Daily Watch – Bandits waylay NW Nigeria, CBN bans interbank FX transfers

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has banned the transfer of foreign exchange (forex) between customers. According to the regulator, forex cash lodgements into domiciliary accounts can only be done by the account owners henceforth. An internal memo explains that the new guidelines are necessary to review the utilisation of inflows into customers domiciliary accounts. The circular states: “Forex inflows cannot be credited to customers until the legitimacy of funds is established. “They can have unfettered access by telegraphic transfers up to a limit of $40,000 monthly for payment of medical bills, school fees, subscription to professional bodies subject to existing CBN guidelines. “Transfers from one customer to another is prohibited. Transfer within related companies is allowed subject to a limit of $50,000 per month.” It recommended that proceeds from non-oil exports should be sold to banks, used for repayment of dollar term loans, and self-utilisation for trade transactions for LC, bills and Form A. Also, oil export proceeds from E&P companies are to be used to pay contractors and service providers employed by the oil companies in addition to the recommended uses for non-oil FX proceeds. Offshore forex inflows from other Nigerian banks and internal accounts to forex transfers sourced from offshore inflows are to be used for trade transactions subject to eligibility for E-Form M.

A magistrate court in Yaba, Lagos has granted bail to #EndSARS protester, Peter Eronmosele Adene, in the sum of ₦1 million. The court granted bail on Tuesday after it rejected a request by the police for an order to detain him for another month to enable them conclude an investigation into the allegations against the defendant. Counsel for the defendant, Mr Adeshina Ogunlana argued that the facts were not weighty enough to support further remand of his client, who has been in police custody for about 12 days since his arrest. Before proceedings commenced, there was a disagreement between the family members and friends of Eromosele who protested the police’s refusal to allow them entry into the courtroom, while Eromosele was made to sit in the Hilux van outside the court for over an hour. Security operatives had arrived in the area earlier today, blocking the road leading to the court premises. Adene was arrested in Lagos on 7 November by the police on allegations of providing financial support to the movement. He was subsequently whisked to Abuja, quickly sparking a social media campaign for his release.

Suspected bandits have kidnapped 12 police officers along the Katsina-Zamfara expressway, according to BBC Hausa reporting. According to the report, the officers, who are assistant superintendents of police, were kidnapped ten days ago. The officers were on their way to Zamfara from Borno to carry out a special assignment. Police spokesman, Frank Mba, did not respond to media calls to confirm the incident. According to the BBC, the wife of one of the victims said she did not hear from her husband for three days so she decided to report to his station in Borno. It was in the process that she was informed about the incident. Another family member said they were contacted by the kidnappers and asked to pay ₦800,000 to secure the release of their relative. In another development, Gunmen in the early hours of Tuesday invaded the Gidan Zaki in Zango-Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State and reportedly killed the District Head of Gidan Zaki, Haruna Kuye and his son, Destiny Kuye. The monarch’s wife was said to have sustained machete wounds while the daughter sustained gunshot injuries. The Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, confirmed the development in a statement on Tuesday. According to the commissioner, “three empty cases and a live round of 7.62mm special ammunition were recovered at the scene” of the attack. Similarly, bandits suspected to be kidnappers also attacked three villages – Fatika, Kaya and Yakawada, all in Giwa Local Government Area of the state where they killed two other persons and kidnapped scores of the villagers. Aruwan said the government is investigating the incidents. Kaduna, Katsina and Zamfara are amongst the North-west states most affected by the activities of bandits who have killed hundreds of people in the past few years and also kidnapped others.

Ghana’s special anti-corruption prosecutor has quit, accusing President Nana Akufo-Addo of “political interference” over a report into a controversial gold royalties deal. The move comes just three weeks ahead of a presidential election that sees Akufo-Addo facing a tight race against former leader John Mahama. Former attorney general Martin Amidu announced his resignation late on Monday, saying he had become convinced “that I was not intended to exercise any independence” in the job. “You had laboured under the mistaken belief that I could hold the Office of the Special Prosecutor as your poodle,” Amidu wrote in a letter to the president. Amidu was appointed by Akufo-Addo in 2018, sparking hopes that he could help curb graft in the country. The prosecutor said he decided to quit after the president tried to get him to “shelve” a scathing report on a plan to sell the bulk of Ghana’s future gold royalties to an offshore firm. The government is seeking to cash in on the high price of gold and raise some $500 million dollars by floating half of the firm on the London Stock Exchange. There was no immediate response from the presidency to the allegations but officials have previously insisted they are acting transparently.