Two Congolese soldiers were sentenced to death Friday for “cowardice” and “fleeing the enemy,” two days after a similar sentence was handed down to 25 soldiers in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to an AFP journalist.

The trials are taking place as M23 rebels, which Kinshasha accuses Rwanda of backing, last week seized new terrain on the northern front of the conflict that has been ongoing for two and a half years in the North Kivu province. Kigali denies backing the M23 rebels.

Since the end of 2021, rebels have conquered vast swathes of territory in the province, nearly completely encircling the provincial capital of Goma.

The hearings have a “deterrent and educational” character, Captain Melissa Kahambu Muhasa, representing the public prosecutor, told AFP.

They aim to put off soldiers from abandoning their posts on the front lines, she said.

Public hearings were staged Thursday by the Butembo garrison military court in the town of Lubero, some 70 kilometres (43 miles) away from the city.

Some 30 soldiers including at least three captains were tried for “cowardice”, “fleeing the enemy”, “dissipation of war munitions”, and “violating orders”, murder, theft, looting or extortion.

The court on Friday delivered two death sentences, to a second-class soldier and a corporal.

It will review the cases of the other defendants on Saturday.

The defence condemned the sentencing, announcing its intention to appeal, as it had on Wednesday when 25 soldiers received death sentences at a trial in the village of Alimbongo.

In early May, eight soldiers in Goma were also sentenced to death for “fleeing the enemy”.

Last March, the Congolese government lifted the moratorium on the death penalty which had been in force since 2003 in the country.

The measure in particular targeted soldiers accused of treason, at a time when the east of the country is in the grip of an armed rebellion.

A former Argentine national lawmaker who kissed his partner’s breast during a parliamentary session held by videoconference has been given a one-month suspended prison sentence for causing “disruption in the exercise of his duties,” local media reported.

Juan Ameri was suspended and then resigned as a parliament member after a recording of the incident went viral on social media.

The footage showed Ameri, then 47, fondling a woman sitting on his lap, pulling one of her breasts out of her T-shirt and kissing it while another lawmaker made an address and other participants watched from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ameri said he did not think he was connected to the internet at the time.

“Here in the center of the country the connection is very poor. My partner came out of the bathroom, and I asked her how her implants were doing and I kissed them, because she had surgery ten days ago to have them put in,” he explained at the time.

This week, a court ruled it was “evident that he knew his behavior could be noticed by the representatives of the people as well as by all those people who were watching the live broadcast of the debate,” Argentine media reported, citing judicial sources.

“The media destroyed me and I paid with my health. I must have thought of a hundred different ways to kill myself,” Ameri told La Nacion newspaper, adding he intended to appeal the court ruling.

Ameri now sells poultry products and lives away from the spotlight.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has vehemently denounced the recent increase in electricity tariffs for Band A customers, which surged from N206.80/kWh to N209.5/kWh.

This action has been labeled as a “blatant display of deceit and heartlessness.” The NLC is demanding an immediate rollback of the tariff hike, highlighting the government’s broken promise to lower the rates.

The NLC argues that the tariff hike is indefensible, unreasonable, and malevolent, predicting it will further cripple the economy. NLC President Joe Ajaero has implored both the government and electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to cease their harmful impact on the people and the economy.

Furthermore, the NLC has accused the government of duplicity and callousness, describing the tariff increase as the pinnacle of impunity and arrogance. The union has demanded a reversal of the hike, referencing the previous 250% increase that sparked widespread outrage among citizens and the labor movement.

Read also: Immigration Officers Face 10-Month Salary Delay Post-Recruitment: Urgent Call for Action

The NLC has been outspoken in its resistance to the tariff increase, urging the government to act immediately to rescind the decision. The union has also condemned the government for not fulfilling its promise to lower the tariffs and has called for a more viable solution to the ongoing energy crisis.

Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has implored the 2000 retirees who got their contributory pension worth about N4.46b on Thursday not to donate it to churches, mosques, or religious groups.

