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Stop rejecting old naira notes, NURTW tells members

Published

2 months ago

January 31, 2023

NURTW President, Prof. Tajudeen Baruwa

The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), has directed its members to continue to receive the old naira notes, till deadline of the Federal Government’s extension of the new currency swap policy on Feb. 10.

The Union’s President, Prof. Tajudeen Baruwa, gave the directive on Monday when the Director-General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Dr Garba Abari, paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja.

Recall that the reports that the newly redesigned naira notes which are being swapped with old notes includes the N200, N500 and N1000 denominations.

Baruwa urged his members to give relevant government’s agencies the opportunity to implement the monetary policy.

He said that he had discussed the issue of rejection of old naira notes with the NOA boss for proper sensitisation.

“We have discussed with the Director-General of NOA that most people are rejecting the old naira notes in spite of the deadline extension and he promised to do something about it.

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“I think we should give him a benefit of doubt; I am hopeful before Feb. 10, they will do something and I know with such intervention, the public will not reject the old notes again.

“We on our part, are going to support NOA to sensitise our members on the government’s policy as regard new naira notes.

“We are having the National Executive Council Meeting tomorrow. We will use the opportunity to enlighten our NEC members on the policy.

“And we will ensure that handbills and flyers are given to our state executives to take the message to the grassroots,” he said.

Baruwa described the visit of the NOA boss as very important, adding that, “the people have been calling the union’s leadership to assist them because they believe it has a role to play in the implementation of the banknotes swap policy.

“I have acquired lot of experiences through this visit. We will share the posters they gave us to every nook and cranny of the state.

“Then on our own, we will embark on jingle to enlighten commercial drivers and the public in general,” he said.

Earlier, Abari said the visit was to collaborate with the union on the government’s currency redesigned policy in order to take the message to the grassroots and give a feedback.

According to him, this is what we are going to send back to relevant agencies saddled with the responsibility of implementing the monetary policy in the country.

“We are also embarking on community sensitisation to address issues of fake new bank notes.

“There is need for Nigerians to look out for specific security features on the new notes such as the coat of arm when you raise the note to view it, security ink and mark on the notes.

“These are the signs and this is the reason why NURTW needs to come in,” the NOA boss said.

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Four sentenced to death by hanging for kidnapping Emzor Pharmaceutical MD’s sister

Published

6 hours ago

March 24, 2023

Trends Admin

Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo of a Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja on Thursday sentenced four men to death by hanging for armed robbery and kidnapping of Mrs. Gloria Emole, the younger sister of Emzor Pharmaceutical Managing Director, Chief Ebuka Okafor.

The convicts are Victor Chukwunonso V, Ifeanyi Maduaka, Obinna Nwankwo, and Richard Nwabueze.

The trial judge, Justice Lawal-Akapo, held that the prosecution was able to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The first convict Chukwunoso was a former employee of the victim’s elder brother who was sacked after he fought in the company against the rule of the company that fighting was prohibited.

The convicts were arraigned on July 13, 2013, and were remanded in prison custody.

The convicts had on November 19, 2012, at about 8:30 a.m. committed the offences.

They were arraigned on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, armed robbery, and kidnapping preferred against them by Lagos State.

The Director of Public Prosecution, Dr. Babajide Martins, had told the court during their arraignment that they had kidnapped the victim who was about to leave her house at 7, Unity Street, Ogudu GRA, Lagos.

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Martins had told the court that the victim was kidnapped, blindfolded thrown inside the booth, and was driven to an unknown area in Ikorodu.

According to the Prosecutor, the offences committed are contrary to and Punishable Under sections 297,285 (2) a, and 291, of the Criminal laws of Lagos State 2015.

The victim was later released on November 22, 2012, after a ransom of $ 70,000 US dollars was paid, by her husband.

During the trial, the prosecution called four witnesses, who testified against the defendants.

The victim narrated to the court that she made a statement at the Police station and how the incident happened.

She said that on November 19, 2012, the first accused person held a double barrel, accosted her at about 8:30 a.m., blindfolded and locked her in her booth, and took her to an unknown destination.

She narrated that after the kidnap they demanded $300,000.

The victim’s husband, Osodun Emole, in his testimony also told the court that he paid the first and second convicts the sum of $70,000 US dollars.

Emole said that they had initially asked for $300,000, but after negotiation, they accepted $70,000.

He stated that he put the money inside an envelope and he was instructed how he was to dress and where to drop the money.

