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Kidnapping, Banditry: DSS Officer Testifies Against NSCDC Officials in Court.
Mr Stephen Okolo, a Department of State Service (DSS) official, has said that the deployment of technology aided the arrest of three security personnel facing charges of kidnapping and banditry in Oyo State.
Okolo said this in his testimony before Justice N.E. Maha of the Federal High Court in Ibadan, on Monday.
He was giving evidence as first prosecution witness (PW1) in the trial against the three officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) and one other.
The three NSCDC’s officers are, Olamide Okesola, Adedeji Adewale and Asmau Omar while the fourth defendant, Emmanuel Olatunji, is an unlicensed arms dealer.
“My lord, following the increase in the cases of kidnapping and banditry in Okeogun area of Oyo State and parts of Kwara, the DSS fashioned out how to address the issue by deploying our technical expertise, that is equipment.
“With sustained surveillance, we were able to detect, trace, and arrest the criminals involved.
“My lord, two kingpins; one Baguda and the other Banshile, who were the most dangerous terrorists operating in that axis were identified in the process.
“The operation which led to the arrest of one Lawan Buhari, and one of the NSCDC’s officials believed to be supplying ammunitions to the terrorists commenced in January 2023.
“Further operation led to the arrest of the other three defendants; Okesola, Olatunji and Adewale,” Okolo told the court.
The PW1 tendered before the court, a bag containing 1000 rounds of live ammunition as an exhibit collected from Buhari,.
He said the command was able to break the chain of supply of ammunition to terrorists, which reduced the high rate of kidnapping and banditry in the areas.
In his own testimony, Lawan Buhari, the PW2, said that he received thousands of naira supplying AK47 guns and bullets to the defendants who sent same to their terror links.
“Before I was apprehended and detained at the 81 battalion barrack at Mokola, I was serving with the Operation Burst security outfit where the trio approached me to start supplying them arms,” Buhari said.
The DSS prosecution Counsel, Mr T.A. Nurudeen told the court that the defendants were arraigned on a 15-count amended charge bordering on conspiracy, terrorism, unlawful arms dealing, aiding and abetting terrorism.
The four defendants all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Maha adjourned the suit until Feb. 11 for continuation of trial. (NAN)
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Forum Appeals for more Budgetary Allocation for Youth Development
The National Youth Stakeholders Forum (NYSF), has appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to increase budgetary allocation for youth development.
The forum called for 25 per cent increase in such budgetary allocation in the 2025 fiscal year.
The Chairman of the NYSF, Dogo Shagari, and its Secretary General, Olufowobi Desmond, made the call during the inauguration of its National Executive Council (NEC) and unveiling of NYSF ‘s sectarian in Abuja.
According to the forum, the increase is critical as it will go a long way in rescuing 60 per cent of Nigerian youths from the streets.
“It will empower them through targeted programmes in the second and third quarters of the year.
“We commend President Bola Tinubu for his steadfast commitment to youth inclusion, exemplified by the appointment of young Nigerians to strategic roles in his administration.
“The bold step underscores his dedication to empowering the younger generation,” they said.
The NYSF leaders also expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for his timely call for a National Youth Confab.
“This initiative represents a historic opportunity for Nigerian youth to come together to discuss and address critical national issues.
“As a body with widespread reach and credibility, the NYSF is ready to serve as the vanguard voice for youth ahead of the confab.
“We encourage all young Nigerians to actively participate in this significant event, as it provides a platform to shape policies and programmes that reflect their aspirations,” they said.
They promised to ensure that discussions and resolutions from the confab were preserved and implemented for the betterment of the country.
They also appreciated the Minister of Youth, Olawande Wisdom, for his “open-door policy” of promoting collaboration and inclusivity, and pledged the commitment of NYSF to work with the ministry for more youth development initiatives.
The forum’s leaders also urged all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to prioritise youth-focused initiatives in their budgetary allocations.
They further called on the Ministry of Youths to appoint liaison officers across all MDAs and parastatals to monitor and ensure the implementation of youth-focused initiatives and programmes.
They said that the framework would play a pivotal role in addressing youth unemployment, reducing restiveness, and fostering national stability and progress.
They also commended the founder and national leader of the NYSF, Aare Hassan, for his visionary leadership in establishing and stabilising this forum.
“His dedication has provided a unified platform for Nigerian youth to collaborate, innovate, and champion positive change.
