Unknown gunmen on Tuesday, September 2, 2014 gruesomely murdered one O.J Nwani, a serving chief magistrate in the state.
Investigations by Thisday newspaper reveals that the gunmen had called the magistrate, who until his death served in Enugu South Area of the state Magisterial Division and shot him severally on his head and chest on emergence.
Futile efforts were made to save his life, as he was confirmed dead on arrival at an undisclosed hospital within Enugu metropolis.
Thisday reports:
Meanwhile, the Enugu State Police Command has confirmed the unfortunate incident, saying it had commenced full investigations into the assassination.
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ebere Amaraizu, said the command had not made any arrest, but that efforts were on to track down the killers.
According to Amaraizu, “Our operatives are on the trail of the murderers”.
Lawmaker Assures Global Audience of an Independent NFIC in Nigeria
Muhammad Bello in Abuja
In its bid to conform to global best practices in law-making, the House of Representatives will upon resumption of plenary this month harmonise and pass the National Financial Intelligence Centre Bill (NFIC).
The House Committee Chairman on Judiciary, Ali Ahmed (APC, Kwara), disclosed this yesterday in London at the ongoing 32nd Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime, taking place at the Jesus College of the University of Cambridge. The conference, which began on Monday, September 1, 2014 will round off on Sunday, September 7, 2014.
This year’s theme focuses on the advantages and vulnerabilities that information oriented society presents other countries with no such capabilities in fighting and protecting themselves from economic crime.
In his keynote address titled: ‘Information: Shield, Sword and Achilles Heel in the Fight against Economic Crime’, Ahmed said the House and the Senate had passed different versions of one of the important bills on cyber crime and economic crime-the NFIC bill.
He therefore assured the audience that his committee, senate and judiciary “will harmonise and pass the NFIC bill to the president within one month of resumption.”
Ahmed noted that for “Nigeria to take its position in the country of nations in the global fight against cyber-crime,” the federal government must ratify the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime 2001 and immediately enact policy and laws on Data Protection and Witness Protection, Lawful interception of Communication.
The lawmaker’s address with the theme on the perspective of Challenges Posed by the Legislative Process and the Imperatives for the Fight against Cyber-crime in Nigeria, stated that the “Legislative Process is not only restricted to actions that must be taken by the legislators alone, but includes seven steps recognised by the Supreme Court, which must be taken before a bill becomes law.”
According to him, the process “involves the executives, the stakeholders and the public,” therefore, “actions that are within the purview of legislators alone are not called laws, they are merely resolutions.”
Ahmed said therefore, “as Nigeria is fast transforming into a powerful digital-age nation in all facets of life and development, (it has just rolled out a national cashless policy, national e-ID), stakeholders, including government at the highest level, have not shown comparable appreciation of the need to build the necessary infrastructure that would accompany that transformation. We do not have data protection law or policy.”
He cited an instance of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which last week arrested four people “who tried to hack into the computer of Enterprise bank”, asking: “Under what appropriate law do you prosecute them?”
Further indicating the lack of appropriate laws to prosecute such offenders, the legislator lamented that the nation was left at the mercy of archaic legal provisions such as ‘conspiracy to defraud’.
He admonished the federal government, which he said often gives priority to Executive Bills to consider passing other bills that emanate from the National Assembly.
The Cambridge symposium is an annual event. This year’s edition is being attended by participants from 93 countries, which include ministers, legislators, diplomats, judges, regulators, law enforcement agents, security and intelligence officers, bankers, compliance and risk officers and scholars around the world.
The Attorney General of England and Wales, Jeremy Wright QC, delivered the opening address while the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar and AIG Tunde Ogunshakin and officers from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), NDIC were in attendance.
