The action plan was presented at the virtual meeting of the FEC that was presided by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday, August 12, 2020.

While paving a way for gender responsive climate change initiatives in the country, the National Action Plan is expected to provide guidance to the implementation of different environment and climate change actions to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government at all levels, including the private sector.

The National Action Plan is the outcome of a collaboration involving the Department of Climate Change of the Federal Ministry of Environment, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Women Environment Programme (WEP) and Both Ends.

environewsnigeria

The Unity Bank Plc admitted on Thursday that the $2.2 million received from former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr Bello Adoke SAN, was for repayment of a N300M naira he obtained from the bank.

Former Acting Managing Director of he bank Mr Rislanudeen Mohammed made the confirmation at the federal high court in Abuja during the ongoing trial of Adoke and oil magnate Alhaji Aliyu Abubakar on alleged corruption changes.

This is coming as trial judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo, warned reporters to stop linking the trial with Malabu Oil issue, adding that they have access to court records and should ask if they need clarification.

Adoke and the businessman, Abubakar are standing trial on a 14 count amended criminal charge bordering on alleged money laundering and corruption preferred against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Mohammed, a second witness of the EFCC in his evidence told the court how Adoke obtained a loan of N300M from the bank and the efforts he made to ensure Adoke repaid the loan.

He said that the loan was finally liquidated when Adoke handed over to him a sum of $2.2 million and that when converted to naira, it exceeded the principal loan amount.

The EFCC witness further disclosed that the former AGF collected the balance and closed the account after the bank deducted all necessary interest regarding the transaction.

Under cross examination by Adoke’s lawyer, Chief Kanu Agabi SAN, the witness admitted accepting $2.2 million dollars on behalf of the bank to liquidate the loan.

He further stated that the $2.2 million was not a proceed of crime because it was in repayment of a loan Adoke obtained from the bank.

“I received the money as an agent of the bank. The money is not available to be confiscated because it is not a proceed of crime.

“I have no reason to believe it is a proceed of crime. The money is not in Adoke’s account because it belongs to the bank”, he said.

The witness further told the court that collecting the money from Adoke’s house did not in anyway constitute an offence because he acted as an agent of the bank.

Testifying further, the witness said upon the full payment of the loan, the title deed used as security by the bank was released by the bank to the second defendant as an indication that the loan has been fully defrayed.

Earlier, the first prosecution witness, a Manager in charge of foreign exchange trade at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Clement Osagie, tendered foreign exchange transaction rates covering August, September and October, 2013 and was admitted as exhibits.

Under cross examination by Olalekan Ojo SAN, lawyer to the second defendant, the witness who stated that the documents tendered were generated from the electronic system of the CBN, said he was not a personnel of the Information Technology (IT) department of the CBN.

Answering a question, Osagie said that the CBN’s licenced Bureau de Change (BdC) operators file report of transactions in CBN forex which are kept by the Trade and Exchange department but he cannot talk on the activities of the BdC.

While admitting that he does not know the defendants in the case, he disclosed that his statement to the EFCC was made after the last court’s proceedings, adding that, “I thought I would just come and tender the documents before the court and go”.

Trial however has been adjourned to September 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 for continuation of cross examination of the second prosecution witness.

Director-General of Nigerian Copyright Commission, Mr John Asein, has replied his detractors and accusers, who alleged that he was keeping another employment and drawing salaries from both ends long after his retirement.

The NCC boss was accused of keeping the position of the Executive Director of Reproduction Rights Society of Nigeria, a collective management organisation regulated by the commission, a practice, which outrightly violates the public service rules and the code of conduct for public officers.

The economic confidential search further reveals that contrary to the said allegations, Mr Asein had on January 15, 2019 formally resigned from REPRONIG through a letter addressed to Chairman of the Board, Prof Olu Obafemi.

Further investigation reveals that in accepting Asein’s resignation, Obafemi appealed to him to continue rendering a free service of assisting REPRONG in the collection and disbursements of incoming funds as pro-bono project coordinator to receive and distribute project funds to the beneficiary partners.

