Headline

How FG Spent N1.4bn On Repentant Terrorists’ Rehab Centres

Published

6 months ago

December 29, 2024

The Federal Government has spent about N1.4bn for the rehabilitation of repentant terrorists and the establishment of centres for terrorism trials in the last one year and six months, PUNCH reports.

The Federal Government established the National Counter-Terrorism Centre following former President Muhammadu Buhari’s assent to the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill on May 12, 2022.

In December 2022, the government announced its decision to establish two disarmament, deradicalisation, rehabilitation, and reintegration centres for repentant members of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in the country.

The Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Rear Admiral Yem Musa (retd.), disclosed to the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence that the government would spend N2.4bn on the centres as part of the NCTC’s N3.8bn capital projects for 2023.

However, checks by one of our correspondents using GovSpend, a civic tech platform that tracks and analyses the Federal Government’s spending, revealed that between December 2022 and May 2024, the Ministry of Justice spent a total of N1.4bn on constructing rehabilitation centres for repentant terrorists and renovating an abandoned building for terrorism case trials.

On March 27, 2023, the Federal Ministry of Justice disbursed N612m to three firms for the renovation and furnishing of abandoned structures for terrorism case trials and the construction of dormitories for the rehabilitation of repentant terrorists under Operation Safe Corridor.

The first payment of N286.7m was transferred to a firm, El-haby Concept Limited, for the renovation and furnishing of abandoned building for terrorism case trials at Giwa Barracks, as approved by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on March 21, 2023.

The second payment of N21.5m was made to Interprise Limited as consultancy fees for designing and supervising the building of facilities for repentant terrorists at the OSC. The remaining N303.7m was released to Fosab Global Energy Service Limited as an additional 40% payment for constructing the rehabilitation centre.

In 2024, the ministry paid three firms a total of N179m for similar projects. The first payment of N11.5m was wired to Jayjaysen Integrated Links Ltd on March 22, 2024, for the supply of desktop computers and LaserJet printers/toners to facilitate terrorism case prosecutions, as approved by the SGF on December 1, 2023.

Another N16.4m was transferred to Estergel Ltd on April 8, 2024, for procuring computers and accessories for the same purpose, as approved by the SGF on December 18, 2023. Finally, N151.8m was paid to Fosab Global Energy Service Ltd on May 3, 2024, as part of payment for constructing the rehabilitation centre.

Secret trials of terrorists

Meanwhile, on December 15, the NCTC disclosed in a statement that it had secured the conviction of no fewer than 325 terrorists in its Phase 5 and Phase 6 trials at the Kainji Detention Facility.

The centre noted that the terrorists received various sentences ranging from the death penalty to life imprisonment and terms of 20 to 70 years, depending on the severity of the crimes committed by the suspects.

In the Phase 5 trial, conducted in July 2024, about 143 cases were heard, leading to 125 convictions. In Phase 6, 237 cases were heard, with 200 convictions secured at the same venue. However, the government has since remained silent on when the Phase 7 trials will commence.

When The PUNCH reached out to the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to ascertain why the trials were conducted secretly, no response was received.

Some security experts and civil society organisations expressed divergent opinions on the secretive nature of the terrorism trials.

A security expert, Lekan Jackson-Ojo, said secret trials lacked authenticity.

“When politicians, armed robbers, or the so-called Yahoo boys commit offences, the press is allowed to report on it, and the entire world knows about it. But why are we trying these enemies of humanity, enemies of God—the Satanists—in secrecy?

“For over 20 years, members of the Boko Haram terrorist group have been in Nigeria, killing thousands of people and rendering millions homeless. How many of these people have been sentenced to life imprisonment?” he queried.

Chidi Omeje, another security expert, also condemned the secret trials, saying, “Why would they conduct secret trials? Does it mean the military, for example, is trying to protect these terrorists who are also killing their personnel?”

“The terrorists have killed a lot of military officers. So, why would the military participate in any action to shield their prosecution? I think it has to do with procedural issues because they are dealing with so many arrested terrorists,” he added.

However, another security expert, Kabir Adamu, argued that the government’s decision to conduct secret trials was justified for security reasons.

He said, “It is very commendable that this administration has prioritised the trial of suspects, especially those facing terrorism-related charges and who have been in detention for a very long time, some for more than a decade. However, these trials must be conducted according to standard procedures to ensure transparency and compliance with the rule of law.”
PUNCH

Headline

92-year-old Convicted For 1967 Killing In UK’s Oldest Cases

Published

16 hours ago

June 30, 2025

Editor

A 92-year-old British man was convicted on Monday for a rape and murder committed nearly 60 years ago, in one of the UK’s longest-running cold cases.

Ryland Headley was found guilty by a UK court for raping and killing 75-year-old Louisa Dunne after breaking into her house in Bristol, southwest England in June 1967, when he was 34 years old.

It is “one of the oldest cold cases to ever be solved in the UK”, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which brings criminal prosecutions, said.

Local police reopened the case in 2023 and matched DNA from the victim’s skirt and other items from the original probe to Headley, who had also served a prison sentence for raping two elderly women in 1977.

