Court Convicts Farmer for Rice Investment Fraud
A farmer who hails from Taraba State, Mr Hassan Abubakar, has been convicted by a Gombe State High Court for criminal breach of trust.The convict was punished for diverting the sum of N1.6 million he was to invest in a rice farming business jointly owned by him and another investor identified as Mr Abubakar Suleman.Mr Suleman filed a petition to the zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Gombe State, accusing Mr Abubakar of using the money he invested in the business for another purpose.This prompted the EFCC to swing into action and after having something concrete to nail on the convict, he was dragged before Justice Abubakar Jauro on 15 count charges bordering on criminal breach of trust.
He was arraigned in 2019 and one of the charges read, “That you Hassan Abubakar and Jamilu Abubakar (at large) sometimes in 2017 in Gombe, within the Jurisdiction of this court converted to your own use the sum of N208, 000 property of Abubakar Suleman and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 311 and punishable under Section 312 of the Penal Court Law”.He pleaded not guilty, but Justice Jauro found him guilty because the prosecution, through its counsel, A.M.
Ocholi, proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.He, thereafter, convicted and sentenced the defendant to one-year imprisonment on each of the 15 counts with the sentences to run consecutively.However, the judge said the convict has an option to pay a fine of N75,000 and he has been ordered to pay the complainant the amount in question in restitution.
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Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories.At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan.Mr Olowookere can be reached via [email protected] Continue Reading Naira Gains 0.03% at I&E as Bitcoin Sells for N32.2m
Published Adedapo Adesanya By Adedapo Adesanya The wavy movement of the Naira at the foreign exchange market, especially at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window this continued on Thursday.Yesterday, the value of the local currency paired with the United States Dollar appreciated just a day after it depreciated.During the trading session, the Nigerian currency was strengthened by 0.03 per cent or 13 kobo to trade at N408.67/$1 compared to N408/80/$1 it traded the previous day.
One of the major factors that supported this was the decline in the pressure on the domestic currency as FX traders had enough supply to meet the demands of their customers.On Thursday, transactions worth $43.97 million were recorded as against the $123.37 million worth of trades recorded at the midweek session, indicating a decrease in the turnover by $79.4 million or 64.4 per cent.Bu at the parallel market segment, the local currency closed flat against the American currency on Thursday at N480/$1.The Naira also traded flat against the Pound Sterling and the Euro at the same black market yesterday at N670/£1 and N582/€1 respectively.Equally, at the interbank segment of the market, the Naira sustained its stability against the greenback at N379/$1 and at the Bureaux De Change (BDC) window, the Naira maintained its previous rate against the Dollar at N395/$.Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market continued to witness fluctuations.
At the market on Thursday, the Bitcoin (BTC) gained 3.3 per cent to trade at N32,204,465.99.For the Dash (DASH), it appreciated by 5.2 per cent to sell at N150,000, the Litecoin (LTC) grew by 6.7 per cent to close at N127,000, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) improved by 5.3 per cent to settle at N685.00.However, the Ethereum (ETH) lost 2.7 per cent to sell at N1, 060,100.99, the Ripple (XRP) recorded a 0.9 per cent loss to trade at N309.99, while Tron (TRX) declined by 1.4 per cent to sell at N31.50.Share this: Oil Trades Mixed as Market Eases Off Surprise Inventories Build
Published Adedapo Adesanya By Adedapo Adesanya The prices of crude oil moved in different directions on Thursday with the global benchmark facing south and the United States’ benchmark heading north.
According to data obtained by Business Post, the price of the Brent crude depreciated by 12 cents or 0.18 per cent yesterday to $66.92 per barrel, while the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude increased by 0.3 per cent or 19 cents to trade at $63.45 per barrel.The outcome on Thursday indicated that the market had weaned itself of highs that followed an unexpected rise in US oil inventories and a broader lift to the reflation trade taking place across global markets.It was reported at the previous session that the US crude oil stockpiles rose in the last week, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), which said crude inventories increased 1.28 million barrels in the period.This also saw US crude oil production dropped by more than one million barrels per day last week during Texas’s deep freeze.It was said that the overall output fell by 1.1 million bpd to 9.7 million barrels per day in the week to February 19.This helped prices up for a few days.Also, banking institutions have forecast that the commodity has a good year ahead.
The latest is coming from Barclays, which raised its oil price forecasts on Thursday, saying oil could rally again on the weaker-than-expected supply response by US oil operators to higher prices.It, however, warned that it is cautious over the near term on easing support from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+), risks from more transmissible COVID-19 variants and elevated positioning.Members of OPEC+ are due to meet on March 4 to discuss a modest easing of oil supply curbs from April, given a recovery in prices.
However, some are suggesting that the cartel hold steady for now, given the risk of new setbacks in the battle against the pandemic but others are calling for easing.Extra voluntary cuts by Saudi Arabia in February and March have tightened global supplies and supported prices.The talks are likely to lead to a rollback of Saudi Arabia’s unilateral output cut, according to analysts.Share this: Stock Market Loses N66bn Amid Weak Trading Activity
The stock market in Nigeria retreated to its normal position in recent times, the bearish territory, on Thursday following the decision of investors to book profit.Business Post reports that there was a 0.31 per cent decline at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday as a result of the profit-taking.The announcement from Zenith Bank that it was paying a final dividend of N2.70 per unit had brightened the mood at the market, but after two days of growth, the performance dropped.At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) depreciated by 125.81 points to 40,095.49 points from 40,221.30 points, while the market capitalisation reduced by N66 billion to N20.978 trillion from N21.044 trillion.
At the trading day, the level of activities decreased as investors only traded 326.0 million shares worth N3.7 billion in 4,567 deals as against the 469.6 million shares worth N7.1 billion traded at the midweek session in 5,470 deals.This signified that the trading volume went down by 30.56 per cent, the trading value depleted by 47.56 per cent and the number of deals crashed by 16.51 per cent.By the close of transactions, Transcorp topped the activity chart by volume as it sold 48.4 million shares valued at N43.7 million and was trailed by Dangote Sugar, which exchanged 33.9 million stocks for N611.8 million.UBA transacted 27.5 million equities worth N229.6 million, Zenith Bank sold 24.6 million shares valued at N637.6 million, while United Capital exchanged 19.2 million stocks for N118.0 million.It was observed that the market breadth closed negative on Thursday as a result of 24 price losers and 14 price gainers recorded.The downward slide in the shares of LASACO Assurance after its reconstruction continued yesterday as the company lost 9.68 per cent to settle at N1.12 per share.
Fidson went down by 8.41 per cent to close at N4.90 per unit, Ecobank fell by 6.31 per cent to N5.20 per share, Mutual Benefits Assurance lost 5.13 per cent to trade at 37 kobo per unit, while UAC Nigeria dropped 5.03 per cent to N7.55 per share.The appointment of the immediate past managing director of Wema Bank Plc, Mr Segun Oloketuyi, to the board of Chams Plc has generated interest in the company’s stocks.Yesterday, its equity price rose by 9.09 per cent to 24 kobo per share to lead the gainers’ table.Royal Exchange gained 8.00 per cent to finish at 27 kobo per unit, Wema Bank grew by 7.69 per cent to 70 kobo per share, Red Star Express gained 5.77 per cent to close at N3.30 per unit, while Prestige Assurance appreciated by 4.55 per cent to 46 kobo per share.
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