Metro

Nigeria to resume trial of suspected terrorists in two weeks— Attorney-General

Published

1 year ago

November 17, 2023

The Nigerian government says it will resume the prosecution of some alleged suspected terrorists and their financiers in the next two weeks after a painstaking investigation.

Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who disclosed this at the opening of the 40th technical commission and plenary meeting of the inter-governmental action group against money laundering in West Africa in Abuja on Thursday, said the trial of the alleged suspects was very much alive as against insinuations from certain quarters that the cases had been swept under the carpet. He added that the government was finalising efforts to ensure a smooth and successful trial.

“Efforts are on to resume the trial of those categories of people. And I think, in the next two weeks, it will be a different story. We are conscious of that issue,” the AGF said.

“Facilities are being put in place. Apart from the regular physical mode of trial, we are working on ways to ensure that virtual trials can also be conducted.”

According to Fagbemi, the adoption of virtual trials is aimed at preventing delay, insisting that the government was not shying away from its responsibility of providing funds for this purpose.

“The adoption of virtual trial is aimed at preventing delay. The government is not shying away from its responsibility of providing funds for this purpose”.

The AGF also emphasized the importance of regional and international cooperation in order to effectively combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

“Our ability to tackle the most complex criminal activity, money laundering, and violent terrorist attacks is predicated on the capabilities of our supervisory, law enforcement, and prosecutorial authorities, and the outcomes that we are achieving point to the need for greater investment in human and technical resources and improved training and capacity development.”

The AGF also stated that the Nigerian government was able to secure about 500 convictions which resulted in the recovery of over N45 billion in the last two years.

“In 2022, we increased the budgets for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency by almost 95%. We now have over 1,500 officers dedicated to investigating and prosecuting money laundering across these three agencies alone.

“These sustained investment has seen increased numbers of investigations, prosecutions, and convictions consistently since 2021 with 5,118 investigations, 1,509 prosecutions, and almost 500 convictions secured resulting in over N45 billion of illicit proceeds seized.

“We have also made progress in tackling the financing of terrorism and in particular, I am pleased that we have identified and designated a number of individuals and entities linked to terrorist activity and seized funds linked to them”, he stated.

Click to comment

Metro

Zambia: Farmers’ union warns of uncertain future for agriculture sector

Published

7 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The Small-Scale Farmers Development Agency (SAFADA) of Zambia has warned of uncertainty on the future of the agricultural sector, stating that its outlook over the next 25 years remains uncertain and gloomy.

The Executive Director of SAFADA, Boyd Moobwe, who raised the concerns in a telephone interview with Zambia Monitor on Saturday, expressed regrets that the agric sector was facing critical challenges that could hinder its contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and overall economic growth by 2030.

Moobwe admitted that the rapid changes in agriculture due to new technologies and innovations, has been slow amid the inconsistent implementation of these advancements which raises questions about the sector’s ability to survive amidst the growing threats of climate change, political instability, and economic difficulties.

The SAFADA Director pointed out that many of the problems plaguing agriculture were self-inflicted.

“The current measures for agricultural and rural financing are inadequate due to poor data analysis and utilisation,” Moobwe said.

Agriculture, he said, “had the potential to revive the economy if proper policies were introduced and if small-scale farmers were fully involved in planning and implementing agricultural projects.”

Metro

Nigeria: CSO urges President Tinubu to investigate missing funds in Humanitarian Ministry

Published

12 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Isaac Dachen

A Nigerian civil society organization, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has called on President Bola Tinubu to launch an investigation into the over N57 billion that allegedly went missing in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in 2021.

The organisation, in a statement on Sunday, urged the president to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, as well as other anti-corruption agencies to commence a probe into the allegations without delay.

In the letter issued by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare and addressed to President Tinubu, the group warned against sweeping the allegations under the carpet as the Nigerian public has a right to know what happened to their money.

“The allegations amount to stealing from the poor. There is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice and accountability for these grave allegations,” the watch dog group said.

“The allegations also suggest a grave violation of the public trust, the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), the country’s anticorruption legislation, and international anticorruption obligations.

“Hundreds of billions of naira are also reportedly missing in other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

“Poor Nigerians have continued to pay the price for the widespread and grand corruption in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviations and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

“According to the 2021 annual audited report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, (the ministry) in 2021 failed to account for over N54 billion meant to pay monthly stipends to Batch C1 N-Power volunteers and non-graduate trainees between August and December 2021.

“The money was not directly paid to the beneficiaries. The Auditor-General is concerned that the money may have been diverted. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury. He also wants suspected perpetrators of the diversion to be sanctioned in line with the Financial Regulations.

“The ministry reportedly failed to account for over N2.6 billion of public funds meant for the home-grown school feeding programme during Covid-19, as the programme was never executed. The money was allegedly paid to five contractors to procure, package and distribute Covid-19 palliatives to Kano, Zamfara and Abia states, but without any trace.

“The ministry also reportedly spent over N78 million to carry out a survey on the ministry’s Covid-19 response to states and vulnerable groups but without any approval or document.

“The ministry also reportedly failed to account for N400 million meant to pay stipends to 4,450 independent monitors for October, November, and December 2021.

“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.

“SERAP urges you to immediately enforce the judgment by Hon. Justice Deinde Isaac Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Lagos, ordering your government to release the spending details of N729 billion by Mrs Sadia Umar-Farouk, the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disasters Management and Social Development,” SERAP warned.