Customs records 12 Convictions for over 20,000kg of Endangered Species intercepted in 3yrs

The Special Wildlife Office of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), on Tuesday, disclosed that it has intercepted about 20,000 kilograms of illegal wildlife products and live specimens on the verge of being smuggled out of the country by criminals in the last 3years

Speaking at the second edition of the Cooperation meeting between the service and the Wildlife Justice Commission, the Officer in charge, NCS Special Wildlife Office, Abimbola Isafiade, stated that her office has so far secured 12 convictions on illegal wildlife cases and still counting

According to Abim, as she is fondly called, before now, the service recorded no prosecution on the arrest of Illegal Wildlife cases. However, since the creation of the office, Nigeria has taken center stage in the fight against wildlife crime and trafficking of endangered species.

She said, "In kilograms, we have seized about 20,000 kilograms of illegal wildlife products with live endangered species, and it is not just about the arrest but the fact that we are going ahead to prosecute these cases and have 12 convictions within three years with many cases pending before the court. From zero to 12 is remarkable and the best step in the right direction. Before 2021, we had zero convictions on Wildlife trafficking from Nigeria, but now, we have 12, which is commendable!

"It's a major shift, based on the commitment by NCS in developing the capacity of its officers. It is a huge investment which is yielding these visible results". And it shows that we are committed to the global cause. Hence, we are collaborating with other agencies in this fight because no agency can do it alone. Without all these efforts, we probably won't be here talking about achievements today. So it is a huge success," for which NCS, particularly the management and prosecutors, should be commended

She further stated that apart from the 12 convictions recorded, there are a series of ongoing court cases awaiting final judgment

"As of today, apart from the 12 convictions, we have a series of ongoing court cases. I'm sure we would secure convictions with stiffer penalties, with the Nigeria Customs Service Act and inclusion of financial crime investigation in NCS Illegal Wildlife cases, she said.

Also speaking on the Partnership with NCS, the Attachee of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Brian Geourgous, reiterated that the US government supports and pledges its commitment to Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) through training, provision of equipment, and other areas of needs to fight Wildlife Crime.

"Well, the U.S. government will focus on assisting Nigeria Customs Service the best way we can in some of these border areas that may be porous and may be seeing an influx of wildlife-related products undeclared.

"I think that the Nigeria Customs Service is doing a great job. We're here to assist and to implement some training and some other areas where we feel we may be able to help NCS do a little bit better. Over the last several years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has made great strides in international investigations, which is one of the reasons that I'm here. And that's an area where we can assist Nigeria Customs Service," he stated.

He, however, commended the service for their effort in combatting wildlife smuggling, thereby calling for improvement in strategies.

Right now, we are going to start implementing some of the strategies that you and I have talked about. We are at the point now where we will stop talking so much and start doing more.

Like any agency around the world, whether in Nigeria or the United States of America, we have to adapt and change with the criminal elements. They change, and we also need to change. So, as government agents, we need to learn and adapt to overcome, and that's part of the reason that I am here to assist," he stated.a

The member representing Etsako Federal Constituency, Hon. Anamero Dekeri, has officially joined the Edo State governorship race.

Dekeri, who is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), however, slammed Governor Godwin Obaseki, insisting that his administration had failed to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people.

The federal lawmaker, who seeks to emerge as the APC’s governorship candidate on February 17, said this at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday.

“I stand before you with a sense of purpose and determination. My name is Honourable Anamero Dekeri, and I am honored to declare my sincere interest in seeking the APC ticket for the Edo 2024 governorship election,” he said.

Assessing Obaseki's PDP-led administration, Dekeri stated, "Even the blind can see that the government of the state led by Godwin Obaseki is an abysmal failure. People are suffering, people are dying. Basic infrastructures have collapsed. The industries to employ our teeming population are no longer there, all sectors are in bad shape.”

Dekeri also faulted those demanding that the next governor of Edo State should be from Edo Central senatorial district.

He said zoning breeds incompetence, adding that the right competencies and skills should be considered.

"It is time Nigeria began to see beyond the leadership of turn by turn because, in my view, zoning breeds incompetence. And once an individual has a sense of entitlement, it could bring out the worst from that human. So we should be looking at a state where we choose leaders on the strength of their competence to lead. Let us dump the turn-by-turn politics, he said.

The lawmaker noted that in terms of population, the central senatorial district has the least number of voters among the three senatorial districts, because it's about 12% of the voting population of the state. They have produced two consecutive governors.

