News

News

British police raced Tuesday to identify an unknown substance that left a former Russian double agent fighting for his life, in what a senior lawmaker said bore the hallmarks of a Russian attack.

Moscow said it had no information about the "tragic" collapse of the man, identified by the media as Sergei Skripal, in the quiet southern English city of Salisbury on Sunday, but said it would be happy to cooperate if requested by British authorities.

Specialist officers from the counter-terrorism squad are helping investigate the incident, which also left a 33-year-old woman -- reported to be Skripal's daughter Yulia -- in a critical condition in what is feared to be a poison plot.

Skripal, a 66-year-old former colonel in Russian military intelligence, is also in a critical condition in Salisbury District Hospital.

Police did not confirm their names but did confirm that two people aged 66 and 33 were being treated for "suspected exposure to an unknown substance".

They also revealed that a member of the emergency services who helped deal with the incident remained in hospital.

A "major incident" was declared and the area around the bench where the couple was found slumped remained cordoned off on Tuesday, while a restaurant on a street nearby, Zizzi, was also closed in a "precaution".

The case revived memories of the death of Alexander Litvinenko, an ex-Russian spy and Kremlin critic was who poisoned in 2006 with radioactive polonium in London on orders from Moscow.

The incident caused a deep diplomatic split between London and Moscow, and another death blamed on Russia would ratchet up tensions even further.

The chairman of the UK House of Commons foreign affairs committee warned that was where the evidence was pointing.

"It is too early to say whether it is certain or not, but it certainly bears all the hallmarks of a Russian attack," said Tom Tugendhat.

- 'Very unusual case' -

Britain's chief counter-terrorism officer, Mark Rowley of London's Metropolitan Police, said specialist members of his team were supporting the investigation.

"Clearly it's a very unusual case and the critical thing is to get to the bottom of what has caused this incident as quickly as possible," he told BBC radio.

Local police say they are keeping "an open mind", adding that they did not know yet if a crime had been committed, but said there was no risk to the public.

Skripal was sentenced to 13 years in jail in Russia in 2006 for betraying Russian intelligence agents to Britain's MI6 secret service.

He was pardoned before being flown to Britain as part of a high-profile spy swap between Russia and the United States in 2010.

A British inquiry ruled in 2016 that Russian President Vladimir Putin "probably approved" the killing and identified two Russians, Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitri Kovtun, as the prime suspects.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that it had no information on the Salisbury incident.

"We see that such a tragic situation happened," he said, adding: "But we don't have information about what could be the cause, what this person did."

He said London had not made any requests for assistance in the investigation, but added: "Moscow is always ready for cooperation."

- 'Traitor to Russia' -

The incident made the front pages of almost all Britain's newspapers on Tuesday, with the Daily Mail speculating that Skripal may have been the target of a revenge "hit" by former colleagues.

Litvinenko's widow, Marina, told The Times newspaper that watching footage of emergency responders in hazardous material suits "was kind of deja vu".

William Browder, a British hedge fund manager who has campaigned against the Kremlin over the death in custody of his former employee Sergei Magnitsky, said his "first suspicion" was that Moscow was involved.

"This man was considered by the Kremlin to be a traitor to Russia," he told AFP.

"They have a history of doing assassinations in Russia and abroad. And they have a history of using poisons including in Britain."

However Lugovoi, who is an MP in the Russian parliament, responded to the British media reports by saying that Britain "suffers from phobias".

"Because of the presidential elections (on March 18), our actions in Syria, the situation with Skripal could be spun into an anti-Russian provocation," he told Interfax news agency.

Rowley noted that "Russian exiles are not immortal, they do all die and there can be a tendency for some conspiracy theories.

"But likewise we have to be alive to the fact of state threats as illustrated by the Litvinenko case," he said.

AFP

Saudi Arabia has donated of $10 million to aid the fight against the insurgency as Nigeria.

Saudi Arabia’s donation is part of the King Salman’s Humanitarian Aid and Relief Programme.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Defence Minister, Mr. Nasir Mutbak, said in Abuja on Tuesday that the donation is for the provision of food and basic amenities in camps of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North-East.

