Rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has lambasted the Central Bank of Nigeria for allegedly flouting the interim injunction of the Supreme Court suspending the implementation of the February 10 deadline on the use of the old banknotes. The PUNCH reports that the CBN had moved the deadline earlier set for the expiration of the legal tender status of the old notes from January 31 to February 10 after the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, met with the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.). Nigerians have been groaning under the pain caused by the deadline as they are unable to get the new notes, while the old notes are being sold to them by Point of Sales vendors. The Supreme Court, however, granted an interim injunction on February 8 restraining the CBN and the Federal Government from implementing the February 10 deadline. But Falana, during a live appearance on Channels TV’s The 2023 Verdict on Tuesday, said the government was not ready to comply with the order, a report by Channels TV says. “In a country where the rule of law operates, once the Supreme Court has determined a matter or given an order, it is expected that all and sundry – everybody – will comply with the order,” Falana said. He added that a statement credited to the CBN that it would not comply with the order of the apex court because it was not a party to the case could only be tenable in a “banana republic”. “[A] statement was credited to the central bank that since it was not a party to the case, it’s not going to comply with the order. I thought that could only happen in a banana republic. “I expected the central bank to have issued a statement following the order of the Supreme Court: ‘all actions are stale until the 15th of February’,” he said. The SAN added that an example should be made of those flouting court orders, stressing that nobody should feel that they were above the law. “For me, an example has to be made this time around, so that nobody will feel that he’s above the law in our country,” he added. Meanwhile, The PUNCH reports that the CBN has insisted on the February 10 deadline for the expiration of the legal tender status of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes.

  The Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has warned commercial banks operating in the state against rejecting old naira notes. A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Kunle Somorin, disclosed this on Tuesday. The governor said this on Tuesday while addressing market men and women at Itoku Kampala market in Abeokuta, as part of his reelection campaign to Abeokuta North local government areas. The statement read, “Abiodun’s warning came following the complaints received from the people of the state that commercial banks and some filling stations are rejecting the old naira notes as a legal tender. “He noted that since the new naira notes were not available, commercial banks must accept the old notes to ease the suffering of the people. “He called on the people to remain calm, assuring that his government was working assiduously to ensure that the present situation was brought under control.” The statement further stressed that the governor assured that he would reach out to the appropriate authority to improve the power supply to the market. Somorin in the statement said, “Abiodun added that the controversy surrounding the non-issuance of documents to some shop owners at the market would be addressed. “He promised that some of the outstanding issues currently affecting the market would be given priority during his second term in office. “The governor appreciated the traders for their support so far, imploring them to vote for all the candidates of the All Progressives Congress in the February 25 and March 11 elections. “The governor promised that 200 market men and women would benefit from the government’s loan arrangement, saying that the ‘Oko Owo Dapo’ scheme would be extended to them.” Abiodun expressed dismay that the transformer given to the market was not functioning effectively and directed that new ones be brought to the market immediately. Addressing the people at the Mokola-Elega Under Bridge, Abiodun stated that his administration would complete the road during his second term, calling for their maximum support in the elections. The Otun Iyaloja of Itoku, Mrs. Simbiat Oyetola, commended the governor for the boreholes provided in the market, urging the governor to assist the traders in resolving the problem of epileptic power supply.

