Nigeria and UK to swap prisoners

The United Kingdom and Nigeria have reached an understanding to swap prison inmates the moment Nigeria signs its Prison Act into law.

The chairman of senate committee on human rights and judiciary, Senator Dahiru Tambuwal disclosed this yesterday at the national human rights commission (NHRC) flag off of the 2012 prison audit at Kuje prison.

Senator Tambuwal said that the Bill seeking the amendment of the Prison Act has gone through the second reading and would be finally passed by the senate next week.

United Kingdom, he added, has promised to provide money to fund the process of prison inmates' exchange, as well as rehabilitate the prisons where such prisoners from United Kingdom would be kept at least to meet minimum world standard.

This is coming against a disclosure by the chairman of House of Representatives committee on human rights , Hon Beni Lar that the amount budgeted to feed prison inmate per day is two hundred naira (N200).

Hon Lar who was also at the Kuje Prison for the NHRC flag off of 2012 prison audit said all hands were on deck by her committee to increase the N200 per day feeding allowance for prisoners in Nigeria in view of the current reality.

Meanwhile, the deputy comptroller of Nigeria Prisons, Mr Kasali Yusuf stated that as at yesterday, the total prison inmates in Kuje was 500, and out of this number, 401 were on awaiting trial list, 99 were those that have been convicted.

He said that the challenge of the prison condition in Nigeria was becoming everybody's challenge on the grounds that it was irreconcilable that more than three-quarters of the entire prisoners in Nigeria fall on the category of those awaiting trial.

"There are those held for capital offences that can not easily be disposed off. Before this can be done easily, the criminal justice system which is made up of the police, the courts, attorney general of the federation and Nigerian prisons must chart a course to make the system workable.

"Our justice system, especially, our criminal laws and criminal trial process requires overhauling. Justice can be on one side, both the complainant and the person being complained about must be heard equally".

The NHRC boss, Professor Bem Angwe, said that with the renewed effort, coupled with the NHRC Act 2010 in place, the Nigerian prisons would sooner or later no longer be the same.

Leadership

Video - Blackberry opens shop in Nigeria

The smartphone market is fiercely competitive worldwide. While Apple has been making headlines in Europe and America, Research in Motion, the company behind Blackberry, is looking elsewhere. In Nigeria, there are four million people using smartphones, and half of those phones are BlackBerry's. In the next four years, that number is expected to hit 25 million.

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Video - Saheed Adepajo launches tablet computer to rival the ipad in Nigeria

Eat 'n' Go brings Domino Pizza franchise to Nigeria

Eat 'n' Go Limited, a restaurant group has introduced two world class food brands, Domino's Pizza and Cold Stone Creamery into the Nigerian market.

Domino's Pizza is a renowned global leader in pizza, while Cold Stone Creamery is bringing to Nigeria's shores the best variants of ice-cream and cake.

Speaking at the launch in Lagos, Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr Jean-Claude Meyer said the introduction of the brands was sequel to his company's efforts to serve Nigerians with varieties of food in line with their demands.

He said the development is Eat 'n' Go's first step in its mission to become the premier food supplier in Sub-Saharan Africa.

He said, "The confidence and entrepreneurial mindsets of these two brands must be commended here today as they accompany us on daily basis to transfer their knowhow to our teams comprised exclusively of extremely motivated Nigerian individuals.

"We also want to assure each and everyone of our commitment to the nation, as barely a year after incorporation, Eat 'n' Go already relied on over 80 employees, amongst which up to 14 have been trained for up to six weeks in the US or other parts of the world, and we do not intend to stop at that."

Also speaking, Managing Director Eat 'n' Go Ltd, Mr. Eric Andre said though two outlets of the brands are confined to Victoria Island and Lekki areas of Lagos, plans are underway to extend them to other parts of the country.