“Edo North, where I come from, has the second largest population in the state, with about 36% of the state population. We have only been privileged to produce a governor in the person of Comrade Adams Oshiohomole

"On the issue of zoning, the APC as a party in Edo State is not the ruling party. You can only give what you have, we are looking at how we will wrest power from this Obaseki-led leadership that is bereft of ideas that the state is subject to. We should have the power first before talking about zoning,” he maintained.

The lawyer, who describes himself as a philanthropist, said all through his career, he had championed education, economic empowerment, and social justice.

Dekeri added that his leadership style is dynamic, focusing on the needs of the people and ensuring that every policy decision aligns with the principles of fairness, justice, and equity.

“My vision for Edo State is one of progress, prosperity, and pride. I aspire to create an environment where every child has access to quality education, the youth are equipped with skills for the future, and our industries flourish, generating employment and driving economic growth” said the lawmaker.

Dekeri added that he seeks to build a state that exemplifies good governance, with the welfare of the people at the forefront of every decision

The Independent National Electoral Commission has fixed the Edo governorship poll for September 21, 2024.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Tajudeen Abbas, says the record of his predecessor, Rt.Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, in the area of legislation and infrastructure is unlikely to be matched.

Abbas said this during the inauguration of a 484-bed hall of residence at the University of Lagos which was christened the Femi Gbajabiamila Hall.

The Speaker said Gbajabiamila, who served 20 years in the House of Representatives before he was appointed chief of staff to the President, was an asset not just to the people of Surulere but to the nation’s apex legislative body.

“I don’t see in this generation any lawmaker that can do as much as Femi Gbajabiamila did for the Nigerian people. I don’t see that person. I say that with all sense of sincerity and honesty. This is a man who has been a high flier from day one for the past 20 years. He was at the helm of leadership at the National Assembly an unprecedented 20 years of service to humanity,” said Abbas.

He said Gbajabiamila who served as minority whip, minority leader, majority leader and then Speaker until last year had left shoes that would be difficult to fill by any politician.

“I can’t see anyone from the past to the present who can match these achievements. He is a rare person and I am sure there might not be too many people like him in this generation but it is our prayer that the future should eliminate the good examples he set in the National Assembly,” the Speaker added.

Abbas, who inaugurated four other projects which were sponsored by Gbajabiamila including the National Open University of Nigeria Surulere Campus, the rehabilitated Randle Street, the refurbished Bode Thomas Police Station and the Femi Gbajabiamila Mini Stadium, Orile; publicly endorsed the candidacy of Fuad Laguda, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress.

The Speaker said he was confident that the many projects sponsored by Gbajabiamila would convince the people of Surulere Constituency 1 to vote for Laguda in next month’s by-election which is being conducted to fill the vacant seat left by Gbajabiamila upon his assumption of office as chief of staff to the President last June.

In his remarks, Gbajabiamila said he felt the need to sponsor the 484-bed hall at the University of Lagos because there was an accommodation deficit at the school.

The President’s chief of staff, who is an alumnus of the University of Lagos, said lack of accommodation could also affect the performance of students hence the need to construct a new hall of residence. Also explaining his reason for constructing a mini stadium at Orile, he said it had become necessary in order to keep the youths busy as an idle hand is the devil’s workshop.

Gbajabiamila said he was hopeful that all the projects that were inaugurated including the Surulere Campus of the Open University, would inspire youths to greatness even as he called on youths to immediately apply for admission into the school.

The former Speaker, who noted that he had influenced the completion of over 250 projects in Lagos and beyond, said he was hopeful that the newly inaugurated projects would be properly maintained.

In her remarks the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Folashade Ogunshola, said the new hostel would help ameliorate the school’s accommodation challenge.

Ogunshola said her predecessor, Prof. Toyin Ogundipe, was the one who approached Gbajabiamila while he was Speaker to kindly assist the school to expand its student accommodation. She said the school was proud of Gbajabiamila as its alumnus but said the institution would still need assistance from the Federal Government to upgrade some of its facilities.

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has assured that the nightmare of Ajaokuta Steel Company will be addressed if he emerges President in the forthcoming February 25 election.

He also assured that the Inland Port in the State will be developed to help the inland water transportation system in the North and Nigeria as a whole.

Atiku, who stated these during the PDP presidential campaign rally in Lokoja, Kogi State capital, on Saturday, said, “I am very happy with the people of Kogi state for this show of support, show of love, most of the challenges have been enumerated by previous speakers, one of them is the issue of Ajaokuta. I want to confirm here that if you give us your support and elect a PDP government, the nightmare of Ajaokuta will be a thing of the past. I assure you this and it is a promise I have made on behalf of PDP.

