Despite being the largest economy in Africa with an over 200 million human population with potential to make fortunes, multinational companies are exiting Nigeria because of the high cost of doing business and lack of basic infrastructure, especially electricity.

Experts, who noted that even though the ugly development predated President Bola Tinubu’s government, said it was always good to bring the issue to the front burner, especially now that a new government was being formed for the new leaders to act fast and salvage the situation.

Our correspondent reports that over time the multinational companies have been forced to exit the country as a result of surging inflationary pressure, foreign exchange (forex) volatility, rising interest rates, electricity crisis, among other challenges, which have impacted operating expenses and profitability of businesses.

Procter & Gamble, Surest Foam Limited, Mufex, Framan Industries, Moak Industries, Deli Foods, Stone Industries, MZM Continental and Nipol Industries are among companies that have shut down fully or partially in recent years.

That notwithstanding, other experts have a different perspective as to why foreign companies are leaving Nigeria.

They said sometimes, the decision is based purely on internal company exigencies or market-wide or sectoral global trends in labour or technology.

They said the companies’ exit might be driven by sudden changes like the pandemic or economic downturns, adding that it is possible that as some companies are leaving or closing locally, other companies may be coming in or opening.

They said for example, the fintech sector and the digital economy more broadly have been expanding in the country, saying this could be a substitution situation, whereby the decline of one sector is complemented by the growth of another.

However, since the coming of the Tinubu administration, both the president and some of his aides have been speaking on efforts being put in place towards revamping the economy, encouraging Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and also making local industries vibrant and competitive.

For instance, about a month ago, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Evelyn Ngige, said the launch of Nigeria’s first trade and investment policies would boost the local economy and facilitate increased foreign and domestic trade.

She stated this at the opening of a stakeholders’ workshop on the maiden Nigeria Investment Policy (NINP) and Trade Policy (NTP) in Abuja.

Recall that on May 10, 2023, at the twilight of the former President Muhammadu Buhari administration, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the implementation of the first Nigeria Investment Policy (2023-2027) and the review of the Trade Policy of Nigeria (2023-2027).

Dr Evelyn said both frameworks represented significant milestones in the journey for economic growth and development.

She stressed that the ministry remained committed to improving the domestic investment and business environment in order to position the country as one of the world’s preferred investment destinations.

She pointed out that the development of the first investment policy, as well as the review of the country’s trade policy, was a useful outcome of the sustained efforts of the ministry.

The NINP focuses on three pillars: investment promotion, investment facilitation and sustainable development, with the objective to develop the investment policy framework, especially fast-tracking the process of Nigeria’s economic diversification, improving investment and business climate to attract both domestic and FDI.

And in July this year, the Special Adviser (SA) to the president on revenue, Zacch Adedeji, said the government would streamline its taxes from 52 to 10 in order to promote efficiency and accountability.

He stated this during the virtual TOPAZ 88 second lecture series, which had the title: “Revenue Challenges and Opportunities in Nigeria Today”.

It would also be recalled that the President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Francis Meshioye, recently said that more multinationals would exit Nigeria if electricity hike was implemented.

Meshioye, who stated that some international manufacturing firms had already exited Nigeria as a result of the electricity crisis, coupled with the unpredictability of the country’s forex before it was recently unified, added that over N144bn was spent on alternative sources of energy by manufacturers in 2022.

He said, “Now, if you spend N144bn on alternative energy sources in one year, you can only imagine the impact which that will have on your cost of operations. The manufacturing business in Nigeria is affected by so many factors, energy is a major one.

“Manufacturers provide almost every infrastructure by themselves. Outside the major roads, you find out that manufacturers provide water, power, security, etc. So, when you look at it, you find out that the cost of doing business is so huge, that a businessman will ask, ‘Is this the only place I can do my business? Can’t I move my capital elsewhere?’”

GSK could spark another exodus

The recent announcement by British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), to discontinue operations in Nigeria after 51 years has raised fear among experts that it may spark another exodus of multinational companies in the country.

The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) and other expert bodies say the exit of multinational companies is as a result of unfavourable government policies.

They noted that GSK’s exit dealt a major blow to the country’s manufacturing sector which was already experiencing significant collapse.

The President of NACCIMA, Dele Kelvin Oye, noted that, “While the current administration has commendably set Nigeria on a long-term path to economic progression, it has been noted that some of the immediate positive economic policies of President Ahmed Tinubu have had an adverse effect on certain sectors of the country. In particular, the sudden rise in the price of petrol and abolition of the official naira rate have caused a significant backlash, eroding the already earned income and trading capital of several multinational companies that had established their previous earnings based on the official naira rate at the time.

