Crime Facts

Japan to sanction Russia over Ukrainian invasion

  Japan will impose sanctions on Russia targeting semiconductor exports and financial institutions, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday after G7 leaders agreed to punish Moscow economically for invading Ukraine. The announcement came after Russian President Vladimir Putin unleashed a full-scale ground invasion and air assault on Thursday. Kishida said the world’s third-largest economy planned “asset freezes and the suspension of visa issuance for Russian individuals and organisations” as well as asset freezes “targeting Russian financial institutions”. “Thirdly, we will sanction exports to Russian military-related organisations, and exports to Russia of general-purpose goods such as semiconductors and items on a restricted list based on international agreements,” he told reporters. Kishida did not detail the scale of the sanctions or which individuals and institutions would be targeted, though local media said Bank Rossiya, Promsvyazbank and Russia’s economic development bank VEB would be hit. Semiconductors are essential components in products from cars to gaming consoles and are in short supply worldwide. The United States has also announced export controls on sensitive components that US President Joe Biden said will “cut off more than half of Russia’s high-tech imports”. Japan is a key US ally and member of the Group of Seven, which held virtual talks overnight and agreed “to move forward on devastating packages of sanctions and other economic measures to hold Russia to account”, Biden said. On Wednesday, Tokyo announced a ban on the issuing and trade of Russian government bonds in Japan after Moscow ordered troops into two separatist-controlled Ukrainian regions. Russia’s ambassador to Tokyo said Friday that the “counterproductive measures” would meet with a “serious response” from Moscow, without offering details. “There will be a response from us; I suppose there will be a serious response from us,” Mikhail Galuzin told reporters, describing the sanctions as being fuelled by “really baseless pretexts.” Japan and Russia have complex relations and did not sign a peace treaty after World War II because of a lingering dispute over four islands claimed by Moscow in the closing days of the conflict. The islands, off the coast of Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido, are known as the southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan. AFP

Loud Explosions Heard In Central Kyiv

  Two loud blasts were heard in central Kyiv early Friday, an AFP journalist said, as Russian troops push closer to the Ukrainian capital in an invasion of its Western-backed neighbour. Ukraine’s army said that Russia fired on civilian areas of Kyiv but that Ukraine’s air defence systems repelled “two deadly gifts”, according to a post on its verified Facebook page. Kyiv mayor Vitaly Klitschko said three people were injured with one in critical condition after “missile debris” hit a residential building. He tweeted a photo showing a building with part of its wall torn down and firefighters present at the scene. Russian missiles and shelling rained down on Ukrainian cities on Thursday after President Vladimir Putin unleashed a full-scale ground invasion and air assault, forcing civilians to shelter on metro systems. Russia’s forces pressed deep into Ukraine as deadly battles reached the outskirts of Kyiv and the West responded with punishing sanctions. On Thursday, Russian paratroopers wrested control of the Gostomel airfield, on the northwestern outskirts of Kyiv, after swooping in with helicopters and jets from the direction of Belarus. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Friday that Russian “sabotage groups” have entered Kyiv and urged citizens to remain vigilant.

Ukraine ‘Left Alone’ To Fight Russia, Says President Zelensky

  Ukraine’s president said Friday his country had been left on its own to fight Russia after the Kremlin launched a large-scale invasion that killed 130 Ukrainians on the first day. “We have been left alone to defend our state,” Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address to the nation after midnight. “Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don’t see anyone. Who is ready to give Ukraine a guarantee of NATO membership? Everyone is afraid,” he added. Zelensky said that 137 Ukrainians, both military personnel and civilians, had been killed since the start of the attack early Thursday. Another 316 had been wounded, he said. Zelensky also said that Russian “sabotage groups” had entered the capital Kyiv, and urged the city’s citizens to remain vigilant and observe a curfew. The president added that he and his family remained in Ukraine, despite Russia identifying him as “target number one”. “They want to destroy Ukraine politically by taking down the head of state,” Zelensky said.

