News

FCTA gives one week quit notice to Mpape traders

Published

3 months ago

February 21, 2024

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has issued a one week quit notice to traders at the popular Mpape village market in Bwari Area Council of the FCT.

The FCTA accused the traders of occupying a section of the market reserved for parking lots, hospital, fire and police stations.

Hundreds of the traders at the market had clashed with their colleagues allegedly working in synergy with authorities of the Bwari Area Council through a private developer overseeing the ongoing remodelling of the market. They prevented the team from an attempt to reclaim a section of the market reserved for the construction of a parking lot, hospital, fire and police stations as part of the facilities for the market’s remodelling

Trouble started when leaders of those to be affected by the exercise exchanged words with their colleagues allegedly cooperating with the government operatives to recover the said space

While some aggrieved traders voiced their disapproval, others resorted to throwing of stones, leading to a chaotic scene.

Speaking with journalists, Head of Logistics, Bwari Area Council, Mr Audu Amos, said the idea of remodelling the market was conceptualised in 2005.

Amos added that two years ago the ministerial task force cleared the place because of security threats in Mpape.

Similarly, the CEO of Shape Ideas Project ltd, the private developer handling the project, Dr Mrs Amunega Ajayi, said when the firm moved to the site to commence construction, the affected traders pleaded that they be allowed to remain pending when the space would be needed.

She said, “When we were given the allocation to come and work here, they came to me that they didn’t have anywhere else to go, that we should just allow them to stay in the market. I said fine, but when we finish building shops they must vacate the car park. Unfortunately, that was a great mistake that we made at that time.

“So, we called that we had finished building the market but we needed to build the police station, a hospital in the market, fire service office in the market and even the civil defence office, but they said no that they were in court.

“The last time we went to court, they said they wanted a settlement with us. The judge said they should go and meet us for settlement, which they never did. They wanted us to stop work completely. But on that day, the court vacated all orders to stop us from working. That was why we continued working on the site.”

However, one of the leaders of the aggrieved traders, who took the issue to court, Alhaji Awwal Abdul Dogo, said although at the court they were told that their market allocations had expired, they obtained a court order to carry on their trading activities at the site pending the settlement of the matter.

He said, “We were the ones local government gave allocation, we built our shops ourselves and at the end local government said they wanted to collect the market, but we know we have our rights and documents, so we took the matter to court.

“Three days after we came back from the court, they brought a task force to chase us away. I asked what we had done. It was not like they asked us for dialogue and we didn’t comply.

“But now they said it’s dialogue they want, we are ready for that. They know our lawyer and we know their lawyer. We are ready to move out only if that’s the conclusion of the court.”

News

Nigeria’s money supply dropped to N92.3trn in March – CBN

Published

12 hours ago

May 17, 2024

NewsDirect

Nigeria’s money supply dropped marginally to N92.3 trillion in March 2024 from N93.9 trillion in February.

This is according to recent data from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Experts have linked the development to CBN’s hike in interest rates.

Demand deposits increased from N26.8 trillion to N28.8 trillion, suggesting a preference among depositors for more liquid forms of money.

Similarly, currency outside banks surged from N3.4 trillion to N3.6 trillion as more Nigerians moved towards cash following the end of the apex bank’s controversial new naira note policy.

The naira has continued to depreciate against the dollar despite the CBN’s policy intervention. On Thursday, it further dipped to N1533.99 per dollar.

News

Naira appreciates against dollar, ends week on good note

Published

12 hours ago

May 17, 2024

NewsDirect

The Naira appreciated against the dollar at the foreign exchange market barely 24 hours after depreciation.

FMDQ data showed that the N1497.33 appreciated against the dollar on Friday

This represents an N33.66 gain against the dollar compared to N1497.33 traded on Thursday.

Similarly, at the parallel market, the Naira appreciated to N1475 per dollar on Friday from N1555 on Thursday.

This showed that the Naira ended the week well after days of depreciation.

The country’s currency continued to experience instability since mid-April when it recorded months of appreciation.

Meanwhile, the Bureau De Change Operators had blamed forex scarcity for the continued depreciation of Naira.

News

Police dismiss inspector for N29.8m theft, kidnapping

Published

12 hours ago

May 17, 2024

NewsDirect

The Nigeria Police Force has dismissed one of its officers identified as Adabo Mohammed for criminal conspiracy and armed robbery, among others.

Mohammed, who was an Inspector, alongside five others was said to be a member of an armed robbery gang allegedly responsible for the stealing of N29.8 million from a victim in Gwagwalada, Federal Capital Territory.

This was disclosed by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement issued at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on Friday.

The statement, titled, ‘Police speak tough on indiscipline, misconduct,’ noted that in a move to uphold professional standards within the Force, the Inspector-General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, stressed the Force’s intolerance to any form of indiscipline.

The statement read partly, “In a decisive move to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and integrity within the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, has emphasised his administration’s zero-tolerance policy towards any form of indiscipline. He stressed that the mandate of the police is to serve and protect with honour and integrity, and as such all breaches of the core values of the NPF will be met with decisive action to maintain public trust and ensure justice.

“In line with this policy, all cases reported against personnel have been creditably attended to, and justice has been done appropriately. Many of the erring officers have been sanctioned, while some cases are still at the orderly room trial level, and will soon be concluded.

“For instance, a police inspector has been dismissed from service while three others were demoted to their previous ranks following thorough investigations which confirmed their involvement in various acts of indiscipline/crime.”

Adejobi added, “One Inspector Adabo Mohammed was dismissed for the offences of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery/kidnapping, and corrupt practice. The dismissed officer, along with five others were members of an armed robbery gang responsible for the robbery of the sum of N29.8 million from a victim in Gwagwalada, FCT as well as the kidnap of one Ikechukwu Emmanuel Okafor in Tunga Manje, and the collection of ransom sum of N4.4m. The ex-officer has been charged to court accordingly.

“Similarly, the trio of Inspectors Osagie Efford, Semiu Agbekin, and Francis Ahuen, attached to the Special Tactical Squad (STS), have been demoted to their previous rank of Sergeant for the extortion of some motorists in Abuja. The trio intercepted an unregistered Mercedes Benz at Gwarinpa, Abuja, and forced the occupants to part with the total sum of N29.4m.

“The matter when reported by one Harrison Gwamnishu (#HarrisonBBi18) via the social media platform ‘X’, was taken up and properly investigated. While the monies have been returned to the complainants, the officers were subjected to orderly room trial in line with extant laws, and have been demoted.”

The FPRO noted that some senior officers have “been subjected to the Force Disciplinary Committee hearings” to “scrutinise and address allegations of misconduct against higher-ranking officers of the Force.”

He assured the public that “these measures are taken with the utmost seriousness and are integral to restoring and maintaining their trust. He re-emphasised that the NPF is dedicated to fostering a culture of accountability and respect within all ranks to ensure that police officers serve with integrity.”