“As a result, there has been a steady exodus of multinational companies and the collapse of several local companies, resulting in significant job losses and economic damage.”

He, therefore, called on the government to urgently review the short-term impact of its economic policies as they related to commitments already concluded for remittances/raw materials by the affected companies/businesses to reverse the trend of companies leaving Nigeria.

He also called on the government to focus on creating a conducive environment for businesses to thrive and provide access to single-digit short and long-term financing to reduce the cost of doing business while prioritising investments in infrastructure and power supply, provide tax incentives to encourage businesses to invest in Nigeria and improve the ease of doing business by reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks.

He added that, “Furthermore, NACCIMA urges the government to work collaboratively with the private sector to develop policies that will stimulate economic growth and create job opportunities in the country. We firmly believe that with the right policies in place, Nigeria’s economy can be revitalised and the country can become a hub for business and investment in Africa.”

He also called on the government to take urgent action to reverse the trend of companies leaving Nigeria and restore confidence in all sectors of the economy.

On its part, LCCI, through a statement by its Director General (DG), Dr Chinyere Almona, opined that despite presenting international businesses with the largest market in the continent, Nigeria still suffered from worrying economic slowdown decisions which were often provoked by the rising cost of doing business, epileptic power supply, weak infrastructural backing, among others.

Almona said, “With justification, the chamber is concerned that if the trend persists, the nation’s economic growth potential will not be realised. GlaxoSmithKline’s decision critically reflects on the nation’s poor ranking on the ease of business measures, which the chamber has constantly spoken about. It is time the government takes appropriate actions to reverse the saddening trends in the business clime in Africa’s largest market.

“Factor cost, as an integral element of the profit equation, is viewed with utmost seriousness by business people. In the face of rising costs, business people will likely search for cost-friendlier locations. The chamber is inclined to suggest the government take a holistic view/review of the business environment and take steps to make the nation’s business clime more competitive for growth.”

Speaking in Lagos, the DG of NECA, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, stated that, “The recent trend of business relocation and divestment is unfortunate. Over the last decade, the private sector has been adversely affected by various policy thrusts of government. Many of these policies were either anti-growth, ill-timed or not-well thought out, while others were not in alignment with the country’s economic realities. In more complex cases, we witnessed an era of policy clashes and contradictions and regulatory and legislative strangulation of businesses which left many companies without a clear path for planning and decision making. Operational costs have increased astronomically, heaping more woes on many companies.”

Speaking further, the DG averred that, “The consequences of the years of wrong policy choices are not far-fetched. As expected, divestment, capital flight and outright closures have become the ‘new normal’ within the business community. This is one of the chief reasons why the rate of unemployment continues to soar perpetually with consequential rise in crime and other security issues. When businesses cease operations, divest or move to other profitable and hospitable environments, a large number of Nigerians become unemployed. Inadvertently, the country loses income from taxes, social investment is hindered and poverty holds sway.”

While urging a more definitive and urgent intervention, Oyerinde stated that, “It is germane to state that the government must take urgent steps to arrest this predicament. While we acknowledge and commend the current administration’s effort to address the concerns of the private sector and the steps it took to provide some respite to businesses in specific sectors of the economy, more needs to be done. Beyond the tax reforms activity and the provision of palliatives to select corporate entities, government should, by deepening engagement with the organised private sector, provide the right intervention and incentive not only to attract more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), but to also prevent more companies from shutting down, divesting or leaving the country.”

NECA, LCCI and NACCIMA urged the government to work collaboratively with the private sector with the view to developing and implementing action plans that are capable of promoting enterprise sustainability and competitiveness.

Apart from foreign companies, many indigenous companies are also folding up because of the harsh operating climate.

This is also leading to massive job losses in a country where the unemployment rate is above 35 per cent.

A former Chairman of the Textile Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (TMAN), Senator Walid Jibrin, recently told Daily Trust Saturday that only 20 out of the 175 textile companies in the country were working as others had been forced to shut down.

The poultry industry has also seen decline in recent months as poultry farms are shutting down over the soaring price of maize as noted by the National President of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Sunday Ezeobiora.

A request to the SA to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, on other measures being taken by the government to address the collapse of businesses was not replied at the time of filing this report.

