The Nigerian government has taken a decisive step to boost cybersecurity in the country. President Bola Tinubu’s administration has ordered the full enforcement of the Cybercrimes Prohibition, Prevention Act, 2024 (amended).
This move comes after a high-level African International Counter Terrorism Meeting in Abuja, where African leaders emphasized the need for improved cybersecurity measures.
As a result, National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has directed all law enforcement agencies, regulators, businesses, and stakeholders to ensure the implementation and enforcement of the Cybercrimes Act.
In a statement, Ribadu explained that the order aims to secure Nigeria’s digital space, safeguard national security and economic interests, and counter terrorism and violent extremism.
The amended Act addresses all impediments to the full operationalization of the Cybercrimes law. A key provision is the introduction of a 0.5 percent levy on the value of all electronic transactions by specified businesses. This levy will be credited to the National Cybercrime Fund, supporting efforts to combat cybercrimes.
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum has assured Nigerians that they are working tirelessly to find a sustainable solution to the minimum wage conundrum.
According to the Chairman of the Forum, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazag, “We are reviewing our individual fiscal space as state governments and the consequential impact of various recommendations, to arrive at an improved minimum wage we can pay sustainably.
”The governors acknowledged the current challenges faced by workers, saying “We understand the struggles of our workers, and we are committed to finding a solution that works for all.
” They emphasized that their goal is to find a minimum wage that is not only sustainable but also benefits both workers and states.Governor Abdulrazag noted that the 37-member tripartite committee on national minimum wage is still in consultation and has not yet concluded its work. “We are working closely with the labour unions and other stakeholders to find a solution that is acceptable to all,” he said.
The governors’ assurance comes amidst concerns over the sustainability of the labour unions’ demand for a monthly minimum wage of N615,000. While some have questioned the feasibility of this demand, the governors have promised to work towards finding a solution that takes into account the fiscal realities of the states.
As the negotiations continue, the governors have urged Nigerians to remain patient and supportive, saying “We are committed to finding a sustainable solution that benefits all, and we will work tirelessly to achieve this goal.”
In a startling revelation, the Minister of Steel, Mr. Shuaib Abubakar, exposed a how Nigeria’s steel industry spends a staggering $8 billion annually on steel imports, despite the dormant and defunct Ajaokuta Steel Company.
Minister Abubakar made this revelation on Thursday during an interactive session with the House of Representatives Committee on Steel Development in Abuja, where he engaged in a discussion with lawmakers and shared insights into the country’s steel industry.
According to Abubakar, “It is in my own interest for Ajaokuta Steel to work, as I am from Kogi State, and I must push for such interest.” He emphasized that the revival of Ajaokuta Steel is crucial to reduce Nigeria’s reliance on steel imports and stimulate internal economic growth.
The Minister revealed that the Federal Government paid $500 million to terminate a concessional agreement with Ajaokuta, and the ministry is working hard to find a solution for the company. “We have gone to China to come and invest in the steel company, including setting up a new plant, and we have gone to seek financing,” Abubakar said.
Abubakar acknowledged that funding is a major challenge, but expressed optimism that with support from the National Assembly and other stakeholders, the company can be revived. “Funding is a big challenge to the ministry of steel development. The steel industry will be the bedrock of industrialization if we have proper funding,” he said.
The Minister estimated that around $2 billion is needed to revive Ajaokuta Steel, but noted that this figure may be subject to change pending the outcome of a technical audit. “It is just a process that will allow us to arrive at the right destination. The president has asked me to find a solution to Ajaokuta, so the figure will change pending the outcome of the technical audit,” Abubakar explained.
The House Committee on Steel Development, led by Rep. Zainab Gimba, has also expressed support for the Minister’s efforts and urged him to provide all necessary documentation and responses to facilitate the revival process
The retired NBA player used some sneaky tactics to split with his ex-fiancée Laura Govan.
Gilbert Arenas sneakily broke things off with his ex-fiancée Laura Govan in 2014, and ten years later, it’s still getting some laughs from 50 Cent.
After Arenas spilled the details on a recent episode of VladTV, 50 Cent shared the news on his Instagram, where he captioned the post, “LOL YO he said nah I gotta get that ring back.
“Arenas pulled the stunt by swiping a $400K diamond ring that he originally bought Govan with a fake version of the ring that cost ten grand. The swap took place eight days after Arenas initially proposed, when the now-exes had an argument and temporarily broke up.
“I’m like, ‘That was a fucking waste of money,” Arenas recalled around the 1:30 minute mark of the video below. “‘I want my ring back.’ So I was like, ‘How do I get my ring back? I just got to get her back.’ But when she comes back, I’ma have a fake one and I can switch it at any time.'”
