Speculators lose billions as naira appreciates, exchanges for 540/$ by Nike Popoola

The naira has appreciated further in the parallel market as the dollar was sold for N540 on Wednesday, with traders saying speculators hoarding dollars would be losing a lot of money. The dollar, which was bought and sold for N578 and N580 as of the end of September, was bought and sold for N540 and N543 at the parallel market on Wednesday. Several Bureau de Change operators who spoke to our correspondent said the demand for foreign exchange was not high. “Many people who travelled have arrived and there is no high demand for forex as many people are not travelling now,” a BDC operator said. Another operator said, “The naira had been appreciating and many who have kept the forex would be losing a lot.” At the Investor & Exporter forex window, the naira appreciated by 0.8 per cent to close at N414.73 on Wednesday, although it fell to a low of N444 during the day. The Central Bank of Nigeria, however, maintained the official rate at N411.37 on its website. As part of efforts to tame the free fall of the naira in recent months, the CBN stopped the sales of forex to the BDCs. The CBN said the BDCs had turned themselves into “agents that facilitate graft and corrupt activities of people who seek illicit fund flow and money laundering in Nigeria”. It also clamped down on abokiFX after accusing the website and its owner of manipulating the currency to sabotage the economy. At the last Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, the committee urged the CBN to take further steps to restrict the activities of unauthorised and illegal dealers in the forex market. It said all forex transactions must be conducted at the I&E window to ensure transparency and stability. The committee called on the CBN to intensify surveillance over forex sales and utilisation by commercial banks and customers, to ensure that operators adhere to stipulated guidelines set by the CBN. The apex bank maintained its resolve to continue to restructure the forex market and pursue all the policies targeted at sanitising the market to improve transparency and proper functioning to eliminate illegal forex dealers in the economy. PUNCH.

South Africa to vaccinate children as young as 12 - Agency Report

South Africa will begin vaccinating children as young as 12 next week and also offer Covid-19 boosters against certain immune disorders, the health minister announced Friday. With a large youth population and the world’s biggest HIV caseload, the announcement affects millions of people and marks a significant scaling up of South Africa’s pandemic response. “We ready to open up vaccination for children between 12-17 years of age, and a majority of this cohort are in the secondary or high school level,” Health Minister Joe Phaahla told a news conference. Under South African law, children aged 12 and up can give their own consent for medical treatment, meaning they don’t need parental permission to get the vaccine. Read Also UPDATED: Former South African president FW de Klerk dies at 85 How COVID-19 outbreak threatened progress against measles - WHO Firm introduces COVID-19 antibody, immunity test kit Starting Wednesday, children can receive a single Pfizer dose, with a second shot delayed to allow for further study on a rare side effect, the minister added. More than one-third of all adults in South Africa have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, the minister added. The country has launched a digital vaccine certificate scheme. Proof of vaccination is required to enter larger gatherings such as sporting events. For the immune-compromised, Phaahla said they can begin receiving boosters, but only on advice from their doctor.

UPDATED: Former South African president FW de Klerk dies at 85

FW de Klerk, South Africa’s last white president, died on Thursday aged 85, his foundation announced. De Klerk and South Africa’s first black president Nelson Mandela shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 for leading the “miracle” transition from white rule in the country. He died after a battle with cancer, his foundation said in a statement. De Klerk had announced his diagnosis on his 85th birthday, on March 18 this year. “It is with the deepest sadness that the FW de Klerk Foundation must announce that former president FW de Klerk died peacefully at his home in Fresnaye earlier this morning following his struggle against mesothelioma cancer,” it said. He is survived by his wife Elita, children Jan and Susan, and grandchildren. “The family will, in due course, make an announcement regarding funeral arrangements,” it added. He is most remembered for his famous speech delivered on February 2, 1990, announcing the lifting of a ban on the African National Congress (ANC) and other liberation movements. In the same speech he ordered the release from prison of anti-apartheid icon Mandela after 27 years in jail. Born in the economic hub of Johannesburg, into a family of Afrikaners, a white ethnic group descended mainly from Dutch colonisers, his father was a leading apartheid senator who served briefly as interim president. He studied law, before being elected to parliament as a member of the National Party that instituted apartheid. De Klerk then held several ministerial positions before he became present in 1989, a position he held until he handed over the reigns to Mandela after the first democratic elections in 1994. AFP

Ikoyi collapsed building subscribers signed over $500,000 contract each by Oyetunji Abioye

