02042019 - Military uncovers arms factory in Benue

4—VANGUARD, TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2019
I ‘ll do my best for all Nigerians
in 2nd term —Buhari
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru
A BUJA—PRESIDENT
Muhammadu Buhari,
yesterday, assured
Nigerians that he will put
in all efforts to ensure the
best for the country and her
citizens when he begins a
second term in office on
May 29, 2019.
President Buhari also
said that he appreciated all
those that voted for him in
the election.
Receiving the Board of
Trustees and Advisory
Council of Gidauniyar
Jihar Katsina (Katsina State
Development Fund) led by
Justice Mamman Nasir at
the State House, Abuja,
Buhari said his campaign
to all states of the federation
was an eye opener.
According to him, “Thank
you for supporting me. I
assure you that I will do my
best in the second term. We
will work for Nigeria and
her people.”
The President in a
statement by his Special
Adviser on Media and
Publicity, Chief Femi
Adesina said the crowd
that welcomed his
campaign train in each
state was more than anyone
can possibly “induce,”
attributing the turnout of
people as an appreciation
of the efforts of his
administration.
In his remarks, the
Galadima of Katsina,
Justice Nasir, said the
foundation returned
gratitude to God and all
Nigerians for giving Buhari
the opportunity to serve
another term in office.
“We are most grateful to
almighty Allah for bringing
you back for another term
in office. Our happiness
and gratitude goes to
Nigerians for electing you,”
he said.
DSS releases journalist,
Jones Abiri
ANigerian journalist,
Jones Abiri, who was
arrested on Saturday by
operatives of the
Department of Security
Service, DSS, has been
released.
The Bayelsa-based
magazine publisher was
released, yesterday, from
the secret police’s detention
facility in Abuja, his lawyer
said.
“He has just been
released around 2 p.m.,”
his lawyer, Samuel Ogala
said, adding that terms of
the release would be
disclosed later.
The men who arrested
Mr Abiri came in a Toyota
Hilux truck. He was
arrested in Yenagoa, the
capital of his home Bayelsa
State where he publishes
his Weekly Source
magazine.
The DSS initially denied
knowledge of the arrest, but
those who were with him
insisted the agency was
responsible.
No official statement had
been issued to clarify the
arrest, which comes months
after the journalist was
released from a prolonged
detention.
Abiri had been arrested in
2016 on allegations of
blackmailing expatriate oil
workers in the Niger-Delta.
He denied the allegations,
but was kept in custody
until August 2018 when he
was freed on a court order.
He sued the agency and
received damages for N10
million in the case, which
has neither been appealed
nor executed.
Magistrates take turns to share courtrooms,
Ag CJN laments
By Ikechukwu
Nnochiri
A BUJA—ACTING
Chief Justice of
Nigeria, CJN, Justice Tanko
Muhammad, yesterday,
decried what he termed as
enormous challenges
facing justice
administration in the
country, noting that some
magistrates take turns to
share courtrooms.
Justice Muhammad, in a
keynote address at the
opening ceremony of 2019
Refresher Course for
Magistrates, held at the
National Judicial Institute,
NJI, in Abuja, said he was
optimistic that the Federal
Government would look
into the issue of lack of
modern court infrastructure
in the country.
He urged Judges and
Magistrates across the
federation to be patient,
even as he implored them
to eschew all forms of
corruption in the discharge
of their duties.
He said, “As Magistrates,
your appointment and
powers confer jurisdiction
on you to try both indictable
and non-indictable offences
not exceeding the limit of
your jurisdictions.
“It is trite that the greater
bulk of criminal cases are
handled by Magistrate
Courts. It therefore,
behoves on you to be
guided by the ever-green
principle of criminal
jurisprudence on
presumption of innocence.
“By so doing, you will
instil confidence in the
public of securing justice in
the courts. You must always
remember that the
overriding consideration in
all criminal trials is for the
Magistrates, the prosecutor
and defendant to act fairly
and honestly, so that justice
must not only be done, but
must be manifestly seen to
be done.
“In order to avoid causing
untold hardship and
injustice to litigants which
may be occasioned by
convicting and punishing
an innocent defendant,
you must subject every item
of facts raised for and
against the defendant to
scrutiny.
“Nothing is to be taken for
granted, especially where
the liberty of a citizen is at
stake. Let me at this
juncture reiterate that you
should always adhere to the
highest standard of
integrity and moral
rectitude. It therefore, goes
without saying that
corruption in any of its
forms must be eschewed.
