Author: Oluwasegun Adesuyi

BREAKING: FG uncovers 123 Companies, 33 BDCs funding Terrorism in Nigeria

 

The Nigerian Government has disclosed that a total of 123 companies, 33 Bureau-De-Changes and 96 individuals have been linked to terrorism financing in the country.

The Country’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed disclosed this in a statement sent to POLITICS NIGERIA on Thursday morning.

The controversial minister revealed that the suspects were uncovered by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit. In his words: “For its part, the analysis by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), in 2020-2021, revealed 96 financiers of terrorism in Nigeria, 424 associates/supporters of the financiers, involvement of about 123 companies and 33 bureaux de change, in addition to identifying 26 suspected bandits/kidnappers and 7 co-conspirators.”

“The analysis has resulted in the arrest of 45 suspects who will soon face prosecution and seizure of assets. Also, from its analysis of tax evasion and tax avoidance linked to corruption, NFIU has identified N3,909,707,678,112.43 in VAT and N3,737,918,335,785.82 in Withholding Tax due to the Government.”

“NFIU has also sent 1,165 intelligence reports on cases of corruption, money laundering and other serious
offences to 27 domestic agencies for investigation, prosecution and asset recovery. On terrorism financing, NFIU had intelligence exchanges on Boko Haram, ISWAP, banditry, kidnapping and others with 19 countries. During the same period, 2020-2021, the organization returned fraudulently-obtained funds totalling US$103,722,102.83, 3,000 Pound Sterling; 7,695 Singapore Dollar and 1,091 Euros to 11
countries of victims who came into the country.”

 

BREAKING: Deputy Senate Minority Leader Bwacha Dumps PDP For APC

 

President Muhammadu Buhari (middle) receives Emmanuel Bwacha, Deputy Senate Minority Leader, to the APC.

The Deputy Minority Leader of the Senate, Emmanuel Bwacha, has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Thursday.

 

Governor Mai Mala Buni, Chairman of Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the APC, led Bwacha to President Muhammadu Buhari who received the senator to the ruling party.

More details to come…

 

AFCON 2021 Third-Place Final Rescheduled – CAF

 

The African Cup of Nations, AFCON 2021 third-place match day has been rescheduled.
A statement released late Wednesday by the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) confirmed that the match which was originally scheduled for Sunday 6 February 2022, is now moved to Saturday, 5 February 2022.

The third-place game will be played at Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium and will kick off at 20: 00 hrs, Naija News reports.

The match reschedule according to the CAF statement came to be after discussions with the Government of Cameroon and the Local Organising Committee (LOC).

The statement read, “The CAF TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Organising Committee, after discussions with the Government of Cameroon and the Local Organising Committee (LOC), decided to move the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon 2021 third and fourth place originally scheduled for Sunday 06 February 2022 to Saturday, 05 February 2022.

“The match, to be played at Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium, will kick-off at 20h00.”

Burkina Faso would now await a loser between Egypt and Cameroon to contest a third place in the ongoing AFCON games.

Senegal had on Wednesday night ended the Terenga Lions run to the AFCON final after beating them to 3-1.

While for the final, Senegal will hope to meet a winner between Cameroon and Egypt to battle the African tournament title, Naija News reports.

Meanwhile, the referee who officiated the match between Tunisia and Mali in the ongoing African Cup of Nations, Janny Sikazwe has revealed who told him to end the game ahead of official minutes.

Naija News recalls that there was an outrage on January 12 after Sikazwe blew the final whistle before the last minutes of the second half of the game.

The Zambian official sparked controversy when he ended the group-stage fixture a few minutes earlier.

Speaking in an interview days after, Sikazwe said God had told him to bring the match to an end and that he could have died of heatstroke if the match went on any longer.

Naija News understands that the Tunisian ten were already losing 1-0 and playing against 10 men when Sikazwe ended the match that day.

The Zambian man left members of their coaching staff furious and they stormed onto the pitch to confront the referee.

However, Sikazwe has now thanked God for saving him from death.

 

‘My life is under threat’ – Ogun Governor cries out

 

Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun on Wednesday, said criminals have threatened to go after him, following the anti-crime battle of his government.

Abiodun had on January 21, 2022, re-launched the state joint security outfit, code-named OP-MESA, where he declared war on kidnappers and internet scammers commonly called ‘Yahoo Boys’ in the state.

