Smuggling, import decline threaten customs’ N1.1 trillion revenue target- Sulaimon Salau

Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Retired Col. Hameed Ali.

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) may not meet its N1.1trillion revenue target for 2017 as smuggling continues at the nation’s points of entry. The Guardian learnt that the customs failed to meet its 2016 revenue target due to a high level of smuggling and reduction in the volume of import. The agency had set a target of N1 trillion, but generated N898 billion as revenue (including Value Added Tax) last year.
The failure of the customs, one of the crucial revenue-generating agencies for government, to meet its target will mean less money for government to execute its projects and programmes to develop the country and take it out of the current recession.
More than this, it underscores the depth of inefficiency that has come to define port operations in Nigeria, a situation that has forced many importers to migrate their businesses to neighbouring ports of Benin Republic and Togo.


Recently, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Hameed Ali, set another target of N1.1 trillion for 2017, hoping that his team would work strictly in compliance with extant laws to enable it to achieve the goal. Ali directed all the area controllers to ensure strict compliance with extant laws to achieve its revenue target. He said the area controllers must either “shape up or ship out” as there is no place for complacency in the customs that plays the crucial role of
revenue collection and border security. In a statement, Ali declared 2017 as a year of training and re-training, adding that “ignorance will not be an excuse for any officer as there will be refresher courses for them in batches this year.”
The comptroller-general charged customs area controllers to step up supervisory roles for their subordinates; ensure tighter border security, block revenue leakages, punish erring officers, promptly reward hard work and facilitate robust stakeholder engagement for mutual understanding, among others.
But experts in the industry say the target may be a mirage again this year, if proper measures are not put in place to combat the rising cases of smuggling.
A customs officer who preferred anonymity said the target might not be realistic going by the circumstances surrounding importation which has reduced drastically. He also complained about the high level of smuggling around the borders. “Setting target is good, I commend the CG for that, but we need thorough work to meet that target,” he said.
The National President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Olayiwola Shittu, described the target as “anticipatory, not realistic.”
In an interview with The Guardian, Shittu said: “That is what they did last year, and they did not meet the target. They cannot meet it. Are people going to steal cargoes? It appears they are optimistic; they are waiting for the dollar to fall and naira to appreciate so that more people can import. It is an anticipatory target, as far as I am concerned, it is unrealistic.
“There is no magic on the issue of target, you cannot get target and get trade facilitation. We only hope that officers will not cash on it and be giving frivolous bills on imported cargoes. That is the only challenge that we have as customs agents, because everywhere you go now, they will tell you we have a target to meet.
“What we want is for customs to use transaction value in charging, this is in line with the global General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). But now that they are talking of target and they will start imposing bills on people, it appears all that government wants is money, they are not looking at trade facilitation,” he said.
The customs spokesman, Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Jerry Attah said the unit was determined to combat smuggling in the country, although it is not a revenue-generating unit.
“FOU is not part of the target because its operations are based on anti-smuggling. We are not for revenue generation. However, we always make some interventions. What we have is to reduce smuggling to the barest minimum and enhance trade facilitation,” he said.
The FOU seized 1,870 50kg bags of different brands of foreign parboiled rice, and 43 kegs of 25 litres foreign vegetable oil, alleged to be contrabands from Sango market in Ogun State last week.
Attah attributed the failure to achieve the 2016 target to the difficulty in accessing foreign exchange and ban on importation of 41 items by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
According to him, the service was given a target of N937 billion as revenue in 2016. “The strict insistence of the comptroller general on the application of instant laws enabled the service to generate a total that is inclusive of VAT of N898 billion. If VAT is removed, duty collection only is N720 billion, our performance represents 76.90 per cent. Hopefully we will do better in 2017,’’ Attah said.


Guardian

IBM, Ericsson intensify efforts on 5G networks

IBM  and Ericsson have recorded a research breakthrough that could accelerate the launch of 5G communication networks and support new mobile enterprise and user experiences enabled by very high data rates, including Internet of Things (IoT), connected vehicles, and immersive virtual reality.
The companies have created a compact silicon-based millimeterWave (mmWave) phased array integrated circuit operating at 28 GHz that has been demonstrated in a phased array antenna module designed for use in future 5G base stations.
Experts have described 2017 as a defining year for 5G. More countries and governments are opening up new frequency portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, including portions known as mmWave bands, which are more than 10 times higher than the frequencies currently used for mobile devices, offering a new source of bandwidth for cellular networks that are being made available for 5G networks.

