The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has detained the Edo state chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Dan Orbih as it continues its search for N700 Million given to the state chapter of the party out of the Diezani $115 Million bribe money.
The anti graft agency is said to have also extended invitation to 18 local government officials of the party.
Other persons earlier invited in connection to the N700 Million bribe money were a former Deputy Governor, Lucky Imasuen, Tony Aziegbemin and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.
Imasuen had told newsmen that the he was only invited to a branch of Fidelity Bank to witness collection of the money and that the money was taken to the House of a PDP leader where the money was shared.
Pastor Ize-Iyamu also explained that he did not touch a kobo out of the money and that he gave the EFCC list of those that signed as the money was being shared.
Sources said Pastor Ize-Iyamu has been invited again but close aides to Pastor Ize-Iyamu said he traveled to Lagos.
It was gathered that the EFCC has asked those indicted to refund the money. [myad]
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on has said that the perennial power problem in Africa could be solved through alternative energy sources like fossil fuels and coal.
Vice President Osinbajo, who spoke on Tuesday at the High Level Roundtable on the theme: Energy and Climate Change at the ongoing general meeting of the African Development Bank (ADB) in Lusaka, Zambia, noted that about 45 percent of Africans don’t have access to power in the world.
Osinbajo wanted the issue of climate change to be taken serious by the leaders, adding: “for us, priority today is development and we have to take development seriously.
“We are faced with a very dire situation and in most of Africa, we simply don’t have power and without power, there is very little that can be done.
“We think that renewable energy and all of the concern about Climate Change are important, but we must priorities development.”
He said that Nigeria is an example of one country enriched with hydro-carbon enriched countries, saying: “we have to leverage all that we can get from fossil fuel, coal is also important.”
According to him, the arguments about renewable energy are well-noted and Nigeria has the capacity for, and is going to tap into solar energy, stressing: “we are dealing with a major (developmental) problem.”
The Vice President said that it is possible that the twin issue of energy development and environmental concerns could be taken on simultaneously.
African leaders, he noted, needed the technology from the developed countries to make clean coal.
“We think that we must use our fossil fuel to the maximum. We must use our coal to the maximum, and we simply call on the support of the developed nations that are aggressive about reducing emissions, especially in coal power plants to give us the technology that is required because obviously there is available technology to make coal clean and we simply call upon them to give us that technology.”
While Africa is the least contributor to global emissions, he said that the continent is also the hardest hit by the whole consequences of climate change.
“That is the paradox. But that paradox becomes jeopardy when we are being asked to take the greater burden of resolving the problem of climate change, so we really need the help of the west in particular.”
Speaking on some of the limitations of solar power, the Vice President said: “we must bear in mind that for industry for example, the base load power is critical, the base load power is so much more difficult to get from solar power for example…so we must understand that our immediate need requires the base load power that can move us forward quickly and that we would get from fossil fuel, hydro power and coal fire plants.”
Other speakers at the panel included the presidents of Zambia, Edgar Lungu, and Chad, Idriss Deby Itno, who is also the current Chairman of the African Union.