  Valentine’s Day, also called Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honouring a martyr named Valentine. Through later folk traditions, it has become a significant cultural and commercial celebration of romance and love in many regions of the world. The eighth-century Gelasian Sacramentary recorded the celebration of the Feast of Saint Valentine on February 14. The day became associated with romantic love in the 14th and 15th centuries when notions of courtly love flourished, apparently by association with the “lovebirds” of early spring. Although Valentine’s Day is not a public holiday, February 14 is considered a significant cultural and religious celebration of romance in the Catholic Church. On the other hand, a number of Eastern countries choose not to celebrate Valentine’s Day, even in a commercial way. Despite its popularity in countries all over the world, there are some countries where Valentine’s Day is not celebrated, most of them owing to religious beliefs. Here are seven countries where Valentine’s Day is not celebrated: Malaysia Valentine’s Day goes against Islamic Law, and with 61 per cent of the Malaysian population being Muslims, celebration has been banned in the country. Islamic authorities in Malaysia created the religious ruling of fatwa, banning the celebrating of Valentine’s Day since 2005. In 2011, the Islamic morality police, Jais, arrested 80 Muslim couples for celebrating the Valentine’s Day. Officers raided numerous hotels in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, starting an anti-Valentine’s Day campaign and raids, according to a Wedded Wonderland report.   Indonesia Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population, is a secular nation. This means that the government says it is neutral and neither supports nor disagrees with religion, according to a BBC report. However, in the province of Aceh, the only place with Islamic rule, Valentine’s celebrations are banned as is the sale of gifts. There have been numerous protests in recent years, stating that Valentine’s Day promotes casual pre-marital sex and the consumption of alcohol, both of which are strictly against Islamic Law. Muslim clerics have ordered couples and singles not to exchange cards, roses or engage in illicit behaviour. Despite this, Valentine’s Day is popular in Jakarta, with companies looking to cash in on the celebrations. Iran In recent years, Iranian authorities have aimed to forbid Valentine’s Day celebrations, calling the holiday a “decadent Western custom” and threatening shops and restaurants with prosecution if they sell Valentine’s Day gifts. Despite this, numerous restaurants in Tehran have reportedly been fully booked and many shops have been seen selling teddy bears and chocolates. Due to the fact that they are defying the law, establishments use lookouts to see if inspectors are on a Valentine’s Day patrol, Wedded Wonderland says. India Owing to its independent revolution from the British empire in 1947, the Indian government refused to advocate Western values and culture. In 2015, party leader Chandra Prakash Kaushik told The Times of India “We are not against love, but if a couple is in love then they must get married … if they are not certain, they should not belittle love by openly going around together.” Pakistan Pakistan has been subject to numerous riots surrounding the celebration of Valentine’s Day. In 2014, two universities in Peshawar and Pakistan clashed with each other’s beliefs over the ideology of Valentine’s Day in the eyes of Islamic Law. Students threw rocks at one another, which eventually led to gunshots being fired from both sides, injuring three students, according to Wedded Wonderland. On February 7, 2018, the Islamabad High Court placed a ban on Valentine’s Day, claiming the day to be a cultural import from the West and “against the teachings of Islam”.   Credit: Getty Saudi Arabia In Saudi Arabia, it is taboo to show public displays of affection so the concept of Valentine’s Day doesn’t coincide with the ideologies of the country. Celebrating Valentine’s Day could lead to severe punishment in Saudi Arabia. In 2014, five Saudi citizens were sentenced to 39 years in prison and 4,500 lashes of the cane between them, after they were found dancing with six women they were not married to on Valentine’s Day, a report by Wedded Wonderland, says. While you can purchase love-themed gifts on any other day, red roses and other love-related items are strictly banned on Valentine’s Day, including red clothing. Russia Technically, Russia does celebrate a type of Valentine’s Day, but it is very different from the traditional holiday. On March 8, Russians celebrate International Women’s Day in much the same way that Western cultures celebrate Valentine’s Day. Gifting each other flowers and chocolate is very common on this day, as is expecting husbands and boyfriends to do all the cooking and cleaning, letting women have a full day of rest. Instead of celebrating Valentine’s Day because of a saint, Russia chooses to celebrate the love for their women, paying tribute to women across the globe and equal rights, according to Wedded Wonderland’s report.

  As the currency redesign policy continues to generate confusion across the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria has vowed to clamp down on Point of Sale owners, who have turned themselves to payment agents, to take advantage of members of the public. The apex bank described such unaccredited payment agents as fifth columnists whose activities constituted economic sabotage, saying that it would carry out sting operations around the country this week to arrest and prosecute them. The Director, Governor’s Department, CBN, Mr Joseph Omayuku, who stated these while briefing journalists in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on Monday evening, said the sharp practices were discovered after reviews of the implementation of the policy. He said that these PoS operators also engage in the selling of naira notes for naira notes to buyers amidst rejection of online payments by some business operators, including petrol stations and supermarkets. Omayuku said, “Further reviews have indicated that it does appear as if there are fifth columnists operating in this system, and these fifth columnists, as it appears, are anybody that has PoS access. Several of them have now taken to the unfortunate activity of turning themselves to payment agents. “So you find out that even next to petrol stations, their agents or PoS operators next to them are there who you will go to, to sell money to you and you take that money to go and buy petrol; and not just petrol stations, in short, everywhere. “From this week, there will be very sting operations around the country. Because this (selling of naira) is the incentive. The incentive is that they can sell our currency to us, which is not supposed to be. You cannot be selling naira to us.” He said the CBN also frowned on the exorbitant commissions on transactions that payment agents collect from customers as against the approved charges, describing their activities as fraudulent. Omayuku further said, “The operational arrangement for payment agents is that they take a commission for transaction and this commission is not more than N100 or N200 for transaction of up to N10,000. But we have heard of cases where people are being charged N1,000 or N2,000. This is certainly fraudulent; this is rogue operation. “The management of the CBN and the leaders of the country do not subscribe to any logic that will allow people to operate like this. So, the security agencies will be very active this week, going forward.” He warned those engaged in illegal practices to turn a new leaf and advised members of the public to report perpetrators by contacting the CBN Contact Centre on 07002255226; Telephone Ext: 711025 – 7; contactcbn@cbn.gov.ng and its social media handles. The CBN official also debunked claims that the existing online platforms were not effective to support large volume of economic activities, stressing that the challenges associated with the online system “are not as bad as to warrant rejection of transfer payments.”

