News
Forty eight individuals have been arrested by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Department of State Services (DSS) for alleged illegalities in the conducts of the Joint Universities Preliminary Examinations Board (JUPEB).
The joint operation tagged ‘Operation Combo’ conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, led to the arrests of lecturers, security officers, workers and students from some of the participating universities in the exam.
Operation Combo was simultaneously carried out by the operatives of ICPC and DSS in seven states after extensive monitoring of tutorial schools allegedly known for notoriously compromising JUPEB examinations.
This has led to the arrest of the President of Tutorial School Owners (ATSO).
The operation, a consequence of sustained period of surveillance and undercover investigations spanning several weeks, led to multiple arrests of suspects including parents of candidates of the exam.
A statement by ICPC’s Spokeswoman, Azuka Ogugua, said that lecturers and others involved in examination malpractices and other illegalities in the participating institutions have also been arrested.
The suspects were arrested from Wellspring University, Benin, Edo State; Christopher University, Mowe, Ogun State and Crown-Hill University, Ilorin, Kwara State.
Again the raid of tutorial centres by operatives in McPherson and Precious Cornerstone universities in Ibadan and Ilara-Epe, in Oyo State respectively, led to more arrests of suspects.
Credible intelligence gathered during the operations showed active connivance of the parents of the students and the management of the universities.
Three current Vice-Chancellors have been invited by ICPC for their roles in the unchecked and massive malpractices reported.
It was revealed that syndicated social media platforms were created by the facilitators for leaking questions and circulating answers to students for a fee during examinations
Investigation also revealed that candidates, who are mostly minors, allegedly paid between N350,000 to N500,000 each to the suspects in the various tutorial schools to engage in the illegalities.
The cartel, in connivance with the coordinators of the examination centres and other management staff of the institutions, deliberately allowed security lapses to enable the candidates go into examination halls with smart-phones and other electronic devices to send question papers to waiting groups online and subsequently, receive answers to questions thereby engaging in massive malpractices.
Some of the suspects arrested have been granted administrative bail while investigation is on-going.
JUPEB is an advanced level educational examination that qualifies its candidate for admission into 200 level in any Nigerian and foreign universities through direct entry.
It is coordinated by the University of Lagos and has up to 10 accredited universities.
Vanguard
Suspected gunmen on Tuesday morning 2 November 2021 invaded UniAbuja staff quarters in Abuja metropolis and abducted many members of staff and their families.
Report reaching Nigerian Newstrack said the so called bandits came in the wee hours of the day at the Gwagwalada site of the University in large number.
They were said to have herded their victims into vehicles and drove off without resistance.
More details later.
Popular socialite and businessman, Obinna Iyiegbu, aka Obi Cubana, was interrogated by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over alleged money laundering on Monday.
The Anambra-born club owner, who arrived at the headquarters of the EFCC at Jabi, Abuja, at about noon on Monday, was undergoing interrogation by the operatives of the commission as of the time of filing this report.
Though allegations against the socialite were sketchy as of press time, a source disclosed that his case bordered on alleged money laundering and tax fraud.
The source said, “Obi Cubana was arrested and brought to the EFCC headquarters on Monday afternoon over allegations of money laundering and tax fraud. He is being grilled by detectives as we speak.” The EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, said he had yet to be briefed on the development.
Obi Cubana made headlines in July when he hosted an ostentatious burial for his late mother in Oba, Anambra State, in which over 200 cows were reportedly killed.
The lavish display of wealth set tongues wagging with many Nigerians wondering about his source of wealth. Several celebrities, businesspeople and politicians turned out in large numbers for the funeral.
Punch
The village head of Fagbohun community in Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State, Simeon Fagbohun, has accused the officers of the Nigeria Customs Service of invading the settlement causing villagers to flee their houses.
The accusation came days after the lifeless body of a customs officer was found in a river near the community, and another one declared missing following a clash between the officers and suspected smugglers.
Mr Fagbohun, who told journalists that the invasion was a reprisal, said the killing of the officer did not happen in his community.
He said the officers were attacked in Iya Sango village, five kilometres away from Fagbohun.
“I am here to clear some misinformation that I have read on the social media about our community about the death of some customs officers in that area,” said Mr Fagbohun.
