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Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the tax evasion case involving Binance Holdings Limited and its executives.

The Federal Inland Revenue Service had dragged the firm to court for tax evasion.

Also joined in the suit are officials of the company, Tigran Gambaryan, and fleeing Nadeem Anjarwalla.

In the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024, Binance was accused of failing to register with the FIRS for the purpose of paying all relevant taxes administered by the service.

The FIRS also alleged that while it was offering taxable services to subscribers on its trading platform, the company failed to issue invoices to the subscribers for the purposes of determining and payment of its Value Added Taxes.

The matter was adjourned on Thursday following the FIRS’ inability to serve Gambaryan the charges in EFCC custody.

The alleged money laundering case instituted by the EFCC is underway.

Details later…

The head of financial crime compliance at Binance, Tigran Gambaryan, has arrived the Federal High Court in Abuja for arraignment over allegations of money laundering.

On February 28, Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s regional manager for Africa, were detained by the Nigerian government.

Anjarwalla, however escaped from detention after he was led to a nearby mosque for prayers.

Details shortly…

Julius Abure, national chairman of the Labour Party, and his family members have reportedly been rushed to the hospital following a fire incident at his Abuja home on Wednesday.

The party also claimed that there was an assassination attempt on Abure who was recently re-elected for a second term in office.

The national publicity secretary of the Labour Party, Obiora Ifoh, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, April 3.

He said Abure’s residence was gutted by a “mysterious fire” which started a few minutes after 1am while Abure and the members of his family were asleep.

The statement quoted a member of the family who narrated the incident, saying they were woken up by neighbours and security men living in the compound.

The statement reads: “The entire family was trapped as the inferno had reached the staircase making it impossible for Abure and family to escape.

“However, it took divine intervention for the national chairman and his family to escape after neighbours and security men gallantly pulled down one of the windows upstairs making ways for the family to escape.

“Men of the Fire Service arrived shortly after Abure and his family were evacuated.

“Abure and his family were rushed to a private hospital where they are presently receiving treatment. Their condition is however stable.”

President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday signed the Student Loans Re-enactment Bill into law at the State House in Abuja.

According to a tweet by the Special Assistant on Social Media to the president, Olusegun Dada, the bill signing took place at the State House in the presence of the leadership from the National Assembly, ministers, and major education stakeholders.

The new legislation repeals the previous Students Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act of 2023 and re-enacts the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Bill from 2004.

The executive bill establishes the Nigerian Education Loan Fund as a corporate body tasked with receiving, managing and investing funds to provide loans to Nigerians pursuing higher education, vocational training and skills acquisition programs.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has approved an increase of 300 per cent electricity tariff for Band A consumers in the country.

Accordingly, power distribution companies (DisCos) will be allowed to raise electricity prices to N225 ($0.15) per kilowatt-hour from N68 for urban consumers this month effectively from April 1, 2024.

Vice chairman of NERC, Musiliu Oseni, who made this announcement in Abuja, however, clarified that the rate increase will only affect 15 per cent of the electricity customers in the country.

Oseni also revealed that these customers, who represent 15 per cent of the population, also consume 40 per cent of the nation’s electricity.

Details Later…

Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, arrived late at the inauguration ceremony of the newly elected President, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, at the Centre International de Conferences Abdou Diouf in Diamniadio, Senegal.

This was revealed by an international journalist, Kennedy Wandera, on Twitter.

Wandera shared the video of Tinubu arriving at the event venue with his aides.

He wrote:

”Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, arrives late at the inauguration of the newly elected President Bassirou Diomaye Faye at the Centre International de Conferences Abdou Diouf in Diamniadio.

”He has arrived minutes after all the Heads of State had been moved from the presidential holding room and ushered into the auditorium.

”He proceeded to his reserved seat”.

Tinubu left Nigeria on Sunday to attend the event. It is not clear why the president showed up at the event late after his colleagues were already seated.

Watch video below

In a remarkable turn of events, 30 children, primarily girls, who were abducted in Kasai Village in Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina State have been safely released.

The abduction, carried out by bandits while the victims were gathering firewood, sent shockwaves through the community on Monday.

However, less than 24 hours later, the children found their freedom, thanks to the diligent efforts of law enforcement and community stakeholders.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, Katsina State Police Command, ASP Abubakar Sadiq confirmed the release to News Point Nigeria on Tuesday.

“Following a concerted effort by the command, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, we’ve achieved a positive outcome,” ASP Sadiq stated, underscoring the swift action taken by authorities upon receiving the distressing report.

He further assured the public that the police were committed to investigating the incident thoroughly, with the dual objectives of rescuing the kidnapped victims and apprehending those responsible.

The news of the children’s release was also confirmed by Muhammad Batsari, a resident of the affected area.

Overjoyed by the turn of events, Batsari shared, “I received a call this morning informing me that all the kidnapped victims had been released by the bandits.”

At least thirty children have been abducted by suspected bandits in Kasai village, located in the Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina State.

Batsari, known as a Security Frontline Local Government Area, has been grappling with escalating activities of bandits and criminal elements in recent times.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Monday and has yet to elicit any official response from government authorities or security agencies.

Details remain scant, with no official confirmation or statement on the matter.

However, according to a resident of the area who spoke to Channels Television, the abduction took place as the children ventured behind Kasai village to gather firewood for cooking.

“Yes, the attack occurred yesterday, Monday, in the morning hours. It all began when the children numbering up to thirty went behind the Kasai village to secure firewood which their parents would use to cook food for them.

“Unfortunately, some suspected bandits intercepted them and took them to an unknown destination.

“We do hope and pray that peace and security will be restored in our state”, he said.

In a brazen assault on Monday night, bandits struck at a mosque in Gusau, Zamfara State capital, abducting numerous worshippers during the Tahajjud congregational prayer.

Tahajjud prayer is a vigil normally held in the last 10 days of Ramadan preceeding Eid-el-Ftr.

LeadingReporters gathered that the attackers stormed the mosque during the night prayer and kidnapped the worshippers

Mannir, however, expressed uncertainty about the exact number of persons taken as captives.

“While the number of abducted individuals remains unconfirmed, authorities are actively pursuing the assailants,” Mannir added.

As at the time of this report, no ransom demand has been made, and no group has claimed responsibility for the audacious attack, adding to the prevailing sense of insecurity in the North-West.

This assault comes on the heels of heightened concerns over escalating banditry and related criminal activities in Zamfara State. Recall that just a week ago, Governor Dauda Lawal engaged in discussions with President Bola Tinubu to address the mounting security challenges in the state.