The deception continued nearly five months later, when the two reconciled and “played house,” according to Arenas. “But I never switched it. I just knew that I can switch it at any time,” Arenas said about the ring.
“And then years later…I eventually switched it. [I] put that one in the safety deposit and then she just had the fake one.”Goven noticed when the two broke up for good and Arenas won custody of their four children, but a friend of Govan’s warned her to get custody back, Arenas pulled a “troll” move.
“Me being a troll that I am, I took a picture, put the ring on it and bop,” he joked. “I had the original ring and posted online.”Govan filed a lawsuit over the ring, claiming that Arenas robbed her, but she was defeated, while her ex-fiancé “used the ring money to pay for lawyer fees.”
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Abuja chapter, has begun an indefinite strike to draw attention to developments bordering the union.
The Abuja chapter of ASUU announced its decision to embark on the strike on Thursday at the end of its congress, held at the Permanent Site of the institution.
Sylvanus Ugoh, who is the UniAbuja Chairman of the union, told Leadership that the union had resolved to embark on a total and indefinite strike with immediate effect.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has authorised the issuance of notices of contempt proceeding against the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Olayemi Cardoso and the Director of Legal Services Department, Salam-Alada Kofo over their alleged failure to obey an order of the court.
They were said to have failed to comply with a February 22 garnishee order absolute made in a ruling by Justice Inyang Ekwo, directing the Central Bank to pay a judgment debt of N63.7 million and $10000 awarded against the federal government for the unlawful arrest and detention of a German, Martin Gegenheimer by men of the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS.
The notices, Form 49, requiring Cardoso and Kofo to show cause why the order of committal should not be made against them, endorsed by a Registrar of the court, are specifically addressed to Cardoso and Kofo.
In the notice, the two CBN senior officials are directed to attend court on a date to be communicated to them.Part of the notice reads: “This court, having delivered its ruling, made the order nisi dated 14th February 2023 order absolute against the garnishee (CBN) on 22nd day of February 2024.
“Take notice that you are hereby required to attend the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja on the first mentioned day to show cause why an order for your committal should not be made after due services upon you of the orders and the notice of the consequence of the disobedient to the order of this honourable court.”
In the notice of the consequence of the disobedience to the order, Form 48,) earlier issued to the two CBN officials, they were reminded of what could happen to them should they persist in disregarding the order.
The earlier notice reads in part: “The garnishee (CBN) deliberately failed, refused and or neglected to obey the order of this honourable court made against her more than 44 days after the order.
“This is far more than the timeline allowed by the Garnishee Charter for service to the public wherein: all issues of law touching and concerning the Garnishee ought to be resolved and or responded to within 10 days. The judgment creditor is yet to enjoy this provision.
Unless you: Mr Olayemi Cardoso and Mr Salam-Alada Sirajuddin Kofo, the Governor and the Director Legal Services, CBN (the alter egos of the garnishee), obey, the order absolute made against the garnishee, (the CBN) on the 22nd day of February 2024, both of you will be in contempt of the Federal High Court order made against the garnishee, which you both control and direct its activities and you both will be liable to be committed to prison at the correctional centre of Nigeria.”
The order absolute was made in a garnishee proceeding, marked: FHC/ABJ/NJR/M3/2022 initiated by Gegenheimer (through his lawyer, Daniel Makolo) to enforce the judgment of the ECOWAS Community Court delivered on March 4, 2021, in which the N63.7 million and $10000 were awarded in his favour.
In the February 22 ruling Justice Ekwo ordered the CBN to deduct the judgment sum from the federal government’s funds in its custody to settle the judgment debt. Justice Ekwo rejected CBN’s claim that the Fed Govt’s foreign exchange accounts were currently in deficit thereby making it impossible to pay the entire judgment sum.
Justice Ekwo agreed with Makolo that, as against the contention by the CBN, the ECOWAS Court’s judgments do not qualify as foreign judgment in the strict sense of it and could be enforced by Nigerian courts.The judge said: “Upon a keen perusal of the provisions of the Foreign Judgments Reciprocal Enforcement (FJRE) Act 2004 it cannot be said that the judgement sought to be enforced in this case, is stricto sensu (in the strict sense) a foreign judgement.
“I agree with the learned counsel for the judgement creditor (Makolo) that, by Article 15 of the Reviewed Treaty of ECOWAS, and Article 24 of the 2005 Supplementary Protocol (which amended the 1991 Protocol), the judgement of ECOWAS Court can be registered and enforced in Nigeria by this court without referring to it as a foreign judgement, in the same manner that the judgement of any other court in Nigeria can be registered and enforced in this court,” the judge said.