Culled from Sun

North Korea BANS Malaysians from leaving the country amid escalating row over Kim Jong-nam murder-Natalie EvansChris kitching

The move, to 'ensure the safety of its diplomats and citizens in Malaysia', comes days after it was claimed Kim Jong-nam died from a heart attack

North Korea has temporarily banned Malaysians from leaving the country amid an escalating row over the death of Kim Jong-un's half brother.
The secretive country claims the move is to ensure the safety of its diplomats and citizens in Malaysia.
The North's foreign ministry has notified the Malaysian embassy in Pyongyang of the reason for the measure.
It said it had hoped the case would be swiftly and fairly resolved in order to develop bilateral ties with Malaysia, the North's KCNA news agency reported.

Kim Jong-nam was attacked at an airport in Kuala Lumpur (Photo: Reuters)

The Korean ambassador to Malaysia Kang Chol (Photo: Rex Features)

The move comes days after bizarre claims that Kim Jong-nam was likely killed by a heart attack - even though an autopsy found he was assassinated with a highly-toxic nerve agent.
The 45-year-old died less than 20 minutes after he was poisoned with a high dose of VX nerve agent at Kuala Lumpur's international airport last month.
Malaysian officials says Kim Jong-nam was killed with the chemical, which has been classified by the UN as a weapon of mass destruction.
But North Korea claims that there are strong indications that a heart attack - not a nerve agent - was to blame for the death of the exiled playboy.

Suspect Siti Aisyah is from Indonesia (Photo: AFP)

Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese national, was also charged (Photo: REUTERS)

Click to play

Footage emerges 'of Kim Jong-nam airport assassination'

Intelligence officials from South Korea and the US claim Jong-nam was assassinated in a plot organised by North Korean agents, although the only suspects charged so far are a woman from Indonesia and a woman from Vietnam.

North Korea so far has not acknowledged that the man who died in the February 13 incident is Jong-nam.
After meeting with Malaysian cabinet ministers Ri Tong Il, North Korea's former deputy ambassador to the UN, questioned the use of VX and said samples should be sent to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for testing.
He added: "If it is true that it was used, then the samples should be sent to the office of OPCW.

Jong-nam is pictured shortly before his death

The 45-year-old was the estranged half-brother of Kim Jong-un (Photo: Getty)

"In case it is proved by the two separate international laboratories, with the same conclusion, then they should come to identify who is the one that made it. Who is the one that brought it into Malaysia?"
VX was first developed as a warfare agent in the UK in the 1950s, and has been banned under the UN Chemical Weapons Convention, to which North Korea is not a party.
One of the deadliest chemical weapons created by man, just 10 milligrams or a single drop is enough to kill a person in minutes.
After Jong-nam's death North Korea tried to persuade Malaysia not to perform an autopsy on his body.

The attack was captured by CCTV in the airport

Both suspects claim they thought they were carrying out a prank for TV

One of the suspected assassins was wearing an "LOL" shirt

Click to play

Malaysian authorities search Kuala Lumpur airport for toxins

Police have charged two women with Jong-nam's murder , claiming they smeared VX on his face as he prepared to fly out of the KLIA2 budget terminal to Macau, where he had been living with his family under Chinese protection.
The attack was captured by CCTV .
Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese national, and Siti Aishah, from Jakarta, Indonesia, wore bulletproof vests and were handcuffed as they were led into a court for their first appearance on Wednesday.
Mother-of-one Aishah, 25, and Huong, 28, were arrested days after the assassination.
Police believe the women smeared VX nerge agent, a chemical on a UN list of weapons of mass destruction, on Jong-nam's face.

Huong is led into court on Wednesday (Photo: AFP)

Aisyah (pictured) and Huong wore bulletproof vests to court (Photo: REUTERS)

Malaysian police release new CCTV of Kim Jong Nam murder suspects

They will be sentenced to death if they are convicted.
Both claim they were recruited and paid less than £100, believing they were carrying out a prank for a reality TV programme .
Malaysia has said it will deport Ri Jong Chol, a North Korean who was held in connection with the murder, as there was insufficient evidence to charge him.

