Crime
Naira Redesign: 3 Serving Governors Under EFCC’s Watch List For Stashing Billions Of Naira In Their Houses – Bawa

Naira Redesign: 3 Serving Governors Under EFCC’s Watch List For Stashing Billions Of Naira In Their Houses – Bawa
Three serving state governors are being monitored over their moves to launder stashed billions of naira through table payment of salaries to workers, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa said.
He said raid on Bureau De Change operators will be sustained, urging Nigerians to support the system, for the benefit of all.
In an exclusive interview with Daily Trust, the EFFCC chairman disclosed that some governors are all out devising means to launder money they stashed in houses. He said so far, they are closely monitoring three of them.
Bawa, who refused to disclose the identity of the three governors, however, said two of them are from the North, while the 3rd one is from the southern part of the country.
He said intelligence at the disposal of the commission, showed that the three governors have concluded plans to inject the money into the system through table payment of their state workers’ salaries.
“Let me tell you something, the Intel that I have yesterday and I would want you to take this thing very seriously. Already, some state governors that have some of this cash stashed in various houses and the rest are now trying to pay salaries in cash in their state,” he said.
Asked whether the commission would summon the governors, the EFCC chair said they are closely monitoring them.
He added that “I don’t know how they want to achieve that but we have to stop them from doing that. Well, we are working, they have not paid the salaries in cash yet but it is a very serious thing”, saying the move is against section 2 of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act.
“The law is very clear regarding cash transactions. Anybody that is to consummate any cash transaction as an individual, if it is not through a financial institution must not be above N5million and if it is above that it is criminal for you to engage in such transaction. And for corporate entities it is N10million.
“Yes, I agree the salaries are not up to that but why are you all of a sudden, and all along you have been paying people salaries through their bank accounts and now you want to pay them in cash, what are you trying to do? They will come under a lot of guises, they are trying to do verification of officers, that is what we have gotten,” he said.
The EFCC boss also confirmed the mad rush by some people to dispose of their stashed funds by buying property.
“We are aware of that. Even if you dispose of your property and you receive cash, for that cash to be of value to you after January 31, 2023, you have to take it to the bank; so what happened, are you coming to the bank with those millions? That is why we are working with the bankers and if you have this information let us know about it,” he said.
He said the raids of BDC operators would continue. This he said, is very important to protect the system against the laundering of stashed funds.
“They (BDCs) are very important in the sense that a lot of people that have this naira cash, will want to convert them to USD or other foreign currencies, that is why they are very important.
“And based on the known gullibility of these people (BDCs), they are willing to accept this cash from the owners of these monies and they are willing to depart with the foreign currencies that they have and so that is why they are very important and very critical to us in this project that we said to ourselves that we are going to do,” he said. When Bawa’s attention was drawn to the fact that the dollar was rising despite the EFCC raids, he said it is a function of demand and supply.
“The truth of the matter here is just a simple function of demand and supply, people are rushing this commodity not that they are going to use it for any meaningful business engagement but they are just rushing for it, just a store of value, that is what is happening.
“And what they say in economics is the higher the demand, the higher the price; so people are just seeing USD or other hard currencies just the way that they are seeing gold, to get it exchanged and store their value,” he said.
On why he met chief compliance officers of banks in Lagos recently, he said the parley was part of efforts to properly monitor the system and to seek their collaboration in respect of the likelihood of people bringing in their illegitimate funds back to the system.
“We knew a lot of people are hoarding these funds, it is with them and they will always find a way of trying to bring it back to the system.
“So, irrespective of what they use their cash for, whether they exchange it for dollars, whether they use it to purchase houses for those that are willing to accept cash, it has to eventually come back to the financial institution. So, irrespective of what you do, the banks are very important and critical in the sense that they are the end recipients of this cash.
“The owner of BDC must deposit the money he exchanged for the currency he did, the owner of real estate must also do the same and all of that. So, we sat down, we deliberated and we agreed on what to do. Everybody is happy about it,” he said.
He, however, urged Nigerians to be calm, saying “this (naira redesign) is just a routine thing that ordinarily CBN ought to have done after every eight years, the monies are going to be taken.
“All that the government is saying is come and deposit the money at no cost to you; that is just what is happening, nothing more than that. “How can you have an economy where you have 85 per cent of your currency out there when you are calling for a cashless society when we have a lot of means by which people can consummate their transactions? What are you hiding? These days, people hardly go to the banks, you can transfer your money here using your app, and you can transfer your money through ATM, POS, and all of that, so why keep the money? Why are you scared of going to the bank to say that you want to deposit your money? He queried.
Naira Redesign: 3 Serving Governors Under EFCC’s Watch List For Stashing Billions Of Naira In Their Houses – Bawa
Crime
Former Footballer, 4 Others Arrested, Over 22.6kg Cocaine, Meth Seized at Lagos, Enugu Airports

