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Regional maritime bank takes off in 90 days — Sambo

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By Seun Ibiyemi

Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, has expressed optimism that within 90 days the ministry will secure accommodation to enable the take off of the Regional Maritime Development Bank (RMDB) .

Sambo said this in a statement by the ministry’s Director of Media and Public Relations, Mr Eric Ojiekwe in Abuja on Wednesday.

He made this known when he received the Secretary-General, Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa, (MOWCA ), Dr Paul Adalikwuat the ministry.

Sambo said, “When I resumed here, I realised immediately that the Regional Maritime Bank is one of the lowest hanging fruits that we can achieve within a very short time. Infact 90 days is too long.

“I observed that all efforts towards getting accommodation via the Central Bank of Nigeria has not yielded any outcomes.

“So I will approach the Attorney General of the Federation to see if one of the forfeited properties can be allocated to the bank.”

Sambo encouraged the Secretary-General, to leverage on MOWCA as a regional organisation to push for Nigeria’s intent of becoming member of Category C in International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

Speaking earlier, the Secretary-General of MOWCA, Adalikwu, stated that the idea of RMDB was conceived 11 years ago.

He said it was meant to facilitate single digit interest loans to provide leeway to key players in the sector and enable them compete favourably with their international counterparts.

Adalikwu said, “Eight countries have signed the Charter as required in the document establishing the bank.

“Two weeks ago, DRC Congo also signed making it nine countries. One above the threshold required for the establishment of the Act.

“The  organogram of RMDB as adopted by council members has positions of President of the body, Company Secretary and a seat on the board ceded to Nigeria.

“Cameroun is to produce the  Vice President 1, and Ivory Coast, Vice President 2, while other member countries are to provide board members for the maritime bank.”

The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Magdalene Ajani, commended Adalikwu on the forthcoming regional meeting scheduled for Abuja in November.

Ajani said during the meeting,  the Secretary-General of IMO, Kitlack Lim, would seek to prevail on the 25 member states to adopt the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences (SPOMO) Act.

She explained that the Act would enable the trial of piracy cases within the MOWCA sub-region, irrespective of whichever sub-region the crime was committed.

The meeting was attended by the Minister of State for Transportation, Prince Ademola Adegoroye, Director, Maritime Services, Babatunde Bombata, Deputy Director, Cabotage and Shipping, Rita Zoaka and others.

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Man sentenced to one year in prison over inheritance fraud

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Maiduguri Zonal Command, on Tuesday secured the conviction and sentencing of one Isiyaku Ibrahim before Justice Umaru Fadawu of the Borno State High Court.

Isiyaku Ibrahim was prosecuted on a one-count charge bordering on criminal misappropriation to the tune of N12 million.

The anti-graft agency disclosed this via its X handle on Tuesday.

It said the properties involved in the inheritance fraud include three houses, two fenced lands one of which had seven shops, two bread factories, one open land, two truck tankers and one big installed generator.

The charge reads: “That you Isiyaku Ibrahim and Mallam Ibrahim sometime between 2014 to 2019 at Jajere Baga Road, Maiduguri, Borno State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, being entrusted with dominion over certain properties belonging to Muhammad Isiyaku (now deceased) to wit: (1) Three Houses, (2) Two fenced lands one of which had seven shops, (3) two bread factories, (4) one open land, (5) two truck tankers and (6) one big installed generator, valued at N12,000,000.00 (Twelve Million Naira) only and thereby criminally misappropriated the said amount to your personal use, to the detriment of the family members of the deceased and therefore committed an offence contrary to section 308 of the Penal Code Cap 102 Laws of Borno State and Punishable under section 309 of the same law.”

Justice Fadawu convicted and sentenced Ibrahim to one-year imprisonment with an option of N100,000 fine.

 

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EPL: David Raya reacts to mistake in Arsenal’s 3-2 win over Spurs

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Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya has said that he is open to learning new things through his own mistakes.

Some of such mistakes were prevalent during Arsenal’s 3-2 win against Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday.

Arsenal were 3-0 up in the first half through Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s own-goal and strikes from Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz.

However, Tottenham came back from the break stronger and were handed a way back in the 64th minute when Raya’s attempted lob ended up at the feet of Cristian Romero at the edge of the box.

The Argentine finished off the chance to make it 3-1.Son Heung-min then scored from the penalty spot with three minutes to go in regulation following a foul by Declan Rice on Ben Davies.

However, Mikel Arteta’s side somehow fended their north London rivals off for the remainder of the contest.

Raya told Sky Sports,
“I’ve learnt from making mistakes. If you don’t make mistakes, you don’t learn. It’s a part of football, everybody makes mistakes.

“But the thing [is] when a keeper makes a mistake, it’s a goal, it’s more seen, more talked [about], compared to a striker missing a tap-in or whatever.

“But it’s just part of football and you learn from that. That’s the most important thing – you learn from the mistakes.”

 

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Court fixes May 15 for EFCC to arraign Emefiele on fresh charge

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The Economic and financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will on May 15 arraign the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele in a Federal Capital Territory court on three counts amended charge.

In the fresh charge filed against him, the EFCC alleged that Emefiele disobeyed the direction of law with intent to cause injury to the public during his implementation of the naira swap policy of the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The anti-graft agency also accused Emefiele of unlawfully approving the withdrawal of N124.8 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation.

The arraignment was earlier slated before justice Maryann Anenih.

However, all the parties were not present in  court when the matter with case number: CR/264/2024 was called.

The court said that the prosecution sent a letter seeking for adjournment because Emefiele was standing trial in another court in  Lagos.

The judge therefore adjourned until May 15 for the arraignment.

Emefiele is also standing trial before Justice Hamza Muazu of FCT high court on an alleged 20-count amended charge, preferred against him by the Economic and financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

He was alleged to have engaged in criminal breach of trust, forgery, conspiracy to obtain by false pretence and obtaining money by false pretence, when he served as the apex bank’s boss.

Justice Olukayode Adeniyi of a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court also on Jan. 8 awarded N100 million damages to suspended former governor of the central bank of Nigeria (CBN) against the federal government and Economic and financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for violations of his right.

Adeniyi further restrained the federal government and it’s agents from arresting Emefiele unless an order was obtained through a competent court.

The judge held that the respondents need not incarcerate the applicant in other to carry out investigation for a long period as against the provisions of the law.

” No material placed before the court to show that the release of the applicant will in any way interfere with the investigation of allegations preferred against him.

The embattled Emefiele had dragged the Federal Government, Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Executive Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Commission before the court to enforce his fundamental rights to life, personal liberty, fair hearing and freedom of movement.

Emefiele sought a declaration of the court that his continued detention by the agency of the first and second respondents since June 10, 2023 and subsequent transfer to the custody of the third and fourth respondents on October 26, 2023 without being arraigned in court is unlawful.

He said the respondents in deviance of several valid subsisting court orders for his release amounts to a grave violation of his fundamental rights to life, personal liberty, as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

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