Economy
Court Orders Arrest of Second Suspect in Ex-SEC DG Gwarzo’s Case
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A bench warrant for the arrest of the second defendant in the case involving the former Director-General of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Mounir Gwarzo, has been issued by Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
The second suspect in the matter, Ms Jamila Ahmad Muhammed, a Principal Manager with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), is to be apprehended by security operatives for failure to appear in court over allegations of corruption.
Mr Gwarzo is being prosecuted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over their complicity in N12.8 million contract scam.
A statement issued by the ICPC on Sunday night stated that the former SEC boss is facing a 6-count charge bordering on abuse of office for awarding several contracts to Outbound Investment Limited, a private company where he doubled as a Director even while he was director general of the agency.
On her own part, Ms Muhammed, as director of Outlook Communication Limited, is facing an 8-count charge of gratification and abuse of office for running a private company while in the employment of the federal government, as her company was awarded contracts to the tune of N4.4 million by SEC.
According to ICPC, their actions were contrary to Sections 12 and 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, and punishable under the same sections.
Details from the charge sheet revealed that the former SEC boss, between December 2016 and March 2017, allegedly awarded contracts for the supply of 12 units of air-conditioners, 16, 000 litres of diesel and four units of refrigerators at the total cost of about N8.5 million to his own company.
The air-conditioners and refrigerators were to be supplied to the Lagos Zonal office of SEC at the cost of N3.5 million, while about a total of N5.0 million was allegedly awarded for the supply of diesel to the headquarters on two occasions in February and March, 2017 respectively.
Ms Muhammed’s offences, according to the charge sheet, included allegedly receiving N4.4 million contracts through her company, for the production of radio jingles on E-Dividend for broadcast in the three northern zones of the country, including N1.1 million for the production of the same jingles in Hausa and Pidgin languages.
The arraignment of both accused persons was slated for Tuesday February 18, 2020 before Justice O. A. Adeniyi, but for the absence of Ms Muhammed, who was said to be sick and on admission at the National Hospital, Abuja.
Her counsel, S. M. Yusuf, told the court, “The second defendant is sick. I confirmed from people close to her that she is in National Hospital.”
The counsel to ICPC, George Lawal, while responding to the argument prayed the court to issue a bench warrant on the accused maintaining that there was no medical report to back the claim of ill-health by her counsel.
Justice Adeniyi, after listening to both counsel, ruled that Ms Muhammed should be arrested immediately and kept in ICPC custody. He then adjourned the matter to March 5, 2020.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further appreciated against the United States Dollar by N5.68 or 0.41 per cent to N1,369.63/$1 on Wednesday, July 22, from the preceding session’s N1,375.31/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX).
Similarly, the Nigerian currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.01 to trade at N1,833.12/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,841.13/£1, and against the Euro, it gained N4.75 to sell at N1,563.03/€1, in contrast to Tuesday’s closing price of N1,567.78/€1.
In the same vein, the Naira strengthened its rate against the US Dollar in the black market yesterday by N5 to quote at N1,400/$1 compared with the N1,405/$1 it was traded a day earlier, and at the GTBank FX desk, it chalked up N5 against the greenback to settle at N1,383/$1 versus N1,388/$1.
FX liquidity was boosted by inflows from foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporates. The significant liquidity and strong investor sentiment aided the naira recovery from the recent slump.
As a result, total turnover settled at $416.420 million on Wednesday, up by 29 per cent from $322.664 million recorded the previous day.
The number of deals counted at the NAFEM window also increased to 198 from 110 on Tuesday, signalling higher demand for foreign payments matched adequate FX inflows.
With more than $52 billion in gross external reserves, analysts said the FX market is expected to remain stable in the near term.
As for the digital currency market, Bitcoin (BTC) slipped by 0.4 per cent to $65,658.75 as rising oil prices and higher Treasury yields pressured risk assets and weighed on major cryptocurrencies, which later saw some recovery.
Market sentiment was further dampened by an apparent escalation in US military strikes linked to Iran, while traders also looked at regulatory uncertainty as key US Senate Democrats criticised the latest draft of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which is designed to define and separate regulatory oversight for cryptocurrency, stablecoins, and digital commodities.
Dogecoin (DOGE) crashed by 0.1 per cent to $0.0724, and TRON (TRX) dropped 0.01 per cent to trade at $0.3287, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
However, Cardano (ADA) rose by 1.6 per cent to $0.1741, Ethereum (ETH) gained 0.2 per cent to close at $1,921.85, Binance Coin (BNB) also grew by 0.2 per cent to $569.38, Ripple (XRP) increased by 0.1 per cent to $1.13, and Solana (SOL) soared by 0.02 per cent to $77.50.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices jumped 3 per cent on Wednesday as mounting supply concerns following escalating hostilities between the United States and Iran, while threats to shipping by the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen further boosted prices.
Brent crude futures went up by $3.06 or 3.36 per cent to $94.07 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed $2.49 or 2.95 per cent to $86.83 a barrel.
The US military said it carried out an 11th consecutive night of attacks on Iran. The US attacks came a short while after the Kuwaiti army said its air defences were intercepting Iranian drones.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the US would “bomb and destroy one bridge or power plant” any time Iran targets a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ spokesperson warned shipping companies that the Strait of Hormuz southern route is mined.
As well as the renewed conflict over control of that key waterway, the Iran-aligned Houthis have opened a new front in the war by threatening to target vessels carrying Saudi oil in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia.
Bab el-Mandeb at the southern entrance to the Red Sea has become an increasingly important route for Saudi Arabian crude exports as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen sharply again since a ceasefire between the US and Iran collapsed earlier this month.
Five tankers in the Red Sea avoided the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Wednesday after the Houthis’ threat to block Saudi oil exports.
The European Union’s naval force Aspides said on Wednesday that ships with links to Israel, the US or Saudi Arabia are at a higher risk of being attacked by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militia and are advised to avoid voyages through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Crude oil inventories in the US saw an increase of 2.0 million barrels during the week ending July 17, according to new data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday.
It follows figures by the American Petroleum Institute (API) that were released a day earlier, which reported that crude oil inventories had risen by 2.603 million barrels in the period.
The increase brings commercial stockpiles to 411.7 million barrels, according to government data, which are now 6 per cent below the five-year average for this time of year.
Meanwhile, European Union (EU) ambassadors failed on Wednesday to agree on a 21st package of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Debt Management Office (DMO) on Monday allotted bonds worth N929.3 billion to investors from the N1.7 trillion bids it received from subscribers.
The exercise, which took place on Monday, July 20, 2026, was oversubscribed by market participants, reflecting the confidence investors have in the government’s ability to redeem the debt instrument on maturity.
On offer for sale for the July auction was N1.2 trillion worth of the FGN bonds, but the DMO allotted below this, despite receiving bids above the offer.
The papers were offered in 10-year, 15-year, and 20-year tenors, at N400 billion each.
For the decade-old note, investors staked N444.47 billion, but the debt office sold N245.73 billion at an 18.34 per cent coupon rate. For the one and a half-decade-old paper, bids valued at N518.00 billion were received by the DMO, with a non-competitive bid of N50.00 billion, with N302.13 billion allotted to investors at 18.40 per cent, and for the two-decade paper, the DMO got competitive bids of N665.19 billion and N381.46 billion was sold to bondholders at 18.35 per cent.
