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CBN Gov, Others Risk Arrest over Alleged Financial Violations

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Mr. Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor
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House of Representatives may issue a bench warrant against Godwin Emiefele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and 53 other heads of government agencies for gross violation of the provisions of the Financial Regulatory council on rendition of audited account.

CBN Gov, Others Risk Arrest over Alleged Financial Violations

Godwin Emiefele, governor of CBN

This was contained in a report which also recommended past and present Chief Executive Officers of several government agencies and their Directors of Finance and Account should be handed to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for prosecution.

Non submission of audited account to the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation is considered an offence under the laws of the land.

Some others are to be sanctioned for delays in the submission of their audited accounts despite receiving money annually from the nation’s budget.

The 161- page report submitted to the House by its Committee on Public Accounts also listed all subsidiaries of the NNPC, including Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company, Pipeline and Products Marketing Company Limited, West Africa Gas Limited, Nigerian Gas Company, Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, and National Petroleum Investment & Management Services (NAPIMS) as culpable.

Also included on the list are Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA); Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN); Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC); National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Niger Delta Power Holding Company (National Integrated Power Project).

The report also recommend that all accounting officers of the 54 government agencies that refused to appear before the House Committee to defend their positions should be issued warrant of arrest to compel their appearance within a week in line with Section 89 (d) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended).

The report was supposed to have been considered before the House embarked on its summer vacation but was stepped down along with others owing to controversy arising from the consideration of the Electoral Act amendment bill.

The report accused the management of Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) of “recklessly and deliberately” refusing to render their audited accounts from 2005 – 2019) in violation of Section 85 (3) (b) of the 1999 Constitution and recommend that “all those in Office that were responsible should be disciplined and referral to the EFCC in line with Financial Regulation 3129 of 2009”.

Also to face the EFCC are all the Director-Generals and DFAs as well as the various External Auditors of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) from 2006 to 2019 for refusing to render the audited accounts for the last 13 years.

Also, Chief Executive Officer of Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC); University of Calabar; Nigeria Communication Satellite (NigComSat); Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (including the former Vice Chancellor); Federal Housing Authority, Federal Mortagage Bank of Nigeria among others are to face the EFCC for investigation and prosecution.

The report is the outcome of an investigation into the allegation of deliberate and reckless refusal by Non Treasury funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to remit audited accounts covering 2014 – 2018 to the Auditor General for the Federation ordered by the House following a motion by the Deputy Chairman of Public Accounts Committee, Rep. Abdullahi Sa’ad Abdulkadir and 44 others.

The investigation was to identify the Chief Executive Officers of these agencies, whether in active service or retired, found to have violated the provisions of section 85(2)(3) and (4) of 1999 Nigeria Constitution and hold them liable for their actions.

It was to determine the procurement process of engagement of the External Auditors by these Non-Treasury Funded Agencies and whether they made up their professional ethics in turning in their reports for prompt remission to the Auditor General Office as at when due.

The report said over 300 MDAs were invited to appear before the committee, out of which about 54 refused to appear to defend their positions.

The report commended management of the National Examination Council (NECO), Raw Material Research and Development Council (RMRDC) and Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) among others for rendering their audited account on schedule.

On the National Health Insurance Scheme, the report said “the NHIS has not rendered its audited accounts for past 13 years.”


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INTERPOL Report Shows Cybercrime is West, East African Most Dominant Security Concern

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Cybercrime has emerged as a dominant security concern across Africa, with more than 30 percent of all reported crimes in Western and Eastern regions linked to cyber activity, according to the newly released 2025 Africa Cyberthreat Assessment Report by INTERPOL.

The report, based on data from African member states and private sector partners, reveals that two-thirds of surveyed countries describe cybercrime as constituting a medium to high share of total criminal cases.

This highlights how cyber-enabled criminal activity is evolving rapidly across the continent. The report identified alarming spikes in scam attempts, with some countries witnessing a 3,000 percent increase in suspected scam notifications in the past year.

Neal Jetton, INTERPOL’s Cyber Crime Director, warned that the threat landscape is evolving faster than enforcement responses.

“This fourth edition of the INTERPOL African Cyber Threat Assessment provides a vital snapshot of the current situation, informed by operational intelligence, extensive law enforcement engagement, and strategic private-sector collaboration.

“It paints a clear picture of a threat landscape in flux, with emerging dangers like AI-driven fraud that demand urgent attention. No single agency or country can face these challenges alone,” Jetton stated.

In the past year, suspected scam notifications rose by up to 3,000 per cent in some African countries, according to data from Kaspersky, one of several private sector partners that work with INTERPOL’s cybercrime directorate

Online scams, particularly through phishing, are the most frequently reported cybercrimes across the continent. Ransomware attacks and Business Email Compromise (BEC) incidents are also increasing, particularly in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt.

“Ransomware detections in Africa also rose in 2024, with South Africa and Egypt suffering the highest number, at 17,849 and 12,281 detections respectively, according to data from Trend Micro, followed by other highly digitised economies such as Nigeria (3,459) and Kenya (3,030),” it stated.

Incidents included attacks on critical infrastructure, such as a breach at Kenya’s Urban Roads Authority (KURA), and on government databases, such as hacks of Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the report stated.

 


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GSK to Slash Cost of Malaria Jab to Less than $5

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The manufacturers of the world’s first malaria vaccine are set to slash the price by more than half by 2028 to less than$5 per dose.

