The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has said that about 81% of Nigerians in the employment pool are not in any productive sector of the economy.  

Oyedele, who was speaking on Thursday at an Africa Trade and Investment Summit, said that while the unemployment rate in Nigeria is relatively low at 4.2%, most employed Nigerians do not add any meaningful value to the economy.  

According to him, Nigeria has the same unemployment rate with the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, Nigeria still has over 113 million people living in multidimensional poverty.  

He said,  

• “About 81% of people in employment in Nigeria are engaged in a non-productive sector of the economy. They are doing things that do not add value in the real sense of the world.  
• “That is the reason why our unemployment rate even though is just 4.2%, similar to that of UK,  our poverty rate is still one of the highest in the world. We have over 113 million people living in poverty as of 2022 and it is most likely to have increased because that was before subsidy removal and naira floatation.  
• “So how is it that you have high employment rate and you also have one of the highest poverty rate? That is the only explanation. We have working poor. We need to create decent jobs. Our job is just beginning.”  

Speaking on the economic challenges of the country, Oyedele emphasized that the government is confronted with macroeconomic issues that are triggered, in part, by politics as well as the policy environment of the country.  

He added that while Nigeria cannot control the global economic climate, a change in policy direction can help manage the economic situation of the country.  

• “While we cannot control what Russia and Ukraine is doing. We cannot control what happens in the Gaza. Just making it easy for small businesses to earn a meaningful living, it is easier for manufacturers to produce.  
• We make it easy for international investors to find Nigeria attractive enough such that the risk adjusted returns is competitive. That is where the presidential fiscal policy committee comes in to play a major role in this whole picture of policy environment,” he added.  

According to Oyedele, the presidential committee has three major mandates which are organization and coordination of monetary,  fiscal and trade policies.  

What you should know 

• According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria unemployment rate stands at 4.2% nationwide.  
• This is according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Labour Force report for the Q2, 2023.   
• The report, however, noted that 88%  of employed Nigerians are self-employed while the other 12.0% are employees in Q2, making Nigeria one of the countries with the highest self-employed professionals in the world.  
• Meanwhile, there have been backlash on the methodology used in calculating the unemployment rate in the country, as many believed that that figure does not represent the economic reality in the country.  
• According to NBS, workers who work for only few hours and in low-productive jobs are still regarded as part of the employment pool in the country.  
• Reacting to criticism of the methodology,  employed individuals are those who have worked for pay or profit for at least one hour in the last seven days, as opposed to the previous criteria of 40 hours. 

The high rate of insecurity in Abuja has continued, the latest being the attack on a house situated 200 metres close to a military base in Pambara, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

During the attack, one Aondo Ver, said to be a director in the Federal Housing Authority, was abducted.

The bandits stormed the house around 12:30am on Thursday.

The kidnappers reportedly gained access through the fence.

As of the time of filing this report, the Army had yet to comment on the incident.

This is coming days after gunmen broke into a home at Guita community, Chikakore, Kubwa, Bwari Area Council of the FCT and kidnapped two sisters.

The evil doers target children, youths and families, causing panic and pain among residents

They appear well-coordinated, operating in broad daylight, often at busy intersections or near public places such as markets and schools.

They also carry out their operations at night.

Weeks ago, kidnappers dumped the remains of four victims they executed around a former military checkpoint behind Idah Junction on the Bwari-Jere SCC Road in Kagarko LGA of Kaduna State.

Among the corpses so far identified include a secondary school student identified as the daughter of the Ekiti state-born chief legal officer of the National University Commission (NUC), Folorunsho Ariyo, and a 500-level student of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar.

While Ariyo was abducted along with her mother and three siblings two Sundays ago, Nabeeha was seized with her father and five of her female siblings on January 9.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Police Force has made a significant breakthrough in the case of the abduction and murder of Nabeeha, the daughter of a Bwari-based lawyer, with the arrest of a suspected kidnapper.

In a statement on Sunday, the police announced the arrest of 28-year-old Bello Mohammed during a hotel raid in Kaduna on January 20th.

Mohammed was found with N2.25 million in cash, suspected to be part of the ransom money.

[Dailytrust]

Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, has approved N30.9 billion for rehabilitating 40 schools in the Nation’s capital, Abuja.