Speaking at the 105 batches of retirement bond certificate presentation ceremony to retirees, Sanwo-Olu stated that the payment of the pension is a testament to the unwavering commitment of the Lagos State government to its retirees and celebrates their years of dedicated service to the beloved state.

“This is not meant to solve all family problems. It is about you, what you have earned and worked for,” Sanwo-Olu said.

“When they say they want to build church or mosque and ask you to come out to pledge N3m. Don’t do that. God will give you the wisdom to act, Sanwo-Olu has done his part o.

“Today, we mark the 105th Retirement Bond Certificate presentation, a historic milestone as we transition into a new era of Pension Administration called “Pay-As You-Go.” From now on, all retirees of the State Government will be paid as they retire, provided all procedures and approvals have been completed before retirement,” Sanwo-Olu said.

“We have strategically prioritized clearing all backlogs of Accrued Rights payments to ensure our retirees enjoy dignity and financial stability after retirement. This commitment extends to the welfare of both current and former members of our workforce, recognizing their unblemished careers in the State Public Service.”

Sanwo-Olu disclosed that since the inception of the Contributory Pension Scheme, the state government has paid N141.2b to 35,191 retirees.

“Under this administration alone, we have paid N59.7b to 17,039 retirees, making Lagos State a top performer in pension payments. Today, I am pleased to announce that another 2,000 retirees will receive bond certificates worth a total of N4.46b. These funds, along with their monthly contributions, have already been remitted into their respective Retirement Savings Accounts with the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).

“In addition to financial entitlements, the Lagos State government, through the Lagos State Health Management Agency, has launched a Health Insurance Scheme tailored specifically for our retirees. This scheme will provide access to a wide range of medical services, from routine check-ups to specialized treatments.

“This initiative underscores our commitment to the well-being of our retirees, ensuring that you receive not only what is due to you statutorily but also additional support and assistance to enhance your lives in retirement.”

Speaking at the ceremony, the Director General of Lagos State Pension Commission, Mr Babalola Obilana, said the ceremony would not have been possible without the support and cooperation of stakeholders and Sanwo-Olu.

“Today, the administration of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu will present another set of 2,000 retirees with a total sum of N4,461,659,536.82, being their past service benefits prior to the commencement of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in 2007,” Obilana said.

“Today’s ceremony would not have been possible without the support and cooperation of various stakeholders. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the present administration under the leadership of Mr. Governor, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, and the Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, for their continuous support and commitment to the welfare of our retirees.”

 Mr. Olubukola Akinwumi, Deputy Director at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), explained on Friday how Nigerians trading on Binance Holdings Limited’s platform use false names in the transactions.

Olubukola, who is the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s 2nd prosecution witness (PW-2) in the ongoing trial of Binance and its executive, Tigran Gambaryan, told Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja while giving his testimony.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the EFCC has filed a five-count charge against Binance and Gambaryan (1st and 2nd defendants) bordering on money laundering offences.

The anti-graft agency had accused Binance and Gambaryan of money laundering involving $35.4 million.

Besides, the company was under suspicion of alleged terrorism financing.

Led in evidence by EFCC’s lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho, on Friday, Akinwumi, who heads the Payment Policy and Regulation Division in the Payments System Management Department of CBN, said the apex bank did not issue any licence to the cryptocurrency firm to operate in Nigeria.

“In the course of carrying out our operations, we normally monitor development within the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission); monitoring the activities of payment service providers and the usage of the payment system.

“We observed, in doing that, that Binance provides a trading platform where users trade virtual assets.

“And to consummate their transactions for the purpose of settlement of payments, the users make use of the payment system for the purpose of transferring or making payment to one another.

“These traders normally trade in pseudo names (pseudonyms) that hide their identities and they are not authorised by the CBN,” he said.

The PW-2 described virtual assets as “digital representations of values created by computer systems that can be digitally traded, transferred or used in payments.”