The President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, Prime Ministers and senior ministers from several other African countries were also in attendance at the formal opening event of the meeting where the President of the ADB, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina observed that the presence of several African leaders at the meeting was an expression of their support for the bank. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians “with the highest sense of responsibility” that this rough moment in the life of Nigeria, will fizzle away, like a candle in the whirlwind. Buhari, who spoke to the fellow Nigerians today, on the removal of fuel subsidy and the consequent increase in the price of same, said that he was speaking from the depth of his heart. In a broadcast speech titled: “Your Sacrifices Not In Vain” with sub title: “I am touch but insist on reduction of the price hike,” the President said that he had chosen to speak to Nigerians directly, whom he described as “my loving country men and women.” He reassured Nigerians that they would not make these sacrifices in vain, noting that the agony they are going through is telling. “I know it. I feel it. I share it. But I assure you, as the President of this great nation, that swore to uphold integrity and honour, Your sacrifices will not be in vain. I assure you with the highest sense of responsibility that this rough moment will fizzle away, like a candle in the whirlwind. “I have chosen this moment to address you, the poor and the rich, the artisan, the cobbler, fishermen and herdsmen, haggling market women, the able and the physically challenged. I speak to the young and the old; I speak to men and women, armed and defenseless people alike. I speak to the people I swore to protect and defend: I speak to you, fellow Nigerians.” Part of the text of President Buhari’s speech goes thus: “From the depth of my heart, I choose to speak to you directly, my loving country men and women. First, let me thank you for your perseverance, your courage, your sense of duty and the sacrifices you commit every day, every hour and every minute. On this day, I want to assure you again, that you have not made these sacrifices in vain. The agony is telling. I know it. I feel it. I share it. But I assure you, as the President of this great nation, that swore to uphold integrity and honour, Your sacrifices will not be in vain. I assure you with the highest sense of responsibility that this rough moment will fizzle away, like a candle in the whirlwind. I have chosen this moment to address you, the poor and the rich, the artisan, the cobbler, fishermen and herdsmen, haggling market women, the able and the physically challenged. I speak to the young and the old, I speak to men and women, armed and defenseless people alike. I speak to the people I swore to protect and defend: I speak to you, fellow Nigerians. You will recall that last year, you gave me the mandate to lead Nigeria. I feel proud about the sacrifices you made, the scorching sun that you defied and the agony of waiting to cast your votes, and in some cases, standing for several hours in order to save the country that was already heading for a shipwreck. It is now one year that I stepped on this throne, after you gave me the opportunity to lead Nigeria. I cherish this and I thank you. Fellow country men and women, today, I stand before you to tell you the truth and nothing but the truth. No doubt, your living experiences through the past years are enough to tell you about the situation in which the country was left in my hands. I want to tell you that since we began this journey, what has kept us going is faith; the faith we have in God, the faith we have in you, derived from the confidence you have in me. I met a country that was comatose, like an aged woman, bleeding from mindless gang rape. The treasury was mindlessly looted, the external reserves plundered. In return, government officials and their collaborators bought mansions abroad, for themselves, their children, their mistress, their aides and even their children yet to be born. It was history’s most malicious onslaught on a decent people. It is regrettable that the consequences on social security, utility services and livelihood of Nigerians remain enormous. The population of the poor and vulnerable has increased tremendously. States’ economies are on life support, almost at the point of death; many of them can no longer meet their obligations and some face the risk of total collapse. There is a particular state that received allocations from the Federal Government, barely enough to pay for diesel needed for a whole month, not to talk of workers’ salaries. Jobs and opportunities for you have shrunk. In fact, workers’ salaries have not been paid for several months in some states. Pensioners continue to wallow in abject poverty in the twilight of their years; the conditions of our public hospitals nose diving into disrepair, the morale of unpaid workers remain at an all time low. Without salaries, how will parents pay the school fees of their wards? Without the required FG allocations, how will states meet their obligations to the teeming population of expectant people? The fact is that state resources have diminished. The price of oil in the international market has compounded the plight of our people. Please note that for the past one year, I have preoccupied myself with recovering these stolen funds kept in some of the darkest secret recesses of Islands and in Europe. By the last count, we are likely to recover the equivalent of half of Nigeria’s entire one year budget or more, from the accounts of people once voted to lead Nigeria and their cronies. Apart from recovering the looted funds, it has come to a point that we also need to make sacrifices to see the greater future that lay ahead. You are not going to make the sacrifices alone. I will make sacrifices. My wife will make sacrifices. My children will do the same. My personal expenditure will be cut. My state-supported finances will be drastically reduced. Half of my monthly salary will go to Children Charity Organisations across the 36 states. My country men and women, I must tell you, we have at hand a key decision. I’m very sorry; this will at first hurt you. But on the long run, you will realize that having a lovely new baby requires come inevitable painful labour. It is on this note that we have taken the rational though painful decision to increase the price of oil from 87 naira. I expect you to be in shock or even embarrassed. I was shocked when the idea was first mooted, but I’m convinced that with a decent and morally upright leadership, I assure you once again, that this sacrifice will not be in vain. I believe that all the over 150 million Nigerians may not know me personally, but at least your massive support for me during the last Presidential election was an indication that you have some good knowledge of my person. I say again: I will NEVER STEAL your money. I will also NOT ALLOW YOUR MONEY TO BE STOLEN. I will use your money judiciously. I will plough this money into great and remarkable ventures that will uplift Nigeria up from her state of economic stupor. I will bring hope from despair. I will put an end to your cries and your unending affliction. I will challenge and daunt tour tormentors. I have given directives, which I’m sure you know my aides will firmly adhere, to roll out palliatives. I will create more jobs. I will rekindle the transportation system, build our long neglected roads, create millions of jobs, rekindle our long suffering railways, our public hospitals, our environment, our bridges, our agrarian sector and above all make life more abundant for you the owners of the country on whose behalf I am here to serve, in a honest and passionate manner. I assure you fellow country men and women, Your sacrifices will not be in vain.” [myad]
After the successful launch of its “10 minutes to charge” G.Power smartphone in Nigeria recently, global innovation and ICT solutions provider, Huawei has launched two affordable mid-range devices, the Huawei GR3 and Huawei GR5, targeting among others young and vibrant professionals on the move.
