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Forex Trader, Two Others Jailed for Internet Fraud in Ilorin The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has secured the conviction and sentencing of a 26-year-old forex trader, Kolawole Temidayo Joshua and two others for offences bordering on internet fraud. The two others are Abdullahi Isiak and Daniel Roland Orji. The trio were jailed after pleading guilty to one-count separate charge bordering on internet fraud, consequent on their arraignment before Justice Mahmoud Abdulgafar of the Kwara State High sitting in Ilorin. The charge against Joshua reads: “That you, Kolawole Temidayo Joshua, sometime between April and May, 2023 at Ilorin within the Judicial Division of the High Court, did cheat by personation, when you pretended to be one Mia Phillips vide your google voice account: denissefranptonphm85@gmail.com and induced one Daniel Murphy a.k.a Wagba Wealth and Danny, to part with gross sum of $400 (Four Hundred US Dollars) through Gift Cards and...

 Court Jails Five for Internet Fraud in Ilorin The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has secured the conviction and sentencing of five internet fraudsters before Justices Adenike Akinpelu and Mahmoud Abdulgafar of the Kwara State High Court, Ilorin. The convicts are Oyedepo Olamilekan Benjamin, Suleiman Saheed Olayinka, Fakeye Tolulope Emmanuel , Great Ukueni  and Adeshina Joseph Oluwaseun. The defendants who were prosecuted on  different separate count charges before the judges pleaded guilty to their respective charges. Upon their guilty pleas, prosecuting counsels : Andrew Akoja, Mustapha Kaigama and Isabel Adeniran narrated the circumstances that led to the arrest of the defendants. They urged the court to consider the plea of the defendants, the extra judicial statements and all the exhibits tendered to convict the defendants as charged. Justice Akinpelu in her judgment sentenced Benjamin to six months imprisonment with an op...

 We’ve no plans to book all hotel rooms for elections – Imo govt Imo State Government has categorically denied any knowledge of plans to book all hotel rooms in the state for the forthcoming governorship election in the state. It described as outright falsehood, the allegation by the opposition that the government was planning to spend N5billion to book and block all hotels in the state in order to checkmate the influx of thugs into the state. Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Hon Declan Emelumba told newsmen in Owerri that the government was not aware of any such arrangement. He clarified that the government has never corresponded with stakeholders through the social media: “The government is not aware of any such hotel bookings. The government does not correspond with stakeholders through social media and will not do so”  But he acknowledged that the government was aware of plans by the opposition to flood the state with thugs ahead of the elections, adding that the...

 Rivers impeachment crisis: Mother demands son’s corpse killed during protest in support of Gov Fubara Mother of a 27-year-old young man identified as Onyekachi Ugiri, who was allegedly killed by the police during the protest that rocked Port Harcourt over the move by the Rivers State House of Assembly to impeach the state governor has demanded her son’s corpse. Protesters had taken over the major streets of Port Harcourt City Local Government Area of the state and entrance into the Government House Port Harcourt in solidarity with the governor over the alleged impeachment which Sunday night led to the burning of the chamber of the state assembly. It was gathered that the police personnel had shot the protesters inside Old Government Reserved Area (Old-GRA) when some youths attacked the home of the Speaker of the State Assembly, Rt. Hon. Martin Amaechwule. It will be recalled that some youths had left the gate of the government house to the assembly quarters over reports that the h...

OVER 100 CORPSES ABANDONED AT BSUTH - CMD, HWANDE 4th November, 2023      The Chief Medical Director (CMD), of Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH), Stephen Hwande has said the hospital has destroyed drugs and other consumables worth over N200 million, contrary to claims that expired drugs that were destroyed were worth only N100 million. The CMD also noted that over 100 corpses have been abandoned at the mortuary of the BSUTH, some of them for over three years. He explained that the management of the hospital had already written the Commissioner of Police (Compol), Bartholomew Onyeka, and informed him of the development, seeking the Compol’s consent to dispose of the corpses. However, SATURDAY INDEPENDENT gathered that most of the corpses that were abandoned were those that were either brought to the hospital by the police or soldiers, from accidents and herdsmen attacks and have remained unclaimed since then. Hwande noted “I discovered over 100 unclaimed cor...

