also wish to use this opportunity to urge those communities who are yet to attain ODF status to emulate these communities that are celebrating today,’’ he said. Mrs Felicia Ikpeama, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Water, expressed joy over the achievement and advised that the situation and sanitation should be sustained. “One thing is to build toilet and another is to maintain it because our problem is maintenance, as we have built sanitary toilets let us seek ways of providing water otherwise it will still be unhealthy for human use,’’ Ikpeama said. The Chairman of Igboetiti, Mr Malachy Agbo, said that cases of diseases associated with open defecation had reduced drastically in the locality.
“When this programme started here some years back, we witnessed all sort of diseases in the communities, but today the diseases have reduced, showing that we have done much. “We have done much in the sense that among five local government areas that keyed into the sanitation programme, we have the highest number of communities that attained the status, but we still need to do more,’’ Agbo said. Agbo promised to do his best to ensure that other communities that had not attained the status would do so as soon as possible. Mrs Janet Ngene, the Coordinator, Community Health Initiative (CHI) Nigeria, said that Igboetiti’s achievement was worthy of emulation.
Ngene said that she was not surprised with the achievement as efforts were made to get Igboetiti to receive much attention to achieve ODF.
She praised the people of Igboetiti, noting that out of the 44 communities that had achieved the status in the state, the local government area produced 32 communities. The team has honoured eight communities in Nkanu East and One in Igboeze North before their visit to Igboetiti.
About 20 construction workers escaped death on Thursday, March 23, when a building believed to be owned by the Speaker of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Edward Ubosi, collapsed.
According to a report on The Punch, the two-storey building which was still under construction, is located on an estate around Nkpokiti junction at Independence Layout, Enugu. The building was one of the houses on an estate said to be allocated to the members of the Enugu State House of Assembly.
Chiesos Blog also gathered that some of the construction workers, who were working at the site, sustained injuries but no life was lost in the incident.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a source in the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority said the agency had in August 2016, given an order for work to stop in all the buildings on the estate.
However, the source expressed regrets that the order was flouted, despite the fact that most of the owners of the buildings under construction are lawmakers. As at the time of filing this report, the reaction of Speaker Edward Ubosi was still awaited.
‘Health is wealth’.
This is one of the earliest sayings that I remember as a child. It is however difficult to comprehend the full meaning and impact of those three words until you lose your health.
Now, if health is lost gradually and you have the financial means and are able to run around to find the best medical facility with the best expertise to support you, then that is one thing. Imagine however, that health is lost suddenly? What if (God forbid) one has an emergency health crisis?
First of all,what do I mean by an emergency?
‘An emergency is a serious, unexpected, and often dangerous situation requiring immediate action.’
In health, immediate usually means within one hour from the event to the operating table, or any other intervention needed.Help can be needed within 8 minutes.
Health emergencies include road traffic accidents, heart attacks, strokes, collapse or loss of consciousness from any cause, difficulty breathing like asthmatics (you get the picture).
Are our emergency health services equipped to provide the level of expertise required to increase chances of survival or are we going to keep winging it and hoping for the best?
Road traffic accidents are the third leading cause of deaths in Nigeria (depends on the data source) and we rank 191 out of 193 countries; I mean,if your child brought that kind of report card home,would you be laughing?
Unfortunately, data quality is still poor. Most likely you will find that this is the picture for cardiac arrests and strokes too. Just look at our health profile here
There are also emergencies that arise from erstwhile stable conditions which become progressive.
We see too many scenes with victims being carried to hospital in private vehicles. We see people thrown into the backs of buses and trucks. This is not normal. Our expectations have been so battered that we just accept less than we should have.
You may ask “how will the government pay for the norm?” What is more expensive is the loss of lives of people in their prime. This is penny wise, pound foolish.
We need some righteous indignation ginger us into action. We can start by imbibing excellence into the services we already have.
Lagos for all intents and purposes still appears to be the ‘trail blazer’; however anecdotal evidence regarding the efficiency and efficacy of emergency services is damning.T he good thing is, telephone numbers needed in an emergency are widely publicised click here.
Ambulances need to be staffed with qualified paramedics who can carry out initial investigations at the seen, offer life saving first aid help, stabilise the patient, move them safely and transfer quickly to a waiting hospital (where they are aware that an emergency is on its way). All public facilities should have an emergency station and kit.
The state of healthcare in our blessed country is embryonic at best, and we deserve better. We deserve to have a fully functional emergency health care system. People deserve to survive after life threatening incidents. Health is everyone’s business. Health is wealth.
God bless Nigeria.
If you have any experiences, good or bad with using emergency services in Nigeria that you would like to share, please leave comments.
Twitter: @simisola10Instagram: monicaalabi1
Website: www.monicaalabi.com
Dr Alabi is passionate about helping health organisations in Africa deliver the best possible, evidence based, equitable healthcare
With the increasing trend of Health tourism outside the continent, Dr Alabi is working in collaboration with partners to help make Africa a world class Health destination.
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