*Says Abacha looted over $2m in 1998 alone
*Adds Buhari has vowed to recover every kobo
ABUJA—The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, yesterday, said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has so far recovered more than $2 trillion (about N400trn at current exchange rate) looted from the national treasury.
Of the huge funds he said were stolen by “criminal groups and public office holders” within the past 12 years, the AGF said it was estimated that in 1998 alone, the late former Head of State, General Sani Abacha, laundered over $2million.
The AGF, who made the disclosure in a keynote address presented at the ‘First Annual Conference on Financial Fraud, Cyber-Crime & Other Cross-border Crimes’, in Abuja, yesterday, said President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed “to recover the fortunes that criminals have made illegally by returning every penny that belongs to the Nigerian public.”
He observed that the passage of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, had made it possible for criminal matters to enjoy accelerated hearing in courts.
The AGF said: “With more than 166 million inhabitants, Nigeria represents more than half of Africa’s total population. Nigeria’s major source of revenue is oil and Nigeria is ranked ninth highest exporter of crude among members of the Oil Producing Exporting Countries (OPEC) and 13th across the globe.“In 1998, Nigeria came under severe attacks from the international community. Political and economic sanctions were imposed on the country to pressurise the military regime at the time to create an enabling environment for democratic election.
“During this period, the Nigerian financial system suffered crisis of confidence, caused in part by the inability of the financial supervisory authorities and the enforcement agencies to prevent the abuse of the financial system and enforce national and international financial laws and regulations.
“It is estimated that General Abacha alone laundered more than USD2 million during this period. It was not just the financial system that broke down under severe mismanagement but also the justice system due to lack of comprehensive legal framework, weak law enforcement agencies, ill equipped judiciary, and the over-crowded court system. These were just a few of the problems that contributed to the high rate of economic and financial crimes in Nigeria.
Plan of Buhari’s govt
He continued: ‘“The government of President Buhari is committed to the development of an economically, politically stable and just society where the security of lives and properties are guaranteed and underpinned by a constitutionally independent judicial system that ensures respect for rule of law and promotes equal rights to justice.
“It is no longer in dispute that internal security remains a challenge, especially as internal conflicts, including religious extremism, and ethnic conflicts have had a debilitating effect on the country’s development since independence. Nigeria is not an exception in Africa when it comes to internal conflicts, insurgency and terrorism”.
He said that trends and statistics from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, indicated that on the average, Nigerian banks lose huge amounts of money annually to different forms of cyber-crime and cyber-criminals.
“The total estimated loss incurred by the financial system alone from 2012 to 2014 could be more than N64 billion or USD321.689m.”
Besides, the AGF noted that the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC, had in a report it issued in 2014, observed that the increase of fraud in the country was a result of “astronomical increase of online banking and use of ATM as well as fraudulent withdrawal of funds.”
He further identified “illicit funds flows” as a major area of organised crime in Nigeria, saying a report compiled by the presidency in 2013, identified a total of over $33.144bn (N20.6 trillion) illicit flows during 2000 to 2013, “of which over $7.456trn were proceeds of corruption and embezzlement in Nigeria”.
Malami said: “As you all know, illicit funds transfer has a number of severe effects on a country like Nigeria. It drains the country’s foreign exchange reserves, reduces tax base, increases poverty levels, increases insecurity as a potential source of terror funding, and hurts the country’s international image.
“The common crimes that confront Nigeria today include terrorism/ terrorist financing, cyber-crime, fraud, money laundering, corruption, kidnapping, trafficking in illicit drugs and persons, armed robbery, oil theft, sexual exploitation of young persons. All of these crimes threaten Nigeria’s economy and make Nigeria unattractive for investment.
“Nigeria gained notoriety among the commity of nations since early 1980 because of advanced fee fraud commonly referred to as “419” as well as high incidence of corrupt practices by politically exposed persons and bureaucrats”.