Mandate Secretary, Education Secretariat, FCT Administration, Danlami Hayyo, disclosed this in Abuja.

Hayyo, giving a breakdown of the fund, said N13.3 billion has been approved for the renovation and rehabilitation of 40 schools, which would be completed in 100 days.

He added that N13.1 billion was also provided for an accelerated whole-school rehabilitation approach, beginning with 18 schools.

He said four schools would also be renovated in the second batch of the whole-school rehabilitation approach at N4.5 billion.

He listed the schools as Government Science Technical College, Kwali; Government Science Technical College, Maitama; Government Secondary School, Kuje; and Government Secondary School, Wuse II.

He said the projects are expected to be completed before May 2024.

[DailyPost]

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba said this in a statement in Abuja on Thursday.

Ologunagba said that Arong, who hailed from Cross River, was a prominent women mobiliser.

He expressed confidence that she would bring on board her intellectual capacity as well as experience as the women leader.

Ologungba said that Arong, a holder of a Diploma in Banking and Finance and B.Sc. in Accounting, would serve out the term of the late National Women Leader, Prof. Stella Effah-Attoe, who died on Oct. 29.

“The PDP congratulates and tasks the new national women leader to deploy her capacity and experience in working with other members of the National Working Committee for the continuing stability, growth and success of our great Party,” he said.

(NAN)

Bureau De Change operators have announced shut down of operations in Abuja as a result of unavailability of dollars, reports the Daily Trust

This was announced by the association’s Chairman, Abdulahi Dauran, on Wednesday.

The naira closed at an all-time low of N1,482 against the United States dollar on the official window on Tuesday while on the parallel market, it remained stable at N1,450/$.

Dauran attributed the closure to online business transactions and cryptocurrency.

He said the closure of business would take effect from Thursday, February 1, 2024.

The development is coming amid fresh moves by the Central Bank of Nigeria to stabilise the nation’s volatile exchange rate.

The apex bank on Wednesday ordered Deposit Money Banks to sell their excess dollar stock by February 1, 2024.

The CBN also warned lenders against hoarding excess foreign currencies for profit.

According to officials, the bank believes some commercial banks hold long-term foreign exchange positions to enable them to profit from the volatile movements of exchange rates.

The new directive also introduced a set of guidelines aimed at reducing the risks associated with these practices.

[Punch]

Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has proposed that President Bola Tinubu’s administration ensure removal of electricity subsidy for effective utilisations of energy in the country.

Adelabu said this while expressing concerns over the poor electricity supply situation in the country caused by numerous issues including outstanding subsidy debts.

He advocated that Nigeria should migrate to a full cost-reflective tariff regime if the federal government cannot pay for subsidies owed to the market.

The minister disclosed these on Wednesday when he visited the 750 megawatts (mw) Olorunsogo Power Generating Plant in Ogun State and the 500mw Omotosho Generating Plant in Ondo State as part of his nationwide inspection visit to power installations of the federal government.

Adelabu also stated that the National Independent Power Plants (NIPPs) being operated and managed by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Plc (NDPHC) were currently suffering under-capacity utilisation of below 25 per cent due to gas supply constants.

“We have been to Olorunsogo and we are now in the Omotosho Power Plant. These are big power plants. I am impressed with the size and the technology of the power plants here. Their operational history is also impressive,” he said.

“And I am amazed at the level of underutilisation of these power installations. Each of them operates below 25 per cent capacity, when we are still complaining that power generation is low in this country. The under-capacity utilisation is due to a variety of reasons.

“The major part of it is the shortage in gas supply to these installations, which is why I needed to see these plants myself, to look at what can we do to improve the operational capacity of these plants.

Turbines 

Speaking about turbines to generate more power for the country, he said, “What can we do to support these power plants to operate at impressive capacity, so that power supply will improve nationwide?”

He said he would later engage with the management of the power companies to effective means of partnership and cooperation such that the federal government could support them to improve their operational capacity, and consequently improve the level of power supply to the distribution companies.

He also observed that the government-owned generating companies were currently undervalued, arguing that a number of works needed to be done on them by the government to bring them back to higher capacity and improved valuation before they could be sold.

Adelabu said if the plants were sold in their current state, the country would be losing, maintaining that Nigeria had invested so much in those power installations that have only existed for 12 years.

