The Commander of the Amotekun Corps in Ogun State, David Akinremi is dead.

Akinremi, a retired Commissioner of Police, was said to have died on Monday evening.

It was gathered that Akinremi had been nursing an undisclosed ailment for quite some time until he breathed his last on Monday.

Akinremi was in 2021 appointed by Governor Dapo Abiodun as the pioneer Commander of the newly established Amotekun Corps.

The Amotekun Corps under his watch, worked with other security agents in their attempts to rid the State of crimes.

Confirming Akinremi’s death, the Commander of the So-Safe Corps, Soji Ganzallo, described Akinremi’s death as a rude shock.

Dr. Okanta Emefiele, the younger brother of the embattled governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has told the Federal Capital Territory High Court that the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Department of State Services, DSS, are witch-hunting his brother because of his “people-oriented financial policies” which several political actors are not comfortable with and are now looking for means to scandalize and smear his image and reputation.

Okanta, who warned that his brother may die in custody if not granted bail, made the allegation in his affidavit in support of the fundamental rights application filed by Emefiele’s lead counsel, J.B. Daudu SAN.

Among other prayers sought, Daudu had asked the court to restrain the DSS from further detaining his client under the guise of investigating him for terrorism financing, fraudulent activities, thereby interfering with his right to freedom of movement, personal liberty, and human dignity.

In his affidavit before the court , Okanta stated he has the consent and authority of his elder brother to depose the statement on his behalf since he was still being detained at the DSS facility.

Buttressing his allegations of a political witch-hunt by AGF and DSS, Okanta said the respondents have allegedly been applying to various courts with a view to obtaining favourable orders so as to help legalize the illegality certain unnamed politicians have finetuned against him.

“That Mr. Emefiele who served Nigeria meritoriously and brought laudable financial and monetary policies, as approved by the former president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, is now being treated like a common criminal, kept in an inhuman condition, denied food, his medications, and his spouse; family members, doctors, and lawyers, are not allowed access to him.

“I know as a fact that this policy is a serious blow to several politicians and a clog in electoral fraud in Nigeria as several dishonorable politicians set out plans to rig the 2023 General Elections through vote buying and electoral fraud, while insecurity is on the rise.

“That I know as a fact that one of such plots by these politicians includes to frame the applicant on unfounded allegations of terrorism financing, fraudulent practices as well as allegations of plots to cover up N89 Trillion stamp duty fraud, which the former administration of President Buhari had personally debunked as been untrue, unfounded and unmeritorious in all regards,” he stated.

He further alleged that these mindless and faceless politicians planned to use the instrumentality of the judicial process to intimidate, harass and oppress and force him out of office in order to continue in the “old pattern of electoral fraud and vote buying.”

He further contended that the detention of Emefiele remains illegal because it has already been determined with finality by Justice M.A. Hassan of the same court of coordinate jurisdiction in a matter between the Incorporated Trustees of Forum For Accountability and Good Leadership versus President, Federal Republic of Nigeria(Suit No: FCT/HC/GAR/CV/41/2022).

Okanta urged the court to order the release of the embattled CBN governor, adding that if the court fails to intervene, he “would be subjected to considerable physical and psychological torture, which may lead to his death, incapacitation or aggravation of his ill-health for no just cause.”

While the court has fixed July 13 for ruling on the application, THE WHISTLER reports that the AGF and DSS had raised preliminary objections to Emefiele’s applications and affidavit.

In a counter affidavit filed by its counsel, I. Awo, the DSS denied the allegation of political witch-hunt, maintaining that it remains apolitical and does not act in the interest of any political group or persons.

“The applicant was arrested upon reasonable suspicion of committing acts which constitute a criminal breach of trust, incitement to violence, criminal misappropriation of public funds, economic sabotage, economic crimes of national security dimensions, and undermining the security of Nigeria;” he said.

Awo further contended that upon the arrest of the applicant, a detention order was obtained from a court of competent jurisdiction to enable the agency to keep him in lawful custody for 14 days having discovered that investigations into his office will take a little while to conclude.

For the AGF, its legal team urged the court to decline jurisdiction on Emefiele’s request for release following investigations into his office.

Recall that President Bola Tinubu had on June 9 suspended the CBN governor from office, to enable investigation into allegations against him.

The CBN Deputy Governor in charge of Operations, Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi, was subsequently directed by the president to step in an acting capacity.

…Urges FG to mitigate Nigerians’ suffering

The World Bank has tasked the administration of President Bola Tinubu to rebuild Nigeria’s fiscal space, following the removal of petrol subsidy and the unification of the Foreign Exchange (FX)rates.

The bank’s position was contained in its latest Nigeria Development Update (NDU), released, yesterday.

The removal of the petrol subsidy and foreign exchange (FX) management reforms, according to the report, were crucial measures to begin to rebuild fiscal space and restore macroeconomic stability, and the opportunity should be seized to take further, necessary policy reform steps.

It noted that the new administration had initiated critical reforms to address macroeconomic imbalances.

Specifically, the organisation said that the president should seize the window of opportunity for a transformative impact on the lives of millions of Nigerians and establish a solid foundation for sustainable and inclusive growth.

