Three members of a family including the wife and children of an overseas returnee have allegedly been abducted in Kwara State. The incident, it was gathered, occurred in Okanle-Fajeromi community in Ifelodun Local Government Area, on Monday around 11:00 pm. The gunmen allegedly invaded the community located near Idofian and kidnapped the victims while they were sleeping in their home. It was gathered that the wife of a man identified as Sikiru Abiola who returned to the community from overseas about three years ago to practice farming, and his two sons were forcefully taken away by the abductors. How neighbours’ tank crushed Lagos admission seeker to death from sleep Ex-governors who are new ‘godfathers’ in their states The Olugbense of Okanle who is the Bale (head) of the community, Alhaji Abdulfatai Olasunkanmi, confirmed the incident. He said the gunmen arrived at the community at about midnight on Monday when the villagers were already asleep and invaded the house of Alhaji Sikiru and kidnapped the victims. He said the vigilantes in the town responded to the alarm raised by Alhaji Sikiru Abiola. The Bale said, “One of the vigilantes was shot in the leg during a gun duel with the kidnappers and had since been rushed to the hospital. But one of the abducted members of the family was rescued.” The spokesman for the Kwara State Police Command, SP Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed the incident Wednesday evening. Okasannmi said, “The matter was reported today (Wednesday) and operatives in collaboration with other security agencies have been deployed to comb the bush. “Till now, the abducted people have not been rescued from the kidnappers but our men are on their trails and we hope that they will be rescued.”

  Further to the directive on the dissolution of Boards of Federal Government Parastatals, Agencies, Institutions and Government-owned Companies, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation has clarified that the Boards of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration & Control (NAFDAC) are exempted from such dissolution. This was revealed in a statement signed by Willie Bassey, the Director of Information in the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

  President Bola Tinubu has approved the return of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) to the Office of the Vice President for supervision, in compliance with their various establishment Acts. This was disclosed in a statement signed by Olusola Abiola, the Director of Information in the Office of the Vice President. The President has also approved a formal structure for the Office of the Vice President as well as an appropriate number of technical and administrative aides that will work with the Vice President in the discharge of his responsibilities.

  The Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Tuesday sentenced a man, Eniola Ibrahim, to life imprisonment for raping his girlfriend. Justice Rahmon Oshsodi found Mr Ibrahim guilty of having sexual intercourse with his girlfriend without her consent. Mr Oshodi, in his judgment, held that the prosecution had proved the necessary ingredients to establish the offence of rape. He said the defendant’s landlord’s testimony was sufficiently corroborated as also the weight of the medical report. “The court has also taken into cognisance remarks made by the defendant that he loves the victim. ” You must not hurt people that you love. The evidence in this case demonstrates that you did not just rape the victim, but you did it in a ferocious and animalistic way. “You hit her on the face, which made it swollen. She had bloody eyes and swollen lips. “You pinned her neck to your bed and raped her. A man like you who has committed sexual violence against a woman should be ashamed and must be punished,” he said. The judge held that a woman or a girl who was a victim of sexual violence had committed no crime as she needed not to be ashamed. “In your case, I do consider the seriousness of the offence to justify a life sentence, and that is the sentence I must, therefore, impose upon you. “Accordingly, I sentence you, Mr Eniola Wasiu Ibrahim, to life imprisonment,” Mr Oshodi said. The court further ordered that the convict’s name be registered as a sex offender on Lagos State sexual offenders register. The state counsel, Inumidun, called four witnesses through whom various documents were admitted into evidence while the convict testified as the sole witness. The prosecution submitted that the convict committed the offence on June 6, 2012, at his residence on Lateef Dosumu Street in Lagos. Mr Wasiu was arraigned on December 1, 2021, and pleaded not guilty. The survivor, in her testimony, had told the court that the defendant invited her to his house and pinned her neck to his bed, and then raped her when she went to visit him on his home on a Sunday afternoon. “I told him I did not want to stay long, and then he locked the door and carried me to the room,” she said. She said that he forced open her trouser zip and took nude pictures of her, and raped her.

