Tuesday, 25 February 2014

I Won't Be Surprised To Be Jailed For Speaking Out And I Am Not Afraid – Sanusi Tells Al Jazeera (VIDEO)

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has spoken exclusively to Al Jazeera following his sacking last Thursday by President Goodluck Jonathan.

He said he would not be surprised if he is jailed for speaking out.

"I'm not afraid ... the only way this country will change is if people stop being intimidated

by the state," he said.

Sanusi, who was suspended by the President Jonathan over allegations of misconduct, has rejected
the claims against him, insisting he was removed for highlighting alleged widespread corruption in
the oil and gas sector

Husband killed wife on her birthday and then himself

Margaret and Donald Knight were described as "a couple who loved each other's company"

A man shot his wife dead on her birthday and then took his own life, an inquest has heard.

The bodies of Donald Knight, 78, and his wife Margaret, 77, were found at their home in Loddington, Northamptonshire, last May.

The coroner recorded a verdict of unlawful death in the case of Mrs Knight and suicide in the case of Mr Knight, who was her main carer.

The inquest heard Mr Knight had been feeling ill and believed he had cancer.

The couple were found dead in their home in Loddington, Northamptonshire

The inquest in Northampton heard Mr Knight, former chairman of Kettering haulage firm Knights of Old, used a rifle to kill his wife and also shot the couple's Dachshund Daisy.

Coroner Anne Pember said in her closing remarks: "I believe when Mr Knight was feeling low and depressed, not only did he take his own life. I believe he made a decision that his wife, of whom he was the main carer, should die as well, on her birthday."

Found by daughter

The inquest heard the couple were devoted to one another and enjoyed going on three-month round-the-world cruises together but, in the run-up to their deaths, Mr Knight had been feeling low.

The inquest heard Mr Knight was his wife's main carer after a back operation five or six years previously meant she had mobility problems and used a motorised scooter.

In April last year he visited his GP, Joanne Warcaba, and told her he was feeling down, had no appetite and had lost a lot of weight, was unable to sleep, and had experienced thoughts about killing himself, albeit fleeting ones.

The couple's daughter found Mrs Knight dead in a chair in the lounge. Mr Knight's body was found outside on the patio, with a single fatal shotgun wound to the head.

Professor Guy Rutty told the inquest Mrs Knight's injuries were not caused by the shotgun - evidence from other witnesses explained that Mr Knight also owned a rifle - she was shot four times; twice in the abdomen area and twice to the right hand side of her head.

In a statement family members said: "We are devastated by this tragic news and thank people for their kind words.

"Donald and Margaret were a couple who loved each other's company. They were lovely parents and grandparents whose passing is a massive loss to our lives."

Boy charged with raping his mother in Blackpool

A 14-year-old boy has been charged with the rape of his mother in Blackpool.

The attack is alleged to have happened in the early hours of Sunday, Lancashire Police said.

The boy appeared before magistrates in Preston earlier.

He was released on conditional bail ahead of a hearing at Preston Crown Court on 11 March.

Monday, 24 February 2014

LIVE UPDATES: President Jonathan’s Media Chat

BORNO MASSACRE
GEJ: We are not happy when people are killed, and we’re working very hard

GEJ: No country should get to where we are right now in terms of terror
GEJ: The Boko Haram bombings started in Abuja here. If the security men have not been working hard I don’t think there’ll be peace in Abuja

GEJ: I can assure you that we’ll get over it. Pakistan is also facing it, and I don’t want to talk much, but I can assure you we’ll get over it.

GEJ: We have pushed Boko Haram away from Abuja, they are now restricted to the fringes
GEJ: Niger Delta militants dont just kill anyhow

GEJ: The dialogue thing is still working. I promise Borno communities that we will continue to improve

GEJ: The issue of Borno state is very unfortunate. I didn’t expect the governor to say such.

GEJ: If the Governor of Borno state thinks Nigerian army are not useful, I will pull soldiers out for one month, just one month! Then may be the governor will know they are working

ABOUT THE POWER SECTOR
GEJ: Global peers accepted that the privatization (of the power sector) was the best anywhere.
GEJ: They’ve even tried more than I anticipated

Sunday, 23 February 2014

2015: NDLEA targets VIPs, private jet owners

The Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency has said it has intensified its efforts to screen all passengers, including “Very Important Persons” and private jet users, in all ports across the country.

