Ponzi: Judge sets March 16 for Commencement of Trial

committed an offence contrary to Section 8 of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.

“That you M/s Vektr Capital Global Nigeria Ltd, on or between the year 2021 and 2022 within the jurisdiction of this honourable court did commit a felony to wit. Conspired among yourselves together with Kayode Sal Viktor and your other staff to do an illegal act- to lure and offer for subscription an unregistered collective investment scheme valued over N891,000,000 to investing public including Cordelia Ukomaka Ducke Eze and others and thereby committed an offense contrary to and punishable under Section 516 of Criminal Code Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

“That you M/s Vektr Capital Global Nigeria Ltd, on or between the year 2021 and 2022 within the jurisdiction of this honourable court did commit a felony to wit. Conspired among yourselves together with Kayode Sal Viktor and your other staff to do an illegal act- to lure and offer for subscription an unregistered collective investment scheme valued over N891,000,000 to investing public including Cordelia Ukomaka Ducke Eze and others and thereby committed an offense contrary to and punishable under Section 54 of the Investments and Securities Act, 2007” the Charge stated.

When the bail application came up for determination, the Justice said she has not been convinced going by the affidavit that the accused will attend court to attend trial and not jump bail.

Earlier, Counsel to Mr. Solomon urged the court to grant the defendant bail, stating that the defendant is only an employee of the company and not the owner.

However, Hon. Justice Abubakar declined saying that being an employee of the company is not enough for her to grant him bail but told the counsel that she needs to be convinced that if the defendant is granted bail he will be available to attend the hearing and not jump bail.

She said, “You know the provisions of the of the Administration of Criminal Justice on bail applications. He must meet those considerations. Show me in your affidavit of support where all these conditions have been listed as met to give me the assurance that the second defendant will at all times attend this trial in person. If I grant him bail based on what you have submitted will I not be seen to be reckless as a judge?

“Granting of bail is a discretionary power and you must earn it, you must convince me. So many people jump bail cases will come up and it cannot go on because the person has jumped bail. If you convince me, because your conviction is on oath I believe you. My concern is what you depose in your affidavit. I cannot on the basis of this deposition grant this person bail, I cannot.

“According to Section 160 paragraph 8F, the applicant must have these facts in his affidavit to convince the court to grant him bail. If I grant bail and he decides to jump bail tomorrow anyone that sees this application will say he did not commit himself.

Hon. Justice Abubakar state that there are no vital assurances to convince the court to grant the defendant bail as contained in Section 160 of Criminal Administrative Justice Act 2013 and enumerated in Paragraph 8f of the said Act, emphasising that It is important that the deposition must contain that vital information to convince and assure the court to grant the second defendant bail.

Zainab Ahmed: FG has spent N612bn Sukuk funding on road projects in four years

From Abubakar Yunusa, ABUJA

Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget, and national planning, says the federal government has invested over N600 billion raised through sovereign sukuk in road projects across the country.

Ahmed spoke at the symbolic cheque presentation ceremony of the 2022 N130 billion sovereign sukuk by the debt management office (DMO) in Abuja on Monday.

The sukuk is a strategic debt instrument that supports infrastructure development, promotes financial inclusion and deepens the domestic securities market.

The minister described the project as one of the most innovative and successful initiatives of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Last year, the DMO raised

N130 billion from its N100 billion sovereign al ’Ijarah sukuk opened on November 21, 2022.

Speaking at the ceremony, Ahmed said the sukuk has helped in improving road infrastructure in the Nigeria.

She added that the N130 billion received would be released to the national assembly “as part of the capital expenditure in the 2022 appropriation act, which has been extended to March 31, 2023.”

The minister said the federal ministry of works and housing (FMWH) received N110 billion and the federal capital territory administration (FCTA) got N20 billion as of December 2, 2022.

“I am proud to say that the issuance of sovereign sukuk, a project-tied debt instrument, is one of the many innovative and very successful initiatives of this administration towards financing the development of critical infrastructure in the country,” Ahmed said.

“The facts on how much the initiative has helped to improve road infrastructure across the country speak for themselves.

“As at date, this administration has invested the sum of N612.557 billion raised through sovereign sukuk between 2017 and 2021 for the construction and rehabilitation of key economic road projects in the six (6) geo-political zones and the federal capital territory (FCT).

“In real terms, the amount has been used to construct and rehabilitate sections of 71 road projects covering 2,808.06 kilometers and four bridges by the FMWH and sections of six road projects covering 99 kilometers and 19 bridges by the FCTA.

“The 2022 sovereign Sukuk of N130 billion will be released as part of the capital expenditure in the 2022 appropriation act, which has been extended by the national assembly to March 31, 2023. As at November 2022, N1.88 trillion had been released as capital expenditure, which represents about 40 percent performance when compared to the total capital budget of N4.7 trillion.

“This informed the need to extend the period to implement the capital component of the 2022 budget.

“It is important to add that besides the immense contributions of sukuk to the funding of critical road infrastructure, the objectives of deepening the domestic capital market and financial inclusion are being achieved by the government.”

On her part, Patience Oniha, DMO’s director-general, said the agency has demonstrated its strong alignment with the policy of the president’s infrastructural development through the sovereign sukuk initiative.