Headline

Presidency Knocks Lawmaker Over Missing N89tn Stamp Duty Claim

Published

3 years ago

December 13, 2022

Following the controversies trailing a claim of a missing sum of N89.09 trillion allegedly lost from siphoned stamp duty charges, the Presidency on Tuesday said such is false.

It also said the entire banking sector deposit in Nigeria does not amount to half of N89tn.

“It is now evident that the consultants and petitioners’ claim of a missing N89tn from stamp duty appears false and a figment of their malicious imaginations. The same set of consultants claimed in 2016 there was N20tn to be collected. It was found to be false. The entire banking sector deposit is not even up to half of N89 trillion.

“Indeed, if the Federal Government can find N89tn Naira, it can pay off all its debt, both foreign and local currency and all state government debts and still have over N10tn left,” a statement signed on Tuesday evening by the President’s spokesman, Garba Shehu, read.

The statement is titled, “Stamp duty: facts Nigerians need to have.”

In an interview with BBC Hausa last Friday, the lawmaker representing the Kazaure, Roni, Gwiwa, Yankwashi Constituency of Jigawa State at the lower chambers alleged that the Presidential Committee on the Reconciliation and Recovery of All Stamp Duties has accused some government agencies of sabotaging the committee’s efforts.

According to Kazaure, who said he serves as the committee’s secretary, it was discovered that N89.09tn has so far been realised from deductions by banks but these funds have not made it to the FG’s coffers.

He alleged connivance by some critical operatives of the regime, including the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Protocol Department of the State House, preventing him from briefing President Muhammadu Buhari on the findings.

But reacting to the claims on Tuesday, the Presidency said while there was a committee empowered by the President to look recover a sum of N20tn allegedly lost to the Nigerian Inter-bank Settlement System, the President rescinded his approval upon realising the actual plan of said committee.

It explained that this “anomaly” arose because certain characters apparently formed a cartel with collaborators in the Nigerian Postal Service and were allegedly collecting and pocketing tokens on banking transactions.

Soon after, a non-government organisation posited to the regime that the Nigerian government had lost the sum of over N20tn to the Nigerian Inter-bank Settlement System between 2013-2016 in this regard, claiming that the said sum could be recovered and paid back into the government coffers.

“The consultants asked to be paid a professional fee of 7.5 per cent and were placed under the supervision of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

“Following the lack of progress in the promised recovery, the late Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari wrote on March 8, 2018, to the SGF conveying a presidential directive that following the lack of progress and several expressed concerns received, the activities of the consultants be discontinued.

“In the aftermath of this dismissal, the consultants sued the government. A court of competent jurisdiction subsequently ruled in favour of the government,” the Presidency noted in the statement.

It said arising from the outcome of the litigation and the controversy on the legally responsible agent for collecting this levy, the regime caused an amendment to the law and removed NIPOST from the duty of its collection.

Having lost a potentially “lucrative” line of “business”, Shehu claimed that the sacked characters returned to the drawing board to formulate one form of trick or another to intimidate the government but the vigilant teams of the administration kept them at bay.

“Lately, they returned to the government through Hon. Muhammadu Kazaure with a plan to track the so-called lost stamp duties with the erstwhile consultant as chairman and Gudaji as secretary.

“When it emerged that the petitioner and lead consultant of the committee the President had dissolved via the late Abba Kyari’s letter of March 28 had masqueraded himself and re-emerged as the chairman of the new recovery committee championed by Gudaji, the President rescinded the approval he gave and asked that it be stopped from operating under the seal of his office,” Shehu further explained.

Buhari’s decision, he said, was premised on concerns relating to natural justice and fair hearing in having the Chief Justice of the Federation as a committee member and a serving member of the House of Representatives as Secretary, which are not in line with Section 5(1),(a)&(b) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

The Presidency proceeded to answer questions raised by Kazaure in the BBC Hausa interview.

On the CBN’s Investors and Exporters window, which Kazaure claimed stood at $171 billion dollars as of 2020, it said “Contrary to Kazaure’s assertion, the I&E window is NOT an ‘account’ where foreign exchange is deposited. It is simply a platform for trading foreign exchange.

“As of April 2020, the total amount of foreign exchange traded (either bought or sold) in the window was about $171bn. The amount does not mean that we have $171bn stacked away in some vault or saved in any account.”

On accusations of the CBN loaning N23.4tn to some banks, Shehu said “the total balance sheet of the CBN is not anywhere near N23tn. So how can it give such an amount in loans to any or some banks?”

Responding to claims about a N13trillion loan to the federal government from the Financial Markets Derivative Quotes he said according to the Debt Management Office, the total amount of Nigeria’s domestic debt as of September 2022 is N21.6tn.

“Is Kazaure suggesting that a small company in Lagos holds over 60 per cent of Nigeria’s domestic debt? Of the N21.6tn domestic debt, only N4.5tn are in Treasury Bills. How then can a company in Lagos hold more treasury bills (N13tn) than the entire treasury bills issued by the Federal Government?” Shehu queried.