“We are here to implement King Salman issued to help our brothers in IDPs and refugees in North-East, we are here to reach out, and provide assistance for our brothers in that region. And of course, the donation will be $10 million.

Nigeria’s Defence Minister, Retired Brigadier General Mansur Dan while receiving the team from Saudi Arabia said the fund will go a long way in helping to fight terrorism in the country.

NAN

 

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday directed that any Fulani man found in possession of AK-47 rifles should be charged to court.

The President said this  in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital during a visit to  the state to commiserate with people that lost loved ones in the wake of violence that engulfed the area recently.

“Any Fulani man caught with AK-47 should be charged to court.”

He spoke at Government House, Jalingo, and lamented lack of oneness and inability of the people  to live together in peace as brothers and sisters.

He said his reason to visit Taraba State first was informed by the large-scale killing at Mambila Plateau which he described as more than the number of those killed in Benue and Zamfara states.

He said he will soon embark on the same visit to Zamfara and Benue states, also to condole with those who lost their loved ones.

The President called on the traditional rulers in the state to go to their chiefdoms and preach peace among their subjects for peaceful coexistence among their people.

He said traditional rulers in Nigeria were the main land lords, while politicians like himself as the President and Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State were visitors who might not stay on their seats for ever.

“Any Fulani man caught with AK-47 should be charged to court. You, the traditional rulers are going to remain on your stools till you die; Ishaku (the governor) and I may not last on our seats for long but you are going to be there till you die. “Please go to your domains and initiate peace among your people. These killings will not help us,” President Buhari said.

The representatives of Yandan, Fulani and Mambila tribes who were allowed to speak on the occasion, called on the President to instil justice in the land for the people to live in peace.

Earlier in his comment, Taraba State governor, Darius Ishaku, appreciated the President for finding time to visit the state for condolences.

Ishaku said the crisis in the state had hindered speedy development which the state government initially initiated.

He pleaded with with the President to mobilize more security personnel in the state to forestall further crisis among the people.

Vanguard

 

A former army brigadier who quit Zimbabwe's ruling party to protest the removal of former leader Robert Mugabe has formed a new political party.

Ambrose Mutinhiri, a veteran of the 1970s war against white minority rule, met Mugabe on Sunday before announcing he had formed an opposition party named the National Patriotic Front.

Mutinhiri had resigned from parliament last week, citing the military intervention that pressured 94-year-old Mugabe into stepping down in November as his reason for cutting ties with the ruling ZANU-PF party.

State media reported Monday that Mutinhiri's party had Mugabe's backing. The party said it was sympathetic to Mugabe, posting a picture of Mutinhiri with Mugabe.

AFP

 
 
Last modified on Tuesday, 06 March 2018 07:43

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has smashed a syndicate that specialises in diverting funds from the account of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.

The EFCC also grilled a JAMB official based in Makurdi, Philomina Chieshe, who claimed that a snake swallowed N36m which was part of the proceeds of the sale of scratch cards.

Detectives at the commission told our correspondent that Chieshe revealed that the money was collected in instalments from her by her Coordinator, Mr. Samuel Umoru.

In one of the statements she volunteered to the EFCC, Chieshe who is a clerk in the Makurdi office of JAMB, was said to have revealed that the coordinator usually asked her to withdraw proceeds of the sale of the cards from her account in two banks.

It was learnt that before the advent of the Treasury Single Accounts, the practice at the time was for JAMB officials to keep the proceeds of the sale of cards in unauthorised bank accounts which led to the loss of billions of naira.

In the statement she made to the EFCC under oath, Chieshe said, “This money that I withdraw, the coordinator used  it for the office and some time for himself.”

She claimed that she had been warning Umaru that it was improper to use the money for miscellaneous expenses in the office or for private purposes but he would not listen.

The suspect also claimed that Umoru was in the habit of drawing IOUs from the proceeds of the sale of the cards without reimbursing her.

Some of the withdrawals which she claimed were at the behest of the coordinator included the N340,000 withdrawn on May 5 and 26, 2014 with an ATM card.

