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Emefiele: Probe uncovers how $6.3m was looted from CBN days before 2023 election
Emefiele: Probe uncovers how $6.3m was looted from CBN days before 2023 election
Mr Jim Obazee, the Special Investigator appointed by President Bola Tinubu to probe the management of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, under the leadership of Godwin Emefiele has recommended the trial of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and 12 top executives of the bank for trial over fraudulent withdrawal of $6.23milion from the apex bank to allegedly pay foreign election observers.
According to the Special Investigator, the $6.3 million was removed from the vaults of the Foreign Payments Office, Abuja Branch of the CBN as captured on CCTV between 7th February and 8th February 2023.
The Special Investigator said he viewed the CCTV footage of the removal of the cash done about two weeks before the 2023 presidential election purportedly on the order of a letter dated 23rd January, 2023, with a signature mark, ‘Muhammadu Buhari’, which was sent to a government official with caption, ‘ Presidential Directive on Foreign Election Observer Missions’
This, the Investigator said was followed by another letter dated 26th January, 2023, with signature mark, directed to’ Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria’, for payment of the sum of $6.23million as ‘ a contingent logistics advance… in line with Presidential directive and another follow-up letter dated 31st January, 2023, was sent to the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, requesting for approval to effect payment of the sum of $6.23m.
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The Special Investigator said the fraudulent withdrawal was uncovered on the 4th of December, when he issued a Request for Information to the management of the CBN.
He accused the former SGF, and the top government officials of engaging in “forgery, concealment, conspiracy and fraud” over withdrawal of the funds.
According to the Special Investigator, an official of the CBN admitted in a written statement that he “acted in collaboration with, an Assistant Director in the Banking supervision Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria and some persons he is yet to identify, to conceive and carry out the act of stealing the sum of $6.23million out of the vault of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He said two top CBN officials are already in custody over the incident.
“There is therefore an appearance of concealment by officers who occupied some positions up to, and around the period 7 and 8th February, 2023.”
Mr Obazee asked the government to prosecute directors, Deputy Directors, Assistant Director and Branch Controllers over the fraudulent cash withdrawal.
Emefiele: Probe uncovers how $6.3m was looted from CBN days before 2023 election
News
Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has directed the immediate freezing of all state-owned bank accounts.
In a statement issued on Thursday by his Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, the governor stated that the accounts would remain frozen until further notice.
He instructed commercial banks, ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to comply with the order immediately or face severe consequences.
The statement reads: “All state bank accounts with commercial banks have been frozen. Commercial banks must comply with this order and ensure that not a single naira is withdrawn from government coffers until further notice.
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“Heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies must ensure full compliance without delay.
“Following necessary investigations and reconciliations, the governor will take appropriate action and decide on the way forward. For now, this order remains in effect.”
Okpebholo also directed relevant agencies to revert the name of the Ministry of Roads and Bridges to its previous title, the Ministry of Works, a change made during the Godwin Obaseki administration.
“It is odd to name a government institution the Ministry of Roads and Bridges, especially when not a single bridge was built by the previous administration — not even a pedestrian bridge.
“In the coming days, we will examine further actions taken by the previous administration and make decisions that serve the best interests of the state,” the statement added.
Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
News
Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi
Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi
Prominent Islamic scholar Dr. Ahmad Mahmud Gumi has criticized the widely discussed two-state solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict, calling it a “deception.”
His remarks followed a recent summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Riyadh, where President Bola Tinubu and other leaders condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza and urged an end to hostilities.
In an interview with Daily Trust at his Kaduna residence, Gumi argued, “This Two-State Solution is a deception. No Israeli will allow a Palestinian to survive, and Palestinians will never allow Israel to survive.
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The only solution is to dissolve the two states and create a democratically electable region.”
Gumi commended the OIC’s support for Palestine, noting that Muslims and Arabs worldwide increasingly see the treatment of Palestinians as “genocide” and accuse Israel of human rights abuses.
He also called for a return to the pre-1948 structure, where Palestinians, Jews, and Christians lived together, suggesting a single, inclusive state that allows peaceful coexistence.
“When I hear people talking about Two-State Solutions, I know they are just deceiving themselves,” Gumi added, advocating for a unified region where people of all faiths can live together, similar to the multi-faith coexistence seen in countries like the United States.
Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi
News
Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll
Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll
The Labour Party candidature of Olusola Ebiseni for the upcoming gubernatorial election in Ondo State has been nullified.
The nullification follows the sacking of Ebiseni by the Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday.
The governorship election of the southwest State will hold on Saturday, 16 November 2024.
The judgement disqualifying Ebiseni was unanimously delivered by the three members of the panel and read out by the chairman of the panel, Justice Adebukola Banjoko.
The judgment granted the prayer of the Labour Party who preferred the case against Ebiseni.
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Justice Banjoko held that, “the appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/1172/2024 brought by the Labour Party against Chief Olusola Ebiseni and two others is allowed.”
Justice Banjoko further stated that the Certified True Copy of the judgment would be provided to the parties involved in the appeal as soon as possible for their review.
Recall that Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to accept and recognize Olusola Ebiseni and Ezekiel Awude as the Labour Party’s governorship and deputy governorship candidates for the November 16 Ondo State governorship elections.
Justice Nwite confirmed that the second primary election conducted by the Labour Party, which resulted in Ebiseni and Awude being selected as candidates, was valid and should be upheld by INEC.
However, the appellate court has now overturned the judgment of the trial court’s judgment.
Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll
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