10 pirates have been handed a twelve year jail senetence each for hijacking a Chinese fishing vessel, FV Hai Lu Feng II, in May 2020.

The convicts said to be residents in Nigeria were identified as Frank Abaka, Jude Ebaragha, Shina Alolo, Joshua Iwiki, David Akinseye, Ahmed Toyin, Shobajo Saheed, Adekole Philip, Matthew Masi, and Bright Agbedeyi.

They pleaded “not guilty” after being arraigned on a four-count charge bordering on the hijacking of the vessel in international waters off the coast of Cote D’Ivoire.

The convicts who were first arraigned by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) on July 13, 2020 were accused of “committing an illegal act of violence against the crew on board FV Hai Lu Feng II belonging to Haina Fishing Company by putting them in fear in order to take control of the vessel while armed with  weapons”. 

The government which said their action violated Section 3 of the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences Act, 2019, punishable under Section 2 of the same Act, urged the court to use the case to send a strong message to pirates that Nigeria would not condone such criminal activities which had huge implications for the country.

Ruling on the case, Justice Ayokunle Faji said their actions affect the well-being of all Nigerians also ordered each pirate to pay a fine of N1million each.

Faji said; 

“I agree with the prosecution counsel, Labaran Magaji that the prosecution has proved the essential ingredients of the offence committed by each of the defendants; the defendants conspired to commit the illegal act.

“All the defendants acted in hijacking the ship to achieve their common goal.

“Consequently I find each of the defendants guilty as charged on all the counts.

“Each defendant is hereby sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.

“In addition, the defendants should pay a fine of N1million each.

“The offence committed by the defendants affects the wellbeing of Nigerians and our image in the diaspora.

“The naira sum, dollars, and various currencies recovered from the defendants by the Nigerian Navy are hereby forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”

The Federal Government has denied claims that it has stopped Nigerians from using the microblogging site, Twitter.

Punch reports that the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and the Federal Government made the denial in a counter-affidavit they deposed to in response to an originating motion filed by human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong.

The Federal government on June 4 2021, announced the indefinite suspension of the operations of Twitter in Nigeria. The government suspended the site operations days after it deleted a Tweet from President Buhari’s handle in which he made reference to the civil war which many found offensive. The Attorney General had released a statement threatening to prosecute Nigerians still using the platform via VPN while the National Broadcasting Commission ordered all radio and television stations to stop using Twitter or picking content from the platform.

Opposed to the move by the Federal government, HumanRights lawyer, Inihebe Effiong, dragged the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed and the Federal government before the court. In a fundamental human rights suit marked FHC/L/CS/542/2021, Inihebe asked the court to amongst other things grant an order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents from further suspending, deactivating, or banning the operation and accessibility of Twitter or any other social media service in Nigeria because the act was in violation of his rights.

Effiong asked the court to declare as illegal the ‘threat of criminal prosecution by Malami and Lai Mohammed against Nigerians who violate the suspension or ban of Twitter, despite the absence of any written law.’

In an affidavit deposed to by Mr. Ilop Lawrence on behalf of the Federal Government and Malami, it was stated that the suspension of Twitter was not an abuse of human rights because Nigerians were still using Twitter despite the suspension. The government told the court that Nigerians are still free to use platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Tiktok and others. The Federal Government also denied knowledge of Twitter deleting Buhari’s tweet on the Biafra civil which offended many Nigerians.

It said Twitter had made its platform accessible to elements like Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra; and had supported the #EndSARS protests of October 2020 which was later hijacked by hoodlums. The government further stated that Nigerians should direct their anger at Twitter and not the government because Twitter would not have been suspended if it complied with Nigeria’s laws. It told the court that the Twitter suspension would be lifted once the platform registers with the NBC and the Corporate Affairs Commission.

The affidavits deposed by the Federal government reads in part

“The applicant (Effiong) and the class he seeks to represent can still operate those Twitter accounts from anywhere in the world and even from Nigeria. Nigerians are still tweeting, even at this moment as the ban on Twitter is not aimed at intimidating Nigerians or an infringement on the rights of Nigerians to express their opinion.

The respondents (Federal Government and AGF) have never stopped the applicant (Effiong) and the class of persons he seeks to represent from voicing their opinions to access government information and offer criticism where necessary.”

Senate Minority Leader, Enyinaya Abaribe, has said given the opportunity, he will still stand as surety for the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu in court.

Recall that Abaribe, Immanuel El-Shalom, a Jewish high priest, and Tochukwu Uchendu, a chartered accountant, stood surety for Kanu when he was granted bail on April 27th 2017 after spending over a year in detention. Kanu however went underground after the military invasion of his home in Abia state in September 2017. The courts revoked Kanu’s bail and then threatened Abaribe with a jail term if he fails to produce Kanu.

Kanu was however rearrested in Kenya on June 27 and extradited to Nigeria on June 29.

Speaking in an interview with TVC on Wednesday, July 21, the Senator said he would not hesitate to stand as a surety for Kanu again. He explained that he stood surety for Kanu when the IPOB leader was arraigned because it was a condition imposed by the court.

