Crime
Japan to spend around $12mn on ex-PM Abe’s state funeral
Japan expects to spend around 1.7 billion yen ($12 million) on a state funeral for assassinated former premier Shinzo Abe, the government said Tuesday, despite controversy over the plan.
Abe was shot dead on the campaign trail in July, and the government expects dozens of current and former heads of state to pay condolences at the September 27 service in Tokyo.
But recent polls show about half of the Japanese voters oppose the publicly funded event.
Security is expected to cost around 800 million yen, with another 600 million to be spent on hosting and 250 million for the ceremony, top government spokesman Hirozaku Matsuno said Tuesday.
“Delegates from more than 190 foreign (countries and regions) will likely participate,” he told reporters at a regular briefing.
The funeral will be held at Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan, a venue used for concerts and sports events that also hosted Japan’s last state funeral for a former prime minister in 1967.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said the domestic and international accomplishments of Abe, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, make a state ceremony appropriate.
But state funerals for former politicians are rare in Japan, and a weekend poll published Monday by the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper found that 56 percent of voters oppose the event, against 38 percent in favour.
Other recent polls have shown similar levels of opposition, and Kishida has said he is ready to answer questions on the issue in parliament.
His government’s approval ratings have taken a hit in recent weeks, in part due to the funeral decision.
Some opponents are against spending public money on an event honouring a politician, while others think a state funeral effectively forces public mourning or minimises Abe’s nationalist views and alleged links to cronyism.
Abe’s accused killer, Tetsuya Yamagami, who is in custody, targeted the former leader believing he was linked to the Unification Church.
Yamagami’s mother reportedly made large donations to the church, which her son blamed for the family’s financial difficulties.
A small private funeral for Abe was held at a temple in Tokyo shortly after his death, with thousands of people gathering outside to lay flowers and offer respects.
A Kaduna High Court on Tuesday ordered that two brothers be remanded in a correctional centre for alleged culpable homicide and armed robbery.
The police charged Hamza Jibrin, 27 and Yusuf Jibrin 24, with conspiracy, armed robbery and culpable homicide.
Justice Aisha Shagari ordered the remand of the defendants, after they pleaded not guilty to the charge preferred against them.
Shagari adjourned the matter until Dec. 12 for hearing.
Earlier, the Prosecutor, James Edward, said that the defendants and two others at large, while armed with matchete and other dangerous weapons along Airport Road, Kaduna, on Nov. 7, robbed and caused the death of a 26-year-old man, Rabiu Sani.
He said the defendants stole the deceased’s HP laptop, two cell phones, his wallet which contained two ATM cards and cash sum of N30,000.
Edward said that the offence is punishable under the Robbery and Firearms ( Special Provision) Act LFN, 2004.
The Defence counsel, Habiba Usman, had pleaded with the court to grant her clients bail.
Usman while moving her bail application, urged the court to gtant her client bail on literal terms, adding , that the defendants would be of good behaviour and would not jump bail.
A Jos Magistrates’ Court on Monday sentenced a 20-year-old trader, Darwang Chung, to nine months in prison for attempted theft.
Chung, who resides at Gyel in Jos South, pleaded guilty to the one count charge of attempted theft.
The Magistrate, Mr Shawomi Bokkos, summarily tried and sentenced the convict after he pleaded guilty to the charge.
Bokkos, in his judgement, gave the convict an option of N30,000 fine, or to risk six months in prison and a compensation of N15,000 or another 3 months in prison in default.
Earlier, the Prosecutor, Insp. Labaran Ahmed, told the court that the case was reported on Oct. 6, at the”B” Division Police Station by one Yohanna Dalyop, the complainant.
Ahmed said the convict jumped over the fence into the house of the complainant and was caught.
He said that the offence contravened the Plateau State Penal Code Law.
The Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the Police, on Tuesday arraigned a defendant before a Federal High Court in Lagos, over alleged unlawful interception of digital infrastructure.
The defendant, Ayodeji Oyenekan, was charged before Justice A. Aluko, on a three-count charge bordering on cybercrime.
He, however. pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The prosecutor, Mr M. Y. Bello, told the court that the defendant committed the offence sometime in February 2022.
He, alleged that the defendant intentionally and without authorisation, intercepted digital infrastructure server hosted by Amazon Web Services, property of Meplaylist Classic Entertainment.
According to the prosecution, the defendant caused the said Meplaylist Classic Entertainment Ltd. loss of property, by altering Amazon Web services, which restricted the rightful owner access to its server.
He alleged that the defendant inputted his email address ayodeji.oye@meplaylist.com, and allegedly built a mobility startup called Hellobikee, for purposes of conferring economic benefits to himself.
The defendant was also alleged to have fraudulently made use of the electronic unique identification feature of Meplaylist, through his email, for purposes of conferring economic benefits to himself.
The offence contravenes the provisions of sections 12(1), 16(1), and 22(2)(a) of the Cybercrime ( Prohibition, Prevention) Act, 2015.
The court granted the defendant bail in the sum of N10 million with one surety in like sum.
The court held that the defendant shall remain in the correctional facility, pending perfection of all conditions of bail as spelt out by the court.
He adjourned the case until Jan. 21, 2025, for trial.
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