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Court orders Winding Up of Keystone Bank and forefiture of Majority Shares to FG

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An Ikeja Special Offences Court on Tuesday ordered the winding up of Keystone Bank Ltd and forfeiture of 6,250,000,000 units of the ordinary shares of N1.00 each, to the Federal Government.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Rahman Oshodi gave the order in a judgment in Lagos.

The judgment followed guilty plea by the Chairman of the company, Umaru Hamidu-Modibbo, who represented the company.

The chairman pleaded guilty to an amended six-count charge brought against Sigma Golf by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The charge bothered on conspiracy to steal, stealing, transfer of property derived from stealing with the aim of concealing the origin and evade the legal consequences.

Sigma Golf had entered a plea bargain agreement with the EFCC.

The company was arraigned alongside a former Managing Director of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Ahmed Kuru.

While Sigma Golf pleaded guilty to the six-count charge, Kuru pleaded not guilty. Oshodi held that he was satisfied that Sigma Golf admitted guilt of its own volition.

He said: “I am satisfied that the second defendant was aware of the nature of the amended information and the consequences of the plea. “

All its rights, title and interest in the 6,250,000,000 units of Keystone Bank’s ordinary shares of N1.00 each shall be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria represented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

“In respect of the facts and circumstances of the instant case, the complainant agrees not to pursue criminal charges both now and in the future against Alhaji Umaru Hamidu-Modibbo and Sigma Golf Nig Ltd.”

The judge also held that Hamidu-Modibbo agreed to fully cooperate with EFCC in any ongoing or future investigations relating to the matter, including providing truthful testimony if required.

NAN reports that EFCC had stated that Kuru, Hamidu-Modibbo, Ifie Sekino (still at large) and Sigma Golf, sometime in 2016, conspired to steal by dishonestly converting N20 billion, property of AMCON, through Heritage Bank Ltd. to the use of Sigma Golf for acquisition of Keystone Bank Ltd.

The commission also stated that Sigma Golf and the others transfered N10 billion derived directly from stealing with the aim of concealing the origin of the said sum and evade the legal consequences.

EFCC lead counsel, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo , told the court that the commission agreed with Sigma Golf on the plea bargain in accordance with legal principles, justice and public policy.

Oyedepo submitted that the terms of the plea bargain agreement included the company pleading guilty to all the six counts and winding up.

NAN reports that the chairman and the legal representative of Sigma Golf, Mr David Idemu, confirmed to the court that the plea bargain agreement was made voluntarily. Kuru’s lawyer, Mr Olasupo Shasore (SAN), did not oppose the agreement.

Oshodi consequently convicted Sigma Golf and adopted the terms of the agreement. The judge earlier granted Kuru bail in the sum of N50 million with two sureties, who must swear to an affidavit of means.

The sureties must also provide evidence of tax payment in the last three years, according to the judge. Oshodi adjourned the case until March 7 for ccommencement of trial.

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FIRS Orders Banks to Close All Unauthorised Tax Collection Accounts

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The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has directed banks to immediately identify and close any FIRS tax and levy collection accounts not authorized under the TaxPro Max system.

The FIRS Chairman, Zacch Adedeji, in the entitled Directive to Close Unauthorised FIRS Tax Collection Accounts,’ said “effectively immediately, all tax and levy collections on behalf of FIRS must be processed exclusively under an assessment raised on the TaxPro Max platform.

The TaxPro Max is a homegrown tax administration platform that facilitates tax-related activities, including registration, filing, payment, and issuance of tax clearance certificates, among others .

The decision was part of the ongoing efforts to boost efficiency and transparency in tax collection as well as ensure uniformity and seamless reconciliation of tax payments.

It said : ” All banks participating in the FIRS Collection, Remittance and Reconciliation Scheme are hereby advised to comply with this directive within the stipulated period.

“We count on your cooperation to ensure a smooth transition to this centralised system, thereby contributing to a more transparent and efficient tax collection process.”

FIRS urged taxpayers and other stakeholders to reach out to the Revenue Accounting and Refund Department (RAAD) in FIRS for any clarifications or support regarding the directive.”

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FG Plans Additional 175 CNG Refilling Stations

Oluwagbemi expressed satisfaction that the nation has moved from 11 CNG stations last year to 65 in 2025..

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The Federal Government, through the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative, has said about 175 new Compressed Natural Gas refilling stations will be ready in the next 12 to 18 months.The PCNGI Programme Coordinator, Michael Oluwagbemi, disclosed this in a video shared on the PCNGI’s X handle on Sunday.

He said that the 175 stations will reduce the stress faced by Nigerians in accessing CNG.

Oluwagbemi expressed satisfaction that the nation has moved from 11 CNG stations last year to 65 in 2025.

There’s no doubt in my mind that we are in a much better place than we were when we kicked off this programme this time last year. When we started in January of last year, there were fewer than 11 functional CNG stations in Nigeria.

Most of them lacked customers because people did not know about CNG as a potential fuel for transportation. Today, we’re in a much different place,” he said.

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Dangote Cement Posts N311.974bn in Q1 2025

The company’s production capacity remained at 52 million metric tons, though production volume declined by 7.41 per cent to 6.547 million tons,

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Dangote Cement Plc has released its unaudited financial results, reporting a profit before tax of N311.974 billion for the first quarter (Q1) ended March 31, 2025.

The figure represents an 87.48 per cent growth compared to N166.404 billion recorded in Q1 2024.

The company also posted a profit after tax of N209.245 billion, up 85.71 per cent, from N112.674 billion reported in the same period last year.

The performance also saw a revenue of N994.659 billion, marking a 21.69 per cent increase from the prior year.

The company’s production capacity remained at 52 million metric tons, though production volume declined by 7.41 per cent to 6.547 million tons, while sales volume fell by 6.72per cent to 6.569 million tons.

Revenue from the Nigerian segment rose significantly to N696.042 billion, increasing its contribution to group revenue from 55.41per cent in Q1 2024 to 69.98 per cent in Q1 2025.

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