  The Federal Government, on Monday, confirmed that it had commenced the implementation of the payment of 7.5 per cent Value Added Tax on Automotive Gas Oil, popularly called diesel. Officials of the Nigeria Customs Service and Federal Inland Revenue Service confirmed this in Abuja, stressing that AGO was not exempted from the payment of VAT based on the VAT Modification Order 2021. The development was, however, condemned by Nigerians, who pointed out that citizens were still trying to adjust to the hike in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, not knowing that plans had been perfected to further raise payments for diesel. When asked by our correspondent if the NCS was now collecting 7.5 per cent VAT on the imports of AGO, the spokesperson for the service, Abdullahi Maiwada, replied, “Yes.” He continued, “If you ask me whether Customs collect 7.5 per cent VAT on AGO, I will tell you yes and I’ll give you the reasons. There’s what we call VAT Modification Order 2021, which exempts petroleum products of Harmonised System Codes. “But the HS Codes for Petroleum products that are exempted from paying VAT are those in the region of 2709.00.00.00 – 2710.19.12.00. The HS Codes are what we use to classify commodities. But AGO is classified under HS Code 2710.19.21.00, which is not exempted from the payment of VAT. Now, this is based on the VAT Modification Order 2021.” An official of the FIRS, Tobi Wojuola, also confirmed the development, stressing that it was the position of the VAT Modification Order. “The position of the VAT Modification Order 2021 is that VAT is chargeable on diesel,” he told our correspondent in Abuja. In a letter from the NCS to some of its personnel, on the matter, with reference: NCS/T&T/T/899/217/VOL.I, sighted in Abuja, and dated June 8, 2023, the service made it clear that VAT must be paid on diesel. The letter was signed by the Assistant Comptroller-General (Tariff and Trade), Mba Musa, on behalf of the Deputy Comptroller-General (Taritf and Trade). It read in part, “I am directed to forward a letter from Federal Inland Revenue Service on the above subject matter. The VAT Modification order 2021 only exempts petroleum products of HS codes 2709.00.00.00 – 2710.19.12.00 from payment of VAT. AGO or diesel falls classifiable under HS Code 2710.19.21.00 and is not exempted from paying VAT. “Subsequent upon the above, all future importations of the product should assess and pay VAT at the point of entry into the country. Also note that AGO or diesel are not exempted from destination inspection or import guidelines and as such are expected to process Form M and PAAR as well as make declarations appropriately in the NICIS II system. Nigerians groan over effects of 7.5% VAT on petrol prices FG rakes in N10tn VAT under Buhari – NBS Tipper driver drowns stealing diesel from tanker “A copy of the letter from FIRS is attached for your information. Take note and be guided accordingly, please.” Nigerians groan: Nigerians lamented the effects of the introduction of the 7.5 per cent Value-Added Tax on the price of diesel. This comes barely a month after President Bola Tinubu removed the subsidy on petrol during his inaugural speech on May 29, raising the price of PMS from N188 to about N580 in different states of the federation. Recall that the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, announced that the Finance Act 2020 raised the previous five per cent VAT of the country to 7.5 per cent on commodities including automobile gas oil and it was implemented on February 20, 2020. But the VAT-exempt items include honey, bread, cereals, cooking oils, culinary herbs, fish, flour, starch, fruits, meat, poultry, milk, nuts, pulses, roots, salt, vegetables, water, sanitary pads, tampons, tertiary, secondary, primary and nursery tuition. While other commodities have been VAT-compliant, diesel was not until recently. However, the new development has hit Nigerians hard, as many have called for an utmost review of it, especially because of the recent removal of fuel subsidies. A Twitter user, Ingawa said, “That means for every litre of AGO you will buy, you have to pay 7.5 per cent VAT of the pump price. For example; If one litre of AGO is N650 at the filling station, then you have to pay an additional N48.75 being payment for 7.5 per cent VAT. The total price per litre will be N698.75 per litre.” Another user, Angry Non-Nigerian, said, “When Tinubu said ‘widen the tax net, you people thought he was joking. The only thing that man knows is tax, tax and tax. As Lagosians.” One Oyo said, “The Citizens will be the main IGR for this government. There is no single move to cut the cost of government from the Senate to the House to other departments. “They went to education first by trying to add tuition fees, now 7.5 per cent VAT on PMS. Everything directly to the common man.”

