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Interpol unveils silver notices against money laundering

The International Police Organisation (INTERPOL) has unveiled a new module codenamed Silver Notices to frontally tackle the scourge of money laundering and illicit financial flows across the world, especially in Africa.

The Interpol Vice President for Africa, Garba Umar, said this on Monday while declaring open a four-day Training Workshop for Nigerian law enforcement agencies at the EFCC Academy, Abuja.

According to Umar, money laundering across Africa and the entire world has assumed a monstrous dimension and Interpol has designed Silver Notices to combat the menace.

“Evidence has shown that every hour, hundreds of thousands of dollars are flowing out of Nigeria to the region and across the world, laundered before it reaches the pockets of criminals to enjoy the profits of their crimes, while the hardworking and honest Nigerians pay the price of crime.

“With every successful laundering of criminal money, our country becomes more prone to crime.

“More drugs, more fraud, more corruption and more violence. Every time criminal money is successfully laundered, our financial institutions take an additional blow,” he said.

He stressed that hard times awaited money launderers as the Silver Notices would make illicit funds more difficult to launder in any part of the world.

Umar also spoke on the theme of the workshop, “Strengthening Capacity and Coordination against Financial Crimes”.

He pointed out that financial crimes have become transnational and law enforcement agencies needed regular training for their workforce to be ahead of fraudsters.

He urged all participants at the workshop to take collaboration with other law enforcement agencies seriously to advance their investigations and ensure that criminals did not get to enjoy the fruits of their labour.

“The only way we can move forward as a country is by working together and identifying common problems, jointly devising solutions, and taking coordinated and cohesive action.

“And now is the time that we need to go far, by going together,” he said.

The Chairman of the EFCC, Mr Ola Olukoyede, in his goodwill message, also harped on the need for enhanced collaboration in tackling financial crimes.

Olukoyede stressed that the complex nature of corruption across the world could only be broken by the might of collaborative actions by every stakeholder.

“The daunting nature of the fight against corruption in Nigeria and the world at large deserve serious collaboration among organisations saddled with the responsibility of fighting corruption,” he said.

Olukoyede was represented by the Director, Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, FRAC, of the EFCC, Mr  Francis Usani.

He appraised the pivotal role of the EFCC in tackling corrupt practices, especially its impressive records of convictions and recoveries.

He expressed optimism that, with the new emphasis on preventive framework in tackling financial crimes by the commission, greater progress would be made.

“Our records of convictions and recoveries stand us out, but we will not rest on our oars, we are committed to do more.

“And in this commitment, the EFCC is re-strategising its operations with a focus on prevention  knowing that it is easier and cheaper to prevent corruption from happening than investigating and prosecuting corruption,”  he said.

In his remark, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Nigeria, Mr Kazuyoshi Matsunaga, described the workshop as an important joint initiative between Japan and Nigeria to combat financial crimes.

He explained that in the contemporary globalised world, financial crimes transcended borders and required international cooperation among law enforcement agencies to combat them.

“I am delighted that INTERPOL and the Japanese National Police Agency are an integral part of this project, contributing their expertise.

“A remarkable collaboration took place three years ago when Japanese and Nigerian law enforcement agencies successfully returned a fund to a Japanese fraud victim, earning immense gratitude.

“Strengthening our partnership through this project will benefit not only Nigerians, but people around the world, including the Japanese,” he said.

Hafsat Bakare, Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), spoke about the imperative of strengthening capacity and coordination against financial crimes.

She pointed out that, “financial intelligence and financial analysis techniques are key to tackling economic crimes”.

The NFIU, she said, was sensitive to the interconnected nature of the criminal justice system, the threat of organised crime and cybercrimes being fought by law enforcement agencies.

Isaac Oginni, Director, Interpol’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre (IFCACC), said the only way to disrupt organised crimes was denying fraudsters the financial profit behind their criminal enterprise.

“Besides, financial intelligence can also be utilised well when investigators recognised its value and used it to build a financial profile around suspects.”

He challenged participants and stakeholders at the workshop to collectively work together and fight money laundering.

The four-day workshop, first of its kind and hosted by the EFCC, was organised by INTERPOL and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

It drew participants from the police, EFCC, NFIU, the Nigerian Immigration Service and the Nigeria Customs Service.