“It is not in Fagbohun village the custom officers were killed, it is in Iya Sango village that they killed them but, the village is now defunct. It is the Ohori people that now stay in Iya Sango, they make little settlements there and are doing farming.
“This Iya Sango village is in Yewa land but Fagbohun is a village these smugglers used to pass, it is the biggest village on that axis, which has vulcanizers and schools.
“Those smugglers have a stopover in our village to fix their tyres and also eat. They stopped in a place called Eti Odo in Fagbohun village.”
The alleged attack
Mr Fagbohun said he was in Ilaro on October 26 when got a call around 7 p.m. that customs officers had arrested his elder brother and were taking him to an unknown destination. He said he was told that some smugglers had killed some of the officers.
The village head accused the customs officers of setting houses in the village ablaze, adding that villagers now live in fear.
“We saw that they have burnt the house of Adeoye Fagbohun, one of the sons of Fagbohun family, he is an elder brother to me, they burnt his house with three motorcycles. He is the one doing vulcanizing in the junction of the village where his house was, his vulcanizing machine was also burnt inside the house.
“Iya Alate’s house was also burnt, we all saw it with the police, there were three motorcycles in that house also. The house of Nathaniel was also burnt with one motorcycle. We now saw that the remaining houses like that of the Akao family in the village, they entered the house and brought out the motorcycles in the house and burnt them, three motorcycles were burnt there also.”
Mr Fagbohun said the officers did not burn Odunaro house but they took the motorcycles owned by people in the house and burnt them outside the house. They also did the same to the Ogundipe house, according to him.
“I also saw that they went into my own palace too, they looted my palace, they didn’t burn motorcycles in front of my house but I can’t find two motorcycles in my house.
“Also, our pumping machine, the farmers in the village bought, we want to use it for irrigation in the dry season, five pumping machines, they removed them from the cartons and we can’t find them.
“The machine we used to spray herbicides and other chemicals on the farm, seven of them have been taken, about 20 cartons of them are also missing, all my doors were forced opened.”
The police spokesperson in the state, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident but said he could not ascertain who the attackers were. He said the police will stop at nothing to unravel the perpetrators.
Customs react
The spokesperson of the Ogun Area 1 command of customs, Hammed Oloyede, said he has no knowledge of an invasion by the officers.
The Public Relations Officer of the Federal Operating Unit, Zone A, Ikeja, Lagos, Theophilus Duniya, also denied there was an invasion.
He said although the command had lost two of its officers to the attack in the area, the operatives did not take the laws into their hands.
He said seven suspects were arrested with Dane guns and matchets and had been put in custody as murder suspects.
“In as much as we seek to have justice for the slain officers, we cannot take the laws into our hands by destroying people’s property. So, whatever the claims are, were not executed by our operatives,” he said.
Premium Times
Dire warnings of the end of the world are as old as civilization itself. But each year as the countdown to United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP) begins, they grow in volume and intensity. Recently, senior United Nations officials raised the alarm of "world conflict and chaos" and mass migrations and institutional collapse should greenhouse gas emissions remain unchecked for much longer.
Mankind has a duty to act on these dangers. But because of their seriousness we must not do so rashly. It is an inconvenient truth, but energy solutions proposed by those most eager to address the climate crisis are fuel for the instability of which they warn. No more clearly can this be seen than in Africa.
For today's 1.3 billion Africans, access to low-cost and reliable energy is the highest of all possible concerns. Estimated to rise to 2.5 billion by 2050—by 2100 Nigeria alone is projected to have the second largest population on the planet—this "great doubling" (for Nigeria, quadrupling) has the right to more dependable electricity than their forebears.
Without extra and stable power, we cannot build the factories that will transform Africa from a low-job, extractives-led economy to a high employment middle-income continent. Children cannot learn for longer and better by battery light any more than by candlelight. No more than the Africa of today, the Africa of tomorrow cannot advance using energy production that intermittently delivers.
Yet in our rush to address climate concerns, and for western aid agencies and investors to burnish their green credentials, we rush to install the most alternative of energy sources which are often the most unreliable. Wind and solar, the most fashionable of modern energy technologies, are flawed by their reliance on back-up diesel generators or batteries for when there is no wind for the turbines or sun for the panels.
