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The Nigeria Police Force has dismissed two of its personnel, Sunday Adetoye and Ogunleye Stephen, over alleged corruption and robbery.
Naija News understands that the two Inspectors who were assigned to Zone 2 Command Headquarters in Onikan, Lagos, were labelled with offences including armed robbery, official corruption, and illegal duty.
The Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2, Mohammed Ali, made the decision to dismiss them after a thorough Orderly Room trial.
Inspector Adetoye, with Force number 279495, and Inspector Stephen, with Force number 223521, along with two members of a Vigilante Group named Semiu Afisu and Abidoye Femi, as well as a driver named Charles John, allegedly carried out a raid on a residence in the Obada-Oko community in Ogun State.
The said incident occurred at approximately 10 pm on November 23, 2023.
According to reports, they were armed with two Submachine SMG rifles and live ammunition during the raid. Without a warrant, they proceeded to search the apartment belonging to individuals named Taiwo Monsuru and Akintola Sunday.
Shockingly, they made off with five iPhones, one Samsung smartphone, one Tecno smartphone, and two laptop computers.
The Zonal Public Relations Officer, SP Umma Ayuba, elucidated the circumstances surrounding their arrest.
According to her, the police officers stationed at Ifo Division established a roadblock upon receiving information from other residents of the apartment regarding the incident.
Armed with the description of the vehicle involved, the officers successfully apprehended its occupants, with the exception of ASP Ajayi Victor, who was the ringleader of the illicit operation. It is important to note that ASP Ajayi Victor is currently evading arrest and remains at large.
“The AIG has directed that the dismissed officers be charged to court alongside the civilians involved, while he urges all officers and men of the force to remain professional in the discharge of their duties by the law, as anyone found wanting will be accountable for his or her action or inaction,” the police statement reads.
Commercial and merchant banks increasingly depended on liquidity from the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2023 as their borrowing from the apex bank grew by 32.07 per cent to N19.81tn in the year.
From January to December 2023, the banks’ borrowings from the CBN outgrew the N15tn they borrowed in 2022, according to the CBN data accessed by The PUNCH.
Commercial and merchant banks borrow from the apex bank using the Standing Lending Facility window and deposit cash with the apex bank using the Standing Deposit Facility window.
The SLF is a short-term lending window for commercial and merchant banks to access liquidity to run their business operations.
The CBN lends money to banks through the SLF at an interest rate of 100 basis points above the Monetary Policy Rate.
According to a document from the CBN website titled, ‘Standing Facilities and Liquidity Management in Nigeria: Progress so Far and Challenges Under an IT Environment,’ standing facilities (deposit and lending) are instruments of liquidity management and serve as avenues to invest surplus funds overnight and to boost the market whenever it is short of supply.
It notes that ideally, operators in the money market (banks and discount houses) are supposed to trade among themselves. However, the standing facilities ensure interbank rates are not volatile.
The increase in borrowing is happening against the backdrop of the CBN’s tightening monetary policy stance. The CBN data showed that banks borrowed N12.64tn from the CBN between January and August. Between September and December, they borrowed N7.17tn from the apex bank.
Unconfirmed reports said the increase in borrowing might be due to the CBN’s mopping up of excess cash circulation to rein in inflation.
While commenting on inflation recently, the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, said, “Concerning the real issue of inflation, as we know there are different components of inflation, there is money supply which is very critical and imported inflation and structured issues.
“On money supply, we have taken bold steps to control money supply. We have gone to the extent of increasing open market operations activities both in terms of volume and supply, all to rein in the money supply. The central bank clearly focuses on exactly where it expects the money supply to be, and we will do everything possible to defend that.”
Explaining the reason why banks had been dependent on the apex bank for liquidity recently, a former Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr Muda Yusuf, told The PUNCH, “This is a reflection of liquidity pressure some of the banks are going through.
“The facility is typically short-term. This may not necessarily indicate that the banks are stressed or unstable. Meanwhile, the recapitalisation of banks is long overdue. The minimum capital requirement of N25bn is no longer adequate if discounted for inflation.”
A financial expert at Chapel Hill Denham, Tajudeen Ibrahim, added, “The development points to a lack of liquidity on the part of banks. Monetary policy has been tightening, and this has led to low liquidity. It is cheaper for banks to borrow from CBN. This development is not positive but negative. We cannot continue to tighten because it will reflect economic growth.”
The number of federal-owned universities in Nigeria may hit 99 in the coming months as a bill to establish 47 new ones has scaled through the second reading.
This is just as about 56 bills have passed for the second reading to establish Federal Medical Centres in different parts of the country.
