We have 28 checkpoints on Katsina-Jibia Road, but only five legal — Customs
Retired Colonel Hameed Ali, the Comptroller-General, Nigeria Customs Service, has ordered the immediate removal of all illegal checkpoints along Katsina-Jibia Road.
Ali gave the order when he paid a condolence visit to the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmuminu Kabir, on Monday.
The CG, represented by ACG Uba Mohammed, Zonal Coordinator, Zone B, Kaduna, said the Service had approved only five checkpoint along the Katsina-Jibia Road.
The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the ACG had in a similar visit to Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State disclosed that there were about 28 checkpoints along the road. The ACG said: “On behalf of the CG, I have ordered for the immediate removal of all checkpoints along the road, except the approved five.
“Henceforth, only five checkpoints should remain along Katsina-Jibia Road.
“The police operatives along the same route should also look into the issue.
“Our visit to the state is to condole the state government, the Katsina Emirate Council and the people of Jibia Local Government Council over the recent accident involving our border drill operatives.
“This visit is occasioned by the ugly incident of August 9, 2021 where a near crisis was averted, resulting from an unforeseen vehicular accident, an incident which claimed lives and incapacitated a host of others.
“Unfortunately, that mishap, though an operational hazard, should have been averted with the deployment of the requisite safeguards.”
Mohammed said the CG had set up a committee to investigate the cause of the incident, adding that the Service would also take responsibility for the medical bills of those wounded in the accident.
While condoling the Emir, Ali reiterated the Service’s readiness to adopt proactive measures to forestall future occurrence of the incident.
In his response, the Emir said the incident, which claimed many lives, was unforgettable as it had been happening for a very long time.
Kabir said: “I always have sleepless nights over this issue and that of banditry in our communities.
“I believe that lack of proper information dissemination between the public and the security operatives is one …
31 Northern lawyers volunteer to defend Kyari
No fewer than 31 lawyers of Northern extraction have volunteered to defend the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, over allegations of fraud in the United States of America.
This was disclosed to newsmen by one of the lawyers involved, Sunusi Bappah Salisu, in Abuja on Thursday.
A well known internet fraudster, Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi, had in a statement to the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States of America, mention Kyari in a fraud cases involving $1.1 million.
Hushpuppi alleged that he gave Kyari N8 million to arrest one of those involved in the fraud, Vincent Chibuzor.
Based on this, a District Court in the United States of America ordered the FBI to arrest Kyari and bring him to court in the US.
But Salisu said 31 lawyers from the Northern part of Nigeria had offered their services to Kyari, who is from Borno State.
He said: “In apparent response to recent calls for support for Abba Kyari by the Coalition of Northern Groups, a group of about 31 young northern Nigerian lawyers, has volunteered to render legal services to the embattled Deputy Commissioner of Police.
“We would raise questions involving the possibility of the occasioning of breaches to Kyari’s fundamental rights entrenched in Articles 6 and 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Right, which essentially state that every individual shall have the right to liberty and to the security of his person and every individual shall have the right to have his cause heard.
“This comprises the right to an appeal to competent national organs against acts of violating his fundamental rights as recognized and guaranteed by conventions, laws, regulations and customs in force.”…
US court postpones trial of suspended Abiodun’s aide to 2022
The fraud trial of suspended aide to Ogun Governor Abidemi Rufai, who was indicted for alleged conspiracy, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, has been postponed to 2022.
A fresh ruling of the court has postponed the commencement of Rufai’s trial by five months.
Rufai was arrested at the JFK airport in New York on May 14 over alleged $350,000 COVID-19 unemployment fraud in the United States.
The Nation had reported the prosecutor submitted 97,000-page materials at the US District for the Western District of Washington at Tacoma, on July 26. The indictment alleges that Rufai used the stolen identities of more than 100 Washington residents to file fraudulent claims with the Employment Security Department (ESD) for pandemic-related unemployment benefits.
