Economic and Financial Crimes Commission

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is a Nigerian law enforcement agency that investigates financial crimes such as advance fee fraud (419 fraud) and money laundering. The EFCC was established in 2003, partially in response to pressure from the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), which named Nigeria as one of 23 countries non-cooperative in the international community's efforts to fight money laundering. The agency has its head office in Abuja.

History

Under the previous EFCC chairman Nuhu Ribadu, the agency has addressed financial corruption by prosecuting and convicting a number of high-profile corrupt individuals, ranging from Nigeria's former chief law enforcement officer to several bank chief executives. By 2005, the EFCC arrested government officials including, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.

In September 2006, the EFCC had 31 of Nigeria's 36 state governors under investigation for corruption. In December 2007, the Nigerian Federal Government, after extensive investigations by EFCC and other organisations, cleared the Vaswani brothers of any wrongdoing and invited them back into the country. Leading Nigerian daily "This Day" and other major newspapers reported the facts of their clearance quoting text from FG issued directives. In April 2008, the EFCC began an investigation of the very influential daughter of the former Nigerian President, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello for receiving N10 million ($100,000), stolen from the Ministry of Health. The former Health Minister and her deputy are currently on trial for stealing over N30,000,000 ($300,000) from the ministry's unspent funds from last year.

Nollywood Movies

Nollywood Movies (or Nollywood as it appears on the EPG) is a subscription movie television channel, broadcast in the United Kingdom on the Sky, Virgin media and TalkTalk Plus TV platforms. Each month the channel offers over 30 different new and recently released Nigerian movies, 24-hours-a-day. It is the first such channel in operation in the UK. Films offered are primarily in English, with some subtitled, in genres including drama, comedy, romance, family, thriller, traditional, fantasy and true story films. The channel is funded through subscription and advertising.

As of June 2014, along with several other international channels, Nollywood Movies is available on TalkTalk Plus TV channel 477. The channel is part of the African TV Boost.

External links

Film

A film, also called a movie, motion picture or photoplay, is a series of still images which, when shown on a screen, creates the illusion of moving images due to the phi phenomenon. This optical illusion causes the audience to perceive continuous motion between separate objects viewed rapidly in succession. A film is created by photographing actual scenes with a motion picture camera; by photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques; by means of CGI and computer animation; or by a combination of some or all of these techniques and other visual effects. The word "cinema", short for cinematography, is often used to refer to the industry of films and filmmaking or to the art of filmmaking itself. The contemporary definition of cinema is the art of simulating experiences to communicate ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty or atmosphere by the means of recorded or programmed moving images along with other sensory stimulations.

The process of filmmaking is both an art and an industry.

Bureau de change

A bureau de change (plural bureaux de change, both /ˌbjʊəroʊ də ˈʃɒnʒ/) (British English) or currency exchange (American English) is a business where people can exchange one currency for another.

Nomenclature

Although originally French, the term “bureau de change” is widely used throughout Europe and French Speaking Canada, where it is common to find a sign saying "exchange" or "change." Since the adoption of the euro, many exchange offices incorporate its logotype prominently on their signage.

In the United States and English-speaking Canada the business is described as “currency exchange” and sometimes “money exchange”, sometimes with various additions such as “foreign”, “desk”, “office”, “counter”, “service”, etc.; for example, “foreign currency exchange office”.

Location

A bureau de change is often located at a bank, at a travel agent, airport, main railway station or large stores—namely, anywhere there is likely to be a market for people needing to convert currency. So they are particularly prominent at travel hubs, although currency can be exchanged in many other ways both legally and illegally in other venues. Some of the major players include HSBC, Travelex, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.

Nigerians

Nigerians or Nigerian people are citizens and/or people with ancestry from Nigeria. Nigeria is composed of multiple ethnic groups and cultures and the term Nigerian refers to a citizenship-based civic nationality. Nigerians derive from over 250 ethnic groups and languages. Though there are multiple ethnic groups in Nigeria, economic factors result in significant mobility of Nigerians of multiple ethnic and religious backgrounds to reside in territories in Nigeria that are outside their ethnic or religious background, resulting in the intermixing of the various ethnic and religious groups, especially in Nigeria's cities. The English language is the lingua franca of Nigerians. About 50 percent of Nigerians are Muslims and the other 50 percent are Christians.

Nigerians come from multiple ethnic and religious backgrounds as the creation of Nigeria was the result of a colonial creation by the British Empire that did not correlate with ethnic and religious boundaries.

There have been several major historical states in Nigeria that have influenced Nigerian society via their strong kings and their advanced legal and taxation systems, and the use of religion to legitimize the power of the king and to unite the people. Northern Nigeria has been culturally influenced by Islamic influence including several major historic Islamic states in the region. The Kanem-Bornu Empire and the Sokoto Caliphate were major historical Islamic states in northern Nigeria. Southern Nigeria historically held several powerful states, including the Benin Empire and Oyo Empire, Ife Empire and several other Yoruba states.