The new products , according to the technology firm are 4G supported with a sleek metal finishing, and unique features that will cater to a wide range of customers’ preferences.
A testament to remarkable craftsmanship, the Huawei GR3 & GR5 continue Huawei’s tradition of premium mobile devices that have set the industry standard for elegance and performance. With features and specifications comparable to that of some notable Samsung devices, Huawei is no doubt giving industry competition, Samsung a run for its money by making every touch of its devices an interactive experience.
Speaking on the new devices, the Country Manager, Huawei Consumer Business Group Nigeria, Mr. Leo Jiang noted that the Huawei GR3 and GR5 phones were designed to suit the lifestyle for the young and vibrant, as well as professionals on the move.
According to Jiang: “At Huawei, we are constantly thinking of ways to improve our consumer’s experience with our devices and we are very happy with what we have been able to achieve.
“Our consumers will find that the Huawei GR3 and GR5 are faster, stronger, and smarter and have been designed with great attention to detail.”
The Huawei GR3 features an ultra slim design that is comfortable for single handed use & a 160゜wide viewing angle screen, and a choice from three high-end metal color options, including titanium gray, silver and champagne gold.
The Huawei GR3’s 5 inch display is the ultimate in visual experience, paired with a 13 megapixel rear camera and a 5 Mega pixel front camera for amazing panoramic selfies.
The Huawei GR3 is made with aerospace grade material and a solid and powerful octa core processor with 2 GigaBytes of RAM and support for up to 128 GigaBytes of Micro SD Card storage. On the other hand, the beautiful Huawei GR5 will no doubt be popular amongst photography aficionados and tech lovers as its camera comes with an independent metering function, and can adjust highlights and shadows in photos automatically. Users are able to take selfies in 10-level beauty mode, panoramic selfie and a refocus mode.
The Huawei GR5 also comes with the new second generation fingerprint identification technology that’s more comfortable, accurate, and natural to use, whilst allowing you perform simple functions like clear notifications, answer phone calls, or take pictures; even with sweaty hands! [myad]
Thank God that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), one of the two general labour unions in Nigeria, has suspended its lone-ranging nation-wide strike after barely four days of what turned out to be protest marches in some states by a few of its members and jobless people. To be sure, the Ayuba Wabba’s faction of the troubled NLC had called the nation’s workers to rise against Muhammadu Buhari’s government, and bring down the already tottering economy because of the fuel price increase, which government was forced by economic realities to impose on the nation. In suspending the strike on Sunday, the National Executive Council (NEC) of the NLC said that the protest action was informed by the twin issues of the unjustified and illegal hike in electricity tariff and increase in the pump price of petroleum products. It adjudged the protest action to be a success in spite of both internal and external challenges. “INEC reiterated the correctness of its position on the twin-issues of electricity tariff hike and astronomical increase in the pump price of PMS and the hardship they portend for Nigerian masses.” NLC said that before it embarked on strike action, it had anticipated a probable outcome and therefore was not surprised by government’s negative response even as he beat its chest it felt fulfilled by having the presence of mind and courage to identify its mission and fulfilling it. The labour union argued that the strike action was taken in the best interest of the poor and the weak and was able to draw government’s attention to the dangers of relying on importation of petroleum products as a sustainable strategy for making available petroleum products. “Congress will resume negotiations with government on the twin issues of the hike in electricity tariff and an increase in the pump price of petroleum products and any other issue that may arise thereof. “It similarly remains committed to genuine dialogue within the framework of internationally established and recognized principles of representation.” Ironically, in calling out the nation’s workers to down-tools the NLC obviously took the last point it raised – dialogue – for granted. It is on record that the leadership of the NLC stormed out of a meeting which the government officials was holding with