It also seems unnoticed that in our global rush for electric cars we risk replacing the last century's scramble for fossil fuels with a new global race in lithium for batteries. Where significant deposits are to be found, such as in Africa, this could endanger geopolitical stability. This makes the economic migrations the U.N. warned of more likely. We must think carefully whether our dash to terminate the use of fossil fuels so swiftly is as wise as it sounds.
There is no single "green bullet" that can be deployed either in Africa or the world that solves concerns of environmentalists while simultaneously offering the power to fuel hope of greater wealth and progress for the extra 1 billion citizens of our African future.
But there are certain things we can and must do—starting with transitioning to cleaner, but consistent, energy production. Fossil fuel power generation that can provide electricity 24 hours a day in all conditions can be re-tooled greener through carbon capture and the conversion of coal and heavy fuel oil power stations to biomass. We can bring forward new technologies such as mini-hydro power plants which can operate and produce power day and night along shallow waterways without damaging the aquatic life on which local communities are sustained.
We can also invest in nuclear. Though not renewable it is carbon neutral and capable of producing baseload, constant electricity production on which sustained economic progress can be built. Nigeria is among a handful of African countries exploring nuclear power, with a research reactor already operational.
And we can also learn from our friends in Europe and America who do not always practice what they preach. We call on them to lift the moratorium they have placed on fossil fuel investments in Africa. Nigeria has pledged to eliminate illegal gas flaring by 2030—a by-product of our oil industry—and harness it for electricity production. Our intention to end Nigeria's single greatest contribution to greenhouse emissions may stall without it. Yet there are no such limitations on investment in natural gas power in the West where it is considered a transitional energy source.
There is a deal to be done at COP26, but none without the agreement of the nations of Africa. The climate warnings we hear them. We live them. But no one has the right to deny the advancement of our continent. Yet unless the developed world wakes up, we run the risk of trying to fix the climate crisis with an energy crisis.
People are feared to be trapped in the ruins of a 21-story building that collapsed in Lagos, Nigeria on Monday.
The building, located in the city's affluent Ikoyi neighborhood, is a construction site for luxury apartments. It is unclear how many people were inside when it fell.
"I thought it was an earthquake when I rushed out of my apartment just after 3 p.m. I felt the building move and knew something was wrong," Olu Apata, a nearby resident and the president of the Nigerian Bar Association stated.
Apata said the building has been under construction for the past two years and that the developer was at the site meeting with prospective buyers earlier on Monday.
Muhammad, a civil servant, said he was in his office next door when the high rise came down.
"We just heard an unusual loud sound from our office building and the building we're occupying was vibrating. So, I looked through the window, only to see the building collapsing floor after floor. And of course, we all ran to safety."
Hours after the collapse, hundreds of people were milling around the site, helplessly surveying slabs of concrete piled high in a heap. Locals were digging through the wreckage by hand.
Some in the crowd were furious that an official emergency response had not started. Instead, rescue efforts were being carried out by passersby such as Rashid Olamilekan, who told reporters he had pulled three construction workers from the rubble.
"I am a Nigerian. I have to rescue my people," he said.
The rescued workers had been taken to the hospital, Olamilekan added.
The Nigerian Red Cross is also now at the scene.
Building collapses are a relatively common occurrence in Lagos, Nigeria's largest city with a population of around 20 million people.
In 2019, the collapse of two separate buildings, including one housing a school, left dozens of people dead.
An expert at the time said that more than 1,000 buildings were at risk of collapsing in Lagos.
CNN
The Interpol section of the Nigerian Police Force has declared Nigerian businessman Adams Uju wanted for duping investors of N52 million and $28,000, respectively, part of a multibillion-naira fraud he has been accused of by victims.
A warrant of arrest issued for Uju, 42, by the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court stated that he defrauded victims through his company, Addy Finance & Investment Limited, registered under the Fund Managers Association of Nigeria (FMAN).
“He is wanted by the police for the offence of obtaining money under false pretence and investment fraud in Addy Finance & Investment Limited with the sum of fifty-two million naira only and twenty-eight thousand dollars respectively,” a notice issued by the Interpol stated.