Meanwhile, in an official memo written to the Board and sighted by Economic Confidential, Mr Asein among other things said the board could not meet because the Chairman of Copyright Commission, Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, said he was waiting for a formal report of an investigation by the Federal Ministry of Justice on a petition of conflict of interest against the DG.

The DG NCC’s memo to Jaja further reads, “ With due respect, I wish to note that while the Chairman has repeatedly drawn the attention of the board members to a petition against me, he is not placing the matter before the board to determine the next line of action. Rather, the Chairman has severally by-passed the supervisory Ministry and the Board to initiate his own petitions based on the documents he claimed to have ‘received’”

He also said that he was aware that the Chairman in the month of May 2020 again wrote to the DSS office and he has since lodged a report of the development with the parent ministry of justice.

According to him, he has no doubt that the same letters must have gone to the presidency as well as security and anti-corruption agencies in line with the proclamation of Chief Tony Okoroji at a press conference that he held at COSON House, Ikeja, Lagos on March 10, 2020.

The memo to the Board Chairman further stated that on or about Sunday, February 2nd, 2020, the Chairman of the Board called him to tell him that based on damning petitions from stakeholders, the minister was considering suspending him from office. He said in view of his reputation and goodwill, he should not risk having Chief Okoroji go public and smear his reputation and suggested he should instead consider putting in a letter of resignation to avoid embarrassment that would follow a ministerial action, only to discover later that the minister’s intended actions were not true.

In the said memo, the DG also said the Chairman had reached out to the various in-house unions in the commission with a view to obtaining information from them or instigating them against management all in a bid to have him removed from office as D-G and to reverse the decision to audit the accounts of COSON.

Checks also reveal that the DG of NCC in the memo accused the Chairman of plagiarising his manuscript sent to him in the course of his duties with him. He said In August 2019, the Chairman published a book: Compendium of Nigerian Copyright Law Reports 2019. He noted that two cases out of the 6 cases in that publication were plagiarized from the manuscript he had emailed to him on June 23, 2019. He said rather than own up to the infraction, even though he was willing to overlook it, the Chairman treated him with disdain and brushed the matter aside and later threatening further action against him.

Meanwhile, Asein told the Board members that intelligence report indicate that high-profile pirates have resolved to mobilize all resources available to support the ongoing fight against the commission in the hope that they can work together to remove him from office.

The National Broadcasting Commission has fined Nigeria Info 99.3 FM the sum of five million naira for unprofessional conduct.

According to a statement signed and released by the management of NBC, the action was due to the radio’s programme that aired on Monday, August 10.

Recall that in an interview with a Lagos-based FM Radio aired on August 10, Mr Mailafia, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, had alleged that one of the Northern governors is a Commander of Boko Haram in Nigeria

Read the full statement below:

THE NATIONAL BROADCASTING COMMISSION FINES Nigeria Info 99.3FM FOR UNPROFESSIONAL BROADCAST

The National Broadcasting Commission has noted with grave concern, the unprofessional conduct of Nigeria Info 99.3FM, Lagos, in the handling of the Programme, “Morning Cross Fire”, aired on August 10, 2020, between 8.30am and 9.00am. The station provided its platform for the guest, Dr. Mailafia Obadiah, to promote unverifiable and inciting views that could encourage or incite to crime and lead to public disorder.

The Commission, again, wishes to reiterate that Broadcasters hold Licenses in trust for the people. Therefore, no Broadcast Station should be used, to promote personal or sectional interests at the expense of the people.