But the governor, while speaking in Abeokuta, hinted that the hoodlums are feeling the heat of the newly relaunched security outfit.

He spoke at the “Ogun, Oyo Joint Security Meeting”, bilateral session put together by Ogun and Oyo State Governments to finding solutions to the insecurity challenges in their states.

The governor dared the criminals, saying “I am waiting for them.”

He said “After we launched our OP-MESA last week, I understand that they have been working extremely hard, in fact, what I hear is that those criminals are now saying that Dapo Abiodun is making life unbearable for them and that they are going after me, well, let me assure you that I will continue to make life intolerable and unbearable for you and I’m waiting for you.”

 

Fuji music icon, K1 The Ultimate Loses Father

 

Lagos-based Fuji musician, King Wasiu Ayinde Omogbolahan Marshall better known as K1 the Ultimate, has been thrown into mourning after losing his father to the cold hands of death.
Late Mefu of Igan, Otunba Samson Aremu Rufai was a prominent community leader in Ago-Iwoye.

He reportedly passed away at the age of 84 years.

According to reports, Otunba Rufai died in the early hours of Wednesday, 26th January 2022, after battling briefly an undisclosed illness.

He was the Mefu of Igan Quarter, one of the eight Quarters in Ago-Iwoye and reigned for 43 years.

It should be noted that Otunba Samson Rufai assumed the position of Mefu of Igan Quarter in 1979 and during his time recorded many gigantic developments.

He was survived by many children, including Otunba Sesan Rufai, the Chief Executive Officer of Goldmyne TV and Limelite Hotels.

 

Shina Peller’s Security Withdrawn For Seeking To Scrap NSCDC

 

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has allegedly withdrawn its personnel attached to Shina Peller after he called for the dissolution and merger of the corps with the Nigeria Police Force.
The withdrawal is coming after Peller, who represents lseyin/ltesiwaju/ Kajola/lwajowa Federal Constituency in Oyo State at the House of Representatives, proposed the bill via National Security And Civil Defence Corps (Repeal and Transition) Bill 2022, which passed the first reading on Tuesday.

The bill seeks to develop regulations and implement procedures for the transfer of assets and personnel of the Corps to the Nigeria Police Force.

Also, the bill will ensure the establishment of a transition management committee to oversee the security agency before its collapse into the Police

Speaking on the floor of the House on Tuesday, Peller said he sponsored the bill in order to address the fragmentation of security resources across multiple competing agencies in the country.

While noting that the multiplicity of security agencies is counterproductive and a waste of scarce resources, Peller urged the Green Chamber to ensure the successful passage of the proposed legislation.

Peller noted that the functions of the NSCDC have become a duplication of the police and has led to avoidable conflicts, adding that the duties of the NSCDC are being performed by the police.

He, however, assured Nigerians that no hob will be lost as a result of the scrapping of the agency, noting that assets and personnel of the agency will be absorbed into the police.

 

U.S. Court Postpones Hushpuppi Sentencing, Release New Date

 

The sentencing of self-confessed internet fraudster, Ramon Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi, has been postponed by the United States District Court till July 11, 2022.
Judge Otis D. Wright in Los Angeles granted the order after the lawyers to Hushpuppi led by Louis Shapiro called for a postponement.

Hushpuppi is expected to remain in custody in the intervening period of the delay.

It was earlier reported that the sentencing of Hushpuppi was previously fixed for February 14 over his fraudulent activities.

Recall that the internet fraudster pleaded guilty last year to the charges, seeking a lighter sentence.

The court document released earlier stats, “At the request of counsel, the sentencing is continued to July 11, 2022, at 11:00 a.m.”

This is coming after the Police Service Commission ordered the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, to investigate the link between suspended head of the Intelligence Response Team, Abba Kyari and internet fraudster, Abba Ramon, popularly known as Hushpuppi.

The commission directed the IGP to submit the report of the fresh probe in two weeks time for the PSC Standing Committee on Discipline to review.

The decision was reached following the advice of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN.

 

 

Olamide hints of fresh collaboration with Wande Coal

 

Rapper Olamide has hinted a fresh collaboration with songster Wande Coal.

Olamide hinted of the collaboration with a post shared on his Instagram page.

The song, entitled ‘Hate Me,’ will be released on Wednesday, February 23, 2022.