The Director, Press and Public Relations of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Eddy Megwa, has said that the Minister of Arts and Culture, Mrs Hannatu Musawa, who is currently doing her one-year youth service is occupying the ministerial position in breach of the NYSC Act.

Speaking with our reporter over the phone, Megwa confirmed that the minister had been serving for the past eight months in the FCT.

He explained that it was against the NYSC Act for any corps member to pick up any government appointment until the one-year service was over.

He said Mrs Musawa was originally mobilised in 2001 for the youth service to Ebonyi State where she had her orientation programme but later relocated to Kaduna State to continue the programme.

He said it was when she got to Kaduna that she absconded and didn’t complete the programme.

Megwa noted that the scheme would look into the issue and take action where necessary.

Lawyers react

Reacting, Abeny Mohammed (SAN) said the action was a breach of the NYSC Act which stated that nobody would be legally employed or offer themselves for employment without doing the service and presenting the certificate or would have been exempted and had the certificate of exemption.

Mohammed said, “The situation we have at hand is that this person is still serving as a corper and she has been appointed a minister. It shows the inconsistency in our policies and disregard for our laws.”

Similarly, Femi Falana (SAN) said it was a violation of the law for anybody to still be serving in the NYSC and accept a ministerial appointment.

In a statement titled: “A Youth Corps Member is not Competent to be a Minister in Nigeria”, Falana said by virtue of Section 2 of the NYSC Act every citizen who graduated from any tertiary institution in and outside Nigeria and was not 30 years old shall be mobilised for the one-year compulsory national youth service, while any person above 30 was not eligible to participate in the service.”

Details have emerged revealing why the Lagos State House of Assembly rejected 17 of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s cabinet nominees.

Recall that the Lagos Assembly had disqualified seventeen out of the thirty-nine commissioner nominees sent to it by the Governor.

Recall that 22 of the Commissioner nominees were, however, confirmed by the lawmakers on Wednesday.

This follows the presentation before the House by Hon. Mojeed Fatai of the report of the 12-man ad hoc committee on the screening of the Governor’s commissioner nominees.

According to reports, the rejection of Sanwo-Olu’s 17 nominees was a confirmation of a rumoured cold war going on within the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Saturday Sun reports that stakeholders, politicians, and some government officials disclosed that the rejection resulted from a cold war among political gladiators, power brokers, and stakeholders in the state.

Multiple sources claim that the Mudashiru Obasa-led Lagos Assembly only acted on the scripts written by different aggrieved interest groups to pass a message to Governor Sanwo-Olu.

According to some of the sources, the rejection of the governor’s 17 nominees had never happened in the state’s history but happened due to an alleged ‘I don’t care attitude’ of the governor to some issues affecting party members and various interest groups.

A source said some of the rejected cabinet nominees were not going to be shocked over their rejection because of what had transpired during their screening

He said that most of them were not in the good books of their constituencies, and neither did they have any cordial relationship with the party or the representatives of their various local governments in the assembly.

The cabinet nominees’ rejection was also attributed to some actions and inactions of some of the former commissioners during the last general elections in the state.

But speaking on the issue, the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Governor Sanwo-Olu, Gboyega Akosile, stated that his principal never abandoned the APC.

According to him, people on the list submitted by his principal to the State House of Assembly were from a pool of people nominated by party members across all the local government areas.

While describing Governor Sanwo-Olu as a good party man, Akosile noted that all the commissioner-nominees were selected based on merit, contribution to the party, and competence by the governor, his deputy, and party members.

“All the rumours being spread over the rejection of the commissioner-nominees by the State House of Assembly are mere imaginations of the peddlers of such rumours. There is no iota of truth in them,” he noted.

The Julius Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the Labour Party (LP) has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of being responsible for the internal crisis in the opposition party.

Naija News reports that the LP National Secretary, Malam Umar Farouk, made the accusation on Friday at a press conference held at the party’s National Secretariat, Abuja.

Farouk alleged that the ruling party has been sponsoring the Lamidi Apapa-led faction and other dissidents to destabilise the party, which has changed the political landscape in the country.

He said the ruling party has deployed all manner of strategies to stifle the LP in order to ensure a subjugation of its chances in the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal.

Farouk said the expelled members who rebelled against the party leadership have gone ahead to misinform members of the public on the progress being made by the party.

He said: “As you already know, the party surprised many Nigerians with the huge success it achieved during the last general election. The party became a household name, all to the envy of the older political parties. You also know how the ruling party, forced itself into power at the expense of the Labour Party and the entire Nigerians.

