Headline

Fraud: EFCC Boss Indicts Bankers

Published

4 years ago

October 11, 2021

Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, on Monday, said fraudulent activities are going on in financial institutions across the nation, especially in the banking industry.

Bawa said the EFCC directive that bankers should declare their assets was not to witch-hunt them, but it was to save Nigeria from a serious crisis in the banking industry.

According to him, the EFCC and other stakeholders needed to sanitise the banking industry to rid it of rots and fraudulent activities, saying Nigeria could not afford another serious crisis in the banking sector.

Speaking at a capacity building workshop organised by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) for law enforcement agencies in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Bawa explained that the directive that bankers should declare assets was aimed at clearing “the rots that permeate the nation’s banking sector.”

This, he lamented, was misconstrued by those he said were “ignorant of the details of the Bank Employees Declaration of Assets Act.”

Represented by the Head of Lagos Zonal Office of EFCC, Ahmed Ghali, Bawa vowed that in spite the stiff opposition to the policy, the EFCC would ensure the country’s financial institutions were sanitised, calling on bankers, financial institutions and security agencies to partner with the EFCC to rid the nation of corruption and other financial crimes.

“We are aware of the different shades of fraudulent activities going on in our financial institutions, particularly in the banking industry sector.

“In dealing with this situation, the EFCC, under my watch, has intensified its engagement with bank executives, more than ever before,” Bawa said.

He explained further that, “I recall that upon assumption of office, one of the major pronouncements I made was giving a directive to bankers to declare their assets before June 1, 2021, knowing the rots that permeate the nation’s banking sector.

“Unlike the claims in some quarters, it is not a witch-hunt; rather, it is part of measures to sanitise the country’s financial institutions.”

In his words, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NDIC, Mr. Bello Hassan, disclosed that the workshop was to give the corporation the opportunity to share information with law enforcement agencies on the developments in the banking industry.

Hassan added that the corporation had started paying compensations of insured amounts to customers of the 42 banks whose licences were withdrawn by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2020.

Headline

12 Die, 30 Missing In Peru Landslide

Published

12 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

At least 12 people, including three children, died in a landslide at a river port in central Peru on Monday, and 30 were reported missing, officials said.

The landslide submerged a boat with about 50 passengers on board, and another with none, as they were docked at the port of Iparia in the Amazon jungle region of Ucayali, according to a police report cited by the Andina news agency.

Six people were injured, it added, and a search and rescue operation was underway at the start of the Peruvian rainy season.

Without giving a toll, Peru’s COEN national emergency operations centre said on X that tragedy struck at dawn due to “erosion” of the bank of the Ucayali river.

It said the navy has been called in to help.

AFP

Headline

Nigeria Grants Asylum To Guinea-Bissau Opposition Candidate

Published

12 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian embassy in Guinea-Bissau has granted asylum to Fernando Dias da Costa, the country’s opposition presidential candidate, following alleged threats to his life after last week’s military coup, The Cable Reports.

The coup was announced by military officers on Wednesday, just days after Guinea-Bissau’s presidential election in which both incumbent President Umaro Embaló and his main challenger, da Costa, claimed victory before official results were released.

Nigeria condemned the takeover and urged an immediate return to constitutional order.

In a letter to the President of the Economic Community of West African States Commission, Omar Touray, dated November 30, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said President Bola Tinubu had approved asylum and protection for da Costa inside the Nigerian embassy in Bissau.

Tuggar wrote that the decision was made “in response to threats made against da Costa’s life.”

“In this regard, it would be appreciated if you would kindly mandate the ECOWAS Stabilisation Support Mission in Guinea-Bissau to provide him protection and security while in the premises of the Nigerian embassy,” the letter stated.

The foreign affairs minister’s Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir, confirmed the letter’s authenticity to The Cable on Monday.

He said, “The decision of the Federal Government of Nigeria to grant asylum and provide protection to Fernando Dia Da Costa falls squarely within Nigeria’s sovereign responsibility and longstanding commitment to regional peace, stability, and democratic governance.”

He added that Nigeria acted “in the broader interest of de-escalation,” saying the government had exercised its discretion “to prevent further deterioration of tensions and to promote social cohesion in Guinea-Bissau and the wider West African sub-region.”

According to Abdulkadir, the intervention aligns with ECOWAS principles and reflects Nigeria’s role as a stabilising force in West Africa.

Following the coup, ECOWAS held an emergency virtual summit of heads of state and subsequently suspended Guinea-Bissau from the regional bloc until constitutional order is restored.

Headline

Trump To Attend FIFA World Cup Finals Draw On Friday

Published

13 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

The White House on Monday confirmed US President Donald Trump would attend the draw for the FIFA World Cup finals in Washington later this week.

The United States will co-host the 2026 tournament alongside Canada and Mexico.

“On Friday, President Trump will attend the FIFA World Cup final draw at the Kennedy Centre,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

Trump has made the World Cup a centrepiece event of both his second presidency and the 250th anniversary of US independence next year.

But the giant sporting extravaganza has not escaped the political turmoil caused by Trump’s hardline stance on a host of issues.

Trump, a Republican, has raised the possibility of moving games from some US host cities amid a crackdown on what he says is crime and illegal migration in some Democratic-run areas.

AFP