A federal capital territory (FCT) high court in Maitama has arraigned Hadi Sirika, a former minister of aviation.

The ex-minister has also been granted bail in the sum of N100 million.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Sirika on a six-count amended charge bordering on alleged N2.7 billion contract fraud.

The EFCC had detained Sirika on April 23 pending his arraignment.

1. A factional Speaker, Victor Oko Jumbo, representing Bonny Constituency, has emerged in the Rivers Assembly in a new twist to the crisis rocking the State. He was elected by lawmakers loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

2. Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, will on Thursday, May 9, arraign the former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, his daughter, Fatimah, and two other suspects in court. The suspects are facing charges over alleged N2.7 billion contract fraud uncovered in the Aviation Ministry under Sirika.

3. The Nigerian Army has withdrawn its officials from Okuama community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State. According to a statement by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, the withdrawal was confirmed during a phone conversation with the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, on Monday, May 6.

4. The Rivers State chapter of the Association of Local Government Areas of Nigeria (ALGON) has said it is ready to back the call for the impeachment of Governor Siminalayi Fubara. The local government chairmen also accused Fubara of embezzling funds intended for the state’s twenty-three LGAs.

5. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, yesterday, stepped down a motion calling for the suspension of the cybersecurity levy, which has sparked widespread dissatisfaction. During Wednesday’s plenary session, Manu Soro, a lawmaker from Bauchi State, presented the motion, expressing concerns that the levy’s introduction was ill-timed given the prevailing economic condition in Nigeria.

6. The Ogun State Police Command said it has arrested a septuagenarian landlord, identified simply as Adesina, for allegedly defiling and impregnating his tenant’s 14-year-old girl (name withheld) at Akegbeyale Street in Ifesowapo Akute, Ifo Local Government Area of the state. The state Police Command spokesman, Omolola Odutola, said the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, where all parties would be grilled.

7. The police on Wednesday continued their investigation into the circumstances leading to the death of the late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, aka Mohbad. This followed the invitation extended to Mohbad’s family and the group of persons mentioned in the ongoing probe of the illegal embalming of the deceased’s body following his death.

8. The Nigeria Police has arrested eight suspected cult members at the Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti. The Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti State Command, Sunday Abutu, said, in Ado Ekiti, on Wednesday, that the arrest the previous day followed the intervention of men of the Rapid Response Squad following a distress call.

9. The Department of Development Control of the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, AMMC, of the FCT Administration, has demolished shanties illegally built on a road corridor in Wuse Zone 3. The Coordinator of AMMC, Mr Felix Obuah, told journalists after the exercise on Wednesday that the move was part of efforts to clear all shanties in the city.

10. The House of Representatives has called for security presence in schools across the nation to address the worsening security situation in the country. The decision of the House is sequel to the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved at the plenary on Wednesday by Billy Osawaru.

The Federal Government has accused Binance of blackmail after the company alleged officials demanded $150 million in cryptocurrency payments as a bribe to settle the prosecution of its executives in Nigeria.

On Tuesday, Richard Teng, Binance’s chief executive officer (CEO), said some unknown persons in Nigeria demanded huge payments in digital currency to make their problems in the country “go away”.

Teng’s allegation followed the detention of Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s regional manager for Africa, and Tigran Gambaryan, the company’s head of financial crime compliance, in Nigeria, on February 28.

The two executives were detained as part of a probe bordering on Binance’s illegal operations in Nigeria and foreign exchange rate manipulations.

While criminal charges have been against Binance and Gambaryan, Anjarwalla fled detention on March 22.

However, Anjarwalla was reportedly arrested by the Police Service in April and the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) is working towards extraditing him to Nigeria.

In a statement by Rabiu Ibrahim, special assistant to the minister of information and national orientation, the government said the allegation by Binance is an attempt by the cryptocurrency exchange to launder its impaired image as an organisation that does not play by the rules and laws guiding business conduct in sovereign nations.

“In a blog post that has now been published by many international media organisations, in an apparent well-coordinated public relations effort, Binance Chief Executive Officer Richard Teng made false allegations of bribery against unidentified Nigerian government officials who he claimed demanded $150m in cryptocurrency payments to resolve the ongoing criminal investigation against the company,” the ministry said.

“This claim by Binance CEO lacks any iota of substance. It is nothing but a diversionary tactic and an attempted act of blackmail by a company desperate to obfuscate the grievous criminal charges it is facing in Nigeria.

“The facts of this matter remain that Binance is being investigated in Nigeria for allowing its platform to be used for money laundering, terrorism financing, and foreign exchange manipulation through illegal trading.

“While this lawful investigation was going on, an executive of Binance, who was in court-sanctioned protective custody, escaped from Nigeria, and he is now a fugitive from the law. Working with the security agencies in Nigeria, Interpol is currently executing an international arrest warrant on the said fugitive.”

BRIBERY ALLEGATION PART OF ORCHESTRATED INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN

The ministry said the bribery allegation is part of an orchestrated international campaign by Binance to undermine the Nigerian government.

The ministry said Binance is facing criminal prosecution in many countries including the United States.

“Just a week ago, the founder and former CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, was sentenced to prison in the United States, after pleading guilty to charges very similar to what Binance is being investigated for in Nigeria. In addition, Zhao agreed to pay a fine of $50 million, while Binance is liable for $4.3 billion in fines and forfeitures to the US Government,” the government said.

“We would like to remind Binance that it will not clear its name in Nigeria by resorting to fictional claims and mudslinging media campaigns. The only way to resolve its issues will be by submitting itself to unobstructed investigation and judicial due process.”

The ministry said the Nigerian government will continue to act within its laws and international norms and will not succumb to any form of blackmail from any entity, local or foreign.