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EFCC Hands Over Recovered ₦279m To Wole Soyinka Centre In Lagos

As part of efforts to combat corruption and recover misappropriated public funds, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has handed over the sum of ₦279 million to the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts, formerly known as the National Theatre, Lagos.


READ ALSO: Alleged ₦10bn Fraud: EFCC Witness Links Fund Transfers To Ali Bello, Co-Defendant

The handover ceremony took place on Friday at the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, Ikoyi.

A statement by the Head, Media and Publicity of the agency, Dele Oyewale, said the Commission had, in 2009, received a petition from Kabir Yusuf, former General Manager/CEO of the National Theatre, against one Prince Benjamin Apugo and others, alleging that a contract worth ₦299,707,828.00 was awarded through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation to Techno Exportstroy Nig. Limited for the construction of five gates, sand filling, and reclamation works at the National Theatre.

It disclosed that investigations revealed that the suspect, Yusuf Ahmed Atai, in his capacity as Acting General Manager of the National Theatre, released the sum of ₦334,229,794.24 to the contractor, which exceeded the original contract sum by ₦34,521,966.00.

“Further investigations showed that the contractor only executed work valued at ₦55,910,744.00, leaving an outstanding balance of ₦243,799,132.25 in unexecuted work.

The suspect also failed to refund the excess payment of ₦34,521,966.00.

“Upon the conclusion of investigations, the suspect was charged in court for prosecution.
During the course of the trial, a total sum of ₦279,000,000.00 was recovered from the defendant on behalf of the complainant,” the statement partly read.

Speaking during the handover ceremony, the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, represented by the Acting Zonal Director, Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, Ikoyi,  Assistant Commander of the EFCC,  ACE I Bawa Usman Kaltungo, reaffirmed the Commission’s resolve to ensure that public funds are properly accounted for and returned to their rightful owners.

He urged the management of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts to use the recovered funds judiciously.

“We cannot suffer to recover this money for you and then have it used for purposes other than what it is meant for after receiving it from us. We have already asked you to tell us what you intend to do with it, and you should know that we will keep an eye on how it is utilised.

“Nigerians have always sought to know what the Commission does with recovered funds,” he said.

He added that the Commission would periodically inspect the project for which the funds would be used.

“We will be visiting from time to time to monitor the progress of work. Our eagle eyes will be watching the pace of work. Do not tamper with the recovered funds. Use them for the benefit of Nigeria and all of us,” he added.

The Head of Finance and Accounts, Jatto Kabiru, who received the bank drafts on behalf of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts, expressed appreciation to the Commission for recovering the funds and assured that they would be used appropriately.

“We are most grateful for this remarkable feat of recovering this amount of money for us. The EFCC is one of Nigeria’s most effective and reliable law enforcement agencies.  I assure you that the money will be used judiciously,” the statement quoted him as saying.

Tinubu had in July 2024 renamed the edifice the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts in honour of the Nobel Laureate.

The renovation of the Centre wasfunded and overseen by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee.

Former 100m world champion Kerley banned for two years

Harry Poole

BBC Sport journalist

Former world 100m champion Fred Kerley has been banned for two years for anti-doping whereabouts failures.

A tribunal found Kerley was “negligent and, to a certain extent, reckless” in not adhering to anti-doping regulations, after the American recorded three whereabouts failures between 11 May and 6 December 2024.

Kerley was provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) in August last year and missed September’s World Championships in Tokyo.

The 30-year-old’s period of ineligibility will run until 11 August 2027 and his competitive results between 6 December 2024 and 12 August 2025 have been disqualified, including prize money, prizes and titles.

Kerley has also been ordered to pay World Athletics £3,000 in legal fees and other expenses.

The World Anti-Doping Code states an athlete cannot miss three anti-doping tests and/or filing failures within a 12-month period.

‘Whereabouts rules fundamental to integrity’

Kerley won 100m gold at the 2022 World Championships, along with the men’s 4x100m titles in 2019 and 2023.

He also made the 100m podium at the past two Olympic Games, winning silver at Tokyo 2020 and bronze at Paris 2024.

“Given this level of experience and having been a member of the Testing Pool since 2017, the Tribunal said Kerley should have exercised more care,” an AIU statement stated.

Head of the AIU Brett Clothier said: “Unfortunately, sophisticated doping substances may only be detectable within an athlete’s sample for a few days or even hours after administration.

“Anti-doping organisations need to be able to test athletes without notice on the day and hour of our choosing, otherwise anti-doping programmes will not work, and dopers will easily avoid detection. Whereabouts rules are therefore fundamental to the integrity of sport and must be respected.

“The AIU will continue to strictly enforce whereabouts requirements to protect the right of all athletes to clean competition.”

