04/11/18

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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.


The management of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State has set up a committee to investigate the sex-for-mark scandal allegedly involving a lecturer of the institution.

The scandal became viral when an audio-recording of a phone conversation recently surfaced on social media. The recording had the voice of the lecturer identified as Professor Akindele, whose name was mentioned by the student, sexually harassing a female student.

The Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor Eyitope Ogunbodede, in a statement on Wednesday said the university has begun the process of identifying the person involved by setting up a committee.

“The recording suggests that the lecturer was demanding sex in return for grade which clearly amounts to sexually harassing the lady.

“Since the matter came to our notice, the University has begun the process of identifying the characters involves in this apparent breach of its regulations, the Code of Conduct for the University Community and the Anti-sexual Harassment policy, in full compliance with all applicable laws, rules, regulations and procedures of the University.

“To this end, the University has set up a high-powered committee to investigate the allegation and submit its report within one week,” the statement read in part.

Professor Ogunbodede in the statement vowed that the culprits of the scandal, when found, will face the wrath of the law.

“Anyone found culpable will be dealt with decisively. It is totally and morally reprehensible, and the University will never condone such act by any staff or student.

“Once again, I wish to reiterate that no one found culpable of this serious misconduct of sexual harassment will go unpunished,” he said.

The Vice-Chancellor said the institution has zero tolerance for sexual harassment and considers sexual harassment as a serious offence contrary to its Code of Conduct for the University Community and the Anti-sexual Harassment policy.

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President Muhammadu Buhari has warned Nigerians to stop hiding monies meant to develop the nation in foreign countries, in a bid to avoid paying tax.

The President, who is in the United Kingdom, gave the warning on Wednesday in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina.

“Hiding monies overseas, evading taxes by manipulation, and other unwholesome practices, have never developed a country, and for Nigeria to attain her true potential, these must stop,” he said.

“For a nation of people who are competitive and driven, it is not a pride that we are the lowest performer in tax to GDP, not just in Africa, but in the world. Nigeria’s growth needs are such that every Nigerian must do his duty to his nation, to his neighbour, and to himself.”
 To this end, President Buhari approved the extension of the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) to June 30, 2018.

He explained that the short extension after the original March 31 date was based on the appeals of professional bodies and individual taxpayers.

The President stressed that a new date was also given, based on the conviction of the Ministry of Finance that the overall objective to increase compliance would be attained, and additional revenue would accrue.

He, however, said no further extension of time would be approved after June 30, while a fresh Executive Order would be made to give legal backing to the new timeline.

President Buhari further urged Nigerian companies and individuals to join the government in the rebuilding mission, “and do the right thing by taking this window of extension to regularise.”

He added that the right thing may not be convenient or comfortable, “but in the long run, we will all have a nation we can be proud of.”

The President also urged tax authorities to use the extension window to perfect plans to prosecute those who fail to regularise their tax status.

VAIDS is one of the key policies being used by the Federal Government to reposition the Nigerian economy and correct inherited underdevelopment.

The country has one of the lowest tax collection rates in the world at just six per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

According to the Presidency, this was partially a function of the reliance on oil that saw the nation abandon the historical revenue collection systems and switch to a culture of sharing resources, rather than generating them.

President Buhari had in 2017 launched the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), and the VAIDS tax amnesty was first in the series of reforms aimed at transforming Nigeria’s tax system and provide sustainable predictable funding for all tiers of government.

The Presidency believes tax revenues will ensure that public infrastructure is provided, and public services are funded to improve the lives of the people.

They maintained that taxes redistribute wealth from those who have more to those who have less, and VAIDS is one of the windows to achieve such. LR News
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.


The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are working together to arrest and prosecute tax defaulters in the country.

In a statement from the anti-graft agency on Tuesday, the duo explained that the partnership targets taxpayers who evaded the just concluded amnesty programme known as Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS).

The Executive Chairman of the FIRS, Babatunde Fowler, who led a delegation on a visit to the EFCC head office in Abuja, commended the EFCC role particularly in the recovery of N28billion from various tax defaulters across the country.

“Through the intervention of the EFCC, the agency has been experiencing a high level of tax compliance and it’s yielding positive results.

“When tax defaulters are reported and invited to your office (EFCC), we see results, we don’t know how you do it, but we are seeing results and people are complying,” he said.

Fowler believes the FIRS alone cannot curtail the activities of tax evaders without the collaboration of other national and international agencies such as the EFCC.

He further stressed the need to strengthen the existing collaboration and synergy between the two agencies, noting that his organisation would explore every other means backed by the law to ensure that taxes are paid and not diverted.

According to the FIRS boss, funds will be available for the government to provide the infrastructure needed for the socio-economic well-being of the citizenry if taxes are paid.

Responding, Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Magu, assured his guest that the EFCC was ready to partner with any agency, organisation or individual in fighting corruption for the purpose of moving the nation forward.

He appreciated the visitor and called on all Nigerians to support the anti-corruption drive from home, offices and in whatever way they could to ensure a better future for the future generation.
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.
President Vladimir Putin

Western states said they would continue to pursue their sanction policy against Russia for no less than six years, the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) think tank said in a report on Wednesday.

“We should expect the sanctions against Russia to develop for at least the next six years.

“The sender countries will target the most vulnerable parts of the Russian economy, society and political system.

“Level of integration of the Russian elites, intellectual and business communities, and major social groups with global institutions and processes will suffer most due to the sanctions.