FMAN represents the interest of all Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registered Funds and Portfolio Managers in Nigeria.
CHIVE GPS, an intelligence research analysis firm based in Lagos, initiated the petition on behalf of the victims.
He was declared wanted following a June 28 petition by Charles Mba and other investors.
They transferred the funds into Uju’s company account after seeing an investment advert on the Internet, including social media platforms.
The total amount involved in the alleged fraud was unclear, but sources said Uju fleeced his victims to the tune of billions of naira.
Uju, however, through his company, did not pay back the investors’ fund and the expected returns on investment.
“Oblivious of the fraud ahead, our clients transferred the sum of fifty-two million naira and twenty-eight thousand dollars respectively at various times into the account of Addy Finance.
The so-called investment was supposed to last for six months. However, Adoms of Addy Finance failed to pay them back the invested capital or return on investment and elected to be evasive,” the petition stated.
The victims argued that even though the company had been certified by the Securities and Exchange Commission, it is an organised Ponzi scheme packaged as a legitimate business.
“We believe this was simply an organised Ponzi scheme, packaged and promoted as a legitimate business, targeted at Nigerians all over the country who believed the falsehood of Adoms,” the victims added.
Temitope Moshood, a representative of FMAN, said they were aware of the matter but said SEC should be contacted for comments.
Earlier in June, some investors yet to receive their return on investment took to the company’s Twitter page to lament their inability to log in to the platform, claiming that Addy Finance has also cut off other forms of communication.
However, on June 18, a user identified as @Rhymmz shared a screenshot of a message he received from the company.
“Kindly note that the delay in payment right now is due to the fact that our accounts has been put on PND (post no debit) because of the petition written by some investors, hence payment cannot be made for now,” it said.
SEC had in April cautioned Nigerians against investing in unregistered online platforms claiming to be operating in partnership with Capital Market Operators registered with the commission.
But the commission is now silent when told that Uju registered his business with the regulator.
“The attention of the SEC has been drawn to the existence of several providers of online investment and trading platforms which purportedly facilitate direct access of the investing public in the Federal Republic of Nigeria to securities of foreign companies listed on Securities Exchanges registered in other jurisdictions,” SEC said in a circular addressed to Capital Market Operators.
“These platforms also claim to be operating in partnership with Capital Market operators (CMOs) registered with the Commission,” the statement said.
SEC’s spokeswoman Efe Ebelo, when contacted, declined to comment on the matter, requesting some time to speak on the matter. She had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.
In recent months, several investors have been accused of defrauding investors of multi-million naira and being on the run.
In August it was reported that a couple of entrepreneurs, Gloria Igberaese and Muyiwa Folorunsho, were declared wanted by Interpol over their involvement in multi-million dollar investment fraud.
The entrepreneurs are said to be the CEOs of Divergent Enterprise operating businesses such as Landlagos, PorkMoney, Hyberfactory, and Porkoyum, among other companies that they allegedly used to fleece thousands of Nigerians in a slew of Ponzi schemes linked to them.
People's Gazette
President Muhammadu Buhari has on Sunday, October 31 departed Abuja for Glasgow, Scotland to attend the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
This was contained in a press statement released by the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Shehu Garba.
According to the statement, the President is scheduled to deliver his national statement at the High-Level segment for Heads of State and Government at the conference on Tuesday, November 2.
Buhari’s address is expected to highlight Nigeria’s key priorities and action to tackle climate change as well as progress on the country’s transition to low carbon economy, consistent with achieving the Paris Climate Agreement.
The conference, hosted by the United Kingdom in partnership with Italy, will bring parties together to help accelerate action towards the Paris Agreement as well as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The statement reads, that "given Nigeria’s leading role in taking climate action and as a signatory to the Paris Agreement, COP 26 will afford a unique opportunity for the Nigerian delegation to work with other parties to make progress on the main goals of the conference including securing global net zero by mid-century and keeping 1.5C within reach; adapting to protect communities and natural habitats as well as mobilising the much needed finances to meet the set targets."
"In Glasgow, Buhari will participate in some side-line events hosted by US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron".
"The President will be accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of State, Environment, Sharon Ikeazor, National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno and Director-General, National Intelligence Agency, Ahmed Rufai Abubakar."
