Rotimi Jacobs, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who is prosecuting the trial of the former governor of Adamawa state, Murtala Nyako, has sought to tender documents used by Murtala Nyako in open 30 different bank accounts. The accounts were allegedly opened with Zenith Bank Plc. between 2011 and 2013.

At the resumed sitting today, Wednesday, Rotimi Jacobs, said that the accounts were opened through the bank’s officer, Olabode Farinoola, who identified himself as a compliant officer.

“Some of the names used by the defendants in opening these accounts are Tropical Agro Farms Clinic Ltd, Redcapet Protocol Ltd, Tower Asset Management Ltd and Government Service Department account.

“Others are office of the secretary to the state government, Muru Ngbula-Joran, Bincola Engineering Service Ltd, Blue Ribbon Service and Travel Tour Ltd and Blue Opal Nigeria Ltd.”

Names on the accounts also include Pagoda Petroleum Marketing Ltd, Pagoda Fortunes Nigeria Ltd, Sebore Farms Extension Service Ltd and Blue Opal Nigeria Ltd (Project account).

Also contained in the names of the accounts are Kikary Investment Ltd, Blue Ribbon Multilink Ltd, Russelley Farms Nigeria Ltd, Agric International Tech Trade (Agrited Ltd) and Amdak Investment Ltd, among others.

However, Counsel to Nyako, Kanu Agabi (SAN), raised an objection to the request to tender the documents on the grounds that the defendants needed to go through the documents before they could be tendered in evidence.

Agabi prayed the court to adjourn the matter to enable the defence to go through the documents to ascertain their authenticity as claimed by the prosecution.

He said “I plead for adjournment to enable the defence to go through the documents the prosecution seeks to tender through the witness.”

Other defence counsel agreed with Agabi’s prayer for adjournment to enable them to go through the documents before being tendered in evidence.

Justice Abang agreed to the prayer and adjourned continuation in the matter until Dec. 14 and Dec. 15 to enable the defence counsel to go through the documents sought to be tendered in evidence.

Murtala Nyako and seven others, including companies, are standing trial before Justice Okon Abang on a 37-count bordering on money laundering.

The charges against the defendants include criminal conspiracy, abuse of office, opening of multiple bank accounts and stealing to the tune of N29 billion.

The defendants were arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

NAN. [myad]

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has admitted that the decision to suspend any further action on directive to introduce price floor for data segment of the telecommunications sector which was scheduled to begin tomorrow, December 1, was due to pressure from Nigerians.
“The decision to suspend this directive was taken after due consultation with industry stakeholders and the general complaints by Consumers across the country.”
In a statement today, the Director of Public Affairs of the NCC, Tony Ojobo said, the Commission has weighed all of these and consequently asked all operators to maintain the status quo until the conclusion of study to determine retail prices for broadband and data services in Nigeria.
He recalled that the Commission wrote to the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) on November 1, on the determination of an interim price floor for data services after the stakeholder’s consultative meeting of October 19.
“The decision to have a price floor was primarily to promote a level playing field for all operators in the industry, encourage small operators and new entrants.
“The price floor in 2014 was N3.11k/MB but was removed in 2015. The price floor that was supposed to flag off on December 1, 2016 was N0.90k/MB.
“In taking that decision, the smaller operators were exempted from the new price regime, by virtue of their small market share. The decision on the price floor was taken in order to protect the consumers who are at the receiving end and save the smaller operators from predatory services that are likely to suffocate them and push them into extinction.
“The price floor is not an increase in price but a regulatory safeguard put in place by the telecommunications regulator to check anti-competitive practices by dominant operators.
“This statement clarifies the insinuation in some quarters that the regulator has fixed prices for data services. This is not true because the NCC does not fix prices but provides regulatory guidelines to protect the consumers deepen investments and safeguard the industry from imminent collapse.
“Before the new suspended price floor of N0.90k/MB, the industry average for dominant operators including MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, EMTS Limited (Etisalat) and Airtel Nigeria Limited was N0.53k/MB.
“Etisalat offered (N0.94k/MB), Airtel (N0.52k/MB), MTN (N0.45k/MB) and Globacom (N0.21k/MB).
“The smaller operators/ new entrants charge the following: Smile Communications N0.84k/MB, Spectranet N0.58k/MB and NATCOMS (NTEL) N0.72k/MB.
“The NCC as a responsive agency of government takes into consideration the feelings of the consumers and so decided to suspend the new price floor.” [myad]