“We are still in the tribunal challenging both the process and outcome of the presidential election. In order to ensure a subjugation of the Labour Party, the ruling party has deployed all manner of strategies to stifle the party, part of which was to sponsor insurrection amongst some suspended former members of the party, Lamidi Apapa and a few others.

“Their assignment was to ensure that no progress is achieved in the party. The heavily funded dissidents have tried to mislead the courts and some sections of the media to harass the party leadership, but all have failed. Only recently, the Court of Appeal sitting in Benin City affirmed Julius Abure as the National Chairman of Labour Party (LP).”

Speaking on the Imo governorship election, Farouk said the only recognised candidate of the party and a product of properly conducted primaries by Abure-led NWC is Senator Athan Achonu.

He added, “Only yesterday, the Court of Appeal Owerri, which sat in Abuja, while giving judgement in the case brought before it by one Basil Maduka, one of the two aspirants that were deceived by the Apapa camp to participate in their illegal primaries also ordered that the status quo remains with Senator Athan Achonu as the validly nominated candidate of Labour Party for 2023 Imo governorship election. It noted that Basil Maduka has no locus to seek redress in the court as he is not known by the Labour Party.

“For emphasis, you may recall that the Apapa group had hoodwinked and arranged governorship primaries for two members of the Labour Party, namely Chief Ukaegbu Ikechukwu and Sir Maduka, after which Ukaegbu won the contest.

“Maduka was piqued by the outcome of the fake primaries and had gone ahead to challenge the emergence of Ukaegbu. He sued both Ukaegbu and the Labour Party.

“Neither the authentic Labour Party led by Barrister Julius Abure nor its candidate Senator Athan Achonu was put on notice and were not aware of the situation. The case was decided on behalf of Ukaegbu against Maduka. The matter has nothing to do with the leadership of the party or the candidacy of Senator Achonu, a product of properly conducted primaries by Abure-led NWC.

“With this judgement, the pro-Apapa choice, Chief Ukaegbu, had gone to town declaring himself as the Labour Party candidate for the Imo governorship election.

“For emphasis, the court never pronounced him as the candidate of the Labour Party. No court has given judgement de-recognising Barrister Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party up till today.

“Meanwhile, the Labour Party appealed the Bayelsa court ruling on the ground that it lacks the jurisdiction to entertain a suit filed by the Apapa camp without putting the leadership of the party, which is known to law, into notice.

“ Senator Achonu, who was also not a party to the suit filed by Sir Maduka but, on hearing about the matter before the Federal High Court, sought to be joined as an interested party.

“However, the Court of Appeal re-emphasized the implication of lack of jurisdiction in a Motion for leave to appeal as an interested party and held that the Motion was filed out of time hence, it lacked jurisdiction.”

Famous Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi, has said policies of President Bola Tinubu-led government has left the country in a parlous state and pushed it to the brink of the precipice.

He stated that some policies of the present administration are capable of knocking the nation off the cliff, the edge of which it is now teetering on.

Gumi admonished Tinubu to revise some of the policies before they destroy.

He gave the admonition in a 22-second video clip posted on his official Facebook page.

Gumi asserted that if those tough policies are not reversed, the inferno that would erupt from them would also engulf the government.

He urged the president to consult experts before implementing certain policies, saying he should not depend on sycophants.

He said, “President Tinubu, you have to revise your policies; if not they are going to destroy the nation and they are also going to destroy your government.

“Your political and economic policies, you have to review them. You have to ask people who know better and don’t depend on these sycophants”.

Members of the House of Representatives in the 10th Assembly will get a total of N54bn for constituency projects as each member would get N150m.

According to one of the lawmakers who pleaded for anonymity, the constituency allowances are part of the few privileges available to lawmakers to directly impact their various constituencies.

Constituency or zonal intervention projects in Nigeria refers to developmental projects sited in the constituencies of members of the state Houses of Assembly, members of the House of Representatives or Senators as budgeted for under various Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

Such projects often have banners stating that a project was implemented with the name of the lawmaker.

The salaries and allowances of lawmakers have always been at the centre of controversies because it was often shrouded in secrecy.

In the ninth assembly, it was disclosed that each House of Reps member got N100m, while each lawmaker in the Red Chamber got N200m for constituency projects.

However, amid hardship and the need to call for the masses to endure the hard times in anticipation of the good times and the ‘Renewed Hope’ of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration, the constituency allowance of the lawmakers has increased by N50m.