“This is because it is
antithetical to the judicial
process and therefore,
cannot be allowed to thrive
if courts must exist. We are
not unaware of the
enormous challenges you
face in your courts, such as
lack of adequate modern
court infrastructure.
“Indeed some of you take
turns to share courtrooms.
There is also the challenge
of security of your persons
and your Court rooms.
Despite all these, I want to
encourage you to be patient
and be committed to your
duties."
Audit reports indict Surveyor-General of multi-billion
naira contract frauds, theft
A
troubling blend of
questions bordering
on corrupt practices,
involving N1.4 billion in
one case, and theft of public
assets has been raised
against the Surveyor-
General of the Federation,
Ebisintei Awudu, and his
office, the OSGF, according
N1.26trn assets registered with National Collateral Registry
…20 aircraft registered
Emma Ujah, Abuja
Bureau Chief
A BUJA—Moveable
assets worth N1. 26
trillion have been registered
on the National Collateral
Registry, NCR, platform.
They included 20 planes,
owned by private
individuals.
The Registrar of the NCR,
Alhaji Mohammed
Mainasara, disclosed this
while addressing Finance
Correspondents on the
activities of the agency in
Abuja.
According to him, a total
of 65,370 moveable assets
had been registered on the
NCR’s portal as at March
20, 2019.
The National Collateral
Registry is a databank
where security interests in
moveable assets are
registered for the purpose
of being used as collateral
to obtain loans from
financial institutions.
It allows borrowers to
prove
their
creditworthiness and
lenders to assess their
priority interest in potential
claims against particular
collaterals.
Mainasara disclosed that
other items registered
include 17,657 documents
of title/negotiable
instruments, 100 boats, 13
intellectual properties, as
well as, two minerals
(undisclosed).
The rest were: 417 plants
and machinery, 218
securities, 13,425 motor
CONVOCATION: From left—Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof Oluwatoyin
Ogundipe; Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; Chairman of the Occasion, Chief Author
Mbanefo and Pro Chancellor of UNILAG, Dr Wale Babalakin, during the UNILAG 50th
Convocation Lecture in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: NAN.
vehicles, 1,582 farm
products, 1,166 deposit
accounts and 10,579
consumer/household goods
among others.
The Registrar added that
630 financial institutions
had registered on the NCR
portal.
He gave the breakdown
as: 21 deposit money banks
(DMBs) 552 Microfinance
banks, four Merchant
banks, four Development
Finance Institutions (DFIs),
34 finance companies; one
non-interest bank and 14
non-bank financial
institutions.
The Registrar said that
165,456 debtors had
registered on the portal.
They comprised 157,077
individuals; 735 large
businesses; 2,279 medium
businesses; 3,457 micro
businesses and 1,908 small
businesses.
He disclosed that two of
the registered
Development Finance
Institutions attracted
largest number of
borrowers registered on the
NCR portal numbering
114,894, with financing
statements of N54.131
billion.
Mainasara added that
21,144 borrowers were
owing six non-bank
financial institutions the
sum of N84,651 billion.
"A total of 24,318 women
had been registered on the
NCR portal with a
combined registered value
of financial statements
against them standing at
N45.183 billion," the NCR
boss said.
to audit documents
reviewed.
The audit reports, for at
least three years, included
a recommendation that
OSGF should be
investigated by the antigraft
authorities and that
the Accountant-General of
the Federation should
constitute an inquiry into
the accounts of the office,
according to a report by
Premium Times.
The reports, which
though are interim
observations requiring Mr
Awudu’s explanations to
the Auditor-General of the
Federation, detailed
observed contract frauds, as
well as disregard for due
process and accountability
standards.
When contacted, Awudu
said that officials opposed
to him and desperate to see
him leave office were
behind his travails. He then
declined to comment on the
allegations raised in the
reports.
He said the reports were
interim and it was out of
order for him to answer to
journalists’ questions on
them as he is only dutybound
to offer his
explanations to the auditorgeneral
of the federation.
He denied any
wrongdoing.
Between January and
June 2018, according to the
audit inspection report on
the surveyor-general’s
office, questions of fraud
raised by the auditorgeneral’s
office involved a
sum of N1.4 billion,
including N725.8 million
reported to have been paid
to three companies within
one week without any
evidence of service or
contract rendered.
The three companies
included Altruinco Services
Ltd., F.A Kassim Survey
Associates Ltd., and M.
Yahaya and Associates.
According to the report,
only Altruinco was paid on
March 22, 2018, F.A Kassim
was paid in three
transactions in one day,
March 27, 2018.
Yahaya was paid in two
different transactions,
according to the report
delivered in November
2018.