READ ALSO: Russia Demands Britain’s Proof Or Apology In Spy Poisoning Allegation

“Moreover, instability in the economy and social area, amid continuing inequality as a result of these anti-Russia sanctions may lead to public protests in the country,’’ the think tank explained.

The think tank, however, called for preserving and strengthening Russia’s ties with other nations and eliminating the country’s social and economic vulnerabilities caused by the sanctions.

The RIAC added such policies would give Russian diplomats the room to maneuver in their contacts with the West.

“The main tactical objective today, is to prevent or limit as much as possible the process of ‘escalating sanctions.

RIAC said it was also to ‘’create conditions in which the sanctions do not produce the desired political results for the sender countries.’’

The U.S., EU member states and a number of other Western nations initially introduced their sanctions against Russia in 2014.

They cited Moscow’s alleged involvement in the military conflict in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region and Crimea’s reunification with Russia as a result of a referendum for their action.

However, Russia has denied having a role in the conflict, saying that the Crimean referendum had been held in line with international law.

Moreover, Moscow imposed food embargo on products from the states which had targeted it with restrictions.

However, the classification of Western anti-Russia sanctions has significantly expanded since then.

Most recently, the U.S. imposed sanctions on 38 Russian individuals and entities, including major private and state-owned organisations. Sputnik/LR News
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.
FIRS Chairman, Babatunde Fowler

The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Babatunde Fowler, has revealed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) assisted it to recover N28 billion from various tax defaulters across the country.

“Through the intervention of the EFCC, the agency has been experiencing high level of tax compliance and it is yielding positive results,” Fowler said when he met with the Chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu in Abuja on Tuesday.

According to him, “When tax defaulters are reported and invited to your office (EFCC), we see results; we don’t know how you do it, but we are seeing results and people are complying.”

He declared that the FIRS alone cannot curtail the activities of tax evaders without the collaboration of other national and international agencies such as the EFCC.

The FIRS boss emphasized the need to strengthen the existing collaboration and synergy between the two agencies and assured that his organization would explore all means backed by law to ensure that taxes are paid and not diverted.

According to him, if taxes are paid, funds would be available for government to provide the infrastructure needed for the socio-economic well-being of the citizenry.

Responding, Magu, assured that the commission is ready to partner any agency, organisation or individual in fighting corruption for to move the nation forward. LR News
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

 An Algerian military aircraft, carrying over 100 personnel, crashed on Wednesday near Boufarik airport near the capital Algiers, local media reported.
Several people are feared dead in the mishap.
The Algerie Presse service agency said the Iliouchine-type plane was headed for Bechar in south-western Algeria.
Emergency services have been dispatched to the site of the crash. No death toll was immediately available.
Boufarik is located in northern Algeria, near the Mediterranean sea, some 30 kilometres from the capital, Algiers. Reuters/LR News
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

Police on Wednesday said 82 people died on Indonesia’s Java island after drinking home-made alcohol.
National police spokesman Setyo Wisasto said the victims died in West Java province and Jakarta after consuming cheap home-made alcoholic drinks,
He said 80 others have been hospitalised.
Authorities in the city of Bandung declared a health emergency after 45 people died there.
Dozens of people die each year from methanol poisoning in Indonesia, where alcoholic drinks are expensive.
Experts say local home brewers do not have the technology to ensure that the methanol, which is highly toxic
when ingested, has been separated correctly to render the drink safe to consume.
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

Biologists from St. Petersburg have created a compound that causes cancer cells to repair their DNA or self-destruct after fatal genome damage occurs.
The efficacy of the new compound is much higher than that of the most powerful drugs developed in the U.S.
and Europe, TASS reported, quoting Alexander Garabagiu, professor of St. Petersburg State Technological
Institute.
It could be a new step toward more effective and safer chemotherapy.
A large number of cancerous tumours are caused by the breakdown of the “p53 gene”, which is responsible for DNA repair and self-destruction in case of fatal genome damage.
This is often caused by the increased activity of a protein called MDM2, which neutralises the molecules of“ p53”.
Scientists have been trying to create or find a molecule that will neutralise the protein and help cells fight
against small mutations and larger breakdowns in DNA.
During their experiments, the compound created by Russian researchers was able to kill about 40 per cent of
cancer cells.
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

It was a case of the hunter being the hunted when five operatives attached to Special Anti- Robbery Squad (SARS) were arrested over alleged robbery attempt on one Mr Immanuel James, at Ago-Palace way, Okota, a Lagos suburb.
The Lagos State Police Command Spokesman, SP Chike Oti, while confirming the arrest of the policemen on Tuesday said the suspects — two Inspectors and three Sergeants –were SARS operatives attached to Ipakodo.

Oti told newsmen that the men were not operatives from the Federal SARS, Ikeja Unit as reported.

He, however, said that one Insp. Jude Akhoyemta, who was earlier mentioned in the matter among suspects, was found to be innocent.

“In line with the directive of the Commissioner of Police Lagos State, the Command hereby informs the general public that further enquiry into the allegation of harassment of one Immanuel James Ibe-Anyanwu by SARS operatives at Ago-Palace way, Okota revealed the true identity of officers involved in the highly regrettable incident.

“Those involved are currently undergoing interrogation at the Command’s X-Squad Section and would be marched before an Adjudicating Officer at the Police Provost Department for the commencement of their orderly room trial,” Oti said. LR New
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