The agency said this became necessary to intercept drugs trafficked and money laundered by politicians ahead of the 2015 elections.

The Head, Public Affairs, NDLEA, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, told SUNDAY PUNCH on Friday that the agency had resolved to be proactive and remain vigilant at all times.

He said, “The NDLEA incapacitates drug trafficking cartels mainly by drug seizures and tracing of drug proceeds. I can tell you confidently that illicit drug money will have no place in the forthcoming 2015 elections.

“There are several strategies in place to prevent criminal funds in electioneering. The agency enjoys robust political will in the enforcement of counter-narcotics and money laundering legislation in Nigeria.

“We have the presidential mandate to dismantle drug cartels and there are no exemptions.”

Ofoyeju noted that because drug traffickers moved their drugs at anytime, with no specific period for drug trafficking, this placed an additional responsibility on the agency.

He said high profile persons would not be exempted from screening in all ports in the country.

“In drug screening, we place everybody on an equal platform. There is no special treatment for VIPs. The NDLEA complies with international best practices in the discharge of its functions.

“We must protect the image of our country. And in doing that, no stone shall be left unturned. Everyone must be subjected to drug screening,” Ofoyeju said.

He noted that one of the cardinal points of the Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, was the strict enforcement of Section 3 Subsection 1c of the NDLEA Act, which empowers the agency to identify, trace, freeze, confiscate or seize proceeds derived from drug-related offences or property whose value corresponds to such proceeds.

“The principle behind it is for the agency to go after every drug and if you miss the drug, do not miss the proceeds,” he added.

Ofoyeju said the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Lagos, the country’s busiest airport, was in 2013 linked with other international airports in the world under a Special Airport Communication Project.

He added that the linkage was supported by the Nigerian Government, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Canadian Government, the European Union, the United States, the INTERPOL, and the World Customs Organisation.