Acting US Attorney Tessa M. Gorman had said Rufai filed fraudulent unemployment claims with Hawaii, Wyoming, Massachusetts, Montana, New York, and Pennsylvania, using variations of a single email address in a manner intended to evade automatic detection by fraud systems.
The trial, earlier scheduled to commence on August 31, has now been postponed to February 1, 2022.
The new trial date is based on agreement between the prosecution and the defense, describing the case as “unusual and complex”.
Judge Benjamin Settle of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, at Tacoma said pretrial motions “shall be filed no later than December 9, 2021”, and fixed pretrial conference for January 24, 2022 at 10:00 a.m.…
Super TV boss Ataga murder: Court sends Chidinma to prison for 30 days
A Yaba Magistrates’ Court on Monday remanded Chidinma Ojukwu, prime suspect in the murder of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Super TV, Usifo Ataga, for 30 days.
Chief Magistrate Adeola Adedayo made the order following an application by police counsel Cyril Ejiofor.
Adedayo also remanded Ojukwu’s co-defendant Adedapo Quadri on the same terms.
Ejiofor had prayed the court to remand Ojukwu in police custody pending the issuance of a Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) report on the matter. “The remand is to enable the DPP come up with legal advice. We pray for the remand of the defendants for the first 30 days in the first instance,” he said.
Director, Office of the Public Defender (OPD) Dr Babajide Martins, who announced appearance for Chidinma, complained the prosecution failed to furnish the defense with the remand application.
Nevertheless, he declined to oppose Ejiofor’s prayer “in principle.”
“I have just been privileged to get a copy of the remand application.
“I have not been able to go through it, my learned friend’s application is inevitable, I would have been happier, if I was obliged of the application earlier.
“The application will not be opposed, in principle,” Martins said.
Quadri had no legal representation.
In a bench ruling, Adedayo granted the prosecution’s prayer.
She held: “In the absence of any opposition, the two defendants are hereby remanded for 30 days in the first instance.
“The case is adjourned till September 5, for review of remand/DPP’s advice.”
Ojukwu, a 21-year-old Mass Communication student of the University of Lagos, was arrested by the police on June 23, 2021.
She was said to have been in a romantic relationship with 50-year-old Ataga for about four months before the incident.
Following her parade by the police on June 24, the undergraduate said she and Ataga were “having fun” when an argument broke out and she stabbed him twice.
On June 29, she pleaded for forgiveness saying she was not ready to die.
She attributed her action to influence of hard drugs and smoking.
But …
Five feared killed as Customs chases rice smugglers in Katsina
Five residents of Jibia, Katsina State, were reportedly killed on Monday by Customs officials who were chasing rice smugglers in the area.
The killing has sparked a protest in the community.
Many other people are said to have sustained injuries in the accident and are receiving treatment at a local health facility, Premium Times has reported.
Witnesses said the vehicle of the Customs officials ploughed into a gathering while chasing the suspected rice smugglers, killing five persons instantly and injuring many others. “They were chasing rice smugglers at high speed. Their vehicle lost control and killed at least five persons, which prompted violent protests by the residents,” a source said, asking not to be named for security reasons.
“The Customs’ vehicle was vandalized by the angry protesters,” he added.
Neither the police spokesperson in Katsina, Gambo Isah, nor the Nigeria Customs Service has commented on the incident.…
Igboho still in Benin Republic, but will return to Nigeria soon
The leader of the umbrella body of Yoruba Self-Determination Groups, Ilana Omo Oodua, Prof. Banji Akintoye, has disclosed that the body and other groups are working hard to secure the release of embattled Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, aka Sunday Igboho, who is on trial in Benin Republic.
The Nation reports Igboho has been in detention since July 19, 2021 when he was arrested by Interpol at the Cadjèhoun Airport in Cotonou.
He was arrested with his wife, Ropo, but the Cour De’appal De Cotonou ordered the release of the Germany-based wife of the activist, saying there were no allegations against her.