He said that available reports showed that in the past 12 years, since the establishment of EFCC, more than $2 trillion has been confiscated and recovered.
“Recoveries have also been made by ICPC, NAPTIP, NDLEA and DSS. As Nigeria struggles to deal with the high-level criminality associated with greed to acquire so much wealth through criminal activities, my task is to see how we can turn back the gains of criminal groups and to recover the fortunes that criminals have made illegally by returning very penny that belongs to the Nigeria public.
“With the passage of the ACJA, we have seen accelerated hearing of criminal matters. This would need to be sustained through various initiatives that we are developing”, the AGF stated.
Meantime, in his remarks at the event, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, said there was urgent need for the country to consider and priortise the reform of its laws. “This is heightened by the need to conform with the primary concerns of law and order, national security and public interest.
“However, the desire of every Nigerian for the quick and fair dispensation of justice can only be achieved where stakeholders in the justice sector work in tandem towards a common objective as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
“It is time to leave the rhetoric behind and take visible steps forward in this fight against transnational crimes”, the CJN added.
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Wednesday, 3 February 2016
Tuesday, 2 February 2016
Kerosene subsidy: Marketers may sell above N200/L
Following the removal of subsidy on household kerosene, there are growing fears that marketers will sell the scarce commodity as high as N250 per litre in some locations in the country, even as government suggested open market price of N83/L.Some of the marketers and dealers who spoke to Sweetcrude disclosed that prior to the new price announced by the Federal Government, they sold the product between N100 and N150/Litre, but with the new price, they will sell at even higher prices.
Most of the filling stations visited in Abuja, the Federal Capital, claimed they have not yet purchased new stock since the announcement, while those that had the product were selling at N120/L.
For instance, Forte Oil in Central Area District, Area 3, said the last time they had the product was three months ago, Total in Area 11 and Area 3, said theirs was last sold two months ago, while all the private stations visited in the same areas did not have the product also.
Commenting on the price hike, ActionAid Nigeria, an anti-poverty agency, argued that this will further worsen the poverty situation in the country.
According to the Country Director, ActionAid, Ms. Ojobo Atuluku, the Federal Government’s decision to remove subsidy on kerosene signifies a continuation of a worrying trend of regressive policies that are emanating in recent times.
She noted that the product is mostly used by the poor who have no other means of preparing their meals and lighting up their homes in the face of unreliable electricity.
Some consumers who commented on the issue like Mrs Hadijat Bello, who resides in Apo Dutse in Abuja, said there is no significant impact from the price hike since she normally bought the product at
Most of the filling stations visited in Abuja, the Federal Capital, claimed they have not yet purchased new stock since the announcement, while those that had the product were selling at N120/L.
For instance, Forte Oil in Central Area District, Area 3, said the last time they had the product was three months ago, Total in Area 11 and Area 3, said theirs was last sold two months ago, while all the private stations visited in the same areas did not have the product also.
Commenting on the price hike, ActionAid Nigeria, an anti-poverty agency, argued that this will further worsen the poverty situation in the country.
According to the Country Director, ActionAid, Ms. Ojobo Atuluku, the Federal Government’s decision to remove subsidy on kerosene signifies a continuation of a worrying trend of regressive policies that are emanating in recent times.
She noted that the product is mostly used by the poor who have no other means of preparing their meals and lighting up their homes in the face of unreliable electricity.
Some consumers who commented on the issue like Mrs Hadijat Bello, who resides in Apo Dutse in Abuja, said there is no significant impact from the price hike since she normally bought the product at
Monday, 1 February 2016
Varsities engage cats to prevent Lassa fever
he fight against Lassa fever on campuses takes a newer dimension, CHARLES ABAH reports
Authorities of the various universities in the country have deployed various strategies, including the use of cats, in order to prevent an outbreak of Lassa fever on campuses, findings by our correspondents reveal.