He said they discovered that users of the platform received and made payments or transferred payments to one another using the payment system to consummate transactions on the Binance peer-to-peer (P2P) platform.

“Binance Platform provides a trading place or marketplace for traders and users of virtual assets, otherwise known as cryptocurrency.

“The platform also provides other services like electronic wallets fiat wallet, publishing of exchange rate, etc,” he told the court.

Asked where the activities of Binance are carried out, Akinwumi said its “activities are conducted on its website; binance.com and through its mobile apps (applications).

“They have two variations of Binance Apps; Binance Pro or Binnace Lite.”

Asked what P2P means, the witness said: “P2P means Peer to Peer, and for basic translation, it can also mean person to person.

“What that means is that if a particular user does not want to trade with the platform but rather will like to trade with another user, P2P is a service that brings such two users as described to engage each other in transacting for the purpose of buying or selling virtual asset, cryptocurrency and fiat directly between the two users.

“This is done by quoting rates with offers to sell or buy at the quoted rate.

“The P2P Platform of Binance provides such service to such two users to come to an agreement on such trade.

“Once such understanding for the trade is reached by the two users on Binance platform, the selling party will provide a bank account to which the buying party can send the naira amount or transfer into the account provided by the selling party.

“Once the buying party transferred the amount agreed, he clicks on a particular icon on the Binance platform to communicate the fiat that he has transferred the amount to the selling party.

“The Binance platform will, on the side of the selling party, await confirmation based on which it will release the cryptocurrency or fiat currency traded on the platform.

“So the Binance platform facilitates all the processes or P2P transactions as I have just enumerated, either using a Nigerian bank account already stored by users on the Binance platform or the naira wallet account, provided by the Binance platform.”

Submission of certified true copies of documents made available to SEC by Binance which was equally made available to the investigating team at the office of the National Security Adviser, and pages generated on the firm’s website were tendered in evidence and marked as Exhibits 8 and 9 by the judge.

Taking the witness through Exhibits 8 and 9, Iheanacho asked him to tell the court more about the nature of the transactions.

Akinwumi said Page 2 of Exhibit 8 introduced Binance as the world’s leading crypto exchange with users from over 190 countries.

“They have on the page, the address of the website in full which is Https://www.binance.com.

“Binance has what is called Binance Academy. That is on page 16 of Exhibit 8.

“Some of the videos will be on their YouTube platform which they use in educating those who are interested in the services that they provide,” he said.

The PW-2 said the firm equally has Binance coins and that on its website, it gives the description of the coin as “NGN” (Naira).

“On page 21 of Exhibit 8, it listed the ways to use Binance coin,” he added.

Akinwumi said on Page 9 of Exhibit 9, there is information which reads: “Depositing and withdrawing NGN (Naira) on Binance via cash link; it is swift and simple.”

The witness, however, explained that depositing and withdrawing Naira which “NGN” stands for, is a regulated activity carried out by banks and other financial institutions duly registered by CBN.

He said another piece of information on Exhibit 9 reads: “To help Binance users in Nigeria understand this Fiat Gateway, Binance has been holding various events such as the Binance Cash Link, Live Master Class to educate users on cash link and why it is an excellent method of deposit and withdrawal on the Binance platform.”

“Generally, Exhibit 9 explains to Nigerians on how to deposit Naira on the Nigerians wallet on the Binance platform.”

He said there is a statement on a page which says “Binance does not charge deposit fees,” he said next to the statement, there is another message which says: “For each withdrawal, a flat fee is paid by users to cover the transaction cost of moving the cryptocurrency out of their Binance account.

“So as I explained earlier, Binance maintains accounts and it needs revenue for its services

“On Page 2 of Exhibit 9, under the Fiat Section, it shows the rates that are applied for regular users.”

After concluding his evidence, Justice Nwite adjourned the matter until July 16 for cross-examination of PW-2.