EiE Sues Lagos State Ministry of Justice over Information Denial

By Media Rights Agenda

A non-governmental organization, Enough is Enough Nigeria (EiE), lodged a suit against the Lagos State Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General of the Federation before the Federal High Court in Lagos over the Ministry’s refusal to provide information to the organisation.

EiE, supported by Media Rights Agenda (MRA) with the provision of legal assistance through a member of the FOI Network of Lawyers – Mr. Olumide Babalola, filed the suit at the Federal High Court in Lagos following a Freedom of Information request to Lagos State Ministry of Justice dated January 20, 2016.

The said information is in relation to the sex offenders register established by the Lagos State government in December 2014.

EiE sought the Federal High Court in Lagos for the Leave of the Honourable Court permitting the Applicant to apply for Judicial Review under the Freedom of Information Act 2011 against the Respondent.

The Applicant by a motion exparte dated February 26, 2016 sought an order of the Honourable Court granting applicant leave to apply for Judicial Review under the FOI Act 2011 and seek the following reliefs:

·         A declaration that the failure and/or refusal to disclose or make available to the Applicant the information requested by the Applicant in the Applicant’s letter to the 1st Respondent dated January 20, 2016 amounts to a violation to the Applicant’s right of access to information established and guaranteed by Section 1(1) & 4 of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011.

·         A declaration that the failure and/or refusal to disclose or make the information available to the Applicant amounts to wrongful denial of access to information under section 7(5) of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011.

·         AN ORDER OF MANDAMUS compelling the 1st Respondent to disclose or make the following available to the Applicant;

1.       The process for listing offenders on the Sex Offenders’ register;

2.       Details of person or persons responsible for updating the Sec Offenders’ Register;

3.       Category of persons who have access to the Sex Offenders’ register.

·         And for such consequential order (s) as the Court may deem fit to make in the circumstance

On March 4, 2016, Justice Shagari the presiding Judge granted EiE leave to apply for an order compelling the Respondent to disclose the information requested. The Substantive Application has been filed and is now pending before the Court.

The Lagos State Government established a Sex Offenders Monitoring Programme (crime data register) and the Mandated Reporting policy in December 2014 to reduce repeat cases of providing names and personal details of convicted sexual offenders in the State to a central database.

Justice for All (J4A), an initiative managed by British Council supported this process through a Sexual Assault Referral Centre that provides monthly statistics to the Government through the Ministry of Justice.

Judge to EFCC: This is not Motor Park; drop your powers at the gate

·        Protests conceit of EFCC officials

By Fredrick Nwabufo

Peter Affen, justice of an Abuja high court, on Wednesday flayed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as “carrying too much physical power everywhere”, for the tactics it employed in trying to stall a case involving the agency and Wolfgang Wolfgang, an Austrian security contractor who sued the anti-graft agency for detaining him without trial.

According to PRNigeria, Wolfgang had been in the custody of the EFCC since December 2015 in connection with the trial of Sambo Dasuki, former national security adviser (NSA).

Afam Osigwe, Wolfgang’s lawyer, had approached the federal capital territory high court for the enforcement of his client’s fundamental rights, but at the hearing of the matter, the EFCC through its counsel, Ibrahim Audu, told the court that it never detained the plaintiff.

The EFCC urged the court to dismiss it for gross incompetence and for lack of jurisdiction. It argued that there was no evidence to show that it arrested Wolfgang.

The proceedings took a twist when the EFCC lawyer filed a preliminary objection to Wolfgang’s application.

Justice Affen, who reserved ruling on the objection, stated that the plaintiff had the right to sue the EFCC.

Irked by the use of words of the EFCC counsel, the judge berated the anti-graft agency for attempting to intimidate the court, advising it to drop its toga of arrogance.

“You are in court, and I am the dominis litis here. This is not EFCC office. You must comport yourself. The problem is that you people (EFCC) have too much physical power and you carry it to everywhere you go,” he said.

“This is not a motor park and you must not be throwing your hands anyhow and be shouting. When you come before me, you will never remain the same. You owe the court a duty of deference. Leave your policeman or EFCC powers at the door. Didn’t they teach you that in law school?”