Some subscribers to the collapsed 21-storey building in Ikoyi, Lagos State, signed contracts ranging from over $500,000 (N206.5m) to over $3m (N1.24bn) for the purchase of luxury apartments in the high-rise from Fourscore Heights Limited, findings by our correspondent have revealed. Documents obtained by our correspondent showed that after the payment of an initial deposit, most of the subscribers signed an agreement to pay the balance over a period of 48 months. In an interview with The PUNCH, subscribers said the management of Fourscore Heights Limited made the payment plan so flexible such that intending apartment owners could pay their balance through instalment payments over a period of 48 months. The instalments, according to them, are expected to be made either monthly, quarterly, bi-annually, or yearly, depending on the choice of the subscribers. They also revealed that the luxury apartments on the high-rise went for various prices, with subscribers to the apartments on the upper floors paying more than those on the lower floors. One of the subscribers, who chose to speak on condition of anonymity, said, “The higher the floor your apartment is located, the higher the price. Those on the higher floors paid more than those of us on the lower floors. I subscribed for a three-bedroom apartment on one of the floors below the eighth floor which went for $650,000. However, the owner of Fourscore Heights Limited, Mr Femi Osibana, reduced the price for some persons who were close to him. I happened to be one of those fellows. Femi and I were childhood friends. “So, he also reduced my price to $565,000. We were together in Mayflower School in Ikene, Ogun State. We were also together at some points in London when he used to travel to Italy to buy suits and shoes for sale in the United Kingdom. Subscribers on my category were asked to pay only the initial deposit of $65,000 and then spread the remaining $500,000 over a 48-month period. “I was told subscribers on the 12th floor and above signed agreements to pay over $1.2m over a 48-month period while those on the 17th floor and above were asked to sign agreements to pay over $3m and above, depending on terms of the negotiation and agreement.” A subscriber, who told our correspondent that he was given an apartment on the fifth floor, said he planned to pay a monthly instalment of $10,416 (N4,301,808) over a period of 48 months, following an agreement to pay $65,000 (N26,845,000) as initial deposit. According to him, the total package was $565,000 (N233,345,000) and it was meant to be paid over a four-year period, after the payment of the initial deposit of $65,000. A copy of the subscriber’s letter, which was obtained by our correspondent, showed that aside from the luxury apartments, the 21-storey building also contained several facilities to be enjoyed by the intending owners, including a power generating plant, club house, swimming pool, communal offices, gym and spa, 24-hour security, servant’s quarter and parking space. The package also included legal and agency fees, which were not disclosed in the offer letter. The letter, which was on the letterhead of Fourscore Heights Limited, has the address of the company as 2-4 Mosley Road, Ikoyi, Lagos. It read in part, “We are pleased to offer for sale three bedroom Finished Flat on 5th floor Peace Building for the sum of USD 565,000.00 (five hundred and sixty five thousand dollars only), situated at 44bcd Gerrard Road as described above, under the following terms and conditions subject to contract viz details of development: three bedrooms (all en suite), one bedroom servant’s quarter, kitchen, parking space, generating plant, 24-hour security, access to club house, swimming pool, communal offices, gym and spa. “Purpose: Strictly residential. Title: Deed of sublease. Payment terms: 1st payment -$5,000; 2nd payment – $60,000; Balance payment – (this will be spread over the period of four (4) years. Legal fees: five per cent. Agency fees: five per cent. All payments should be made in favour of O. Osibona/Fourscore Heights Limited.” The letter also showed that subscribers were to make payments in dollars into the company’s domiciliary account, which was provided in the letter. Efforts to get Fourscore Heights Limited to react to the development failed. Calls were made to the official lines of the company indicated the lines were switched off. Text messages sent to the lines were also not replied to as of the time of filing this report. PUNCH.

