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It is time for our looted artefacts to return home, FG to Britain

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APC Accuses PDP of Desperation, Seeking Political Gains from National Tragedy

It is time for our looted artefacts to return home, FG to BritainThe Federal Government says the British authority has taken care of its looted artefacts for so long and it is time for the cultural and historical works of art to return home.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated this in London during a working visit to the British Museum.

Speaking after a meeting with officials of the museum, Mohammed, who was taken round the gallery and strong room, thanked them for their passion and for taking care of the artefacts for so long.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the minister met with Sam Nixon, Curator and Head of Africa Section, British Museum and Lissan Bolton, Keeper of the Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas in the Museum.

“Before now, they said we did not make a demand, but in October last year, almost nine months ago we made a formal request for the return of the artefacts especially the Benin bronzes for which we have not got any response.

“We made them understand that our quest and clamour is for the return of the Benin bronzes and all other artefacts that were stolen and looted to their origin.

“I said they should take a cue from Germany which was neither our coloniser nor the one that looted the artefacts but which has yielded to pressure and signed an agreement to return 1,130 Benin bronzes to us.

“We also made it clear to them that they cannot hide under legislation and no Act of Parliament will make what you have stolen to become yours,” he said.

Mohammed said he reminded  the officials that Universities of Aberdeen,  and Cambridge had respectively returned the looted artefacts in their custody.

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He added that all over the world, countries like France, Belgium, Germany were returning the artefacts in their countries while Canada had also made the promise to do so.

According to the minister, the officials who listened to him with rapt attention did not make any comment because the matter was beyond them.

Mohammed, however said they would not rest until Britain do the right thing by returning what they looted from the country a century back.

NAN reports that the artefacts, mostly Benin bronzes were looted by British soldiers when they occupied Benin city in 1887, while some were stolen by explorers.

NAN also recalls that Jesus College at the University of Cambridge was the first UK institution to restitute a Benin bronze to Nigeria,

After 124 years, bronze cockerel, known as Okukor, that had been donated to the college by the father of a student in 1905 was returned to the country last year.

This was followed by the University of Aberdeen which restituted a bronze sculpture, which depicts the head of an Oba (king).

The artefact, one of thousands of religious and cultural artefacts looted by British forces in 1897 was purchased by the University at an auction in 1957. 

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NCDMB’s Exec Sec, Ogbe Bags NSE’s Fellowship

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The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe was on Wednesday inducted into the Fellowship of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE).

Biztellers reports that the investiture was performed by the President/Chair-in-Council of the NSE, Engr. Margaret Aina Oguntala, FNSE at a ceremony in Abuja.

Oguntala congratulated the 63 new inductees and urged them to uphold the values of their new position in their field of engineering. She highlighted that engineers have been at the forefront of driving progress and development across various sectors of the economy, notably in the oil and gas industry.

She particularly lauded the ES of NCDMB for his excellent leadership and expertise through the strategic development of local content and in-country value retention, which is a testament to his brilliance in the field of engineering.

Oguntala also applauded the strategic partnership between the NSE, the NCDMB and other stakeholders in the oil and gas industry.

Similarly, the chairman Board of Fellows/College of Fellows, Engr. Kamila Maliki, FNSE, commended the new inductees for their resilience, dedication, and contribution to the field of engineering.

He added that it was not a small feat to be chosen for the investiture due to the rigorous and thorough nature of the selection process.

The ES later was joined by the Managing Director of Setraco Nigeria Limited, Engr. Ziad Mouannes and Senator Patrick Ndubueze for the unveiling of the very first edition of the 2024 NSE Quarterly Magazine.

Some senior officials of the Board who accompanied the ES to the event included the Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, Abdulmalik Halilu, Director, Project Certification and Authorization, Engr. Abayomi Bamidele, and the General Manager, Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, Esueme Dan Kikile, Esq.

Before he was appointed the ES of NCDMB, Engr. Ogbe had nearly 30 years top-level career in the field of engineering in the employment of Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), before retiring voluntarily to set up his private firm.

His last position at Chevron Nigeria was Construction Services Group Superintendent, and he oversaw 200 personnel, including Nigerian nationals and expatriates.

Other notable positions he held at the company included Offshore Projects Manager, Construction Manager (Lagos, Escravos -Warri), Construction Engineer (San Ramon) in California, United States of America.

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Soldiers Shut Down Banex Plaza After Clash With Traders [Video]

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On Saturday evening, armed soldiers shut down the popular Banex Plaza in the Wuse 2 district of Abuja after a clash between traders and three soldiers over a phone sale dispute.

According to eyewitness Okechukwu Daniel, the incident began on Saturday afternoon when a young military man returned to a phone shop, claiming a phone he bought about a month ago was faulty.

Daniel, also a trader at Banex Plaza, stated that the seller refused to accept the phone back due to the lengthy period that had passed since the sale.

He said “When the phone seller refused to collect the phone back, the young guy threatened him that he will shut down his shop for refusing to collect the phone, and the seller told him to do his worse.

“That was when he got angry and went to one of the barracks close by and brought two soldiers to come and harass the phone seller for him to collect the phone back.

“When the two soldiers got to the phone shop to threaten the seller, he still refused to collect the phone. The soldiers got angry and wanted to use force on him, that was when other traders came to the rescue of the phone seller and beat up the two soldiers.”

Daniel added that after the soldiers were assaulted, they went back to the barracks to gather reinforcements.

When they returned to Banex Plaza to confront the phone seller and other traders, the traders had already fled from their shops.

He added “When over 50 soldiers who were visibly angry got to the plaza, they could not find the traders that beat up their colleagues, so they decided to shut down the plaza by asking everyone to leave. Anyone found around the plaza was asked to do frog jump and other punishment,”

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EFCC Returns $22k Recovered From Fraudster To FBI

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has confirmed the transfer of $22,000, recovered from a convicted internet fraudster, Hakeem Olanrewaju, to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).

Dele Oyewale, the commission’s spokesperson disclosed on Saturday that the handover took place in Lagos State on Friday.

Acting Director of EFCC Lagos Zonal Command, Michael Wetkas, expressed appreciation for the collaboration and assured of EFCC’s continued efforts in combating financial crimes.

During the event, FBI’s Legal Attaché Charles Smith praised the EFCC for its action.

He said “The EFCC and FBI work collaboratively together, and it is thanks to the EFCC that we can recover funds of this nature, especially from Business email Compromise, BEC.

“This type of crime cripples businesses in the US, and for them to recover the money within one to two years gives hope to the affected companies and brings some level of justice, even if not all subjects have been identified.

“We hope our relationship continues and fosters a more cohesive partnership between the two agencies. If there’s anything the FBI can do to support this investigation, we will do so. We appreciate this on behalf of the FBI and thank the EFCC.”

On August 15, 2023, Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, mandated that the funds retrieved from Olanrewaju, serving a two-year prison term for identity theft and impersonation, be returned to his victim in the US.

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