CBN to sanction banks for illegal forex transactions

Banks were yesterday hit with allegations of round tripping.

Acting Director, Trade & Exchange, W.D. Gotring, in a circular to authorized dealers titled: Re: Transactions in ‘Free Funds’ by Authorized Dealers’,  accused banks of buying and selling Forex without following stipulated guidelines.

“The CBN has noticed that some Authorized Dealers have continued to buy and sell foreign exchange referred to as ‘free funds’ despite the provision of the circular of March 4, 2004 on the subject,” he said.

He cautioned the lenders that their action is a breach of extant regulations. “Against the background, authorized dealers are to note that dealing in foreign exchange without appropriate documentation, which includes relevant entries, blotters, physical documents and non-disclosure to the Regulatory Authorities is a breach of extant regulations”.

He reiterated that as provided in the laws and regulations governing dealings in foreign exchange, authorized dealers shall not sell foreign exchange without appropriate documentation and disclosure to the regulatory authorities, irrespective of the source of the funds.

“Accordingly, authorized dealers shall deal in eligible transactions only, and not engage in any foreign exchange transactions on terms inconsistent with the extant laws and or regulations,” he said.

The banks, further findings showed, are engaging in round-tripping, taking advantage of the huge forex gaps between the official and the parallel markets.

The naira yesterday closed at N305.50 to dollar in the inter-bank market, but was exchanging at N398 to dollar in the parallel market/ black market, hence creating huge temptations for greedy lenders to exploit. This structural defect is exploited by authorized dealers (banks) to make huge trading profits, but it weakens the naira.

The naira yesterday closed firmer on the inter-bank market after the CBN sold dollars to some commercial lenders towards the end of a session that featured no trades in the first four hours, traders said.

The naira was 0.81 percent firmer than its Friday close. The CBN has been selling dollars almost daily to boost liquidity and support the naira

About 20 to 25 per cent of the volume of forex traded in the country is from autonomous sources, usually diverted into the parallel market through round-tripping.

Also, the CBN directed authorized dealers to sell 60 per cent of all sourced forex to manufacturers.

Gotring said: “Following the review of returns on the disbursement of foreign exchange to end users, it has been observed that negligible proportion of foreign exchange sales are being channeled towards the importation of raw materials for the manufacturing sector”.

“Against this background and in order to address the observed imbalance, authorized dealers are hereby directed to henceforth dedicate 60 per cent of their total foreign exchange purchases from all sources, interbank inclusive, to end users strictly for the purposes of importation of raw materials, plant and machinery. The balance of 40 per cent should be used to meet other trade obligations, visible and invisible transactions,” Gotring said in a statement.

Woman was allegedly detained by NPF for "stealing Day-old-Baby"

The Imo State Police command yesterday in Owerri, the state capi­tal paraded before newsmen one Mrs Ngozi Anyanwu and her son, Goodluck Any­anwu for allegedly stealing a-day-old baby from Chuk­wunonso Maternity in Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of the state.

The state Commissioner of police, Mr Taiwo Lakanu while briefing newsmen said that he received the disturb­ing news of the sudden dis­appearance of a newly born baby and he immediately swung into action.

Mr Lakanu said: “On Au­gust 19, I received a distress call about the stealing of a day old baby in Isiala Mbano LGA, we quickly swung into action, where we recovered the baby unhurt and I am happy to announce to you that we have handed over the innocent child to the par­ents.”

According to him, the male baby who was delivered on Friday, August 19 was sto­len the next day from Chuk­wunonso Maternity in Isiala Mbano local government but added that the baby was rescued 48 hours later from the kidnappers den in Um­uelemai also in Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of the state.

The CP disclosed that the suspects have made useful statements and would be charged to court, accord­ingly.

The prime suspect, Mrs Ngozi Anyanwu who con­fessed stealing the child, however said that she stole the baby so as to punish the matron of the maternity whom she alleged has been wicked to her and has been owing her sums of money.

According to her, “l never intended to sell the baby or do any evil to him but l just wanted the Matron to pay for all the wrongs she did against me, especially for owing me”.

The elated young mother of the recovered baby, Mrs Uchechi Ekwedike was overjoyed and full of praises to God and the police com­missioner for recovery of her baby.

According to her, the inci­dent was the second attempt by the woman to steal her baby.

Gleam of hope for Chibok Girls’ rescue

From the current video released by Boko Haram on Sunday, August 14, 2016, about 40 young girls, suspected to be among the 276 female students abducted from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State 855 days ago, were shown. This is the latest evidence that some of the school girls are alive.
In the last one year, the military has recorded successes against Boko Haram, reclaiming a large territory, and rescuing thousands of persons previously held captive by the insurgents. However, until the latest video, there was neither a ray of hope that the abducted Chibok girls’ will be rescue by the military nor a reliable political arrangement, in form of a genuine negotiation with the insurgents, on their release.