Anambra election: Some collation officers not good at Mathematics, says INEC director by Kayode Oyero

The Director, Voter Education and Publicity of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Victor Aluko, says some collation officers of the commission are not good at Mathematics. Aluko stated this while reacting to the conflict between two officials of the Commission in the Orumba North Local Government Area during the Anambra State Governorship Election last weekend. The PUNCH had earlier reported that the Returning Officer of the LGA, Michael Otu, said he nearly lost his life when thugs attacked the Local Government Collation Centre during the election on Saturday. “I am lucky to be alive. I was teargassed and as a BP patient, I nearly lost my life. I was forced to sign a result which wasn’t collated by me. The Polling Officer, Comfort Omoroge, who worked with me, compromised,” Otu had said. In her reaction, Omoroge had stated that Otu was confused and didn’t know the difference between casting of vote and collation of results. “This man (Onu) has not been involved in an election and it is obvious from the way he behaved on the election day. His actions put us at risk,” she had added. Speaking on Monday, INEC Director, Victor Aluko, said both officials would be interrogated by the Commission to unravel what actually happened. Aluko, who spoke on ‘NTA Good Morning Nigeria’ breakfast programme monitored by The PUNCH, also said though many of the ad hoc officers recruited for the election were trained, some of them find Mathematics challenging. He said, “We were not there in Orumba North when the rural rumble was taking place between the Collation Officer and the INEC Electoral Officer but what we could see when the Returning Officer was collating was that she did the right thing by setting up an emergency team to review what was submitted by the officer. “For now, we would not really know what happened until we interrogate the collation officer who was making the allegations and until we interrogate the Electoral Officer who was alluding to the fact that the Collation Officer was inexperienced. “We recruited many Collation Officers and of course, we recruited intellectuals from the academic for local government ward collation position but sometimes when people have to perform such important duties, some people may not be so good in Mathematics or Arithmetic.” ‘Why INEC can’t declare a winner yet’ The INEC official also defended the declaration of the November 8, 2021 in Anambra as “inconclusive”, insisting that elections did not hold in the Ihiala LGA of the South-East state due to “security threats”. Aluko also said it was better not to deploy electoral officers to Ihiala than to deploy officials and later mourn them. INEC Chief Returning Officer for the governorship election, Prof Florence Obi, had declared the governorship poll inconclusive and said that a supplementary election would hold in 362 polling units in Ihiala LGA on Tuesday, November 9. Commenting, Aluko said, “As an electoral body, INEC managed the situation the way it should. What happened was that the Returning Officer simply postponed the collation and the declaration of the winner pending the time we would conduct election in Ihiala Local Government where due to security threats, we had staffing and logistics constraints and we could not deploy. “And of course, she (Obi) rightly relied on the sections of the constitution and the electoral act and the commission’s guidelines for the election and in order to be fair too, we need to bring Ihiala at par with the other 20 local governments before we can move further. That’s the simple situation now and we are making arrangements to conduct that election tomorrow (Tuesday) in Ihiala and complete the process.” Aluko further said though the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Charles Soludo, won 18 of the 20 LGAs where election were held, he cannot be declared winner yet because the total votes in Ihiala were more than the margin of votes that the ex-Central Bank of Nigeria governor was leading with. “Currently, the margin of lead is 52,624 votes between the candidate of APGA and the PDP. The candidate of APGA scored 103,146 votes while the candidate of PDP scored 51,322 votes. The margin of lead is 52,624. The total votes in Ihiala is 148,407. Mathematically, the margin of lead is lower than the outstanding votes in Ihiala. So, to be fair, we need to conclude that election Ihiala before we can move forward. APGA,” he said. Out of the 20 local governments where elections were held and results announced, the APGA candidate was declared winner in 18; the candidate of the Young Progressive Party, Ifeanyi Ubah, won in one; while the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Valentine Ozigbo, took the other one. The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Andy Uba, had yet to win any LGA. According to INEC, over 2.5 million registered voters were eligible to participate in the governorship election in Anambra with a population of about five million people but fears of the worsening security situation in the South-East state and threats by the proscribed separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra, over the detention of its embattled leader, Nnamdi Kanu, have been said to be responsible for the low voters’ turn out during the November 6 governorship election. PUNCH.

UPDATED: Drama as ex-Pension boss, Maina bags 8-year jail term for money laundering By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