 

Why we restricted accounts owned by some Nigerians – Binance CEO

 

Binance Chief Executive Officer, Changpeng Zhao, has explained that the controversial restriction of accounts on its platform is due to ongoing measures to prevent fraudulent activities.

In a statement addressed to the Nigerian community, published on Sunday, Mr Zhao said 281 Nigerian cryptocurrency accounts were affected by these proactive measures.

“Some 281 Nigerian accounts have been affected by these personal account restrictions with approximately 38% of these cases restricted at the request of international law enforcement,” he said.

Mr Zhao emphasised that the Nigerian community is one that brings great pride, adding that since the inception of Binance, Nigeria and Africa at large have been “very special markets to us and for crypto.

The CEO’s comment came days after many traders of cryptocurrencies took to Twitter to vent their anger and grievances over the various unusual activities they noticed on their wallets on the Binance platform.

Many users of the platform, especially Nigerians and other Africans, last Wednesday alleged that they had been deprived of access to their wallets (account) without significant reasons.

Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange platform where digital currency holders can transact seamlessly in a peer-to-peer (P2P) pattern.

“On hearing the concerns raised by the community, I decided to write to re-emphasize our commitment to you,” Mr Zhao said in his statement Sunday.

While apologising for the inconvenience caused by delays in resolving customer support requests, Mr Zhao stated that “user security remains our top priority.”

He said: “We love and are devoted to our Nigerian community, but we must ensure that our users are safe. As such, protection mechanisms such as KYC, anti-money laundering measures, collaboration with law enforcement, and account restrictions are in place to ensure our community remains protected and that fraudulent activity is prevented.

“This is a global approach applied in every country.”

Ongoing efforts
According to the statement, Mr Zhao said regardless of the bitter experiences, “we owe it to you, our users, to deliver the experience you deserve.”

In its bid to rebuild the trust of Nigerians on its brand, Mr Zhao said the company is ensuring speedy resolutions of ongoing user cases tied to account restrictions.

“Currently, we have resolved 79 cases and continue to work through others. All non-law enforcement-related cases will be resolved within two weeks,” he said.

He noted that the company is devoting more customer service personnel to the region, and that it will dedicate additional risk agents with a great understanding of the Nigerian market.

“Rest assured, we are working hard to attend to all customer service requests,” he explained.

Newly promoted FIRS senior staff hacked to death by suspected assassins in Lagos

 

Mrs Ibironke Oluremi Adefila (nee Jobi), a senior staff member of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), was brutally murdered in Lagos by assailants thought to be assassins.

Adefila was reportedly on her way to work in the early hours of Friday, January 28, 2022, when she was confronted by heavily armed assailants opposite Awalu group of schools in Laketu, Ikorodu.

According to onlookers, a voice among the armed men was heard yelling, “that’s her, that’s her,” and they promptly attacked her and chopped her to death on the spot with an axe, cutlass, and knife.

Although some good Samaritans attempted to take her to the hospital in the hope that she would survive the senseless mutilation, she had lost a great deal of blood due to the severe injuries she had sustained on every area of her body, including her head and spine.

The deceased’s family has pleaded with the police and other appropriate authorities to expedite the investigation into their daughter’s death.

Alaba Jobi, speaking on behalf of the family, stated, “What made the crime even more shocking and terrible was that she was scheduled to attend a celebration that day in the office to celebrate her promotion to a new level in her office.”

“Many have wondered, ‘What could have prompted this brutal and heinous murder?’”

“Another surprise was that none of her personal items or body parts were stolen.

“Police must act immediately to apprehend those responsible for this horrible act. The mother of five children should not perish in vain. Mr Adefila, the husband, also seeks justice,” stating that Ikorodu, which was once a tranquil neighbourhood, has been blighted by a slew of criminal activities that has become nearly permanent in the area.

“All relevant parties should assist the Lagos Police command in unraveling the mysteries surrounding Ikorodu’s security concerns, particularly the death of Mrs Ibironke Oluremi Adefila,” he added.

Adekunle Ajisebutu, the state police command’s spokesperson, confirmed the incident and stated that the state’s police are “working vigorously to apprehend the offenders.”

Additionally, he added that Abiodun Alabi, the state commissioner of police, has authorized a thorough inquiry into the event.

 

 

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