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14 states to struggle if FAAC allocation stops 

The BudgIT Nigeria says 14 states will struggle if FAAC allocation stops

The BudgIT Nigeria has listed 14 states that will  struggle if the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) stops its payment.

According to a post on its official X account on Thursday afternoon, the BudgIT Nigeria said such states will find it difficult to exist.

“Hello Nigerians, here are 14 states that will STRUGGLE if FAAC allocation stops coming in today!,” it wrote.

“If FAAC disappears today, these states will struggle to pay salaries, pension and gratuity. This is because they rely on FAAC for at least 70% of their total revenue.”

1. Bayelsa – 92.17%

2. Akwa Ibom – 86.29%

3. Delta – 83.88%

4. Taraba – 81.89%

5. Niger – 80.19%

6. Benue – 79.85%

7. Anambra – 76.94%

8. Bauchi – 75.33%

9. Cross River – 74.87%

10. Nasarawa – 74.55%

11. ⁠Gombe – 72.29%

12. Enugu – 70.68%

13. ⁠Edo – 70.24%

14. ⁠Kano – 70.24%

“Is your state among this list? Can your state still function if FAAC allocation is removed from its total revenue?,” the BudgIT Nigeria asked.

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Amnesty International urges Nigeria to enact anti-mob violence laws

Amnesty International is calling on the Federal Government of Nigeria to take action against mob violence by enacting anti-mob violence laws.

The human rights organisation’s Country Director, Isa Sanusi, made this plea in their report, “Instantly Killed: How Law Enforcement Failures Exacerbate Nigeria’s Wave of Mob Violence,” presented on Monday in Abuja.

Sanusi emphasised the need for these laws to combat the growing trend of jungle justice in Nigeria.

According to Amnesty International, between January 2012 and August 2023, at least 555 people fell victim to mob violence in 363 documented incidents, character1sed by killings, torture, and other forms of ill-treatment.

“Mob violence has spread with impunity in Nigeria over the past decade.

“The surge in mob violence, including against women and children, has sparked nationwide calls for justice from victims, their families, and human rights advocates.

“Law enforcement failures have exacerbated the problem, highlighting the need for effective legislation.”

“To address this issue, Amnesty International recommends that the Nigerian government should take concrete steps to prevent mob violence, protect victims, and hold perpetrators accountable.”

He said addressing this includes enforcing existing laws, providing training for law enforcement, and promoting community-based initiatives to prevent violence

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Nigerians rejected your ideas in 2023 election; Presidency tells Atiku

The Presidency has hit back at former Vice President Atiku Abubakar following his criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms.

The clash began after Atiku, in a statement on x, outlined what he claimed would have been a more effective approach to tackling Nigeria’s economic challenges.

Atiku criticised Tinubu’s handling of key reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidies, and proposed a slower, more cautious rollout of economic policies.

He argued that his administration would have been more empathetic and better prepared to handle the fallout of such reforms.

“I am not the president, Tinubu is. The focus should be on him and not on me or any other. I believe that such inquiries distract from the critical questions of what President Bola Tinubu needs to do to save Nigerians from the excruciating pains arising from his trial-and-error economic policies,” he wrote.

Responding to this, Presidency, through the presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, said Atiku “tried to discredit President Tinubu’s economic reform programmes” while pushing his untested agenda as a better alternative.

The Presidency added that Nigerians rejected Atiku’s ideas in the 2023 election, claiming they his proposals lacked substance.

“First, Alhaji Atiku’s ideas, which lacked details, were rejected by Nigerians in the 2023 poll,” Onanuga said.

The Presidency also claimed that if Atiku had been elected, his administration would have been riddled with corruption, citing Atiku’s alleged plans to sell key national assets to close associates.

“If he had won the election, we believe he would have plunged Nigeria into a worse situation or run a regime of cronyism,”

“Abubakar lost the election partly because he vowed to sell the NNPC and other assets to his friends.”

The Presidency’s statement also took aim at Atiku’s tenure as vice president from 1999 to 2003 under President Olusegun Obasanjo, accusing him of overseeing a “questionable privatization programme”

“He (Atiku) and his boss (Obasanjo) demonstrated a lack of faith in our educational system and both went to establish their universities while they allowed ours to flounder,” he added.

“Talk is cheap. It is easy to pontificate and deride a rival’s programmes even when there are irrefutable indices that the economic reforms yield positives despite the temporary difficulties.”