SANUSI: His banking reforms, suspension and controversies

on february 23, 2014 at 1:00 am The suspension of the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, by President Goodluck Jonathan, has generated divergent views. While many economics experts said the President acted hastily by not allowing Sanusi to finish his tenure by June, 2014, others said Jonathan’s decision is in the best interest of the nation’s economy.The President had directed that Sanusi be removed from office following the report of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria indicting Sanusi’s tenure as characterised by acts of financial misconduct and inconsistency with the administration’s vision of a central bank propelled by the core values of focused economic management. Jonathan asked the apex back boss to hand over to the most senior Deputy Governor of the CBN, Dr Sarah Alade, to serve in acting capacity until the conclusion of on-going investigations into breaches of enabling laws and mandate of the CBN.In a reaction, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) described Sanusi’s suspension as a distraction that could only contribute to shifting the focus of government from the real issue, which is finding the alleged missing $20 billion oil money.sanusiSERAP, in a statement by its executive director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, said, “The government should not politicise the fight against corruption. Our concern remains the urgent, thorough, transparent and effective investigation into allegations that $20 billion oil money is missing from the account of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).”“If it is true that the suspension is linked with Sanusi’s public disclosure of the missing funds, SERAP believes that this is clearly wrong and contrary to the government’s obligations under the UN Convention against Corruption to target a whistle-blower simply for bringing the information to the public domain. No one should be victimised for contributing to the fight against corruption, which is the moral and legal responsibility of any serious, open and people’s oriented government.”“Unless the government comes clean about what exactly has happened to the $20 billion missing oil money, the NNPC will remain unaccountable to Nigerians for its action. This would not be consistent with the attitude of a government establishment funded with tax payers’ money. The government’s action in finding the missing money and punishing suspected perpetrators is critical if it is to enjoy the trust and confidence of Nigerians in the fight against corruption.”The Sanusi reforms/monetary policiesBiometric data authentication:The biometric data capturing for commercial banks doing business in Nigeria was the last monetary policy initiated by the Sanusi before his suspension. The CBN had given all commercial banks operating in Nigeria 18 months to begin and conclude the biometric registration of all customers across the country. Sunday Vanguard gathered that before launching of the scheme recently, banks in collaboration with the monetary authority had been working on this new policy initiative for a long time, even as necessary infrastructure had been put in place to enhance successful and smooth rollout of the data identification project nation-wide.The CBN last week launched the Bank Verification Number (BVN) for biometrics identification of customers in the financial industry, designed to reduce fraud, money laundering in order to revolutionise the payment system in the country. With the new directive, banks were to start the registration of fingerprints as well as facial features of customers, as the project was being controlled by the monetary authority with a time-line of 18 months to ensure efficiency.Removal of arbitrary bank charges by CBN:The removal of arbitrary bank charges by the apex bank was sequel to complaints from depositors about what they described as arbitrary bank charges on banking services. In that capacity, the apex bank issued a draft of the Revised Guide to Bank Charges benchmarking lending rates to Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) for maximum of 8 per cent across board, which translated to 20 per cent. The target was to align the tariff regime with the economic challenges and realities in the country.Also, the CBN set up a consumer protection unit to enable consumers lodge complaints, stressing that banks were charged to refund customers when they over charge customers for certain services and products. Beyond that, the sub-committee of the Bankers Committee on ethics investigated issues of excessive bank charges and any commercial bank found contravening the law was sanctioned accordingly. The apex bank went ahead to issue a circular for the review of the extant guide to bank charges that had been in use since January 2004 fiscal year. The exercise paved the way for minimum disclosure from banks to all customers prior to the consummation of every credit transaction. A glossary of terms was developed to provide clear definition of technical terms used in the guide to reduce misrepresentation or any form of ambiguity while protecting consumers from arbitrary charges.The Banking industry/outstanding reforms:The banking sector under Sanusi experienced numerous reforms ranging from merger of some weak banks to the removal of N100 charge on the use of Automated Teller Machines (ATM) recently. Some of the reforms in the sector include, cashless policy, which limits the level of withdrawal by individual to N500.000 and corporate body to N3million, attempt by the Central Bank of Nigeria to introduce N5.000 bank note, currency restructuring among many others.For instance, in first quarter of 2012, Access Bank Plc and Intercontinental were fused into one entity, Ecobank acquired Oceanic Bank, Spring bank became Enterprise Bank Limited, First City Monument Bank acquired FinBank, bank PHB became Keystone Bank Limited, Afribank became Mainstreet Bank Limited, Sterling Bank acquired Equitorial Trust Bank while Union Bank of Nigeria is now owned By African Capital Alliance Consortium.5,000 naira bank note controversy:The attempt by CBN to introduce 5.000 naira note into circulation by first quarter of 2013 and to redesign the existing N50, N100, N200, N500 and N1000 notes with new security features, while N20, N10 and N5 notes would be changed to coins sparked controversy in the country and was unsuccessful. Sanusi had explained that the policy initiative formed part of the currency restructuring exercise by the apex bank, adding that the front side of the new currency must be adorned with the pictures of late Margaret Ekpo, Funmilayo Kuti and Hajiya Gambo Sawaba, while the back side would have the National Assembly structure on it. While some financial analysts said the policy could contradict the cashless regime already on-going, others frowned at the CBN’s plan to spend a whopping sum of N40.3 billion for printing of N5.000 note, when the country was facing perennial security crisis, abject poverty and unemployment.The approval of N200 billion commercial agric credit:Sanusi disclosed that the apex bank created the N200 billion Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CASS) Fund in 2009, and the funds were being disbursed through the deposit money banks (DMBs) to local farmers to enable them improve their production capacity. The loan scheme had an interest rate that did not exceed 9 percent and the maturity period of not more than 7 years, to enable local farmers expand their capacity to create more jobs and enhance revenue generation. Sunday Vanguard gathered that about 109 projects made up of privately-owned projects had been financed with part of the money, while 19 state governments received N1 billion each for disbursement to farmers’ cooperatives and unions within their constituencies, by February last year. Aside from the N200billion agric credit scheme, in 2010, a huge sum of N500 billion was approved as an intervention fund for the manufacturing industry.His appointment/suspension:Sanusi was nominated by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, as governor of CBN, on 1 June 2009 and his appointment was confirmed by the Senate on 3 June 2009, during the period of the global financial crisis.[8] Sanusi who took over from his predecessor, Charles Chukwuma Soludo, immediately went into action by removing the chief executives of some banks to sanitise the industry. In August that same 2009, Sanusi put measures in place to rescue Afribank, Intercontinental, Union Bank, Oceanic Bank and Finbank, with a bailout of N400. From that moment till his removal, the CBN under Sanusi initiated one monetary policy after another to put the banking sector back on track and to restore confidence of the banking public.