According to him, the President has not ignored these matters and a duly authorised committee under the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami is “working to reconcile, recover and transfer all Stamp Duties into Stamp Duties Central Account. The work is ongoing, it is not finished yet and the President will continue to show his keen interest in the matter of Stamp Duty collection.”
PUNCH

Headline

Nigerian Jailed Six Years In U.S. For Sextortion

Published

16 hours ago

November 16, 2025

Editor

Imoleayo Samuel Aina, also known as “Alice Dave,” a 27-year-old Nigerian national, has been sentenced to six years in federal prison following his conviction on multiple charges connected to the sexual extortion and subsequent death of a young man in Pennsylvania.

The sentence, handed down by United States District Judge Joel H. Slomsky, includes 72 months of incarceration, five years of supervised release, and a restitution payment of $3,250. Aina had earlier pleaded guilty to cyberstalking, interstate threats to injure reputation, receiving proceeds of extortion, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and wire fraud.

Aina and his co-defendant, Samuel Olasunkanmi Abiodun, were initially arrested in Nigeria in July 2024 and subsequently extradited to the United States. Another co-defendant, Afeez Olatunji Adewale, remains in Nigeria pending extradition. Abiodun, 26, was sentenced to five years in June 2025 for his role in money laundering and wire fraud related to the same sextortion scheme.

U.S. Attorney David Metcalf described Aina as “the driving force behind this sextortion scheme, which left a young man, and then his family, traumatised.” He added, “The Department of Justice won’t just stand by when innocent victims in the U.S. are harmed by criminal scammers overseas. As this case shows, we can — and we will — find, prosecute, and hold accountable these insidious sextortionists who terrorise people for money.”

Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office, emphasised the wider message of the prosecution. “This case is a powerful reminder of the profound harm sextortion inflicts on young people and their families, and of our unwavering commitment to pursuing those who perpetrate it.

“Whether you are in the United States or operating from abroad, the FBI and our partners will relentlessly pursue you. If you exploit our youth, we will bring you to justice.”

The investigation, conducted jointly by the FBI and the Abington Township Police Department, was supported by multiple international and Nigerian authorities, including Nigeria’s Attorney General, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and the Ministry of Justice’s International Criminal Justice Cooperation Department.

Aina’s co-defendants played complementary roles in the scheme. Abiodun functioned as the financial intermediary, while Adewale, who remains in Nigeria, faces charges of money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud.

Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Brown, prosecuting the case, noted the international collaboration required to secure Aina’s extradition and conviction. “This prosecution demonstrates that national borders do not shield those who exploit and defraud others. Those who choose to target the vulnerable should understand that justice will reach them, regardless of location,” he said.

Headline

UK Ends Automatic Benefits For Asylum Seekers In Major Reform

Published

17 hours ago

November 16, 2025

Editor

Britain’s interior minister on Sunday defended plans to drastically reduce protections for refugees and end automatic benefits for asylum seekers, insisting that irregular migration was “tearing our country apart”.

The measures, modelled on Denmark’s strict asylum system, aim to stop thousands of migrants from arriving in England from northern France on small boats — crossings that are fuelling support for the anti-immigrant Reform UK party.

But the proposals were criticised as “harsh and unnecessary” by the Refugee Council charity and are likely to be opposed by left-wing lawmakers within Prime Minister Keir Starmer‘s embattled Labour government.

“I really reject this idea that dealing with this problem is somehow engaging in far-right talking points,” Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told BBC television.

“This is a moral mission for me, because I can see illegal migration is tearing our country apart, it is dividing communities.”

Presently, those given refugee status have it for five years, after which they can apply for indefinite leave to remain and eventually citizenship.

But Mahmood’s ministry, known as the Home Office, said it would cut the length of refugee status to 30 months.

That protection will be “regularly reviewed” and refugees will be forced to return to their home countries once they are deemed safe, it added.

The ministry also said that it intended to make those refugees who were granted asylum wait 20 years before applying to be allowed to live in the UK long-term, up from the current five years.

It also announced that it would create “new safe and legal routes for genuine refugees” through “capped work and study routes”.

Asylum claims in Britain are at a record high, with some 111,000 applications made in the year to June 2025, according to official figures.

The Home Office called the new proposals, which Mahmood will lay out in parliament on Monday, the “largest overhaul of asylum policy in modern times”.

It said the reforms would make it less attractive for irregular migrants to come to Britain, and make it easier to remove those already in the country.

– Benefits crackdown –

A statutory legal duty to provide support to asylum seekers, introduced in a 2005 law, would also be revoked, the Home Office said.

That means housing and weekly financial allowances would no longer be guaranteed for asylum seekers.
It would be “discretionary”, meaning the government could deny assistance to any asylum seeker who could work or support themselves but did not, or those who committed crimes.

Starmer, elected in July 2024, is under pressure to stop migrants crossing the Channel in small boats from France, something that also troubled his Conservative predecessors.

More than 39,000 people, many fleeing conflict, have arrived this year following such dangerous journeys — more than for the whole of 2024 but lower than the record set in 2022.

Reform, led by firebrand Nigel Farage, has led Labour by double-digit margins in opinion polls for most of this year.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, urged the government to rethink its plans, saying they “will not deter” the crossings.

“They should ensure that refugees who work hard and contribute to Britain can build secure, settled lives and give back to their communities,” he said.

Labour is taking inspiration from Denmark’s coalition government — led by the centre-left Social Democrats — which has implemented some of the strictest migration policies in Europe.

Senior British officials recently visited the Scandinavian country, where successful asylum claims are at a 40-year-low.

Refugees in Denmark are entitled to a one-year renewable residency permit, and are encouraged to return home as soon as authorities deem there is no longer a need for a safe haven.

Family reunions are also subject to strict requirements, including a minimum age for both parents, language tests and guarantees of funds.

Labour’s more left-wing lawmakers will probably oppose the plans, fearing that the party is losing voters to progressive alternatives such as the Greens.

Headline

Overcrowding, Security Lapses Plague Nigerian Prisons —EU

Published

19 hours ago

November 16, 2025

Editor

A report by the European Union Agency for Asylum has revealed that Nigeria’s custodial centres are battling “escalating security challenges.”

The report, sighted by Sunday PUNCH, was published in November 2025. It documented a decade-long pattern of prison escapes in the country, explaining why the custodial centres are confronting rising jailbreaks, citing persistent security lapses.

“Over the past decade, Nigeria has experienced a pattern of prison jailbreaks, resulting in thousands of inmates escaping correctional facilities nationwide,” the report noted.

Highlighting systemic weaknesses, the report cited overcrowding, structural deficiencies, and chronic underfunding as major contributors to the problem.

“One incident occurred in March 2025, when 12 inmates escaped from the Koton Karfe Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kogi State. Only five were recaptured.

“This marked the fourth jailbreak at this facility in 13 years, where nearly 700 inmates have fled, including about 100 freed during a 2012 Boko Haram attack,” it stated.

Observers attribute the recurring breakouts to “security gaps, together with possible insider complicity, which exacerbate the prisons’ vulnerabilities, especially amid attacks by armed groups like Boko Haram.”

Beyond security concerns, the report said overcrowding and poor infrastructure continued to strain the country’s correctional system.

“The country’s more than 240 prisons currently house over 80,000 inmates, with two-thirds awaiting trial.

“The observers also point to systemic issues such as overcrowding, outdated infrastructure, poor inmate conditions, slow judicial processes, and widespread corruption,” the report said.

“International bodies have also criticised the state of Nigeria’s detention system,” it stated.

Following a September 2024 visit, the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture described conditions in detention centres as “abysmal,” citing inadequate food, healthcare, and sanitation.

“Their assessment described conditions in most detention facilities as ‘abysmal.’ Additionally, Nigeria had not yet established a National Preventive Mechanism as required under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, which Nigeria ratified in 2009.

“The Subcommittee called on Nigeria to urgently implement measures to prevent torture and ill-treatment, improve detention conditions—particularly in police stations and similar facilities—and enforce legal safeguards to end impunity for perpetrators of torture,” the report read.

The report also raised concerns over the continued use of the death penalty.

It added, “In Nigeria, the death penalty is a ‘lawful punishment’ imposed nationwide, including for offences that do not meet the threshold of ‘most serious crimes’ under international law.

“Although no executions have been carried out since 2016, courts across the country still regularly issue death sentences. In 2023, Nigerian courts issued over 246 new death sentences, raising the total number of individuals on death row to more than 3,413.”

In May 2024, the Senate proposed a bill to increase the maximum penalty for drug trafficking from life imprisonment to death, a move that has faced opposition from various stakeholders, including legislators, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime country representative, as well as activists and legal professionals.

“Such a proposal has reignited debate over the continued use of the death penalty in the country, with some authorities questioning the sustainability of retaining capital punishment.

“Further, although legal provisions allow for commutation of sentences by governors or chief judges after extended incarceration, inconsistencies in application have left many inmates in legal limbo,” said the report.

The Nigerian Correctional Service revealed in July 2025 that the country had 3,833 inmates on death row.

The report further stated that the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has urged Nigeria to “impose a moratorium on executions, a stance supported by the European Union and United Nations.”

It added that the detention conditions remained “harsh,” falling short of United Nations minimum standards for prisoner treatment.

Media reports and information from the Nigerian Correctional Service website indicated that thousands of inmates have escaped from 13 custodial facilities between 2019 and 2025, including many awaiting trial for serious offences such as terrorism and armed robbery.

In response to the ongoing wave of jailbreaks that has plagued custodial centres nationwide over the past years, the Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Sylvester Nwakuche, recently vowed to enforce strict disciplinary action against any officers found to have been negligent.