Former Footballer, 4 Others Arrested, Over 22.6kg Cocaine, Meth Seized at Lagos, Enugu Airports
…72-year-old Grandma, Beninese, Ithers Nabbed in NDLEA Raids in Delta, Kwara, Lagos
By: Michael Mike
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a former football player Segun George Hunkarin along with his businessman partner Ntoruka Chinedu over attempt to smuggle a consignment of cocaine into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
According to a statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, Chinedu who is a frequent flyer known for conveying clothes from Turkey to Nigeria and foodstuffs from Nigeria to Turkey, was the first to be arrested upon his arrival at the Lagos airport last Tuesday, when his carry-on bag was searched, 37 wraps of cocaine weighing 800 grammes were seen to be concealed therein.

Babafemi said investigation showed that the suspect was coming from Turkey on Ethiopian Airlines flight but transited through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where he collected the luggage from another person before heading to Nigeria.
He said further checks revealed that an accomplice who turned out to be the former professional footballer, Segun Hunkarin, was waiting for Chinedu at the airport carpark to collect the consignment from him. Hunkarin who had stayed years in Brazil playing for football clubs was promptly tracked and arrested at the carpark.

In his statement, Hunkarin was said to have claimed that while playing professional football in the South American country, he had only trafficked drugs twice from Brazil to Ethiopia but has never brought any to Nigeria.
Another Europe based businessman Amen Okoro was last Friday arrested by NDLEA operatives at the Lagos airport while attempting to traffic 5,000 pills of tramadol 225mg packaged as known malaria drugs such as Lonart, Amatem and Aluktem to Spain.
He was intercepted at the departure hall of terminal 2 of the airport during the outward clearance of passengers on Royal Air Maroc flight to Spain through Casablanca.

Babafemi said Okoro, who is into freight and logistics business between Europe and Nigeria, claimed that on his arrival in Spain, he would have taken a train to France where he resides and from there send the tramadol consignment to Italy for retailing.
At the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA) Enugu, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives last Friday intercepted a Maputo, Mozambique based bar attendant Ezenwaka Chibuzor. A search of his luggage led to the discovery of 17 cardboard size parcels of methamphetamine weighing 17.500 kilogrammes and three parcels of cocaine weighing 3.05 kilogrammes.
He revealed that the 38-year-old suspect was coming from Johannesburg, South Africa via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Ethiopian Airlines flight when he was interdicted and subjected to a search during which the illicit drugs concealed in bedsheets packed in his bags were discovered.
He noted that another passenger on board the same Ethiopian Airlines flight, 54-year-old Azu Kpodar was also intercepted at the Enugu airport by NDLEA operatives. When Azu, who arrived from Sao Paulo, Brazil, was searched, a liquid soap plastic container marked YPE, was discovered in his luggage. The substance was promptly taken for analysis at the NDLEA forensic and chemical laboratory, Enugu where the substance tested positive to cocaine.