stakeholders shortly b efore the strike began. Meaning that the NLC did not exhaust the principle of dialogue but preferred to show its muscle. Secondly, the NLC went ahead to call workers to go on strike at the time even more vital stakeholders such as PENGASSAN and NUPENG that are insiders as far as oil business is concerned, agreed with the government position on removal of fuel subsidy and subsequent increase in fuel price. Even its sister union – Trade Union Congress (TUC), like PENGASSA and NUPENG listened attentively and with open mind to the government, after which they also agreed with the government position. And by calling on workers to go on strike at the time the nation’s economy is in trouble, the Wabba led NLC had simply displayed what can be described as sadistic behavioural trait. How a long drawn strike would have led to the fulfilment of the NLC desire? And what is such desire, especially in a situation where the NLC did not offer its own advice on how to get out of the difficulty the nation was thrown into by many years of mismanagement? The issue of increasing minimum wage for the workers and other demands by the NLC were not new and had never in the past solved the financial challenges of ordinary workers in the country.
So also the issue of using intimidation and combative approach has never in the past bended any government to the wishes of labour unions.
It is on this basis that the NLC and other combative labour unions should learn to attune themselves to modern day negotiating technique, by listening more, contributing more to the ways of finding solution to any problem and being practical, other than resorting to old-school: strike that is likely to create more difficulty for the common man on the street than the people such strike is meant to hurt. [myad]
The Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has empowered hunters in the state with a mandate to stop Fulani herdsmen from grazing in the state. This followed his declared ban on Fulani herdsmen from the grazing of cattle in the state.
The governor said that a Bill will be sent to the State House of Assembly to officially ban grazing in the state.
The position of Fayose followed the killing of two persons in the state by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
In the bid to further prevent the Fulani herdsmen from grazing, Fayose on Monday empowered local hunters in the state. He donated N2.5 million to them and a pick up van for patrol.
He told the hunters at Oke-Ako: “before leaving you today, I will raise for you (hunters) N2.5 million.
“Secondly, I will raise N2.5 million again for the affected families. I want to say it very clearly, everything you want me to do, I will do. Because the moment you are not secured, then I had better resign as a governor.
“If I cannot provide adequate security for you, it is better for me to leave this office.
“The only reason you voted for me is because you know I am competent to do the needful in circumstances like this. Nobody will take Ekiti away from us. This killing of our people must stop. It is deliberate and we must take all actions to stop it. They have killed two, they have killed all of us.
“A fight against one Ekiti man is a fight against everybody. The President must rise up to the challenge and stare this decaying security situation in the face. We cannot continue like this.
“When they defeat you, they will go to the next community. When they defeat that community, they will go to another one.
“This is Ekiti Parapo war and it must be fought in the totality of our spirit. I stand by you.
“I stand for you and that is why you elected me at a time like this. I will not disappoint you.
“Like I said earlier, you want a Pick Up van, today; today I will give you a Pick Up.
“Let it be said, those people behind this herdsmen, we’ll defeat you. We will defeat you.
“Enough of this political herdsmen operating as herdsmen, but are Boko Haram.
“They are coming into South West gradually. We are going to fight you. Anywhere you find a cow that is grazing unnecessarily on our ways, call my attention, we will take them out.
“I am going to the House of Assembly to criminalize grazing in wrong areas. You hide under grazing to kill people. You are operating in the night.
“Where would you tell me someone grazing found AK47? Some people are behind them.
“Using AK 47, you rape my wife, you rape my children. If they attempt it, bring them down!
“Terminate their lives!
“If they claim they want to sleep with your wives, they want to touch your children, bring them down! Bring them down!
“It is a war against Ekiti. It must be fought with the totality of our strength.