The lawmaker said, “In the House of Reps, our constituency allowance is N150m. This is the only opportunity we have to help our constituencies with one or more projects.

“We usually don’t have power over the real projects. So, this is often like palliative for us to give back to our constituencies. Many of us often use our money to do all the projects that we do for our constituencies.

“And this year, we are getting N150m in the House of Reps; I don’t know how much they will get at the Senate.”

Writes Police To Arrest Abure 

The crisis in the Labour Party (LP) has taken another dimension as the Lamidi Apapa-led faction on Friday issued a warning letter to the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

The Apapa camp also, in a letter addressed to the Inspector General of Police, demanded the arrest of Julius Abure, the National Chairman of the Labour Party.

Apapa and Abure have been engaged in a protracted legal battle over the leadership of the party.

The warning letter issued to Obi, with reference number LP/NWC-NEC/WARNING LETTER/PO/ABUJA/VOL.1/2023/02, was dated August 24, 2023 and signed by Apapa as Acting National Chairman and Saleh Lawan as Acting National Secretary respectively.

According to the letter seen by THE WHISTLER on Friday, Obi was issued the warning for recognising Abure as the national chairman of the LP during the flag-off of Athan Achonu’s campaign for the November 11 governorship election in Imo State.

The letter was titled ‘Warning letter over your serial violations as contempt of court order and judgements; and disclaimer of the Imo State gubernatorial campaign flag-off by Mr. Peter Obi, Barr Julius Abure and Sen. Athan Achonu, on Tuesday, 22nd August, 2023 in Owerri’.

Addressing Obi, the letter said, “The Labour Party (LP) NEC and NWC declared to you that Alhaji Lamidi Bashiru Apapa is the Acting National Chairman of the Labour Party in Nigeria till today and contrary to your declaration at the venue of your illegal, unlawful and unauthorised gubernatorial campaign flag-off for Senator Athan Achonu on Tuesday, 22nd August, 2023.”

In another letter addressed to the IGP, dated August 23, 2023, with reference number LP/NWC-NEC/WARNING LETTER/PO/ABUJA/VOL.1/2023/01, the Apapa faction said Obi should heed the warning with immediate effect to prevent himself from being “suspended from the Labour Party”.

The letter, equally signed by Apapa and Saleh, further demanded the arrest and prosecution of Abure and members of his Labour Party national executive committee.

The Apapa camp said Abure and his faction are guilty of serial contempt of various court orders which affirmed Ikechukwu Ukaegbu as the candidate of the Labour Party for the November 11 governorship election in Imo State.

THE WHISTLER reports that Ukaegbu emerged as candidate in a primary election conducted by the Apapa faction on April 16 while Achonu emerged as the party’s flag bearer in another primary election held by Abure’s camp on April 15.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) however recognised Achonu, and other candidates produced by Abure’s camp, as LP flag bearer for the November 11 gubernatorial polls in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa.

But Apapa claims that Abure and members of his executive committee colluded with INEC officials to upload illegal names on the Commission’s portal.

Both the Obi and Abure camps could not be reached for comments.

The Federal Inland Revenue Service will begin its new Value Added Tax regime for companies by September as the Federal Government doubles its search for revenues.

The FIRS said subject to the Finance Act 2023, VAT withheld or collected, VAT on items excluded from building, the new Tertiary Education Tax rate of 3 per cent and Investment Allowances and Convertible Currencies will become effective September 1, 2023.

Certain amended provisions of the Finance Act 2023 were enacted on 28th May, 2023 with the effective date of 1st May 2023.

However, the effective date was changed to 1st September 2023.

Some of the amended Sections are 14 (3) which deals on VAT Withheld or Collected.

The VAT Act was amended to the effect that persons appointed to withhold or collect VAT shall remit the VAT withheld or collected on or before the 14th day of the month following the month in which the VAT was withheld or collected, the FIRS said.

“Consequently. All VAT withheld or collected in August 2023 shall be remitted to FIRS on or before the 14th of September 2023. Similarly, VAT withheld or collected in subsequent months shall be remitted to FIRS not later than 14th day of the month following that in which the VAT was withheld or collected,” FIRS said.

FIRS also said the definition of “building” was amended in Section 46 of the VAT Act to exclude any fixture or structure that can be easily removed from the land.

Examples of items excluded are radio and television masts, transmission lines, cell towers, mobile homes, caravans and trailers.

