The House of Representatives on Thursday ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stop enforcing the cybercrime levy in accordance with the terms of the cybercrime Act.

This came after the PDP Rivers Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda’s urgently important proposal was adopted.

According to Chinda, the Cybercrime Act’s section 44 (2a) identified the following entities as required to pay the fees: stock exchanges, insurance firms, banks and other financial institutions, GSM and telecom businesses, and Internet providers.

The lawmaker explained that the circular from the CBN has raised apprehension across Nigeria, stressing that it has given the impression that the levy is to be paid by Nigerians in an era when they are still battling with an increase in the price of petroleum products, among others.

The House subsequently asked the apex bank to withdraw its earlier circular on implementing the levy immediately and issue another circular in line with the provisions of the Act.

More to come…

A Federal High Court located in Abuja has granted N100 million in bail to Hadi Sirika, a former Minister of Aviation, along with two other individuals and his daughter.

They are on trial for allegedly defrauding the N2.7 billion. The court orders them to submit two further sureties, both of whom must have acquired properties in Abuja.

The court ruled that the sureties had to be law-abiding citizens as well. A means affidavit must be deposed to by the sureties.

The accused were also prohibited by the court from leaving the country without authorization.

Justice Oriji ordered that the defendants should be remanded in prison custody if they failed to meet their bail conditions.

The sureties must own landed properties within the FCT with valid titles. The trial will commence on the 10th, 11th and 20th of June.

More to come…

Hadi Sirika, Former Minister of Aviation, alongside his daughter, Fatima have arrived at the Federal High Court in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja where they will be arraigned for an alleged N2.7bn fraud in connection with the botched Nigerian Air project.

Recall that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has slammed six counts on the former minister, his daughter, and two others.

The anti-graft agency accused Sirika of conferring undue advantage on some entities between April 2022 and March 2023 in Abuja.

It added that that embattled minister abused his office by awarding consultancy N1.3bn contract for the Nigerian Air Start-up to Tianero  Nigeria Limited.

See photos below: