TheNewsGuru

Tag: Sanctions

  • AGF/EFCC faceoff: Do as Justice Ministry orders or face sanctions, Presidency warns Magu

    AGF/EFCC faceoff: Do as Justice Ministry orders or face sanctions, Presidency warns Magu

    Sequel to a letter written by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) on Tuesday directing the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to forward the list of high profile corruption cases to him (Malami) and henceforth wait for directives, the presidency on Friday issued strong warning to the EFCC leadership or face sanctioned.

    The letter, which sparked off speculations of a rift between the ministry and the EFCC, directed the commission to submit details of its investigations into ‘serious cases’ to the Justice Ministry.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that such cases include matters with international dimensions, cases involving alleged misappropriation of N50 million and above; cases of fraud involving numerous suspects, among others.

    According to the letter written on August 1, the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, accused the EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu, of violating section 10 of the commission’s performance regulation guidelines, 2010.

    “I am directed by the Honourable Attorney- General and Minister of Justice to refer to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Enforcement) Regulations 2010 (the Regulation) published in the Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette No.61 Vol. of 21st September 2010, particularly the obligations of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC/the Commission),” Abiodun Aikomo from the AGF’s office said in the letter to the EFCC sourced by The Cable newspapers.

    “I am directed to refer specifically to Section 10 (1) which mandates the Commission to forward to the Attorney- General, in respect of a case of complaint which is serious or complex within the context of the Regulation, the outcome of its investigation(s) with its recommendations on whether there are sufficient grounds to initiate prosecution.

    “The Honourable Attorney-General observes that the Commission has been in breach of the above-cited provision of the Regulation for some time, hence this reminder to the Commission to ensure compliance going forward,” the letter added.

    Shortly after reports regarding the letter were published by the media, the EFCC and the justice ministry denied any rift regarding the matter.

    “For the avoidance of any doubt, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, wishes to categorically state that it is compliant with all provisions of law and has no intention to stoke a misunderstanding over requests from the office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice,” the commission said.

    The commission also said the EFCC was not negating any known laws in the discharge of its duties.

    However, the Punch Newspapers reported that the Special Assistant to the President on Prosecutions, Okoi Obono-Obla, on Friday waded into the matter, warning the commission to reply the latter or face sanctions.

    “The EFCC cannot be more patriotic than the office of the AGF. Why is it that the EFCC is not cooperating when we are working for the same government? If the EFCC refuses to act on the letter, there will be consequences on acts of indiscipline and insubordination”.

    Obono-Obla however said there was no ‘personality clash’ between the two organisations.

    “There is no personality clash between the two heads. It is wrong to say that there is a clash. The EFCC is an institution and the office of the AGF is another institution. What we need is compliance. We should not personalise our institutions.”

  • Putin extends Russian-counter sanctions on EU till 2018

    President Vladimir Putin has extended Russian counter-sanctions on the European Union until the end of 2018, according to a presidential decree published on Friday.

    On Wednesday the EU formally extended its economic sanctions on Russia, imposed in July 2014 in response to Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region and Moscow’s support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.

    NAN reports that the EU formally extended its economic sanctions on Russia, imposed in July 2014 following Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region and Moscow’s support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.

    Moscow denies direct involvement in the conflict despite NATO’s assertions its troops are supporting the rebels.

    Russia banned wholesale imports of fresh food products from many Western countries in 2014 in retaliation for the EU sanctions.

    Moscow says the counter-sanctions are helping spur the development of Russian agriculture.

     

  • Remove abandoned ships, wrecks or face sanctions, NIMASA warns erring owners

    Remove abandoned ships, wrecks or face sanctions, NIMASA warns erring owners

    In a bid to ensure safe and secure shipping on the Nigerian territorial waters, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has warned all owners of abandoned Ships/Vessels to urgently remove same from the Nigerian territorial waters on or before 28th of April 2017 or risk sanctions ranging from forfeiture or removal by the Agency at the owners expense.

    The Director General of the Agency, Dr. Dakuku Peterside who stated this recently in Lagos noted that it is instructive to ensure that our waters remain safe for navigation in order to advance our maritime interests.

    He therefore warned that all abandoned ships would be declared as wrecks and the Agency would ensure that nothing impedes safe navigation in our waters by removing them.

    In his words “in line with our mandate on the protection of the marine environment and safety of navigation within Nigerian waters and our powers as the receiver of wrecks; owners of all abandoned ships, vessels and derelicts are sternly warned to seek removal plan permits from the Agency and ensure the removal of these wrecks and derelicts from our waters on or before April 28th, 2017 failure of which would attract appropriate sanction”.

    The NIMASA Helmsman also reeled out the sanctions to include removal of such wrecks at the owners’ expense as well as forfeiture of the vessels stating that the Agency is empowered to do so in line with the powers vested in it by the Merchant Shipping Act 2007 and other enabling Acts and International Maritime Organisation (IMO) instruments.

    It should be noted that Nigeria is party to the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks (Nairobi Convention 2007). The Convention is a treaty of the IMO with the purpose of prompt and effective removal of Shipwrecks located in the Parties’ territorial waters including its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) that may be hazardous to navigation or environment. The convention gives States’ Authority to remove wrecks and in Nigeria’s case NIMASA is the receiver of wrecks.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that all abandoned Vessels littering the waterways and the shoreline of the country are affected by this directive.

  • EU to extend sanctions against Russia by six months

    EU to extend sanctions against Russia by six months

    The leaders of the European Union (EU) on Thursday decided to extend economic sanctions against Russia until July 2017, two EU diplomats have said.

    The sanctions, which ban Russian imports into the EU and Russian banks’ access to European markets, were expected to expire on Jan. 31.

    The sanctions were adopted in response to Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula and its support for separatists in the east of the country.

    On Tuesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande called on their EU partners to retain sanctions against Russia if Moscow failed to fully implement the Minsk accord for peace in the region.

    The sanctions were first instituted on July 2014 after the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 with 298 people on board over eastern Ukraine.

    Western countries and Ukraine accused pro-Russian separatists of using a Russian rocket to shoot down the plane, an accusation Russia denies.