Wolfgang is asking the court to declare that his arrest and detention by EFCC since the December 28, 2015 is unlawful, unconstitutional, illegal and a violation of his fundamental rights guaranteed by section 35(1) & (4) of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.

He is also asking the court to award a cost of N2bn against the EFCC for aggravated damages.

Culled from thecableng

Senate passes 'controversial' 2016 budget

By Fredrick Nwabufo

The senate has passed the 2016 budget into law after weeks of delay.

Presenting a report on the budget, on Wednesday, Danjuma Goje, chairman senate committee on appropriation, said that the budget was “full of controversy”, but that the senate would not want to delay its passage by adding more controversies to it.

He said that there were lapses in the budget, but that the committee had to work around them. He said that the delay in the passage of the budget had already been given a political hue, hence Nigerians would blame the legislature for any further delay.

In December, the budget proposal presented to a joint session of the national assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari was N6.08trn. A total of N351bn was for statutory transfers, N2.8trn for recurrent expenditure and N1. 8trn for capital expenditure.

The senate, based on the recommendation of the committee, adopted $38 per barrel crude oil benchmark for the budget, as proposed by the federal government. It also adopted a foreign exchange rate of N197 per dollar as proposed by the government.

The senate, however, reduced the total budget sum from N6.07trn to N6.06trn: N351bn for statutory transfers, N1.4trn for debt service, N2.6trn for recurrent expenditure, and N1.5trn as capital expenditure.

Also, the upper legislative chamber observed that the budget was not presented in time to the national assembly, which effected its passage.

It urged the federal government to submit the budget subsequently in strict compliance with the Fiscal Policy Act, and advised that there should be proper consultation between the budget office and the ministries, departments and agencies.

The senate also asked the government to diversify its revenue base, and to shore up capital expenditure and reduce recurrent expenditure.

Source: thecableng

FG to inject N350bn into economy soon, says Adeosun

The Federal government will inject N350 billion to stimulate the economy in the next few months as soon as the 2016 appropriation bill is signed into law.

Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun made the disclosure on Tuesday in Abuja at a media briefing at the end of the two-day National Economic Council retreat.

Mrs. Adeosun, Finance Minister

``In anticipation of the approval of the budget, we have lined up N350 billion which we would be pumping into the Nigerian economy in the forth-coming months,’’ she said.

She said that the ministry was already discussing with some of the contractors who would be paid the money.

``We are specifically looking at contractors who have laid-off staff and how many Nigerians are they going to put back to work as a result of this money that we are planning to release.

``We believe that this will stimulate significant economic activities,’’ she added.

The minister said that the retreat discussed funding of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and the need to get legislative approval to reduce counterpart funding paid by state governments.

She explained that counterpart funding was exacebating the indebtedness of state governments.

She said that the federal government planned to reduce that requirement temporarily from 50 per cent to 10 per cent.

Accordingly Adeosun the gesture will enable the states access an estimated N58 billion that they could not access before due to the burden counterpart funding

The minister said that participants at the retreat were hopeful that the money would allow state governments rehabilitate 1,000 classrooms in the 36 states thereby creating jobs and boosting economic activities.

Adeosun said that the retreat deliberated extensively on drop in revenue particularly as it affected state governments and their ability to pay salaries.

She said that the retreat also looked at the possibility of state governments setting up efficiency unit to rationalise expenditure and increase internally generated revenue.

The minister said that Federal and state Inland Revenue Services would collaborate to carry out joint audit and boost revenue collection.

``There is a need to develop incentives for both federal and state revenue generating agencies to ensure that there is an alignment of interest.’’

She said that state governors were encouraged to rationalize the numbers of their commissioners and political appointees to reduce cost of governance. (NAN)