In dealing with the gas supply challenge, the minister said there was a need for a roundtable meeting and collaboration with the Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas) in order to ensure that gas supply to the Gencos was regular, and ultimately solve the issue of under capacity utilisation of the plants.

Removing electricity subsidy

Having said this, Adelabu said Nigeria should migrate to a full cost-reflective tariff regime if the federal government cannot pay for subsidies owed the market.

He said, “And we also want to appeal to the federal government that once there is a subsidy promise, it has to be fully funded. If our government is not ready to fund electricity subsidy, it is actually better for us to migrate to a fully-cost-reflective tariff, because liquidity is a major issue in the sector, which has led to a huge debt being owed power generating companies.

“And once they are owed, they are also unable to pay the gas suppliers. When the gas suppliers are not paid, they will be unwilling to supply regular gas to them.

“So where are these debts piling up? Where are they coming from? Part of it are the Discos are owing some portion of these debts while the federal government is also owing a huge portion of these debts, which relate to the unfunded portion of the subsidy that they pledge.

“So, I will do everything within my capacity. I have already had a meeting with the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy as well as the honourable Minister of Budget and National Planning, and the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, on how we can fund the outstanding electricity subsidy unpaid by federal government.”

Meeting with co-ministers

He said the meeting with the relevant ministers would continue on Thursday, noting that they were to discuss ways to help the power sector through injection of the required liquidity and payment of parts of the outstanding debts owed the generating companies.

Going forward, the power minister said Nigeria needed to have a conversation on whether to pay for the real price of power, which he said was no longer cheap.

According to him, throughout West Africa, Nigeria still pays the lowest tariff for power supply, arguing that Ghana, Ivory Coast, Niger and the likes pay almost more than double of Nigeria’s electricity tariff.

“So, if the government is insisting on continuing with the subsidy, then it has to be funded, so that there’s no debt piling up for the generating companies. That’s the only way out of the current power situation,” he maintained.

However, Adelabu assured Nigerians of an improvement in nationwide power supply in the coming weeks, saying the drop in supply experienced in the past three weeks was a temporary situation and resulted from shortages in gas supply to the power Gencos.

He also promised that the government would pay down a major part of the debts owed the Gencos in the next couple of days, adding, “And I believe that gas supply will improve to the power generating companies and power supply to the entire nation will also improve.”

Vanguard News

Mali and Burkina Faso obviously have a lot more in common than squaring off in a game of football like they just did in the Round of 16 knockout stage of the African Nations Cup (AFCON), in Cote d’Ivoire.

Along with Niger, these countries have been a great source of misery for the continent in the last four years, with rogue military leaders there playing a game far more deadly with the lives of their countries than anything football can ever hope to imitate.

They announced to the continent’s shock and surprise last week, that they were pulling out of the 15-member regional trading block, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

There are rules for entry and exit. But the military governments that seized power in these countries are invoking the name of citizens whose mandate they trampled upon in the first place, to break the rules. They don’t care.

Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are neighbours with artificial borders created for the convenience of the colonial powers. They occupy nearly half of West Africa’s landmass. They are also landlocked and among the poorest countries by many global indexes. They have other sociological similarities besides.

Burkina Faso has a GDP per capita of $1,510 (2020); Mali, $2,640 (2023); and Niger, ranked by worldatlas.com as the second poorest country in Africa, has a GDP of $1,410 (2020).

With their humongous acreage straddling the Sahara Desert and its southern fringes, these countries manage an estimated 72 million population combined. As though in agreement, the three have had a checkered history of military coups and are currently under military rule against the prevailing tide of multiparty democracy: Mali since 2021; Burkina Faso in 2022; and Niger, 2023.

Alliance of delinquents

The trio are members of a new “Alliance of Sahel States”, a mutual defence pact they entered into in September 2023. Like delinquents plotting to evade the consequence of mischief, they formed this alliance to ward off possible military invasion by the regional intervention force following the coup in Niger.

Their latest bluff to quit ECOWAS has elevated their plight to Siamese status. Trapped as they are in the Sahel, they may now need lifesaving surgery should ECOWAS decide to squeeze in a bit more than sanctions.