  A 43-year-old Pastor with Mountain of Fire and Miracles (Worldwide), Chinedu Eze, has recounted how he was detained in prison for 14 years following his alleged refusal to cooperate with police on an issue he claimed he had no knowledge about. He, however, said that while in prison, he enrolled for the Senior School Certificate Examination and bagged a Bachelor’s degree in Peace and Conflict Resolution from the National Open University of Nigeria out of the 996 inmates through the efforts of Christ Embassy Church. While in prison, Eze said he wrote about 157 songs in detention and seven books. Eze, an indigene of Enugu State, said he was freed on Thursday, May 2, 2019. He added that he was arrested and sent to the Kuje Correctional Services by some policemen who had approached him sometime in 2005 to serve as a prosecution witness in a case he knew nothing about. He spoke to journalists at the 14th anniversary Gala of Silver Lining for The Needy Initiative, a non-governmental organisation targeting vulnerable groups in Nigeria. The Founder of SLNI, Hauwa Abass, said the organisation would continue to assist the needy and fight injustice in Nigeria. Eze said he was asked to testify against a policeman who had issues with his superiors and appreciated the SNLI for helping him regain his freedom, saying he had already lost hope before the organisation came to his rescue. He said, “I was sent to prison because of an issue involving a policeman who had issues with his superiors, and they wanted to punish him. Some policemen approached me and wanted to use me as a prosecution witness against him. But I told them that I couldn’t testify against him because I didn’t know anything about the scenario. “One of the policemen, known as Emmanuel Abazie, told me that I had to cooperate with them unless I would regret it. At first, I thought it was just a mere threat. I never knew it would result in me going to prison. When I got to the prison, they hid my file. I stayed there for four years—no court, no files. It was a long, torturous journey that I had to stay 14 years under awaiting trial.” Eze said he did not allow his predicament to deter him from furthering his education while in confinement. He said he sat for the SSCE by the West Africa Examinations Council and thereafter obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Peace and Conflict Resolution from NOUN. Eze said, “I got seven credits without English. I sat for the exam again the following year, and I got nine distinctions, including English and Mathematics. “When I was writing WAEC, I had no intention of furthering education in the prison because there was no university, but I saw it as a providence arrangement because after two years that I wrote WAEC, the National Open University and Christ Embassy came to the prison and said that they were looking for those who were qualified and those who had what it takes to be enrolled in the university. I happened to be one of 31 persons. We were about 996 inmates in Kuje prison. “So I was among the 31 people that met the requirements to be given a scholarship, so that’s how I was admitted to study Peace and Conflict Resolution.” While stressing the need for Nigerians to disabuse their minds from the notion that everyone in prison was guilty of an offence, he said that many people who were in prison should not have been sent there in the first place. Eze said, “My incident happened between 2005 and 2019. The SLNI came in 2017, and by that time I had given up. When they came, I had interaction with the founder, Hauwa Abass, and then she spoke with someone in her legal department, one Barrister Muhammad, who went to the court, located my file, and that was how my file was discovered. Muhammad later came to the prison and told me that this is the stage of my case, and then we picked it up from there. After about two years of my encounter with them, I was released on May 2, 2019. “When you visit the prison, you will see something like 70 convicted inmates but 900 awaiting trials. A policeman who was indicted (while I was there) was released just about a month ago when the Chief Judge visited the prison. That policeman was simply set up by his superiors because of the issues he had with them and he spent about 18 years awaiting trial.” Eze said he embarked on writing and composing of songs while in detention, adding that he had written about seven books. “One of the books is about my experience, titled “14 years in prison”, I have the belief that I will meet people who will help me publish it. Also, my first album was launched in December last year. I wrote about 157 songs in detention, but I now have 160 songs.”

  Hunter Biden, US President Joe Biden’s son, is expected to plead guilty to two tax crimes according to a court filing on Tuesday. Hunter is also reportedly striking a deal with federal prosecutors regarding a separate felony gun charge while he was a drug user. The 53-year-old has previously worked as a lawyer and a lobbyist abroad, including in China and Ukraine. He was discharged from the US Navy in 2014 after testing positive for cocaine. The US justice department had initiated an investigation into whether he properly reported his income in 2017 and 2018, and made false statements on paperwork used to purchase a firearm in 2018.   Although the terms of Hunter’s agreement with the prosecutors reportedly have good chances of keeping him out of jail, a judge would still need to review the terms. It is unclear when he will appear in court to enter his guilty plea. Hunter’s plea deal comes as some Republican lawmakers and presidential candidates have accused Biden, who is running for a second term, of “weaponising” the justice department against political opponents.   Critics of Biden’s governments have alleged that Hunter’s dealings and repeated run-ins with the law indicate a pattern of corruption. Donald Trump, former US president who has also declared his intention to return to the White House, criticised Hunter’s plea deal on Truth Social, his social media platform. “Wow! The corrupt Biden DOJ just cleared up hundreds of years of criminal liability by giving Hunter Biden a mere ‘traffic ticket.’ Our system is BROKEN!,” Trump wrote. Ian Sams, a White House spokesperson, said President Biden would not be discussing his son’s deal.   “The president and first lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life. We will have no further comment,” Sams said.

  The suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele on Tuesday approached the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, challenging his detention by the Department of State Services (DSS). In his originating motion on notice, Emefiele is praying for the court to enforce his right to liberty and freedom of movement, as there is no basis for his continuous detention. However, the Attorney General of the Federation as well as the DSS have insisted that the detention of the suspended CBN Governor is lawful. In a preliminary objection filed against the fundamental rights enforcement suit instituted by Emefiele, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the DSS told the Federal Capital Territory High Court that the detention was backed by the order of a magistrates’ court and prayed for the court to dismiss the motion with cost. They noted that the arrest of the former CBN governor was an administrative decision of the DSS. The AGF is also challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit, as the originating motion filed by Mr. Emefiele ought to have sought that the court set aside the order for his detention rather than seek enforcement of rights. The DSS, on its part, is also challenging the motion for bail filed by Mr Emefiele. The case has been adjourned till July 13 for ruling.   On June 10, President Bola Tinubu suspended Emefiele from his office of Governor of the Central Bank. Shortly after his suspension, the DSS announced that the embattled CBN Governor was in its custody. The Federal Government had explained that the the suspension was to allow an “ongoing investigation of his office and the planned reforms in the financial sector of the economy.”