APC discussing zoning Presidency to South, says El-Rufai

  Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on Thursday in Abuja said he was not nursing any ambition in 2023 but would support any candidate who emerged from the zoning arrangement, be it from the South. El-Rufai said this during the weekly ministerial press briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The governor lamented that kidnapping had become a business and called for an all-out simultaneous land and air assault on terrorists and their enclaves. According to him, the Kaduna State Government has invested about N21bn in security since 2015 and has acquired enough technology to listen-in on the bandits’ phone conversations, but lacks the force to launch coordinated attacks on them. Fielding questions from State House correspondents, he said, “I have zero ambition. I just want to finish this job, get on with my private life, write another book and make tonnes of money. The largest amount of money I ever got in my life was from writing the book, ‘Accidental Public Servant’. I have no ambition; I’ve never had any ambition. And if I die today, I am quite accomplished and happy, because I never in my life, based on my humble background, ever thought I would even enter this building. “God has been very kind to me. And my outings in the public service have all been satisfactory? Why push my luck and go for a job with a 90 per cent chance of failure? So, I’m not an ambitious person. I’m just a person that gets things done when given the opportunity. I’ve never desired to run even for this governorship. It was President Buhari who literally forced me to run. He insisted that some of us run for governorship just in case he did not get elected again. He felt that we needed some ‘strong governance’. Those were the words he used. So, I have no aspirations.” Asked about the zoning of political positions within the All Progressives Congress, the governor clarified his position made on Tuesday when he joined the Progressive Governors’ Forum on a visit to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to discuss the party’s convention, among other matters. He said, “I want to clarify that the APC zoning arrangement that we announced is the zoning arrangement for the party. And we’ve always done that in the last three elections we’ve had. When we elected John Oyegun as chairman, we had this zoning arrangement; each zone will have these positions and so on. And we carried that to the time when Adams Oshiomhole assumed office as chairman. “All we did now is to flip it. Since the chairman is going to be from the North-Central, it means that the North-Central will take all the positions of the South-South. If you check, you will see all the positions allocated to the North-Central were positions held by the South-South under Oyegun and Oshiomhole. “All the positions held by the North-West went to the South-East and vice versa. All the positions held by the North-East went to the South-West and vice versa. That’s why the South-West will now produce the national secretary; the national secretary under Oyegun and Oshiomhole was Mai Mala Buni. So, that’s all we did. “We are not talking about the Presidency yet. When we do this convention, we’ll elect national officers; then, we will start preparing for the primaries that will produce our candidates for the House of Reps, Senate and the Presidency. That’s when this conversation will take place.” He said the zoning arrangement presented to Buhari on Tuesday, which he approved, was “only sending a signal about the party’s direction.” “It is not zoning any presidency to anyone yet. But we’ve sent a signal,” he said. Asked if he would support a candidate from the South-West, the former Federal Capital Territory minister said, “I will support any APC candidate if I’m satisfied that he will do the best for Nigeria. It doesn’t matter whether he’s from the South-West, South-East or South-South; the APC is what matters and the quality of the person. “The discussion we are having is that the Presidency is zoned to the South. It’s not zoned to any particular place in the South. The South will have the first go at it. But we’re waiting to see who the aspirants are.” On the security of Kaduna State and the entire North-West region, El-Rufai said banditry had lingered because the contiguous states had not launched a simultaneous assault on the bandits. He added that the surrender of terrorists recorded in the past few months resulted from hunger and frustration due to severed supply lines, not necessarily because the terrorists were repentant, arguing that the only repentant terrorist was a dead one. El-Rufai stated, “So, despite the military operations and everything, this banditry has become a business. It’s an industry. The money these guys are making is so much that they will not stop. If we continue the piecemeal approach to this banditry, it will continue to grow. We need to pursue the financing and logistics chain of the banditry as well because the amount of money these bandits are making is enough to destabilise this country. It is a lot of money. “What needs to be done is, at the same time, bomb the forests, camps and have ground troops as a blocking force consisting of the Army, the police, Air Force and Navy Special Forces and just wipe them out once and for all. “But it has to be done across the five states and Niger State at the same time. What we’ve been doing over the years is, they go to Zamfara, we chase them out; they go to Sokoto, we chase them out; then they move to Kebbi, Katsina or Kaduna. And they move seamlessly because of the forest ranges. We know where the camps are, have the maps and know everything. We have their phone numbers. We listen to their conversations sometimes.” On the risk of killing

Osinbajo Promises New Life For Repentant Boko Haram Members

  Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has assured repentant Boko Haram insurgents of federal government’s support with a legitimate means of income to start a new life The surrendered insurgents gave a rousing welcome to Osinbajo when he visited them at the Hajj Camp in Maiduguri Thursday during his working visit to the state to launch the MSME Clinic and inaugurate various projects executed by the Borno State government. “I am the chairman of the Presidential Committee and His Excellency Governor Umara Zulum is the vice chairman of the committee. “We will be working with you and the state government and other donor agencies and friends to ensure that we are able to provide you with a means of not just income but a place where you can settle down with your families and do your own work and do your own business. “But you must work patiently with us. God bless you, God bless you and you will be well. We will make sure that we take care of you the best way we can by God grace. “ Earlier at the palace of the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai El-Kanemi, when he accompanied the vice president, Zulum had appealed to the federal government to support the state government’s efforts of resettling the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) back to their ancestral homes. He also emphasised the need for proper handling of the surrendered insurgents, saying “if we manage defectors of Boko Haram very well, the insurgency will come to an end very soon.” “We have about 66,000 indigenes that are living in Republic of Cameroon, 120,000 people in the Republic of Niger and about 25,000 living in Republic of Chad. This is enough figure the state government alone cannot shoulder the responsibilities, and our people are yearning to come back home,” the governor added.