According to him, the court ordered that one of the sureties must be a Senator and as the Chairman of the Southeast Senators Caucus then, he had to offer himself as the surety.

“He’s our son. He’s from our state (Abia). He (Kanu) said it himself that he ran for his dear life. 

There is a difference between jumping bail and escaping for your life. I went back to court and deposed that on the basis of the principle of ‘last seen’, that the last people seen with him were soldiers of the Nigerian army who were invading his father’s residence.

The judge ultimately ruled that she was revoking bail and issued a warrant of arrest, thereby removing us from the responsibility of providing him. A lot of people did not understand” he said

Abaribe said he did not feel betrayed that Kanu left the country, saying he ran for his life.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that it will be announcing its own digital currency on October 1, 2021.

Nairametrics reported that the CBN alongside stakeholders picked Independence Day as its launch date.

According to the publication, CBN’s IT Director, Rakiya Mohammed at the conclusion of the 306th Banker’s Committee meeting, disclosed that the apex bank has been conducting research in regards to digital currencies since 2017 and may conduct a proof of concept before the end of this year.

The project name is tagged Project GIANT and it will use the Hyperledger Fabric Blockchain. Nigeria’s central bank further revealed that the importance of eNaira includes Macro management and growth, cross border trade facilitation, financial inclusion, monetary policy effectiveness, improved payment efficiency, revenue tax collection, remittance improvement, and targeted social intervention.

The Nigerian Air Force has taken delivery of the first batch of six A-29 Super Tucano aircraft from the United States.

NAF spokesman, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet said the aircraft arrived in Kano State on Thursday afternoon. 

Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (Rtd), Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao were present to receive the aircraft. 

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) bank account domiciled in the United States has reportedly been closed down. Chika Edoziem, IPOB head of directorate said the account which served as a “worldwide” platform for members of the group to pay their monthly contributions, was closed down after it received a report from the bank that some yet to be identified persons accused it of fraudulently operating the account.

The statement read; 

“That the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra worldwide, Nnamdi Kanu, authorised the opening of the IPOB USA, families were instructed to pay in their monthly contributions. 

“That this same USA national account was also designated by our leader as the account for ESN worldwide contributions.

“Following a report to the bank by yet to be identified persons that this account is fraudulent, the bank requested that the account be closed.”

Edoziem said another account has been opened to serve the same purpose. 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has warned shady politicians, Yahoo boys and Nigerians involved in financial crimes to retrace their steps as the eagle eyes are on them. 

The anti-graft agency gave the warning in a statement posted via its official social media accounts on Friday, July 23. 

“This na for the shady leaders wey dey carry our money go Overseas. This na for the Yahoo Yahoo boys wey dey spoil our Country name Overseas. For the lifestyle wey you dey live, make you know say there is an eye watching you. “NA STUBBORN FLY DEY FOLLOW CORPSE ENTER GRAVE”. Who get ear make e hear am. #The Eagle #EFCC is watching you. #EFCC WILL GET YOU ANYWHERE, ANY TIME! SHUN FINANCIAL CRIMES AND CORRUPTION” the post read. 

The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has reacted to the arrest of Yoruba freedom fighter, Sunday Adeyemo popularly referred to as Sunday Igboho.

In a statement issued by the coalition’s spokesman, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, the group urged the Nigerian government to immediately expose sponsors of groups clamouring for self-determination in the Southern part of the country. The group suggested that one of the charges that should be filed against Igboho should be ”incitement to violence against northerners”

The statement in part reads

“From the outset, we wish to be categoric that the arrest of Igboho and Kanu should not be mistaken as bringing about the end to the uprisings and disturbances over self-determination perpetrated by southern Nigerian elites and governments who use thugs like Igboho and Kanu.

We insist that rather than seeing the arrest as an end in itself, it should be the beginning of the processes for self-determination by any unit that wants to go.

Therefore we insist on a peaceful referendum for separation from a people who would at the slightest of pretexts, attack, kill and destroy people of other regions and their properties, especially those from the North.

The arrest of Igboho is government business and so long as it conforms with the principle of rule of law and international criminal justice procedures. We are not yet sure what he is going to be charged with, but expectedly incitement to violence against northerners would be one of them.

We all know that threats of violent secession anywhere are a grave offence that no government will condone. From records of history, it is only northern Nigeria that has not called for the breakup of the country at the slightest of pretence. 

With the arrest of Kanu and now Igboho, we are hoping that government would go beyond prosecution to digging up and exposing their sponsors and the agenda behind them.

While Kanu’s case may be attributed to some form of insanity which was exploited by the South East elites who were playing a double game, Igboho is a deliberate and calculated, supported and encouraged attempt by the Yoruba leaders including their governments to scare the North into agreeing to cede power without competition. 

Unfortunately they took it too far by arming Igboho and setting him against law-abiding citizens from other regions particularly the North.