President Muhammadu Buhari has suggested that the only Nigeria can avert the looming social crisis is for the government to properly resettle the two million displaced Nigerians in refugee camps.
The President, who spoke when he had a meeting with the world leader of Tijjaniya Islamic Movement, Sheikh Sharif Mohammed Kabir Ibn Mohammad, at the Aso Rock Presidential villa, Abuja, on Tuesday, lamented the high level of destruction of public institutions in the North East by Boko Haram insurgents.
“Government is faced with the problem of repairing schools, health centres and whole towns. We must repair their schools and recruit teachers otherwise they will become tomorrow’s Boko Haram.”
President Buhari reiterated the importance of justice in the affairs of governance, emphasizing that men and women in authority must show kindness and justice to all the people under them.
The President commended the religious group for the profuse prayers they had rendered for three days in Yola, Adamawa State for the recovery of the economy and peace in the country.
He said that the problem which oil production is currently experiencing in the country and in the global markets has made it imperative for Nigeria to turn to agriculture with full force.
“We are learning the hard way.  The mistake we made was to abandon agriculture.  We came at a time of difficulty the country has never experienced since the civil war.”
President Buhari requested the religious leaders to persuade Nigerians to embrace hard work, endurance and patience, even as he assured that his government will not relent in the effort to achieve self-reliance and security for the nation.
Sheikh Sharif Mohammad commended President Buhari’s sense of justice and concern for the people of Nigeria.
He assured the President that the Tijjaniya movement is in full support of the government and will continue to pray for its success. [myad]

“It will be wrong to fault Nigerian engineers for the failure of refineries. You should blame the political leadership. How can you build and not know how to maintain an asset.”

This was the verdict of President Muhammadu Buhari when, today, Tuesday, he was decorated as Grand Patron of the Nigerian Academy of Engineers (NAE) at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.

President Buhari insisted that individual political leaders should be blamed for Nigeria’s ailing infrastructure, not the engineers who had always been willing to contribute to national development.

According to the President, local engineers contributed more than 90 percent to the design and realization of two refineries, 2,500 km of pipelines and 20 depots in the country during his tenure as minister of petroleum in the mid-1970s. He added that the success of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) was largely hinged on their skills.

“Somehow, every time and anywhere I have served in this country, we found it cost effective to use Nigerian engineers, and we relied on their capacity to understudy, learn and deliver.

“By insisting that we must be cost effective in building infrastructure, we will utilize Nigerian engineers. I respect them a lot, and I know it takes time to be trained as an engineer.”

He stressed that he will heavily utilize the talents and skills of local engineers to rebuild ailing infrastructure across the country, describing the engineers as ‘‘competent and cost effective.’’

According to the President, well-trained and highly experienced engineers had contributed immensely to the infrastructural development of the country, and that they remain indispensable.

The President of the NAE, Mrs. Joanna Maduka, said that science, technology and innovation were the key drivers of growth across the globe, even as she asked the Federal Government to explore and engage the multiple engineering talents in the country for more purposeful results.

“For the country to attain sustainable growth status, the Nigerian engineers need to be adequately engaged in planning, policy formulation, consultancy and construction, as well as industrial process of production and manufacturing.”

Mrs. Maduka commended the anti-corruption fight of the President which she said would turn around the fortunes of the economy.  [myad]