The substance which turned out to be liquid cocaine weighed 1.250 kilogrammes, the
suspect who is a toy seller in Brinquedo, Sao Paulo, Brazil, claimed he purchased while shopping for his wedding ceremony in Nigeria.
NDLEA operatives at the Seme border area of Badagry in Lagos last Tuesday intercepted a 26-year-old Beninese Vode Jean-Luck while trying to smuggle 69 balls of skunk, a strain of cannabis with a gross weight of 29.5 kilogrammes from Benin Republic into Nigeria.
In Kwara state, a notorious drug dealer Mary Oladele (a.k.a Iya Nafi) was arrested last Wednesday when NDLEA operatives raided her base in Omu-Aran in Irepodun local government area of the state where various quantities of skunk, tramadol and flunitrazepam were recovered from her.
Babafemi said a 72-year-old grandma Mrs. Christy Ejaro was last Tuesday arrested by NDLEA operatives at Niger CAT area of Warri, Delta state, with several sachets of skunk packaged in retail size recovered from her.
The spokesman said the War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, social advocacy activities by NDLEA commands equally continued across the country in the past week.
Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), while commending the officers and men of MMIA, AIIA, Delta, Kwara, and Seme commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, equally praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for ensuring a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
Former Footballer, 4 Others Arrested, Over 22.6kg Cocaine, Meth Seized at Lagos, Enugu Airports
Crime
Troops repel armed herdsmen attack on farmers in Benue

Troops repel armed herdsmen attack on farmers in Benue
By: Zagazola Makama
Farmers and residents along the Daudu–Makurdi Expressway in Benue State were thrown into panic on Saturday following an attempted attack by armed herdsmen at Atson Village.
Security sources told Zagazola Makama that the incident, which occurred at about 3:18 p.m., led to chaos as people fled in different directions some towards Agan Toll Gate and others toward Gbajimba Road after reports emerged that armed herders were invading farms and destroying crops.
The sources said the attackers were heavily armed and had begun chasing farmers from their farmlands when security surveillance teams patrolling the area intervened.
On sighting the troops, the armed herdsmen reportedly fled into the bush.
Calm has since been restored to the affected area, and a joint patrol by security operatives is ongoing to ensure the safety of lives and property and to prevent a recurrence.
Troops repel armed herdsmen attack on farmers in Benue
Crime
Troops repel coordinated attacks on three Plateau communities

Troops repel coordinated attacks on three Plateau communities
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) along with other security forces, successfully repelled coordinated attacks on three communities in Riyom Local Government Area by gunmen suspected to be Fulani militias.
Zagazola Makama report that the affected communities Rim, Angwan Wereng, and Cum came under attack between 10:50 p.m. and 11:40 p.m. on Thursday night.
The troops responded promptly to distress calls and engaged the attackers, forcing them to flee the area.
“On receipt of the information, army troops and other sister security agencies moved swiftly to the scenes and repelled the attackers,”said the sources.
No official casualties were confirmed as of the time of this report, but the situation is said to be under control while normalcy has returned to the affected areas.
Troops repel coordinated attacks on three Plateau communities
-
News1 year ago
Roger Federer’s Shock as DNA Results Reveal Myla and Charlene Are Not His Biological Children
-
Opinions3 years ago
THE PLIGHT OF FARIDA
-
Opinions4 years ago
POLICE CHARGE ROOMS, A MINTING PRESS
-
News1 year ago
EYN: Rev. Billi, Distortion of History, and The Living Tamarind Tree
-
Columns1 year ago
Army University Biu: There is certain interest, but certainly not from Borno.
-
ACADEMICS1 year ago
A History of Biu” (2015) and The Lingering Bura-Pabir Question (1)
-
Opinions1 year ago
Tinubu,Shettima: The epidemic of economic, insecurity in Nigeria
-
Politics3 weeks ago
2027: Why Hon. Midala Balami Must Go, as Youths in Hawul and Asikira/Uba Federal Constituency Reject ₦500,000 as Sallah Gift