NAIJAFEED

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Nigeria orders final seizure of houses, cars of former oil minister

A Nigerian court has ordered a final seizure of two properties and cars owned by former oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, the country's economic crimes commission said on Monday, in the latest ruling related to graft allegations against her.

Alison-Madueke was a key figure in the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan who served as petroleum minister from 2010 to 2015. She has been dogged by corruption allegations since she left office but denies the charges.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said in a statement that High Court Judge Mobolaji Olajuwon issued the final forfeiture of the former minister's $3 million homes and cars in Abuja.

Alison-Madueke's whereabouts are unclear, but she was last known to be in Britain.

A court has previously ordered the seizure of her upmarket property in the commercial capital Lagos and frozen funds that were said to be part of the rent collected from the property.

In 2017, the U.S. Justice Department filed a civil complaint aimed at recovering about $144 million in assets allegedly obtained through bribes to the former minister.

By MacDonald Dzirutwe

Reuters

$37.5 million luxury apartment complex seized from Nigeria's ex-oil minister

Monday, October 24, 2022

Video - Nigeria’s ponmo cuisine under threat as the leather sector seeks growth

The Nigerian government is looking to expand its leather export sector which brings in 500 million U.S. dollars annually as it diversifies its economy away from oil and gas. But the plan is a threat to a local delicacy from the cooked cow skin popularly known as “ponmo”.

CGTN

US and UK warn of possible attack in Nigeria's capital

The United States and Britain on Sunday warned of a possible terrorist attack in Nigeria's federal capital Abuja, especially aimed at government buildings, places of worship and schools, among other targets.

Nigeria is fighting an Islamist insurgency mainly in the northeast, but in July the Islamic State claimed responsibility for a raid on a prison in Abuja, which freed around 440 inmates, raising fears that insurgents were venturing from their enclaves.

The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria said "there is an elevated risk of terror attacks in Nigeria, specifically Abuja" and added that shopping malls, law enforcement facilities and international organisations were among places at risk.

"The U.S. Embassy will offer reduced services until further notice," the embassy said in an alert to citizens in Nigeria.

The United Kingdom government warned that its citizens in Nigeria should stay alert due to an "increased threat of terrorist attack in Abuja."

"Attacks could be indiscriminate and could affect western interests, as well as places visited by tourists," it said.

Insecurity, which has spread across Nigeria, is a major issue for voters when they go to the polls next February to elect a new president to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari.

Nigeria's foreign affairs ministry was not immediately available to comment.

By MacDonald Dzirutwe

Reuters

Video - Older people often an invisible casualty in conflict with Boko Haram in Nigeria

Friday, October 21, 2022

Video - Nigeria floods cause food, fuel shortages for over a million people

In Nigeria’s oil-rich Bayelsa state, nearly one and a half million people have been affected by severe flooding. The government is promising emergency supplies to deal with severe shortages of food and fuel. Ahmed Idris reports from Yenagoa.

Al Jazeera

Video - Aid workers struggling to reach victims of floods in Nigeria

Nigeria LNG still producing, exporting despite force majeure

Nigeria LNG is still producing and exporting liquefied natural gas despite a force majeure declaration made due to heavy flooding, a spokesperson told local television channel Arise TV on Thursday.

The company made the legal declaration earlier this week amid the worst flooding in 12 years, saying all of its upstream gas suppliers had declared force majeure.

Sources told Reuters this week that no cargoes had yet been cancelled, and that the force majeure was pre-emptive in case the flooding continued for much longer and did impact loadings.

NLNG spokesperson Andy Odeh said that while the company was still operating, it was "not getting enough gas" due to the impact of the flooding on its suppliers.

He said NLNG would work to protect facilities from future flooding, which he said was worse than usual due in part to climate change.

Authorities blamed the flooding, which affected 33 of Nigeria's 36 states, on unusually heavy rain, joined with the release of water from a dam in Cameroon.

Portugal relies heavily on NLNG gas and oil major Shell, NLNG's largest single offtaker, are at most risk from the outage, according to investment bank Jefferies.

By Libby George

Reuters