Operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested five persons for possession and conveyance of three truckloads of assorted solid minerals mined without licence.
Disclosing this in a statement on Tuesday, EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, said that the suspects include Dauda Suleiman, Quadri Oladimeji, Abubakar Alhassan, Anas Sanusi, and Auwal Garba.
He said the suspects are truck drivers except for Quadri Oladimeji and Auwal Garba, who are truck boys
“Their arrest, which was effected along Maraba road, Ilorin Kwara state and Ogbomosho, Oyo state between March 21 – 22, 2024, followed credible intelligence and days of surveillance,” the statement read.
“The suspects were arrested while conveying solid minerals suspected to be marble stone, white powder, lithium, and lepidolite to Shagamu and Alakija in Ogun and Lagos State for commercial purposes without licence. They claim to be hired.
“Details of the trucks recovered from the suspects showed that Dauda, Abubakar, and Anas were each carrying a truck with registration numbers JJJ 206 YG, Lagos; T24413 LA, Lagos and KNT 635 XP, Niger, respectively.”
This is not the first arrest to be made by the anti-graft agency on those engaged in illegal mining in the country.
On February 5, the EFCC arrested 41 persons over suspected illegal mining activities in Ilorin and impounded 12 truckloads of assorted minerals mined without license. The latest arrest brings to 46 the number of persons arrested, and 15 vehicles ceased in the last month over similar offences. The statement said that the suspects would be arraigned in court after the conclusion of investigations. By Abdulhakeem Garba, Channels Television
Members of the American Federation of Teachers and teachers unions representatives from Uganda and South Africa rally against Bridge Academies at the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings on April 21, 2017 in Washington. CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES?Photo Courtesy
U.S., U.K., and France disagree on compensation for victims at an IFC-funded chain of for-profit schools.
Will the World Bank Compensate Victims?
World Bank chief Ajay Banga apologized earlier this month for the organization’s handling of widespread child sexual abuse at a chain of for-profit Kenyan schools that it funded through the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the bank’s investment arm.
The IFC invested $13.5 million in Bridge International Academies starting in 2013 to help it scale up private schools in Kenya. Multiple complaints of sexual abuse emerged in 2020 following an investigation by the IFC’s internal watchdog, the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman. The watchdog’s final damning 58-page report, submitted last October and published March 14, found that the bank had failed to address and mitigate the abuse perpetrated by staff at Bridge.
In an email to the staff of the World Bank sent March 13, Banga, whose tenure began after the period of reported abuse, acknowledged that mistakes were made.
“I am sorry for the trauma these children experienced, committed to supporting the survivors and determined to ensure we do better going forward,” Banga wrote.
The watchdog report detailed sexual abuse experienced by at least 23 children at schools operated by Bridge in Kenya and suggested that the IFC turned a blind eye when complaints became known. It said the institution had failed to regularly “monitor or substantively address” sexual abuse despite being informed multiple times between 2013 and 2017 of incidents at Bridge schools. The IFC also failed to address evidence that Bridge relied on unregistered teachers, the report said.
In March 2022, the IFC quietly pulled direct funding to Bridge, though it retains an investment in one funder that supports the company.
As late as last month, Banga appeared to dismiss suggestions that the IFC took steps to cover up the abuse. “I just disagree that there was a legal effort to cover it up,” Banga said at an event sponsored by the Center for Global Development. “If it is proven to be so, I will take all the action that’s necessary.”
Banga has now proposed the appointment of an independent investigator to ensure that the previous investigation was free of interference. “This is a difficult moment for our institution, but it must be a moment of introspection,” he added.
But critics say this does not go far enough. “If there are no staff consequences for misconduct as egregious as this at the bank, you can be sure that it will happen again,” said David Pred, the executive director and co-founder of Inclusive Development International, a human rights group.
In recent weeks, a dispute has broken out among the nations that make up the board of the IFC about how the bank addresses wrongdoings at companies such as Bridge. The watchdog recommended that victims of abuse receive financial compensation. Yet, the “action plan” approved by the board of the IFC proposed payment for counselling and sexual health services.
“The official management action plan does not actually provide any remedy to the Bridge survivors specifically. IFC instead plans to offer funding to child abuse service providers throughout Kenya,” Pred told Foreign Policy.
U.S. lawmakers have urged the bank to adequately compensate victims, but the United Kingdom and France are reportedly against monetary compensation, as it would be expensive and set a precedent.
“I’m concerned that failing to provide direct and meaningful compensation will not only harm the survivors and their families, but it will also harm the reputation of the IFC, which has a critical mission around the world, and that of the United States as its largest shareholder,” U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, wrote in a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
A statement by the U.S. Treasury published a day after the action plan was signed says that department officials “believe IFC should keep all remedy options on the table while the consultations proceed.”
Bridge, founded by two Americans, operates a chain of low-fee private schools in Kenya, Uganda, Liberia, India, and Nigeria, supported by high profile financiers that include the European Investment Bank and foundations set up by Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. Civil society groups have criticized other high-profile investors for remaining silent on the scandal. As Banga pointed out, “two of the world’s leading foundations are much larger investors” than the IFC.