Kerley, who last competed at the Grand Sprint Series in Norwalk, California in July 2025 became the first track athlete and American male to sign up to the controversial Enhanced Games in September.

He did not dispute his whereabouts failure on 13 June – but blamed technical issues with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) app for a missed test on 11 May, and the Doping Control Officer (DCO) for missed tests on 6 and 7 December.

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  • Athletics

Human rights court orders reparations for forced sterilisation case in Peru

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) has ordered Peru to pay reparations to the family of Celia Ramos, a mother of three whose death resulted from a campaign of forced sterilisations during the 1990s.

Thursday’s landmark ruling stated that the 34-year-old Ramos was coerced into sterilisation against her will, causing an allergic reaction that led to her death.

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The court ordered Peru to pay her family $340,000 as part of the ruling.

It noted that the Peruvian government had “failed to fulfill its obligation to initiate and conduct a thorough investigation” into Ramos’s case, heightening the strain on her family.

“Ms Ramos Durand’s family members — especially her three daughters, who were children at the time of the events — suffered profound harm as a consequence of the sterilization and death of Celia Edith Ramos Durand and the impunity surrounding the case,” the IACHR wrote in its decision.

Peru’s campaign of forced sterilisation took place under the late President Alberto Fujimori, whose tenure included widespread human rights abuses that continue to cast a shadow over the country.

The scheme largely targeted poor and Indigenous women who were often tricked or coerced into sterilisation procedures.

This week’s ruling is the first time the human rights court has weighed in on the issue, which has been the subject of years of legal contestation in Peru.

“After almost 30 years of searching for justice, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights recognised the responsibility of the Peruvian state in the forced sterilisation and death of Celia Ramos,” the Peruvian feminist organisation DEMUS said in a social media post, celebrating the ruling.

“This ruling marks a fundamental step in reparations for Celia, her family and the thousands of victims of forced sterilizations in Peru.”

As many as 314,000 women and 24,000 men were sterilised against their will in Peru under Fujimori’s government, which sought to forcibly lower the birth rate as a means of addressing poverty.

The procedures were particularly invasive for the women involved, and some suffered long-term complications, including death.

Family members often received little information about the circumstances that led to loved ones dying after the unnecessary operations. Some survivors did not realise what had happened to them until years later, when they discovered they were unable to have children.

In Ramos’s case, the 34-year-old mother had gone to a state health clinic for medical assistance on July 3, 1997, but was instead forced to undergo tubal ligation.

Ramos, however, suffered a severe allergic reaction during the procedure. She was placed in a recovery room, but the clinic was not able to treat her adequately.

In its decision, the IACHR explained that the clinic “lacked the necessary equipment and medications for adequate risk assessment or to handle emergencies”.

Ramos was ultimately transferred to an intensive care unit in the city of Piura, where she died 19 days later, on July 22, 1997.

The state did not carry out an autopsy and declined to share details with her family.

The compensation outlined in this week’s ruling includes reimbursement for the costs of medical procedures conducted to save Ramos’s life and the estimated loss of income from her death.

In October 2024, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women at the United Nations ruled that Peru’s sterilisation programme amounted to sex-based violence and discrimination against poor, rural and Indigenous women.

The committee’s statement cited a lack of adequate medical facilities and a lack of informed consent, just as the IACHR did in its decision this week.

“The victims described a consistent pattern of being coerced, pressured, or deceived into undergoing sterilisations at clinics lacking proper infrastructure or trained personnel,” committee member Leticia Bonifaz said.

“The procedures were carried out without informed consent from these victims, with some of them, especially those from remote areas, unable to read and speak Spanish, or fully understand the nature of the procedure.”

Scholars have concluded that Fujimori’s sterilisation campaign was driven, in part, by racist views among government officials who saw rural, Indigenous communities as an obstacle to economic modernisation.

But Fujimori’s legacy remains fiercely contested in Peru.

Victims who have spoken out about their experiences have reported being harassed and threatened by supporters of Fujimori, whose daughter Keiko remains an influential figure in national politics.

She is a candidate for the presidency in Peru’s upcoming general elections in April.

Formerly a representative in Peru’s Congress, Keiko Fujimori served as first lady under her father from 1994 to 2000. She has long denied that he is guilty of any human rights abuses, reflecting a trend of denialism in the country.

In 2009, the elder Fujimori was convicted of human rights violations and sentenced to 25 years in prison, but in 2017, then-President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski issued a pardon for Fujimori that was subsequently contested in court.

He was ultimately released in December 2023 but died several months later, in 2024.

Tinubu Inaugurates Committee On Grid Asset Management Company

President Bola Tinubu has constituted an 11-member committee to ensure the smooth sailing incorporation of the Grid Asset Management Company Limited (GAMCO).

This followed the Federal Executive Council’s approval for the establishment of the company at its Wednesday meeting.

READ ALSO: FG Begins ₦4trn Power Sector Debt Settlement, ₦501bn Bond For GenCos 100% Subscribed

In proposing GAMCO, President Tinubu hopes to fast-track a quick-fix solution to the endemic problems of stranded power, grid management, and transmission in the country’s electricity sector, a statement by his media aide, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed.

The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, who performed the inauguration on behalf of the President on Friday, said the committee was critical to the realisation of President Tinubu’s aspirations in Nigeria’s power sector.

“The proposed establishment of GAMCO is one of the revolutionary steps taken by Mr. President and this administration in the all – important power sector. We are here for the inauguration of the Committee on Grid Asset Management Company (GAMCO), which is basically to optimise and revolutionise power generation, and in particular, the grid and transmission sector,” the Chief of Staff was quoted as saying.

‘Review Of Existing Law

He called on members to align with the President’s vision in proposing the formation of GAMCO and to stick to the committee’s mandate.

Gbajabiamila said the committee would conduct a comprehensive review of existing laws, regulations, policies, and institutional frameworks governing the electricity value chain, including generation, transmission, distribution, and market operations.

“It will examine the implications of the Electricity Reform Laws (2025) and related unbundling arrangements on asset ownership, management, and regulatory oversight. It will identify areas of conflict, overlap, or inconsistency between the proposed GAMCO framework and extant legal and regulatory instruments.

“The committee will also assess the legal status, ownership structure, and contractual obligations of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) and National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) assets, including the Omotosho, Olorunshogo, and Ihovbor plants, which GAMCO plans to use for its pilot phase.

“It will evaluate the interface between GAMCO’s proposed mandate and the statutory functions of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, and determine the fiscal, financial, and market implications of the proposal, including subsidy exposure, market liquidity, and revenue frameworks,” the statement read.

It added that the committee would determine whether the establishment and operationalisation of GAMCO require amendments to primary legislation, subsidy regulations, and executive directives.

The Chief of Staff to the President is the chairman of the committee, with the Attorney–General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, and the ministers of power, works, and finance as members.

Others include the ministers of communication and digital economy, science, technology and innovation, aviation and aerospace development, the minister of state (petroleum), the chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, and energy expert, Yemi Oke.

The Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Affairs Office, John Ezeamama, is the committee’s secretary.

Addressing Nigeria’s Power Sector

The Grid Asset Management Company Limited (GAMCO) aims to recover and optimise stranded power generation using the Benin-Lagos transmission corridor as a pilot phase.

According to the statement, the initiative will address Nigeria’s power sector challenges through optimisation, private capital mobilisation, and disciplined asset management, ultimately improving electricity reliability and national competitiveness.

“The Federal Government will fully own GAMCO as a commercial venture, with the shares held by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated.

“The company will modernise transmission evacuation, starting from the most critical axis within Nigeria’s power system. The Benin-Lagos transmission corridor evacuates bulk power supply to Ogun and Lagos states, Nigeria’s largest industrial and commercial centres,” it disclosed.

It added that the pilot phase would focus on optimising power output from the Omotosho, Olorunsogo and Ihovbor National Integrated Power Plants (NIPP plants). Omotoso’s installed capacity is 513MW, Olorunsogo’s 754 MW, and Ihovbor’s 508 MW.

GAMCO projects to recover at least 1,600 MW within 18-24 months, alongside the development of a new high-capacity 330V+ double-circuit transmission line along the same corridor.

The success of the new company during the pilot phase is expected to lead to the establishment of a scalable model that can be extended across additional plants and corridors, forming the backbone of long-term grid stabilisation and expansion.

“At present, substantial Federal Government investment in NIPP generation assets remains under-optimised due to operational inefficiencies and transmission evacuation bottlenecks, resulting in stranded capacity and suboptimal return on public capital.

“GAMCO plans to unlock the stranded power of the three selected NIPP and develop a parallel high-capacity transmission corridor along the Benin-Lagos axis, thus translating underperforming national assets into reliably delivered megawatts,” it partly read.

“As proposed, the Niger Delta Power Holding Company will grant GAMCO the concession and lease arrangements for the three plants. TCN will grant GAMCO the right to develop, finance, and operate a greenfield 330KV+ double-circuit independent power transmission line along the identified corridor.

Spanish politician slams those using ‘feminism’ as excuse for Iran war

NewsFeed

“This is how the right defends the rights of Iranian women: by celebrating the murder of 160 girls.” Spanish politician Manuela Bergerot criticised what she called the hypocrisy of supporting US and Israeli attacks on Iran while invoking feminist rhetoric, highlighting the killing of dozens of girls after a school was targeted in Minab.