“God bless you. I want to reassure you.
“We’ll provide the necessary security to keep you in your community. Don’t run away. Don’t go to another community. It is your home and nobody will have drive you out of your home.” [myad]
“We have told them (militants) to stop the destruction of oil and gas facilities and other critical national assets as it negatively affects the economy with impact on livelihood of the people.
“If they (militants) have grievances, they should take it up with government rather than their current approach, which is not in the best interest of the nation.
“If they continue to choose the path of bombing pipelines (after engagement moves), then we will go after them and deal with the situation appropriately.”
These were the words of the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Abayomi Olonishakin, when he spoke about the Niger Delta Avengers who have been bombing oil and gas installations in the Niger Delta. He at the inauguration of 12 refurbished gun boats and 40-bed space accommodation for troops in Okirika Local Government Area of Rivers State.
He said that the military is currently assessing the situation in the Niger Delta with a view to engaging stakeholders to maintain law and order in the region.
According to him, engagement with militants will involve governors of various states and political leaders in the Niger Delta.
“Government and military is using multi-faceted approach rather than force alone to ensure that resurgent attacks on oil and gas installations are stopped.”
Olonishakin said that efforts are being made to provide more gun boats and other military hardware for troops to maintain 24 hours patrol of about 5,000 creeks and waterways in the region.
The military chief said the provision of military hardware would boost the capacity of Operation Pulo Shield to confront oil theft and illegal bunkering of petroleum products in the region.
“Repair of these gun boats will no doubt improve the capacity of the brigade to meet its responsibility in curtailing criminal acts in our inland waterways,” he added.
Olonishakin commended the Niger Delta Development Commission and the Commander of Army 2 Brigade Port Harcourt, Brigadier General Stevenson Olabanji, for the repair of the boats.
Also, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, said the Armed Forces were currently faced with logistics challenges in its operations in the Niger Delta.
Buratai said, however, that the challenges would not deter troops from continuing to fight the menace of sea piracy, militancy, oil theft and general insecurity in the region.
According to him, the 40-bed space accommodation will serve as an operating base for troops to patrol and respond to crises situations in the area.
Other Service Chiefs at the event included the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas; the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar; and the General Officer Commanding 82 Division, Enugu, Major General Ibrahim Attahiru. [myad]
Nigeria’s Attorney General and minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami has called on the international community to make their countries unsafe for stolen funds being brought for safekeeping. He also called on the countries in which stolen funds are currently lodged to return such funds and assets to their countries of origin. “This has to be international collaboration establishing clear absence of interest in stolen funds and asset by the safe havens jurisdiction for proceeds of corruption through ascertained support to countries of origin of the looted funds and asset by way of facilitating the return of the looted funds and asset with case and elimination of bureaucratic legal and judicial bottlenecks.
The Attorney General, who addressed the 25th Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice at Vienna, Austria on Monday, said that Nigeria is ready and willing to partner with international agencies and individual countries on a bilateral basis to confront crimes and corruption.
“In particular, I call upon the global community to urgently redouble efforts towards strengthening the mechanisms for dismantling safe havens for proceeds of corruption and ensuring the return of stolen funds and assets to their countries of origin.
“These has to be international collaboration establishing clear absence of interest in stolen funds and asset by the safe heavens jurisdiction for proceeds of corruption through ascertained support to countries of origin of the looted funds and asset by way of facilitating the return of the looted funds and asset with case and elimination of bureaucratic legal and judicial bottlenecks.”
The minister’s speech is reproduced here:
Mr. Chairman
On behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, let me start by congratulating you on your election as the chairman of the 25th Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. I have no doubt that under your able leadership the work of the Commission will progress to a successful conclusion. My congratulations also go to other members of the Bureau. I assure you and the Bureau of the support and cooperation of my delegation.
Furthermore, I must seize this opportunity to applaud the Secretariat for providing us with necessary documentation for this conference including the facilitation of the regional preparatory meetings.
Nigeria associates itself with the statements delivered on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, and the Africa Group respectively.
Mr Chairman
Nigeria strongly condemns terrorism in all its ramifications as nothing can justify the wanton destruction of innocent lives and properties that we have witnessed in Nigeria and across the globe. Nigeria re-affirms its determination to work in concert with the international community to fight terrorism.