50,000 GHOST WORKERS' REMOVAL FROM PENSION PAYROLL BREWS CONFLICT - PTAD 4th November, 2023     The verification exercise of Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) that led to the removal of over 50,000 ghost pensioners from payroll and the adjustment of inflated pension benefits by corrupt persons within pension offices of some government agencies in the past are also brewing trouble with the Directorate, executive secretary(ES), PTAD, Dr. Chioma Ejikeme said. She stated that corruption that has been fought to a standstill under the old pension scheme; the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) is fighting back, especially, because of her reappointment. She said the corrupt elements in the pension system are determined to make her office unbearable, hence the information making the rounds that pensioners plan to protest. She said genuine pensioners are happy with the work of the Directorate as many who were removed from payroll and replaced with ghost pensioners by th...

IJAW YOUTH COUNCIL (IYC) EASTERN ZONE THE LEADERSHIP OF IJAW YOUTH COUNCIL (IYC) WORLDWIDE AND  EASTERN ZONE INAUGURATES ANCIENT KOKO AMA SPECIAL AREA OF IJAW YOUTH COUNCIL IN PORT HARCOURT It was a remarkable day in Ancient Koko Ama Kingdom yesterday as the the National President of Ijaw Youth Council, Sir Jonathan Lokpobiri Snr ably represented by the Deputy National President and the Eastern Zonal Chairman, Hon Tamuno Kpokpo inaugurated Ancient Koko Ama Kingdom special area of IYC in Port Harcourt. The official inauguration was done by the National President ably represented by the Deputy National President, the Special Area Executives were also inaugurated as the Deputy National President administered oath of office to them. The Deputy President in his speech advised the newly elected executives of Ancient Koko Ama Kingdom special Area to carry the youths of Koko Ama along and always work in synergy with the leadership of IYC in the zone. Meanwhile, the Zonal Chairman of IYC Ea...

128 killed, many more injured as earthquake hits Nepal 4th Nov 2023  At least 128 people were killed and dozens injured in Nepal when a strong earthquake struck the western area of Jajarkot, officials said on Saturday, as houses in the area collapsed and buildings as far as New Delhi in neighbouring India shook. The quake occurred at 11:47 p.m. (1802 GMT) on Friday with a magnitude 6.4, Nepal's National Seismological Centre said. The German Research Centre for Geosciences measured the quake at 5.7, downgrading it from 6.2, while the U.S. Geological Survey pegged it at 5.6. The quake is the deadliest since 2015 when about 9,000 people were killed in two earthquakes in the Himalayan country. Whole towns, centuries-old temples and other historic sites were reduced to rubble then, with more than a million houses destroyed, at a cost to the economy of $6 billion. Officials feared the death toll in Friday's quake could rise as they had not been able to establish contact in the hilly ...

Hisbah raid raises concern, mixed reactions in Kano facebook sharing buttontwitter sharing buttonemail sharing buttonlinkedin sharing buttonwhatsapp sharing buttonmessenger sharing button : News Express | : 4th Nov 2023 11:03am: : 100 Hisbah raid raises concern, mixed reactions in Kano Caption: •Some of the arrested girls being paraded at Hisbah Headquarters Recently, the Kano State Hisbah Board launched a coordinated raid on some hotels in the metropolis, where it arrested about 190 young girls and boys for alleged involvement in immoral acts. The operatives said they made the arrest at night when people were expected to be at home. The suspects were apprehended in various locations, including Sarina Hotel, La Sultana, Phicolo, Banana Island Green Park, Hospital Road, Danbare and Kabuga during a special operation (Operation Kawar da badala). Daily Trust Saturday gathered that most of the arrested suspects were teenagers and were not indigenes of the state as most of them are from Kats...

The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) took decisive steps to combat Noise Pollution and dealt with environmental offenders on Thursday, 2nd November 2023. We sealed several establishments in Lekki Phase 1, Victoria Island, and Ajah. These include Shot Let Nigeria, Quays, and Lakers at Lekki Phase 1, Rush Club & Lounge at VI, and Bells Lounge, Bukky's Sport, Fire & Ice Bar, Grand Play Hotel, including Somewhere Restaurant & Bar at Ajah.  These actions were taken in response to confirmed cases of noise pollution and other environmental infractions in the identified environments. More photos below. 

