News
Court Slates May 17 To Decide Bail Request By Binance Executive
Justice Emeka Nwite of a Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned till May 17 to rule on the bail application filed by a Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan.
Justice Nwite fixed the date on Tuesday after taking arguments from parties for and against the bail of Gambaryan, who is the second defendant in the charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) against Binance Holdings Limited, a cryptocurrency firm, and its executive over alleged money laundering to the tune of $35,400,000.
Arguing the bail application on behalf of his client, Mark Mordi (SAN) said, the court has the inherent jurisdiction to admit the defendant to bail, more so that, the offences for which he was charged are bailable offences.
Besides, he said, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven otherwise by the court and added that his client is anxious to prove his innocence before the court.
According to Mordi, Gambaryan is not a flight risk and his international passport has been seized by the EFCC adding that, “The only reason the EFCC is holding the defendant is that, they want to use him as a leverage in making his employer provide them with information”.
While accusing the anti-graft agency of not acting according to law, Mordi prayed the court to admit the defendant to bail adding that, the court has the power to put in place necessary safeguards to ensure that the defendant attends his trial.
Opposing the application for the bail of the Binance executive, EFCC lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho, in a 14-paragraph affidavit, prayed the court to refuse the bail application of the defendant.
Iheanacho told the court that the second defendant is both an American and Amanian citizen and had attempted to process a new passport on the ground that his initial passport was missing.
He said if EFCC had not intercepted the second defendant, he would have perfected the act, pointing out also that the second defendant had no attachment to any community in Nigeria to ensure that he would be available for his trial if granted bail.
Replying on point of law, Mordi prayed the court to discountenance the submission of the prosecution to the effect that the defendant is an American citizen by birth as there is nothing before the court to buttress that submission.
He said the second defendant who had been in custody for 50 days is eager to go to trial to prove his innocence.
After hearing the submissions of counsel, Justice Nwite adjourned till May 17, 2024, for ruling.
Gambaryan, who took a plea on behalf of the Company as its representative pleaded not guilty to the money laundering allegation preferred against him by the EFCC.
The anti-graft agency had charged Binance Holdings Limited, a cryptocurrency firm, and Tigran Gambaryan, the company’s head of financial crime compliance on a five-count charge bordering on money laundering.
In the charge filed on March 28 by the anti-graft agency, the company executives are being accused of money laundering to the tune of $35,400,000.
EFCC alleged in one of the counts that, the defendants, between January 2023 and January 2024 in Abuja, carried out a specialised business of other financial institutions without valid licence.
The offence is said to be contrary to Section 57(1) and (2) of the Banks and Other Financial, Institutions Act, 2020, and punishable under Section 57(5) of the same Act.
The National Examinations Council (NECO) has given accreditation to more foreign schools to write the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
The Acting Director, Information and Public Relations, Mr. Azeez Sani, disclosed this in a statement.
The newly accredited schools are in Niger Republic and Equatorial Guinea.
“NECO Accreditation Team visited the Schools to assess their readiness to write the SSCE and BECE.
“The Accreditation Team inspected classrooms, laboratories, libraries, computer laboratories, workshops, examination halls and sport facilities to determine their adequacy and suitability for NECO Examinations.
“After a thorough evaluation and comprehensive assessment, the schools were granted full SSCE and full BECE accreditation status,” the statement said.
The statement added that the accreditation of additional foreign schools is a testament to NECO’s commitment to providing quality education and assessment beyond the shores of Nigeria.
“With its expanding global presence, NECO is poised to become a leading examination body in Africa, offering opportunities for students worldwide to benefits from its expertise, thus contributing to the advancement of education in Africa and beyond.”
In another development, the statement disclosed that candidates are participating in the on-going NECO SSCE External in Diffa, Niger Republic.
“The UNHCR School, Diffa, Niger Republic is the first NECO SSCE External Centre outside Nigeria.”
NECO examinations are now written by candidates in Benin Republic, Togo, Cote’ d’Ivoire, Niger Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Saudi Arabia.
Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, suffered the worst defeat of his managerial career as they lost 4-0 to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday night.
The Premier League champions were already on a run of four consecutive defeats ahead of the visit of the North London side.
James Maddison scored twice in the first half to set Spurs on their way to a sensational win.
Pedro Porro drilled in a third, before Brennan Johnson got on the scoresheet late in the game.
The result leaves City in second place with 23 points. They could go eight points behind Liverpool by the end of this Game Week.
Guardiola takes his men to Anfield next weekend.
News
FUOYE Re-Marks Exam Papers of Student Failed By Lecturer Over Sex-for-Grade Scandal, Secures Justice
The Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Ekiti State, has cleared a female student, Ramota Olahanloye, to graduate following the re-marking of her final-year examination scripts.
Olahanloye had alleged that a lecturer, Dr. Anthony Agbegbedia, demanded sexual favours from her, and when she declined, he deliberately failed her in two final-year courses.
In a statement issued on Friday by the Special Adviser on Media to the Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Wole Balogun, the university confirmed that Olahanloye’s allegations were investigated, and her scripts were re-marked.
“The young lady’s scripts were re-marked, and she performed fairly better than the scores initially awarded by Dr. Anthony Agbegbedia,” the statement read.
According to Balogun, the university management approved Olahanloye’s revised results, which qualified her for graduation.
“The university management has given executive approval for her results to be processed. She has since commenced her final clearance from relevant units of the university,” the statement added.
Balogun also disclosed that Agbegbedia had been sanctioned by the institution for his misconduct.
Olahanloye expressed her joy over the resolution of the case, saying, “I am happy that I have gotten justice, and I really appreciate the university Vice-Chancellor for setting up the committee that investigated the matter.
“I was shown my entire results, including the graduation list with my name on it. I have started my clearance as a graduating student of the university, and I am truly happy.”
Her father, Rasaki Olahanloye, also lauded the university for its commitment to justice.
“I can confirm to the world that FUOYE has served justice to my daughter. I was shown her upgraded results after her scripts were re-marked, and it is clear that she passed.
“The university fulfilled its promise to ensure fairness, and I appreciate the VC, Prof. Sunday Fasina, and the committee members for ensuring my daughter gets justice,” he said.
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