$9bn Worth of Gold Illegally Taken from Nigeria Annually

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), on Friday, alleged that at least $9 billion worth of gold is being illegally taken from Nigeria annually.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Falana said; “Just yesterday, a friend was asking me ‘how can this government appoint Dele Alake as Minister of Solid Minerals… it should be Information’.

“Do you know the implication? $9 billion worth of gold is illegally taken from Nigeria annually according to former minister, Dr Ogah, through private jets”.

He further narrated the story of a farmer who was chased out of his farm and offered ₦150,000 as compensation.

“They (clients) came to us and we said don’t worry, we will go to court… the judge awarded ₦250 million naira.

“Unfortunately, after the case, we discovered that in 5 years, that company will profit 500 million dollars.”

On floating of naira, the cerebral lawyer said; “There’s no provision for floating the naira. It’s illegal. You say, ‘The value of the naira will be determined by market forces.’ That is not there in the law.

“I’ve had to sue the Central Bank of Nigeria at the Federal High Court because Section 16 of the Central Bank Act has imposed a duty on the Central Bank to fix and determine the rate of the naira vis-à-vis other currency.”