She also disclosed that she used her ATM card to withdraw N120,000 for the coordinator between June 17 and 18, 2014.

Chieshe added, “He instructed me to withdraw the sum of N640,000 using my card between June 30, 2014 and July 7, 2014.”

Sources close to the EFCC disclosed that the investigating team had verified the withdrawals after a careful analysis of the statements of account of the suspect.

 It was learnt that Umaru had also been arrested and questioned about claims by Chieshe.

He was, however, released on administrative bail.

An EFCC source said, “The interesting aspect of the disclosure is that Chieshe’s statement was obtained long before the snake and naira swallowing testimony became public knowledge.

“She was first quizzed on February 16, 2017 and made additional statements on April 7, 2017 , May 30, 2017 and June 28, 2017.

“In all her statements before the EFCC, there was no mention of any episode of any snake and the disappearance of monies in her care.”

The EFCC also quizzed another JAMB official, Tanko Labaran, the clerk in Nasarawa State office of the board who could not account for scratch cards worth N23m.

He allegedly claimed the cards given to him were lost in a car accident. According to Labaran, he had an accident on his way from the head office with cards and the vehicle caught fire.

The suspect also had a police report to back the claim.

But a source at the EFCC said investigation so far indicated that the cards which were supposedly destroyed in the accident were used judging by evidence secured from the JAMB information database.

“The serial numbers of the cards and the telephone numbers of the users were captured by the JAMB information system,” the source said.

Meanwhile, the EFCC has also quizzed another officer from the Gombe State office of JAMB for failure to account for N20m worth of cards.

During interrogation, he claimed not to have received any cards, that his signature on the letter transferring the cards to him was forged.

Punch

Prof. Amos Sawyer, Head of ECOWAS’ 55-member Observation Mission to Sierra Leone, on Monday in Freetown tasked the regional observers to discharge their duty with the highest sense of responsibility and impartiality given the critical importance of the March 7 polls to peace and democratic consolidation in the country and the region.

“I wish to therefore admonish each and every one of us to conduct ourselves in a manner that is beyond reproach and ensure that our feedback is factual and truly reflects an impartial assessment of the 2018 General elections,” Prof. Sawyer, Liberia’s former Interim President said at the briefing of 40 Short-Term observers, who have joined 15 Long-Term Observers already on ground in Sierra Leone.

He noted that “all stakeholders, both domestic and international, are looking up to ECOWAS to lead the way, and the way we conduct ourselves, whilst on the field, will add value to the entire process.

The Head of Mission outlined ECOWAS’ engagement with stakeholders and support to Sierra Leone to ensure a successful electoral process, including the Needs Assessment Mission in July 2017 by the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC), the first of its kind, followed by a joint ECOWAS-AU-UN High level Mission in November 2017.

This was followed by an ECOWAS Pre-electoral Fact-finding Mission in February 2018, complemented by series of training workshops on election-related mediation and dispute resolution, targeting faith-based organisations and community peace actors in the country.

In his introductory remarks, Prof. Sawyer congratulated the new ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Gen. Francis Behazin, on his appointment and formally welcomed him to his first observation assignment.

On behalf of the new President of the ECOWAS Commission Jean-Claude Kassi Brou,Commissioner Behazin, who is leading the Commission’s Technical Support Team for the Mission, welcomed the observers and urged them to carry out their assignment with effectiveness and precision.

He said the general elections would mark a major step toward consolidation of peace and democracy in Sierra Leone, and the larger ECOWAS Community, adding that the Commission had provided financial and other forms of support to ensure the success of the electoral process.

The ECOWAS Director of Political Affairs, Dr. Remi Ajibela, and the Head of Electoral Assistance Division Mr Francis Oke, set the tone for the observers’ briefing, by providing them with the historical and political contexts of the Sierra Leone polls, the logistics, security and local contacts.

Members of the Long-Term Observation Core Team also provided the observers with relevant information on the situation report, and also went through the observation Code of Conduct with them.

 

{gallery}ecowassl{/gallery}

Last modified on Tuesday, 06 March 2018 07:12

A group of thieves stole $5 million in cash, which had been due to travel from Brazil to Switzerland aboard a Lufthansa jet, at a large freight airport near Sao Paulo, police said Monday.