Akintoye in a statement made available to The Nation by his Communications Manager, Maxwell Adeleye, described some media reports (Not The Nation) that he has left Nigeria to escape the plots of the government to arrest him as untrue. Akintoye explained he is Benin Republic to coordinate and supervise how to legally rescue the embattled agitator, from government remand as soon as possible.
He stated that Igboho committed no offense against the Nigeria laws to warrant being arrested, intimidated or harassed and he’ll return back to Nigeria as soon as Ighoho is released by the government of Benin Republic to continue the struggle for the actualisation of Yoruba Nation.
He said: “Myself, the President-General and Professor Wale Adeniran (Chairman) of Ilana Omo Oodua, are currently in the Republic of Benin as reported, but not on the run.
“We are here to supervise and coordinate, by all legal and and other means, the struggle for the release of our son and patriot, Sunday Adeyemo Igboho, detained by the Government from custody.
“By demanding peaceful self-determination for the Yoruba Nation, i am not breaking any law, since self-determination is recognized by the International and Nigerian laws to be an inalienable right of every Nationality, large or small, in the world.
“I have earned a solid reputation as a highly respectable advocate of a peaceful self-determination struggle. I have even written a book on the subject which is already being used …
Masari to COAS: 10 Katsina LGAs under severe attack daily
Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State says 10 out of the 34 Local Government Areas in the state are under severe attack daily by the bandits.
The governor disclosed this when he received the new Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya, on a courtesy visit on Thursday.
He told the COAS that 10 local government areas have been under repeated attacks from bandits who kill, rape, injure the people, burn houses and rustle cattle.
According to Masari, the Katsina State Government is totally unhappy with the current security situation in the state and therefore must be brought to an end. He restated that the issue of security in the country is a collective responsibility not only for the security agencies.
He said: “Here in Katsina, we have created three tiers of security success, from the community to the local, up to the state level, aimed at ensuring peace in our communities.
“We want peace restored as soon as possible and allow the military to go back to the barracks for the police to take over.”
The governor further assured the COAS of the state government commitments in offering all the necessary support to enable the military discharge its duties effectively.
Earlier, the COAS told the governor that he was on operational visit to the state to interact with the troops in order to know their challenges.
According to him, the visit was also to seek for the continued support of the state government and commended the governor for his logistic and equipment support.
Yahaya assured the governor that the military would continue to work with other security agencies in the state to ensure relative peace.
He further called on the public to support the army in the discharge of their duties, especially by providing them with necessary information on criminals.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the COAS had earlier paid a similar visit to the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmuminu Kabir-Usman, who also expressed serious concern over the issue of insecurity in the state.
The …
Hushpuppi Calls out DCP Abba Kyari in $1.1m wire fraud
Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi, has accused super cop, Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari, in a $1.1 million fraud involving a Qatari businessman.
Hushpuppi, according to the United States Department of Justice, levelled the accusation in court documents.
The scheme, in which six persons were indicted, was to defraud a Qatari school founder and then launder over $1 million in illicit proceeds.
Kyari, the Head of the Inspector General of Police Federal Intelligence Response Team, which had successfully investigated several criminal cases, was yet to respond to enquiries as at press time.
The development on the matter, published on the website of the US Department of Justice, reads:
A federal grand jury indictment unsealed this week alleges an elaborate scheme to steal more than $1.1 million from a businessperson attempting to finance the construction of a school for children in Qatar – and the subsequent laundering of illicit proceeds through bank accounts around the world.
The three-count indictment returned on April 29 and unsealed Monday charges three U.S.-based defendants who were arrested last week – as well as three defendants believed to be in Africa – with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to engage in money laundering, and aggravated identity theft.