Malaysia has said it will deport Ri Jong Chol after deciding not to charge him (Photo: AFP)

Malaysian authorities want to question seven other North Koreans, including a senior official at the embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia has also announced that it would cancel visa-free entry for all North Koreans as diplomatic ties between the two countries worsened.
Jong-nam, the illegitimate playboy son of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, had been targeted for assassination in the past.
He had received threats after he spoke out publicly against his family's control of North Korea, and he was living with his second wife in the Chinese territory of Macau under China's protection.

Culled from Mirror

N500bn Capital Vote Will Boost Construction Industry – Experts-Olushola Bello

As the National Assembly begins a public hearing on the 2017 Budget, finance experts and capital market analysts have expressed optimism that the budget will give a lift to market performance and further boost investors’ returns.
Specifically, they said sectors like construction will recieve further boost once government begins releases of the N529 billion capital vote for the ministry of works, power and housing.
According to the experts, agricultural sub-sectors of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) will be the biggest beneficiaries of the development.
The analysts informed that quoted companies that will likely benefit under the construction subsector include: Arbico, Costain, G. Cappa and Julius Berger, while under the manufacturing sub-sector, Dangote Cement, Larfarge, Benue Cement and CCNN will benefit immensely.
Projected to reap under the agricultural sub-sector due to the expected impact of the budget include FTN Cocoa, Okomu Oil, Presco and Livestock. Okomu Oil and presco on the NSE are trading above N40 per share.
It would be recalled that head of Economic Research and Policy Management Division of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Afolabi Olowookere recently at the 2017 Budget seminar organised by the commission in Lagos said manufacturing, trade,  works, power,  housing and transport sectors  would benefit much from the federal government 2017 Budget if well implemented.
Olowookere said that listed equities of the sectors would perform better in 2017 because of the budget’s focus.
He said that stocks of these sectors would lead the capital market in 2017, noting that the major challenge would, however, be high cost of capital.
According to him, financial companies and services firms that serviced the sectors would indirectly benefit from the budget.
He also said that stocks of companies, supplying government materials or working for government, would benefit from the budget indirectly. He however stated that the budget would affect the market directly or indirectly adding that the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), All-Share Index which declined by 6.17 per cent in 2016 would do better this year.
He observed the need to improve domestic investor participation in the market, noting that, foreign investors would further shun the market due to foreign exchange challenges. “The budget deficit of N2.36 trillion will have negative and significant effect on the equities market,”
Olowookere said.
He disclosed that review of the pension investment laws was necessary to increase the activities of the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to increase institutional investors’ participation.
On the roles of capital market in budget planning and processes, he said that the market could provide platform for the sale of government shares during participation.
He said that proceeds realised from privatisation could be used for budget financing.
He called on market stakeholders to introduce alternative investment schemes such as infrastructure financing to deepen the market.
Olowookere said that the 2017 Budget, if well implemented, would return the economy to expected growth and recovery.
Also, managing director of Highcap Securities Limited, Mr. David Adnori also revealed that companies listed under construction and agriculture sub-sector will be the biggest beneficiaries, saying that the budget has a way of reflecting on all the companies and economy as a whole.
“Investors should key into the counters of companies that are positioned to benefit from the infrastructural and developmental investments of the federal government,” he said.
He expressed optimism on the performance of the agricultural sector over the short to medium term, given the relevance of the sector to economic growth and the increased focus of the current administration on same.
He also pointed out that the industrial goods stocks are not left out in anticipation of increased demand for building materials, as the federal government commences its infrastructural development drive.
Also, the managing director of APT Securities and Funds Limited, Mallam Kurifi Garuba notes that looking at the budget, there is provision for infrastructure, the construction and cement companies, all of which will benefit.
Garuba said, under the construction sub-sector,   Julius Berger, G Cappa, Road Nigeria, Costain will all benefit, saying the cement industry will equally benefit. “Once there is more of demand of infrastructure, there will be high demand of cement” he noted.
He pointed out that sectors that provide the basic goods will also benefit indirectly, noting that the agriculture sector is doing well, not necessary because of the budget but due to the major reform in the sector.
The director-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mounir Gwarzo, on his part has said that the federal government’s 2017 Budget was aimed at increasing the country’s productive sector spending.
He said, “We believe that the government budget for 2017 is a very promising budget. It is clearly a budget that is aimed at solving some of our problems. And I think the path government has taken is in my opinion the right part.
According to Gwarzo, “From an economic point of view, when a country is in recession there are basically two economic models that you use in solving that recession.
“You either use what we call the classical model, or some people call it the monetary model. The classical model emphasizes on using the monetary policies, interest rates and exchange rate to address the recession.
“The other model is what economist call the Keynesian model or some people call the fiscal model where government will now use fiscal interventions in terms of spending to reflate the economy, and I think that is what this government is looking at using the fiscal aspect by increasing spending.
“By the time you increase spending the disposable income of people will go up, by the time it goes up there will be savings and when there is savings there will be investment. And investment will now create growth and I think that is the focus of this budget which to us is something that is in the right direction.”
Gwarzo said the government was also revitalising the commodity exchange in line with its efforts to diversify and grow the agricultural sector.
According to the NSE DG, agriculture is the main stay of any economy, adding that history has shown that no country has actually progressed by relying only on the oil sector.

Leadership

How police killed Vampire, Nigeria’s deadliest kidnapper

By Christopher Oji, Lagos and George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
Five weeks after he was rescued by daredevil members of his gang in the premises of an Owerri High Court, Henry Chibueze, a notorious kidnapper in the South-East and South-South zones popularly known as Vampire, is dead.
Vampire was killed during a shoot-out with the police at Omu Awa forest, Ikwerre, Rivers State, in the early hours of yesterday.
Police spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), said the “dreaded and deadly kidnap-for-ransom kingpin” was killed by the Police Special Forces, led by Abba Kyari of the Inspector-General of Police’s (IGP) Intelligence Response Team (IRT) at 1am on Thursday.
He said that five suspected members of the gang were also arrested and a cache of arms and ammunition recovered from them.
Moshood disclosed that the gang had been responsible for many kidnappings and robbery attacks in Imo, Abia, Rivers, Delta and other states in the South-East and South-South. He noted that the members of the gang would be paraded and charged to court on completion of investigation.
Those arrested were identified as 26-year-old Obinna Elah, Arinze Abecheta, 24; Chukwu Ebuka Ikeazota, 23; Samuel Ugochukwu, 24, and Clifford Aheana.
“Chibueze, the Vampire, was the criminal spirited away by his gang members on January 27, 2017, from the premises of an Owerri High Court,” he said. “He was arrested in 2015 and had been in prison custody following the kidnap of the wife of a government official.”
Chibueze, who was brought to the court alongside other suspects, had escaped when gunmen, in a sports utility vehicle that had been parked at the premises, opened fire as soon as he disembarked from the prison van.
“The suspect was then spirited away by the gunmen, leaving five prison officials and some bystanders wounded by the gunfire. Two other suspects were taken along with him.”
The Public Relations Officer of Nigeria Prisons Service, Mr. James Madugba, said that the accomplices had been mistaken for operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), hence no alarm was raised when they were spotted at the court.
Chibueze, who was paraded by the DSS before the Ino State governor in 2015, admitted to having carried out several kidnappings in the state and beyond before his arrest. After his escape in January, Governor Rochas Okorocha announced a N5 million bounty for information that would lead to his arrest.
The Inspector-General of Police, on the killing of Vampire, said: “He was shot dead during a gunfight with the police.  A gang opened fire on our men and our men returned fire for fire.  He was fatally wounded, but died on the way to the hospital.”
Meanwhile, there was wild jubilation in the Imo State police command, as policemen rejoiced over the death of Vampire, who they described as notorious.

Culled from Sun

MAN BURIED ALIVE IN COFFIN AFTER KISSING WIFE GOODBYE-Sarah Scott

Man is BURIED ALIVE in coffin under city street after kissing his wife goodbye

Friends closed the lid of the casket and dumped soil on top of it after John Edwards climbed inside the box and laid down

A husband kissed his wife goodbye before being buried in a coffin under a city street.
Friends and family closed the lid of the casket and dumped soil on top of it today after John Edwards climbed inside the box and laid down.
The pensioner is to spend three days inside the coffin in a hole dug with a JCB outside a church in Belfast.
But he will at least have the benefit of mod cons including broadband internet.

John will spend three days in the coffin (Photo: Alan Lewis)

John hopes the stunt will help raise awareness for those suffering from addiction and depression .
The former addict founded the charity Walking Free, which helps people who are suicidal and those with addiction.

John's wife Trish helped to shovel soil onto his coffin (Photo: Alan Lewis)

He will live stream help and advice to addicts from inside his coffin.

