Headlines

NIMASA vows to intensify campaign against war risk insurance on Nigerian cargo

Heads of agencies of FMOT

—- as maritime agencies embrace national single window project

Eyewitness reporter

The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh has renewed his unflagging commitment to having the obnoxious war risk insurance slammed on Nigeria- bound cargo removed.

The international shipping cartel has placed extra charges on Nigeria- bound cargo as a war risk insurance in the wake of the spike in pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea and Nigerian waters.

But due to the efforts of the agency with active collaboration and support of relevant agencies, Nigeria was removed from the piracy list by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) due to the drastic reduction in the incidence of piracy attacks in the Gulf of Guinea and Nigerian waters.

But despite this feat, the global shipping cartel still retains the war risk insurance levy, thus making the cost of shipping in Nigeria prohibitive.

However, Dr. Jamoh, at the meeting of heads of agencies under the ministry of transportation, revealed the determination of NIMASA to create international awareness against the obnoxious policy with a view to having it reviewed.

Commenting on the high freight rate occasioned by the War Risk Insurance placed on Nigerian bound vessels, the NIMASA DG stated that the Agency would focus on creating the awareness, while also canvassing the International Community for a review.

This move is in relation to the removal of Nigeria from the global piracy list.

“It may interest you to know that by the end of this quarter, which is the end of June, we would have recorded another milestone as we are yet to record a single attack or incident of maritime insecurity on our waters.

“Therefore, we will keep advocating for the total removal of War Risk Insurance by the international community, so that Nigerians can benefit from that”, Jamoh stated

Meanwhile, Federal Government agencies under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Transportation (FMOT), have reached an agreement to digitalize their internal processes, while also maintaining focus on actualizing the National Single Window regime in the nation’s transportation sector.

This agreement was reached at the 4th Heads of Maritime Agencies meeting in Lagos.

Addressing the press after the meeting, the Registrar of Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), Barrister Sam Nwakohu, disclosed that full automation of the internal processes of the various agencies represented is a pre-requisite to achieving the much anticipated National Single Window regime in the sector.Nwakohu, who was the Chairman of the meeting, said the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the various Agencies have agreed on timelines to achieve full automation of internal processes.

“We have agreed that all Agencies under the Ministry of Transportation should as a matter of priority, attain full automation.

” This process will be well-coordinated and we also gave ourselves timelines to achieve this”, he said.

On his part, the DG of NIMASA), Dr. Jamoh, said that NIMASA automation processes have reached over 80%.

Jamoh also gave the assurance that NIMASA’s commitment to automation is to reduce human interface, while also plugging revenue leakages in the system.

“In line with the Federal Government’s Executive Order on Ease of Doing Business, we are committed to full automation to attain reduction of human interface in the majority of our transactions with our stakeholders and this is in our bid to ensure transparency and professionalism which the sector requires to grow.

“The goal is to align with the National Single Window initiative when all the internal processes of the various Agencies have been concluded”, he said.
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It may be recalled that the maiden edition of the meeting was in 2020, with the aim of enhancing the synergy and cooperation of parastatals under the supervision of the FMOT, which is intended for a more effective and efficient maritime sector.

The meeting also had in attendance; the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mr. Mohammed Bello Koko; Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Hon. Emmanuel Jime; Managing Director, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Dr. George Moghalu.

Others are; Managing Director, Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Mr. Fidet Okhiria; Rector, Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) Oron, Commodore Emmanuel Duja Effedua and Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), Zaria, Mr. Bayero Salih-Farah Zaria.

Headlines

Lagos princess congratulates Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu

… tasks them on development of maritime economy

The eyewitness reporter

The President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Olushola Sanwo-Olu have been tasked with paying attention to the maritime economy for its development for the overall benefit of Nigeria and her citizenry.

Giving the task with congratulatory messages, a Lagos princess, Princess Ronke Kosoko, noted that developing the maritime economy would instigate the economic development of the nation.

Princess Kosoko who is the CEO of Employment Clinic and Coordinator, Project One Million Jobs,

congratulated Asiwaju Tinubu and Governor Sanwo-Olu on their well-deserved victories at the polls.

She was confident that the Nigerian maritime economy will gain immensely from the Tinubu administration even as she enjoined the President-elect to focus on the industry.

Kosoko noted that skilled maritime personnel is aging and there is a need to transfer their wealth of experience to the younger generation who needs to be prepared to take over from the retiring generation.

She disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Transportation had approved the request for Project One Million Jobs to interface with agencies under the ministry for a seamless flow of talks and synergy that will positively impact and lead to a new frontier in the industry.

Ronke Kosoko unveiled her pet project, Maritime Conversion Programme (MCP), which she explained was designed to introduce Nigerian graduates to the maritime sector and improve career prospects.

Kosoko said that the MCP, which has gotten the backing of the government, would give support and connect not less than 5000 Nigerian graduates with the right employers in the industry who can engage them in non-technical aspects of shipping.

She noted that women will be given an adequate percentage under MCP, stating that the MCP is not creating jobs but providing a fertile ground for the transfer of knowledge from old Nigerians in the industry to young ones.