The criminal complaint that initiated the prosecution in February was also unsealed Monday, revealing that Ramon Olorunwa Abbas – also known by his social media handle of “Ray Hushpuppi” – was initially charged in this case. Court documents ordered unsealed today show that Abbas, a 37-year-old Nigerian national, pleaded guilty on April 20. A version of Abbas’ plea agreement filed late Tuesday outlines his role in the school-finance scheme, as well as several other cyber and business email compromise schemes that cumulatively caused more than $24 million in losses.
“The defendants allegedly faked the financing of a Qatari school by playing the roles of bank officials and creating a bogus website in a scheme that also bribed a foreign official to keep the elaborate pretense going after the victim was tipped off,” said Acting United …
If bandits can bring down fighter jet, then they are more than being called ‘bandits’ — Rep
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Army, Abdulrazak Namdas, on Thursday said if bandits could shoot down a fighter jet, there is more to their activities than being tagged banditry.
Namdas spoke against the backdrop of the downing of an Alpha Jet of the Nigerian Air Force on Sunday.
Gunmen brought down Jet in Zamfara State.
Namdas stated this in Abuja at the opening of a two-day Capacity Building Workshop on Conflict Reporting for Journalists organized by the Konrad-Adenaeur Stiftung, a German foundation, in conjunction with the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism. He noted that journalists play critical roles in the fight against insecurity through ethical reportage and pace setting, as agenda setters.
He said: “It is important that the right terms and terminologies are used when reporting or describing any act of terror, attacks or conflict to better inform the people.
“If a bandit can graduate to bringing down a fighter jet and you still call him a bandit, then there is a problem.
“It is the responsibility of the media to report with the correct names because there is no religion, tribalism or party lines in any form of conflict.”
According to the lawmaker: “When you get kidnapped, nobody knows if you are APC (All Progressives Congress) or PDP (Peoples Democratic Party), so we need to be together.
“The politicians should not be setting the pace, the media is supposed to set the pace.
“As chairman, House Committee on Army, the challenges before us are very enormous in terms of security and all stakeholders must be on board because we cannot resolve insurgency, banditry with kids gloves.
“We felt the need for a capacity building with the media because today if you look at some of the terminologies and cliché on who is a bandit, terrorist, cattle rustler, armed robber, you begin to wonder who is giving such names.”
Namdas said the Nigerian media has been very vibrant from time immemorial as it played a key role in ending the days of military dictatorship for the …
Two abducted students escape in Kaduna – Police
The Kaduna State Police Command on Thursday confirmed the escape of two of the abducted students of Bethel Baptist High School, Maraban Damishi in Chikun Local Government Area of the state.
ASP Mohammed Jalige, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, confirmed this in a press statement.
Jalige said the information reached the Command about the escape of the students on Wednesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria recalled that bandits had invaded the school and kidnapped unspecified number of students in the early hour of June 5. Jalige said on Wednesday at about 3:30am, the Command was informed by a good samaritan that two students of the school were sighted and believed to have escaped from their captors.
He said a report was lodged with the Divisional Police Officer, Rijana, who got hold of the students, after which investigation confirmed they were victims of the bandits.
He said: “The students said that on Tuesday, July 20 , 2021, at about 6pm, they were tasked by their captors to go and fetch firewood from the nearby forest where they were held hostage.
“They however, decided to take the opportunity of not being monitored and escape to Rijana community along Kaduna-Abuja highway.
“The two boys are currently undergoing medical examination at Police Medical facility before re-uniting them with their family, while tactical approach is being intensified to secure the release of the remaining students.”
In another development, the Command’s spokesperson also disclosed that mob lynched two unknown armed men on Wednesday in Kakuri area of Kaduna metropolis.
Jalige reiterated the call of the Command on the people of the state to avoid taking laws into their hands but should instead report suspicious characters to the appropriate authorities.…
How Buratai’s letter to Benin Republic foiled Igboho’s escape to Germany
The Lead agitator for the actualization of ‘Yoruba Nation’, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho and his wife, Ropo, would have successfully fled to Germany, on Monday.