"I'm a former addict and I've been clean and sober for 25 years," John said.
"I'm making a very large coffin, I'm burying it in East Belfast and I'm going to live in it for three days."

John was helped into the casket by his wife and friends (Photo: Alan Lewis)

During his three-day stint in the coffin, John will be broadcasting stories of hope from his temporary underground home to help those who are struggling.
"I know this is a radical move but people are continually contacting me who are either suicidal or who know friends or family who are," he told Belfast Live .
"My plan is to speak to them from the grave before they get there and show them hope."

John gives Trish a kiss before climbing into his coffin (Photo: Alan Lewis)

A piece of ground alongside Willowfield Parish Church, in the east of the city, was prepared for the stunt as JCBs dug a hole to accommodate a coffin.

John Edwards being buried alive (Photo: Alan Lewis)

The coffin, big enough for John to sit up and lie down in, has been kitted out with electrics and broadband.
The live stream from the coffin will be broadcast on the Walking Free website and live on Facebook.

Trish places a headstone over John's 'grave' (Photo: Alan Lewis)

John will take calls, emails, Skype and texts from people around the world, who in turn will share their stories, live streaming through the coffin.
It is hoped the feed will reach millions around the world.
"People will communicate with me how they have navigated and overcome trauma, suicide attempts, coping with addicted children or family members as well as addiction to substance and behavior," he said.

John air pipes from the surface to the coffin 6ft under (Photo: Alan Lewis)

John, a committed Christian who has been happily married to wife Trish for 20 years, said he is both privileged and humbled to help those who've lost hope.
Willowfield rector David McClay said: "John is going into the coffin on Ash Wednesday which marks the start of Lent. The season of Lent is one when Christians talk about dying to ourselves.
"But the message from the grave is one of hope - hope for those who are struggling with addictions, hope for those who feel life is hopeless, and hope of life that is eternal.

Culled from Mirror

N2.8b fraud: I made statement under duress –Ex-NBC director tells court — Godwin Tsa

Former Director of Finance and Accounts, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Patrick Areh, yesterday  told the Federal High Court  sitting in Abuja that the  statement he made in respect of the N2.8 billion fraud was not voluntary, as he was under duress.

Areh, who made a two-page statement on January 11, 2016 and endorsed same before the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alleged, through his counsel, Ike Chube Frank, that he made the statement, which admitted the transfer of  N2.8 billion from the Commission’s bank account with Zenith Bank to Technology Advisor account under compulsion.

The defendant raised the allegation of duress, just as the prosecution counsel, Ben Ikani, applied to tender Areh’s statement through the 1st prosecution witness, John S. Ejim, an operative of EFCC.

Ejim had told the court that a petition written by one Oke Nwafor ignited the arrest of Emeka Mba, former Director General of Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC),

He said the defendants conspired among themselves and transferred the sum of N2,899,723,500.00, being proceeds of sales of 700 mega head of spectrum, from the commission Zenith Bank account to Technology Advisor’s account.

The witness said the diverted sum was illegally paid to five sectors boxes manufacturer under the digital switch over platform.

The court admitted, in evidence, copy of the  petition sent to Executive Chairman of the  EFCC that was addressed to the president.

Trial judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, said the court would conduct a trial-within-trial to ascertain the admissibility of the 2nd defendant’s confessional statement.

The four defendants are facing a 15-count charges. Part of the charge reads thus: “That you  Emeka Mba (while being the Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission), Patrick Areh, while being the director finance and account of the National Broadcasting Commission; Basil Udotai (trading in the name and style of Technology Advisor) and Babatunji Amure (trading on the name and Style of Divine Partners) on or about the 15th day of August 2015, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court conspired among yourselves to commit an illegal act to wit ‘laundering the sum of N2,899,723,500.00, contrary to section 18 (a) of the money laundering prohibition act 2011, as amended, and punishable under section 16(3) of the same Act.

“That you Emeka Mba (while being the Director General of National Broadcasting Commission) on or about the 31st day of August, 2015, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did award contracts for supply of set up top boxes in the sum of N1, 237,400,000.00 for Digital Switch Over national broadcasting Commission to Gospel Digital Technology, Trefoil Global Investment Limited, Zinox Technology limited, Media Concept International Limited and nine other firms without seeking approval of the Bureau of Public Procurement, contrary to section 40 of the Public Procurement Act No 65, of 2007 and punishable under section 58 of the section 58 of same Act.”

Sun