Sadly, the video had a clip which indicated that some of the girls may have been killed or became casualties of the military campaign at areas previously controlled by Boko Haram. Though the sect wanted to use the video as a weapon against the bombardment of their hideouts, it actually shows the depravity of the sect who may have used the young girls as human shield against the military’s offensive. It is wicked, cowardly and inhuman of Boko Haram to have exposed women, children,  the aged and feeble, who are non-combatants in the war, to the firepower of the military. We strongly condemn this war strategy of Boko Haram.
In the video, Boko Haram, for the umpteenth time, called for the swap of their fighters with Chibok girls. This condition being given for the release of our girls is not new, as it even predates 2014 when the girls were abducted.  Most of the sect’s fighters are still being held in prisons and military detention centres because of the slow pace of justice in Nigeria. What this points to is the fact that though the National Assembly passed the Anti-Terrorism Act in 2011, and even amended it in 2013, this law has not been applied as it should be in the trial of suspected terrorists since its enactment.  It is for this reason that the sect can still ask for their fighters’ swap with those they hold captive.
On its part, the military has been releasing suspects in its custody.  For instance, in July, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, set free some 249 youths from its detention centres after they were cleared by the Joint Interrogation team in Maiduguri. This is the right way to go.  We, therefore, call on government to speed up the trial of suspects in various prisons so that judges could sentence those who are found guilty to the terms of punishment prescribed in the statute books, and release those not found guilty. 
We encourage government to explore the opportunities for mediation, dialogue and negotiation which the release of the latest video has offered. A peaceful negotiation that will lead to freedom for, not only Chibok girls, but also thousands of persons still being held captive by the sect, will be highly desirable. History has taught the world that most wars and violent conflicts are resolved through the jaw-jaw approach, as wars always lead to more wars. 
However, we caution government against fraudulent deals with Boko Haram. Some of such deceptive negotiations had led to frustration on the part of government and disappointment on the side of parents of the abducted Chibok girls. A major element in any form of negotiation should be a clear signal that it will lead to the eventual release of the girls. While we call on government to do everything possible to bring about a quick end to the insurgency, we ask that the overall interest of the nation should not be compromised. Any deal with Boko Haram which will endanger the people and create room for further killings, destruction of property, kidnapping and general insecurity will be counter-productive.  

Placing it right with airport privatisation

THE Federal Government laid forecast to concession the operations of its four international airports has continued to attract mixed reactions from stakeholders. While the government says it is forging ahead with the decades-long privatisation proposal, aviation sector workers and a sceptical public are worried that it could go all wrong and worsen a decidedly bad situation. The challenge, therefore, is to organise a creative, intelligent privatisation that will deliver value and raise the standard of the aviation business in Nigeria.

It will not be an easy task and if precedence is a guide, it could, if wrongly handled, leave the country’s airports in a worse shape than they are today. To their credit, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and the Minister of State, Aviation, Sirika Hadi, have, since taking office, committed themselves to seeking private capital for the state-owned airports.  This is the only intelligent option to instilling sanity, given government’s dwindling revenues, the incompetence and inefficiency of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, the endemic corruption that has seen prodigious sums of money appropriated for airports vanish, the dilapidated state of the airports and the political interference in operational details.

Hadi said recently that efforts were on to retain a transaction adviser to facilitate the grant of concessions for Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos; Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja; Port Harcourt International Airport and Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano. He explained that the government could no longer shoulder the financial burden of upgrading infrastructure and the four would be the first batch in the plan to open all FAAN’s 22 airports to private sector investment.  

However, opposition has come from some stakeholders, the first being the usual suspects – public sector workers in FAAN and other state agencies – who instinctively resist privatisation to protect their jobs. As usual, they clothe their opposition in patriotic robes, arguing, though with some merit, that past concession arrangements by the Nigerian government had been mired in opacity and fraud and delivered little value to the public.

We stand resolutely for the privatisation programme through concessions. There is no record of any Nigerian federal public commercial enterprise that is efficiently run today. On the contrary, their inefficiency is compounded by allegations of horrendous corruption. When the government obtained a $500 million Chinese loan to “re-model” airports for instance, multi-billion naira contracts followed and the then Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, boasted repeatedly of her feat, only for stakeholders and her successors to wail thereafter over the broken airport facilities, the same infrastructure she claimed to have transformed. Samuel Ortom, who briefly oversaw the ministry, complained that he had to contend with N174 billion debts despite the dilapidation of the airports. Port Harcourt, one of the airports supposedly “remodelled,” was voted the world’s worst in 2015 in a survey by Guide to Sleeping in Airports, a travel website.

According to the International Air Travel Association, airports are business complexes that include hangars, fuel depots, petrol stations, shopping malls, office complexes, hotels, restaurants, banks and warehouses, while some also link major road and railway hubs. Airports are an integral part of the aviation industry that provides 58 million jobs down the value chain worldwide, contributes $2.4 trillion to global Gross Domestic Product, while the value of international trade shipped by air reached $6.8 trillion in 2015.

Nigeria has great potential to harvest from upgrading its aviation sector, which suffers from under-investment, lack of expertise and poor governance. A master plan rolled out by the government envisages a massive investment in terminals, runways, aprons, hospitality and navigational aids. There is no hangar of world class standard in the country yet that can handle anything beyond the simplest maintenance needs of civilian aircraft. Rafael Echevarne, a director of Airports Council International, says that “airports are asset-intensive businesses that require large minimum investments.” An ACI report adds that airport assets “are geographically fixed, need long-term viability to pay back investment and have no real alternative use.”

There can be no stronger arguments for the urgent privatisation of the four of which only two – MMIA and NAIA – are currently turning in modest revenues amid glaring inefficiency. Others are serial loss-makers. To maximise value in passenger growth, job creation and efficient services, the government should proceed quickly and wisely with the concessions. Our airports are a national disgrace.

Nigerian workers are short-sighted: it is actually in their own long-term interests as professionals for government to let go and allow private investment. The money required to upgrade infrastructure to global standards is no longer there; our government lacks the discipline, policy consistency culture and incorruptibility to provide first rate infrastructure and operate a complex international business concern like the running of airports. Instead of opposing the plan, the air transport unions should negotiate generous payoffs for their members, upgrade their technical skills and pursue the option suggested by Olayinka Abioye, Assistant General Secretary of NUATE, that workers could consider buying airport assets. This is the way to think in the 21st century.

However, we share labour’s and other stakeholders’ concerns that the privatisation should not go the way of previous concessions and asset sales such as the power sector sell-offs that were marred by cronyism. We agree with the unions that the government concession agreements are deliberately written to favour the concessionaires at the expense of the country’s interests.

We call, therefore, for a critical look at the concession law by the ministers, the National Assembly and the Economic Management Team before committing the airports into private hands. When Britain privatised its airports, it later compelled the buyer to sell some of the airports, including London Gatwick, to others to avoid a monopoly. Saudi Arabia has commenced a plan to sell all its 27 state-owned airports by 2020 and six are expected to be privatised by year end, but under a regulatory and liberalised framework that favours both operators and Saudi citizens.

The government should buy into the IATA standard for privatisation that emphasises service delivery, cost-effectiveness and “a framework that benefits both the industry and the customers.”   

DSS Nabs Alleged Mastermind of Yobe Secondary School Killings

The spiritual leader of Boko Haram and alleged mastermind of the 2013 terror attack on Government Secondary School, Mamudo in Yobe State has been captured, the Department of State Service (DSS) announced monday.

A statement signed by its spokesman, Tony Opuiyo, said Mudaisiru Jibrin, the spiritual leader of the Islamist sect, was arrested in Kano on August 17, three years after he allegedly coordinated the killing of 42 people, mostly students and teachers, of the secondary school.

The operation was in furtherance of ongoing tactical and counter-terrorism operations to degrade the capabilities of criminal gangs and syndicates in their hideouts across the federation, the DSS said.

The DSS said Jibrin was arrested in the Yankaba neighbourhood in Kano, where he was operating as a spiritual leader for a new Boko Haram sleeper cell.

“Similarly, on 8th July, 2016, at Kinkinau area in Unguwar Mu’azu of Kaduna metropolis, the Service arrested one Mukhtar Tijani, a notorious Boko Haram fighter and three of his accomplices namely, Isiaku Salihu, Abdullahi Isah and Hindu Isah,” the DSS said.

The four suspects were apprehended while perfecting arrangements for major coordinated attacks on selected targets and locations in Kaduna State, the security agency added.

It also disclosed that on 12th August 2016, at Auchi in Edo State, three members of the Ansaru terrorist group hibernating in Kogi State were apprehende.

“Usman Abdullahi, Abdulmumuni Sadio and Ahmad Salihu were arrested while making arrangements to launch attacks on some selected targets in Edo and Kogi States, before escaping to join ISIS in Libya,” it said.

The DSS also announced the apprehension of one Aikhoje Moses, a suspected criminal who allegedly threatened violence against some foreign diplomats and missions in the country.

DSS said: “Following threat messages against some members of the diplomatic corps in Abuja and Lagos, the DSS responded and subsequently apprehended one Aikhoje Moses on August 19, 2016, at Azagha by-pass off the Benin–Asaba expressway in Edo State.”

It revealed that before his arrest, Moses had threatened the diplomatic community in Nigeria, particularly the consular-generals of Switzerland and Denmark and their embassies in Nigeria, warning them to leave the country.

In addition, DSS said it apprehended cattle rustlers in Zamfara State, stating: “Following recurring attacks by cattle rustlers in Zamfara State, the Service conducted a series of operations in collaboration with the military to degrade the criminal network of one ‘Buhari General’ in the state.

“Sequel to these operations, the DSS arrested one Abdullahi Haruna, aka Douglas, a bread seller, on August 13, 2016, at Hayin Buba area in Gusau Local Council Area of Zamfara State.

“Haruna was intercepted while using the cover of his petty business to monitor security bases and the movement of security agents in the state in a bid to facilitate counter-attacks on security personnel deployed to the state.

“Also, on August 12, 2016, at Aliero town in Aliero Local Government Area of Kebbi State, one Hussaini Alhaji Sule, aka Yellow, was apprehended by the DSS.

“His arrest was facilitated by an earlier operation of July 29, 2016, when one Hafizu Sani, a spy and criminal associate of ‘Buhari General’, was apprehended by the DSS.

“Prior to his arrest, Sani was also spying on the movements of security agents in Zamfara State. Sani, in concert with other elements, had been terrorising local communities in Kaduna, Katsina and Zamfara States respectively, engaging in cattle rustling and kidnap activities.”

Also, following the spate of gruesome murders and kidnappings in Benue State, DSS said that on August 8, 2016, it arrested one Terfa Jirgba and two of his accomplices, namely Terzungee Kwaghaondo and Mathias Aende, at Badagry Street, off Esther Aka road in Makurdi, Benue State.

“Jirgba is an active ally and gang member of Terwase Agwaza, aka Ghana, a notorious kidnapper who runs a kidnapping and criminal network in the state.

“In a follow-up operation, one Terungwa Abur was trailed to Port Harcourt in Rivers State. He was eventually arrested on August 16, 2016. Abur is the second-in-command to Agwaza and a key member of the kidnapping gang of Agwaza which operates from Benue State.

“He acts as a courier for the gang and was the negotiator of the N4 million ransom paid to the gang for the release of an Indian staff of Dangote Cement Company, Yander-Gboko, who were kidnapped on July 29, 2016, in Markudi.

“He also participated in the killing of one Ortin in Gboko Township on August 1, 2016.”

DSS stressed that the arrests of criminal masterminds in Benue and other adjourning states will continue until these criminal gangs are routed and made to face justice.

The security agency also stated that the DSS, in its move to address the activities of various criminal syndicates that have in recent months terrorised residents of Calabar and some parts of Akwa Ibom State, had on August 15, 2016, in Oron council area, apprehended one Benjamin Emomotemi and his accomplices, namely, Gabriel Ambrose, Godbless Taliboth Mattias, Blessing Sunday, Simeon Blessing Sunday, Edet Effiong Asanagasi and Rose Williams.

It said the suspects were part of a kidnap ring which masterminded the abduction of one Mr. Rufus AKV on May 31, 2016, and Senator Patrick Ani on July 6, 2016, in Cross River State.

DSS urged the public to remain vigilant to developments in their immediate environment, and support the security and law enforcement agencies with critical information on suspicious persons and groups for the sustenance of relative peace across the country.

But as the DSS rolled out its list of accomplishments in recent months, it did not stop Boko Haram from killing yet another 10 persons and abduction 13 others from a village near Chibok in Borno State, locals told APF yesterday.

Armed jihadists on motorcycles invaded Kubrrivu at dawn last Saturday, firing on the residents as they were sleeping and looted and burnt homes before fleeing into the bush with 13 women and children seized from the village.

“The Boko Haram attackers rode on four motorcycles, three on each, and opened fire on the village as residents slept,” said Luka Damina, a resident of nearby Kautikeri village where Kubrrivu residents fled to for safety following the attack.

“They burnt down the whole village after looting food supplies and livestock and taking away women and children,” Damina said.

Ayuba Alamson, a community elder in Chibok, some 20 kilometres away, confirmed the attack, saying 13 people were abducted in the raid.

“After killing 10 people and burning the entire village, the gunmen made away with 13 people, including seven women, five boys and a girl,” Alamson said.

In 2014, Kubrrivu was burnt down in a deadly Boko Haram raid which forced residents to flee.

A year later, they returned and rebuilt their homes after Nigerian troops recaptured swathes of territory from the Islamists in a series of military successes against them.

Boko Haram, which seeks to impose strict Islamic law in northern Nigeria, has been blamed for some 20,000 deaths and displacing more than 2.6 million people since 2009.

The audacious mass kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in April 2014 provoked global outrage and brought unprecedented attention to Boko Haram’s brutal tactics.

A total of 218 girls are still missing.