Crime

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

Published

2 years ago

November 4, 2022

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

NAPTIP Intercepts 13 Victims of Human Trafficking at Abuja Airport

Published

5 days ago

February 18, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

NAPTIP Intercepts 13 Victims of Human Trafficking at Abuja Airport

… Seals Up Hotel in Abuja, Rescues 11 Underaged Victims of Sexual Exploitation

By: Michael Mike

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) with the support of Partners, has intercepted 13 girls suspected to be victims of human trafficking en route to Baghdad, Iraq for sexual and labour exploitation.

A statement by the spokesman of the agency, Vincent Adekoye on Tuesday read that the girls whose ages range between 19 and 39 years old were allegedly deceived and recruited by some faceless unregistered Labour Recruiters who are suspected to be agents of a larger criminal labour recruiting gang operating between Nigeria and some Middle East countries.

Adekoye said the victims were incepted at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, shortly before departing for Iraq.

He said similarly, the operatives of the agency have sealed up a popular three star hotel located at the ever-busy Kwali, in Kwali area council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and rescued 11 underaged girls suspected of use for sexual expedition.

Adekoye said luck ran out of on the owner of the hotel as she was arrested while other supporting staff escaped, noting that the development came barely one month after operatives of NAPTIP burst a private apartment located inside one of the highbrow estates in the heart of Abuja and rescued nine pregnant girls suspected to be victims of human trafficking.

He stated that the interception of the Iraq-bound girls followed a tip-off by some concerned partners who noticed the unusual movement of some unknown faces at the departure lounge of the Abuja Airport in the company of some timidly looking girls all chorusing the same answer to different questions about their destination, and immediately alerted the agency.

Speaking on the incident, the Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Bello, who witnessed the interception of the first batch of five girls at the Airport on her way out of Abuja for an official duty to Adamawa, expressed displeasure over the level of deceit by the traffickers and called on parents and guardian to always be careful of fake promises for their children and wards.

Shel said: “I wish to point out that our action is in line with the provision of the Trafficking in Persons (Control of Activities of Organisations and Centres) Regulations 2019, which empowers NAPTIP to issue clearance certificates to all travel agents or tour operators and intending travellers for the purpose of Educational excursions, Recruitment for Labour, Sporting activities, Cultural, music excursions or competitions as well as all organisations, shelters, and homes offering services for the purpose of rehabilitation of trafficked persons.

“The case at hand is pathetic because these girls were deceived and recruited for a supposed job in Baghdad by unlicensed labour recruiters who are not known to any constituted authority in Nigeria. This implies that should anything happen to these girls; we will not be able to hold anyone responsible because they are undocumented labourers.

Also, they were issued 60 days visa and yet signed a labour agreement of two years with them, noting that the implication of this is that as soon as the visa expires, they are at the mercy of the master and lose all legal rights to demand anything including their legitimate salary.

“Investigation revealed that they will be paid a sum of 250 dollars as monthly salary by their tax master out of which they will remit four months’ salary to the agent here in Nigeria and another huge sum to the agent in Iraq.

“From the testimonies of scores of victims who passed through the same condition, they were never paid regularly as expected, maybe four or five months only for the agreed contract period of two years. In fact, the major issue with their master is when they ask for their salary to be paid.

“It is painful that while unspecified numbers of victims are in those volatile and war-torn destination countries seeking help to be rescued, these are happily embarking on a journey to the unknown.

“We are seriously worried about the situation because some who were rescued recently came home with life-threatening medical conditions while others escaped with a life-threatening wound and everlasting scars inflicted on them by their masters.

“We cannot close our eyes and allow these ones to join the statistics of stranded victims who will are calling on social media for help. We are also on the lookout for the unscrupulous unregistered recruiters who are behind all these scenarios.

“While sincerely appreciating the Management of the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport with particular reference to the airport manager and his security personnel, the officials of the various airlines and sister law enforcement agencies who provided one form of assistance or the other to us, I wish to sue for more cooperation to rescue these girls from the deceit of the mindless traffickers”, the Director General said.

NAPTIP Intercepts 13 Victims of Human Trafficking at Abuja Airport

Crime

NDLEA busts trans-border drug cartel, arrests 4 members in Onitsha, Keffi

Published

7 days ago

February 16, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

NDLEA busts trans-border drug cartel, arrests 4 members in Onitsha, Keffi

By: Michael Mike

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have busted a trans-border drug trafficking syndicate, arresting four members arresting four during which multi-million-naira worth of tramadol pills were recovered.

According to the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi in a statement on Sunday, the operations which was intelligence-led led to the interception of drugs concealed in the bumper and false bottom of sienna buses heading to border towns.

Babafemi said following weeks of intelligence and surveillance operations by operatives of the Directorate of Intelligence in NDLEA, a Sienna bus marked ABJ 452 HG was intercepted at Nasarawa- Toto road, Keffi, Nasarawa state on Tuesday 27th January 2025 at 6a.m. Two suspects: Zahradeen Adamu, 27 and Abubakar Usman, 44, were arrested in the vehicle coming from Onitsha, Anambra state enroute Yola, Adamawa state. Also a second Sienna bus driven by Abba Usman, 48, was also intercepted.