…. armed security agents foil EFCC’s attempt to re-arrest him within the court premises The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Monday, convicted and sentenced the former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, PRTT, Mr Abdulrasheed Maina, to eight years in prison for money laundering. The court, in the judgement that was delivered by Justice Okon Abang, found Maina guilty on all the 12-count charge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, preferred against him and his company, Common Input Property and Investment Limited. It held that the anti-graft agency successfully established the essential ingredients of offences contained in the charge, beyond a reasonable doubt. Justice Abang held that the sentence would run concurrently, with effect from October 25, 2019, which was the day the Defendants were arraigned. He ordered Maina and his firm to forfeit about N2.1billion that was traced to their bank accounts, as well as another sum of $223, 396, 30, to the Federal Government, after which he directed that the company should be wound up. The court held that the forfeited funds should be paid to FG within 90 days. Besides, it ordered the forfeiture of Maina’s two choice properties at Life camp and Jabi districts of Abuja, to the government, likewise the auction of a bulletproof car and a BMW 5 Series exotic car that was found in premises of the convict. Justice Abang stressed that though the law made provision for a maximum sentence of 14 years for the offence that was committed by the Defendants, he said he was moved by Maina’s plea for mercy. Meanwhile, drama ensued shortly after the judgement, as plain-clothed officials of the EFCC, attempted to re-arrest the convicted former pension boss within the court premises. The EFCC agents had immediately officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service, NCS, who were leading Maina out of the court, used both a Hilux and a White Hiace Bus, to block the vehicle that was meant to convey the convict to prison. Their move to grab Maina was vehemently resisted by armed officials of the NCS. After the clash that lasted over 30mins, the EFCC operatives backed out and allowed Maina to be taken away by officials from Kuje Correctional Center. Though there is another criminal case pending against Maina before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, it was however not clear why the EFCC wanted to take him into its custody. Meantime, earlier in his judgement, Justice Abang held that EFCC successfully discharged the evidential burden that was placed on it by the law, noting that the Defendants failed to offer any concrete defence to the charge. He held that the EFCC adduced sufficient evidence that was “unchallenged”. Justice Abang said there was uncontroverted evidence that Maina had at a period that pension funds were stolen, paid in over N1.5million, N500m and N300m, into five bank accounts that were traced to him. He said there was no explanation from the 1st Defendant about where the money, which was above his legitimate earnings, came from. The trial judge held that Defendant, whose monthly salary was about N250, 000, could not have been able to save over an N2billion, within the 30 days period that the deposits were made. “Judgement is hereby entered in favour of the Prosecution and the Defendant is accordingly convicted”, he held. At this juncture, Maina’s lawyer, Mr Olusegun Jolawon, SAN, begged the court for leniency. “I beg my lord to give the Defendant a second chance by not bringing down the full weight of the law. Defendant obviously made some mistakes and he is very remorseful about them. He is the breadwinner of both his nuclear and extended family. “Moreover, there is documentary evidence that he is seriously sick. Nobody is immune to illness”, the defence lawyer added. Likewise, Maina while addressing the court by himself, apologized for his past conduct. He said: “My lord, I want to apologise for anything I may have done, with or without my intention. It was all adduced to me. “I was never opportune to be in the witness box, if not, you would have heard a lot of things”, Maina stated, saying he has three different tumours in his body and would need to undergo a medical operation urgently. After he had listened to the Allocutus (plea for mercy) by both Maina and his lawyer, Justice Abang said the facts of the case was “sordid, immoral and dirty”. “Facts of this case portray the moral decadence of the society we live in. Having considered the monumental fraud, about how pensioners’ funds were stolen. “It is a clear case that the convict is inhuman, heartless and had no compassion for the pensioners. Some of them have suffered, others have died while waiting to get their reward on earth. “Whereas the convict was feeding fat from their sweat in faraway Dubai, buying properties, driving bulletproof cars that were beyond his legitimate earnings. “Abnormal situation requires drastic action to send a message to those that believe in dishonesty, to have a rethink”, he added. The court maintained that FG ought to have withdrawn the operating licenses of the two banks it noted connived with the convict to steal pension funds to the tune of over an N2.1billion. EFCC had in the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/256/2019, alleged that Maina used a bank account that was operated by his firm and laundered funds, part of which he used to acquire landed properties in Abuja. It told the court that the 1st Defendant (Maina) used fictitious names to open and operate various bank accounts, as well as recruited his relatives that were bankers to operate fake bank accounts through which illicit funds were channelled. The EFCC alleged that Maina induced staff of both the United Bank of Africa, UBA, and Fidelity Bank Plc, to open accounts for him, without conducting the requisite due diligence to verify the identity of the beneficial owner. The Prosecution maintained that Maina and his company, committed criminal offences, punishable under sections 11(2) (a), 15(3), and 16(2) (c) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, and also acted in breach of the Advance Fee Fraud Act. Maina had midway into his trial, jumped bail and escaped from the country. Though the court okayed his trial in absentia and issued a warrant of arrest against him, Maina, was subsequently re-arrested in the Niger Republic and returned back to the country on December 4, 2020. EFCC closed its case against the Defendants after it called a total of nine witnesses. In his defence, Maina, called a sole witness, even as the court, in a ruling on July 16, closed his defence after he failed to produce his second witness. Subsequent application by the Defendants, to be allowed to re-open their defence, was rejected by the court which described it as an abuse of the judicial process. The Defendants had applied for the court to compel 10 persons, among whom included the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, the erstwhile Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Magu and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr Godwin Emiefele, to appear as his witnesses. Others he also prayed the court to compel to appear and testify in the matter, was a human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, SAN, M. Mustapha, Hassan Salihu, Mohammed Wakil, G.T Idris, Kenneth Amabem, Ibrahim Kaigama and the Director of Compliance at the CBN. Maina insisted that evidence of the subpoenaed witnesses would be crucial to his defence of the charge. The court had after he jumped bail, remanded his surety, Senator Ali Ndume, in prison custody. It ordered Ndume who is representing Borno South Senatorial District, to either produce Defendant for the continuation of his trial or to forfeit his N500m bail bond. Alternatively, it directed the sale of Ndume’s property situated at Asokoro in Abuja to raise the N500m it said should be paid into the Federation Account. After he regained his freedom on November 27, 2020, following Maina’s re-arrest, Ndume, applied to withdraw from the case, a request that was rejected by the court. It will be recalled that Justice Abang had in a judgement he delivered on October 7, also convicted and sentenced Maina’s son, Faisal, to 14 years imprisonment for money laundering. Vanguard News Nigeria