The Presidency also noted that despite Atiku’s futile attempt to hoodwink Nigerians again in his statement that “it is gratifying that the former VP could not repudiate the economic reforms pursued by the Tinubu administration because they are the right things to do.”

The presidency, however, defended Tinubu’s economic reforms, stating the president “met a country facing several grave challenges” with “fuel subsidies were syphoning away enormous resources” that it could not afford, as well as the “criminal arbitrage in the forex market.”

It stated, “No leader worth his name will allow these two economic disorders to persist without moving to end them surgically.”

The Presidency also dismissed Atiku’s call for a “gradualist approach,” stating that it “only showed that he (Atiku) was not in tune with the enormity of problems inherited by President Tinubu.”

“It is so easy to paint a flowery to-do list. It is expected of an election loser,” the presidency added.

“While advocating for gradual reforms may sound appealing, Tinubu took measures that should have been taken decades ago by Alhaji Abubakar and his boss when they had the opportunity.

“Alhaji Abubakar calls for empathy and a human face to reforms. We have no problem with this as it resonates well with our administration’s focus. President Tinubu has consistently emphasised the need for compassion and protection of the most vulnerable.

“The administration has prioritised social safety nets and targeted support for those affected by recent economic transitions.”

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Tinubu to swear in seven new ministers on Monday—Presidency

Barring any last-minute changes, President Bola Tinubu is set to swear in seven new ministers tomorrow (Monday), marking a significant development in his administration’s restructuring efforts.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this on his verified X handle on Sunday.

The new ministers, who were cleared by the Senate last week, will assume critical roles in various sectors under the President Tinubu-led administration after their inauguration.

The newly appointed ministers include Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda as Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi as Minister of Labour and Employment, and Bianca Odinaka Odumegwu-Ojukwu as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

Other appointees are Dr. Jumoke Oduwole as Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment (Trade and Investment), Idi Mukhtar Maiha as Minister of Livestock Development, Yusuf Abdullahi Ata as Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, and Dr. Suwaiba Said Ahmad as Minister of State for Education.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will swear in the new seven ministers tomorrow Monday. The Ministers are: Dr Nentawe Yilwatda – Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction; Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi – Minister of Labour & Employment; Bianca Odinaka Odumegwu-Ojukwu – Minister of State Foreign Affairs.

“Others are Dr Jumoke Oduwole – Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment (Trade and Investment), Idi Mukhtar Maiha – Minister of Livestock Development; Yusuf Abdullahi Ata – Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development and Dr Suwaiba Said Ahmad – Minister of State Education.

“The Senate cleared the ministers last week.”

This cabinet reshuffle comes amids months of growing calls from Nigerians for change and the need to put energy into the government.

President Tinubu’s administration has been working to address the country’s challenges, and these new appointments, according to Presidency officials, are expected to bring fresh perspectives and expertise to their respective ministries.

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Sanwo-Olu sues EFCC over alleged planned arrest, prosecution

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has sued the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an alleged threat to arrest, detain and prosecute him after his tenure as governor.

Sanwo-Olu, through his lawyer, Darlington Ozurumba, filed the fundamental right enforcement suit before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of a Federal High Court in Abuja.

When the matter was called for mention on Tuesday, Ozurumba informed the court that he had withdrawn the earlier originating summons filed and replaced it with a new one.

The lawyer said the anti-graft agency had been duly served with the latest court documents.

However, EFCC’s counsel, Hadiza Afegbua, said she was yet to see the documents.

Besides, the proof of service of the processes was not in the court file and Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the matter until Nov. 11 for further mention.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in the originating summons, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/773/2024 dated and filed on June 6, the governor raised seven questions and sought 11 reliefs.

Sanwo-Olu sought a declaration that under and by virtue of the provisions of Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution, “the plaintiff, as a citizen of Nigeria, is entitled to right to private and family life as a minimum guarantee encapsulated under the Constitution of the Republic of Nigeria, 1999 before, during and after occupation of public office created by the Constitution.”

He wants the court to declare that under and by virtue of the provisions of Sections 43 and 44(1) of the 1999 Constitution, he is entitled to acquire, own, operate and manage both moveable and immovable property.

This, he said, include bank accounts, as a minimum guarantee encapsulated under the constitution either before, during and after leaving public office of governor of a state.

He also wants the court to declare that upon community reading of the provisions of Sections 35(1) & (4) and 41(1) of the constitution, the threat of his investigation, arrest and detention by the EFCC  during his tenure of office as governor is illegal.

