Author: NPO Admin I

By Halimah Olamide A Nigerian theatre Director, Wole Oguntiokun has died. Oguntokun, before relocating to Canada was a household name in many local stage productions in Nigeria. Oguntokun was also notable for his works on some local television stations where he directed some TV drama series. His colleague and long time friend, Kayode Peters, who first broke the news on his instagram page, said “I remember that year. I was just cutting my teeth as a professional theatre director. Your search for a director for your script brought you to the University of Lagos and I was your obvious choice”…

The Chief of Staff to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Tayo Ayinde has withdrawn his suit against the Aare Ona Kakanfo, Gani Adam. The duo have agreed to settle their differences out of court. NPO Reports that Ayinde had sued Adam over defamation after Adam allegedly made a remark saying Ayinde was coordinator of a plot to kill him. But in a letter by Ayinde’s lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, he said his client had considered the high office he holds and the intervention of well-meaning personalities. He said: “Kindly assure your client that my client appreciates the fact that the public office he…

By Halimah Olamide Once again, Nigerian financial institutions may be forced to merge as the country’s apex bank on Thursday pegged the minimum capital base at N500bn. The Central Bank of Nigeria, in its announcement, said the N500bn is for banks with international authorisation while those with national authorisation will have N200bn as capital base. Banks with regional authorisations will have as their minimum capital base, N50bn. A circular signed by the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Haruna Mustafa, to all commercial, merchant, and non-interest banks and promoters of proposed banks emphasised that all banks are required to meet…

Boss of Cryptocurrency company FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced Bankman-Fried at a Manhattan court hearing after rejecting his claim that FTX customers did not actually lose money. He accused him of lying during his trial testimony. “A jury found Bankman-Fried, 32, guilty on Nov. 2 on seven fraud and conspiracy counts stemming from FTX’s 2022 collapse in what prosecutors have called one of the biggest financial frauds in U.S. history,” Reuters reported on Thursday “He knew it was wrong,” Kaplan said of Bankman-Fried before handing down the sentence.…

By Luc Cohen NEW YORK, March 28 (Reuters) – A few years after graduating from college, Sam Bankman-Fried grew worried he was not taking enough risks. So the son of two Stanford Law School professors quit his Wall Street job and in 2017 started a cryptocurrency hedge fund, setting off a sequence of events that will culminate on Thursday with his sentencing over what federal prosecutors have called one of the biggest financial frauds in U.S. history. Prosecutors are seeking 40 to 50 years behind bars for 32-year-old Bankman-Fried, while his defense lawyers have argued he should receive less than…

A Nigerian Senator, Benson Konbowei (PDP Bayelsa) who was accused of forging his National Youth Service Corps Certificate has been granted bail in the sum of N50million. Konbowei represents Bayelsa Central Senatoria and was earlier arraigned on a- three – court charge bordering on forging National Youth Service Corps exemption certificate among others. The counsel for the police, Mr Reuben Egwaba, had opposed the bail application for the defendant. He noted that the defendant would interfere with his trial if granted bail. “While the charge was filed, the defendant took several steps to interfere with the matter. ” He also…

Agency Report The Defence Headquarters says the release of 313 terrorism suspects to Borno Government was on the orders of the Federal High Court sitting in Maiduguri. The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, who made the clarification on Thursday in Abuja, said the suspects were detained on suspicion, but no evidence was found against them at the conclusion of investigation. According to him, the cases were prosecuted by the Federal Ministry of Justice, wherein the court ordered for their release. “Accordingly they were handed over to the Borno State Government for further action,’’ he said. Meanwhile, troops of…

Agency Reports The National Assembly has assured the Ministry of Works of adequate budgetary provision for the completion of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway which has a contract sum of N1.08 billion. The Chairman, joint National Assembly Committee on Works, Sen. Barinada Mpigi, gave the assurance when he led members of the joint National Assembly Committee on Works on oversight visit to some selected federal highway projects in Lagos. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Coastal Highway is an inter-state highway that is proposed to traverse about nine states along the coastal shoreline of the country. The 750km…

Agency Reports The Federal Government will, on April 4, arraigned Binance Holdings Limited and its two top officials; Tigran Gambaryan and fleeing Nadeem Anjarwalla, on allegations bordering on tax evasion. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reliably gathered on Thursday that Binance, Mr Gambaryan and Mr Anjarwalla, listed as 1st to 3rd defendants respectively, are expected to be arraigned before Justice Emeka Nwite of a Federal High Court (FHC), Abuja on four-count charge. NAN reports that while Anjarwalla is Binance’s Africa regional manager, Gambaryan, is a US citizen overseeing financial crime compliance at the crypto exchange platform. However, Anjarwalla, who…

Justice Abubakar Kutigi of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Thursday discharged former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) , Mohammed Bello Adoke ,SAN and six others . They were charged with legations of committing infractions relating to the controversial Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245, otherwise known as Malabu Oil scam. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), dragged Adoke and other defendants before the court on an amended 40-count charge bordering on disobeying direction of the law, offering and receiving gratification, conspiracy and forgery, among others. Adoke, who served as AGF and Minister of Justice under…