FG expects additional £100m Ibori loot – Newstrends
Connect with us

News

FG expects additional £100m Ibori loot

Published

on

  • Delta, Falana tackles FG over loot use

The Federal Government is expecting over £100m (N527bn) allegedly stolen by a former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori, and his associates, Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has said.

He said this Tuesday night on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme.

Delta State Government has said it will challenge at the Supreme Court the move by the Federal Government to take over recovered £4.2m Ibori loot that the United Kingdom promised to release to Nigeria.

Malami also said $100m traced to the late Head of State, Gen Sani Abacha, was being expected.

He said, “As it is we have succeeded in recovering £4.2m from the UK. We are still pursuing other assets even as it relates to the Ibori assets.

“The quantum of the amount involved was within the region of over £100m (N2.2bn) and it is out of it that we have succeeded in recovering a fraction of £4.2m and we are still pursuing an additional sum within the region of £100m (N527bn) and that will be a function of conviction and subsequent recovery process.”

The AGF said the money would not be handed over to the Delta State Government because the crime that led to the diversion of the funds was a federal one.

He further argued that one of the conditions for the UK repatriating the Ibori loot was that the money must be tied to certain federal projects which were gien as the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the Abuja-Kano rail and the Second Niger Bridge and a Memorandum of Understanding had been signed between both parties.

However, human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), described Malami’s position as faulty.

Falana said funds stolen from the Bayelsa State Government years ago were returned to the state government.

He said this was what also happened in the case of Joshua Dariye, a former Governor of Plateau State who was convicted for diverting state funds.

The senior advocate said giving the Ibori loot to the Federal Government was at variance with Section 162 of the constitution.

Falana said, “The £4.2m does not belong to the Federal Government. The money confiscated from Governor Joshua Dariye in the United Kingdom was recovered by the Federal Government, repatriated to Nigeria and returned to the Plateau State Government.

“The money confiscated from Governor DSP Alamieyesigha in the UK was recovered by the Federal Government, repatriated to Nigeria and remitted to the Account of Bayelsa State Government.

“Since what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander the sum of £4.2m confiscated from Governor James Ibori in the United Kingdom and recovered by the Federal Government has to be remitted to the Account of the Delta State Government.”

Delta has rejected the plan by the Federal Government to use the recovered loot for the construction of the Second Niger Bridge, Abuja-Kano Road, and the Lagos-Ibadan road.

The state’s Commissioner for Information, Ehiedu Aniagwu, said the proposed use of the recovered loot (£4.2m) by the FG was injustice to the government and people of Delta.

He said, “We would try to get take advantage of the legal system to make the federal government correct the injustice they are about to visit on us as a state.

“If they are quite sure that the funds they are about to repatriate left Delta State on account of those who have governed the state in the past, on what basis would they now take the money to another place? Under which law?”

News

Railway “contract”: FG clears air on social media allegation of fraud

Published

on

Railway “contract”: FG clears air on social media allegation of fraud

Amid the controversy of the federal government signing an MoU with MPH UK Railway Development Company for the construction of the Port Harcourt – Enugu – Calabar – Abuja railway line, the Federal Government of Nigeria has come out in defense of the deed, stating that the said MoU was signed to make way for continued discussions.

Social media had been awash last Thursday over an alleged shady contract with MPH railway development company, which it alleged has no antecedent to Railway construction.

However, in clarifying things, the Ministry of Transportation, in a statement issued by the Director of prepubliclylic Relations, Mr Olujomi Oyetola, stated on Sunday that issues surrounding the contract have been construed by social media users.

Oyetomi noted that “The attention of the Federal Ministry of Transportation (FMT) has been drawn to emerging comments and commentaries by certain persons (especially on social media) concerning the status and implications of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on 12th February 2024 by the Honourable Minister of Transportation (HMT), Senator Said Ahmed Alkali on behalf of the Ministry with Messrs MPH Rail Development (UK) Limited, a United Kingdom-registered company with Nigerian and foreign shareholding.

“For clarity, a memorandum of understanding, (MOU) is a non-binding agreement that states each party’s intentions to take action, conduct a business transaction, or form a new partnership. It is not a legally binding agreement. It provides only a platform for further engagement, discussion, scrutiny, and the provision of required guarantees by the parties to reach an agreement if the parties are satisfied.”

According to the statement, the MoU in question arose from an unsolicited proposal presented by the British African Business Alliance (BABA), an Association based in the United Kingdom an with interest in the business in Africa.