Who will bell the cat? The region is a different place today than it was in the mid-1990s when the Commonwealth punished Nigeria for the bad behaviour of the military government of General Sani Abacha for executing Ken Saro-Wiwa in defiance of global appeals. Or even under the more recent example of The Gambia’s Yahaya Jammeh who was forced to back down in 2017, after Nigeria rallied regional leaders to chase him out of office.

Root of the matter

At least three events have shaped the intransigence of the so-called “Alliance of Sahel States.” The first is the significant infiltration of the region by ISIS and ISWAP elements after the US-led military action in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan and the killing of Muammar Ghaddafi in Libya.

Arms from Syria, Iraq and Libya have flooded the Sahel, destablising the region and emboldening insurgency. Mali and Niger in particular have never quite overcome the impact of that destabilisation. Even countries farther South, like Nigeria, are still grappling with the fallout of the proliferation of light weapons, mostly through the Sahel.

The complicity of France is the second reason. It’s not just complicity in the sense of meddling, which most states do routinely. It’s the more egregious kind – pregnant complicity that straps a child on its back.

A number of Francophone countries in West and Central Africa, at least 14 of them, that are part of the rigged CFA franc zone still maintain 50 per cent of their reserves in the French treasury in Paris. Also, the profit of French state-owned atomic energy group and uranium monopoly, Areva, based in Niger, is twice the GDP of that country.

The story of ruthless exploitation, often in connivance with the elite, is pretty much the same in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and other Francophone countries. Citizens have, of course, borne the brunt and the political elite who are complicit and have used the exploitation as excuse for coups and counter-coups.

The third reason for the stubbornness of the military regimes in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger is the expansionist ambitions of China, but more importantly, Russia, under its current President Vladimir Putin. In other to spite the West, especially since the war in Ukraine, Putin sets up a play station wherever the enemies of the West can be found, with the deadly private army, Wagner Group, as his avatar.

The Russian president has made no pretence of his support for the rogue military governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Apart from military and strategic support, he has also offered free grains to six African countries, including Mali and Burkina Faso, to hedge supply shortfalls caused by the war with Ukraine. The new military leaders in these countries believe that trading off membership of ECOWAS for the Trojan horses of Beijing and Moscow is a better bargain.

How far is too far?

But how far can they go? As far as they believe they can continue to exploit the obvious indecision of regional leaders, the most distracted of which is Nigeria. The last time a member country – Mauritania – left (although for different reasons), the regional group ECOWAS was in a much stronger, more united place.

It’s now a shambles of its old self. Members already weakened by internal crisis and political wranglings are not sure whether to use force or not even though they can see clearly that negotiations are heading nowhere.

Unfortunately, Nigeria, the regional powerhouse which should have provided leadership as it did in the past in Sao Tome, Benin, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Cote d’Ivoire, is facing its own Gulliver moment. It has been pinned to the ground by a string of Lilliputian problems ranging from internal insecurity to the relatively new and fragile mandate of its president and ECOWAS leader Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who faces the unpleasant task of being the leader on whose watch the community fell apart.

Other ECOWAS countries beset by serious economic and political problems, including flawed elections which have also significantly limited the legitimacy of many current civilian leaders, are not faring better. Yet, even in the best of times, Nigeria picks about 70 percent of the community’s bills.

The rogue military leaders in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger know that the community is in a difficult place, compounded by the decline in the influence of France, elections this year in the US and the UK, and the wars in Europe and the Middle East. They will milk these distractions.

The military leaders are betting big on Russian support and also stirring up nationalistic fervour among the local populations. It remains to be seen, however, if rhetoric will prevail over geography. Being landlocked is problematic and is a major reason 16 out of 31 landlocked developing countries, including Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, are among the world’s poorest.

Catch-22

For ECOWAS it is a catch-22 situation. While it is hoping that existing sanctions on the rogue governments, which range from the freezing of assets to the suspension of trade and the cut off of electricity supply would force the leaders to negotiate more sensibly and prevent a further contagion of coups, the community is also mindful that informal cross-border trade, largely in food, make up about 30 percent of regional trade.

To kill the precariously perched tsetse fly without hurting its own scrotum, ECOWAS needs to strengthen citizens’ voices in these countries. It needs to cut through the posturing and partisan noise and engage citizens through more trusted, independent channels. The community could use the experience of eminent persons, led by former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Thabo Mbeki, and possibly joined by George Uppong Weah, to reset negotiations.

