24032021 - Insecurity threatens 2023 elections, Ortom tells Buhari

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 2021 — 9
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MEETING: Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State (right) greeting the Right Revd.
Timothy Yahaya, Anglican Bishop of Kaduna and his team at a briefing meeting on the
initiatives of the Diocese in education, health and agriculture, in Kaduna yesterday.
Senate moves to recover N16trn AMCON
loans
By Henry Umoru
A BUJA—THE
Senate, yesterday,
began consideration of a Bill
that will empower the Asset
Management Corporation of
Nigeria, AMCON, to recover
about N16 trillion bad loans.
The AMCON Amendment
Bill 2021, which scaled second
reading on the floor, is
sponsored by Senator
Opeyemi Bamidele of APC,
Ekiti Central.
Leading debate on the Bill,
yesterday, Bamidele said: “The
main aim of this amendment is
to update a few clauses in the
Act that have been hampering
the operations of the Asset
Management Corporation of
Nigeria.
“Under the current Act, the
continued smooth operation of
AMCON is threatened by the
tenor put on a key funding
provision for AMCON.
“Therefore, the proposed
amendment is designed to allow
for more flexibility in the tenor of
this key funding provision.’’
Bamidele further emphasized
that the amendment would
strengthen AMCON in
stabilizing Nigeria’s banking
sector and empower the agency
in carrying out its functions of
assets and debt recovery agency.
Speaking further, he said:
“AMCON is a very important and
strategic national institution that
must be strengthened to
effectively contribute to the
stabilization of the banking sector
in Nigeria.
“It proved its mettle in the
banking crisis of 2009. Our
economy still grapples with huge
challenges; the banking sector is
not immune from the difficulties
we face. We must, therefore,
review and amend the AMCON
Act (2014) in order to reinvent
and reposition AMCON to
optimally perform its functions.
“In particular, this amendment
will strengthe AMCON in assets
recovery. AMCON must be reenergized
to tackle the problem
of toxic loans. Highly placed
debtors have been employing
different strategies and tactics
to stall the repayment of loans.
Cases drag on in courts for
many years. AMCON has
remained at the receiving end of
this well laid and orchestrated
acts of economic sabotage.
“As patriots, we have an
obligation to empower AMCON
and make its assets recovery
efforts less cumbersome. We must
remove all obstacles to its smooth
operations. We must safeguard
our banking sector and the
economy in these trying times.”
Contributing, Senator Uba
Sani (APC, Kaduna Central)
emphasized that, “AMCON
largely depends on the resources
from the resolution fund, and
failure to extend this amendment
Bill will certainly affect the
operation of AMCON and it may
force the government to bear the
entire cost of debt management
of AMCON.”
On his part, Senator Adamu
Aliero (APC, Kebbi Central), said
the amendment “Will give teeth
to AMCON to recover all debts
that were given to private
individuals and also companies.
“Mr. President, I don’t know
whether my colleagues are aware
of the information circulating in
social media and even in the
conventional media, where only
twenty individuals have taken
about N7.5 trillion.
Court orders extension of NIN registration by 2 months
By Henry Ojelu
A
Federal High
Court sitting in Lagos has
ordered the extension of the
deadline for National Identity
Number, NIN by two months.
Justice M.A. Onyetenu
granted the extension while
delivering ruling in a suit filed by
human rights lawyer, Monday
Ubani against the Federal
Government, Attorney General
of the Federation, Nigerian
Communications Commission,
NCC and the Minister of
Communication and Digital
Economy.
In the suit, Ubani had
contended that the initial two
weeks ultimatum (now extended
to April 6, 2021) given to
telecommunication operators to
block SIM cards of Nigerians who
have not registered their SIM
card with NIN if allowed, will
infringe on his constitutionally
guaranteed freedom of
expression, right to own moveable
property and right to life.
He therefore prayed the court
for an order halting the said
ultimatum and extending the
deadline.
Other prayers made by Ubani
includes; a declaration that the
ultimatum given to
telecommunications operators by
the 1st, 3rd and 4th Respondents
to block all Subscriber
Identification Modules (SIM)
cards that are not registered with
NIN, is grossly inadequate and
will not only work severe
hardship, but will likely infringe
on the fundamental rights of the
Applicant (and millions of other
Nigerians) to freedom of
expression as guaranteed by
section 39(1)(2) of the 1999
constitution as well as violate
section 44(1) of the 1999
constitution which prohibits the
compulsory acquisition of right or
interest over moveable property.
“A declaration that in view of
the COVID-19 pandemic and
the rising cases in Nigeria
presently, the deadline given by
the 1st, 3rd and 4th Respondents
to the Applicant and over 200
million Nigerians to register their
SIM Cards with NIN, will lead to
a rush, thereby resulting to
clustering of the Applicant and
other Nigerian citizens in a NIN
registration centre, subjecting
him to the possibility of easily
contracting the COVID-19 virus,
and such will amount to a
violation of his fundamental right
to life as protected by section 33(1)
of the 1999 Constitution.''
“Mr. President, this is more than
what we spend as capital budget
of this country, and these individuals
are well to do and they are
walking on our streets.
“They have huge sums of
money, some of them have even
transferred these monies abroad.
There’s nothing toxic about it.
The money is with them; they
have used it and they don’t want
to pay.
“They are using all tactics to
ensure that they block the
investigation agencies like the
Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, from
recovering the loan. They have
even gone to court to get all kinds
of injunctions stopping AMCON
from recovering the loan.
“We should all support this
amendment. It will make Nigeria
to be sanitized financially, and
banks would even be in a better
position to give loans to people
bearing in mind that there must
be collateral for giving such loans.
“They were a little bit careless
in the past, but with this, if this
amendment passes through, it
will be a wake-up call for all
financial institutions in the
country to do what is right and
proper,” Aliero said.
Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf (APC,
Taraba Central) underscored the
need for extending the tenure
of AMCON, adding that doing
so would rescue Nigeria’s
financial and banking systems
from the burden of loans
obtained by individuals.
His words: “We have no
option but to extend the tenure
of AMCON because AMCON
is carrying a contingent
liability of nearly N6 trillion.
“Loans that were private in
the past have now been made
a sovereign loan. So, we are
all carrying this as a result of
past errors committed in the
banking system.
“Mr. president, this Bill to
extend the tenure has come
at the right time, otherwise,
we may not be able to recover
the N6 trillion debt, and I
don’t know what would have
happened to this financial
system or the banking system.
“Finally, while we are
extending this tenure, we hope
and pray that the judiciary will
work in tandem with the
aspiration of the Bill to assist
and make sure that individuals
that are carrying these
liabilities are brought to book
and are made to pay so that
our sovereign will be relived of
this burden.”
ANTI-GRAFT WAR: Why we
need guidelines on plea
bargaining — MALAMI
By Ikechukwu
Nnochiri
ABUJA—THE Attorney-
General of the Federation
and Minister of Justice, Mr.
Abubakar Malami, SAN, said
yesterday that the effective
deployment of plea bargain
provisions would reduce the
financial cost of prosecutions and
hasten the trial of corruption
cases.
However, the AGF said there
was need for harmonized
guidelines on plea bargaining
that would be adopted by all
federal prosecutors.
He maintained that the
concept of plea bargaining, when
properly applied, would eliminate
uncertainty of trials, enhance the
quick return of stolen assets, and
generally enhance the efficiency
of the criminal justice system.
In his opening remarks at the
virtual stakeholders roundtable
to review the draft guidelines on
plea bargaining for federal
prosecutors, which held
yesterday, Malami, who was
represented by the Solicitor-
General of the Federation, Mr.