The recent surge in successes recorded against the Boko Haram sect in the Lake Chad region is attributable, not only to a reinvigorated political leadership in Nigeria, but is also attributable to the fact that we have recognised that greater international collaboration is critical in addressing terrorist activities, including the flow of resources across border to aid their operations.
In this connection, the decision of the four countries of Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Cameroun and Benin to constitute a Multinational Joint Task Force under a centralised command has been critical in forging a common response against Boko Haram and its allies. It is significant that the capacity of Boko Haram to hold territory has been totally decimated our focus now is on dealing with the remnants of their forces and re-focusing on the unfortunate humanitarian challenge caused by their activities.
We shall continue to review for adoption the National Counter-Terrorism Strategy and the National Security Strategy Document adopted in 2014 to deal with other related emerging crimes.
At domestic level, we have recognised the need for laws with sufficient deterrence capacity and concurrent respect for human rights to provide the appropriate legal framework to prevent and counter terrorism and its financing. The enactment of the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act 2013, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and the Cyber Crime (Prohibition and Prevention) Act 2015 are all recent legislations designed to strengthen the legal framework to fight terrorism. Using these statutes, we have achieved modest success in investigating and prosecuting cases of terrorism within our jurisdiction and benefitted from international collaboration in realising the recorded success.
In our effort to completely tackle this insurgency, Government intends to tackle inequalities arising from massive unemployment. We intend to emphasize quality technological education for development and lay foundation for comprehensive care of the aged, the disadvantaged and the infirm. The necessary foundation for this initiative has already been laid with 2016 Appropriation Act which in the history of our country is the first to provide specifically for a social welfare regime with an allocation of over two billion dollars.
Mr. Chairman,
Terrorism is by no means the major or the only evil threatening and undermining the well-being of societies around the world. We equally recognize that Corruption, Cross border financial crimes, Cyber crimes Human trafficking and Proliferation of weaponsare all major challenges of the 21st century which the international community must tackle collectively. Let me reaffirm Nigerian government’s unwavering commitment to fight corruption and illicit financial flows. By any consideration, corruption and cross border financial crimes are impediments to development, economic growth, and the realization of the well-being of citizens across the globe.
Nigeria is ready and willing to partner with international agencies and individual countries on a bilateral basis to confront crimes and corruption. In particular, I call upon the global community to urgently redouble efforts towards strengthening the mechanisms for dismantling safe havens for proceeds of corruption and ensuring the return of stolen funds and assets to their countries of origin. These has to be international collaboration establishing clear absence of interest in stolen funds and asset by the safe heavens jurisdiction for proceeds of corruption through ascertained support to countries of origin of the looted funds and asset by way of facilitating the return of the looted funds and asset with case and elimination of bureaucratic legal and judicial bottlenecks.
Mr. Chairman
The world is now facing a big new challenge: human trafficking. This is an old evil taking an altogether new and dangerous dimension which is threatening to upset international relationships. We in Africa are grieved to see on international media networks how thousands of our able bodied men and women embark on the dangerous journey to Europe and in the process thousands end up dying in the desert or drowning in the Mediterranean.
We condemn in the strongest terms these people traffickers and will support any measures to apprehend and bring them to justice. At the same time, we are very appreciative of European governments notably Italy and Germany, for their understanding and humane treatment of these refugees
In dealing with human trafficking, Nigeria established the National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP) which is dedicated to combating human trafficking and related crimes. It has made commendable progress in the discharge of its mandate. NAPTIP continues to maintain close collaboration with other Law Enforcement Agencies and the UNODC in the implementation of programs aimed at strengthening our capacity to discharge our obligations under the Convention. Government is also taking measures to address the concerns and weaknesses identified in our Human Trafficking laws.
Mr. Chairman
Nigeria calls on Member States to consider, among other effective measures within the frame work of their national legislations, criminalizing activities related to all forms and aspects of trafficking in cultural property and related offences by using a broad definition that can be applied to all stolen, looted, unlawfully excavated and illicitly exported or imported cultural properties.