Dr. Mailafia Obadia’s comments on the “Southern Kaduna Crisis”, were devoid of facts and by broadcasting same to the public, Nigeria Info 99.3FM, is in violation of the following sections of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code:

3.1.1 No broadcast shall encourage or incite to crime, lead to public disorder or hate, be repugnant to public feelings or contain offensive reference to any person or organization, alive or dead or generally be disrespectful to human dignity;

3.1.2 Broadcasting shall promote human dignity, therefore, hate speech is prohibited;

3.3.1 (a) The broadcaster shall ensure that any information given in a programme, in whatever form, is accurate;

3.3.3.1(b) The Broadcaster shall ensure that all sides to any issue of public

interest are equitably presented for fairness and balance;

3.11.1(a) The broadcaster shall ensure that language or scene likely to encourage or incite to crime, or lead to disorder, is not broadcast;

3.11.1(b) No programme contains anything which amounts to subversion of constituted authority or compromises the unity or corporate existence of Nigeria as a sovereign state;

5.4.1(f) The Broadcaster shall not transmit divisive materials that may threaten or compromise the indivisibility and indissolubility of Nigeria as a sovereign state.

Consequent on these provisions and in line with the amendment of the 6thedition of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, Nigeria Info 99.3FM Lagos, has been fined the sum of N5,000,000.00 (Five Million Naira), only.

This is expected to serve as a deterrent to all other broadcast stations in Nigeria who are quick to provide platform for subversive rhetoric and the expositions of spurious and unverifiable claims, to desist from such.

The Commission wishes to put it on record that it will not hesitate to suspend the Broadcast Licence of broadcast stations that continue to breach the Code.

Stations are, by this statement, admonished to desist forthwith, from airing unwholesome content, or be ready to face appropriate sanctions.

Signed:

MANAGEMENT

Aliyu Umaru, who chained his 12-year-old son, Jibrin, for two years in Kebbi has been charged for cruelty.

Kebbi Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO), DSP Nafiu Abubakar, disclosed this in a statement.

According to him: ”The Kebbi State Police Command wishes to inform members of the general public that on the 09/08/2020 at about 1440hrs, information revealed that, one Jibrin Aliyu,male, aged,12 years of Badariya area, Birnin Kebbi was tied with a rope alongside with animals and chickens for a period of two years after demise of his biological mother without treatment and feeding in their residence.

“On the receipt of the report, detectives attached to the Divisional Police Headquarters, Birnin Kebbi, swiftly rushed to the scene, rescued the victim and took him to Sir Yahyah Memorial Hospital, Birnin Kebbi for medical attention.

”In the course of investigation, it was discovered that the victim, Jibrin Aliyu is a patient of Down Syndrome and his father, Aliyu Umaru has admitted to have tied him with a rope because he had taken him to various native doctors for medication up to the extent of selling some of his properties but all in vein.

“Instead of his father to continue with his medication, he decided to subject him to such inhumane and degrading treatment in order to prevent him from roaming about in the town, stoning peoples’ vehicles as well as injuring himself which could lead to his death.

”In the light of the above Aliyu Umaru was found culpable of being cruel to his son and has been charged to Court accordingly.”

Thenigerialawyer

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) says it generates N3 billion revenue weekly from stamp duty collection.

This stamp duty revenue is generated weekly from May 2020 to date from Deposit Money Banks (DMBs).

Executive Chairman of the FIRS, Muhammad Nami told the House of Representatives Committee on finance on Tuesday in Abuja.

The purpose of the meeting with the legislators was to resolve the face-off between the FIRS and the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) over stamp duty collection, and the fate of the N58 billion revenue generated from February 2016 to April, 2020.

The Session which was chaired by the Chairman Finance Committee of the House of Representatives, Hon. James Abiodun Faleke include other members of the committee, Post- Master General of the Federation Dr. Ismail Adebanjo Adewusi, NIPOST board Chairman Barr. Maimuna Yaya Abubarkar and other top officials of the postal agency and FIRS officials.

Nami said the FIRS was able to generate this much revenue from a single stream of stamp duty collection from DMBs because the Service had deployed a new technology to track and capture such revenue straight into the federation account.

The technology deployed by the FIRS Nami said is the Application Programming Interface (API) technology solution, an – online real time technology that makes collection of Stamp Duties easier.

Nami said when he assumed office in December 2019, the FIRS discovered over N30 billion in the NIPOST Stamp duty Account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The account was opened in 2016 specifically to warehouse revenue from stamp duty collection.