GSK to Slash Cost of Malaria Jab to Less than $5

The manufacturers of the shot, known as RTS,S, said a phased reduction in cost would begin immediately, with an ultimate aim to reduce the price to less than $5.

The announcement could hardly come at a more critical moment.

Gavi, a major vaccination initiative which funds immunisations in the world’s poorest countries, is facing a major budget crunch.

In Brussels on Wednesday, Gavi’s replenishment event raised $9 billion to fund immunisation programmes over the next five years. While this sounds like a huge sum, it’s significantly less than the $11.9bn the group had been aiming for.

Governments around the world are cutting development spending dramatically.

The UK, for instance, cut its contribution to Gavi by 40 per cent in real terms, telling The Telegraph it was prioritising defence, while the US has pledged nothing at all.

Though America previously gave Gavi roughly $300m a year, the country’s new health secretary claimed without evidence that the organisation was ignoring vaccine safety.

The announcement from the British pharmaceutical giant GSK and Indian drugmaker Bharat Biotech will therefore be a relief to those trying to balance the books.

In a statement the companies said the price reduction demonstrated their “commitment to Gavi”, and was “driven by process improvements, expanded production capacity, cost-effective manufacturing, and minimal profit margins”.

By the time the price has fallen to below $5 per dose, a technology transfer agreement means Bharat will have taken over production, though GSK will continue to supply the adjuvant piece of the shot.

“For us, this is more than a cooperation, it’s a promise,” said Dr Krishna Ella, executive chairman of Bharat Biotech International Limited.

“By joining forces with GSK, and working closely with Gavi, and the WHO [World Health Organization], we are taking a real step toward closing the gap between vaccine supply and the urgent needs of children at risk of malaria.”

Each year, malaria still kills 500,000 people – the vast majority of them children aged five and under in sub-Saharan Africa.

According to WHO estimates, cases and deaths fell significantly between 2000 and 2015, but progress has since stalled.

Some have high hopes that RTS,S, as well as another vaccine called R21 developed by Oxford University, could prove critical in efforts to turn the tide.

In clinical trials, RTS,S reduced hospitalisations for severe malaria by 30 per cent.

But critics say the shot is too expensive and not as effective as existing tools, such as bed nets and antimalarials.

The reduction in price will bring it more in line with the cost of R21, which is priced at around $4 per dose.

Yet the cost will still add up, as both jabs require multiple shots. For RTS,S, this means four doses – the first three doses are given monthly, starting around five months of age, while the fourth dose is administered 15-18 months later.

Both jabs “provide reasonable short term efficacy – over about a year – so are a useful addition to other measures,” said Professor Nick White, a professor at the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit who specialises in malaria.

“In the past GSK had limited production capacity – one of the reasons the R21 was developed. So reducing the price will be good and the two comparable vaccines can fight it out in the market place.”

A spokesperson for Gavi said the alliance’s goal is to “create sustainable demand backed by predictable financing so that companies – like GSK and Bharat – can continue investing in technology transfer and other efficiencies that bring down costs, thus making critical vaccines more available and affordable.

GSK’s decision to lower its prices, the spokesperson added, is “an important step for the global malaria vaccination programme, and our ability to make this lifesaving tool more widely available to those who need it the most”.

Gavi plans to help fund RTS,S in 12 African countries by the end of this year.

Previously, GSK has said it will supply up to 18 million vaccine doses between 2023 and the end of this year.

The company plans to supply 15 million doses annually from 2026-2028, a spokesperson told Reuters.


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Rack Centre Signs Collocation Deal with TelCables Nigeria

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Rack Centre, West Africa’s Tier III carrier- and cloud-neutral data centre, has struck a collocation agreement with TelCables Nigeria, an Angola Cables subsidiary.

TelCables Nigeria is delivering its high-capacity network and cloud infrastructure, as well as four international subsea cable systems (SACS, MONET, SEBRAS, and EllaLink), directly into Rack Centre’s regional carrier ecosystem as part of the agreement.

According to Angola Cables, the move provides reliable, low-latency south-bound routes to Europe, the Americas, and Latin America, reducing the danger of future cable disruptions along West Africa’s coast and enabling next-generation cloud services across the continent.

“Our unique Africa – to – Latin America route via SACS, combined with MONET, SEBRAS and EllaLink, gives customers the lowest – latency paths to the Americas and Europe,” said Fernando Fernandes, CEO of TelCables Nigeria.

“Businesses in latency sensitive sectors: financial services, content delivery and real-time communications will experience faster transactions, reduced lag and an enhanced user experience.

“By hosting at Rack Centre we also localise Clouds2Africa resources, price them in naira, and remove expensive ingress/egress charges or FX exposure.”

Rack Centre said its 13.5MW data centre campus designed with its recently launched LGS2 facility that delivers a design PUE of 1.35 and powered from sustainable energy sources, already hosts 70+ carriers, ISPs and network operators.

Lars Johannisson, CEO of Rack Centre, commented: “Adding a global operator of Angola Cables’ calibre through TelCables Nigeria dramatically deepens our connectivity fabric.

“We can now offer 99.95 % SLA routes to more destinations, enabling enterprises, governments and cloud providers to meet performance and data-residency requirements while keeping traffic local.”

 


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