Binance director’s escape, a national shame

THE recent escape of one of the two executives of a global crypto-currency firm, Binance, from custody, is an indictment of Nigeria’s security system and must be addressed firmly. The circumstances of the escape make it even more embarrassing. The fugitive Binance executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, who has British and Kenyan nationalities, and the Africa Regional Manager of the firm, was arrested alongside Tigran Gambaryan, a US citizen overseeing financial crime compliance at the crypto exchange platform.

They were detained upon arriving in Nigeria on February 26, 2024, due to a ban on their website, and are being tried by Nigerian courts. The Federal Government, through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, had asked Binance to share data on its 100 top users in Nigeria, as well as all transaction history for the past six months. The request is at the centre of negotiations between Binance and Nigeria.

The Office of the National Security Adviser said Anjarwalla escaped when heavily armed soldiers escorted him to the mosque to pray in the spirit of the ongoing Ramadan. He beat all security checks, and boarded a plane using his Kenyan passport, which was smuggled to him since his British passport had earlier been seized and flown out of the country. The story simply does not add up.

The Federal Government promptly contacted the International Criminal Police Organisation and issued an arrest warrant for the apprehension of the fugitive. Subsequently, the case involving the Binance executives was transferred from the ONSA to the EFCC, a decision that should have been taken immediately after the suspects were apprehended since the charges against them border on economic crime. They allegedly manipulated forex trading that saw the naira at an all-time low of almost N2,000/$1.

Though the ONSA said the security agents guarding Anjarwalla at the time of his audacious escape had been arrested for questioning, the ongoing inquest should go beyond that. The circumstances surrounding it and all those involved in the apparent slap on Nigeria’s face must be identified and brought to justice with stiff penalties as their action is nothing more than national sabotage.

Their international collaborators, if any, must also be exposed and made to face appropriate sanctions.

Immigration and other security officials at the airport must be investigated and made to face the full consequences of their criminal act of aiding the escape of the fugitive, or of negligence, while the international airline that ferried Anjarwalla out of Nigeria must face sanctions in line with the International Air Transport Association guidelines.

The breach shows that the national security system is very porous. Bandits easily kidnap schoolchildren in their hundreds, and gunmen invade communities and slaughter residents without any challenge from security agencies.

In decent environments, the NSA would have resigned by now, while other security chiefs would be answering questions. But this is Nigeria, such things rarely happen. To save his administration’s integrity, President Bola Tinubu needs to act by querying Nuhu Ribadu, or firing him to send a strong signal.

The entire security architecture should be restructured to make the personnel more in tune with modern trends of carrying out their duties, while their pay should be enhanced to minimise the tendency to give in to corruption.

In December 2001, the then Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Bola Ige, was assassinated in his Ibadan, Oyo State home with all the security personnel guarding him abdicating their duty post. Similarly, a high-profile convicted terrorist, Kabiru Sokoto, escaped from custody in January 2012.

In contrast, the EU took Google, Meta, and Microsoft to court, while the US is dealing with TikTok. So, Nigeria should use the law against errant international organisations instead of resorting to physical arrests.

 

Ukraine lowers combat call-up age to boost numbers

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed into law a bill lowering the military mobilisation age by two years from 27 to 25.

Kyiv has faced heavy losses on the battlefield after two years of war, whereas Russia has benefited from a sizeable advantage in manpower.

The move will allow Ukraine to call up more people to replenish its reserves, after volunteer numbers dropped.

Mr Zelensky said in December that 500,000 more soldiers were needed.

Although the bill was voted through by MPs in May 2023, it did not come into force because Mr Zelensky did not sign it.

It was not immediately clear what prompted the president to sign the bill on Tuesday, however he has previously warned of plans Russia may have to launch a spring or summer offensive this year.

Mr Zelensky’s signing of the bill could signify Ukraine’s effort to build up strong defensive fortifications in preparation for a Russian offensive.

Ukrainian forces had hoped to take back swathes of territory gained by Russia as well as cutting off Russian supply lines to Crimea.

But lacking air superiority and faced with formidable Russian defences, Kyiv’s counter-offensive ground to a halt at the start of winter and there are fears that Russian forces could outgun Ukraine.

Last year, Ukrainian Gen Oleksandr Tarnavskyi warned troops had already been forced to downsize some military operations because of a drop-off in foreign aid.