 He also said that the plan to arrest him was unconstitutional and a flagrant violation of his fundamental right to personal liberty and freedom of movement as guaranteed under Sections 35(1) & (4) and 41(1) of the Constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 ( as amended).

The governor prayed the court to declare that the incessant harassment, threat of arrest and detention, against him upon the EFCC’s instigation by his political adversaries based on false and politically motivated allegation of corruption is a misuse of executive powers and abuse of public office.

He further wants the court to declare it as an unwarranted Interference with his fundamental right to personal liberty, freedom of movement, fair hearing and equal protection of the law as guaranteed by the constitution and the Africa Charter on Human & Peoples’ Rights, CAP A9 LFN 2004.

Sanwo-Olu, therefore, sought an order restraining the EFCC from harassing, intimidating, arresting, detaining, interrogating or prosecuting him in connection with his tenure as the governor of Lagos State.

He also prayed the court to make an order prohibiting and restraining the commission “from seizing the properties, the international passport and travel documents of the plaintiff or freezing the bank accounts of the plaintiff, his family members or in any other way to further breach the plaintiff’s fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.”

He urged the court to make an order restraining the EFCC from inviting, arresting or detaining him in connection with his tenure as governor of the state or breach his fundamental rights to personal liberty, fair hearing, private and family life, freedom of movement, acquisition of moveable and immoveable property as enshrined in the laws

In the affidavit in support of the originating summons deposed to by Martha Kanu, a litigation secretary in the law firm, the lawyer said she was informed the facts by the governor at a tele-conference meeting which she believed to be true.

She alleged that as a way of getting at the governor, the EFCC was now making surreptitious plan to arrest some of his aides and family members based on the false and spurious allegations of diversion of funds.

She said the officials of the commission were now mounting pressure on some of the aides of the governor to come and make incriminating statements against him.

Besides, Kanu alleged that the anti-graft agency was also threatening to go after some contractors handling projects for the state government.

He said the agency was compelling them to come and make statements to implicate Sanwo-Olu of corruption as part of the orchestrated contrivance to build up a trump up case against him.

According to her, in a malicious attempt to get at the plaintiff, some of the plaintiff’s political adversaries in conjunction with some of the officials of the defendant are falsely ascribing to his administration of corrupt practices which are none existent.

She alleged that the EFCC, through some of its officials, were desperately inventing false, spurious and malicious allegations against the governor in order to use same as a basis for investigating, arresting and prosecuting him after leaving office as governor.

NAN reports that Sanwo-Olu was sworn in as the Governor of Lagos State on May 29, 2019 and was re-elected and sworn in again for a second term on May 29, 2023

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Why Police Can’t Help EFCC To Arrest Yahaya Bello — Onanuga 

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga says security agencies have not been able to arrest embattled former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello because of the “complicated” nature of the case.

Onanuga was a guest on the Sunday edition of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-economic programme aired on Channels Television.

In April, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) declared Bello, who was Kogi governor from May 2015 to May 2023, wanted for alleged financial crime to the tune of N80.2 billion.

The EFCC had at various times, stormed Bello’s residence in an attempt to arrest the former governor but his successor, Usman Ododo, had come to his rescue, whisking him away to his lodge.

The matter has been in court but the former governor has not appeared before the trial judge despite many adjournments.

Asked why police authorities can’t order orderlies attached to Ododo to arrest Bello, Onanuga said, “I think it’s a bit complicated. The EFCC is an agency of the Federal Government, and it wants to arrest Yahaya Bello. Yahaya Bello is hiding under the agbada (flowing robe) of the governor of Kogi State, his (Bello’s) successor, who happens to enjoy immunity.

“That’s the problem because if he (Bello) stays inside Governor Ododo’s house, the police cannot do anything because they will be violating that immunity that the man enjoys.

“It’s like a diplomat enjoying certain immunity, you cannot do anything about it. You remember in the UK when they were looking for the Wikileaks man and he went to hide in one embassy in Britain, there was nothing they (security agents) could do, they left him there. I think he later came out and they arrested him.

“It’s the same thing. Ododo enjoys immunity. Yahaya Bello is believed to be hiding there. They cannot storm the place and say they want to arrest him. That’s the problem of the EFCC, and the police cannot help the EFCC.”

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