The PUNCH reports that currently, there are 52 federal universities in Nigeria, with some states of the federation hosting more than one.
The House is also considering various bills to establish about 32 Federal Colleges of Education, 11 Federal Colleges of Agriculture and five Federal Polytechnics in addition to the already existing institutions.
In addition to the 52 federal universities, there are 22 federal medical centres, 27 federal colleges of education and 40 polytechnics in Nigeria.
Some of the bills were either passed in the 9th Assembly but did not get the required concurrence at the Senate to scale through or were not signed by the President.
When established, some of the institutions will include Universities of Science and Technology, Agriculture, Aviation, Medicals, and Engineering, among others.
Findings revealed that the House is also considering various bills to establish Colleges of Vocational and Skill Acquisition, Cancer Research and Entrepreneurship.
A study of the House order paper listing the institutions and other bills under consideration revealed that Lagos State, for example, has requested the establishment of three new Federal Medical Centres in addition to the already existing one.
Recall that Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, while addressing members of the House on December 30, 2023, noted that the Green Chamber received and considered 962 bills, 500 motions, and 153 petitions in six months.
According to the member representing Zaria Federal Constituency, Kaduna State, out of the number of bills, 120 have scaled through second reading and are undergoing review for further legislative actions.
The President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, had last year said the establishment of universities without a template for funding was one of the factors responsible for the falling standard of tertiary education in the country.
He stated this while delivering a paper at the 14th Ralph Opara Memorial Lecture, tagged “State of tertiary education in Nigeria: Identifying historical issues and misconceptions, contemplating solutions”, organised by the National Association of Seadogs in Benin.
The ASUU president also noted that the method of appointment and recruitment into state-owned universities by the government has also contributed to the problem.
Osedeke said, “One of the major problems facing the tertiary institution is the establishment of universities without template for funding. The method of appointment and recruitment into state-owned universities by the government has also been a problem.’’
Also, the Port Harcourt Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Stanley Ogoun, last month, called for the urgent amendment of the National Universities’ Commission Act to stop governors from indiscriminately establishing new universities without adequately funding them.
The union said governors were turning the establishment of tertiary institutions into constituency projects at the detriment of existing ones.
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of new Executive Directors for the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
Presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale made this known in a statement in Abuja on Thursday, January 4, 2024.
Naija News reports that both agencies are under the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy headed by the former Governor of Osun State, Adegboyega Oyetola.
The appointees in the NPA are listed below.
(A) Ms. Vivian C. Richard Edet — Executive Director, Finance & Administration (NPA)
(B) Engr. Olalekan Badmus — Executive Director, Marine & Operations (NPA)
(C) Engr. Ibrahim Abba Umar — Executive Director, Engineering & Technical Services (NPA)
The appointees in NIMASA are listed below.
(D) Mr. Jibril Abba — Executive Director, Maritime Labour & Cabotage Services (NIMASA)
(E) Mr. Chudi Offodile — Executive Director, Finance & Administration (NIMASA)
(F) Engr. Fatai Taye Adeyemi — Executive Director, Operations (NIMASA)
Ngelale said the President approved these appointments with the firm belief, after studying their impressive profiles, that the new appointees will expeditiously and efficiently execute on their collective mandate to create the conditions required to significantly raise the contribution of the Marine & Blue Economy sector to the nation’s GDP.
He added that the new appointees will evolve the Nigerian economy into a labour-intensive and inclusive one that creates new opportunities for all Nigerians in accordance with the Renewed Hope Agenda, under the able guidance of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola.
Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Kingsley Moghalu claims that all Nigerian rulers have failed to deliver a decent level of electricity to the citizens.
Making this assertion in a tweet via his official X account on Thursday, Moghalu who cleared that he is not into partisan politics argued that no Nigerian leader succeeded in diversifying the nation’s economy.
“I am not in partisan politics. That ship has sailed. I can discuss our economy, & even how leadership affects it, but I won’t engage in political party narratives on the economy. All our governments have failed so far to deliver decent levels of electricity. None has “diversified” the economy successfully. And there has always been corruption which, in fact, only got progressively worse. But the facts remain the facts, that, even in the context of a trajectory of decline, the economy fared better in certain periods than under others,” Moghalu wrote.
His comment comes after he was heavily criticized for suggesting that the nation’s economy was last functional under the 16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party led government.
Naija News earlier reported that Moghalu had in a series of posts on X on Wednesday, stated that the country is being run by incompetent leadership.
Reacting to Moghalu’s comment, a presidential aide, Segun Ajayi said the former CBN official had convinced himself that his time in government was the ‘golden era of competence’ in managing Nigeria’s economy.
He said the time the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was in power was a period in which the nation didn’t see any progress in infrastructural development that had a direct bearing on the quality of life.
Ajayi added that when Moghalu was the CBN Deputy Governor, hundreds of millions of dollars were looted under various guises, but he wants Nigerians to believe that that period was the gold standard in economic management in Nigeria.
Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, has opened up to Nigerians on alleged fuel increase.
Speaking on Thursday during a Channels Television interview monitored by DAILY POST, National Vice President Hammed Fashola said there is no fuel pump increase.
According to him, the claim made in some sections of the media that IPMAN hinted at a fuel increase to N1,200 per litre was not from the Association.
IPMAN backed the National Nigerian Petroleum Company Limited’s appeal for Nigerians not to panic buy fuel Nationwide as the product is available.
“As far as IPMAN is concerned, there is no plan to increase fuel pump price increase. There is no basis for that for now; equally, there is no signal from NNPCL on fuel price increment. I want to use this opportunity to stop panic buying because there is nothing like a fuel price increase; it is just a rumour.
“The information on fuel increase to N1,200 per litre is not from IPMAN”, he stated.
He explained that NNPCL is the major importer of fuel into the country.
“IPMAN gets the product from NNPCL. As long as we get the product at the old price from NNPCL, the price will remain unchanged”.
Speaking on the Portharcourt and Dangote refinery, which is projected to come up in the first quarter of 2024, Fashola said it will bring about competition in the industry and push down prices in the long run.
“There will be a drastic price reduction when the two refineries come on board”, he said.
However, he appealed to increase the fuel allocation to IPMAN.
“However, we plead with NNPCL to increase the fuel allocation to independent marketers. The distribution matter of fuel products by NNPCL is faulty. What is going on is that most marketers are closing their businesses because they are not making profits. We appeal to the NNPCL to increase our allocation, probably if they give us two or three private depots to load from; it will be better if we can get the product directly from NNPCL. We are not getting fuel directly from NNPCL”, he noted.
Earlier, NNPCL refuted the claim of fuel price increase.
The company’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday through X handle.
“NNPC Ltd. urges Nigerians to disregard unfounded rumours and assures them that there are no plans for an upward review of the PMS price.
“Motorists nationwide are advised against panic buying, as there is ample availability of PMS across the country”, the statement reads.
DAILY POST gathered that fuel supply was available and sold between N600 and 630 per litre across filling stations in the Federal Capital Territory.
In June last year, the federal government announced the removal of fuel subsidies. Consequently, the pump price of fuel jumped to over N600 per litre from N198.
The Police Command in Rivers said it would begin screening of applicants who had indicated interest to join the force on Jan. 8.
SP Grace Iringe-Koko, the spokesperson of the command, announced the commencement of the screening exercise in a statement in Port Harcourt on Thursday.
She said the programme would be held at the Alfred Diete-Spiff Civic Centre at Moscow Road in Port Harcourt from Jan. 8 to Jan. 29.
“This is to inform the general public, especially all indigenes of Rivers, who applied for ongoing recruitment into the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) that screening will be held from Jan. 8 to Jan. 29.
“Applicants are expected to come with the required documents for the physical/credential screening exercise at the Alfred Diete-Spiff Civic Centre, Moscow Road.
“The required documents are evidence of physical/mental fitness from a government-recognised medical hospital and evidence of good character from each village/district head of applicants,” she stated.
Iringe-Koko said candidates should also come forward with original and duplicate copies of their certificate of origin, duly signed by the chairman or secretary of their local government areas.
“Other documents include original and duplicate copies of national identity card/slip and original and duplicate copies of birth certificate or declaration of age.
“Applicants are also expected to come along with the printout of their application form; duly completed guarantor’s form and their invitation slip.
“Candidates should also present recent passport photographs and two white flat files as well as expected to wear clean white T-shirts and shorts for the exercise,” she added.
The police image maker advised candidates to arrive at the venue of the screening exercise no later than 8am daily during the recruitment.
She said the Commissioner of Police, CP Olatunji Disu, had assured that all statutory entry requirements as clearly stated in the Police Acts and Regulations would be followed accordingly.
“CP Disu has also urged the shortlisted applicants to conduct themselves in an orderly manner to avoid acts capable of undermining the exercise.
“The screening is totally free,” Iringe-Koko stated. (NAN)
Former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouq, has cited health challenges as the reason she could not honour an invitation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The former minister was said to have officially written to the EFCC seeking an extension of the deadline regarding interrogations over an ongoing probe into the N37,170,855,753.44 allegedly laundered during her tenure in office, through a contractor, James Okwete.