Political class created insecurity in Nigeria – Buratai The former Chief Of Army Staff, COAS, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, has attributed the creation of insecurity in Nigeria to the challenge of political class, insisting it can be surmounted by a strong political will. Buratai disclosed this at the second stanza of the 2023 National Public Service Lecture and the 65th anniversary of the University of Ibadan Alumni Association on Friday. While sharing his experience in a lecture titled “Public Service and the Imperatives for National Security in Nigeria”, Buratai stated that the call for his sack as COAS during the former president Muhammadu Buhari administration over insecurity stemmed from personal biases rather than an objective evaluation of his performance. “These individuals might have held negative opinions of Gen. Buratai based on personal biases unrelated to his actual capabilities. It is crucial to approach discussions regarding national security matters with a fair mindset, f...

'I didn’t want to disrespect her husband' – Jim Iyke addresses question about Nadia Buari Nollywood actor, Jim Iyke has explained why he denied his ex-girlfriend and colleague, Ghanaian actress Nadia Buari. Recall that in a recent interview, Jim Iyke was questioned about the romantic relationship with his purported ex-girlfriend, Nadia Buari, and he quizzed the host with the “Who is that?” response. According to the actor, in an interview with Starr Drive FM in his defence, claimed that glorifying such conversations about his previous relationship with Nadia Buari is disrespectful to both his current partner and Nadia’s husband. He further added that his response was also done out of respect, not to offend a married woman and her four children. His words: "The understanding of that segment is that when asked a difficult question and you refuse to answer, you sip tea. Even if alcohol was there at that point, I would take it. If I answer this question anyway, it will be a lo...

Naira Appreciates Massively, Exchanges For N950/1$ The value of dollar to naira fell sharply, on Friday, with the local currency exchanging below N1000 in the parallel market. This is the first time in over a month that the local currency would gain remarkable strength since it exchanged above N1000. From N1,150 in the parallel market on Thursday, the dollar exchanged for N950 on Friday evening and below in the morning, gaining over N200. Sources at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos confirmed to our correspondent that the dollar exchanged for N750-N800 in the morning before appreciating to N950 in the evening. This happened in the midst of intervention from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which was said to have started clearing backlog of matured dollar obligations amounting to over $7bn. The beneficiaries of the CBN remittances were banks and airlines, bolstering expectations among foreign airlines operating in Nigeria. For instance, the United Arab Emirates ...

N5bn yacht: Navy confirms delivery, faces payment crisis over National Assembly opposition  4th Nov 2023  Amid the raging debate on the N5bn presidential yacht to be procured by the Federal Government, as captured in the 2023 supplementary budget submitted to the National Assembly, the Nigerian Navy on Friday affirmed that it had taken delivery of the yacht. The Director of Information, Nigerian Navy, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, in an interview with one of our correspondents on Friday, stated that the yacht had been in the country since June, 2023. He explained that the service made a “long overdue request” for the replacement of the defunct presidential yacht during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. He stressed that the yacht was for training. Meanwhile, indications have emerged that the payment for the yacht may suffer delay, given the opposition by the two chambers of the National Assembly, in which case the federal lawmakers refused to approve th...

UNMASKED: Nigeria’s Twitter swindler faking 'heart disease' to scam women 4th Nov 2023  On a day when stars seemed at peace, Elsa (who requested that we use only her first name) fell for the oldest wooing trick in the game of romance. Sometimes, when a man wants to strike up a conversation with a lady, he pretends to know her from somewhere. Depending on her mood and response, he continues with his frolic. Well, the 25-year-old student and fashion entrepreneur Elsa was in a good mood when Odalo contacted her; she responded nicely. It was April 17, 2022, and Odalo had sent her a Twitter (now X) direct message: “Heyy, did you attend MMAS by any chance?” “Hiya, I'm a bit unsure what MMAS is,” Elsa responded. “Lol, then it’s definitely not you. You look like a primary school classmate who used to tease me about my glasses so much; Murtala Muhammed Airport School,” Odalo wrote, asserting she doesn’t know him but at the same time introducing an interesting detail about his past. ...