We also invite them to make trafficking in cultural property, including stealing and looting at archaeological and other cultural sites, a serious crime as defined in Article 2 of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, with a view to fully utilizing that convention for the purpose of extensive international cooperation in fighting all forms and aspects of trafficking in cultural property and related offences.
Mr. Chairman
We are witnessing a dreadful increase in conflicts fuelled by availability of small arms and light weapons. I call upon all member countries to demonstrate the political will needed to uphold the UN Charter. For a start, a robust implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty will guarantee that small arms and light weapons are only legally transferred. Arms traffickers and human traffickers are two evil species which the world community should eradicate.
Mr. Chairman
Nigeria like other countries is committed to a fair, effective and transparent Criminal Justice System. We are also committed to Independent and impartial Institutions that drive the Criminal Justice System. In line with our strong political will, our Criminal Justice System continues to be under constant review to meet the changing challenging trends in crime prevention and criminal justice and to improve the capacity of Criminal Justice Administrators to prevent, prosecute and punish criminal offenders.
Our Mutual Legal Assistance regime is currently being reviewed to provide a more secure framework for cooperation with other states in criminal matters, in addition to the implementation of the ECOWAS Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters and ECOWAS Convention on Extradition. Nigeria is also exploring the possibility of using the Transnational Organised Crime (TOC) Convention as a basis for Mutual Legal Assistance and Extradition pending the conclusion of the requisite bilateral agreements.
I wish to once more, convey the immense gratitude of the Government and People of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to UNODC and all our development partners for their support and technical assistance which has contributed in no small measure to equipping and strengthening our national institutions in enhancing their capacity for crime prevention and improving the criminal justice sector.
Lastly, Mr. Chairman, Nigeria remains undeterred and unflinching in our resolve to support democracy and uphold democratic values, rule of law, good governance and respect for human rights and other fundamental freedoms. To this effect, present administration has reinforced the democratic traditions in Nigeria. These are necessary imperatives to achieve peace, stability and development. We trust that we shall continue to receive your support in achieving the above objectives.
Wife of late General Murtala Mohammed, Mrs. Ajoke has turned 75 years old, even as President Muhammadu Buhari said that her life is worth celebrating because of her exemplary life she lives.
President Buhari said that Ajoke has consistently shown that the entire society can be truly enriched through building strong and successful families. The commended Ajoke’s remarkable contributions to environmental preservation as a renowned horticulturist and leading conservationist even as he prayed to God to grant “the dear wife of late General Murtala Mohammed many more years of good health and joyful living with her children, grandchildren, relatives, friends and associates across the country.” [myad]
Ahmed Rasheed, the Chief Security Officer to the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, has been promoted to the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.
The FCT Police Commissioner, Wilson Inalegwu described Ahmed Rasheed as a very hard working officer, courageous, diligent in his assignment and has demonstrated love for the Nigeria Police Force. Inalegwu said that he was not surprised that Rasheed was considered suitable for promotion to the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.
This was even as the minister asked the newly promoted officer to maintain high degree of discipline and loyalty to the nation. While decorating Rasheed with his new rank, Muhammad Bello said that promotion to higher rank calls for greater dedication and loyalty to ones organization and the nation at large. The minister said that the huge number of police men promoted in the FCT Police Command is an indication of the FCT Police Commissioner’s sterling leadership qualities. “Usually, when people get promoted, the attributes for the promotion are usually most of the time, aligned with the person who was promoted. The reality is you can never be a good officer and excel in your career if you don’t have a good boss. So, we feel very delighted that Ahmed Rasheed is among those in your Command that has been promoted. “We also in FCTA are proud that one of us has been elevated because he represents the crop of officers that to a large extent, are the face of the new Nigerian police; hardworking, dedicated and very smart. “From what I have seen, haven worked with him for the last six months, I have no doubt that God willing, the sky is going to be the limit for this young officer. “For you the Commissioner of Police, I urge you to continue with your good work of training officers because as you know, we need more and more policing within our communities. I’m sure that out of the 10,000 to be employed, based on what we have read in the newspapers, a number of them will be under your responsibility and I’m sure you will also guide and train them properly.” [myad]
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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has detained the Edo state chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Dan Orbih as it continues its search for N700 Million given to the state chapter of the party out of the Diezani $115 Million bribe money.