The spokesperson for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale told The Punch that Umar had sent a legal representative and written to the commission seeking to be given more time to honour the invitation while citing health challenges.
Oyewale said, “The former Humanitarian Minister didn’t appear before the commission yesterday, but she sent in a letter pleading for more time and also explaining that she has some health challenges and that was why she couldn’t honour the invitation. She also sent in her lawyer to meet with interrogators.
“However, the commission has mandated her to submit herself to the commission without further delay. We are still tracing all the transactions, hence we cannot put a figure to everything now as the investigation is still ongoing.”
It was reported that Umar-Farouq kept interrogators waiting for over eight hours on Wednesday without an official communication to the commission as to why she didn’t honour the invitation.
The former minister was asked to appear before investigators at the EFCC Headquarters, Jabbi, Abuja on Wednesday, at about 10:00 am, to give an account of the alleged fraud that took place under her watch.
However, the former minister did not show up at the anti-graft agency’s office for interrogation on Wednesday.
Tahir Mamman, Minister of Education, has said that security operatives will go after holders of certificates from degree mills.
The minister was commenting on the Federal Government’s recent directive on degrees from Benin Republic and Togo during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today.
Following an investigative report by Daily Nigerian indicting a university in Benin Republic where a first degree was obtained within weeks, the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Education on Tuesday suspended accreditation of degree certificates from Benin Republic and Togo.
But when asked during the interview about his position on holders of such certificates who have been in the system, the minister said, “If along the line, we are able to trace people who are in the system they would be punished. For instance if a particular institution or an operator has been operating in the last 10 years we can check.
“If we can get records of Nigerians who attended those institutions and once we do that they are criminals. There is no time frame for criminality. We will trace them and if we are able to lay our hands on them, certainly security operatives will go after them.”
Mamman added that the minister is widening its investigation on degree mills to other institutions in some African countries.
Osun State government has allocated N702million to meals and entertainment for Office of the Governor and Secretary to the State Government in the 2024 budget of the state.
The Commissioner for Budget, Professor Ademola Adeleke who confirmed this during budget analysis in Osogbo debunked the insinuation that N11billion was allocated to meals and entertainment.
Adeleke said about 8 billion naira was allocated for total recurrent in the Office of the Governor comprises of the governor, deputy and Chief of Staff office, Bureau of General Services, Bureau of Government House and Protocol, Bureau of Parastatal and Bureau of Social Services.
He said only N600 million out of the N8billion was allocated for meals and entertainment. He said about N3billion was allocated to the Office of the Secretary to the State Government out of which, N102 million was allocated to meals and entertainment.
The commissioner said there is an improvement in recurrent to capital ratio from 68:32 in 2023 to 60:40 in 2024.
According to him, “We have 60 per cent of our budget being estimated for recurrent while 40 per cent for infrastructure. Osun State has surpassed the 30 per cent for infrastructure benchmark of the federal government,” he added.
“The 2024 approved estimate does not base on net financing (i.e. Loan). The 2024 approved estimate has taken care of the debt commitment of the previous administration in terms of debt services as well as pension and gratuity,” he said.
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The Nigerian currency, Naira, experienced a significant drop, reaching N1035.12 against the US dollar at the official Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) window on Wednesday.
This decline represents a 4.72 percent decrease from the N988.46/$ rate recorded on Tuesday, the first trading day of 2024.
The FMDQ Securities Exchange reported fluctuations in the official FX trading, ranging from a low of N700 to a high of N1,224 per dollar.
The market opened at N932.67 and closed at N1035.12, with a total daily FX market turnover of $85.68 million at the NAFEM window.
In the parallel market, the Naira fell by N15 or 1.23 percent, reaching N1,230 on Wednesday, compared to N1,215 on December 30, 2023.
Despite predictions of the Naira’s recovery in 2024 by financial experts like Bismarck Rewane and Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Olayemi Cardoso, the currency continues to face downward pressure.
The National Universities Commission (NUC) has released a list of universities operating illegally in Nigeria.
The list was contained in a notice signed by the acting secretary of the NUC, Chris Maiyaki, which said the affected universities have been closed down by the government and are under investigation.
According to the note attached to the list, the identified universities have not been licenced by the federal government.
It added that anyone who patronizes or obtains degrees from the illegal universities does so at his/her own risk.
The statement also warned that certificates obtained from the institutions will not be recognized for the purpose of NYSC, employment and further studies.
See the list.
According to Channels TV, Maiyaki confirmed on Wednesday that some arrests have been made with regard to the activities of the illegal universities.
Maiyaki said the Department of State Services (DSS) was involved in the clampdown on illegal institutions.