Ukraine has relied heavily on Western supplies, particularly on deliveries of long-range missiles and air defence systems. However, billions of pounds of US and EU aid have been held up amid political wrangles.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said more than 600,000 of his troops are fighting in Ukraine, but has not revealed how many have lost their lives there.

A classified US intelligence report released in December estimated that 315,000 Russian soldiers had been either killed or wounded since the war began – which it said was almost 90% of Russia’s military personnel at the start of the invasion.

In February, Mr Zelensky said 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since the start of the war, but US officials have put the number of Ukrainian soldiers killed as at least 70,000 and as many as 120,000 injured.

 

Botswana offers to send 20,000 elephants to Germany

The president of Botswana has threatened to send 20,000 elephants to Germany in a political dispute.

Earlier this year, Germany’s environment ministry suggested there should be stricter limits on importing hunting trophies.

Botswana’s president Mokgweetsi Masisi told German media this would only impoverish Botswanans.

He said elephant numbers had exploded as a result of conservation efforts, and hunting helped keep them in check.

Germans should “live together with the animals, in the way you are trying to tell us to”, Mr Masisi told German newspaper Bild.

The country is home to about a third of the world’s elephant population – more than 130,000.

Herds were causing damage to property, eating crops and trampling residents, he told Bild.

Botswana has previously given 8,000 elephants to countries such as Angola, and has offered hundreds more to Mozambique, as a means of bringing the population down.

“We would like to offer such a gift to Germany,” Mr Masisi said, adding it was not a joke and he would not take no for an answer.

Botswana banned trophy hunting in 2014, but lifted the restrictions in 2019 after facing pressure from local communities.

The country now issues annual hunting quotas, saying that it provides a good source of income for the local community and that the practise is licensed and strictly controlled.

It has previously considered using elephants for pet food.

Germany is the EU’s largest importer of African elephant trophies, and hunting trophies overall, according to a 2021 report by the Humane Society International.

A spokeswoman for the environment ministry in Berlin told the AFP news agency that Botswana had not raised any concerns with Germany on the matter.

“In light of the alarming loss of biological diversity, we have a special responsibility to do everything to ensure the import of hunting trophies is sustainable and legal,” she said.

The ministry, however, remained in talks with African countries affected by import rules, including Botswana, the spokeswoman said.

Australia, France and Belgium are among countries that have banned the trade in hunting trophies.

In March, UK MPs voted to support a ban on importing hunting trophies, but the legislation has further scrutiny to pass before becoming law.

A pledge to ban the import of hunting trophies was included in the Conservatives’ 2019 general election manifesto.

 

Biden denounces Florida abortion ruling as ‘outrageous’ as state vote looms

United States President Joe Biden has denounced a Florida Supreme Court decision that allows a six-week ban on abortion to take effect, calling it “outrageous” and “extreme”.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Biden lashed out at Republicans for limiting reproductive rights in Florida and other US states, a key election issue in 2024.

“Florida’s bans — like those put forward by Republican elected officials across the country — are putting the health and lives of millions of women at risk,” he wrote.

The statement comes in response to a series of rulings from Florida’s highest court on Monday, one of which upheld a ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

But that same decision is expected to pave the way for the six-week ban to go into effect, too.

In April of last year, the conservative-dominated Florida state legislature passed the six-week ban to replace the 15-week one, and Governor Ron DeSantis signed it into law.

However, the 15-week ban had been the subject of long-standing legal challenges. The six-week ban’s implementation hinged on whether the 15-week one could withstand the lawsuits it faced.

Prior to the 15-week ban, Florida had allowed abortion through the second trimester of pregnancy, which made it a destination for those seeking the procedure from nearby states with tighter restrictions.

Abortion headed to the ballot box

Monday’s string of decisions from the Florida Supreme Court also tees up another battle over abortion access in the state, set to unfold in the midst of November’s heated general elections.

The justices allowed a measure to be placed on the ballot that would amend the state constitution and protect abortion access “before viability” — up to around 24 weeks of pregnancy.

The ballot measure passed by a vote of four to three and is known as Amendment 4 or the “Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion”.

It calls for the following language be inserted into the Florida constitution, “No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health.”