2015: APC can’t win guber election in Rivers –Wike

From: JUDEX OKORO, Calabar

The Minister of Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, has stated that the All Progressive Congress (APC) will never win the governorship election in Rivers State in 2015.

Speaking to journalist in Calabar yesterday shortly after the 27th convocation ceremony of the University of Calabar, Wike said it is not possible for the APC to grab the governorship seat in 2015. He said, “APC does not have strong footing in Rivers State. The only strong footing they claim they have is because they think they have a governor. I can emphatically tell you that they cannot win in Rivers.

“I can also tell you that they are just making empty noise because when it is time, our people will still vote for the PDP because it is a party for the masses and we have delivered.”

The Education Minister also described as laughable, the claim that APC has over 2 million members in Rivers State, saying “it is an assumption which cannot be substantiated.”

On whether he is vying for any political office in 2015, Wike said, “Why not wait for 2015 because there are a lot of things to do. I am not rushing because we are still trying to build the party.”

On why the tension so far, he said, “there is no tension in Rivers as widely reported by the media. There is absolute peace in Rivers. If there is tension, it is you the press that is saying that.”

He called on Rivers people to remain calm and peaceful as the ruling PDP would not disappoint the electorate.

My son changed religion because I dragged him to court –Father

From NOAH EBIJE, Kaduna

A Kaduna-based retired military officer, Major Mohammed Magaji said he was shocked and almost speechless last week when one of his children, Umar Bello went to Upper Sharia Court of Appeal, Kaduna and denounced Islam.

Major Magaji said he had earlier dragged Umar to the court for collecting over N10.7 million military benefits and household property worth thousands of naira belonging to another of his son, the late Sergeant Abubakar Bello Magaji who was killed by Boko Haram in crossfire last year in Borno State.

He told Sunday Sun in a chat that his son decided to change from Islam to Christianity so that the court would not have jurisdiction over the case, adding that he might take the case to the High Court if the Sharia Court decides in that direction on March 20, 2014.

The embattled father said his son went, processed and collected military benefits of his late elder brother at 3 Armoured Division, Jos through the facilitator, Col Usman, Commanding Officer, 3 Armoured Division Records because he was on the record as the next of kin.

He disclosed that Umar collected benevolent fund of N200,000.00, Nigerian Army Welfare Insurance Scheme (NAWIS) N1.7 million, military gratuity for 17 years military service, N8.5 million, burial expenses N350,000.000 on September 20, 2013.

The retired military officer said Umar’s siblings were shocked when they heard that their brother had converted to Christianity because of the court case, stressing that his son’s action was alarming.

His words, “I gave birth to Umar and brought him up as a Muslim. In fact, he went to Islamic school, and the Imam who gave the name to him on the seventh day is still alive. So it was a shock to me that a Muslim son because of worldly things denounced Islam. It is a very shocking thing to me.

“The implication of what my son has done is that, one, if he had returned the property, he would have had his own share, but now that he has denounced Islam he cannot benefit anything from the property. Secondly, I, the father, cannot inherit from him, and he cannot inherit from me. And unfortunately, this thing that he has done is already before the court. It is in the custody of the court, but years to come, it will remain a record that cannot be erased.

“Thirdly, the wife he has married, he married her under Islamic law. I personally named the child his wife gave birth to about a year ago. So the implication is that the marriage stands null and void even though I am not an Islamic jurist, but with my 25 years knowledge of Sharia, I know that his marriage remains null and void for him to have denounced Islam.

“He is 30 years of age, and for a person of 30 years who has been a Muslim all his life to take such a sudden decision is unimaginable. Everybody was shocked in the court, and the court has to ask me if he is really a Muslim. In fact, his mates who went to university with him were all in court with him, but they were shocked to hear that he denounced Islam. They know him as a Muslim in the university.

“None of my children is a Christian, there is no Christian blood in my own family, we are all Muslims, and up till now we are all Muslims. In fact, his siblings were shocked and they were crying that their brother has denounced Islam. It is a very shocking issue to the whole family.”

Meanwhile, in a preliminary objection Umar filed in the Upper Sharia court, holding at Daura Road, Kaduna in a case number CDC 07/2014 dated February 19, 2014, he objected to the court trying the suit earlier brought by his father and applied to the court for the entire case to be struck out for lack of jurisdiction. The ground relied upon include, “The applicant not being a Muslim is not subject to the jurisdiction of the court and he does not submit to the jurisdiction of the court.”