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Failed Abuja CCTV Project: Court Orders FG to Account for $460m Chinese Loan
A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration to “account for the spending of $460 million Chinese loan to fund the failed Abuja Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) project,” according to the eagleonline report.
The Court also ordered the government to “publish the total amount of money paid to Chinese and local companies and contractors and specific details of the names of the companies and contractors and status of the implementation of the project.”
Justice Emeka Nwite made the orders while delivering judgment in a Freedom of Information suit number: FHC/ABJ/CS/1447/2019 brought by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).
The suit according to Deputy Director, Kokawole Oluwadare followed the disclosure in 2019 by the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed that “Nigeria was servicing the loan”, adding that she had ‘no explanations on the status of the project.’ She reportedly said, “We are servicing the loan. I have no information on the status of the CCTV project.”
In his judgment, Justice Nwite agreed with SERAP that “there is a reasonable cause of action against the government. Accounting for the spending of the $460 million Chinese loan is in the interest of the public. It will be inimical for the court to refuse SERAP’s application for judicial review of the government’s action.”
Justice Nwite also said that, “The Minister of Finance is in charge of the finance of the country and cannot by any stretch of imagination be oblivious of the amount of money paid to the contractors for the Abuja CCTV contract and the money meant for the construction of the headquarters of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).”
The jurist also ordered the government “to provide the details clarifying whether the sum of N1.5 billion Naira paid for the failed contract meant to construct the headquarters of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) was part of another loan obtained from China.”
Justice Nwite’s judgment, read in part: “SERAP’s core objectives are to promote human rights, transparency and accountability and anticorruption in Nigeria.”
“I am of the humble view that there is a reasonable cause of action against the government [through the Minister of Finance] and I so hold that SERAP has made out a case to be entitled to the reliefs sought.”
“The law is well settled that where a document or letter is sent by post, it is the law that same is taken or presumed to have been delivered.”
“Following this principle of law and relying on exhibit OS2, SERAP’s Freedom of Information request sent to Ms Ahmed is deemed to have delivered. Therefore, the averment by the government [through her] that they were not served with the letter is hereby discountenance. I so hold.”
Joined as defendants in the suit are Ms Ahmed and the Minister of Police Affairs.
Justice Nwite granted the following orders of mandamus against the Nigerian government:
AN ORDER OF MANDAMUS is hereby made directing and compelling the government [through the Minister of Finance] to provide and make available to SERAP information on the total amount of money paid to contractors, with specific details of names of companies local contractors involved, from the $460 million loan obtained in 2010 from China by the Federal Government of Nigeria to fund the failed Abuja CCTV contract.
AN ORDER OF MANDAMUS is hereby made directing and compelling the government [through the Minister of Finance] to provide the details of the local companies and Chinese contractors that have received funds from the $460 million loan for the finance of the Abuja CCTV contract as well as details of the status of implementation of the project.
AN ORDER OF MANDAMUS is hereby made directing and compelling the government [through the Minister of Finance] to provide the details clarifying whether the sum of N1.5 billion Naira mobilisation fee reportedly paid to the contractors for the construction of the Headquarters of the Code of Conduct Bureau in Abuja was part of another loan from China. This is the judgment of the court.
Oluwadare said: “The onus is now on President Buhari to immediately comply with the court’s orders. We commend Justice Nwite for his courage and wisdom, and urge President Buhari and Abubakar Malami, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to immediately obey the court orders.”
“This is a victory for justice, rule of law, transparency and accountability. The judgment shows the way forward in the fight against corruption and impunity of perpetrators. We will do everything within the law to ensure full compliance by President Buhari with this ground-breaking judgment on Chinese loans.”
“We call on President Buhari to use the judgment as the basis for publishing details of spending of all Chinese loans and other loans obtained by his government since May 2015.”
Nigeria’s total borrowing from China climbed from $1.39 billion to $4.29 billion between June 2015 and December 2022, according to data from Debt Management Office (DMO).
Nigeria’s 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) revealed earlier in the year that the federal government will spend N6.31 trillion on debt servicing in 2023, which amounts to about 74.6% of the government’s projected revenue of 8.46 trillion for the year.
Nigeria risks losing key national assets to China in the event that it defaults in paying back loans obtained from China.
According to a report, Nigeria may have defaulted on Chinese loan repayment and stands the risk of paying a penalty amounting to N41.31 billion. The report quoted the Debt Management Office (DMO), which said Nigeria has failed to fully service its debt to China, which has accumulated to N110.31 billion in the last two years.
It would be recalled that SERAP had in December 2019 filed a lawsuit against Ms Ahmed over failure to “disclose information and specific documents on the total amount of money paid to contractors from the $460 million loan obtained in 2010 from China to fund the apparently failed Abuja CCTV project.”
The suit number, read in part: “Servicing Chinese loans for failed projects is double jeopardy for Nigerians—they can neither see nor benefit from the projects; yet, they are made to pay both the loans and the accrued interests.”
“The $460 million loan got for the failed Abuja CCTV project and the N1.5 billion for the construction of CCB headquarters, which may be part of another Chinese loan, may have been mismanaged or stolen, and in any case, remain unaccounted for.”
“Transparency in the spending of Chinese loans is good for everyone, as this would help to increase the effectiveness, legitimacy, and contribution of the loans to the development of public goods and services, and the general public interests.”
