Huawei CFO’s phone passcodes were shared to Canada police in ‘error’: document

(Reuters) – Canada’s border security agency admitted making an
“error” while sharing passcodes of phones belonging to Huawei chief
financial officer Meng Wanzhou with Canadian federal police,
according to document filed as part of a hearing in a British
Columbia court.

Meng, 47, was arrested at a Vancouver airport on Dec. 1 at the
request of the United States, where she is charged with bank fraud
and accused of misleading the bank HSBC about Huawei Technologies
Co Ltd’s business in Iran. She has said she is innocent and is
fighting extradition.

An email submitted to the British Columbia Supreme Court on
Tuesday says “the passcodes were provided in error and could not be
disclosed as evidence nor used to access any of Ms Meng’s
devices.”

Meng’s lawyers are demanding emails, notes and other records to
support their case that Meng’s rights were violated before her
arrest. They wrapped up their arguments last week, saying Royal
Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had originally planned to board
Meng’s flight once it landed in Vancouver and arrest her.

They noted that the warrant called for immediate arrest.
However, that plan changed after a meeting between border and
police officials, although the reasons for the change were not
clear and, they said, resulted in Meng’s constitutional rights
being violated.

If Canadian officials abused their authority, her lawyers say,
the extradition proceedings should be halted.

The email from a representative of the Canada Border Services
Agency further says that the RCMP confirmed they did not access the
devices, and do not intend to access the devices at any time as it
was “not their investigation.”

Lawyers for Canada’s attorney general are set continue their
oral arguments on behalf of the United States in the British
Columbia courtroom Wednesday.

In their filing last week, they said the Crown already provided
extensive documents to Meng, and that contacts between U.S. and
Canadian authorities under such circumstances are encouraged.

Oral arguments by counsel for the Canadian attorney general are
scheduled to run through Friday this week but could end
earlier.

The extradition proceeding itself is scheduled to begin in
January and experts say legal wrangling could go on for years.

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Grace Garba Becomes First Female Air Warrant
Officer
The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has
approved the promotion of Master Warrant Officer (MWO) Grace Tabawa
Garba to the exalted rank of Air Warrant Officer (AWO). With the
promotion, MWO Garba becomes the first female Senior
Non-Commissioned Officer (SNCO) to be promoted to the highest rank
in the Non-Commissioned Officers’ cadre in the Armed Forces of
Nigeria. The SNCO, who has put in not less than 33 years of
outstanding meritorious service to the Nation, was found worthy to
be promoted to the rank of AWO for her exemplary leadership
qualities, hard work as well as her contributions to the Service
over the years.

The promotion demonstrates the commitment of the current NAF
leadership in paying adequate attention to the empowerment of
female personnel to realize their full potentials.

It would be recalled that one of the NAF’s female officers was
sent to the United States of America for training to become the
first female fighter pilot in the history of the NAF. Similarly,
for the first time in NAF history, another female pilot is on the
verge of completing training to become the first female helicopter
pilot in the Service. It is expected that the promotion of MWO
Garba to AWO would serve as a motivation and spur other airwomen in
the Service to strive for excellence and aspire for such rare
elevation.

Born on 14 February 1966 in Garkida, Gombi Local Government Area
of Adamawa State, MWO Grace Garba joined the NAF in 1986 as a
member of Basic Military Training Course (BMTC) 10. She holds a
Certificate in Nursing from School of Nursing, Maiduguri,
Certificate in Midwifery from Amhadu Bello University Teaching
Hospital, Zaria Kaduna State, Certificate in Public Health Nursing
from School of Health Technology, Kaduna and Advanced Diploma in
Public Administration at the Federal University of Technology,
Yola. She is currently the Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) of the
NAF School of Medical Sciences and Aviation Medicine (NAFSMSAM),
Kaduna. She will be decorated with the new rank on 15 October
2019.

IBIKUNLE DARAMOLA
Air Commodore
Director of Public Relations and Information
Nigerian Air Force