FAAC Shares N574.668bn January 2022 Revenue To FG, States And LGAs

  The Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) has shared a total of N574.668 billion in January 2022 Federation Account Revenue to the Federal Government, states, and local government councils. This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of a virtual meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) for February 2022. The N574.668 billion total distributable revenue comprised distributable statutory revenue of N291.400 billion; distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N178.066 billion and Exchange Gain of N5.202 billion and non-mineral revenue of N100.000 billion. In January 2022, the total deductions for the cost of collection was N 25.421 billion, and the total deductions for statutory transfers, refunds and savings was N92.767 billion. The balance in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) was $35.368 million. The communiqué confirmed that from the total distributable revenue of N574.668 billion; the Federal Government received N204.580 billion, the state governments received N179.251 billion and the local government councils received N131.878 billion. A total of N58.959 billion was shared with the relevant states as 13% derivation revenue. The distributable statutory revenue of N291.400 billion was available for the month. From this, the Federal Government received N122.749 billion, the state governments received N62.260 billion and the Local Government Councils received N48.000 billion. The sum of N58.391 billion was shared to the relevant states as 13% derivation revenue. In the month of January 2022, the gross revenue available from the Value Added Tax (VAT) was N191.222 billion. This was lower than the N201.255 billion available in the month of December 2021 by N10.033 billion. The sum of N5.507 billion allocations to NEDC and N7.649 billion cost of the collection were deducted from the N191.222 billion gross Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue, resulting in the distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N178.066 billion. From the N178.066 billion distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue, the Federal Government received N26.710 billion, the state governments received N89.033 billion and the Local Government Councils received N62.323 billion. The Federal Government received N2.441 billion from the total Exchange Gain revenue of N5.202 billion. The state governments received N1.238 billion, the Local Government Councils received N0.955 billion and N0.568 billion was shared to the relevant states as 13% derivation revenue. A spokesperson for the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Henshaw Ogubike, said in a statement that the Federal Government received N52.680 billion, the State Governments received N26.720 billion and Local Government Councils received N20.600 billion from the N100.000 billion Non-Mineral Revenue. ‘ According to the Communiqué, in the month of January 2022, Companies Income Tax (CIT), Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) and Oil and Gas Royalties decreased significantly while Value Added Tax (VAT), Import and Excise Duties decreased marginally.

Ukraine Crisis: UN chief releases $20m for humanitarian support

  UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday, announced 20 million dollars for humanitarian support in Ukraine, saying protecting of civilians must be ‘Priority Number One’ in supporting the people.   “Today, I am announcing that we will immediately allocate 20 million dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund to meet urgent needs,’’ Guterres told journalist in New York. He reiterated that the UN and its humanitarian partners are “committed to staying and delivering, to support people in Ukraine in their time of need”. According to him, UN staff are working on “both sides of the contact line,” providing lifesaving humanitarian relief to people in need, “regardless of who or where they are”. He emphasised that protection of civilians must be priority number one in delivering the humanitarian assistance. Russian military operations inside the sovereign territory of Ukraine “on a scale that Europe has not seen in decades, conflict directly with the United Nations Charter,” he said. In spite of a sustained UN-led and international diplomatic push to avert military action in Ukraine, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin did just that – triggering a barrage of reactions, beginning with the UN chief, condemning the move and appealing for peace. READ ALSO: Germany not yet seeing major movement of refugees from Ukraine ― Minister “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations,” he said, quoting the Charter. He underscored that the use of force by one country against another is “the repudiation of the principles that every country has committed to uphold”, which he stated, applies to the present military offensive. “It is wrong. It is against the Charter. It is unacceptable. But it is not irreversible,” the UN chief said. As deaths rise, and images of fear, anguish and terror in every corner of Ukraine are pervasive, the top UN official reminded that “people – everyday innocent people – always pay the highest price”. “This is why the UN is scaling up its humanitarian operations in and around Ukraine,’’ he said. The UN chief restated that international humanitarian and human rights law must be upheld, nothing that the decisions of the coming days “will shape our world and directly affect the lives of millions upon millions of people”. “In line with the Charter, it’s not too late to save this generation from the scourge of war,” the secretary-general said, “we need peace”. The UN Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 15-member body met on Wednesday night in the second emergency Security Council meeting on Ukraine in three days. Guterres described what happened the “saddest moment” in his tenure as UN Secretary-General. In light of this development, the UN chief said: “I must change my address and say: In the name of humanity bring your troops back to Russia. “In the name of humanity do not start in what may be the most devastating war since the start of the century,” he appealed to Putin.