But the swift intervention of Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai (rtd.), aborted the ‘discreet journey’ of the Yoruba ethnic campaigner, in the Benin Republic.
PR Nigeria exclusively gathered from credible intelligence that Buratai, a past Chief of Army Staff (COAS), was the ‘main’ brain behind Igboho’s arrest.
Igboho was fleeing Nigeria to the European nation via Benin after he had been declared wanted by the Department of State Services (DSS), last month. The self-acclaimed secessionist leader’s house in Ibadan was raided during a clandestine operation by a combined team of security operatives and men of the DSS.
Though Igboho escaped during the raid, 12 of his men and a lady, were arrested. They have since been in detention.
An intelligence officer of Nigerian extraction in Benin, on Tuesday, told PR Nigeria, in confidence that, Buratai swung into action immediately Igboho was declared wanted by a Nigerian intelligence agency.
“The ex-Army Chief knew that Igboho has the only option of first fleeing to any neighboring African country sharing borders with Nigeria. And as Nigeria’s ambassador to Benin, which shares several borders with Nigeria, he could not be caught napping,” he said.
According to him, it was in the penultimate week that Buratai tinkered with the idea and then wrote the government of the Benin Republic.
Said the intelligence officer: “Gen. Buratai insisted on the arrest and extradition of the self-acclaimed Yoruba secessionist leader. His secret letter to the Benin government was delivered through the Nigerian Embassy in Benin lookout, asking them to be on the lookout for Igboho.”
That same Buratai’s letter, according to another intelligence officer who spoke to PR Nigeria, was instrumental to the arrest of Igboho and his wife at the Cadjèhoun Airport in Cotonou, the largest city in the French-speaking country.
“Igboho was arrested in Cotonou on Monday night while he tried to travel. He was already at the …
Bandits kill 13 policemen in Zamfara State ambush
The Zamfara State Police Command has confirmed the killing of 13 policemen in an ambush by bandits.
The confirmation was contained in a statement by the spokesperson for the command, SP Mohammed Shehu.
In the statement on Sunday, Shehu said the bandits “ambushed the policemen while responding to a call on an attempt to attack nearby communities, 13 personnel paid the supreme price”.
He said the attack occurred on Sunday around 12:30pm when the policemen were deployed in Kurar Mota village in Bungudu Local Government Area in response to a distress call, adding: “Unfortunately, 13 personnel paid the supreme price. However, the bandits on their part suffered heavy casualties.
“A special Anti-Banditry Operations is currently ongoing with a view to track down the assailants.
“The Commissioner of Police CP Hussaini Rabiu, when he visited the injured policemen at the hospital reaffirmed that the unfortunate incident would not discourage the officers and men of the command from discharging their mandate of protecting lives and properties of the citizens.”
… 
30 alleged fraudsters in Lagos hotel tried distracting us with naked ladies – EFCC
In the early hours of Tuesday July 13, 2021 a team of operatives from the Lagos Zonal Office of the Commission, acting on verified intelligence on the activities of a suspected syndicate of internet fraudsters carried out an operation at Parkitonian Hotel in the Lekki area of Lagos.
During the sting operation which was the culmination of weeks of surveillance during which the rooms occupied by the suspects were identified, 30 suspects were arrested with 24 of them already confessing involvement in cybercrimes and related activities.
There was no incident as the hotel management served with the relevant Warrant offered access to the operatives, to carry out their lawful duties.
However, in the course of the operation, the Operatives encountered women in some of the rooms who pleaded nudity to stop them from arresting their targets. This has lately become the antics of cyber fraudsters who procure ladies to plead nudity as a decoy, to allow their consort destroy incriminating items in their devices before arrest. The Commission will not fall for such gimmick which is intended to prevent it from carrying out its lawful duties.
It must however be stated for emphasis, that there was no break in, no molestation and no violence of any kind during the operation.
Yet a section of the media, especially the online publication, People Gazette and the Punch Newspaper, which lapped up People Gazette’s report hook line and sinker, presented a narrative of gestapo operation, with forceful break in and the violation of the privacy of nude guests.
Interestingly, a common thread to the report is attribution to faceless sources. It is curious that citizens whose right to privacy had been so blatantly violated as claimed, would be hesitant to publicly speak about their ordeal. Even more worrisome is the fact that a responsible publication like the Punch Newspaper did not bother to carry out a fact-check on the allegations of break in and violence but simply regurgitated the false narrative of People Gazette.
Also, from the two reports, both the hotel owner …
Ex-governor Suswam opposes state police
A former governor of Benue State, Senator Gabriel Suswam, has spoken against the creation of state police.
Speaking with newsmen in Abuja, Suswam said even when he was a governor, he opposed state police because he believed “most of us don’t have the maturity to control state police.”
He said: “The proposal in the constitution for amendment is that governors will appoint Commissioners of Police, and I can’t be party to that because I know the implication for that. That will be a recipe for complete disintegration of the country, except we want that.
“As a governor, there is no way you will come to my state and misbehave and I won’t charge you for nuisance and put you in jail. And when it comes to elections, you know that I can appoint a Commissioner of Police.
“My mother can be Commissioner of Police, my cousins will be the DPOs here and there, and my lackeys can be in positions; so, anywhere somebody is my opponent politically, that person is gone. So, we can’t practice state police.”
He said Nigeria should not compare itself with developed countries on the issue of state police as those countries had “gone past where we are today.”
“We’ve to wait until we are mature enough for state police,” he said.…
Kaduna: Bandits kill 222, kidnapped 774 in three months – Commissioner
Bandits in three months in Kaduna State have been reported to have killed 222 persons and abducted 774 during heavily armed attacks.
This was disclosed by the Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan.
The Commissioner, who spoke on Tuesday when he presented the second quarter security report in the state, said bandits raped 20 women between April and June 2021.
He noted that 159 persons out of the total number killed were from Kaduna Central Senatorial District, which falls under Birnin Gwari, Giwa, Igabi, Chikun and Kajuru Local Government Areas. He said 54 persons were killed in Southern Kaduna Senatorial District.
Five of those killed were women, with four minors.
Aruwan said for Kaduna Northern Senatorial District, nine deaths were recorded, adding that among those abducted were 239 women and 32 minors.
He said 87 bandits were killed by security agencies and 24 suspects arrested by the Department of State Services.
He put the total number of cattle rustled by bandits at 8,553.
Aruwan added: “Insecurity, particularly in frontline communities, have threatened food security because most farmers in those communities have abandoned their farmlands for fear of being killed or kidnapped for ransom.”…
Chaos in Abraka as student is killed, two others Abducted
Gunmen have killed a 400 Level student of the Department of Medical Biochemistry, Delta State University, Abraka, Stephen Odje, and abducted two others.
The students killed as they journeyed back to school to resume for the 2020/2021 academic session.
The management of DELSU has confirmed the development.
In a statement by the Dean, Students’ Affairs, Prof. Chukwujindu Iwegbue, the management, with the family of the deceased, called on the relevant security agencies to fish out the assailants and ensure the safe rescue of the abducted victims.
So also has the Student Union Government of the school called for the arrest of those who killed Odje and release of those abducted.
In a statement by the President of the SUG, Comrade Mukolo Ogelenya Solomon, the students deplored the precarious state of students in the hands of murderous hoodlums.
The statement said: “It is also painful to the entire student body that when such incidents occur, law enforcement agencies within and around the state have not done enough to bring the perpetrators to book.
“The incident may lead to a breakdown of law and order within Abraka and its environs and the entire state in general if urgent steps are not taken to effect the immediate and unconditional release of the kidnapped victims.”