  The Federal High Court sitting in Abakaliki, on Tuesday disbanded the South-East security outfit popularly known as Ebubeagu in Ebonyi State, declaring their activities illegal. According to the court, the disbandment of the security outfit was as a result of human rights abuses, extortions, illegal arrests and use of fire arms. The court while delivering judgement in a suit brought before it by Abia Onyeike, ordered Ebonyi State Government to pay to the Director of Media and Publicity in the Ebonyi PDP Governorship Campaign Organisation, the sum of N50 million as damage over his abduction and torture by the Ebubeagu Security Outfit in Abakaliki in November, 2022.   The court ordered the disbandment of the Ebubeagu outfit, and ordered the DSS and Police to take to possession all the guns and logistics the now illegal security network uses for its operations. The judge declared the Ebubeagu outfit an illegal one and therefore, ceases to exist as the Ebonyi State House of Assembly doesn’t have the powers to approve their existence.   The Ebubeagu Security outfit has been accused of being used as willing tools by the state government against opposition parties and her members in the state.

  The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has said the February 10 deadline of the circulation of old naira notes stands. Emefiele made the disclosure while briefing the diplomatic community at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja on Tuesday. “The situation is substantially calming down since the commencement of over-the-counter payments to complement ATM disbursements and the use of super-agents. There is, therefore, no need to consider any shift from the deadline of February 12,” he said. The clarification is coming on the heels of confusion over the supreme court order which extended the deadline to February 15, pending the hearing by the court. Nigerians were thrown into confusion as commercial banks refused to take the old notes at their branches on Monday. Speaking further, Emefiele said, “Some of our leaders are buying the new notes and storing them for whatever purpose and I will not expand further on that.” Emefiele said the apex bank acknowledges the suffering of Nigerians, noting that effective implementation of the policy could scrap 4% of the inflation numbers. He further explained that the optimal volume of cash in circulation should be around N700billion. He said: “Even if we say N1trillion should be in circulation, we cannot refloat N3.7trillion into circulation.

  Hours after Imo high court in Oguta was razed, gunmen on Sunday burnt down the country home of the lawmaker representing Orlu Local Government Area at the Imo state House of Assembly, Paschal Okolie. Our correspondent gathered that Okolie’s country home at Umudura, Akwakuma Okporo community was invaded around 1am on Sunday and was razed. A source told our correspondent that the lawmaker’s library, documents and properties were burnt as the arsonists struck. The lawmaker who on Tuesday confirmed the arson, called on security agents to bring the perpetrators to book. He said “on Sunday the 12th day of February, 2023, at about 1am, arsonists invaded my residence at Umudura, Akwakuma, Okporo in Orlu Local Government Area and set it ablaze. All my house hold items, my library, documents and invaluable artifacts were lost to the inferno. I am still thankful to God that no life was lost. “I have consistently condemned without mincing words, these acts of aggression, destruction and associated killings which have sadly become trademarks in our dear state. ” The burning of my house without provocation is another challenge to the security agencies to rise to the occasion and bring the perpetrators to account. I have no doubt that they are not relenting but more is expected of them so that our people will begin to have peace to mind.” When contacted, the spokesperson for the police in the state, Henry Okoye, said he will get back to our correspondent.

  as Blessing, has been hospitalized after one of her lecturers, Mr Ukwueze Ogochukwu, allegedly broke her head on Monday, February 13. It was gathered that Ukwueze, from the Faculty of Humanities, threw a stone at a group of students and it unfortunately hit the girl. According to reports, trouble started after his class ended at 7:00 am and the students scrambled to sign his attendance. Out of annoyance, Ukwueze allegedly threw a stone into the crowd of students. The stone hit Blessing on the head and she started bleeding profusely. She was said to have passed out a moment later and was rushed to the school’s medical center. In one of the videos currently circulating on social media, Blessing could be seen being carried away in a bike. In another video, she was lying in a hospital bed and in visible pains. Meanwhile, her colleagues later stormed the admin office to stage a protest and demand for the lecturer’s immediate dismissal. Narrating what happened in a video obtained by JOURNALIST101 one of the students said the lecturer simply threw stones at them. “…before we knew what was happening, we just saw stone, the stone almost hit me. I was like, was it stone that this man threw at us? Before we know what’s going on, the man picked up another stone and aimed it at the girls’ head and she started bleeding.   “We thought it was a play until Blessing fainted. Her blood could be found along the road. The students helped to take her to the medical centre using a motorcycle. “The students out of annoyance, accosted the Lecturer but the final year students came to his rescue.”