He said during a search of the two vehicles, specially constructed steel compartments were discovered after the removal of the back bumper where a total of 190,960 pills of tramadol were concealed and, in the space, designed to house the spare tyre of the vehicles.

Babafemi said investigations revealed that an Onitsha, Anambra state-based dealer, Kingsley Mbaeri was the supplier of the seized tramadol consignment, adding that a swift follow up operation led to the arrest of Mbaeri at his Uga Street, Onitsha home on 29th January.

He said two vehicles: a Toyota Corolla car marked FGG 948 MF and a Toyota Sienna bus marked GWA 23 HH were recovered from his house.

The spokesman said in another interdiction, operatives of the Intelligence Department intercepted a commercial bus coming from Onitsha, Anambra State at Abaji checkpoint, FCT Abuja on 4th February, adding that a passenger in the bus, Chimezie Ojingwa, 32, carrying motor spare parts in a black bag was arrested. When his bag was searched, 404.47 grammes of methamphetamine; 506.49 grammes of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis and 262.32 grammes of dimethyl sulfone, a precursor substance for mixing meth, all of which were concealed in the motor parts were recovered.

In Cross River state, NDLEA officers on patrol along Ogoja -Abakaliki road, Yahe last Thursday intercepted 170,000 pills of tramadol in a truck driven by Paul Chukwudi, 31, while operatives at the Apapa seaport in Lagos last Tuesday recovered 85,400 bottles of codeine-based syrup in a container imported from India.

Babafemi disclosed that two suspects: Halilu Isa and Gambo Umaru were nabbed at Bama road, Maiduguri, Borno state last Friday with 60 compressed blocks of skunk, a strain of cannabis, weighing 72 kilogrammes while NDLEA operatives in Ekiti state last Tuesday raided a notorious drug joint at Iloda street, Ikole-Ekiti where they arrested three suspects: Bala Muhammed, 57; Yahaya Adamu, 55, and Abdullahi Shehu, 30. A total of 83 kilogrammes of skunk were recovered from them.

In Lagos, 28-year-old Samiat Yussuf was on Saturday arrested by operatives during a raid of her Lekki home where 169.5 litres of nitrous oxide popularly known as laughing gas and 111 grammes of Loud were recovered. Not less than 132.84 kilogrammes of skunk were recovered from two suspects: Ibrahim Usman, 40, and Solomon James, 40, in Taraba. While Usman was nabbed with 88 kilogrammes of Arizona and Ghana Loud at Wukari, James was arrested with 44.84 kilogrammes of same substance at Takanaba, Sabongari, in Jalingo LGA.

Across the country, according to Femi Babafemi, NDLEA commands continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization lectures and advocacy visits to worship centres, schools, workplaces, palaces of traditional rulers and communities all through the past week.

Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), while commending the officers and men of Directorate of Intelligence, Apapa, Cross River, Borno, Ekiti, Taraba, and Lagos commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, also applauded their compatriots in all the commands across the country for intensifying the WADA sensitization lectures and advocacy messages to every part of their areas of responsibility.

NDLEA busts trans-border drug cartel, arrests 4 members in Onitsha, Keffi

Crime

Notorious Bandit Leaders Surrender, Lay Down Arms in Katsina After Fierce Military Offensive

Published

2 weeks ago

February 12, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Notorious Bandit Leaders Surrender, Lay Down Arms in Katsina After Fierce Military Offensive

By: Zagazola Malama

Several notorious bandit leaders, who have long terrorized Batsari, Safana, and Jibia Local Government Areas of Katsina State, have surrendered and laid down their arms following a series of intensified military operations.

The surrendering bandits include Abu Radda, Umar Black, Abdullahi Lankai, Jijjige, and Dabar Musa Dan Gandu, all operating from the Jibia axis.

Intelligence sources confirmed to Zagazola Makama that the military’s sustained onslaught against armed groups in the region forced the bandits to seek peace and disarm voluntarily.

During their surrender, the repentant bandits appealed to the government to provide them with alternative means of livelihood, requesting the construction of markets, hospitals, and access to clean water to help them reintegrate into society.

Their surrender was facilitated by the National Community for Security and Societal Advancement in Katsina (NCSOSACK), led by Comrade Hamisa S. Batsari, which represented affected communities in the security dialogue.

As part of their surrender, the bandits handed over their weapons to the military and released several hostages they had kidnapped during their reign of terror. They also vowed to embrace peace and end their involvement in criminal activities.

Top Military sources said that welcomed the surrender but reiterated that operations against unrepentant bandits will continue until total peace is restored in Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto and the entire North West and the broader Northwest region.

Notorious Bandit Leaders Surrender, Lay Down Arms in Katsina After Fierce Military Offensive