The Delta State Police Command has also confirmed the development.
The spokesman of the Command, DSP Bright Edafe, said operatives had been deployed to rescue the abducted students as well as arrest the perpetrators of the crime.…
Lagos State Governor, Sanwo-Olu, orders arrest of three traffic robbers
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday, ordered the arrest of a gang of suspected criminals that specializes in harassing motorists and road users in traffic.
Sanwo-Olu had while handing over security equipment purchased by the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) to the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, for the use of Lagos Police Command, on Thursday, June 10, 2021, said there would be no hiding place for criminals in the state.
He said: “We are determined to stabilize the security situation in Lagos State, as our own contribution towards lasting national security.”
Sanwo-Olu stated after the security personnel arrested the three machete-wielding criminals that the exercise was a warning signal to other criminal elements and prospective traffic robbers in Lagos that there is no hiding place for criminality in the state.
ALSO, the Strike Squad of the Lagos State Taskforce carried out a massive raid on motorcycle (okada) riders at Second Rainbow and Toyota Bus Stop along Apapa-Oshodi Expressway.
During the raid, which lasted for some hours, 105 motorcycles were impounded. Prior to yesterday’s raid, 201 motorcycles were impounded last week.…
Naira Marley’s alleged internet fraud case adjourned for 3 months
The music star was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in 2019 for alleged internet fraud.
On Monday, July 12, 2021, Justice Nicholas Oweibo of a Federal High Court in Lagos adjourned till October 5 (85 days) to continue the alleged internet fraud trial.
At the resumption of proceedings, counsel to the EFCC, Bilkisu Buhari, informed the judge that the matter was slated for cross-examination of the second prosecution witness, Anosike.
She prayed the court to invite the witness for the continuation of the hearing.
However, the defense counsel Akinwale Kola-Taiwo, prayed the court for a short date for the continuation of trial on the grounds that “the matter is for mention today and not continuation as disclosed by the prosecution.”
Granting his prayer, Justice Oweibo adjourned the case till October 5, 6 and 7 for continuation of trial.
The long adjournment is in view of the court’s annual vacation, which begins on July 26 and ends on September 17 (53 days).
Avocado farmers take up arms as Mexico violence spikes
A convoy of vigilantes snakes along a road in western Mexico, vowing to defend their avocado orchards from gangs sowing terror in a country reeling from a new wave of bloodshed.
Armed with assault rifles and other firearms, the masked men travel between plantations and maintain checkpoints in Ario de Rosales in Michoacan state, the scene of a bloody cartel turf war.
Before they began patrolling the area, residents lived in fear of kidnapping, extortion and theft of avocados, according to a member of the self-defense group Pueblos Unidos, which says it has 700 members.
“We need to be armed to defend ourselves,” he told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity, wearing a badge reading “Down with injustice, no more dead.”
Previously, criminals “came to do what they wanted to us, and that doesn’t happen anymore,” he added.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador opposes such self-defense groups — a phenomenon that dates back to 2013 — saying that some of them have become fronts for criminals.
Such comments are not well received in Ario de Rosales, where another Pueblos Unidos member says the president should “get his shoes dirty” to discover the reality of life in the area, where the Jalisco New Generation and Los Viagras cartels operate.
The police and military “feared the criminals or were paid by them to do nothing,” said another vigilante who gave his name as Martin.
‘Hugs not bullets’
It is estimated that there are around 50 such self-defense groups in Mexico, which has seen intensifying violence in recent months, notably in Michoacan and the northern states of Tamaulipas and Zacatecas.
Mexico registered 14,243 murders in the first five months of the year, and the bloodshed has shown no sign of stopping since then.
On June 19, alleged members of the Gulf Cartel shot dead 15 people described by the government as innocent victims in the border city of Reynosa in Tamaulipas.
Four attackers were killed by the police.
One hitman who was arrested said that the massacre sought to “heat up the plaza” …