Bridge had been under scrutiny for years by IFC investor nations. The chairman of the U.K. Parliament’s international development committee wrote in a letter in 2017 stating that after visits to Bridge schools in Nigeria, Uganda, and Kenya, the evidence of the company’s impact on poverty is likely too weak to justify continued investment. The letter added that its inquiry “raises serious questions about Bridge’s relationships with governments, transparency and sustainability.”
There are many successful private international schools across Africa in what is becoming a lucrative market, but Bridge’s low-cost business model increased the likelihood of harm, development experts told Foreign Policy. Bridge is also facing controversy in Liberia over allegations of sexual abuse in a government education program, which it denies.
The IFC’s board now has six months to agree on a final remedy program in relation to Kenya. U.S. lawmakers have called the Bridge case a “litmus test” for how the institution handles harm caused by its projects—one that will have broader implications on funding the World Bank. By Nosmot Gbadamosi, Foreign Policy
The Kenyan government on Tuesday began handing over 429 bodies of members of a doomsday cult at the centre of a legal case that has shocked the country.
Exhumed bodies from a vast rural area in coastal Kenya have shown signs of starvation and strangulation. Cult leader Paul Mackenzie is accused of asking his followers to starve themselves to death to meet Jesus and now faces charges that include murder.
Authorities are using DNA testing to help identify bodies and their families. On Tuesday, the first bodies were handed over to relatives. Emotions ran high at the Malindi mortuary as families collected loved ones for reburial. Some wailed, overwhelmed.
Mackenzie and dozens of his associates were charged in February with the torture and murder of 191 children. The trial begins April 23. Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki has declared Mackenzie’s Good News International Ministries a criminal organized group.
Mackenzie is serving a separate one-year prison sentence after being found guilty of operating a film studio and producing films without a valid license. Some outraged Kenyans have asked how authorities didn't notice any sign of the mass deaths underway.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission last week said police failed to act on reports that could have prevented the deaths in the remote Shakahola area. Several reports had been filed at police stations by people whose relatives had entered the forested area. By Evelyne Musambi, Telegraph
Moi University bus involved in an accident at Kimende along the Naivasha-Nairobi Highway on March 27, 2024. PHOTO Copied to clipboard
Several students from Moi University were injured after their bus was involved in a road accident at Kimende along the Naivasha-Nairobi Highway on Wednesday, March 27.
Reports indicate that the students were heading to Mombasa for an academic trip before the accident occurred.
The university bus crashed on the side of the road and overturned resulting in injuries.
Locals rushed to the scene to help rescue the students and drivers before police and other emergency personnel arrived.
Additionally, some of the students were seen jumping outside the bus through the windows as residents attempted to lift the bus to save those who may have been trapped underneath.
No casualties have been reported yet as police and the school management were yet to issue a statement on the accident. by MAUREEN NJERI, Kenyans.co.ke
A peaceful transition of power in Senegal would mark a boost for democracy in West Africa, where there have been eight military coups since 2020.
Senegal opposition presidential candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye, on Monday promised to govern with humility and transparency.
BBC reports that Faye, set to be declared the next president after his main rival called him to concede defeat, thanked President Macky Sall and other candidates for respecting Senegal's democratic tradition by recognising his victory well before official results.
"In electing me, the Senegalese people have decided on a break with a past," Faye told journalists in his first public appearance since the election. "I promise to govern with humility and transparency."
Months in jail alongside ally and kingmaker Ousmane Sonko ended suddenly, with the pair released the week before the presidential election. Provisional results showed Faye with about 53.7% and Amadou Ba - from the current ruling coalition - with 36.2% based on tallies from 90% of polling stations in the first-round vote, the electoral commission said.
According to the report; Ba and Sall both congratulated Faye, who turned 44 on Monday. They hailed the outcome as a win for Senegal, whose reputation as one of West Africa's most stable democracies took a hit when Sall postponed the vote.
"The Senegalese people have reinforced the good health of our democracy.. I wish him (Faye) success at the head of our country," Ba said. A peaceful transition of power in Senegal would mark a boost for democracy in West Africa, where there have been eight military coups since 2020.
Some of the juntas that seized power have cut ties with traditional regional power-brokers such as France and the U.S., turning instead to Russia for help in their fight against a jihadist insurgency spreading through countries that neighbour Senegal.
Senegal's international bonds rose on reports that Faye was close to being declared a winner, reversing sharp falls from earlier in the day. Many hope the vote will bring stability and an economic boost after three years of unprecedented political turbulence and several waves of deadly anti-government protests.
"I am happy to see there is a wind of change," said an opposition supporter named Tall, who joined revellers during the night as street celebrations broke out in anticipation of Faye's victory.
"It is wonderful because democracy has won. Many thought it would not happen," he said, giving only his first name. Full, official results are expected to be announced by the Dakar appeals court on Friday. Sahara Reporters
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