Court orders forfeiture of Malabu Oil to Federal government (Read full details)

crude oil

Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, yesterday ordered an interim forfeiture of Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL 245) otherwise known as Malabu oil, to the Federal Government.

The order will last pending the conclusion of investigation and prosecution of Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited, Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited, Malabu Oil & Gas Limited and other individuals named in connection with the act of conspiracy, bribery, official corruption and money laundering.

Justice Tsoho also ordered the Department of Petroleum Resources to manage the oil processing licence of OPL 245 on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had approached the court yesterday following controversies and allegations of fraud associated with the licencing of the oil Bloc.

In a 21-paragraph affidavit sworn to by one Ibrahim Ahmed, accompanied with an ex parte originating summons, the EFCC stated that the properties attached were proceeds of crime that should be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The anti graft agency added that it had taken the steps in public interest in view of the crimes and fraud against the economic interest of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

It stated that sometime in April 1998, Malabu Oil & Gas Limited was incorporated in Nigeria with shareholders namely: Mohammed Sani, fronting for the late General Sani Abacha, Kwekwu Amafegha representing the then Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dan Etete and Hassan Hindu on behalf of Ambassador Hassan Adamu.

It also stated that in the same month, Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources offered the company deep water oil bloc processing licence in respect of OPL 245.

That in June 1998, General Abacha died and between 1999 and 2000, the cooperate status and share holding structures were uttered several times through forged board resolutions which eventually divested Mohammed Sani of their shares while new shareholders and directors were appointed fraudulently.

Though the EFCC had earlier filed charges against some of the suspects, including the immediate past Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, the order obtained by the EFCC yesterday appeared to clear the stage for the prosecution of more suspects.

Court orders forfeiture of Malabu Oil to Federal government

Buhari’s death rumour and the rise of fake news (Read full details)

President Muhammadu Buhari

For the second time in a week, the Presidency has been forced to deny the rumoured death of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who is currently in London on a short break. In the first instance, he was said to have died from an “unknown disease” and later, he was said to have been advised to resign by his doctors after he attempted to commit suicide.

On the first look at the news website that ‘broke’ the news, the word fake comes to mind. On the one hand, the metro-uk.com that published the news that Buhari died was only registered on October 15, 2016 and will expire a year after. On the on the hand, the clone Huffington Post website that claimed that Buhari attempted to kill himself was created on November 19, 2016 and like the former website, was registered for just one year.

Each of these websites was registered via proxy and hosted on Go Daddy. Conversely, the actual Metro UK website was created on August 1, 1996 and Huffington Post on March 10, 2005, with the names of the owners attached to them.

Invariably, both metro-uk.com and huffingtonpost-fm.com were set up less than a month from each other, ostensibly in a bid to publish unsubstantiated and fake reports. Was the main objective to set Nigeria alight?

The use of fake news to fight political foes is not new. But it got to a head during the last American presidential election. Teenage Macedonians set up basic websites and filled them with outright misleading or totally false reports to sway readers’ perception of the two leading candidates. According to an Associated Press report, most of the websites, as it is in the case of the sites publishing Buhari death rumours, were set up within 12 months before the November 8, 2016 American presidential election.

“These sites tend to follow one of two patterns: some masquerade as well-known outlets like The New York Times or Fox News, while others operate under made-in-America-sounding names like USA Daily News 24,” AP said. The first pattern was deemed the right choice by both metro-uk.com and huffington-fm.com, aping well known metro.uk.com and huffingtonpost.com.

While the young Macedonians claimed they set up fake news websites primarily to make money through Google AdSense, can those behind the publication of Buhari’s death rumours claim to have the same motive? Possibly! With more than 90 million internet users monthly, it is possible for creators of fake news websites to rake in thousands of dollars through AdSense if millions of Nigerians throng their sites to read, of course, fake news.

But Nigeria is not exactly a place where the hunger for money and lust for power can easily exist in mutual independence. Are we seeing the beginning of a trend that could become more prominent as we move closer to 2019 when another general election would be held?

While researchers Hunt Allcott of New York University and Matthew Gentzkow of Stanford, in a working paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research, concluded that the consumption of fake news by Americans had little impact on Donald Trump’s triumph over Hillary Clinton, they both noted that about eight per cent of the people interviewed for their research said they believed the fake news read.

Here’s the troubling part for Nigeria: with religious biases, ethnic bigotry and political intolerance mounting by the day, are we, as a people, ready to question the veracity of what we read or hear? Are we patient enough to seek the truth without falling victims to the creeping intensity of deep-seated distrust for people of other religion or ethnicity?

I suspect that, in a country where religious and ethnic crises had been ignited over the flimsiest of excuses, fake news can wreak more disasters than imagined! And where such thrives, there will never be a winner!

Bakare is the online editor with The Guardian.

Buhari’s death rumour and the rise of fake news

ASUU rejects N500m contribution by Osun, Oyo over LAUTECH crisis (Read full details)

LAUTECH

Hope of resumption for aggrieved students of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) has dimmed as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of the institution rejected the N500 million intervention fund provided by the owner state governments of Oyo and Osun.

ASUU described the fund as a ploy to lure its members back to the classroom without addressing the real problems confronting the institution.

The academic and non-academic staff unions of the institution had embarked on indefinite strike action for over eight months over non-payment of salaries.

Oyo and Osun state governments last week contributed N250 million each for the institution to pay two months salary arrears as a short-term solution while the concerned parties pursue the other medium and long-term solutions discussed at their stakeholders meetings.

But ASUU rising from its congress vowed to continue the industrial action, stressing that the fundamental problems of funding and sustainability have not been addressed.

Part of the resolution signed by its Chairman, Dr Biodun Olaniran, and Secretary, Dr Toyin Abegunrin, reads: “The offer of two months is, at best, an ad-hoc arrangement to lure us back to work without addressing the fundamental problem of funding and sustainability. It is our considered opinion that this token offered at this point does not justify the length of time that the crisis has been allowed to linger by the government.”

ASUU rejects N500m contribution by Osun, Oyo over LAUTECH crisis

Senators scrutinise 2017 budget, list flaws, commit bill to committees (Read full details)

The 2017 N7.29 trillion budget proposal was subjected to critical scrutiny at the Senate yesterday with senators picking holes in several sectorial allocations. Some lawmakers maintained that Federal Government’s plan to diversify the economy did not get the desired attention in the budget.

Many senators also observed that it might be impossible for government to get the projected borrowing to fund the budget, stating that similar 2016 projections were not realised.

Senate President Bukola Saraki, who presided over the debate, disclosed that the budget scrutiny would be concluded today and it would be committed to the Appropriation Committee.

The Guardian learnt that the Senate would suspend plenary sitting for two weeks to allow its standing committees carry out budget defence sessions with Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs).

Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Lanre Tejuoso (APC, Ogun Central), lamented that 11 million Nigerian children have not been fully developed due to inadequate funds to the health sector.

Aliyu Wammako said the budget failed to adequately address the issue of diversification of the economy. “We have agriculture and solid mineral sectors. They have not been addressed well.”

Dino Melaye described Buhari’s government as visionless. “The government of Shehu Shagari built estates in all the states. Sani Abacha developed the Vision 2010. Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan all had their agenda. What is the agenda of this current government? We need to define one.”

John Enoh from Cross River State urged the president to sustain the ongoing peace efforts in the Niger Delta region if enough funds must be generated from oil to fund the budget.

Deputy Minority Whip, Biodun Olujimi, said the budget failed to address how the country will be taken out of its current economic recession.

Solomon Adeola from Lagos State queried the non-disclosure of excess money realised from the sale of crude oil. He said since the 2016 budget was predicated on an oil benchmark of $38, the government needs to tell Nigerians how much it had realised from the excess money made.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Gas, Albert Bassey Akpan, decried the borrowing plan of the Federal Government and disclosed that the deficit in the budget is the same as the amount budgeted for capital projects.

Gbenga Ashafa (APC, Lagos State) urged his colleagues to examine the performance of the 2016 budget before they give nod to the passage of the 2017 budget.

Senators scrutinise 2017 budget, list flaws, commit bill to committees