President Bola Tinubu is preparing to initiate a novel three-step approach for evaluating the performance of Ministers and heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) as he approaches the completion of his first year in office.

This innovative strategy aims to incorporate public opinion into the decision-making process regarding the retention or dismissal of cabinet members and key agency leaders by May 29, 2024.

Insiders from the Presidential Villa in Abuja disclosed to BusinessDay that the President intends to launch the feedback platform on Tuesday.

This digital platform is designed to gather assessments from Nigerians on the performance of each minister and their contributions to the administration’s objectives.

However, the inauguration of this feedback mechanism has been postponed to the following week.

The delay allows for the finalization of necessary preparations by the office of the Special Adviser on Policy Coordination, led by Hadiza Bala-Usman.

This extension is to ensure the platform is fully operational and capable of capturing comprehensive and insightful feedback from the citizenry.

The source said, “This will be done at three different levels. First, you have members of the public who can through the platform, get relevant information on the President Bola Tinubu’s targets for each Ministry and through that give feedback on the performance of each Minister based on the targets provided.

“The next stage will be evaluation carried out by the Policy Coordination office, and lastly, a group of Consultants will also give their assessments on the Ministers performance

“So, these will be the basis for determining which Minister stays and those that will leave the cabinet because of poor performance.”

Bala-Usman had earlier in the year indicated that President Tinubu “will drop ministers who do not deliver on their mandates.”

She had stated this at the opening of a technical retreat organised for delivery desk officers of federal ministries, to train them on implementation of presidential priorities and ministerial deliverables, in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital.

Usman warned that “President is serious about delivering on his promise to make life better and easier for Nigerians.

“You must understand that as ministerial delivery desk officers you are the engine room that will provide that feedback and constantly track ministerial progress and report challenges and bottle to the CDCU.”

The retreat, according to her, “was to introduce the delivery officers to the framework of the delivery chain for progress tracking and build the officers’ capacity on monitoring of the delivery plan”

The President had tasked the Special Adviser on Policy and Coordination, soon after the Ministerial retreat on November 3rd, 2023, to “immediately activate the performance tracking system in a way that maximally leverages on cutting- edge digital innovation to provide real time oversight capability for the benefit of all Nigerians.”

The President also charged the Ministers to demonstrate diligence, innovative thinking, commitment, and an unrelenting focus on resul, added that “I want to reiterate that the Renewed Hope Agenda is about more than just economic growth.

“It is also about building a more just and equitable society for all Nigerians. It is about creating jobs, improving education and healthcare, and reducing poverty. It is about ensuring that all Nigerians have the opportunity to succeed.

“I know that we have a lot of work ahead of us, but I am confident we can achieve our goals. We have a strong team in place, and we are committed to working together to build a better future for Nigeria.

“Let me remind you that our people are not interested in excuses, political games, or procrastination. Neither am I. They are interested in tangible results. They seek solutions to the problems that have long plagued our great nation. The challenge before us demands that we must put aside personal ambitions and focus on adhering to the performance bond we have all signed up to on this day. These performance bonds represent a contract we must uphold.”

The President also emphasized the importance of data in governance, saying: “Data is the life- blood of effective governance. It enables us to understand the challenges we face so that we can design and implement effective solutions as well as monitor and evaluate our progress. Without data, we are flying blind.”

It was also gathered on Monday that the Policy Coordination Office will rely mostly on the recommendations made at the first Ministerial retreat, in assessing the achievements of each Minister.

The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Rt. Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha has appealed to the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU, to call off their 7-day warning strike, which started on Monday.

The Minister also expressed displeasure at the action of the unions, which she described as a total disregard of Federal Government’s concerted effort to address the concern of the unions.

A statement issued by Olajide Oshundun Director, Press and Public Relations, quoted Hon. Onyejeocha as saying that “the Ministry was not officially notified by the unions of their intention to proceed on a 7-day warning strike. This is contrary to the provisions of section 18 of the Trade Dispute Act.

“However, when the Ministry got wind of the intended warning strike, it reached out to the leadership of the unions for an emergency meeting in order to avert the strike. Unfortunately, a physical meeting could not be arranged between the unions and the federal government, but a tele-discussion took place between their leadership and the Ministry.

“Consequently, the Ministry suggested another date, Monday 18th March, for a proper conciliation meeting, believing that on the basis of that discussion, the intended strike would be put on hold pending the outcome of the meeting; but this date was rejected by the unions.

“The Minister has always maintained that strike does not serve any useful purpose and should only be resorted to as a last option after exhausting every conciliation effort.”

She appealed to the SSANU and NASU to step back from their hard-line stance and meet the federal government at the table for conciliation.

The Minister also appealed to all Nigerians to always take steps that are beneficial to the well-being of the country and the citizens.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome, has said the country needs a new constitution rather than an amendment to the 1999 Constitution.

Ozekhome stated that no amount of amendment can cure the flaws in the 1999 constitution following the set-up of Committees to review and amend the country’s law by the National Assembly.

He said this on Monday during a National Constitutional dialogue in Lagos in honour of the late Ben Nwabueze, the Pioneer Secretary-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

The senior lawyer asserted that military leaders handed over the current constitution to Nigerians and that a new constitution should be created through a referendum.

Ozkehome added that a new constitution will make provisions for the creation of state police, stating that the argument for abuse of state police is not tenable.

He said: “But will their (national assembly) work amount to what we are looking for? Is it just the amendment of the constitution that is our problem? Can you amend a bad document? Can you amend a fundamentally flawed document?.

“My humble answer is that you cannot. One million amendments, multiple by one million amendments of the present fundamentally flawed constitution, cannot cure the original sin.

“What is that original sin? It was imposed on you and me militarily by a military junta led by General Abdulsalami Abubakar and 28 members of the provisional ruling council.

“It was never subjected to the referendum of the people. Guess what? The present constitution was attached as a mere schedule to decree number 24 of 1999.

“So the constitution you are using is a mere schedule attached to a decree. How can you amend it? How do you cleanse it? Nigeria must own their own constitution through a popular referendum of the people.”

A leading figure of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State, Stanley Ekezie, has blamed the electorate’s decisions in the last general election squarely for Nigeria’s ongoing economic hardship.

Naija News reports that Ekezie made this comment during an interview in Owerri, Imo State’s capital on Monday.

The PDP chieftain’s comments come as Nigeria grapples with significant economic challenges that affect citizens across all socio-economic strata.

“Blame Nigeria’s electorate for the current economic crisis. Nigerians prefer to take peanuts in lieu of good governance,” Ekezie stated, highlighting a culture of vote-buying that plagued the last electoral cycle.

According to him, this practice saw voters willingly exchange their votes for immediate monetary rewards, paving the way for unqualified individuals to assume positions of power.

Ekezie argues that this phenomenon not only undermines the democratic process but also sets the stage for governance that lacks accountability and foresight, directly impacting the nation’s economic stability.

The consequence, he notes, is the widespread economic hardship currently experienced across Nigeria, a direct fallout from the electorate’s decisions.

The former aspirant for Okigwe North Federal Constituency further lamented the cyclical nature of this issue, warning that without a significant shift in the electorate’s approach to elections, the economic situation is unlikely to improve.

He warned that“The situation will persist so long as the wrong people continue to occupy the seat of power.”

Former Nigerian international, Finidi George, has been shortlisted as a potential candidate to take over the vacant position of the Super Eagles manager.

The coast is, however, not totally clear for him to take over the assignment as it is understood that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has also shortlisted five other candidates for the same position.

The Nigerian Super Eagles have been without a permanent coach since Portuguese tactician, Jose Peseiro, who led the team to a second-place finish at the 2023 AFCON tournament, left the position last month.