The longer the process takes the greater the risk of normalisation – and even worse, the danger of contagion.

The Magistrate’s court in Lafia, Nasarawa State has granted bail to 29 out of the 30 protesting women who were previously sent to a custodial centre following their demonstration against the announcement of the Supreme Court’s Judgement affirming the election of Governor Abdullahi Sule.

Speaking to journalists yesterday after the ruling, defense Counsel, Barrister Ayiwulu Baba Ayiwulu elucidated on the revised bail conditions, expressing contentment with the court’s decision.

“The court has granted them bail with a new bail condition which is fair and will be released today to join their family members.”

The previous bail condition, which necessitated the production of a director and a bail bond of N2 million in the event of bail violation, has been altered. Ayiwulu highlighted.

“The court, in its wisdom, has reverted to a surety located in premises close to the court with a bail bond of N500”.

Amid its fresh moves to stabilise the nation’s volatile exchange rate, the Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered Deposit Money Banks to sell their excess dollar stock latest February 1, 2024.

The CBN, which made the disclosure in a new circular released on Wednesday, also warned lenders against hoarding excess foreign currencies for profit.

According to officials, the central bank believes some commercial banks hold long-term foreign exchange positions to enable them profit from the volatile movements of exchange rates.

The new circular introduces a set of guidelines aimed at reducing the risks associated with these practices.

In the circular titled, “Harmonisation of Reporting Requirements on Foreign Currency Exposures of Banks”, the CBN raised concerns over the growing trend of banks holding large foreign currency positions.

The latest circular came barely 48 hours after the CBN released a circular, warning banks and FX dealers against reporting false exchange rates, among others.

The new development also came on the heels of the adjustment of the methodology used for the calculation of the nation’s official exchange rate by the FMDQ Exchange.

The review has pushed the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market rate (official exchange rate) from approximately N900/dollar to N1,480/dollar. The naira closed at 1,450/dollar at the parallel market on Tuesday.

The move which is aimed at unifying the official and parallel market exchange rates has been hailed by economists and other stakeholders.

They however challenged the CBN to clear FX backlogs estimated at over $5bn and also fund FX demands at the official market. This, they said, would forestall a situation whereby the parallel market rate would move away from the official rate again.

Apparently as part of the moves to fund FX request at the official window, the CBN in its latest circular released on Wednesday accused banks of holding excess foreign exchange positions.

As a result, the central bank gave lenders until February 1, 2024 (today) to sell off excess dollar positions.

The circulated, dated January 31, 2024, was signed by the Director, Trade and Exchange, CBN, Dr. Hassan Mahmud, and representative of the Director, Banking Supervision, CBN, Mrs. Rita Sike.

The circular read in part, “The Central Bank of Nigeria has noted with concern the growth in foreign currency exposures of banks through their Net Open Position (NOP). This has created an incentive for banks to hold excess long foreign currency positions, which exposes banks to foreign exchange and other risks.”

To address these issues, the CBN in the circular issued prudential requirements that banks must follow. A key focus of these requirements is the management of the Net Open Position (NOP).

The NOP measures the difference between a bank’s foreign currency assets (what it owns in foreign currencies) and its foreign currency liabilities (what it owes in foreign currencies).

The circular mandates that the NOP must not exceed 20 per cent short or 0 per cent long of the bank’s shareholders’ funds.

This calculation, the apex bank said, must be done using the Gross Aggregate Method, which provides a comprehensive view of the bank’s foreign currency exposure.

Furthermore, banks with current NOPs exceeding these limits are required to adjust their positions to comply with the new regulations latest by February 1, 2024.

Additionally, banks must calculate their daily and monthly NOP and Foreign Currency Trading Position (FCT) using specific templates provided by the CBN.

The CBN also directed banks to maintain adequate stocks of high-quality liquid foreign assets, such as cash and government securities, in each significant currency.

According to the circular, all banks are required to adopt adequate treasury and risk management systems to provide oversight of all foreign exchange exposures and ensure accurate reporting on a timely basis.

Banks are expected to bring all their exposures within the set limits immediately and ensure that all returns submitted to the CBN to provide an accurate reflection of their balance sheets.”

Finally, the CBN warned banks that non-compliance with the NOP limit would result in immediate sanction and suspension from the foreign exchange market.