He said, "Eat 'n' Go is keen to excite your taste buds and wet your appetite with these diverse global brands and all this is done in line with our core values: putting people first, demanding for integrity, striving for customer loyalty, delivering with hustle and positive energy and winning by improving results every day."

Daily Trust

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Nigerian forces kill 30 suspected Boko Haram members in firefight

Nigerian soldiers have killed about 30 suspected members of Boko Haram, including a close associate of the group's leader, during a gun battle in north eastern Yobe state, an army spokesman says.

"About 30 suspected Boko Haram terrorists were killed in the battle which lasted several hours," Lieutenant Eli Lazarus, an army spokesman, said in a statement on Sunday.

Troops of the Joint Task Force (JTF) "engaged in a gun battle with the suspected terrorists" during a search-and-cordon operation on Boko Haram's hideout in Kandahar and around cemetery areas of Damaturu, the state capital, the statement said.

Ten suspected members of the group who were arrested during the raid are helping investigators to track other senior members of the group, added the statement.

Six rifles, 90 rounds of ammunition, several telephone sets were recovered during the raid. Knives, bows, arrows, daggers and three improvised explosive devices, which were detonated, were also confiscated, Lazarus said.



Patrick Egbuniwe, Yobe state police chief, said earlier on Sunday that troops shot dead four suspected members of the armed group following a raid on their hideout in Kandahar.

"We carried out the raid because of the incessant ambush on JTF patrol teams by Boko Haram gunmen in the area," he said.

Islamist extremists have been blamed for more than 1,400 deaths since 2010 as part of their attacks in northern and central Nigeria.

The JTF statement commended the support of Yobe residents and urged to give more information that will lead to the arrest of more suspected Boko Haram members.

"JTF further requests that people should remain calm and go about their lawful activities as efforts are geared towards ensuring the safety of lives and property," added the statement.

Last month in Damaturu, the military said it killed 35 suspected Boko Haram members in fierce gun battles. Some 60 people were also arrested there following a door-to-door sweep in several neighbourhoods.

A number of security personnel have also been arrested over links to Boko Haram.

The arrests came after JTF soldiers in the northeastern city of Maiduguri arrested an immigration officer, Grema Mohammed, for allegedly being an active member of the group, a military spokesman had said.

The JTF is a special unit made up of troops drawn from the armed forces, the police and the state security service.

Leadership

60 percent of Nigerians homeless according to MD of Infrastructure Bank

Inadequate infrastructure, poor housing quality and poor implementation strategy has been described as the bane of housing in Nigeria with 60% of the population homeless.

Mr. Adekunle Abdulrazaq Oyinloye, MD/CEO, Infrastructure Bank Plc, made the revelation when he presented a paper on the housing deficit challenge yesterday at the National Conference on Shelter and Urban Renewal, organized by Daily Trust to commemorate the World Habitat Day in Abuja.

His paper titled, "Housing Deficit in Nigeria: Imperative of Social Housing," explored tenets for viable solutions to housing problems through appropriate and enabling government legislation and policies, unflagging goal to construct quality living environments.

Such solutions, according to him, include responsiveness to local demand and needs, underpin by drive for employment creation, and disciplined promotion of best practices and standards in relation to design, delivery and management.

Oyinloye said while development and implementation of housing solutions for a range of income groups, special focus should be on "key workers" while there should be political will to accompany appropriate and enabling government legislation and policies.

He said policy and legislative formulation should be informed by experiences in other jurisdictions while there should be promotion of private sector participation beyond provision of finance adding that technical knowhow and governance are paramount.

The Infrastructure Bank MD said there should be promotion of access (land and financing) / protection of the masses while the focus should be on Land Use Act; Rental Market Act and foreclosure legislation.

Other areas of focus, according to Oyinloye, should be banking and mortgage lending practices, tax incentives, fiscal policy (cost of borrowing, personal income, subsidy programs, attract private sector, building materials, etc),and professional practices (PMI/financial advisors).

Daily Trust