Though hundreds of interested candidates applied for the job, a high-placed source at the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Technical Committee, saddled with the responsibility of pruning down the list of applicants, has hinted that Finidi, who will be leading out the Super Eagles in the upcoming international friendly against Mali and Ghana this week, is one of the names already pencilled for the job.

The source added that five other persons are also on the NFF list but he refused to disclose their identities.

“There’s nothing much I can tell you now, but the good thing is that we have shortlisted six names for the NFF to pick one,” the official said according to The Nation.

“What I can tell you now is that Finidi is one of the six shortlisted names good enough to coach the Super Eagles,” he said.

Asked about others on the list, he said: “No, wait for the NFF to disclose the names of the five others.”

However, Basic Sports in Nigeria (BSN Sports) are claiming that Amuneke has already been recommended by the NFF Technical Committee as the new manager of the Super Eagles, while Finidi would serve as his assistant.

The medium equally reported that veteran cadet trainer, coach Manu Garba, has been picked to lead the national U-17 team, the Golden Eaglets, yet again.

The casualties are not only those who are dead/They are well out of it/The casualties are not only those who are dead/Though they await burial by installment/The casualties are not only those who are lost/Persons or property, hard as it is/To grope for a touch that some/May not know is not there/The casualties are not only those led away by night/The cell is a cruel place, sometimes a haven/Nowhere as absolute as the grave/The casualties are not only those who started/A fire and now cannot put out/Thousands/Are burning that have no say in the matter/The casualties are not only those who are escaping/The shattered shall become prisoners in/A fortress of falling walls/The casualties are many and a good member as well/Outside the scenes of ravage and wreck/They are the emissaries of rift/So smug in smoke-rooms they haunt abroad/They do not see the funeral piles/At home eating up the forests/They are wandering minstrels who, beating on/The drums of the human heart, draw the world/Into a dance with rites it does not know./The drums overwhelm the guns../caught in the clash of counter claims and charges/When not in the niche of others left/We fall/All casualties of the war….” – John Pepper Clark, The Casualties (1970)

These prefatory lines are taken from J.P. Clark’s “The Casualties” (1970), a most poignant poem written by one of the masters of the genre in Nigerian literature on the civil war of 1967 -70. Clark’s lines are simple and clear enough; relevant as they were in 1970, they remain just as relevant today, 54 years later, as they offer an apt description of the tragedy that occurred in the coastal community of Okuama in Delta State on Thursday, March 14, and the aftermath of that slaughter of 17 (initially reported to be 16) soldiers who were reportedly on a peace mission. The fact that we have to go back to a 1970 poem speaks not simply to the eternity of good literature, but more to the fact that indeed the civil war is yet to end. We remain perpetually in a state of war and we are all as the poet says, “casualties”. Both the men and women in uniform, sworn to defend the integrity, and sovereignty of Nigeria, as well as ordinary civilians are trapped in the vortex of centrifugal forces and fault-lines which again and again, result in tragedy and anarchy. No one is safe.  When a people turn against the same men who have been assigned to protect them, there can be no stronger proof of the failure of the state. The murder of four officers and 13 other ranks in Okuama is as President Bola Tinubu has pointed out, in a personally signed statement, “a direct attack on our nation”, and further, an affront on the very values that make us human. Murder was not enough for the killers, they reportedly went ahead to dismember some of their victims, and harvested their organs in what points to modern-day cannibalism and sheer cruelty. 