The spectacular heist, which took place late Sunday, was completed in a matter of minutes, and authorities have yet to arrest a suspect.

The crooks entered Viracopos International Airport's freight terminal using a pickup on which they had "placed stickers mimicking the runway security company's logo," federal police said in a statement.

Germany-based Lufthansa's plane had been traveling from Guarulhos airport in Sao Paulo and was making a stop at Viracopos - Brazil's biggest freight terminal - with Zurich as its final destination.

The stolen money had been held under the auspices of secure transport provider Brinks, according to the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper.

The daily said five men had threatened security agents on the runway before taking off with the cargo, in barely six minutes.

There was no immediate sign of injuries, the airport said.

Cargo theft is on the rise in Brazil, where most targets are semi-trucks, especially those serving Rio de Janeiro.

Gulf News

President Muhammadu Buhari has said the country must never return to the dark days of import dependence.

He spoke when he received members of the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative at the State House, Abuja.

The President praised members for making a success of the initiative.

Buhari said: “I am extremely impressed by how the programme has evolved since my meeting with His Majesty, the King of Morocco 15 months ago.

 

“I have been monitoring your progress closely. But hearing it first hand and seeing your faces today is truly a wonderful experience.

“In your presentations today, we have heard stories of sacrifices, where all the stake holders agreed that collective progress superseded personal interest.”

He thanked Jigawa State governor and the Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) for their efforts in the initiative’s progress.

“Firstly, let me thank the Governor of Jigawa State who virtually relocated to Abuja to oversee the successful take off of this project. I must also express my profound gratitude to the people of Jigawa State for allowing us to borrow him on this very important national assignment which indeed, has changed the lives of millions of Nigerians across the country.

“I will also congratulate the members of the Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) for their remarkable work to date. Under the able leadership of your President, Thomas Etuh, you were able to produce quality products and make it available and affordable across the country within three months. Although you were all competitors in the past, you all put aside your differences and came together to deliver on this important program. So thank you for putting Nigeria first. You must continue on this track.”

Buhari expressed satisfaction with the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) for its contributions to the initiative.

 

“You moved away from your comfort zone and pushed your capital into the rural economy. I always talk about the endless opportunities in the rural economy if only people would look with an open mind. I will urge you to continue on this track. Unless we create an inclusive and diversified economy, the progress of our country, and its future generations, will always be held hostage by external factors such as global oil prices.

“Special thanks to the three banks. I was told by my Chief of Staff that when this project started, over 15 banks were asked to participate. But only three of you answered this call. I want to ask you to continue to support the PFI expansion plans presented today. Government will continue to work and provide the enabling environment,” the president said.

He said unlike in previous governments where trucks conveying fertiliser would miraculously disappear in transit, none of the 3,333 trucks used for the programme last year went missing.

“I want to assure all participants of the PFI that, we will continue to provide adequate security so that this programme, and its positive impact on Nigeria, is sustained,” Buhari promised.

On the partnership between the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and governors to ensure Nigeria feeds itself, he said: “I want to encourage you to continue on this track. Specifically, you must all support programmes like the PFI and work together to ensure we never return to the dark days of import dependence. I am pleased to hear that already, the CBN is working with the commercial banks on programs that will further expand and enhance the PFI.”

He called for the availability of fertilizer for farmers in the South this rainy season and urged the Ministry of Finance and NSIA to engage the Governors Forum to conclude their orders.

Buhari directed the CBN to work with the commercial banks to ensure affordable capital for farmers and agro dealers.

He also challenged others involved in the value chain to play their parts: “The NSA and the security agencies should be ready to allow and protect the movement of all agricultural goods. Specifically, issues relating to end user certificates must be prioritised.

“The NPA should provide all the necessary support required to expedite the offloading and evacuation of the imported materials.

“And finally, the NSIA and FEPSAN, under the able leadership of the Governor of Jigawa, must ensure quality and affordable fertiliser is available to farmers at the right time.”