Biden referenced the ballot measure in his Tuesday statement, reaffirming his commitment to protecting “reproductive freedom in Florida and across the nation”.

“Vice President [Kamala] Harris and I stand with the vast majority of Americans who support a woman’s right to choose, including in Florida, where voters will have the opportunity to make their voices heard in support of a reproductive freedom ballot initiative this November,” he wrote.

Biden faces a tight campaign for re-election this November, as he is expected to run against former Republican President Donald Trump in a rematch of their 2020 race.

Florida was once considered a swing state, with Republicans and Democrats competing neck and neck in key races. But in recent years, Florida has swung rightwards, with Trump winning the state over Biden in 2020.

The last time Florida had a Democratic governor, for instance, was in 1999, nearly a quarter century ago.

Still, experts see the question of abortion access as weighing in Democrats’ favour. The Pew Research Center found that 56 percent of adults in Florida believed abortion should be “legal in all/most cases”.

Another poll (PDF), published last November by the University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Lab, found that 62 percent of survey participants planned to vote for the constitutional amendment protecting abortion access, if it were to appear on the ballot.

A ‘blueprint’ for the US

Florida is the third most populous state in the US, and as such, it carries significant weight in the Electoral College, the system the country uses to determine who wins its presidential elections.

The state is entitled to 30 Electoral College votes, out of a total of 538.

It is also considered a bellwether for trends in legislation nationwide, with Governor DeSantis calling Florida a “blueprint for America’s revival” in a recent book.

DeSantis, a prominent conservative and former 2024 presidential contender, signed the 15-week abortion ban into law in 2022.

But abortion providers and groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Center for Reproductive Rights quickly filed complaints to prevent it from being implemented.

However, in June 2022, within months of the bill’s passage, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, the 1973 decision that upheld the federal right to an abortion for nearly a half a century.

That placed the question of abortion rights in the hands of the states, creating a shifting patchwork of restrictions across the country.

Plaintiffs in the case before the Florida Supreme Court this week argued that the 15-week abortion ban violated the state constitution’s privacy protections, but the justices rebuffed that argument in a six-to-one vote.

Privacy protections had also been the basis for the now-defunct Roe precedent at the federal level. The decision to overturn Roe featured heavily in the Florida court’s decision on Monday.

“The US Supreme Court abandoned Roe’s position that the right to abortion was grounded in any sort of privacy right,” the justices wrote.

“This demonstrates the tenuous connection between ‘privacy’ and ‘abortion’ — an issue that, unlike other privacy matters, directly implicates the interests of both developing human life and the pregnant woman.”

The ACLU of Florida responded to the decision by calling on voters to turn out for the November election.

“These strict bans have and will continue to lead to multiple tragedies as patients are unable to receive needed care after the arbitrary deadline,” it wrote in a statement.

“In the face of a six-week abortion ban, Floridians now have the chance to assert their will at the ballot box, shaping a Florida that is free from government interference in abortion.”

 

One dead, two injured in Finland school shooting as 12-year-old suspect detained

A child has died and two others have been seriously injured in a school shooting in Finland, according to the country’s national police.

The victims were 12 years old. A suspect, also aged 12 and a student at the same school, fled on foot but was later caught by police in a suburb north of the Finnish capital Helsinki, according the country’s public broadcaster, YLE.

Officers were called to Viertola school in the city of Vantaa at around 9 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET) Tuesday, YLE said.

The handgun used in the shooting was licensed to a close relative of the shooter, YLE reported, adding that police said they have no details about the motive. The suspect has been charged with murder and attempted murder.

Pupils were kept inside their classrooms after the shooting and authorities urged people to avoid the school and remain indoors.

Viertola primary school lies about 18 kilometers (11 miles) north of Helsinki. It has around 800 students between 1st and 9th grade and around 90 staff members.

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said the shooting was “deeply shocking.”

“My thoughts are with the victims, their families and the other students and staff of the Viertola school,” Orpo wrote on X.

Finland enjoys a strong tradition of hunting and its gun ownership rates are among the highest in the world, but school shootings are extremely rare.

In 2007, Pekka-Eric Auvinen, an 18-year-old schoolboy, opened fire at his high school in the southern Finnish town of Tuusula, killing eight people and wounding 10 others before turning the gun on himself. He had left a suicide note saying goodbye to his family.