I am however shocked to no end by the kind of conspiracy theories that have been thrown up by some interested parties with necrophilous prejudices of their own. The most shocking is the suggestion that the men of the 181 Amphibious Battalion asked for their own death because they went to the community without permission from the traditional rulers and elders of Okuama. Or that the soldiers and their commander openly took sides with the Ijaw-Okoloba community in a land dispute with Okuama, hence they were not about to make peace. One spokesperson for Okuama has in fact alleged that the soldiers stormed the community and killed three persons, shot at anything on sight, and that the tragedy that followed was because angry youths of the community decided to fight back. Other persons who claim to know the politics of the area very well also argue that the soldiers in that area of responsibility, to use a military phrase, are corrupt and that the people know this for a fact and that is why the youths do not respect them. Within 72 hours after the murder, there were reports that Okuama had been besieged by unknown soldiers who set the entire community ablaze. These same unknown soldiers are said to be patrolling the creeks. The people of the community have fled towards Ughelli. They have become refugees away from their own land. Okuama is a ghost town. I have again heard some concerned parties arguing that the reprisal is unacceptable, because when soldiers are killed in the North, as in Niger state for example, Nigerian soldiers do not engage in reprisal killings, but if one soldier is killed in the South South, hell breaks loose as was the case in the Ijaw town of Odi, Bayelsa State on November 20, 1999. 

I ask: how does any of these theories and arguments justify the cold-blooded murder of soldiers who were on active duty? Such views can only be expressed in a country that is on the brink of failure. The conflict between Okoloba (Ijaw) and Okuama (Urhobo) communities was said to have been caused by a dispute over land. Leo Tolstoy has asked “How much land does a man need?” in a short story of the same title written in 1886. But here in Africa, so much sentimental value is attached to land, not a little blood has been shed over the centuries for it. In Nigeria, conflict over land is at the centre of perennial communal border clashes, indigene/settler acrimony and farmer-herder conflicts turning the entire country from the coast to the savannah into a vast theatre of war. What should bother us is why the military, whose functions are properly defined in Section 217 (2) of the 1999 Constitution and the Armed Forces Act of 1994, would end up settling land disputes between communities! We have complained endlessly that there must be a limit to the use of the Nigerian military for police work. Nigeria has become so insecure, the internal war has gone on for so long, that soldiers now man check-points across the country. It is even not unusual to see soldiers in uniform providing security at weekend, “owambe” parties or serving as bodyguards to the rich. Familiarity breeds contempt. In other countries, soldiers are respected for their service to the nation. I once saw a group of Marines arriving at an airport in the United States. Everyone at the airport lounge stood up and applauded them – a grateful people appreciating those who defend the sovereignty of their country. It is unfortunate that here in Nigeria, we kill our own soldiers. This is strange and unacceptable. The children of those soldiers have now become fatherless, their wives have become widows, their families have lost their loved ones. “All casualties…”

Those who argue that there would have been no reprisal if the soldiers had been killed in the North forget that the main issue is the erosion of human values in our country. We share a common humanity but the hardship and bad politics in Nigeria have robbed us of a sense of what it means to be human, hence the spread of violence, criminality and impunity from North to South, East to West. Those who seek to play politics with everything, including murder, are casualties of primordial emotions. They forget that there was a similar reprisal by unknown soldiers in Zaki Biam on October 12, 2001, when soldiers went to avenge the killing of their men in that community. The revenge mission was titled “Operation No Living Thing”. Some people claim that Zaki Biam is not Northern enough, and that is precisely the problem with Nigerians. We are too divisive. Just as the murder of soldiers is wrong and must be condemned, reprisal killing, resort to extra-judicial killing and jungle justice is also condemnable. No one, soldier or civilian, has any right to take the laws into their hands. The fact that jungle justice rules the land is indeed why we are all victims. The people of Odi, whose houses were razed, and their women were raped, and the people of Zaki Biam who were openly executed have not recovered from the horror of that experience. Okuama community in Delta state may never recover from the scorched earth attack inflicted on it. No citizen should be subjected to such agony. 

Where is the Delta State government? In a statement issued by Brig-Gen Tukur Gusau, Acting Director of Information, Defence Headquarters, we were told that the matter had been reported to the Delta State Government. Governor Sheriff Oborevwori would later condemn the killings as “despicable” and promise that the state government will take “all necessary measures” to protect lives and property in the state. What could those necessary measures possibly be? The Land Use Act (1979) vests the ownership of land in state Governors as trustees, but in the event of land-related conflicts, state Governors are either totally helpless or even complicit as they surreptitiously try to defend the interests of their own ethnic groups. Conflicts in Delta State over the years have been far beyond the capacity of the Governors. It will be no different with Oborevwori, who himself needs as much help as the people.  If he had any ideas about what to do, the tragedy at Okuama could have been prevented. The conflict must have been brewing over time until it reached a boiling point. 