 

The Nation 

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described as fictitious the claim by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that it spends N24 billion monthly and N774 million per day on subsidising pump price of fuel for Nigerians.

The party, in a statement on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, described the figures as fictitious.

It said it was ”cleverly fabricated to retire the already exposed stealing of trillions of naira by Presidency cabal and APC interests in secret oil deals”.

The PDP said it is duplicitous for the NNPC to claim a sudden surge in fuel purchase expenses at the same time that the nation faced the ”harshest fuel shortage across the country with Nigerians paying exorbitantly for the product.”

The PDP also called on the Buhari-led administration to come clean on the subsidy issue, which it claimed it had abolised but had apparently re-introduced without appropriate endorsement by the National Assembly.

“Nigerians are shocked by moves by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-controlled Federal Government to cover huge fraud in the Presidency by declaring that it spends a humongous N24 billion monthly (N774million per day) to subsidise fuel in the country. The APC-led Presidency is drawing its deceptive proclivity and concealment of fraud too far; and to think that such is hatched in a sector that is under the direct supervision of President Muhammadu Buhari as minister of petroleum affairs is most disheartening.

“This is the same Presidency that claimed to have abolished fuel subsidy payments and even accused the immediate past administration of alleged corruption in its subsidy management. It is therefore strange that the same government can pull out unimaginable figures and claim it is the cost of subsidy enjoyed by Nigerians.

“How come that with such humongous sums, Nigerians are still paying as high as N250 to N300 per liter on fuel in various parts of the country? We have since charged the Buhari-led Presidency to come out clear on the truth on the administration of subsidy under its watch. The question is; why is the Federal Government cloaking the subsidy regime in secrecy if not to conceal its duplicity?”

“Nigerians need to know; who in the Presidency approved the spending of the said N774million per day as fuel subsidy and who are the benefiting companies? Is the subsidy captured in any appropriation instrument of the National Assembly? What is the cost of landing imported fuel to the depots and at what exchange rate? Where are the details of the subsidy pay-out and the negotiating options and contracts?”

The party also made reference to the claims made by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, detailing questionable deals under NNPC boss, Maikanti Baru.

 

“In reeling out its figures, the Presidency has forgotten that Nigerians are still waiting for its explanations on the leaked memo showing alleged corrupt oil contracts at the NNPC to the tune of N9 trillion ($25billion dollars).

“The Presidency has also refused to offer explanations to the alleged involvement of its officials in various sneaky oil subsidy deals and reported diversion of N1.1trillion worth of crude last year to service APC interests.

“Our take is that Nigerians must be told the truth at all times and not be made to suffer for the fraud being perpetrated by APC interests and the cabal at the Presidency.”

 

 

The Federal Government has extended its searchlight on tax evaders with net-worth properties in highbrow areas of major cities.

The Federal Government on July 1, 2017 granted tax payers a nine-month grace to regularise their tax status under the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS).

Yesterday, a  source in the Presidency told reporters that the government through its data mining agency “Project Lighthouse” had received documents on property owners across the country from state governments.

The first set of property owners that will come under scrutiny for tax compliance are owners of buildings in Maitama, Asokoro, Garki ll, Wuse ll in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and those on Banana Island and its environs Magodo, Lekki, Ikoyi in Lagos state.

 

The source revealed that tax records and bank account details of these property owners are being reviewed by the team of “Project Lighthouse.”

The source said “the extension of the searchlight on these property owners is not unconnected with Illicit Financial Flow (IFF). Most of these people are diverting their incomes to properties and are not paying taxes.”

It was further learnt that some state governments in collaboration with the federal government have provided electronic searchable data base for individual and corporate property owners with the following key information: Name of owner, plot number, location and Certificate of Occupancy (CofO) number.

It was also leant that the federal government is extending the searchlight to other northern states, the south east and the south-south regions.

The decision to go after highbrow property owners the source said, is because “it has been observed that their life style does not reflect in their tax payment.”

Last week, the federal government played to prosecute tax evaders from April 1. Under the VAIDS programme, state governments will be major beneficiaries of the programme because after the recovery, the money will go to the states, which is why the states are cooperating with the federal government on the scheme.

 

The Nation