Nigerian military promises to punish soldiers caught turturing civilian

The Nigerian Army has apprehended some soldiers who were photographed torturing a suspected armed robber at Mararaba, a suburb in Nasarawa State, near Abuja.

The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, in a statement on Monday, vowed that the Army would ensure that the soldiers involved were punished.

He said the photograph of a soldier flogging a robbery suspect, who was stri*ped bare and lying in a dirty drainage, which appeared on the front page of a major national newspaper and other social media platforms, had done incalculable damage to the image of the service.

Usman said the action of the soldiers contradicted the ethics of the military tradition and professionalism in the service.

The statement reads in part: “The attention of The Nigerian Army has been drawn to a front page photograph of some soldiers maltreating a suspected robber at Mararraba, Nasarawa State, on the front page of today’s edition of Daily Trust newspaper.

“Sadly, it is also trending on the Social Media. There is no doubt the photograph has done incalculable damage to the image of the service. The act was unfortunate and at variance with military ethics and professionalism.

“The Nigerian Army wishes to inform the public that the perpetrators of the offence have been identified, summoned and would face disciplinary action”.

Usman said the Army had also reached out to the management of the newspaper over what he termed its “poor and worrisome editorial judgment”, as represented by the front page cover given to the photograph.

“Alerting appropriate Nigerian Army authorities would have been a better option that will be met with prompt response”, he said.

“We wish to assure the public that the Nigerian Army would continue to protect and respect human rights and that this regrettable incidence should not be used as a yardstick to judge the entire Army”, Usman added.

Information Nigeria

President Muhammadu Buhari appoints anti-corruption advisers

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed a committee to advise him on how best to tackle corruption and reform the legal system.

The seven-member Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption is mostly made up of academics.

Mr Buhari was elected in May, largely on a promise to tackle corruption.

He has said he believes government officials have stolen about $150bn (£96bn) from the public purse over the past decade.

"The committee's brief is to advise the present administration on the prosecution of the war against corruption and the implementation of required reforms in Nigeria's criminal justice system," said presidential spokesman Femi Adesina.

However, Mr Adesina was unable to say when the committee would report back to the president with its recommendations.

The BBC's Will Ross in Lagos says corruption is a massive drain on Nigeria's public finances and President Buhari's anti-corruption stance was a key factor in his election victory.

The difficult part will be ending a crooked culture deeply engrained in many government departments, our correspondent adds.

In a meeting with US President Barack Obama last month, President Buhari appealed for help in finding and returning government money he said had been stolen and was being held in foreign bank accounts.

Speaking on Monday, Mr Buhari criticised the way large loans had been diverted from the government projects for which they were intended.


BBC

Video - Nigerian Start-up producing Clean bio-fuel to improve Nigerian lives

A Nigerian startup is producing green energy from local flora, providing communities with an environmentally friendly, healthier and more affordable fuel option. The company hopes the bio-fuel will replace dangerous smokes and gases currently used in many homes.

President Muhammadu Buhari cleans up state payment system

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered ministries to use only approved government bank accounts to make payments, the vice president's office said on Sunday, part of a drive to improve transparency and clamp down on corruption.

Buhari, who took office in May after being elected on promises to fight endemic graft in Africa's biggest economy, has said he believes officials have stolen around $150 billion from the public purse over the past decade.

Under the new system, all receipts due to the government or any of its agencies must be paid into accounts maintained by the central bank unless specific permission has been granted not to do so.

"President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered each and every federal government ministry, department or agency to start paying into a Treasury Single Account (TSA) for all government revenues, incomes and other receipts," said Laolu Akande, a spokesman for Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

"This measure is specifically to promote transparency," he said, adding that the TSA would be linked to other government bank accounts.

Akande said the new system would end the use of "several fragmented accounts for government revenues", which he said had led to "the loss or leakages of legitimate income meant for the federation account".

The effectiveness of this change in public accounting remains to be seen since corruption and mismanagement of public funds have been entrenched in Nigeria's political system for decades.

Last month Buhari said his administration would trace and recover what he called "mind-boggling" sums of money stolen from the oil sector, which provides about 70 percent of revenues of the government in Africa's biggest crude producer.

Reuters

Nigeria Super Eagles move up to 53rd in FIFA rankings

Nigeria rose up four spots to 53rd place in the Fifa rankings released on Thursday, though are tenth-ranked African side.

In July’s grading, the Super Eagles dropped 14 places to 57th – their poorest drop in 2015.

One the continent, they are ranked Algeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Tunisia, Senegal, Cameroon, Congo, Cape Verde Island and Egypt.

Copa America champions, Chile entered the top ten at the expense of the Netherlands who that two places to 12th in the world. Argentina remain the best football playing country in the world and they are followed by Belgium and Germany respectively. Likely Nigeria opposition in the second round of the 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifiers, Swaziland and Djibouti are placed 132nd and 206th respectively in the world.

Former world champions Spain moved a place up to the 11th spot as Brazil are fifth in the world and third in South America.

GOAL