He is due to be sentenced by a judge at Bristol Crown Court on Tuesday.

During the initial investigation, police had found a left-hand palm print from Dunne’s home, where she was found dead from strangulation.

The palm print was compared to 19,000 men to no avail.

At the time, Headley was a railway worker who lived just outside the area in which men and boys were asked to give prints.

Reaching a dead-end, police sealed away forensic evidence for half a century. Both DNA testing and later Headley’s palm print resulted in matches.

When Headley was arrested at his home last November, he told detectives: “I don’t know what you are talking about. Very strange, very strange.”

“For 58 years, this appalling crime went unsolved and Ryland Headley, the man we now know is responsible, avoided justice,” said Charlotte Ream of the CPS.

Following the conviction, Dunne’s granddaughter Mary Dainton said her death had a “far-reaching impact throughout my family”.

“I was just 20-years-old when my grandmother died and I’m now almost the same age as she was when she was killed,” Dainton said outside court.

Police said they were now looking into other possible cold cases Headley could be linked to.

“Ryland Headley has now been convicted of three rapes of elderly women within their own addresses, and in the case of Louisa Dunne, her murder as well,” Dave Marchant of Avon and Somerset Police told the PA news agency.

“I think there’s every possibility that there are other offences out there – over the 60s, 70s, however long a time period – which Mr Headley could be culpable for.”

Headline

Hope Dashed As Norwegian Company Apologizes For ‘Mistakenly Telling’ Thousands They Won Big On Lottery

Published

16 hours ago

June 30, 2025

Editor

A Norwegian lottery company on Monday apologised to 47,000 crestfallen gamblers who were mistakenly told they had won huge sums in a lottery, the firm blaming a currency conversion error.

State-owned gambling group Norsk Tipping said they had published incorrect prize amounts after a Eurojackpot draw on Friday because of an error converting from euro cents to Norwegian kroner.

The winnings had been multiplied by 100 instead of being divided by 100, the company said.

Among the disappointed was Ole Fredrik Sveen, who was on holiday in Greece when he received a message from Norsk Tipping that he had won 1.2 million kroner ($119,000).

“I thought: ‘Wow, is it finally my turn? Could it be true?’ I go onto the Norsk Tipping website, and there it says in black and white: ‘Congratulations, you have won!’,” Sveen told public broadcaster NRK on Monday.

In reality, he had won 125 kroner ($12).

On Monday, Sveen and the 47,000 others received apologies by text message from Norsk Tipping for the snafu.

“The apology was a poor consolation. They should have sent it out after the mistake, not today,” he said.

The Lottery Authority said Monday it had launched a review to determine if gambling laws had been broken, and Culture Minister Lubna Jaffery called the error “totally unacceptable”.

The firm’s chief executive Tonje Sagstuen resigned on Saturday after the scandal, leaving acting chief executive Vegar Strand to apologise on Monday.

Strand said his company’s state ownership made the mistake particularly problematic, noting that the firm was “entirely dependent on the trust of the population”.

“We have deeply disappointed our customers and take full responsibility for rectifying the situation. Such errors are serious for a company that is supposed to manage the trust of Norwegians,” Strand said.

“The work to rebuild trust again has the highest priority going forward.”

AFP

Headline

Musk Renews Attack On Trump, Says ‘Big, Beautiful Bill Utterly Insane’

Published

17 hours ago

June 30, 2025

Editor

Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has renewed his public criticism of United States President Donald Trump, taking aim at the administration’s controversial “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which recently cleared a critical hurdle in the Senate, TIMES reported.

In a post on X on Saturday, Musk denounced the 940-page legislative package as economically harmful, claiming it would severely damage emerging industries while supporting outdated sectors.

“The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country,” he wrote to his more than 220 million followers.

He further described the legislation as “utterly insane and destructive.”

The senate narrowly voted 51–49 to advance the bill on Saturday night, following extended negotiations among Republicans. Vice President J.D Vance was present to cast a tie-breaking vote, though it was ultimately not required.

Musk, who once served as head of the Department of Government Efficiency under Trump, left the administration after a high-profile fallout and has since emerged as one of the bill’s fiercest opponents.

He described the measure as “political suicide” for Republicans and warned that it would raise the national debt ceiling by $5 trillion — the largest such increase in US history. “America is in the fast lane to debt slavery,” he added.

Responding in an interview aired Sunday on Fox News Sunday Morning Futures, Trump attempted to defuse the tension. “I haven’t spoken to him much, but I think Elon is a wonderful guy,” he said. Trump also suggested Musk’s frustration stemmed from disagreements over recent changes to electric vehicle mandates.

Musk’s opposition to the bill is not new. Earlier in June, he urged Americans to contact their representatives, calling the legislation a “massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill.”

Despite the bill’s advancement in the Senate, it faces continued resistance. Senate Democrats have slowed proceedings by demanding the entire bill be read aloud in protest.

“If Senate Republicans won’t tell the American people what’s in this bill, then Democrats are going to force this chamber to read it from start to finish,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer