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Son arrested for hiring hitman to kill father in Niger State, Delta woman escapes alleged ritual attack by Son

Nigerian police have arrested a 25-year-old man accused of orchestrating the murder of his father in what authorities describe as a calculated, premeditated killing. A separate incident in Delta State saw a woman narrowly escape an alleged ritual attack by her son.

The Niger State Police Command confirmed the arrest of Abubakar Muhamad Buba, who is accused of masterminding the killing of his father, Alhaji Muhammad Buba, 52, at the family residence in Korokpan, Paikoro Local Government Area.

The victim was stabbed to death on October 13, following what police said was a planned attack carried out by a hired accomplice.

Abubakar was apprehended on December 29 in the Chanchaga area of Minna after weeks of investigation. Police sources said he allegedly contracted a friend, identified as Aliyu Muhamad, to carry out the killing.

Investigators allege that Abubakar paid ₦50,000 upfront and later raised an additional ₦60,000—bringing the total to ₦110,000—after selling some of his father’s personal belongings.

While Abubakar remains in police custody, the alleged hired killer is still at large. Security agencies have launched a manhunt as investigations continue.

Police described the case as part of a disturbing rise in family-related homicides across Nigeria, with several recent incidents involving close relatives accused of plotting or carrying out killings over money, property, inheritance disputes, or prolonged domestic conflicts.

Speaking to THE STAR, criminologist Aminu Kayarda of Bayero University Kano attributed the trend to worsening economic hardship, drug abuse, and a gradual erosion of family values. He urged communities to pay closer attention to warning signs such as unusual hostility, threats, and sudden financial desperation within households.

The Niger State Police Command said it is committed to ensuring all those involved are brought to justice and called on the public to provide information that could lead to the arrest of the fleeing suspect.

Delta State Woman Escapes Alleged Ritual Attack by Son

In a separate case, a Delta State woman, Mrs. Oke Eregarnoma, recounted from her hospital bed how she narrowly escaped a violent attack allegedly carried out by her son.

According to her account, her son, Emma Eregarnoma, invited her to his home on Caroline Street, Okuokoko, under the pretense of showing her a “surprise package.”

She said he appeared unusually cheerful and increased the volume of his music before suddenly locking the door, attempting to strangle her, and trying to remove her eyes.

Mrs. Eregarnoma said her screams were drowned out by the loud music. After a prolonged struggle, she managed to break free and flee outside, where neighbours intervened.

She further alleged that before the attack, her son had boasted that he “must drive GLK this week,” though the meaning of the statement remains unclear.

Emma Eregarnoma was later arrested and taken into custody at the Orerokpe Divisional Police Headquarters in Okpe Local Government Area.

Delta State Police Acting Public Relations Officer DSP Bright Edafe confirmed the incident, stating that the suspect remains in custody as investigations continue.

Police said further updates would be provided as both cases develop.

Child’s death triggers legal battle between Chimamanda Adichie’s family and Lagos hospital

The controversy surrounding the death of Nkanu Nnamdi Esege, the 21-month-old son of acclaimed Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and physician Dr. Ivara Esege, has escalated after the child’s family issued a detailed rebuttal of a statement released by Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital, Lagos.

The development comes as the Lagos State Government confirmed the suspension of the anaesthesiologist involved while investigations continue into the circumstances surrounding the toddler’s death in the early hours of January 7, 2026.

In a legal notice dated January 10, solicitors representing Adichie and Esege alleged that Euracare, its anaesthesiologist, and attending medical personnel breached the duty of care owed to the child.
The notice was issued by PINHEIRO LP and signed by the firm’s founding partner, Prof. Kemi Pinheiro (SAN).

Family Disputes Euracare’s Claims

In a separate press release, the child’s aunt, Dr Anthea Esege Nwandu, sharply disputed Euracare’s public account of the incident, describing it as containing “inconsistencies and falsehoods.”

Euracare had stated on January 10 that there were inaccuracies in the family’s version of events. Dr. Nwandu, a dual board-certified internal medicine physician with more than 30 years of clinical experience in Nigeria and the United States, questioned that claim.

“In their press statement, Euracare claims there are inaccuracies in the account of how my nephew passed. Which inaccuracies exactly?” she said.

Dr. Nwandu challenged the hospital’s assertion that the child had been treated at two paediatric centres before arriving at Euracare.

“This is false. He was in one hospital before coming to Euracare for the procedures,” she said.

She also rejected Euracare’s claim that care was delivered “in line with established clinical protocols and internationally accepted medical standards,” alleging multiple departures from standard practice.

Alleged Lapses in Monitoring and Care

According to Dr. Nwandu, the child—who was reportedly on oxygen—was sedated without continuous oxygen delivery or monitoring of blood oxygen levels, which she said violated international standards of care.

“International standards demand that a child on oxygen who is given sedation must have continuous oxygen therapy. Did Euracare do this? No,” she said, adding that hospital staff allegedly confirmed this verbally.

She further alleged that the child’s pulse, respiration, and oxygen saturation were not continuously monitored, and that he was transferred within the hospital without resuscitative equipment.

Dr. Nwandu also raised concerns about documentation.

“Since there was no monitoring, is it possible to accurately document when the child stopped breathing or how long he was pulseless before resuscitation? No,” she said.

She criticised what she described as the anaesthesiologist’s handling of the child following sedation, alleging that he was carried on the doctor’s shoulder without visual monitoring or attached equipment, including during transport to the intensive care unit, when the child’s oxygen was allegedly disconnected.

Dr. Nwandu stated that her nephew had been medically stable before the incident and was scheduled for a medical evacuation flight to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

Investigations Ongoing

The Lagos State Government has confirmed that the anaesthesiologist involved has been suspended pending the outcome of ongoing investigations. Euracare has said it is reviewing the matter.

Authorities say further findings will be made public as inquiries continue.

Trump and the ruin of Kurunmi

By Lasisi Olagunju

To the north of Ibadan, on the way to Iseyin, is a village perpetually wearing mournful, forlorn looks. You must have some interest in Yoruba history to know that this community, at the height of its glory, was Ibadan’s arch-rival in might and riches. It is today called Orile Ijaiye, but some 200 years ago, it was simply Ijaiye; it was also known as Ijaiye Kurunmi. Kurunmi was its leader who, in about 1830, with others, literally stole the town, complete with compounds, market and palace, from its original Egba Gbagura owners.

Aare Ona Kakanfo Kurunmi was a man of great conviction and of contradiction. He was “haughty, despotic, ambitious and cruel” but he was also “firm, just and reasonable on most occasions.” That was the judgment of Missionary R. H. Stone, who was in Kurunmi’s Ijaiye and observed him and his ways for six years, starting from 1859. The church man wrote all the above in his ‘In Africa’s Forest and Jungle, or Six Years among the Yorubans’ published in 1900.

Reverend Henry Townsend needs no introduction. He published the first newspaper in Nigeria, ‘Iwe Irohin’, in 1859. Townsend met Aare Kurunmi in 1852 and wrote that the strongman professed to be “a great enemy to thieves and kidnapping” but he was also compelling trade caravans “by armed force to visit Ijaiye” so that he could collect from them trade tax (toll) of 200 cowries per load.

Like all vain leaders who dance to adulatory beats of their followers and enjoy being worshipped, Stone noted that Kurunmi “would brook no opposition, although he would sometimes go through the formality of pretending to consult twenty-four elders.”

Historians said the Aare’s subjects held him “in great awe.” They said he was a leader who “dispensed justice in a summary fashion, sometimes even acting as executioner.” They also wrote that the character of his rule was resented even by his friends. Two missionaries were in Ijaiye in December 1854 with one of them noting that they visited the “bloodthirsty” Aare, who seemed to him a very different type of ruler from the “mild, aged and prudent Alake” at Abeokuta.

He was a man of immense wealth. R. L. Smith in 1962, quoting an author, describes the Aare’s compound as a “vast labyrinth covering 11acres and containing many storerooms filled with goods, as well as accommodation for the ruler’s 300 wives and 1,000 slaves; the head slave was himself master of 300 slaves. Visitors were received in a large enclosed space which was used for public trials and executions as well as audiences.”

Beyond this personal wealth, for 31 years, Kurunmi made his town and people a community of pride and prosperity.

Read R.S. Smith’s ‘Ijaiye, The Western Palatinate of the Yoruba’ (1962); Read Samuel Johnson’s ‘History of the Yorubas’ (1921). Smith reviewed texts on that era of recorded history and concluded that Ijaiye was a community of progress. He said Townsend in 1852 estimated the inhabitants at about 40,000 and praised the arrangement and level streets of the town. Townsend wrote that he was particularly impressed by the “spacious market place in the centre of the town… the best I have seen in Africa, not excluding Sierra Leone, and seems to be well supplied.” Smith said, “the inhabitants were engaged in weaving cloth and above all in agriculture, Kurunmi being ‘a great farmer’ and expecting his subjects to follow suit.” Stone estimated the population at about 100,000. He too, was very impressed by the market” where, he wrote, “caravans from the interior met those from the coast.”

All the great things Kurunmi gave his town were wiped out in less than two years because Ijaiye had a leader who knew no restraint, who enjoyed hearing only his own voice, who was “haughty, despotic, ambitious and cruel.” Kurunmi grew to become disdainful of the law, norm and custom that gave him leadership. He mismanaged his success so badly that between 1861 and 1862, it was his lot to have his friends, allies and comrades destroy him, destroy his family and destroy his town. He paid the price all tyrants pay, ultimately.

Unfortunately, his town’s greenery died with him.

Marcel Dirsus says when the tyrant “is dead or simply out of office, chaos often follows.”

For most of last week, the world heard American President Donald Trump solemnly asserting that his country would ‘take’ Greenland and make it an addition to its prized possession. Greenland is not a no-man’s-land. An autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, it belongs, by law, to Denmark.
But Trump said sensationally in an interview that the law gives him no fetters; he would take whatever he wanted. That is a man in the mould of Phalaris, tyrant of Akragas in Sicily, who died c. 554 BC. Tyrants’ ways in power blight their memory in death.

This is the age of tyrants, domestic and international. Nothing confirms that this world is in trouble more than last week’s Donald Trump interview with The New York Times. Two Saturdays ago, Trump, like Saddam in Kuwait, invaded Venezuela and took its president as war booty. Yesterday, Trump is shown to have posted an image of himself online captioned ‘Acting President of Venezuela.’ Did he really do that? Audacious. His worst is yet to come.

In the interview with The New York Times, Trump refused to agree that what he did with Venezuela violated international law. “I don’t need international law,” he told his interviewers.

The man said the law was powerless before him. What followed that statement was even more alarming.

He was asked if there were any limits on his war powers on the world stage. His response: “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind.”

The man who said the above holds the yam and the knife of the safety of the Earth; the nuclear buttons of the US are in his care, a punch away from his whim.

The whole of humanity should be alarmed, worried and sweating in unease. The unease is sharpened by the scale of what Trump controls – which he knows he controls, and the use of which is now determined by his temper and temperament.

This should lead you to ask how safe you are from this man? Think about this: In 1945, in Hiroshima and Nagazaki, one nuclear bomb’s death toll ran into tens of thousands. Potentially, today, experts say the toll, in large-scale conflicts, could be billions due to firestorms and nuclear famine. Check. It will take just one lone tyrant-leader of a nuclear power to wreak all that. In my opening story, we saw what imperial Kurunmi did to his own civilisation.

A state governor flashed Marcel Dirsus’s ‘How Tyrants Fall’ before me on Thursday. I bought the book on Friday in Ibadan. In the midst of the turmoil across the world, even here in Nigeria (Rivers State, especially), I found it coincidentally instructive that the very first words in the book’s Introduction is a quote from the last Shah of Iran, Mohamed Reza Pahlavi: “I don’t deny I’m lonely. Deeply so. A king, when he doesn’t have to account to anyone for what he says or does, is inevitably very much alone.” There is an English name for a king or leader who does what the Shah describes here. He is a tyrant.

The Encyclopedia Britannica says the word ‘tyranny’, in the Greco-Roman world, is “an autocratic form of rule in which one individual exercised power without any legal restraint.” That definition fits what Trump says he has become. And when you have them in a democracy, how should you approach them? Carouse or cajole them?

“Dictators don’t withdraw. They don’t. They have to be thrown off, thrown out.” Former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, said this. She had many quotes of similar stricture for the madmen of his era. She said it when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands on 2 April 1982; she repeated it when Iraq invaded Kuwait on 2 August, 1990.

The Gulf War was triggered by Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. In a media interview on this matter, Thatcher declared that international resolutions alone do not stop tyrants. She said dictators like Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, must be stopped from marching into other peoples’ territory. After the defeat of Iraq, Thatcher said if the world had reacted with only strong words; if Saddam Hussein was not thrown out, “Saddam Hussein would still be in Kuwait and probably right down the Gulf and in charge of 60 percent of the world’s oil reserves if George Bush and Britain and other nations had not taken action and thrown the tyrant out.”

She believed that the world ran great risks in not cutting dictators to size. Fascist regimes, she said, were a threat to world peace and to people’s wellbeing.

The country called Iran is in turmoil.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said at the weekend that “vandals and rioters” were “ruining their own streets to please the president of another country”; American president, Donald Trump, who sees and says it, believes that what rules Iran is tyranny. He issued a warning to leaders of that country on Friday saying: “You’d better not start shooting because we’ll start shooting too.”

“You be thief, a no be thief” (Fela Anikulapo Kuti). Iran’s Supreme Leader, Khamenei, the same Friday replied Trump and said he was a tyrant destined to fall like his likes: “The US president who judges arrogantly about the whole world should know that tyrants and arrogant rulers of the world such as Pharaoh, Nimrod, Mohammad Reza (Pahlavi) and other such rulers saw their downfall when they were at the peak of their hubris. He too will fall,” Khamenei wrote on X.

In 2019, Rachel Elizabeth Whitlark quoted The Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) as demanding “necessity, distinction (between civilian and military targets), and proportionality for any use of force.” Whitlark “urges caution” before legislating oversight of the sole presidential authority for launching a nuclear weapon. That was seven years ago. I am sure she would review her position after reading Trump last week. For, when the custodian of the world’s most lethal weapons of war declares that only he could restrain himself from using those weapons, the problem ceases to be rhetorical; it becomes existential.

How studded is the United States’ nuclear arsenal? Check the Federation of American Scientists’ ‘Status of World Nuclear Forces’. Of the roughly twelve thousand nuclear warheads in existence worldwide, the United States holds over five thousand (about two-fifths of all nuclear weapons on Earth). Check the Arms Control Association. In practical terms, the figures mean that a single human being, the American president, sits atop an arsenal capable, on its own, of extinguishing entire civilisations and altering our planet’s future.

Those who know would tell those who don’t that nuclear weapons are “civilisational endpoints.” They would warn that the weapons’ custody demands humility, restraint, and institutional brakes, not the confidence of a lone will. Yet, the man who controls the greatest of the numbers of death hinted last week that the world owed its peace to him and him alone. When an individual’s self-control, rather than institutional safeguards, becomes the final barrier between peace and catastrophe, humanity is in deep shit.

This era belongs to strongmen (I do not want to say tyrants). From Russia to China, to the US, to Africa, Cape to Cairo, to everywhere. The usual voices of courage are mute; the shrill are the maga who sing and speak in tongues. In Nigeria, the croaky prances uphill and down dale in deep prayer for despotism.

We never learn. Literature after literature, in politics and war studies, warn that enormous powers in the hands of one man is safe only when hemmed in by caution, by consultation, and by credible restraints. In this era, all around us, we see strongmen ignoring the law without consequences. We see personal will replacing systemic restraint; we see the erosion of deterrence.

The word ‘deterrence’ has its roots in Latin ‘deterrentem’; it is the present participle of ‘deterrere’, which means “to frighten from, discourage from.” In theories of law and military strategy, it describes discouraging actions through fear or threats. The concept of deterrence exists today as a reminder to all big men and small men and to all humanity that actions have costs; that leaders are fallible; that societal systems must watch over actions of leaders and that there are consequences for actions taken or not taken. Now, with a world president in Trump, the safety valves have been shortened to the size of personal assurance.

Tyrants are strong men too big to respect caution. Everywhere we turn, we see small and big strongmen acting God. We feel the world as it is being entrusted to the temperament of feeble gods rather than to the strong arms of institutions. With nuclear buttons in the charge of one man who is disdainful of the law, the true danger is no longer in the weapons; it is in the impulsive fingers that may press the buttons.

President Barack Obama was in Ghana in 2009. He famously told the Ghanaian parliament that “Africa doesn’t need strongmen; it needs strong institutions.” He repeated it in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on July 28, 2015 at an African Union event. Looking at his Trump, hearing him and seeing what the strong man does with the strong institutions of the United States and how he does it, I wonder what Obama would say of his America today.

“What is strong when institutions are weak?” Benedicte Bull of The University of Oslo asked in 2014. In her ‘Towards a Political Economy of Weak Institutions and Strong Elites in Central America’, Professor Bull argues that the answer to the question is: “elite networks and their command over, and competition for the control over four sets of resources: money, means of force, information, and ideas and ideologies, including religion.” It is her observation that in the anatomy of weak institutions, you find some that failed, some that are captured, some penetrated by the elite.

If you are a Nigerian, think of the small deities (the small gods) who dare both the law and their chi. Think of institutions that have thrown away their guardrails in the name of elite and political solidarity; think especially of the judiciary. Think of courtrooms where litigants emerge and both sides celebrate as victors. Then ask the hard question: why is the Nigerian judiciary so terminally unwell? Are judgments that perch shamelessly on the fence of justice proof that the courts have failed, that they have been captured, or that they have simply been penetrated?

Whatever you think, just know that tyrants make the law sing for them. They steal institutions. They dismantle structures, they bypass, or co-opt or seize independent democratic, legal, and financial institutions to consolidate power, to enrich themselves, and to eliminate opposition. They are strong men who know and show that they are strong.

Fortunately, like Kurunmi of Ijaiye, strong men are not invincible. If they were, the phrase, ‘Achilles heel’ would never have entered our lexicon.

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.

Breaking!!! Abuja police arrest “One-Chance” gang over murder of lawyer Princess Chigbo

Nigeria’s capital has recorded a major breakthrough in its fight against violent crime after police arrested three suspected members of a notorious “one-chance” robbery syndicate linked to the murder of Abuja-based lawyer, Barrister Princess Nwamaka Mediatrix Chigbo.

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command confirmed that the suspects were arrested following intelligence-driven operations carried out between January 5 and January 10, 2026, targeting criminal networks operating along the Kubwa Expressway and surrounding communities.

Police said the arrests followed direct orders from the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, CP Miller Dantawaye, who mandated a full-scale manhunt for those responsible for Chigbo’s killing and similar crimes terrorising commuters in Abuja.

Digital Intelligence Led to Arrests

Operatives of the Command’s elite Scorpion Squad, led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Victor Ogbeide Godfrey, tracked the victim’s mobile phone using what police described as “reconstructive digital intelligence.” The trail led investigators to Dei-Dei, Dakwa, and Dan-Tata communities within the Kubwa axis.

Three suspects were taken into custody:

  • Saifullahi Yusuf, 22, from Kaduna State
  • Ishau Yusuf, 24, from Kaduna State
  • Minka’ilu Jibril, also known as Dan-Hajia, also from Kaduna State

Police confirmed that Saifullahi and Ishau Yusuf are brothers.

How the Crime Happened

According to preliminary investigations, the suspects belong to a long-running “one-chance” armed robbery gang that preys on unsuspecting commuters, particularly during festive seasons when movement is heavy and vigilance is low.

Investigators said that on January 5, 2026, at about 5:50 p.m., Barrister Chigbo boarded a black Volkswagen Golf 3 vehicle along the Kubwa Expressway, unaware that the occupants were criminals.

Once inside, police said the suspects locked the tinted windows and threatened her with weapons, attempting to extort ransom. When she allegedly resisted, she was assaulted and pushed out of the moving vehicle, sustaining fatal injuries.

Her body was later discovered along the expressway, sparking outrage across Nigeria’s legal community and renewed scrutiny of “one-chance” operations in the capital.

Stolen Phone Sold for ₦120,000

Police said the suspects admitted to stealing Chigbo’s Android phone and selling it at Dei-Dei market for ₦120,000.

According to investigators:

  • Minka’ilu Jibril received ₦30,000
  • Saifullahi Yusuf received ₦15,000
  • Ishau Yusuf and another suspect, Musa, who remains at large, shared the balance

Weapons Recovered

During the arrests, officers recovered several items believed to have been used in the gang’s operations, including:

  • Five scissors
  • Two dagger knives
  • Two additional knives
  • A long metal chain allegedly used to restrain victims
  • A plier

Police said investigations are ongoing and efforts are underway to arrest the remaining suspect and dismantle the wider criminal network linked to the gang.

Police Reassure Abuja Residents

Commending the operatives involved, CP Dantawaye reassured residents that the Command remains committed to eliminating violent crime in the FCT.

He urged commuters to avoid unregistered or suspicious vehicles and to report suspicious movements through police emergency lines: 08032003913 and 07057337653.

The police said further updates would be provided as the investigations progress.

Intimate Affairs: Girls, It’s our year of self-help, By Funke Egbemode

Don’t lie, how many times have you seen a guy and not only did your heart skip a bit but you actually went weak at the knees? He was not naked but all you could see was his firm six-pack, each muscle rippling with every little movement, his deep voice, smooth skin… Girl, snap out of it! You were practically staring. It took all your mental energy and strict upbringing not to blurt out something like: Gosh, dude, it is a sin for one man to be this good-looking. You took a deep breath, and dashed into the nearest bathroom to regain composure.