The arrest if considered along with that of Kanu should serve as a lesson to those blind followers who are instigated into setting fire to their own backyards whereas the instigators of such lawlessness and violence almost all the time have a fallback option that includes escaping abroad.

“The two arrests also attest to the level of cross-regional cooperation that is working across Africa.”

The Oyo State Government has detected 41 ghost workers on its payroll as 341 others with irregular records opt for voluntary retirement.

The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde, Mr Taiwo Adisa, who disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, July 21, said the Implementation Committee of the Oyo State 2019/2020 Civil/Public Servants Audit and Payroll Re-engineering/Validation Exercise has recommended the removal of the 41 staff classified as “No Show” by the consultants.

“The consultants had indicted 602 officers and recommended them for removal from the payrolls but the Implementation Committee affirmed 41 ghost workers; cleared 40 others of any infraction; uncovered 10 deaths; 170 systematic retirements; and affirmed the option of voluntary retirement by 341 others with irregular records of service,” the statement read.

The statement indicated that the Implementation Committee had examined the report submitted by the consultants and also interacted with the affected officers before finalising the implementation model.

Messrs Sally Tilbot Consulting was, in 2019, engaged by the Oyo State Government to undertake employees and pensioners’ verification/validation and payroll re-engineering, tagged 2019/2020 staff audit.

Following series of reconciliations, the report of the consultants was received by the government on April 30, 2021, after which an Implementation Committee was put in place to fashion out the final implementation model.

The 13-member Implementation Committee, headed by Mr. D.O Olatunde, Permanent Secretary, Civil Service Commission, affirmed that “forty-one (41) officers established to be “No Show” should be removed from government payrolls immediately.”

The committee recommended that an administrative investigation be undertaken by the government to determine where the salaries of the “No Show” officers had been going.

The statement added that of the 341 who indicated their decision of voluntary retirement to the Implementation Committee, 290 officers had turned in their voluntary retirement letters, while the 24 officers who failed to take advantage of the two-month window have now been retired by the concerned agencies of government. The Implementation Committee had put together its report in May 2021.

Messrs Sally Tilbot Consultants had, earlier in its report submitted to the government, indicted 602 workers and advised that they be removed from the payrolls.

The Implementation Committee, however, recommended that the government should affirm the resolve of 341 officers who opted to retire voluntarily following the discovery of irregular records of service in their files.

The affected officers are to be “helped to port into the pension payroll not later than two months after their respective notices of retirement,” the report stated.

According to the statement, the administration of Governor ‘Seyi Makinde had, in a painstaking effort, set up a number of reconciliation meetings to review the report of Sally Tilbot Consultants, which undertook a forensic analysis of civil/public servants between 2019 and 2020.

Afterwards, the 13-member Implementation Committee, headed by Olatunde was further put in place to fine-tune the final processes of its implementation.

The Committee, according to its report submitted to the government, had, however, recommended that 170 officers, who were found to have “retired systematically” (retirement according to age or years of service) be removed from the list of 602 earlier recommended for sanction by Tilbot Consultants.

Ten others who were found to have died were also removed from the list prepared by the Consultants, while another 40 officers were cleared and absolved of any offence.

The report read in part: “From the above, it is observed that from the 602 alleged officers, one hundred and seventy (170) had already retired systematically due to no particular influence of the screening exercise and ten (10) deceased.

“Consequently, the Committee agreed that out of the 602 officers involved in the report: Forty (40) officers should be absolved and allowed to remain on government payrolls; one undred and seventy (170) officers who had retired systematically should be allowed on pension payrolls; and ten (10) deceased officers should be paid their due entitlements.

It also agreed that: “three hundred and forty-one (341) officers that opted for voluntary retirement should be allowed to do so; forty-one (41) officers established to be “No Show” should be removed from Government Payrolls immediately; while the list of affected officers from Tertiary Institutions should be forwarded to their respective Governing Councils for necessary action.”

The United Kingdom has asked the Nigerian government to explain the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)

According to Reuters, Tariq Ahmad, junior minister at Britain’s foreign office, says the UK wants Nigeria to explain how Kanu was arrested.

“We are seeking clarification from the Nigerian government about the circumstances of the arrest and detention of Nnamdi Kanu,” he said.

Ahmad also said Britain had requested consular access to Kanu and stands ready to provide consular assistance.

Kanu, who has been campaigning for the actualization of the sovereign state of Biafra, was first arrested on October 14, 2015.

He was granted bail in April 2017 but later fled Nigeria after soldiers invaded his residence in Abia state during a military clampdown on IPOB members.

Kanu, who holds British citizenship, was mostly in the UK after he fled Nigeria. But he was arrested in June and extradited to Nigeria to face trial for treasonable felony.

Although the federal government did not state where Kanu was arrested, Kingsley Kanu, Kanu’s brother alleged that the IPOB leader was arrested in Kenya and handed over to Nigerian authorities who then brought him back to Nigeria.

The Kenya government, however, denied that Kanu was arrested and extradited from the country to Nigeria.