NDLEA arrests notorious drug dealer behind multiple London-bound consignments by Friday Olokor

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a notorious drug dealer, Okoli Collins Ikenna, who is believed to be responsible for the recent multiple attempts to export illicit drugs to London in the United Kingdom through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos and other courier companies. The agency said Okoli has been on court bail following his arrest in November 2020 and subsequent arraignment before a Federal High Court in Lagos for attempting to export 15.700kgs of Methamphetamine to Australia. A statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA Director (Media and Advocacy), Femi Babafemi, said series of investigations into recent multiple attempts to export illicit drugs to the UK led to the arrest of the drug dealer on Tuesday, November 2 when he was caught with 78 parcels of Cannabis, concealed in black soap packs labelled as Dudu Osun, with a total weight of 12.250 kilograms heading to the United Kingdom. “Further investigation also revealed that Okoli is the one behind the attempt to export 7.350kgs of Cannabis to the UK on Thursday, October 21, a consignment that was intercepted at NAHCO export shed of the MMIA. “Curiously, a separate investigation by operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation of the agency, attached to courier companies have equally traced to Okoli two other attempts to export 47.7kgs of cannabis to the UK through courier firms after his agents arrested in the course of investigation named him as the owner of the consignments,” Babafemi said. Meanwhile, desperate bids by traffickers to export over 2 kilograms of Cocaine, Methamphetamine and Cannabis hidden inside containers of body cream, tea bags, vehicle oil and air filters to London, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirate and New Zealand through two major courier firms in Lagos have been foiled by narcotic officers of the agency. In Kano, a controlled delivery of an illicit consignment on Friday, November 5 led to the arrest of two suspects; Ibrahim Sulaiman and Muhammad Sani Alhassan with 23kgs of Diazepam tablets, 2kgs of Codeine syrup and 32kgs of Exol five tablets bringing the total weight to 57kgs. Earlier on Wednesday, November 3 operatives of the Kano command of the agency had arrested one Mizambilu Tijjani, with 64kgs of Cannabis sativa and Victor Nsodikwa Chu-chu, with 34 cartons of Pentazocine injection and one carton of Diazepam injection in the Sabongari area of the city. Also in Kogi State, NDLEA operatives seized a consignment containing 28.251kgs of Exol- 5, 6.6kgs of Barcadin Codeine Syrup, over 38.532kgs of Tramadol, bringing the total drugs seized to 73.808kgs. The operatives of the Osun State Command of the NDLEA seized 130.518kgs of Cannabis and 18grams of Cocaine in the Modakeke area of Ile-Ife. Impressed by the outcome of investigations that led to the dismantling of the drug syndicate led by Okoli in Lagos, the Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the officers and men of the MMIA command, and their counterparts in Kano, Kogi and Osun for sustaining the heat on the cartels across the country. He urged them and their compatriots in other commands to intensify the offensive action against all merchants of death in Nigeria. PUNCH.