President Tinubu has written as follows: “I extend my profound condolences to the families of these fallen heroes, their colleagues, and their loved ones. The military high command is already responding to this incident. The cowardly offenders responsible for this heinous crime will not go unpunished. The incident, once again, demonstrates the dangers faced by our servicemen and women in line of duty. I salute their heroism, courage and uncommon grit and passion.” He added: “The Defence Headquarters and Chief of Defence Staff have been granted full authority to bring to justice anybody found to have been responsible for this unconscionable crime against the Nigerian people.” Certainly, the President struck the right notes of empathy; signing the statement personally as President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is also a good gesture that matches the gravity of the problem. Morale must be very low among the troops - to be killed by an enemy on the battle-field is occupational hazard, but to be slaughtered at home by the same people they have taken an oath to protect and defend is worse. The families of the 17 fallen soldiers deserve every support that they can get, including counselling. We mourn the fallen heroes: Lt. Col. AH Ali, Commanding Officer, 181 Amphibious Battalion, Major SD Shafa, Maj. DE Obi, Capt. U Zakari, SSgt. Yahaya Saidu, Cpl. Yahaya Danbaba, Cpl Kabiru Basir, LCpl. Bulus Haruna, LCpl. Sole Opeyemi, LCpl. Bello Anas, LCpl. Hamman Peter, LCpl. Ibrahim Abdullahi, Pte Alhaji Isah, Pte Clement Francis, Pte Abubakar Ali, Pte Ibrahim Adamu and Pte Adamu Ibrahim. The President has called for “justice”. The investigations and arrests being carried out by the Defence Headquarters must result in a situation whereby the long arm of the law catches up with those who killed the soldiers, those who inflicted jungle justice on the community and destroyed lives and properties, those who caused the conflict between the two communities of Okuama and Okoloba, and any person(s), be they chiefs, youths or ordinary indigenes who may be trying to profit in whatever form from the crisis. 

The investigation must also address certain cogent questions: what was the peace mission all about? Who authorized the deployment of troops and under what circumstances?  How did the youths of Okuama get the sophisticated weapons with which they waged war against Nigerian soldiers? Why is it that the soldiers could not defend themselves? How equipped were they, even on a peace mission, military work requires an advance knowledge of the threat situation at a chosen destination or is that not so? And how on earth did soldiers become involved in a land dispute? It would perhaps be advisable to set up an independent panel of inquiry, and for the military to review the scope of the involvement of its personnel in the Niger Delta. The Okuama narrative is at best a developing story, “caught in the clash of counter claims and charges.” In order not to keep ending up as “casualties”, the people of Urhobo Ewu Kingdom and the Ijaws along the Forcados river must learn to live together in peace.  And as for the rest of us, the instructive question is: who really is safe when armed soldiers are killed so easily by irate youths? I guess not even the dead who are also now being kidnapped from cemeteries by graveyard bandits.

Strong indications have emerged that a potential problem of scarcity of the e-passport booklets is looming, occasioned by the non-payment of huge production debt to vendors and major stakeholders involved in the value chain of the travel document.

LEADERSHIP learnt that unless the federal government, through the offices of the minister of finance and the accountant general of the federation (AGF), halts its monthly deduction of the whooping 50 per cent fund from the income paid into the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Treasury Single Account (TSA) from passport sales, specifically opened for the acquisition of the e-passports, the looming shortage of the travel document may not be averted.

A top source at the passport office at the Nigeria Immigration Service headquarters, who wished to remain anonymous, explained that the misconception is that the gross income paid by passport applicants goes directly to the NIS TSA, from where the service is supposed to make payment to all stakeholders involved in the passport value chain.