"Buhari will thereafter travel to Paris, France on an official visit to reciprocate an earlier one to Nigeria by the French President, Emmanuel Macron, and also attend the Paris Peace forum 2021, the fourth edition to be hosted by the French President."
"IItwill have Heads of State and Government and CEOs of major multinationals, as well as several civil society actors, gathering to advance concrete solutions to the enormous challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, and to improve global governance in times of Covid-19."
The Summit will focus on spurring a more solid and inclusive recovery by addressing the various gaps in global governance, offering initiatives to better tend to the global commons, and putting forward new principles of action for the post-Covid world.
While the President is in Paris, the Nigerian government will organize the Nigeria-Paris Forum. The event is expected to pull a crowd of Nigerian and French investors, government and business leaders, diplomats and the media in the hope of showcasing opportunities on both sides as well as bringing enlightenment to bear on the prevailing security, economic and investment climate in Nigeria.
Buhari is expected back in the country after the engagements.
Tomato farmers in Plateau State have been counting losses as an unknown disease is destroying most of their crops.
The situation, they said, was affecting their expected yields.
Some of the farmers said they had applied all the insecticides/pesticides they knew but to no avail. Others said they had sought the assistance of experts to unravel the problem and find solution, but their efforts did not yield any meaningful result.
One of the farmers narrated that as the tomatoes begin to germinate and bear fruits, some aspects of the leaves will begin to dry up, the tomatoes itself will begin to turn brown from the outside, while others will have black dots. With that, the fruit would become rotten inside and will no longer be good for consumption.
The farmers could not actually determine the exact disease, but secretary of tomatoes farmers in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, Auwal Tanko Haruna, said the dew at night was responsible for it. He said he had taken samples of the tomatoes to FADAMA 2 project office in Jos, the state capital, for testing and dissecting. He was asked to come back for the result this week.
He said the tomato farmers in the area, last year alone, got over 200,000 big baskets during harvest, but with the invasion of the disease on the crop this year, they were not certain of getting any meaningful thing.
Haruna said the farmers were confused as a result of the disease and did not know what to do or how to tackle the problem. He, however, said they could still plant and get a good result before January next year if they got a solution.
He called on state and local government authorities to help them find a solution to the problem. He said that considering the money spent in cultivating the crop, they were running at a loss.
He called on the farmers to remain calm and hopeful as they were doing all they could to find a solution to the problem.
Another farmer who cultivates tomatoes in the Lamingo area of Jos North Local Government, Marcel Ndubuisi, said he had lost most of his tomatoes to the disease, and he had tried all he could to control the menace without success.
Ndubuisi said he even brought some experts to his farm and they could not determine what the infection was. He said some persons attributed the cause of the disease to climate change, while others said it was due to soil infection, which extended to the crops.
He also said he was advised to change the land where he was cultivating, but he had no means of doing that due to its cost implication.
He added that moving to another land would not solve the problem as farmers from other locations are going through the same experience.
The farmer said the general challenge they were having as farmers is that they could not access loans, and even when they do, microfinance banks or the cooperative society who provided them the loan will want repayment even before they harvest the crops, which is not often easy.
He further said that although they farmed near dams and engaged in irrigation farming, unfortunately, the pumping machine they used to buy between N30,000 and N35,000 is now N75,000.
Ndubuisi said all these challenges had added to their ordeal this year, which is now worsened by the disease.
As the farmers are counting their losses and still trying to find a solution to it, it is expected that the relevant authorities and stakeholders would come to their aid.
Daily Trust
Gunmen suspected to be bandits have killed two worshippers at Baptist Church, Kakau Daji, Chikun LGA of Kaduna state.
The worshippers were attacked during the church’s Sunday service.
The gunmen were said to have surrounded the church before they started shooting sporadically.
A yet to be ascertained number of worshippers were also abducted from the church.
Ishaya Jangado, president of the Kaduna Baptist Convention, confirmed the attack.
“The incident occurred this morning but we don’t know the exact number of people that were kidnapped yet,” he said.
Mohammad Jalige, spokesman of the Kaduna state police command, was not reachable for comment over the incident.
Reacting, Joseph Hayab, chairman of Kaduna state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), described the attack as “another sad story of how deteriorating our insecurity has become”.