Naija News reports the clarification comes on the heels of an investigative report by a journalist, Umar Audu, who exposed a fake certificate syndicate from Bening Republic and Togo, which some Nigerians patronize.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, on Wednesday said the sanction and clampdown of the federal government against fake results would not be limited to Benin and Togo alone but would be extended to other countries such as Uganda, Kenya and Niger Republic.
The Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, has blamed technology for the double deployment of an undercover journalist, Umar Audu for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.
The Minister said the failure of technology was responsible for the mix-up but plans have been set in motion to avoid a future occurrence.
Mamman made the submission on Wednesday while speaking about the investigative report by Audu in which the journalist was able to obtain a University degree from Benin Republic in under two months and used the same to participate in the NYSC scheme.
“I presume that’s a failure of technology. Sometimes, it happens. So, it’s for the technical people to answer that,” Mamman said.
Audu, who had previously served in the NYSC scheme, was again deployed for the scheme and posted to Cross River State with the fake certificate obtained from Benin Republic.
Speaking on the development, Mamman added that he had already discussed with the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, “so that we simply have one identification system in our country and don’t carry different identification everywhere we go.”
Minister Lists Results From Other Countries That Will Be Banned
The Minister of Education in Nigeria, Tahir Mamman, has listed some other countries that will be affected by the decision of the federal government to suspend accreditation and evaluation of results from such countries.
Speaking on Wednesday during an appearance on Channels Television, Mamman said the hammer of the federal government won’t be limited to results from Benin Republic and Togo alone.
According to him, the sanction of the federal government will be extended to results from countries like Uganda, Kenya and Niger Republic.
Investors in the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), experienced a significant boost in the stock market as they gained a total of N1.5 trillion in just two days.
This positive sentiment continued yesterday, with the market capitalization reaching N42.429 trillion on Wednesday, compared to the N40.917 trillion it opened with on Tuesday.
The gains were primarily driven by Tier-1 banks such as Zenith Bank which rose by 4.23%, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTCO) by 3.49% , and STANBIC IBTC recorded a rise of 3.1% to offset losses in other sectors.
The benchmark index also recorded a 2.04% gain, settling at 77,537.57 points, resulting in a year-to-date return of 3.70%.
Market turnover was also higher, with a total of 927.56 million shares valued at N10.69 billion exchanged in 11,629 deals.
The market breadth closed positive, with advancing issues outnumbering declining ones at a ratio of 9.57-to-1. Dangote Sugar emerged as the top gainer, while LEARN AFRCA led the laggards’ table.
Tingo Group Founder Charged With Massive Securities Fraud In New York
Meanwhile, in a major development in the financial world, Odogwu Banye Mmobuosi, also known as Dozy Mmobuosi, founder of the Tingo Group, faces serious charges of securities fraud and false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as announced by Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James Smith, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the FBI.
Naija News reports that the indictment, unsealed in Manhattan federal court, accuses Mmobuosi of orchestrating a deceptive scheme to inflate the financial statements of his companies – Tingo Mobile and Tingo Foods.
These allegations suggest that Mmobuosi falsely represented these Nigerian companies as operational and profitable, generating substantial revenues, and then sold them to U.S.-listed companies, including Tingo Group (Nasdaq: TIO) and Agri-Fintech Holdings (OTC Markets: TMNA).
This fraudulent activity reportedly led to the issuance of misleading financial statements, portraying Tingo Mobile and Tingo Foods as profitable and cash-rich entities. Mmobuosi allegedly profited millions from this scheme through well-timed share sales at inflated prices.
Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney, commented on the gravity of Mmobuosi’s alleged actions, stating, “With this Indictment, Mmobuosi’s alleged deceitful scheme comes to an end.”
Similarly, FBI Assistant Director James Smith emphasized the seriousness of such securities schemes, highlighting their devastating impact on investors and the commitment of the FBI to bring perpetrators to justice.
Mmobuosi, 45 and originally from Nigeria, faces charges including conspiracy, securities fraud, and making false filings with the SEC. The maximum sentences for these charges range from five to twenty years in prison, though actual sentencing will be determined by a judge.
The indictment also highlights Mmobuosi’s lavish lifestyle, allegedly funded by the profits from this fraudulent scheme. Accusations include the use of illicit profits for luxury cars and private jet travel.
This indictment follows a lawsuit filed by the SEC against Mmobuosi and Tingo Group in December, describing the fraud as of “staggering” scope. Notably, Tingo’s reported cash balance of $461.7 million in March was starkly contrasted with legitimate bank records showing less than $50.
These charges are merely accusations at this stage, and Mmobuosi is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter Davis and Kiersten A. Fletcher leading the prosecution.