However, by April 2020, the balance in the account had grown to N58 billion because of the deployment of the API by the FIRS. Money in the stamp duty account by May 2020 was transferred to the federation account following instructions given to the CBN by the FIRS to do so.

Since then, both the FIRS and the NIPOST have been at daggers drawn over who controls stamp duty collection and invariably the money which accrues from the collection.

Nami said payment of Stamp Duties collection in Nigeria dates back 94 years ago, stressing that stamp duty had always been part of the revenue schedule of tax authority.

He regretted that the differences in who controls stamp duty collection between both NIPOST and FIRS had degenerated a public spat to between the two agencies describing the development as “unnecessary and unhelpful”.

According to him, “the FIRS regrets that as agency of the government, FIRS and NIPOST allow a simple situation to degenerate to media exposure”.

In his submission, Postmaster General/Chief Executive Officer of NIPOST, Dr. Ismail Adebanjo Adewusi described the feud between FIRS and his agency as needless.

According to him, “as prelude, it’s important to make this remark. NIPOST is not a tax collecting agency. We are not in the business of collecting taxes, that’s not our mandate. But our role in stamp duty is clearly stated in the law.

“The issue is, the Finance Act, 2019 did not in any way stop NIPOST from its mandate. In spite of amendment to finance Act, it has not affected the responsibility of NIPOST. There is no fight between NIPOST and FIRS over tax collection”, he said.

He however insisted that, the responsibility of procuring stamp rests with NIPOST but appealed that, the agency is entitled to its share of the stamp duty proceeds it collected and domiciled in the CBN from 2016 to 2020.

He told the Finance committee that “all the monies that accrued to the account include proceeds of stamp sales. In the spirit of peace, we want FIRS to look at the issue. We deserve in sharing cost of collection. At the initial meeting, FIRS said they will give us 30 percent and take 70 percent, we said no”.

Earlier in his opening remarks by Chairman, Finance Committee of the House of Representatives Hon. Abiodun Faleke said the committee was embarrassed by the open engagement of the two government agencies in addressing the issue.

According to him, “as a committee responsible for overseeing finance agencies, we decided to call for this dialogue to see if the agencies are doing the bidding of the law”.

He said having heard presentations by both sides; it would be fool hardy for the committee to just take a decision. “We will go back, look at all legal issues raised and reconvene.”

A Legal Practitioner identified as Obianuju Ekejiuba was intercepted and arrested by the operatives of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at Abuja while on her way to allegedly supply a parcel of 500grams of Indian hemp to consumers.

In what is now the new trend with people fainting while being interrogated, the NTA Reporter, Iliyasu Yakubu, asked the legal practitioner why she was into drug peddling, she simply slumped in response to his question.

She was led back to the office after officers of the NDLEA gave first aid treatment to her theatrics.

Thenigerialawyer

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday walked back its threat to suspend the September 19 governorship election in Edo State over threats of violence, explaining that the rethink was based on the implication of a constitutional crisis such a decision would trigger, if the election is not conducted.

The commission also said out of 14 items required for the preparations of the governorship election, nine had been implemented.

It justified deregistration of some political parties, explaining that they have no verifiable addresses while their telephone lines were traceable to business centres.

Speaking on a television programme yesterday, the INEC National Commissioner for Information and Chairman of Voter Education, Mr. Festus Okoye, assured the electorate that the September 19 governorship election will go ahead as planned as the political parties have complied with INEC’s notice over threats of violence.

“INEC is progressively moving ahead with the September 19 Edo State governorship election. There are fourteen items for the election and nine of them have been implemented and none sensitive materials have been deployed. We are proceeding with the election as planned.

“The political parties on their own are complying with the commission’s warning on violence and we have also observed a change from the threats of violence. So, we are moving ahead with the election,” Okoye stated.
According to him, there will be a constitutional crisis if the election is not conducted because Section 178 (2) stipulates the timeline for the election to be conducted.