In 2008, just months after the Tuusula shooting, Matti Juhani Saari, 22, opened fire at another school in the country, killing 10 before also shooting himself.

After the shootings, the Finnish government issued new guidelines on the use of firearms, particularly handguns and revolvers.

 

Arthur Streeton painting of Sydney Harbour shown in public for first time in 130 years

A masterpiece by Australian impressionist Arthur Streeton not seen by the public for 130 years has been unveiled.

The oil painting Sunlight at the Camp, painted in 1894, has gone on show in Melbourne before its auction in Sydney, where it is expected to fetch up to $1.5m.

The work is highly significant in Streeton’s career and for the history of Australian art, chairman of Smith and Singer auction house Geoffrey Smith said on Wednesday.

“Very few works of this subject, date and scale remain in private ownership and its re-emergence for public auction represents almost the last opportunity to acquire a work of such beauty and stature,” he said.

Their work later became known as Australian impressionism, the nation’s first distinctive movement in painting.

Streeton painted Sunlight at the Camp in 1894 when he was in his late 20s and living in an artist’s camp at Sirius Cove alongside Tom Roberts, in the newly established municipality of Mosman.

It was the golden age of Australian impressionism, a time when the most creative visual artists in Australia worked side by side to record the landscape they were immersed in, said Smith, painting directly from nature in a way that would change the course of Australian art.

“It was that idea of Australians painting Australia, capturing the moment and the essence of a place and a time,” Smith said.

“That’s the excitement – when I look at a painting such as this, I feel that thrill.”

Streeton’s view of Sydney Harbour was painted quickly with impressionistic brushstrokes, in order to record the hues of changing light hitting the rocks, and their reflections on the water.

The painting was last exhibited in 1894 and was owned by art collector, the late Ruth Simon, for decades, with most of her collection going to the National Museum of Australia in Canberra.

Sunlight at the Camp will go under the hammer as part of an auction of Australian art by Smith and Singer, formerly Sotheby’s Australia, in Sydney on 17 April.

It is expected to fetch a total of almost $13m across 76 lots.

 

Charges laid after presumed Queensland car-crash victim found to have been shot

A man’s death on a Queensland property was initially treated as a car crash fatality by police – who have now charged another man with manslaughter after the discovery of a gunshot wound during the postmortem process.

Investigators initially believed a 21-year-old Nanango man died in the 21 March crash after hitting a fence pole on a private property on Kingaroy Barkers Creek Road at Booie, near Kingaroy.

But after allegedly discovering a gunshot wound on his upper body, police have charged a 38-year-old Kingaroy man with one count of manslaughter and insecure storage of weapons.

Police believe the 21-year-old man had arrived at the property about 11.30pm that night, and was later located in his car unconscious.

Police said a second man, believed to be a passenger, fled the vehicle before emergency services arrived.

The Queensland ambulance service transported the unconscious man to hospital where he later died.

Det acting Insp Renée Garske said the man was not known to those living at the property.

Garske said investigations were continuing over the incident.

“As a result of postmortem investigations, it was identified that the male person sustained a gunshot wound … to the upper body,” she alleged.

“It’s a horrific set of circumstances for emergency services to respond to any incident involving the death of a person.

“Certainly our hearts go out to the families involved.”

The 38-year-old man has been refused bail and will appear at the Murgon magistrates court on 3 April.

Police have urged anyone with further information to contact Crime Stoppers.

 

Victoria government blasted for rejecting truth-telling inquiry’s key recommendations

Victoria’s First Peoples’ Assembly and the head of the state’s Indigenous truth-telling commission have criticised the Allan Labor government for seeking more time to consider overhauling child protection and criminal justice systems.

The government on Wednesday handed down its response to a report by the Yoorrook Justice Commission, which called for it to tackle systemic injustices experienced by First Nations people in the child protection and criminal justice sectors.

The government accepted four of the 46 recommendations, while 24 are supported in-principle. But it has rejected three recommendations, including immediately raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14 without exceptions.

The government has committed to raising the age to 12 by the end of the year, with exemptions for serious crimes, and flagged it would increase this to 14 by 2027.

Prof Eleanor Bourke, a Wergaia and Wamba Wamba woman and chair of Yoorrook, said the report provided a roadmap for the state to transform its child protection and criminal justice systems.