“The information being requested does not come within the purview of the types of information exempted from disclosure under the Act. The Respondent has no legally justifiable reason for refusing to provide SERAP with the information requested.”
“Democracy cannot flourish if governments operate in secrecy. The citizens are entitled to know how the commonwealth is being utilized, managed and administered in a democratic setting.”
Mr Tokunbo Akande, Special Adviser to the Executive Chairman of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, LIRS, has clarified the misunderstanding about stamp duty as he maintained that it is a revenue stamp and not a postage stamp.
Akande made this known while featuring as a guest on The Tax Talk programme on Channels Television recently.
He said contrary to public opinion, stamp is not just for courier services as it is meant to certify the underlying transaction between two entities, whether they are corporate entities or individuals, thus, the framework for stamp duty is to verify the documents for underlying transactions and ensure that they are admissible in court in case any disputes arise.
Akande noted; “It’s interesting to note that stamp duty, a tax law that dates back to 1939, is still in effect today. Although it was reenacted in 2004 and has been updated over time through the Finance Act, the basic premise remains the same.
“Stamp duty places the responsibility on those involved in certain transactions to provide documentation that explains the details of the transaction. For example, if someone purchases an item from another person, a receipt is given to show the transaction.
“This receipt must be stamped to be considered admissible evidence in court in case any disputes arise. In the past, the postal stamp was used to denote the stamp duty.”
Akande, who noted that Stamp duty has contributed significantly to revenue generation in Lagos State, as the state has generated over N5 million from stamp duty over the past few years, said the agency believes there is still room for improvement.
While stating that the agency is considering the introduction of revenue stamps for wholesalers and distributors for receipts over N10,000 in the state, he noted; “This approach was previously utilized in the 1970s, and we are eager to revitalize it. We are fully committed to engagement and process improvement.
He said the agency has taken the step of digitizing its stamp duty operation by transitioning from manual to electronic processes.
According to Akande, “The Joint Tax Board (JTB), which oversees all Internal Revenue Services (IRSs), the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), customs, immigration, and other related bodies, has been at the forefront of promoting awareness about stamp duty in general.
“LIRS (Lagos State Internal Revenue Service) has also made significant efforts in this area by holding town hall meetings, issuing public notices and guidance notes, and engaging with professional bodies.
“However, despite these efforts, the message has not been fully received. It is important to note that the law requires that all transactions between two entities must be stamped, and even items such as cheques have a small stamp on them.
“This is because they may be admissible in court. Therefore, it is your responsibility to ensure that any documents related to transactions above a certain level of expenses are properly stamped, as failure to do so renders them as ordinary paper.
He said LIRS has expanded its presence across various states, with offices conveniently located to better serve taxpayers as its officials are proud to offer assistance with legal proceedings and have desks located in all the courts of Lagos.
“Our team of experts ensures that all necessary documents are properly stamped and verified by the commissioner for stamp duty. We take record-keeping seriously, as it helps to ensure the authenticity of all documents that pass through our hands.
“Proper stamping of documents is essential, whether you’re borrowing money from a bank or renting a property. Failure to do so could render them inadmissible in court. We are here to help certify your documents and ensure they have the necessary stamps to make them legally binding,” Akande submitted.
Truecaller has announced a corporate rebranding and launch of a brand new app icon that will be instantly recognisable on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The taming of the new brand identity aligns with a significant transformation taking place in the digital space. At the heart of this rebranding is Truecaller’s renewed sense of purpose, energy and enthusiasm.
Commenting on the announcement, Alan Mamedi, Co- founder and CEO, Truecaller said, “We are excited to unveil our new brand identity and logo. It signifies our continued commitment to our users and our focus to constantly evolve and improve, every day.”
“Our mission, to protect communication for all, is what guides us to develop new anti-fraud solutions like Search Context and engineer improvements to improve user privacy,” he added.
As part of this refreshed identity, Truecaller users also get a powerful new anti-fraud feature called Search Context, as a part of the Truecaller AI Identity engine.
While looking at the search results for any number, Truecaller users will be instantly notified if the name for the number has been recently changed or is being changed frequently.
The app also classifies this contextual message into three colour categories: blue, for a neutral change, yellow, which indicates a potentially suspicious name change and finally red, indicating multiple and frequent name changes which are highly indicative of fraudulent and scammer activity.
This message will be shown to all Truecaller users on all search results across Android, iPhone and Truecaller web.
Dr Olayemi Cardoso, on Friday, formally assumed duty as the acting Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
According to a statement by Isa AbdulMumin, CBN’s Director, Corporate Communications, Cardoso’s resumption in acting capacity is pending his confirmation by the Senate.
“This follows the resignation of Mr. Godwin Emefiele as Governor of the CBN,
“Similarly, the Deputy-Governors-designate have also assumed duty, in acting capacities.
“This is sequel to the formal resignation of Mr Folashodun Shonubi, Mrs Aishah Ahmad, Mr Edward Adamu and Dr Kingsley Obiora as deputy governors.
“Cardoso and his colleagues subscribed to the relevant oaths of office at a brief ceremony held at the Bank’s Head Office in Abuja,” AbdulMumin said.
He said that they had since settled down to the task of administering monetary and financial sector policies of the Federal Government.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Cardoso was nominated by President Bola Tinubu as CBN governor on Sept. 15.
Tinubu also nominated Emem Usoro, Abdullahi Dattijo, Philip Ikeazor and Bala Bello as deputy governors
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