N1.2bn alleged money laundering: Iwu yet to perfect bail conditions —Lawyer

Mr. Ahmed Raji (SAN), Counsel to Prof. Maurice Iwu, former INEC
chairman who was granted N1bn bail over alleged N1.2bn money
laundering charge, on Thursday said that Iwu would soon perfect his
bail conditions.

Raji told a News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos that Iwu was still
in custody.

He said though the bail conditions were stringent, it would be
perfected.

NAN reports that Justice Chuka Obiozor of a Federal High Court
sitting in Lagos, had, on Friday August 9, admitted Iwu to bail in
the sum of N1bn, with two sureties in like sum.

The former INEC chairman was granted bail after counsel to
parties had argued on the bail application by the
defendant/applicant and the counter affidavit by the
prosecution.

In his submission, Iwu’s counsel, Raji, prayed the court for an
order admitting the defendant to bail on self recognisance pending
the hearing and determination of charge filed against him; or, in
the alternative, an order of the court admitting the defendant on
liberal terms.

In his submission, the prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo, opposed the
application on the ground that the defendant would interfere or
intimidate prosecution witnesses.

He, however, averred that if the court must grant the bail, the
conditions attached should be stringent.

In that ruling, Justice Obiozor admitted Iwu to bail N1bn.

The judge further ordered that the first surety must have a
property registered in Lagos valued at N1bn and must be resident in
Lagos.

He also ordered that the surety must produce evidence of tax
clearance, statement of his bank account, with passport photos of
both the surety and defendant.

The judge further ordered that the second surety must be a civil
servant on Grade Level 16, or a professor.

While ordering that the defendant be remanded in Ikoyi Prisons
pending the perfection of his bail conditions, Justice Obiozor
stressed that the defendant must not interfere with the witnesses
during trial.

As a vacation judge, having presided over the arraignment and
concluded with the ruling on bail application, he directed the
court registrar to return the case file to the Administrative judge
for reassignment.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had arraigned Iwu
on Thursday, August 8, on four counts of money laundering to the
tune of N1.2bn.

He pleaded not guilty to all the counts.

(NAN)

NYSC trains 700,000 Corps members, disburses N540m to
325 Corps entrepreneurs

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has trained 700,000
Corps members in various Skills acquisition and disbursed not less
than N540 million to 325 corps entrepreneurs.

The Director General of the NYSC Brig. Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim,
stated this in a media parley held at Barcelona Hotels in
Abuja.

He said the scheme has achieved tremendous successes in its bid
to help address the problem of graduate unemployment, while also
fostering the spirit of entrepreneurship among the youths in the
country.

“So far, over 1,132,409 Corps members have been sensitized and
over 700,000 have undergone various forms of skills training under
the ‘Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development’ (SAED)
programme,” Gen. Ibrahim said.

The NYSC boss, who also disclosed that the Scheme is already
collaborating with national and international organisations towards
providing material, technical and financial support for the
programme, explained that the SAED programme is designed to equip
Corps members with requisite vocational skills so as to develop
their business and entrepreneurial capacities.

“Presently, Corps members are being trained in skill areas such
as Agro-Allied, Food Preservation and Processing, Culture and
Tourism, Cosmetology, Information and Communication Technology
(ICT), Environment, Beautification, Construction, Education, Power
and Energy, Film and Photography, and Automobile Technology,” he
said.

The NYSC Director General, spoke also noted that a number of
skill acquisition centres have also been established across the
country for the post-camp training of Corps members.

Brig. Gen. Ibrahim, stated that the BOI-NYSC Graduate
Empowerment Fund, which is a product of our partnership with the
Bank of Industry (BOI), is yielding encouraging results with the
sum of over N540 million so far disbursed as loans to 325 Corps
entrepreneurs.

He added that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in partnership
with Heritage Bank has disbursed N15,000,000 to seven Corps members
under the NYSC/CBN ‘Youth Entrepreneurship Development’ (YEDP).

The NYSC boss said: “Through our public-private partnership
drive, Access Bank has undertaken and completed the building and
furnishing of a 1000-capacity mega skills training centres for the
North East geo-political zone located in Gombe. In the same vein,
the American multi-national, General Electric in conjunction with
the International Labour Organisation (ILO) under the Cognity
Advisory Partnership has trained 40 NYSC staff who are now ILO
certified ‘Business Entrepreneurship Trainers’.

“In addition to this, a significant number of NYSC staff have
also benefitted from international capacity building training in
China, America and Europe which has tremendously boosted the
training and mentoring of Corps entrepreneurs. We have also
successfully staged a skills and entrepreneurship development
festival during which Corps members from all States of the
federation and the FCT converged on Abuja to showcase their
entrepreneurial skills through competitions and products
exhibition.

“In line with the Federal Government’s policy of diversifying
the economy through harnessing the country’s potentials in the
non-oil sectors and our desire to contribute towards ensuring food
security, the Scheme is resuscitating its farm settlement across
the country.”

Gen. Ibrahim, asserted that the full computerization of the
mobilization process which started with the 2014 Batch ‘C’ service
year, has facilitated real-time generation of various reports on
Corps data, use of biometrics for the monthly clearance of Corps
members in all States of the federation and the FCT, automated
printing of Certificate of National Service, Exemption Certificate
and Exclusion Letters embossed with passport photographs, together
with the biometric verification and registration during orientation
programmes, among others achievements.

On safety of Corps members, the NYSC Director-General, stated
that the Scheme is in continuous liaison with various security
agencies with a view to ensuring the safety of corps members
wherever they are serving in the country, disclosing that the NYSC
Distress Call Centre (DCC), which was established in February 2012,
is fully equipped with communication facilities that are manned 24
hours daily to ensure timely and well-coordinated response to calls
from Corps members who find themselves in distressed situation
through contact with the nearest security agencies and other
relevant stakeholders.

His words: “In view of the strategic importance of the facility
and the desire of the Scheme to meet current challenges, we have
transformed it to an information centre with operational lines.
Just last month, we got additional toll-free line from 9mobile to
further strengthen the operations of the centre.

“With this development, the centre in addition to responding to
distress calls from Corps members, staff and members of the public,
also provides information on the operations of the Scheme to the
Corps members and other stakeholders.”

By PRNigeria^[1]