“I also want to promise you that the issue of your inland port is not only a Kogi issue, but issue of Northern Nigeria, because through the development of the port in Kogi, we also will have access to the maritime transportation in this country, so it is not a Kogi matter, it is our matter for the entire north of the country. I promise you we will implement that program.”

The former Vice President also said there will be no more salary arrears in Kogi State because his administration will support the State to make sure no civil servant is owned salaries.

He added, “From what I have seen from Obajana up to Lokoja, it is thousands of young men and women, we will give you jobs, if we don’t give you jobs, we will give you business to do, I promise to set aside ten billion US dollars to empower our young men and women so that they can live comfortable live.”

He further said University closures will be a thing of the past, adding that students will no longer be out of school for eight months under his watch.

“If you look at Kogi State itself, since PDP stopped governing Kogi State, no development has taken place in this State, everything in Kogi was built by PDP,” Atiku stated.

He added that the APC came and deceived the Kogi people to vote for them, adding that they have now seen that APC meant “poverty, unemployment, insecurity, lack of development and every negative indices in human development.”

He continued, “We appeal to you, we are here not to deceive you, we are men and women of integrity, if you want your next state government to benefit you vote PDP in the presidential election, you will see that by the time we come to conduct the governorship election, we will take over Kogi state and make sure that we deliver good governance.”

On his part, the national chairman of PDP, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, urged the people to support PDP, adding that Nigerians have suffered enough under the APC-led administration.

Ayu said, “Kogi has never disappointed me, they gave me their best, I am asking you for one more time to also give me your best. I have enjoyed what you always give me. This time I am asking you to give me the best president of the fedaral Republic. Nigerians including the best people of Kogi state have suffered enough, the last seven years have been hell on earth, you have suffered insecurity, most of you cannot sleep with your eyes closed that the people of Kogi State and many parts of Nigeria have experienced.

“You have suffered poverty. When people was in power you know how much rice was sold, today you know how much a bag of rice is almost N50,000. You don’t have fertilizer to farm, your farms have been taken over by bandits we cannot continue to live in a country of hunger, we cannot continue to live in a country of poverty capital of the world. That is why having experienced the poor governance of our country.

“PDP is coming back. PDP will be back to improve everything that we started. Not many people know that we have spent trillions in Ajakuta in the importation of iron and steel products yet we have the capacity to export all these to the world. When PDP takes over you will see exactly of what we are capable of doing. I want everyone of you to get his PVC, because without your PVC this journey will not be possible. Vote for all our candidates when the time comes and we are going to take back government house Lokoja.

“For now it is important to vote for an experienced leader, somebody who has toured this country around and that person is Atiku Abubakar. I am happy to todat to welcome back home some of our members who made mistake and went to the other side.”

Also speaking, chairman of the PDP presidential campaign council and Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel, said, “Kogi State is one of the richest states in this country in terms of solid minerals. The only problem is that we need a business man like Atiku that we give you policies that will encourage people all over the world to come and exploit, extract and bring wealth to Kogi.

“The only person that will do that for you is Atiku Abubakar. I am sure many of you are not happy with the federal road network in the state because this is the center of Nigeria but with Atiku, he will link Kogi state with other parts of Nigeria. Because of the central nature of Kogi state, he has promised that he will concentrate on major road networks and if we have infrastructure, it will be easy to develop Kogi more than this.”

For his part, director-general of the PDP presidential campaign council and Sokoto State governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, said: “Kogi is unique in many sense, Kogi is the gate way to the South West from Northern Nigeria, Kogi is also the gateway to the South East and South South. Kogi is also the confluence of both river Niger and river Benue.

“It is in Kogi that we have the biggest and largest of the steel company in Nigeria, the Ajaokuta Steel complex. It is in Kogi that we also have the Obajana, Dangote’s main plant. Kogi is unique in its mineral deposits. You have all it takes, you have the minerals, you have the people, you have the land, you have the water. What we lack is leadership and that is what we lack in Nigeria today.

Atiku Abubakar of all the leading Presidential candidates, is the most preferred and the most prepared and for you the people of Kogi, he is the most business friendly.

“He will come and complete not only the Ajaokuta in its true sense but ensure that many factories and industries come up in Kogi by providing an enabling environment for businesses to thrive, for jobs to be created, for employment to be created and for the economy of Kogi state to be rejuvenated.

