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Nigeria’s top nine banks that featured in the Banker’s top global 1000 banks 2012 have a combined tier one capital of $11.699 billion as against the $11.332 billion they had in last year’s top 1000 banks. This showed a slight improvement in the tier one capital of the Nigerian banks. However, the combined tier one capital of the nine banks is this time around slightly above the $9.842 billion of Standard Group of South Africa, the biggest bank in Africa and the 112th in the world. Standard Group’s tier one capital dropped from last year’s figure of $12.6 billion to this year’s $9.8 billion. This fact is contained in the 2012 edition of The Banker magazine top 1000 global banks, a publication of Financial Times of London. Bank of America which occupies the first position in the global ranking has a capital base of $163.626 billion. It is followed closely by JPMorgan Chase with a capital of $142.450 billion. The third position is occupied by HSBC, a British bank with...

At least 50 corpses have been discovered in the house of a pastor in Plateau State. The pastor is reported to belong to the Church of Christ in Nigeria. The corpses were suspected to be those who ran for safety in the pastor's house as they were being pursued by Fulanis. The discovery was made in Matse in Riyom area of the state. The state has been in crisis in the last few days with Fulani men attacking. As reported on Saturday, not less than 20 persons were killed in nine villages in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of the state.

An Umuahia Chief Magistrate Court, presided over by Chief Magistrate, John Ukpai has sentenced a pregnant woman, Ijeoma Amarachi, 25 to 17 years imprisonment for conspiring to attack a man with acid in addition to stealing. In the first offence of acid bath, Ijeoma and another accused, Johnson Ndubuisi,  said to be her accomplice were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. In the second charge, Ijeoma and Kelechi Okorie were sentenced to seven years imprisonment each for stealing the sum of N14 million, property of their employers. On the whole, the pregnant woman would spend 17 years behind bars for acid bath and stealing, having been found guilty of the two offences preferred against her. The court found her guilty of conspiring with another to pour acid on one Anyalewechi Onwuchekwa, their fellow worker at Bawas Filling Station in an attempt to murder him, While in the second charge, she was found guilty with another for stealing the sum of N14 million. ...

ABEOKUTA – The absence  of the lead counsel of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC ,  Rotimi Jacobs  in court on Monday stalled the resumption of the trial of the former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel. Daniel  is currently standing trial on a 38-count charge of alleged stealing, false declaration of assets and fraudulent conversion of lands. At the resumed hearing of the trial at Ogun state High Court, sitting in Isabo,Abeokuta, Monday, one of the counsels of the EFCC, Tayo Olukotun informed the court that Jacobs was “unavoidably absent”. It was  however gathered that Jacobs who was one of the lawyers selected to be elevated to the position of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria was absent  in court because he had gone for an interview scheduled for all those qualified for the exalted position. At the last adjourned date penultimate Friday, a principal prosecution witness in the ongoing trial,  Babatunde A...

Former member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dino Melaye, is one whose voice or person cannot be hidden on any major issue. So, given his frontal role in affairs of the House of Representatives in the last assembly where he played diametrically opposite roles with Rep. Farouk Lawan, he became a subject of interest in the review of the unfolding $3 million bribe scandal in the House. Melaye also spoke on the spectre of corruption in the country among other issues. Excerpts: This House seems to have resisted the lure to crisis more than  when you were were there. Can you say why? Dino Melaye The crisis was sponsored by the Integrity group headed by Farouk Lawan solely to humble Madam Patricia Etteh from office. But do not forget that it was the same Lawan who made it possible for Madam Etteh to become Speaker and when the same Lawan did not get what he demanded, that is becoming the Chairman of Appropriation Committee, he plotted to remove her from office. Rememb...

The crisis in Jos, Plateau State, worsened on Sunday as suspected Fulani herdsmen murdered a serving Senator, a member of the state assembly and others at the mass burial of 63 victims of Saturday’s attack. The Senate confirmed the death of Senator Gyang Dantong and the Majority Leader of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Gyang Fulani. “I can confirm that the Senator (Dantong) was a casualty of the attack. He was attending a burial of those who were killed on Saturday. We are also told that the Majority Leader of the House of Assembly of Plateau State was also killed,” spokesman for the Senate, Eyinnaya Abaribe, said on Sunday. Abaribe said the Senate would properly react to the incident later. Expectedly, President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday told security agencies to ensure that the killers of Dantong and the others were brought to book. The President, who spoke through his spokesman, Reuben Abati, described the killings as “cruel and regrettable.” “We shall con...

LAGOS — The House of Representatives Committee on Ethics investigating the $3 million cash for clearance scam involving Rep. Farouk Lawan and business mogul, Mr Femi Otedola, has been directed to reverse the decision to hold its hearings in secret. The directive from the House leadership came as it emerged that the Ethics Committee is to invite the Director General of the State Security Service, SSS, to shed light on the scam. The decision of the ethics committee to hold its sittings in camera came as a major reversal to the transparency and accountability profile that the Speaker Aminu Tambuwal-led leadership had itself sought to portray in its actions. The ethics committee which is investigating the alleged bribe offered by Otedola to Lawan to clear his name from the list of indicted beneficiaries of the administration’s subsidy regime got enmeshed in controversy last Tuesday after Otedola insisted that he must be heard in public and not in secret as the committee wanted. ...