Headlines

Ekweremadu, wife may go to jail as London court finds them guilty of organ tafficking

Ike Ekweremadu; his wife, Beatrice;

The Eyewitness reporter with agency report

A former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu; his wife Beatrice; and their doctor, Obinna Obeta have been found guilty of organ trafficking in the first verdict of its kind under the Modern Slavery Act.

Ekweremadu, 60; his wife, Beatrice, 56; and Obeta, 51; were found guilty of facilitating the travel of a young man to Britain with a view to his exploitation after a six-week trial at the Old Bailey.

They allegedly criminally conspired to bring the 21-year-old Lagos street trader to London to exploit him for his kidney, the jury found, according to UK Guardian.

Ekweremadu and his wife were charged in the United Kingdom after they allegedly lured a young man from Nigeria to harvest his organ for their ailing daughter, Sonia.
The lawmaker was last year arrested and had been in the custody of UK authorities after they received complaints from the young man about their alleged plans to harvest his organ.

The prosecutor, Hugh Davies KC, told the court on Thursday the Ekweremadus and Obeta had treated the man and other potential donors as “disposable assets – spare parts for reward”.

He said they entered an “emotionally cold commercial transaction” with the man.

The behaviour of Ekweremadu, a successful lawyer and founder of an anti-poverty charity who helped draw up Nigeria’s laws against organ trafficking, showed “entitlement, dishonesty and hypocrisy”, Davies told the jury.

He said Ekweremadu, who owns several properties and had a staff of 80, “agreed to reward someone for a kidney for his daughter – somebody in circumstances of poverty and from whom he distanced himself and made no inquiries, and with whom, for his own political protection, he wanted no direct contact”.

Davies added, “What he agreed to do was not simply expedient in the clinical interests of his daughter, Sonia, it was exploitation, it was criminal.

“It is no defence to say he acted out of love for his daughter. Her clinical needs cannot come at the expense of the exploitation of somebody in poverty.”

Ekweremadu, who denied the charge, told the court he was the victim of a scam.

Obeta, who also denied the charge, claimed the man was not offered a reward for his kidney and was acting altruistically.

Beatrice denied any knowledge of the alleged conspiracy. Sonia did not give evidence.

The judge, Mr Justice Jeremy Johnson, will pass sentence at a later date.

Headlines

EFCC arraigns bank manager, two others for N55m fraud in Makurdi

Owolola Adebola

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC,) on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, arraigned one Kichime Gomwalk, a branch manager of First City Monument Bank, (FCMB,) Michael Damkas Buayam of Tan Global Energy Limited, and Abbas Andrew Dayilim of Castlegate International Limited before Justice P. S. Gang of the Plateau State High Court Jos, on a five-count charge bordering on stealing, cheating and obtaining by false pretense to the tune of N55,000.000.00 (Fifty Five Million Naira) fraud.

Kichime Gomwalk, while serving as branch Manager, FCMB Plc, Murtala Mohammed Way Jos, in Plateau State is alleged to have forged COCIN GRATUITY CERTIFICATE OF PLEDGE/LETTER OF SET-OFF dated 30th DECEMBER, 2019, purportedly co-signed by Mrs. Monica Bitrus Tang and Rev (Dr.) Amos Musa Mohzo, Directors, which he used to secure an overdraft facility from FCMB Plc to the tune of N55, 000.000.00 (Fifty-Five Million Naira) with COCIN Gratuity account N0. 100GOMWALK379 domiciled with FCMB Plc

Count one of the charges reads, “That you, Kichime Gomwalk, Michael Damkas Buayam of Tan Global Energy Limited, and you Abbas Andrew Dayilim of Castlegate International Limited, sometime in December 2019 at Jos, in Plateau State within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court did conspire among yourselves to commit an unlawful act to with without Lawful authority engaged in the acquisition of N55,000.000.00 (Fifty Five Million Naira) overdraft credit facility from FCMB Plc and thereby committed an offense of conspiracy contrary to section 59 (1) of the Plateau State Penal Code Law, (20017) and punishable under Section 59 (2) of the same Law”.

Count two reads, “That you, Kichime Gomwalk, Michael Damkas Buayam of Tan Global Energy Limited, and you Abbas Andrew Dayilim of Castlegate International Limited, sometime in December 2019 in Plateau State within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court fraudulently used LETTER OF CONSENT to engage in the acquisition of N55,000.000.00 (Fifty Five Million Naira) overdraft credit facility from FCMB Plc knowing that at the time of acquisition of the said money, it was derived from the unlawful activity and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 18 (a) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment Act) 2004, and Punishable under section 18 (2) of the same Act”.

The defendants pleaded ‘not guilty’ when the charge was read to them.

The prosecution counsel, Uwaise Yusuf urged the court to remand the defendants and fix a date for trial.

The judge adjourned the case till May 18, 2023, and ordered the remand of the defendants at the Jos Correctional Center pending the hearing of their bail applications.