“Citizens are being killed like chickens with only press statements as consolation,” he said.
“These evil people have troubled us for too long.
“I condole the families of the Baptist denomination and Kaduna Christians for this loss and urge our security agencies to separate war against enemies of Nigerians from politics. No one knows who will be the next target.”
Chikun LGA is one of the areas where telecommunications services had been suspended by Kaduna state government to fight banditry and kidnappings.
The attack on the church comes months after suspected bandits invaded the Bethel Baptist High School in Damishi, Kaduna, abducting 121 students.
Most of the students had since been freed.
The Cable
More...
Lauretta Fagbohun, Ogun
The Ogun state government has assured that the Adatan-Moore Junction road will be asphalted within 2 weeks, while the Lafenwa-Rounder-Ayetoro road in Abeokuta will be completed in 6 Months.
The assurance was given by the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun on Saturday, while inspecting road projects across four local government areas of the state.
The governor, who toured Sagamu, Obafemi-Owode, Abeokuta South and Abeokuta North LGs, also promised to construct the deplorable Siun-Owode Road in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area.
Speaking with newsmen after inspecting the new Gateway City Gate at the Sagamu Interchange, Abiodun equally said the road from Ofada to Mowe would soon receive his government's attention.
"We are rebranding this state to suite our status as the industrial capital of Nigeria. We will continue to do more to attract investors to our state. The beautification of this Gateway City Gate is part of our efforts to provide the needed ambience for those who chose to reside and do business here", the governor noted.
He said 600 housing units are being constructed at Kobape as part of the 1,000 units constructed in less than two years of his administration.
On the Lafenwa-Rounder-Ayetoro road, Abiodun attributed the slow pace of work to difficulty on some sections of the road and lack of fund, adding that it would be redesigned to six lanes from its initial 17 lanes.
He assured that the road would be delivered in the next six months.
While inspecting Adigbe-Opako Road, the governor stated that contract for the road was renegotiated to accommodate other road facilities such as street lights.
He noted that the road which is at 85 percent completion stage would have its drainage covered
Reiterating his administration's resolve to ensure that the people enjoy dividends of good governance, Abiodun said the Adatan-Moore Junction road, Adatan, Abeokuta, awarded by the last administration, would be asphalted in the next two weeks.
Residents of the areas visited by the governor expressed their delight and lauded the state government for attending to the roads which were in very bad shapes for a long time, saying the construction would lessen their plight and improve the socio-economic activities in the areas.
The governor also inspected the Oba Erinwole Road in Sagamu.
Other roads inspected include Olomore-Sanni Road in Abeokuta North; Lafenwa-Olorunda Road, Abeokuta North; Adatan-Gbonagun Road, Abeokuta South; Panseke-Adigbe Road, Abeokuta South and Gateway City Gate, Obafemi- Owode LG.
The Federal government has again extended the ongoing national identification number (NIN) and subscriber identity module (SIM) integration exercise till December 31, 2021.
The deadline was shifted from the previous date of October 31.
Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy, conveyed the approval of the federal government to extend the deadline in a statement issued on Saturday.
The statement was jointly signed by Ikechukwu Adinde, director of public affairs at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and Kayode Adegoke, head of corporate communications at the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
“Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has conveyed approval of the Federal Government to extend the deadline for the National Identity Number (NIN)-Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) data verification. Citizens and legal residents are urged to complete the process before the end of the year 2021,” the statement reads.
“The decision to extend the deadline was made further to appeals by the Mobile Network Operators and other industry stakeholders, soliciting for a further extension to ensure better compliance with government’s directive and to avoid widening the digital divide.
“The extension would also provide the enabling environment for the registration of Nigerians in remote areas, diaspora, schools, hospitals, worship centres, as well as foreigners, diplomatic missions, those in other areas that were hitherto unreachable, and increase enrolments in countries with a significant number of Nigerians.”
The statement further disclosed that over 66 million unique NIN have been issued, with an average of three to four SIMs per NIN.
“However, a significant part of the populace is yet to be registered into the National Identity Database (NIDB), which may be due to some challenges which the Federal Government has looked into and has made efforts to alleviate, hence the need to extend the deadline,” the statement adds.