In the half of 2023, First Bank, UBA, Zenith, Access, and GTB reported a combined N1.38tn in forex revaluation gains.

The apex bank at the time issued a directive instructing commercial banks to resist using their foreign exchange revaluation gains for dividends and operational expenditures. It noted that “Banks that exceed the NOP prudential limits due to the FX revaluation shall be granted forbearance for the breach upon application.’’

A top bank executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the new circular would force banks to sell off excess dollar liquidity exceeding $5bn.

The top banker said, “Just as some Nigerians prefer to keep their money in dollars because naira is not a good store of value, banks also hold excess dollar liquidity to make gains. They do their own at institutional level. What the CBN is saying with this new circular is that, you cannot hold excess dollar liquidity again. Any foreign exchange you are holding must be committed to something, a transaction or obligation you can proof.

Banks have made a lot of revaluation gains. Some banks, I believe, got approval under the last administration to hold more dollar than the requirement. The idea is that if banks sell all these excess dollars, there will liquidity and the exchange rate will stabilise. Foreign investors will come in.”

In the North, Muslim leaders say the over 100% increase in costs for the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, now over N6 million per person, has drastically reduced intending pilgrims. Other Nigerians are struggling with doubling school fees abroad, with some parents weighing bringing their children back home.

Businesses are recording rising defaults in bill payments while manufacturers face shutdowns due to unsustainable inventory and input costs. Nigeria’s inflation rate hit a 27-year high in December, further squeezing household budgets.

Experts say the naira slide will also constrain loan repayments, especially by oil companies who owe Nigerian banks about N9.7 trillion – a 40% jump since the Central Bank scrapped its currency peg in June 2022.

With citizens seething in anger amidst deepening economic crisis, President Bola Tinubu has travelled abroad, drawing criticism from some in his party over the timing. The CBN governor has also been summoned by Senate over the currency crisis.

The Taraba State Police Command yesterday said it arrested nine including a notorious kingpin, Badon Linus during operations across the state.

It said that over eight million naira was recovered from a suspect who attempted to bribe police operatives to evade arrest on January 29.

Linus, who was paraded alongside other suspected kidnappers in Jalingo, was said to have led a syndicate who participated in a series of kidnapping including that of a third class chief and a clergy.

Briefing reporters yesterday, the Commissioner of Police, Taraba State Command, Joseph Eribo said: “Acting on credible information, the police operatives attached to the Anti- Kidnapping unit, on the 22/01/2024 swung into action and moved to Maihula Town in Bali LGA where they arrested one Badon Linus, 30, of Gwampa village Yorro LGA.

“The suspect fled Yorro to Maihula to evade arrest after alleged participation in a series of kidnap incidents around Yorro, Zing and Lau LGAs. The suspect confessed to the crime, that he led the syndicate that kidnapped the third-class Chief of Pupule, a Pastor and others.”

He also disclosed that a cash sum of N8,555,000 was discovered from a kidnap suspect who attempted to bribe a police operational team in Jalingo around 9:45pm on January 29.

He said a team of Police Mobile Force (PMF) 40 operatives attached posted on nipping point duty at Yaggai along Jalingo-Yola bye-pass, arrested one Aliyu Mohammed, 35, in an ash Toyota Starlet with registration number YLA321ZY.

“When interrogated, the suspect could not give satisfactory account of himself, hence search was conducted on his vehicle and the following items were recovered in his possession (1) A cash sum of eight million five hundred and fifty- five thousand-naira (N8,555,000); (2) Seven (7) phones (3) Three thousand (3000) unused MTN recharged cards and (4) seven amulets.

“The suspect bribed the PMF personnel requesting them to take the whole money and allow him to go, but the PMF personnel refused and arrested him accordingly. The case is under investigation, the suspect will soon be charged to court…”

Similarly, troops of the 6 Brigade Nigerian Army in Jalingo, rescued three abducted persons, spokesman, Lt. Olubodunde Oni, said in a statement yesterday.

He said the victims were abandoned by terrorists during exchange of gunfire with the troops.

Oni said the troops acted on credible intelligence on the movement of kidnap victims by bandits from Ardo-Kola to Yoro and intercepted the criminals at Apawa village of Yoro Local Government Area.