Customs service bans importation of rice through land borders

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) generated N1.69 billion in the last two months.
The Public Relations Officer of the service, Mr Wale Adeniyi, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to him, this is much lower than the revenue projected.
``We have observed low level of compliance with implementation of importation of rice through the land borders.
“A number of reasons have been adduced for this but the Comptroller General has also received reports about some kind of allegation of compromise between officers and rice smugglers.
``When the restriction on importation of rice through land borders was lifted, there was a high level of implementation.’’
``In the last two months, 24. 9 metric tonnes of rice was imported through the land borders since the reversal of the restriction of importation through the land borders.
``Since the reversal of the restriction started, N1.69 billion revenue has been generated. However, this is much lower than the revenue projected.
``And we got intelligence reports from neighbouring ports that huge consignment of rice was coming into the country.
“Conversely, we are not getting the revenue. Rather the revenue has been dwindling in the last two months’’, Adeniyi said.
He said that there has been an increase in the level of seizures.
``So given all of these, the Comptroller General finds it necessary to review the restriction order and has therefore decided to re-impose the restriction with effect from Tuesday, March 22, 2016’’, he said.
Adeniyi said that rice would therefore no longer be allowed through the land borders.
However, he said ``those who have started the process; who have paid for rice across the land borders will have up till Friday, March 25, to clear their rice through the land borders.”
He emphasised that after March 25, there would be a zero tolerance ``not even a bag of rice will be allowed to come into the country through the land borders.” (NAN)

Can Buhari bring stability to Nigeria’s economy?

                                                                                                                               INSIGHT

Nigeria’s newly appointed president, Muhammadu Buhari has endured a tough first six months in office as both macro and micro economic changes have meant that Africa’s largest economy is stuck between a rock and a hard place.

President Buhari

“Baba Go Slow” has had to face up to the harsh realities that the global oil market (of which Nigeria derives the majority of its revenues) has seen a 70 percent reduction of the last 6 months. This has meant that any hope of sustained economic growth has been decimated by such a macro-shock. Buhari has therefore been placed on the back foot from the get-go, and any attempts to bolster the economy have proven futile.

Buhari announced a record 6 trillion Naira ($30-billion, 27 billion-euro) budget promising to triple investment to stimulate growth, but unfortunately this budget proposal was riddle with errors. The errors include the same purchases for computers, vehicles and furniture that are duplicated 24 times, totaling 46.5 billion Naira.

International investors have been somewhat spooked by these blunders which has meant that the Naira has depreciated heavily over the last 3 months resulting in a large disparity between the government exchange rate and the rate on the black market. If Buhari fails to pay heed to this disparity and devalue the Naira, Nigeria could start to see a further increase in inflation which is already reaching unprecedented levels.

“A plate of rice that was sold for 200 naira in December is now 350 naira. Customers are complaining because they don’t get the same ration like before,” street food proprietor Mary Idowu told AFP.

A 50 kilogram (110 pound) bag of rice that used to cost 9,000 naira now costs 13,000, while a bag of beans has gone up from 12,000 naira to 15,000, she said.

“Whenever I try to explain why prices are high, they flare up,” Idowu said about her customers.

Ultimately it will be policy paralysis that exacerbates the current economic quagmire in Nigeria, and so it is up to Buhari and the Nigeria Central Bank to make the right decisions and act on them as soon as possible.

Culled from Naija Viral

DESOPADEC budget not yet in the House, says Committee Chairman

The Chairman of the Delta State   House of Assembly Committee on Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC), Hon. Dennis Omovie has said the State House of Assembly is not aware of the existence of DESOPADEC budget for 2016,

He also described as laughable reports that the speaker has already signed the purported 2016 DESOPADEC budget into law.

Hon. Omovie

“The speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Monday Igbuya does not have as part of his duties the signing of budget to law. It is strictly the responsibility of the governor to sign budget into law. It is also a statement of fact that the speaker is not privy to the formulation of budgetary allocation to various agencies of government until the state governor forwards same to the House. It is most laughable for anybody or institution to ascribe to the speaker the responsibility of signing DESOPADEC budget into law”.

Hon Omovie, the member representing Warri South Constituency 11 in the Delta State House of Assembly,  therefore advised journalists not to overheat the polity.

“There is a level of responsibility from members of the public especially the fourth estate of the realm. The fact that there is paucity of fund should not make certain people to throw caution to the wind. The process of budgeting should be known to the press. These processes are well laid out in the laws governing the day to day running of the state. Members of the press and the public are therefore advised to always verify and authenticate their sources of information before going to the press”.

He urged Deltans at home and abroad to ignore the sensational reports by a section of the press.

“Deltans can be rest assured that there is no cause for alarm and that when the DESOPADEC budget comes to the House of Assembly, it will not be a secret affair”.

 “We apologize to Deltans for any inconvenience caused,” Hon Omovie added.