“As of October 30, 2021, there were over 9,500 enrolment systems and over 8,000 NIN enrolment centres within and outside the country. This has significantly eased the NIN enrolment process and subsequent linkage of NIN to SIM.
“The unique 66 million NIN enrolments, with an average of 3 to 4 SIMs linked to the NIN, is a testament to the commitment and dedication of the Federal Government, through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), to ensure the success of the project.
“With the creation of additional NIN enrolment centres within and outside the country, and many more coming up, the remaining citizens and legal residents living in the country and the diaspora should be able to obtain their NINs and link them with their SIMs before the end of the year.
“The Minister enjoins Nigerians and legal residents to make use of the opportunity of the extension to enrol for their NINs and link with their SIMs.
“On behalf of the FGN, the Minister, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Umar Danbatta, and the Director-General/CEO of NIMC, Aliyu Aziz, urge citizens and legal residents to take advantage of the window to complete the process of enrolment and verification before the end of the year 2021.”
The Cable
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has said the court processes leading to the security operatives’ invasion of the Abuja residence of a Justice of the Supreme Court, Mary Odili, on Friday, has criminal overtones.
Malami said this in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Umar Gwandu, on Saturday to deny his involvement in the raid.
Gwandu, had earlier denied the minister’s involvement in the raid in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, citing irregularities in the documents filed before a magistrate’s court in Abuja to obtain a search warrant which the invading security operatives tried to execute at Odili’s home on Friday.
Elaborating on the alleged irregularities in a statement on Saturday, Gwandu maintained that there was no unit like the ‘Joint Panel Recovery’ which was said to have applied for the search warrant in the Federal Ministry of Justice.
“What we have is ‘Assets Recovery and Management Unit’ the mandate of which does not include stings operations,” the statement said.
It said numerous “incongruities” in the documents circulated in relation to the saga “revealed traces of criminal actions”.
Among others he cited alleged incongruities in the documents, was the name on the letterhead – ‘Ghost’s Account For Local Whistle Blowers & Assets Tax Recovery Panel’.
He also pointed out alleged “ambiguous reference to ‘Ministry of Justice’ without clarifying as to whether it is Federal or State Ministry and of which state’.
He added that office address on the letterhead “is not the address of the Federal Ministry of Justice”.
He also counted the e-mail address on the letter as part of the irregularities showing the document had nothing to do with the AGF office.
“All these deductions would have assisted a discerning mind to arrive at a reasonable conclusion of criminal undertones associated with the court process on the basis of which the purported search warrant was procured,” the statement said.
Investigations
Malami also indicated that he had reached out to police authorities to intensify investigations and prosecute those involved in the matter.
“The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice has since reached out to the relevant authorities for an intensified wider investigation on the matter for necessary actions leading to the prosecution of anyone involved in the matter in view of the fact that the only names on record from the process filed in court are a purported police officer who claimed to be “O/C Assets Recovery Team” and one Aliyu Umar a deponent in the affidavit,” the statement added.
Security operatives invaded Odili’s home in Maitama, an upscale part of Abuja, on Friday.
Both the State Security Service (SSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had denied being part of the raid.
The invasion brought back to mind the SSS operatives’ invasion of homes of various judges, including those of two Justices of the apex court, in 2015.
The two Supreme Court justices were Sylvester Ngwuta (now deceased), and John Okoro. A home of a now retired judge of the Federal High Court, Adeniyi Ademola, was also invaded.
Both Ngwuta and Ademola were prosecuted by the AGF office, but the cases were struck out by the trial courts in the end.
PT
The fierce battle for the office of the deputy national chairman (South) of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has come to an end with the election of former Oyo State deputy governor, Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja.
Arapaja, until recently the PDP national vice chairman (South-West) beat ex-Osun state governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola after garnering a total of 2,004 votes while the latter could manage 705 votes.
Arapaja’s emergence again underscores the growing influence of governors, many of whom had their choices, coast home to victory at the convention without breaking a sweat.
He was said to be the candidate of the Oyo state governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde.
The race for the office initially had Arapaja, Oyinlola and Professor Wale Oladipo who latter stepped down paving way for a two-horse race pitching the ex-governor against the erstwhile deputy governor.
Vanguard