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Bawa’s EFCC Sets June 1 Deadline for Bank Staff to Declare Assets
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has ordered bank employees to declare their assets in accordance with the bank employees declaration of assets act.
The act requires every bank employee to make a full disclosure of all assets within 14 days of assuming duty with a bank.
The anti-graft agency has also set a June 1 deadline for workers to comply with the directive.
Abdulrasheed Bawa, EFCC chairman, disclosed this on Tuesday, while speaking with journalists after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said they discussed the efforts of the commission towards eradication of financial crimes in the country.
Bawa explained that the move is aimed at checking the role of banks in keeping funds acquired illegitimately.
“Let me just put this, we understood that at the tail end of every financial crime is for the criminal to have access to the funds that he or she has illegitimately gotten and we’re worried about the roles of financial institutions,” he said.
“And we have discussed, but we hope that all financial institutions, particularly the bankers, will declare their assets as provided for by the law, in accordance with the Bank Employees Declaration of Assets Act.
“And that the EFCC, come the 1st of June 2021, will be demanding for these asset declaration forms, filled by the bankers so that the line that we have drawn from the 1st of June is really complied with by bankers in particular.”
The EFCC boss lamented that the agency has arrested about 300 cyber criminals across the country between February and March.
“As a young man, I am appealing to all young Nigerians to desist from these cybercrime activities. It is bringing bad image to our country, it is giving bad name to our country, it is also chasing away a lot of foreign investment that we need,” Bawa said.
“And I call on all parents, guardians, and, of course, elders in the community, in the society to talk to these young people to desist from these crimes.
“These are crimes that they commit online. And of course, there is nothing like patting your back to say go and sin no more. Our laws does not provide for that. It is a crime and as we say in EFCC, EFCC will get you anywhere, anytime.”
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Donald Trump Sworn in As 47th American President, Pledges Swift Border Crackdown
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Hamas Releases Israeli Hostages As Ceasefire Agreement Comes into Effect
The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
Headlines
Again, Kemi Badenoch Lashes Out at Nigeria Says Country’s ‘Dream Killer’
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”