It added, “As such, all the items removed from the definition of land have become chargeable to VAT. Companies letting. trading in or providing services with such items must charge VAT at the prevailing rate with effect from 1st of September, 2023.”

Companies will also begin the payment of the new 3 per cent rate on Tertiary Education Tax (TET).

By the amendment to Section 1(2) of TET Act, the rate of TET was changed to 3 per cent of assessable profits. The new TET rate of 3 per cent will take effect for TET becoming due in respect of the accounting period ending on or after 1st September, 2023.

On investment allowances and convertible currencies, Sections 32, 34 and 37 of the Companies Income Tax Act (CITA) granting allowances in respect of capital expenditure incurred in certain circumstances, and tax exemption on income earned in convertible currencies from tourists by hotels have been repealed.

“Consequently, the said allowances and tax exemption are no longer available for tax returns becoming due in respect of the accounting period ending on or after 1st September, 2023,” the FIRS said.

Bandits have demanded N4 million in ransom for the release of one of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members kidnapped in Zamfara State.

On Friday, armed gunmen allegedly kidnapped eight members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) along a highway in Zamfara State.

The graduates were alleged­ly traveling in an Akwa Ibom Transport Company (AKTC) bus from Uyo, Akwa Ibom, to Sokoto State to participate in the mandated national service when their vehicle was stopped.

Emmanuel Etteh, the father of one of the victims, Glory Thomas, confirmed the latest development to an online medi­um, in a telephone conversation on Friday.

Etteh said the bandits called with their number to inform him about the abduction of his daughter and asked him to pay N4 million to secure her release.

“They called me with their line; they asked me to pay N4 million. I spoke with my daugh­ter because I asked how they wanted us to pay; she said we should contact the AKTC,” the troubled father said.

“Since that time, they have not called and I have not spoken with my daughter. I don’t know if they have released them but my daughter has not called me.”

The police command in Zamfara State has not passed any comment on the abduc­tion.

However, a military source who preferred anonymity had earlier confirmed the bandits’ ransom demands, adding that a rescue team is currently comb­ing the forest in order to rescue the victims unhurt.

An Ogun State Magistrate Court sitting in the Isabo area of Abeokuta, the state capital, on Thursday, sentenced one Ibrahim Giwa to one-year imprisonment for burglary and stealing.
Giwa was sentenced to a three-count boarding on felony to wit malicious damage and stealing.

The PUNCH METRO gathered that Giwa, on Monday, broke into a dwelling house of the Federal Government of Nigeria Housing Estate in the Ajebo axis of the state.

The Prosecutor, ASP Olakunle, told the court that Giwa damaged and stole some transformer cables worth N1,700,000, aluminum window worth N85,000, OX ceiling fan worth N21,000, aluminum window net worth N25,000 and heat extractor device worth N21,500.

The charge against the defendant before his conviction reads,”That you Ibrahim Giwa ‘m’ sometimes on 21st August 2023 at Federal Government Housing Estate Ajebo Road OGTV Area, Abeokuta in the Abeokuta magisterial district broke into a dwelling house of Federal Government of Nigeria Housing Estate with intent to committee felony to wit malicious damage and stealing, and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 413 of the Criminal Code Laws of Ogun State.

“Thal you brahim Giwa ‘m’ sometimes on 21st August 2023 at Federal Government Housing Estate Ajebo Road OGTV Area Abeokuta in the Abeokuta Magisterial district did willfully and unlawfully damaged some transformer cables worth (N1,700,000), Aluminium window worth (N85,000), OX ceiling fan worth (N21,000), Aluminium window net worth (N25,000) and HEAT extractor device worth (N21,500), and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 451 of the Criminal Code Laws of Ogun state of Nigeria 2006.

“That you Ibrahim Giwa ‘m sometimes on 21st August 2023 at Federal Government Housing Estate Ajebo Road OGTV Arca Abeokuta in the Abeokuta Magisterial district did stole transformer cable worth (N1,700,000), Aluminium window worth (N85,000), OX ceiling fan worth (N21,000), Aluminium window net worth (N25,000) and HEAT extractor device worth (N21,500), thereby committed an offence contrary to section 393 and punishable under section 390 of the Criminal Code Laws of Ogun State of Nigeria.”

The magistrate, Mrs O.O Odumosu, who found the convict guilty of the allegations, sentenced the suspect to six months imprisonment for the first count, three months for the second count and three months for the third count.

Odumosu ordered the convict to pay a N30,000 fine, noting that the one year should be spent concurrently.