Troops Kill 55 Bandits In Kaduna

  Troops of Operation Thunder Strike/Whirl Punch have killed 55 bandits around Labi general area along the Kaduna – Birnin Gwari road. Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Benard Onyeuko, disclosed this to newsmen in Abuja Thursday. He said the bandits came under heavy airstrikes during the duel which aided the ground forces to effectively engage the bandits and neutralise them. Meanwhile, army spokesman, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, said dead bodies of many kidnap victims littered the camps of the Indigenous People of Biafra and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network. He said the bodies were already decomposing when the troops raided the den on Wednesday. He said the raided camps were located in Ihiala and Orsulu Local Government Areas of Anambra and Imo States respectively. He said: “During the clearance operations, the troops uncovered decomposing remains of kidnapped and murdered victims dumped in a deep well by members of the irredentist groups.”

NCC confirms MTN, Mafab’s payment of $273.6m each for 5G licences

  The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says MTN Nigeria and Mafab Communications Limited have made their full payment of $273.6 million each for the fifth generation (5G) spectrum licence. In December 2021, after 11 rounds of bidding that lasted for eight hours, Mafab and MTN Nigeria emerged as the two successful winners of the 3,5gigahertz (GHz) spectrum auction for the deployment of 5G technology in Nigeria. Umar Danbatta, the executive vice-chairman of the NCC, officially confirmed the payment status on Thursday just as the deadline set for the two winners of the spectrum auction elapsed. “I wish to officially announce that NCC has received and confirmed payments from MTN and Mafab for their acquisition of 1 slot of 100Mhz each in the 3.5Ghz spectrum auction, which was successfully conducted by the Commission on December 13, 2021, a statement issued by Ikechukwu Adinde, director of public affairs at NCC, quoted Danbatta as saying. “They both met the deadline of February 24, 2022, as set by the Commission. “Arising from this and on behalf of the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, the Board and Management of the NCC, I wish to congratulate the MTN and Mafab for this feat, as we look forward to accomplishing other deployment timelines in the 5G deployment roadmap, as articulated in the National Policy on 5G Networks for Nigeria’s Digital Economy.” Danbatta explained that aside from the $273.6 million payment, MTN paid an extra $15.9 million for the preferred Lot 1 (3500-3600 Megahertz-MHz) in the 3.5Ghz spectrum, while Mafab Communications settled with Lot 2 (3700-3800Mhz) at no extra cost. For meeting the payment deadline, Danbatta commended the two companies for their commitment. According to him, this was a demonstration of sound regulatory environment in the Nigerian telecommunications sector.

Pregnant housewife fakes kidnaps, buys house with ransom from Facebook lover

  A pregnant housewife, Jamila Ardo, has been remanded for allegedly kidnapping herself and collecting a ransom from her lover. Ardo, who hails from Wauru Jabbe in the Yola South Local Government Area of Adamawa State, allegedly abducted herself and collected the sum of N2m from Mallam Adamu Ahmed of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The 25-year-old woman, who allegedly connived with one Abdulaziz to fake her own kidnap to defraud her lover, succeeded in her plot. She was said to have used the proceeds to buy a house. The suspect and Ahmed reportedly fell in love after meeting on Facebook, unknown to the man that he was dealing with a married woman. PUNCH Metro learnt that all through their dating, the duo never had physical contact, but the relationship blossomed as they kept in touch online. Details of the fraud, as contained in the charge sheet indicated how Abdulaaziz, while conniving with Ardo, put a call through to her lover, informing him that she had been kidnapped and demanding a ransom. During negotiation for her release, Adamu was said to have heard Ardo crying, as she pleaded with him on the phone to pay the ransom. Adamu was said to have deposited the money in a bank account with the name, Amina Mohammed. “After sending the money, Adamu was informed by his lover that the kidnappers had released her. “Adamu, however, became suspicious and filed a complaint at the State Investigation Bureau on November 16, 2021,” the charge stated. Detectives subsequently apprehended the owner of the bank account used to collect the ransom, Mohammed. PUNCH Metro learnt that the suspect confessed that her friend, Ardo, requested the account number to receive payment from a friend. Before the bubble burst, Ardo’s husband had reportedly queried her source of income, as she claimed that her relatives sent the money. She was subsequently arrested and arraigned before Chief Magistrate Court I, Yola, on criminal conspiracy and kidnapping, contrary to sections 60 and 248 of the Penal Code Law. She pleaded not guilty. The police prosecutor, Inspector Abubakar Nurudeen, prayed the Magistrate, Abdullahi Digil, to adjourn the case to enable the prosecution to forward the case file to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions for legal advice. Counsel for the defendant, C. Crowealth, who appeared alongside T. K. David, pleaded with the court to allow his client have access to a medical facility considering her condition. Crowealth further asked the court to order the prosecution to avail them with all necessary documents to enable them to prepare for their defence. Ruling, Digil granted the application and adjourned the matter till March 10, 2022, while ordering the remand of the defendant.