The "bandits" got a PR guy
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In this week’s issue
Money scandals: money-printing, FG budget fraud
The FG considering pay cuts for civil servants
Apparent "Bandits" spokesperson Sheikh Gumi shares insight into banditry
Where's the money?
3 weeks ago, we reported that the CBN and Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, shut down Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki's concern for how carelessly the CBN was printing money. They called him irresponsible for "spreading falsehoods", claiming that printing money for the government is part of the CBN's job description. An article published this week by People Gazette adds more to the gist.
Gazette claims to have obtained a recording of Transport minister Rotimi Amaechi, saying that Nigeria’s (sometimes) President Buhari has occasionally ordered the CBN to "keep printing money" since he was elected in 2015.
In the audio recording, Ameachi is heard claiming that the presidency was printing money to pay its debts (Our previous newsletter outlines how this could reduce the value of the Naira).
Not staff debt apparently
The BBC recently released this 9-minute long expose on pension fraud in Nigeria. In the expose they interview people struggling to get their money after retirement.
The video exposes fraud (pensioners still alive are recorded as deceased) and exploitation (older Nigerians forced to pay government workers before they can get some of their pension)
The FG vs civil servants?
Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, said the FG is considering reducing government spending by reviewing and potentially cutting the salaries of civil servants as well as the number of federal agencies.
She urged the government agencies to come together to "trim the country's dwindling revenue".
The office of the president has the most extravagant items, former presidents still get paid salaries AND allowances.
The Nigerian Labor Congress has condemned this move to review the payroll (that they're already not really paying tbh).
The NLC president Dr. Ayuba Wabba said instead of contemplating a reduction in salaries, the government, as a social partner should respond to the demands— like paying workers the salaries they're owed.
Ms. Ahmed claims the government also intends to remove superfluous items from the budget to cut the cost of governance.
Speaking of "Superfluous"
BudgIT, a civic-tech non-profit organization that advocates for public spending transparency revealed this week that it found over 316 duplicated FG projects worth N39.5bn "among other loopholes for corruption"
Of the 316, the press release they shared said that 115 of them are in the Ministry of Health.
(Remember: the government owes public medical practitioners over 3 years’ worth of salaries and recently dissolved house fellowships for medical students when trainees protested the delayed pay).
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The FG on financing terrorism
The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, said that the government is investigating affluent Nigerians they suspect are financing terrorism.
He said that an "undisclosed" number of Nigerians based in the UAE have in the past been suspected of financing unrest in Nigeria— these are part of the people currently under investigation.
The investigation, he said, has reached an "advanced stage" that reveals "reasonable grounds" to suspect these undisclosed people.
Asked how many of them have so far been arrested, he said “investigation is ongoing and it has to be conclusive before one can arrive at a certain number, but it’s a large number".
On what message is the government sending to the financiers of terrorism, he said, “The message is clear: nobody is going to be spared, no stone will be left unturned"
Former Nigerian military officer Shikeh Gumi says that the bandits are "not living in luxury" they live in huts.
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The week in schools-targeted terrorism
Private schools in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory closed this week over fear of possible attack by kidnappers.
Leadership reported that the schools sent their students home when they got information that 200 unidentified men suspected to be kidnappers were dropped by a truck in Sabon Wuse area of Niger State, a border town with Bwari, Abuja.
According to the Leadership article, over 10 people have been kidnapped in Bwari area council with ransom of about N10 Million paid to secure their release.
Police claim to be "monitoring the situation". According to a senior police officer in Bwari who spoke to Leadership but pleaded anonymity, "the situation is very critical and the police are not taking it lightly."
But the Army claim there is no impending attack on Abuja. So never mind I guess.
Greenfield University students
Apparent spokesperson for "Bandits" Sheikh Gumi has updates: He said in an interview with AIT that "Bandits" did not kidnap the Greenfield students, that was Boko Haram.
The parents of the kidnapped students are reported to have paid N800,000 for their release. This money was apparently paid to a man who was accompanied by Sheikh Gumi who apparently doubles as Boko Haram's negotiator.
The bandit visitor allegedly told the parents of the abducted students that the 800,000 was "for transport".
The kidnappers are believed to have killed 5 of the 22 students they kidnapped and released 1 child after collecting the ransom. 16 remain in their custody.
According to El-Rufai, the Governor of Kaduna, where the school is located, the plan was to "recover some of the students" while "killing all the bandits and losing some of the students" (his exact words).
El-Rufai said that the army already had instructions to attack but the bandits "slipped through" the cordon of the army and that's why they were not attacked.
Meanwhile, 300 cows rescued in Zamfara
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Pantami: NIN still in the mix
ICYMI: Isa Pantami became the first-ever minister to win the “most outstanding Minister” award in a magazine that only exists on Facebook. The federal ministry of communications and digital economy announced it.
Is Nigeria setting a trend? Remember when the president of the Actor’s Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Emeka Rollas awarded Sen. Elisha Abbo patron of the guild not months after he was caught on camera physically abusing a woman?
Still unable to shake off the negative press despite his award, Pantami has decided to shift the SIM-NIN link deadline to the 30th of June.
Sometimes-President, Buhari said complete National Identity Number registrations will help fight insecurity in the country.
Question: what about right now? The "Bandits'' and kidnappers are constantly making ransom calls
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Things we didn’t get into
Reports say debris from a rocket that blew up in space might fall in Nigeria (Abuja) this weekend. Wear a helmet? 🥴
Nigerian journalist Tobore Ovuorie has been awarded the DW Freedom of Speech Award 2021. She went undercover as a sex worker to expose a human trafficking ring that was involved in organ trafficking. (DW)
Shikeh Gumi outlines the different types of "bandits" we have in Nigeria in an interview with Channels TV- as a terrorist expert who is obviously not a terrorist himself
Buhari Suspends Nigeria Ports Authority MD Hadiza Bala-Usman upon Amechi’s request. President rep. Mallam Garba Shehu, said her suspension would allow the federal government to investigate Bala-Usman’s alledged mismanagement of federal funds (AriseTV)
Herdsmen kill 11 in Benue days after Buhari warned the State governor to accept RUGA (People’s Gazette)
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Recommended reads
Goodwill doesn’t want your broken toaster: An NPR article about being intentional with your charitable donations. “A key question to ask before [donating something] is: If you needed it, would you buy it in this condition?”
How a 'time of crisis' creates a 'crisis of time': About grief and living in the past, present, and future
Inside Nigeria’s Abortion Realities: Sponsored By The West To Stop Abortions- Abortion reversal pills and western organizations using Nigerian women as guinea pigs (Document Women)
PS
It is normal for nonprofits to send audited reports to donors. The usual practice is: if it isn’t sent directly to you, you can either request a copy of the audited statement directly from the organization (via email or otherwise) or check their website.
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