He lamented that, unfortunately, before the said income drops, the federal government, which regards the money as net income, takes out 50 per cent, leaving the Immigration service with nothing reasonable to service their vendors and all stakeholders involved in the passport production process.

He said, “Let me give you an example, the cost of the 32-page passport booklet outside Nigeria is $132, while the cost of the 64-page category is $230. If you apply outside Nigeria and you pay in dollars, the money goes straight into the Federal Account which is shared amongst the three tiers of government every month by the Federation Account Committee (FAAC).”

The officer, who confirmed that there is currently a shortage of the 32-page booklets across the 48 passport-issuing outlets outside Nigeria, and the 44 outlets in the country, however, acknowledged that the agency presently has the 64-page booklets in excess but that the demand for it was very low.

“Our service providers are owed over N16 billion while printed booklets are stuck in warehouses due to our inability to offset these huge debts,” he said.

The source explained that there are booklets to be delivered to the NIS by the printers, but they are stuck in Nigeria Customs Service and DHL warehouses due to the huge debts owed them.

“The Customs Service, DHL and two Nigerian banks are amongst service providers that are insisting on the payment of their outstanding N16 billion balance before the documents would be released to us. As a matter of fact, we are meant to understand that the manufacturing firms based Slovenia, Malaysia, and another in Malta handling the e-passport projects are yet to be reimbursed in line with our agreement to always make payment two weeks after printing and supplying the e-passports,” he stated.

Another competent source at the Ministry of Interior told our correspondent that the minister of interior, Dr Tunji-Ojo, who is worried that the frightening threat of passport booklets shortage might hinder the ongoing passport reforms, single handedly sourced for and obtained grants of about N10 billion from outside the system to salvage the mess. However, unfortunately, that amount cannot make any meaningful impact.

“As I speak to you, the minister isn’t relenting; he is still busy trying to get more, but the truth is that this move is not sustainable,” he said.

Major stakeholders and experts are insisting that things can only get back if the total monies deducted from the passport production TSA is returned to the rightful owners.

“We are at the verge of approaching our very understanding President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to stop the ACG, the Minister of Finance and the CBN, letting them know that the whooping 50 per cent they usually take is not actually theirs,” the source said.

Sports Kit manufacturing giant, Nike, has revealed Nigeria’s new 2024 home and away kits.

The design of the jersey will be the first time in three years that the Super Eagles use white as a main colour.

The Nike Nigeria 2024 home football shirt is predominantly white with green and red detailing.

The most unusual feature of the Nike Nigeria 2024 home shirt is that Nike have used the words ‘NAIJA’ on the front of the shirt instead of the Nigerian football crest.

This design is reminiscent of the Puma third shirt from the 21-22 season.

Nike combines the Nigeria 2024 home football shirt with white shorts and socks.

The Nike Nigeria 2024 away football shirt has a first in the country’s history.

The Nike Nigeria 2024 away kit is mainly black, combined with a green graphic design.

The green pattern of the Nigeria 2024 away jersey is inspired by the famous Nigerian rainforest.

Violence broke out between supporters of Trabzonspor and players from Fenerbahce after a match on Sunday in the Turkish top flight, which has been plagued by trouble this season.

A crowd of home supporters invaded the pitch at Trabzonspor’s stadium after the final whistle of an encounter that Fenerbahce won 3-2.

Images show a Trabzonspor fan enter the pitch and begin running towards the celebrating Fenerbahce players, some of whom reacted by running towards him to try and strike him.

Other fans then invaded the pitch as stewards tried to restore order.

Videos showed Belgian international Michy Batshuayi kicking a fan who had entered the pitch and Nigerian international Bright Osayi-Samuel punching another supporter.

In other images on social media, a fan can be seen to threaten a visiting player with a corner flag and Fenerbahce’s goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic receives a punch to the face.