The June 2023 edition of the NDU, titled “Seizing the Opportunity”, added that it was critical to implement a comprehensive reform package encompassing a range of complementary measures, including a new social compact to protect the poor and most vulnerable, to maximize the collective impact on growth, job creation, and poverty reduction.

The report showed that in the first part of 2023, Nigeria’s economic growth weakened, as real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth fell from 3.3% in 2022 to 2.4% year-on-year (y-o-y) in Q1 2023.

It added, “The challenging global economic context has put pressure on Nigeria’s economy.

” However, domestic policies play a major role in determining Nigeria’s economic performance and resilience to further external shocks.

“The previous mix of fiscal, monetary, and exchange rate policies, including the naira redesign program, did not deliver the desired improvements in growth, inflation, and economic resilience.

“The new government has recognized the need to chart a new course and has already made a start on critical reforms, such as the elimination of the petrol subsidy and reforms in the FX market.

“With the petrol subsidy removal, the government is projected to achieve fiscal savings of approximately 2 trillion naira in 2023, equivalent to 0.9% of GDP. These savings are expected to reach over 11 trillion naira by the end of 2025.

“However, compensating transfers will be essential to help shield the most vulnerable Nigerian households from the initial price impacts of the subsidy reform, as without compensation, many households could be pushed into poverty by higher petrol prices and have to resort to coping mechanisms with long-term adverse consequences.

” Similarly, the move to harmonize the FX windows will help to improve the efficiency of the FX market, unlock private investment, and reduce inflationary pressures, but it is crucial to complete this important reform by removing FX restrictions, clearly communicating how the new FX regime will operate, and implementing supportive monetary and fiscal policies.”

The report recommended specific, critical measures to build on the new government’s bold start in making critical reforms, to ensure that Nigeria rose to its full potential.

These included: restoring macroeconomic stability by increasing non-oil revenue, reducing inflation through a sequenced and coordinated mix of trade, monetary and fiscal policies, and completing the FX reform; expanding social protection to protect the poor and most vulnerable; and developing and communicating how, as fiscal space recovers, resources will be redirected.”

In his remarks, Shubham Chaudhuri, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria also said, “The current move by the Government to implement long-anticipated reforms such as the removal of costly and opaque petrol subsidy, and efforts to harmonize the multiple FX windows, are timely and crucial to set Nigeria on the path of economic growth.

“These reforms should be accompanied by compensatory actions to mitigate the short-term impact on the poor,” said.

“Nigeria should now seize the opportunity to implement a robust, large-scale cash transfer program to provide quick relief to the poor, near poor, as well as low-income households which are most directly affected by higher petrol prices, as part of a broader compact to redirect scarce fiscal resources towards development priorities”.

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP,  Peter Obi has reacted to recent demolition of some buildings by government, saying the Nigerian citizens should not be subjected to the additional stress of unexpected hardship. 

Obi stated this in a statement via his verified Twitter handle on Tuesday.

According to him, although some of the demolitions might be excusable, they had left many victims, mostly ordinary people, who are either innocently ill-informed or misguided.

Obi said the primary duty of any government is to care for and protect its citizens.

The former Anambra State governor advised that “necessary corrective measures to planning or zoning violations by governments, need not be punitive or unduly insensitive.”

He stated, “In Nigeria, we live in a time of extreme difficulties for citizens because of stagnated income, spiralling inflation, huge unemployment escalating socio-economic costs and high costs of living.

“Nigerian citizens should therefore, not be subjected to the additional stress of unexpected hardship. Moreover, the various concerned governments should consider paying compensation to those who have lost properties and livelihoods in these unfortunate demolitions to ameliorate their suffering.

Such compensation should fall under the rubric of eminent domain that is applicable for properties and assets acquired or demolished in the public interest.

“It cannot ever be overemphasized that the primary duty of any government is the responsibility to care for and protect her citizens.”

Recall that the Lagos Government had on June 16 begun the removal of what it described as distressed buildings in the Alaba International Market located in the Ojo Local Government Area of the state.

The enforcement team of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA and the Lagos State Task Force embarked on the joint exercise.

Following the controversy that trailed the exercise, the government insisted that the exercise was a measure to prevent disaster.

However, Obi maintained that Nigerian citizens should not be subjected to the additional stress of unexpected hardship.

The statement reads, “Recently, there have been reports of widespread government demolition of so-called ‘illegal’ structures erected by some innocent Nigerian citizens in error. 

“We face a paradox: with a 70 million housing deficit and vast unmet housing needs nationwide, some resort to self-help by building structures that serve as homes, businesses, SMEs offices and stores.

“Invariably, some of these structures were either not approved or were built with the tacit collusion or approval of the local authorities.

“While some of these ongoing demolitions may be excusable, they have nonetheless, left many victims, mostly ordinary people who erred innocently or were ill-informed or misguided. Necessary corrective measures to planning or zoning violations by governments need not be punitive or unduly insensitive.

“There should always be room for compassion and humane correction in taking any remedial action. I respectfully appeal to various governmental authorities to marry the need to enforce compliance with extant regulatory regimes, with consideration for human feelings and necessary compassion.”

[Vanguard]