Author: Chronicle Editor

The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa today September 2, 2021, advocated strict compliance with and enforcement of extant laws and regulations to promote public accountability and the fight against corruption in Nigeria. The EFCC boss who spoke through the Commission’s Director, Public Affairs, Osita Nwajah at a roundtable on Accountability organized by the Premium Times Center for Investigative Journalism, PTCIJ, at the Orisun Art Source, Abuja, noted that “there is no better prevention tool than a vigorous enforcement regime, one that is applied across the board in strict adherence with extant laws, rules…

A High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos has ordered the freezing of the assets and funds belonging to a convicted former Managing Director of the defunct Bank PHB Plc, Francis Atuche.  The funds which total N19, 178, 253,050, were ordered to be forfeited by the presiding Judge, Justice Lateefat Okunnu. Justice Okunnu gave the order on Tuesday, August 31, 2021, following an ex parte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on August 17, 2021. The funds, investigation showed, were domiciled in 24 different banks in Nigeria, including Citi Bank Limited; Ecobank Nigeria Limited; First Bank of…

Ambassador of Botswana to Nigeria, Mr. Pule Mphothwe, has described the death of Mr. Martin Mabutho, Chief Customer Officer of MultiChoice Nigeria as a huge loss to Botswana and the African continent. Mabutho, aged 47, died on 23 August in South Africa after a brief illness. In a personally signed condolence letter, Mphothwe stated that Mabutho was a man with an abundance of passion, professionalism, wisdom, love for friends as well as for family. “We are still at a loss for words, but we find solace in having had the privilege of knowing this gentle giant, who was truly a…

Justice Sikiru Oyinloye of the Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin on Thursday, September 2, 2021 sentenced one Olaleye Rosheed, a student of Federal Polytechnic, Offa, to one year imprisonment over offences bordering on attempted cheating and internet fraud. Olaleye, 21, was prosecuted on one count by the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. The charge reads: “That you, Olaleye Rosheed (Christiana Lopez) sometime in January, 2021 at Ilorin, Kwara State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court pretended to be one Christiana Lopez, a white female with a gmail account, christianalopez105@gmail.com, and thereby committed an…

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has published a new report that reveals how “widespread and systemic corruption in ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) especially in the education, health and water sectors are plunging millions of Nigerians further into poverty.” According to the report, “Budget fraud, procurement fraud, embezzlement of funds among other illegal actions, lead to failure in the delivery of services including education, water and health. People living in poor neighbourhoods have suffered so much that they consider poor service delivery as being good enough.” The 61 pages report launched today at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja,…

The Enugu State House of Assembly has passed a bill that prohibits open grazing in all local governments of the state. The latest development comes after the September 1 deadline given by the forum of Southern Governors to bring an end to open grazing in the region. According to reports, the bill scaled the third reading after a clause by clause consideration. Earlier this week, the State Assembly organised a public hearing of the bill after which the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN asked for an extension of one month to allow them to make input on…

Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has recieved the report on the forensic audit of the Niger Delta Commission (NDDC) protocol. Malami, who received the report on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday, said that the audit was neccesssitated by the agitation of the Niger Delta people who pointed out the gaps between resources invested in the region and the infrastructural, human and economic development. According to the Minister of Justice, the Federal Government between 2001 and 2019, approved over six trillion naira (N6trn) for the NDDC. He added that due to the lapses in…

The Kano Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested ten suspected fraudsters for alleged involvement in forging travel documents to procure foreign exchange from commercial banks in Kano. The suspects were arrested following intelligence which indicated that a syndicate of fraudsters was perpetrating the crime around Fagge and Gwammaja areas of Kano State. EFCC arrests 15 suspected internet fraudsters in Aba They will be charged to court as soon as the investigation is concluded, a statement by the anti-graft agency said.

Leading professional services firm, PwC, has questioned that the recent ruling of the Tax Appeal Tribunal (TAT) ordering MultiChoice Nigeria to deposit N900bn, half of the N1.8 trillion the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) says it owes in taxes, before the continuation of an appeal filed by the pay television service providers. In an analysis of the ruling contained in its PwC Tax Alert posted on its website on Wednesday, the firm, stated the TAT did not refer to any of the three conditions necessary for the issuance of an order to compel payment of N900bn, but focused on the…

African cross-border informal trade worth about $93b annually VP off to Tanzania today Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says while the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) offers limitless opportunities for the industrialization of Africa, authorities across the continent must take the right policy actions to actualize them. He stated that such actions include the protection of local industries and improving value chains. Prof. Osinbajo stated this in a message delivered today at a ‘Roundtable on Industrialization in Africa themed “Positioning African Industries for Economic Transformation and Continental Free Trade”, organized by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) to celebrate its…