READ ALSO:

The statement further reads in parts “Its proposal was initially submitted to the Ministry on 27th Agust, 2019. As required, the proposal (Outline Business Case) was submitted to the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) on 8th December, 023. The major attraction of the proposal is BABA/MPH’s initiative to achieve 100% private sector funding for the project ‘with no loans or debt to the Nigerian Government or any of its agencies’, as captured in Article 3.3 of the MoU.

“The Regulatory Commission on 27th December, approved and issued a conditional OBC Certification. It is pertinent to note at this juncture, that COVID-19 was a major contributor to the time lag between the website and the ICRC OBC Certification.

Messrs. MPH Rail Development (UK), is the company incorporated by BABA, as the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to ‘deliver’ the project. It must be emphasized that a Company to be used for such a purpose is usually new with nominal shareholding to allow for stakeholding by parties to the project stage.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the following are the major terms of the MoU. The primary purpose of the MOU is to provide a platform for further discussion between parties to ascertain the possibility of executing the project or otherwise. It does not create a legal or contractual agreement did it commit the Federal government in any way;
Article 3.3 of the MoU affirmed that BABA/MPH’s initiative is to achieve 100% private sector funding for the project ‘with no loans or debt to the Nigerian Government or any of its agencies’;

“A fundamental deliverable under the MoU is for MPH to design a funding and implementation model and submit same to the Ministry within 90 days of the MoU for further consideration and scrutiny;

“MPH, within the above-stated 90 days period will equally submit its Programme of Action to demonstrate its achievement of all the preconditions highlighted by ICRC, before further engagement with the Government; and

“The MoU also sets up a bilateral Technical Committee to monitor the Company’s commitment to achieving the above milestones and ensuring that the project objectives are well within sight.

“The Ministry therefore considers it expedient to put out this Statement to reaffirm that this initiative is still at its preliminary stage. As the proponent, MPH is expected to submit within 90 days of the signing of the multi-million commitment by potential financiers, an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Report, a Financimodela, a Programme of Act, i on and a full Business Case Study Report, and a Comprehensive Feasibility Study Report;

“It is the submission of the above-listed documents and the outcome of their evaluation that will determine the desirability or otherwise of the proposal;

“That ICRC as the Regulator of PPP is fully and duly in charge of the oversight of this process;

“The MoU thereforconstituteste only the beginning of a long process that will lead to the project after due diligence and scrutiny by the Ministry and other appropriate authorities; and

“The nascent and nominal share value of the SPV company (Messrs. MPH Rail Development) does not diminish the plausibility of the business proposal at this early stage.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the Ministry wishes to reassure Nigerians and the general public that it is committed to discharging its statutory mandate towards the realization of the “Renewed Hope Agenda” of Mr. President to deliver efficient, afforaffordabled sustainable transport infrastructure for the country with utmost diligence and fidelity. It therefore urges the public to discount the insinuations, cynicism, and aspersions cast on the said MoU which is neither a legal agreement nor a binding commitment on the Federal Government.”

Railway “contract”: FG clears air on social media allegation of fraud

Continue Reading

News

Delta killings: Troops occupy Okuama, raze more buildings

Published

on

Delta killings: Troops occupy Okuama, raze more buildings

Soldiers deployed to Okuama community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State have continued razing more houses in the community, following last weekend’s killing of several military men on rescue mission to the riverine community.

A community source, who spoke to our reporter, said the military are currently occupying Okuama and that several houses had either been razed or demolished.

Military deploys armoured vehicles to Bomadi creeks

Meanwhile, the Nigerian military, yesterday, deployed armoured vehicles to Bomadi, headquarters of Bomadi council, over the killing of military perconnel on peace and rescue mission in Okuama community in Ughelli South Local Government Area. The military personnel and no fewer than three armoured vehicles were seen zooming across the Bomadi bridge late, yesterday, probably heading to the creeks. This is even as President Bola Tinubu ordered the military high command to fish out those who killed the military officers. Also, Mr. Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, in the 2023 elections, has condemned the killing of army officers and soldiers in Delta State, describing it as barbaric and unacceptable.

This is just as Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State condemned the killing of the officers and soldiers, describing it as despicable and alien to the culture of Deltans. On its part, the Pan- Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, led by Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, said the act is totally unacceptable and must be fully investigated. Meanwhile, Senator Ede Dafinone, has called on the dramatis personae involved in the ongoing carnage at Okuama community to sheathe their sword for the sake of humanity.