“The NYSF is a conglomerate of all youth interest groups in Nigeria, established as a common front to strategically advance the plight and aspirations of Nigerian youths,” they said.
The NYSF urged all Nigerian youths to join the forum via the its website: www.nysf.com.ng “.(NAN)
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Naira Further Gains by 0.78% Against Dollar at Official Market
The Naira further appreciated at the official market on Wednesday, trading at N1,510.
72 to a Dollar.Data from the FMDQ Security Exchange official forex trading platform revealed that the local currency gained N11.96.
This represented a 0.78 per cent gain, compared to the trading figure on Tuesday, when the Naira closed trading at N1,522.
68 to the Dollar.Trading on the Investors and Exporters (I&E) Forex window on Wednesday, recorded a high of N1,514.
00 and a low of N1,504.00.The Naira has enjoyed relative stability against the US dollar since Dec. 2024, when the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) introduced sustained sweeping reforms.
The apex bank on Tuesday in Abuja, introduced more measures, leading to additional health for the local currency.
The apex bank approved waivers on the 2025 annual license renewal fee for all existing Bureau De Change (BDC) operators.
CBN also unveiled the Nigeria Foreign Exchange (FX) Code, aimed at sanitising the banking industry to promote ethical conduct.
The code, which is part of CBN’s ongoing reforms, is to sanitise the market to drive transparency and good governance, in line with global best practices.
Dr Aminu Gwadabe, President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), in an interview on Wednesday, praised CBN for the waiver for his members.
Gwadabe called for support and compliance to CBN’s ongoing reforms, resulting in sustained stability of the local currency.
He also appreciated the CBN’s unveiling of the Nigeria Foreign Exchange (FX) Code, designed to promote ethical conduct among dealers in the market.
“It will address issues such as opaqueness in transactions, rate wars among participants, and lateness in submitting returns on spot transactions,” Gwadabe said. (NAN)
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FCT-IRS Seeks EFCC’s Collaboration to Enhance Tax Compliance
By Laide Akinboade, Abuja
The Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) has sought collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to enhance tax compliance in the FCT.
This was contained in a statement by FCT-IRS, Head, Corporate Communications, FCT-IRS, Mustapha Sumaila in Abuja.
The Acting Executive Chairman of the Service, Michael Ango during a courtesy visit to the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Olanipekun Olukoyede at the Commission’s Corporate Headquarters on Wednesday said the partnership was important because of the statutory roles of both agencies.
Ango stated that the engagement with the EFCC was in line with the mandate of the FCT-IRS to collaborate with agencies such as the EFCC towards improving tax compliance in the FCT.
He noted that one of the major initiatives of the FCT-IRS in 2025 is the harmonisation of revenue collection and administration in the FCT and to achieve this, the support and collaboration of all persons and agencies such as the EFCC would be required.This is to ensure that all revenue due to the FCT is collected and accounted for in a transparent manner and to enhance ease of doing business and improve revenue generation. This will further consolidate the massive infrastructural development in the FCT, by Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike.
In this regard, Ango noted that most suspects being investigated by EFCC for financial crimes were not tax compliant and it would be helpful if such persons were interrogated as to their tax status and required to fulfill their tax obligations as part of the investigation process.
The FCT-IRS boss stated that this approach could also be extended to forfeitures of assets or monies of suspects to the EFCC by the Courts.
Ango condoled with the EFCC on the recent loss of its operative and commended the EFCC Executive Chairman for the excellent work he and the Commission have been doing to tackle financial crimes in the country since he assumed duty as Chief Executive of the Commission.
In his remarks, the EFCC Executive Chairman, Olanipekun Olukoyede thanked the FCT-IRS chairman and his team for the visit and expressed willingness to partner with the Service to improve revenue collection in the FCT. Olukoyede said the Commission is in partnership with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and other State Internal Revenue Services and therefore would be willing to partner with the FCT-IRS to shore up its collections.
He noted the need to have a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to highlight the specific areas of collaboration pointing out that such would further strengthen the relationship between the two organisations.
The EFCC Chairman further lauded the efforts of Michael Ango since his appointment as Acting Executive Chairman, adding that he has been keeping tabs with the achievements within the short period of time and also not surprised about the aggressive infrastructural development in the FCT carried out by the Honourable Minister of the FCT, which shows that taxpayer’s money is judiciously used across the territory.