He stated that the Edo State governorship election must be conducted before October 13, or else, there would be a constitutional crisis.
He added that the political parties are “pulling out of their threats of violence and INEC is, therefore, going ahead with the governorship election as planned.”

Okoye, who explained why some of the registered political parties were deregistered, said in November 2019, the commission wrote the political parties but discovered that they had no verifiable addresses.

“When INEC put a telephone call to their registered telephone numbers, we discovered that the lines were ringing as telephone lines of some business centres and some of them have no verifiable office addresses,” he said.

He said most of the political parties were deregistered because they did not meet the constitutional requirements of Section 225(a), which states that any political party that did not score a 25 per cent vote in one local government election, or 25 per cent in any local government during a governorship election breached the law.

He said the law prescribed that it should be on votes scored by the political party and not the capacity to win votes, adding that capacity to win votes is futuristic, while the extant laws are insisting on actual votes scored.

He denied knowledge that INEC deregistered some of the political parties despite court orders barring the commission from doing so.

He denied that INEC deregistered any political party that is in any tribunal challenging the outcome of any election.

According to him, “INEC allowed for a full circle of the tribunals to be finished before it commenced the deregistration processes of the defaulting political parties.”

He said there was no record before it that one of the deregistered political parties, KOWA Party, could win a councillorship seat in any part of the country.

Edo Assembly Complex Unsafe for Sitting, Say 17 Lawmakers

The group of 17 members of Edo State House of Assembly, yesterday met in an undisclosed location and condemned alleged destruction of the legislative complex, describing it as unsafe for them to sit.

They also called on security agents to evict hoodlums from the complex in order to create a conducive atmosphere for the conduct of legislative business.

They, however, set up a five-man committee to investigate the removal of three local government chairmen by the state Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki.

They described the sacking of the chairmen as an infringement on their fundamental human rights, abuse of office and political victimisation.

Their speaker, Hon. Victor Edoror, said the presence of the hoodlums was a desecration of the House of Assembly, making it unsafe for them to sit.

According to the resolutions of the lawmakers sent to journalists via WhatsApp, the lawmakers called on the police to sack all those they said were occupying the Assembly complex.

The lawmakers also passed a resolution, mandating the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Zone 5, Mr. Dibal Yakadi; Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Johnson Kokumo; state Director of Department of State Services (DSS) and other relevant security agencies to evict the said hoodlums from the legislative complex.

Edoror said: “The state government under the guise of consolidated renovation has destroyed the roof of the building, making the place inhabitable to the extent that the hallowed chambers have been messed up and valuables carted away.

“We hereby ask the state government to desist from such act of vandalism of the building.

“The relevant security agencies – AIG, Zone 5; Commissioner of Police, and DSS are hereby mandated to evacuate the hoodlums before they turn the state and the assembly premises into a lawless state.”

He said the lawmakers also received three petitions brought before it through the law firm of Ehiogie West-Idahosa Law Chamber, signed by Mr. Emos Osawaru, over what he described as the unlawful removal of the Chairmen of Etsako East, Mr. Oremiyu Momoh; Esan West, Mr. Patrick Aguinede; and Etsako West, Mr. Yakubu Musah.

According to him, “The petitions described the removal of the three elected council chairmen as an infringement of their fundamental human rights and abuse of office and political victimisation on the part of Governor Godwin Obaseki

“The speaker, having listened to the content of the letter, set up a five-man committee to investigate the matter and report back to the house within two weeks before adjourning to Tuesday, August 18, 2020.”

The member, representing Uhumwonde State Constituency, Hon. Washington Osifo, is the chairman of the committee.

Other members are Hon. Ebenezer Okaka, Owan East; Hon. Nosayaba Okunbor, Orhiomwon East; Hon. Dumez Ugiagbe; and Hon. Christopher Okaeben, Oredo East.

As at press time, efforts to get Edo State government and of the state police command’s reactions proved abortive as their officials did not take their calls or reply the text messages sent to them.

Culled from Thisday