“It is only Atiku that can pilot the affairs of Nigeria, come May 2023, for all of theses to be achieved in Kogi, for security to be reestablished in Kogi, and for Nigeria to be repositioned for restructuring, for full recovery in every sense of it,” he said.

Also, speaking earlier, the director-general of Kogi State PDP campaign council and former deputy governor of the State, Arch. Yomi Awoniyi, appreciated the support received from party members and supporters, who didn’t relent in showing their support for the party and its presidential candidate.

He attested to the fact that the crowd present at the venue of the presidential campaign rally was a testament to the fact that PDP in Kogi State was fully ready to deliver all its candidates during the forthcoming February 25 elections.

While speaking on behalf of the three senatorial candidates of the party, the PDP candidate for Kogi Central, Bar. Natasha Akpoti-Uduhagan, appealed to the Atiku to ensure that the Ajaokuta Steel Company was revived so as to enable Kogi State generate more revenue and employments for its people.

Apart from the over 100,000 new members that defected to the PDP, prominent APC leaders in the State also dumped the ruling party for the PDP at the campaign rally.

National chairman of the party, Ayu, commended the efforts of PDP leaders in the State for bringing the high profile politicians to the party and he assured them of deserving recognition and reward.

Prominent among the defectors to PDP included a former deputy governor of Kogi State, Simon Achuba; a former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Umar Alfa Imam, and chairman, Kogi Elders Advisory Council, Alhaji Yahaya Karaku.

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has warned the people of Lagos against returning APC to power in the both in the state and federal level.

The former Vice President who spoke at the PDP’s presidential rally in Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, also discredited the APC’s claims of building major infrastructure in the state. He added that only “a single family has ruled the state for 23 years.”

He said, “the Federal government built the third mainland bridge, Agege motor road, and other road infrastructures in the state, the APC govt is lying to you about developing Lagos.

“It is time for you to liberate yourself from a family govt in power for over 23 years, by voting Jandor as your governor”.

The PDP flag bearer also promised to privatize all the refineries to raise $10b for women and youth empowerment in the country.

Further speaking, Alhaji Atiku again reiterated that he would set aside $10b to support youth and women empowerment

He said “I will set aside 10b to empower young men and women. “

“People have asked how I will get the money but If I privatize the Warri refinery and others, I will get the money,” he told the mammoth crowd.

Atiku further emphasized restructuring of the country if elected.

“If I am voted I will restructure the country. For the past 23 years u have been voting one family it is time to liberate ursef and vote Jandor.

Recall that many elder statesmen in the country have called for restructure which some have argued would solve some of the national problems currently facing the country.

Earlier, governorship candidate of the PDP in Lagos, Jandor told the party’s supporters that he will stop all forms is harassment by the NURTW and other miscreants hibernating in all motor parks and garages in the state.

He said, “In the last 23 years we haven’t seen anything in Lagos and it is time for us to have a meaningful government in Lagos by voting me.”

“Poverty rate has increased since Sanwo-Olu took over despite his claims of investment of N10b in the employment trust fund in Lagos.”

“Funke and I have been contributing our quota and employing people, we pay our taxes but Sanwo-olu and his deputy don’t.”

“Let me use this opportunity to tell the people of Lagos that you say the touts are terrorizing you but the govt doesn’t want that stop. As your governor, I will stop all forms of harassment in markets and motor parks and this is our pledge to the people of Lagos, Jandor said.

Speaking also at the rally, the party’s Vice Presidential candidate and governor of Delta, Ifeanyi Okowa told the crowd that, “I know Lagos is ready to deliver a massive vote for the PDP in the 2023 polls.”

“Atiku is acceptable all over the country and he is the one who can deliver to the people. PDP wants to restore the last glory of the country.”

“The resources of Lagos must be used for the people. Not where the rich will become richer and poor poorer. Atiku is the only candidate that can restore the glory of the lost country. Therefore go from door to door and house to house campaign to the people, PDP will restore Nigeria’s greatness, Okowa said.

On his party, the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Iyorcha Ayu told the gathering that Atiku will make Nigeria the best country in Africa.

He assured the people of Lagos that if Atiku is elected, he would abolish the multiple taxation system in Lagos.

He said, “Lagos is going to be liberated. We are going to rescue lagos from the hands of people who don’t want the progress of NIgeria. Liberating Lagos is liberating Nigeria.

It is a state that shouldn’t be in poverty. Atiku is ready to liberate lagos, he won’t over taxed you like the multiple taxation going on in Lagos.

He urged the crowd of supporters to “vote Jandor and all our candidates and above all we shall recover the Aso rock”, he said.