Dayo Apata, SAN, noted that
there are lacunas in existing
statues that okayed the use of
plea bargain in criminal trials.
He said: “You will recall that
the purpose of the
Administration of Criminal Justice
Act (ACJA), 2015, as detailed in
section 1(1) is to guarantee that
the system of administration of
criminal justice in Nigeria:
promotes the efficient
management of criminal justice
institutions; ensures speedy
dispensation of justice, protects
the society from crime; and
protects the rights and interests
NDLEA intercepts parcels of
cocaine, heroin bound for UK,
Ireland, Australia
By Kingsley Omonobi
THE National Drug
Law Enforcement Agency,
NDLEA, has intercepted various
types of hard drugs wellconcealed
and unaccompanied
parcels of cocaine, heroin,
methamphetamine and cannabis
sativa being shipped to the
United Kingdom, Northern
Ireland, Australia, Maldives and
New Zealand.
Consequent upon the
interception, a notorious
trafficker, Sikiru Owolabi, who is
behind at least two of the parcels,
has been traced and arrested
after days of thorough and
systematic surveillance by
NDLEA operatives.
The Director, Media and
Advocacy, of the NDLEA, Femi
Babafemi, disclosed that
“undercover narcotic agents
attached to two international
courier companies in Lagos made
the seizures.’’
Sikiru Owolabi, who has made
useful confessions during
interrogations, was tracked after
1 kilogramme of cocaine
concealed in cream containers
and meant for Dublin in
Northern Ireland was intercepted
at one of the courier firms in
Lagos.
This was also followed by the
discovery of another 200
grammes of cocaine meant for
of the suspect, the defendant and
the victim.
“One of major innovations of
ACJA aimed at achieving these
objectives is the introduction of
plea bargain which is defined in
section 494(1) as: ‘the process in
criminal proceedings whereby the
defendant and the prosecution
work out a mutually acceptable
disposition of the case, including
the plea of the defendant to a
lesser offence than that charged
in the complaint or information
and in conformity with other
conditions imposed by the
prosecution, in return for a lighter
sentence than that of the higher
charge subject to the court’s
approval’.
“Section 270 of ACJA (2015)
provides the general legal
framework for the application of
Plea Bargain.
“I believe that this provision can
also be effectively deployed to
address the compounding of
offences which features in some
statutes but without any
procedural detail to aid its
application.
“This lacuna is responsible for
abuses in compounding of
offences which had strengthened
the current public skepticism
about plea bargaining in general.’’
Malami stressed that inspite of
the laudable provisions of section
270 of the ACJA, the provisions
are still inadequate to guide the
prosecutor and the defendant in
reaching a plea bargain that
ensures the protection of public
interest, the interest of justice
and prevents abuse of legal
process.
He said it was due to lacunas
in the existing laws that informed
the development of the Draft
Guidelines.
London, United Kingdom in the
same courier company.
In another undercover
operation, Babafemi said 320
grammes of heroin concealed in
earrings coming in from Congo
and going to Australia was seized
at a different courier firm in Lagos,
adding that another 390
grammes of cocaine hidden in
men’s clothing meant for
Northern Ireland was intercepted
in the same company.
According to him, while 500
grammes of cannabis sativa
concealed in automobile parts
going to New Zealand was seized
at one of the courier companies,
200 grammes of
methamphetamine hidden
inside an award plaque and en
route New Zealand, with
another 200 grammes of
methamphetamine concealed in
a book for Maldives, were equally
intercepted in another firm.
Beside the arrest of Owolabi,
the NDLEA spokesman said
efforts were on to track and arrest
other traffickers behind the other
unaccompanied illicit drugs
packaged as parcels for shipment
to Europe.
Chairman/Chief Executive of
the NDLEA, Brig. General Buba
Marwa, retd, also commended the
men and officers involved in the
operations to frustrate attempts
by drug barons and traffickers to
ship illicit drugs overseas through
unaccompanied parcels.