“Given the weight of evidence presented throughout the inquiry, which included deeply personal accounts from First Peoples witnesses of suffering which many continue to experience every day, Commissioners are disappointed by the government’s decision not to support three recommendations,” she said.

“Recommendations regarding the Bail Act and the minimum age of criminal responsibility and detention are crucial given the alarming over-incarceration of First Peoples adults and children, and ongoing deaths in custody.

“These recommendations were not made lightly. They go to the heart of addressing ongoing injustice against First Peoples.”

The assembly – the state’s democratically elected Indigenous body – said the government’s response revealed it was not moving “fast or hard enough” ahead of treaty negotiations, which are expected to begin in the coming months.

The assembly will negotiate a state-wide Indigenous treaty with the government. Traditional owner groups can also enter into separate treaties with the state.

Ngarra Murray, an assembly co-chair, said it was frustrating to face the same sticking points.

“The justice system and child protection systems simply aren’t working for our families and we need urgent reforms now. We need real action now,” she said.

The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service also slammed the government’s response, describing it as “unworthy of the heart-wrenching truths” that the inquiry has heard.

Bourke said the inquiry’s five commissioners expected to see progress on the 15 recommendations the government flagged as under consideration.

These include major recommendations to create a standalone First Nations child protection system, transferring decision-making powers for some elements of the criminal justice system and creating an independent police complaints body.

Victoria’s treaty and First Peoples’ minister, Natalie Hutchins, said on Wednesday that many of the recommendations would be given further consideration during treaty negotiations.

She said the government would work with organisations to finalise its timeframe for implementing the supported recommendations.

Yoorrook is Australia’s first Indigenous truth-telling body and has the same powers as a royal commission.

 

Melbourne private school Kilvington grammar charged over death of student after Vietnam excursion

A travel company and a Melbourne private school have been charged over the death of a student who became unwell on a school trip.

The Kilvington grammar school student, Lachlan Cook, 16, suffered diabetes complications during a trip to Vietnam in September 2019 and later died in hospital in Melbourne.

His death was found to have been preventable by a coroner in 2023.

A court previously heard the boy had been self-managing his type 1 diabetes when he fell ill and was taken to hospital 24 hours after first showing symptoms. He suffered a heart attack and was flown back to the Royal Children’s hospital in Melbourne, with his life support switched off in October 2019.

On Wednesday, WorkSafe said it has charged the school and the travel company, World Challenge Expeditions Pty Ltd.

World Travel Expeditions has been charged with three counts of failing to ensure that persons other than employees were not exposed to health and safety risks under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The regulator alleges the company failed, so far as was reasonably practicable, to reduce the risk of illness or death to participating students, including those with diabetes.

The school is also facing one charge of failing to ensure that persons other than employees were not exposed to health and safety risks, WorkSafe said.

The case is due to be heard in the Melbourne magistrates court on 30 April.

 

Melbourne men allegedly sought $2.5m worth of phones to be shipped to Russia and other countries

Members of a Melbourne organised crime syndicate have been charged over alleged complex frauds totalling almost $4m, including sending phones to Russia.Financial crime detectives from Victoria police arrested four men on Wednesday and charged them with almost 100 fraud and deception offences after an 18-month investigation.

The quartet were alleged to have fraudulently obtained or attempted to obtain more than $2.5m worth of mobile phones that were destined to be shipped overseas, primarily to Russia.

They also allegedly fraudulently obtained two mortgages and a car worth at least $1.36m.

A 38-year-old man from Keilor Downs faces 37 charges of obtaining property by deception, knowingly dealing with proceeds and property suspected of crime.

His alleged accomplice, a 33-year-old Taylors Lakes man, was charged with 37 counts of obtaining property by deception, three counts of gaining financial advantage by deception, dealing with proceeds of crime and three counts of dealing with property suspected to be proceeds of crime.

A 32-year-old man from Sydenham was charged with negligently dealing with proceeds of crime and property suspected of being proceeds of crime.

A 69-year-old Melton man also faces 12 counts of obtaining property by deception, recklessly dealing with proceeds of crime and deal property suspected proceeds of crime.

All four were released on bail and were set to appear at the Melbourne magistrates court on Monday.