Justice Ekwo proceeded to make absolute, the garnishee order nisi he earlier issued against the CBN.The German said he visited Nigeria on a business trip but while returning to Kenya on 23rd February 2020, he was stopped by men of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) at the boarding gate of the Kenya Airways aircraft after all necessary departure formalities were completed.
Gegenheimer said the NIS officials arrested him, seized his passport and detained him in a jam-packed detention cell between February 23, 2020, and March 4, 2020, despite the COVID protocol and without acceptable food as well as medical care. He subsequently challenged his arrest and detention before the ECOWAS Court, in a suit marked: ECW/CCJ/APP/23/2020.
In the March 4, 2021 judgment a three-member panel of the sub-regional court, presided over by the court’s president, Justice Edward Amoako Asante, declared Gegenheimer’s arrest and detention illegal.
They ordered the Nigerian government to pay him N53,650,925 as special damages for various losses suffered and costs incurred while under unlawful arrest and detention by the NIS.The costs, the court said, relate mainly to hotel expenses incurred by the German while under forced detention by agents of the Nigerian government.
The court further ordered the Nigerian government to pay him another N10m in general damages as reparation for all violations and moral prejudice suffered for the violation of his rights, and an additional $10,000 being the expenditure incurred by the applicant to secure his bail.
The ECOWAS court equally ordered the Nigerian government to remove the German from its watch list and to immediately and unconditionally release his German passport, which was “arbitrarily and unlawfully,” seized by agents of the Nigerian government.
Leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, Chief Edwin Clark, has decried the freedom enjoyed by alleged corrupt politicians in the country.
Clark went further to accuse former President Muhammadu Buhari of imposing Abdullahi Adamu, a former Governor of Nasarawa State, who was charged to court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for alleged corruption, after his tenure as governor, as national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
He noted that nothing has so far been heard about 15 former governors and ministers who were dragged to court during the period when Nuhu Ribadu was the chairman of the EFCC.
In 2007, more than 15 former governors and ministers were charged to court during Ribadu’s time as the EFCC chairman,” he recounted during an interview on Arise TV.
“Some of them were charged to courts in Lagos, Abuja and so on. But after some time, some of these cases were not heard again.
“All we heard was that these same governors had been cleared to contest senatorial seats. Let me take a case of Abdullahi Adamu, who was the governor of Nasarawa State in 1999. He was charged to court for embezzling money from his state to the tune of N15 billion with other commissioners who were to be charged to court in Nasarawa State.
Then after being charged to court he contested election to the Senate and he won and he has been there and nobody cared about him. Thereafter, former President Muhammadu Buhari imposed him as the National Chairman of the APC.
“We have many such people in the APC. Nobody heard about his trial again. He became an honest man and talked about corruption more than any other person.”
The Lagos State Government has revealed that its Gross Domestic Product, GDP, has moved from N27trn to N41 trillion within four years of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration.
Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Ope George, disclosed this on Thursday, during the ongoing ministerial press briefing to commemorate the first year in office of the second term of Governor Sanwo-Olu, held at Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.
According to George, “Over the last couple of years, Lagos had face numerous challenges particularly when COVID 19 and Endsars struck.
“And so we have had a lot of shocks within our system over the last couple of years and with everything going on around the world.“We are currently riding the curve and we are coming out on a better side. “You hear sometimes when they say Lagos is one of the largest economies in Africa and truly, it’s not static, we will continue to move based on what’s going on in the world.
As we speak now, I believe that we are currently ranked 7th in terms of GDP in Africa. “We contributed at least a minimum of over 20 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP and you will find that over a period of review, during the first term of Mr Governor, we are moving in the right direction.
“Our GDP has moved from about N27trn to N41 trillion, everything shows that our indices are climbing in the right direction despite all the shocks and all the problems we have witnessed in the past.”GDP is the standard measure of the value added created through the production of goods and services in a country during a certain period. Otherwise, is the monetary value of all finished goods and services made within a country during a specific period.
Meanwhile, World Economics Research, London, showed the official estimate for Nigeria’s GDP was $1.116 trillion at the end of 2023 in Purchasing Power Parity Terms, PPPT.
World Economics has developed a database presenting GDP in PPPT with added estimates for the size of the informal economy and adjustments for out-of-date GDP base year data.World Economics estimated Nigeria’s GDP to be $2.113 trillion- 89% larger than official estimate.