Following the violent scenes, Turkey’s interior minister Ali Yerlikaya announced the opening of an investigation into the incident.

“After the Trabzonspor-Fenerbahce football match played this evening, an investigation has been initiated immediately to identify the spectators who entered the pitch and to investigate the incidents that took place at the end of the match,” he wrote on X.

“Incidents of violence on football pitches are never acceptable.”

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) called the events “unacceptable” and said in a statement that “the necessary criminal sanctions will be imposed on those responsible for these incidents”.

It is not the first time violence has been seen in the Turkish Super Lig this season.

The league was suspended for a week in December after a referee was attacked during a match between Ankaragucu and Rizespor.

Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca, alongside other men, attacked referee Halil Umut Meler on the pitch after the match, injuring the official.

A number of Fenerbahce trips to Trabzon in recent times have also been marred by violence.

A 2016 game against Trabzonspor was abandoned in the closing minutes after an assistant referee was attacked by a home supporter.

The year before that the Fenerbahce team bus came under attack from a gunman en route to the airport on the way back from the neighbouring Black Sea city of Rize, leaving the driver seriously injured.

In 2014 a match between Trabzonspor and Fenerbahce was called off at half-time after the Istanbul club’s players were pelted with objects thrown onto the pitch by home fans.

Trabzonspor, who won the Turkish title two years ago, also found themselves in the spotlight in 2015 when the club president locked the referee and his assistants inside the stadium overnight in protest at the decision not to award his team a penalty.

They were eventually released in the early hours of the following morning after a phone call from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

A Federal High Court, Abuja has ordered Binance Holdings Limited to provide the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with comprehensive data or information on all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform.

Justice Emeka Nwite granted the interim order after ruling on the ex-parte motion moved by the EFCC’s lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho.

“The applicant’s application dated and filed 29th February, 2024, is hereby granted as prayed.

“That an order of this honourable court is hereby made directing the operators of Binance to provide the commission with comprehensive data/information relating to all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform,” the judge ordered.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the interim order was granted to enable the anti-graft agency to unravel the alleged money laundering and terrorism financing on Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange platform.

A certified true copy of the ruling, which was delivered on Feb. 29, was sighted by NAN on Monday.

The ex-parte motion, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/259/2024, was brought pursuant to Sections 6(b), (h), (I), 7(1), (a)(2), and 38 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Establishment Act, 2004 and Section 15 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 (as amended) and the inherent powers of the court.

In the affidavit in support of the motion deposed to by Hamma Bello, an operative of the EFCC, he said he was attached to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the commission domiciled in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

Bello averred that, following the inauguration of the Technical Committee on Currency Stability and Forex Manipulation by the ONSA, the SIT “received an intelligence report stating the nefarious activities (money laundering and terrorism financing) on Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange platform.

“That on receipt of the intelligence, the team began investigation by conducting surveillance of the activities of the platform.

“That the team uncovered users who have been using the platform for price discovery, confirmation, and market manipulation, which has caused tremendous distortions in the market, resulting in the Naira losing its value against other currencies.

“That the damage the platform has caused was clearly explained to the operators of the platform, and they were requested to delist the Naira and avail the ONSA of the activities of the Nigerians on their platform.

“That, from the information afforded to the team by Binance, shows that the total trading volume from Nigeria in 2023 alone stood at $21.6 (twenty-one billion, six hundred million dollars).

“Attached and marked as Exhibit EFCC 1 is a copy of the document from Binance to the ONSA stating this fact, amongst others.

“That the commission will ensure that investigation is conducted within such reasonable time.”

Bello, who said that the matter was of utmost urgent public interest, said the data provided would enable the commission to accomplish its investigation activities.

He said it was in the interest of justice to grant the application, as refusal of the request would largely hamper the commission’s investigation.

NAN reports that Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange that lists more than 350 cryptocurrencies globally.

In addition to cryptocurrency trading, it offers several services that enhance the experience for users and blockchain developers. (NAN)