Daily Watch – Again DSS fails to deliver key persons in court, IGP cowed by Kyari FBI indictment
30th July 2021
Field Intelligence, a Nigeria-based health-tech startup digitising the pharmaceutical supply chain in Africa, is expanding into 11 cities and states across Nigeria and Kenya; Edo, Enugu, Delta, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara and Rivers in Nigeria, and Eldoret, Mombasa, Kisumu and Naivasha in Kenya. This expansion is coming after it raised 3.8 million last year in March to scale its Shelf Life product, a subscription-based pay-as-you-sell platform. The platform was launched in 2017 to solve the inventory problem facing Africa’s $75B retail pharmacy market. Their pitch was simple: help pharmacies, of any size, access thousands of products and cutting-edge inventory planning, then enable them to pay as they sell the products. This model takes away some of the risks associated with storage activities such as procurement and inventory management; it also eliminates frequent over and understocking, which can result in the expiration of stock. “Shelf Life’s rapid uptake across such a range of African markets is a testament to its potential as a solution for pharmacies across the continent,” said Michael Moreland, co-founder and CEO of Field Intelligence. Since their last funding round, the platform has experienced rapid growth in sales and membership subscriptions. In Nigeria, subscription has increased by 47% and 65% in Kenya, selling over 586,950 products in 63 different product categories. According to Statistica, digital health revenue in Nigeria is set to reach over US$1.3 billion by 2025, with a 22.31% annual growth rate. Similarly, the Kenya market is also projected to have a 19.97% annual growth rate, resulting in a market volume of US$649.73 million by 2025. This number shows a huge opportunity for Field intelligence to tap in. Currently, there are 4,500 registered pharmacies and over 15,000 drugstores in Nigeria whilst Kenya has 6,000 registered pharmacies and chemists. Field Intelligence aims to dig into these numbers and onboard more users to surpass the 2,000 pharmacies currently using Shelf Life.
The Nigeria Police has confirmed receipt of indictment processes from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) against Abba Kyari, a deputy commissioner of police. A United States court ordered the arrest of Nigeria’s top cop and Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari. A District Court of California issued a warrant of arrest for Kyari over his alleged role in a series of fraudulent activities committed by notorious internet fraudster, Ramon Abbas aka Hushpuppi. According to media reports, Otis Wright of the United States District Court for the Central District of California ordered the FBI to arrest Kyari and produce him in the United States for his role in a $1.1million fraud. US Court documents showed that American prosecutors first sought a court warrant to arrest Kyari on 12 February 2021. Another warrant was requested on 29 April. Judge Wright’s permission for the FBI to arrest Mr Kyari and hold him in U.S. custody was unsealed on 26 July. Hushpuppi had narrated to the US court how he allegedly bribed Kyari to arrest and jail one of his rivals in Nigeria over a disputed sharing formula in the $1.1 million dupe of a Qatari businessperson. Kyari has denied the allegations. In light of the indictment, Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police Usman Alkali Baba has ordered an internal review of the allegations.
The Department of State Services (DSS) on Thursday failed to produce 12 of Sunday Igboho’s aides held in their custody in line with the order of a Federal High Court in Abuja. Justice Obiora Egwuatu, had last week, ordered the DSS to produce the detainees on 29 July and also appear before the court to show why the applicants should not be released unconditionally. The order was made following an ex parte application argued by the applicants’ lawyer, Mr Pelumi Olajeingbesi, where he informed the court that the applicants have been in the custody of the DSS since 1 July 2021. They were arrested during a midnight raid on Igboho’s residence in Ibadan, Oyo State and subsequently brought to Abuja. However, when the matter came up on Thursday, DSS’ lawyer, Idowu Awo informed the court that the detained applicants could not be produced in court because of the nature of their arrest, adding that an investigation is still ongoing. Awo stated that he had filed a counter-affidavit to explain the dimensions and sophistication of the investigation being carried out on the detainees. He added that the DSS obtained an order of the court permitting the detention of the applicants for 14 days to interrogate them. The counsel submitted that some names on the Federal High Court order were at variance with the list of those being detained, adding that only four out of 12 names corresponded with that of DSS. Responding, Olajeingbesi urged the court to sanction the DSS for disrespecting its lawful order to produce the detainees in court. He faulted the detention order tendered by DSS, adding that the order was not certified as required by law for public documents. Reacting, the judge stated that the DSS ought to first obey its orders to produce the applicants before explaining why it should continue to keep them in custody. Justice Egwuatu explained that what was at stake is the liberty of Nigerian citizens and that it is the duty of the court to protect it when called upon to do so as in the instant case. He accordingly adjourned till 2 August for the DSS to produce the applicants in court.
The United Nations Security Council on Thursday extended a Central African Republic (CAR) arms embargo and targeted sanctions regime for another year, however, China abstained in the vote because it believes the measures should be removed. The 15-member Security Council imposed the arms embargo on CAR in December 2013 when mainly Muslim Selaka rebels ousted then-president Francois Bozize, prompting reprisals from mostly Christian militias. A targeted sanctions regime was agreed in 2014 when U.N. peacekeepers were also deployed to the country. The gold and diamond-rich country of 4.7 million people has since been mired in violence. “There appears to be a growing disconnect between the Security Council sanctions and the evolving situation on the ground,” China’s deputy U.N. Ambassador Dai Bing told the council after the vote. “The intention was to help CAR restore national stability and normal social order. In reality, however, the arms embargo has increasingly become an obstacle that hampers the CAR government’s efforts to strengthen security capabilities,” he said. The remaining 14 Security Council members voted in favour of extending the arms embargo. The CAR government is able to import weapons with the approval of the U.N. Security Council’s CAR sanctions committee. Russia’s deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy encouraged the CAR government to meet U.N. benchmarks that would allow the council to consider lifting the arms embargo next year. Moscow has been jockeying for influence in CAR with France. A U.N. report, seen by Reuters last month, accused Russian military instructors and CAR troops of targeting civilians with excessive force, indiscriminate killings, occupation of schools and large-scale looting. The Kremlin has said it is a lie that Russian instructors had taken part in killings or robberies. Russia recently sent a group of 600 military instructors to CAR to train the army, police, and national gendarmerie, Russia’s foreign ministry said earlier this month.