From the University of Benin, Edo State; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State;
Authorities of the various universities in the country have deployed various strategies, including the use of cats, in order to prevent an outbreak of Lassa fever on campuses, findings by our correspondents reveal.
From the University of Benin, Edo State; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State;
Senate uncovers N10bn hidden in education budget
ABUJA— THE Senate Committee on Education, yesterday, uncovered N9,982,258,479 hidden in the budget of parastatals by the Federal Ministry of Education.The committee, which discovered the amount at the commencement of its 2016 budget defence, said the amount was hidden in the ministry’s parastatals.
The parastatals allocation for the year, according to the
The parastatals allocation for the year, according to the
BIAFRA: Rights group names Nnamdi Kanu prisoner-of-conscience
Wants his defence team to appeal against bail denial
As MASSOB reaffirms commitment to actualize struggle
ONITSHA—AS reactions continued to trail last Friday’s ruling of the Abuja Federal High Court presided over by Justice John Tsoho which turned down an application for bail filed by the detained leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, members of Southeast Based Coalition of
As MASSOB reaffirms commitment to actualize struggle
ONITSHA—AS reactions continued to trail last Friday’s ruling of the Abuja Federal High Court presided over by Justice John Tsoho which turned down an application for bail filed by the detained leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, members of Southeast Based Coalition of
Navy to partner UN Habitat in provision of 20,000 houses
As part of efforts to address the glaring shortage of accommodation for officers and ratings of the Nigerian Navy, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ibas has commenced a bilateral initiative with UN Habitat with the aim of building 20, 000 houses in the next three years for the Navy.
Speaking when he received the Regional Director of UN Habitat for Africa, Prof. Oyeyinka Oyebanji at Naval headquaters, Admiral Ibas recalled that Nigeria has a housing deficit in the region of about 20milion but noted specifically that the Navy was worse hit out of the Services with a deficit of 15, 000
Speaking when he received the Regional Director of UN Habitat for Africa, Prof. Oyeyinka Oyebanji at Naval headquaters, Admiral Ibas recalled that Nigeria has a housing deficit in the region of about 20milion but noted specifically that the Navy was worse hit out of the Services with a deficit of 15, 000
NYSC warns ‘corpers’ on national service, law school
ABUJA—The National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, has warned that participation in the National Service and attendance of Law School simultaneously is illegal and unacceptable.This is part of resolutions at 2016 Annual Management Conference of the Scheme, in Asaba, the Delta State capital.
The conference noted that “the NYSC Act provides for uninterrupted service year, and advised prospective Corps members to choose which one to defer between National Service and Law School attendance instead of attempting to combine both. Parents of prospective Corps members have also been advised by the conference to allow their children take decisions as
The conference noted that “the NYSC Act provides for uninterrupted service year, and advised prospective Corps members to choose which one to defer between National Service and Law School attendance instead of attempting to combine both. Parents of prospective Corps members have also been advised by the conference to allow their children take decisions as
Count Oshiomhole out of impeachment plot against deputy —Edo APC
BENIN—Edo State All Progressives Congress, APC, has absolved Governor Adams Oshiomhole of any involvement in the alleged plot to impeach the deputy governor of the state, Dr Pius Odubu, saying that those nursing such plans were only out to destroy the cordial relationship which exists between the governor and his deputy.It will be recalled that a group under the aegis
I didn’t negotiate with fake BoKo Haram — Jonathan
I wont speak on the $2.1bn probe now
It was not the thunderous response that was expected. With his regime under fire for all sorts of allegations ranging from corruption to incompetence, it was thought former President Goodluck Jonathan will react to all the charges against his administration when he appeared before the
Dasukigate: How EFCC raided ex-VP Sambo’s office
ABUJA — Still shopping for evidence to nail top Nigerians who might have benefitted from the $2.1 billion arms cash, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have raided the Abuja office of former Vice President, Namadi Sambo, carting away $50,000 from