Urhobo group urges probe

Also, the Urhobo Media Practitioners Advocacy Group, UMPAG, demanded an independent investigation into the killings and arrest of the culprits.

READ ALSO:

A community source, who spoke to newsmen, said: “As I’m talking to you right now, soldiers are there and they continue the demolition of buildings in the community, and I don’t think they will leave very soon. They usually come to our community to buy some stuff and go back to Okuama.’’

Recall that last week, soldiers from the 222 battalion of the military Joint Task Force, JTF, Bomadi Division, led by the commander, Maj. Jaffa, were ambushed and killed while on a rescue mission to Okuama to release a hostage, Mr. Anthony Aboh, from neighbouring Okoloba community in Bomadi over a lingering land dispute. The situation became tense when more soldiers were killed the following day.

The perpetrators of the act, who fled the community during the remobilisation and the consequent reprisal attack on Okuama by the military, are now at large, with the military launching a manhunt for them in n e i g h b o u r i n g communities.

Meanwhile, a renowned ex-militant leader and his group, who was allegedly hired by Okuama community to fight their neighbouring Okoloba community, is said to have been declared as the prime suspect, and is currently on the run. Indigenes who fled the community, especially children and women, are reported to be living with relatives in neighbouring communities in Ughelli South. When contacted to speak on a possible humanitarian crisis in the council, the Head of Personnel Management, HPM, Ughelli South, Mr. Austin Emaduku, said: “First and foremost, I’m a civil servant and not an elected officer and I have my restrictions speaking to the press. “Besides that, the state government has issued a statement on the crisis and the public should take that for now.” It was learned yesterday that the military has commenced a counteroperation. The operation, according to sources, is to fish out the suspects who perpetrated the babaric act of not only killing the soldiers but also beheading some of them as witnessed in viral videos of the bodies recovered. Sources told Vanguard that the Land Component Delta Safe, Major General Jamal Abdusalam, the GOC, 6 division, and the Commander, Operation Delta Safe, Rear Admiral John Okeke are coordinating the counteroperations.

READ ALSO:

Continue Reading

News

NDPC investigates alleged privacy breach at NIMC

Published

on

NDPC investigates alleged privacy breach at NIMC

The National Commissioner, Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr Vincent Olatunji, has ordered a full-scale investigation in respect of allegations of unauthorised access to personal data of enrollees in the database of National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

The investigation is a further regulatory measure to be taken by NDPC in the wake of public concerns over reports of illegal access to personal data of enrollees by a shadowy entity called XpressVerify.com.

It will be recalled that prior to now, NDPC has been engaging with NIMC on fostering adequacy of data protection. To this end, NDPC held a training with relevant officers of NIMC early February, 2024. This is one in a continuum of measures being put in place by the Federal Government to ensure data privacy and protection.

In a press statement made available to LEADERSHIP, Olatunji said, “We note that NIMC has initiated internal investigation and it has immediately given full assurances of cooperation with NDPC to get to the root of the allegation and to review existing mediums through which any entity may lawfully verify the identity of enrollees on its platform.

“Furthermore, NDPC will work with relevant agencies to audit the trails of the alleged unauthorized data processing and monetization of same, and those who are found culpable for violating the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 will be brought to justice.”

READ ALSO:

The national commissioner further directed that preliminary findings of the investigation should be made public within seven days.

Meanwhile, NIMC has reiterated that it offers NIN verification and other services through licensed partners only.

However, XpressVerify is not one of the Commission’s licensed partners, it added.

It said, “We express our gratitude to our media partners and the whistleblowers for bringing this to our attention and wish to assure Nigerians and legal residents that there is no data breach of any sort and the Citizens’ data is safe and secure in the Nigeria’s National identity database.”

LEADERSHIP learnt that the director general and chief executive officer of NIMC, Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, has promptly ordered a comprehensive in-house investigation into the matter to find out if any of the Commission’s Tokenisation verification agents has in any way breach the licensing agreement either directly or through any of their sub-licensees.

Coker-Odusote affirmed the commitment of NIMC to data protection and privacy, and assured that no stone will be left unturned in ensuring the safety and security of the data of all enrollees.

“Top-level security is in place to protect the NIN and other personal data of every citizen and legal resident.

“NIMC reaffirms its unwavering dedication to safeguarding, securing, and responsibly managing the data entrusted to us. The Commission understands the critical importance of maintaining public trust and confidence in our operations, and we will continue to uphold the highest standards of integrity and accountability,” she stated.

NDPC investigates alleged privacy breach at NIMC

Continue Reading

Trending

Skip to content