Emole also told the court that it was the police that told him that the convicts had been arrested.

Inspector Gbenga Faguiro, who tendered nine exhibits, had also narrated that the first convict was arrested at Alapere Ketu and a Nokia phone was recovered from him. Independent

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Pastor absconded after using group’s thrift savings to pay LAPO debt

Published

6 hours ago

March 24, 2023

Trends Admin

Amazing Grace membership form

Martins Emmanuel, a member of the Amazing Grace Eagle Family, a Christian group in Kwara, has told FIJ how a pastor absconded with the monetary contributions of the group.

Emmanuel narrated how his pastor introduced him to the thrift, which was being run by his associate, another pastor named Afolabi Olakunle Alexander.

Emmanuel told FIJ he agreed to the said thrift in order to have savings for his child’s school fees.

“In December 2021, precisely December 27, I got a chat from my pastor, Reverend Simeon Oladejo. He told me thrift was being organised for Christian believers. We attend same church, and he’s one of our pastors in Ife. I asked him how much I could be contributing, and he told me the least was N5000,” said Emmanuel.

“I agreed, and I started making my contributions in February. I made my contributions until November 2022, when I was to get my money.

“According to the list of people that would be paid monthly, which was sent to the platform, I was to be paid on November 15, 2022.”

However, when Emmanuel reached out to his pastor, he was told Pastor Afolabi had absconded with the money and efforts to reach him had been futile.

“When I reached out to Reverend Oladejo, he said the man took away the money, and that he had tried to get across to him, but to no avail,” Emmanuel told FIJ.

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“Pastor Afolabi is a known associate of Reverend Oladejo. After making the payment into his account, the receipts were usually sent to him.

“I began to send messages to him to please give me my money, as I needed to pay my children’s school fees. But he replied none of my messages, including the ones sent on WhatsApp. He would read but not reply.”

OVER 100 CONTRIBUTORS INVOLVED

Documents and other items of evidence at FIJ’s disposal show that no less than hundred contributors were involved.

FIJ reached out to some other members of the group, and their accounts did not differ from Emmanuel’s.

One Omoniyi, a Port-Harcourt resident, told FIJ that he also could not get his money. He said his efforts had always been met with a series of excuses from Reverend Oladejo, who introduced him to the group.

“I am also involved in it. I have about N55,000 with him, but each time I reached out, I was always told that the persons in charge of the money ran away with it. There are many others that have not got their money,” Omoniyi told FIJ.

‘OVER N2M BELONGING TO MY GROUP NOT PAID’

An inner member of the group, who asked not to be named, told FIJ that no less than N2 million belonging to his own clique in the group had not been paid. This, according to him, was besides his own personal N200,000.

“I am a member of the group, and I hold an important position in the administration of the thrift. The matter is more serious than that. My money too is stuck in there, and it is about N200,000. The people that I brought into the programme have also not been paid their money, which is over N2 million naira.”

FIJ learned that Pastor Afolabi used the money contributed to offset his debt with the microfinance bank popularly known as LAPO.

“He is running round to source for money. The issue is that he was owing LAPO some money. LAPO then told him to pay up to lend him more money, which he believed he would use to pay the contributors in the thrift group,” said a source who asked not to be named.

“However, after he paid LAPO using the contributors’ money, LAPO came up with an excuse that they had closed for the year.”

Efforts by FIJ to hear from Pastor Afolabi proved abortive as his line was unreachable.

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BREAKING: Ike Ekweremadu, wife found guilty of organ trafficking

Published

24 hours ago

March 23, 2023

Trends Admin

Ike Ekweremadu, and his wife, Beatrice

Ike Ekweremadu, a former Deputy Senate President; Beatrice, his wife; and their doctor have been found guilty of organ trafficking in the UK.

The decision was reached after a jury deliberated for 14 hours.

It represents the first verdict of its kind under the Modern Slavery Act of the country.

Ekweremadu, 60; his wife, Beatrice, 56; and Dr Obinna Obeta, 51, were found guilty of facilitating the travel of a young man to Britain to exploit him after a six-week trial at the Old Bailey.

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Prosecutors told the Old Bailey that the kidney was to be harvested for Sonia, the couple’s daughter. Sonia was cleared of the same charge.The victim, a street trader from Lagos, was brought to the UK last year to provide a kidney in an £80,000 private transplant at the Royal Free Hospital in London. Obeta was regarded as the middleman in the case. FIJ