Yeah, you are smiling right now, right? You are single and ready to mingle but the single guys seem to have all relocated to outer space or somewhere close. Frustrating, right? You’ve tried online dating and almost got into all kinds of trouble. You have even succumbed to matchmaking gigs by friends and family and where did that lead? Nowhere, because the guys you ended up with were the choices of your friends and cousin, not really yours. And here you are 37 going on 47 and still on the shelf, gathering dust. The guys are simply not asking: how now, according to Pastor Adeboye.

It is not just because you ain’t getting younger, though that is a major big deal. You can practically feel your eggs frying and your biological clock ticking louder and faster than ever. It is because you are beautiful and smart, with a great job and nice manners to boot. So, what’s there not to like or ‘rush’? Are the guys just plain blind or this is just a case of witches and wizards from your village at work? Indeed, you have tried one or two spiritual things. Yes now, were you not at the singles three-day pray-until-something-happens on the mountain three months ago? Is that cross you wear as a pendant day and night not the one the prophet blessed and told you to wear everywhere so Mr Right can locate you before this past 2025 ended? The year folded up its tent and your status has only moved from Miss to Ms and you feel totally messed up. So, are you going to just curl up and cry yourself to death and despair or you are going to do something extra, something new, like self-help? Hey, not the cucumber kind. Get your mind out of the gutter, please.

Sure, what we were all taught growing up is it is the man’s job to make the first move. The girl’s job is to look as pretty as possible. You can act coy or watch him from under your innocent lashes, but you must never ever make the first move. Only cheap girls do that! I can picture your mum waving her warning finger at you like a sword. But is that analogue and old-fashioned and not 21st-century compliant or what?

You don’t want to be the cheap girl, yet the eligible guys are more expensive than the dollar in Nigeria of 2026. Is it absolutely unholy to say: how now, to a guy and see how it goes? I mean, what’s the worst thing that can happen? He’ll say no in the worst possible way. Translation, he was badly brought up, he’s a bushman whose only claim to 21st century is his nice suit. Dust him off like a bad speck on your designer sleeve and move. I know that’s easier said than done but remind me to tell you again the story of how a friend of mine made a bushman shrivel in public.

Ok, how did this topic even come to be? Why are we not discussing Rivers State Assembly, Wike and Fubara and all the drama there? Why are we not discussing Pastor Chris, Sister Doris and all the social media in-laws’ colourful analyses? Well, I like good drama better than bad drama. I prefer happy endings to drawn daggers at dawn. What shall it profit my readers if they read dreary stories of depression all week and I still serve them political tales of woe at the weekend? Besides, I would not feel good if I didn’t give you this gist from my Girls’ Day Out.

Biola is 44, divorced with twin sons who are 17 year old and just left for Canada. She is a busy executive but now faced with an empty nest. No boys to scream at for messing up her living room and no man in her life, she decided to take matters into her own hands. And on a week day too.

“The week had started for me on a low low. I was just tired in every way. I had a board meeting coming up and I couldn’t get myself to do anything. So, I decided to take a ‘me-time’ on a Wednesday. I checked into a popular four-star hotel in Victoria Island. I changed into my swimming things and went to the pool. It was 11 am and the pool was practically empty but to my right was this well-built handsome gentleman reading a book. Then he got up and took a dive in all his glory. Oh Lordy, I almost gasped. Maybe I even did. He had white hair but he didn’t look that old. He caught me looking him over, smiled and winked. I waved. After about 15 minutes in the pool myself, I saw him gather his things.

I remember the number of cute guys I’d watched from afar and said nothing and then some strange courage, which would have given my mother a massive stroke, came upon me and I walked purposefully to this handsome guy. I introduced myself and he did the same. I asked if he’d like to join me for drinks later and he said yes, provided if I would agree to swim with him the following day. And that was the beginning of a good thing. He’s a widower with three children and a grandchild. I have had the best 10 months of my life. He has met my boys and they are not as resistant as they used to be to my male friends. He wants to take this to the next level as soon as I’m ready. I can’t stop asking myself: what if I’d let him leave that poolside without walking up to him?”

Well, guys, are you going to make the first move or keep sitting on your hands waiting for him to notice you? All you need to do is be careful you don’t work your magic on a man from the Stone Age.

Egbemode ([email protected])

KPMG warns new tax laws contain errors, gaps, and legal inconsistencies

The global advisory firm KPMG has identified various gaps, errors, and inconsistencies in the new Nigeria Tax Act (NTA).

The firm is calling for urgent legislative reviews to ensure the country’s tax reform goals are met, noting that several critical oversights regarding clarity remain in the legislation.

In its latest newsletter, “Nigeria’s New Tax Laws: Inherent Errors, Inconsistencies, Gaps and Omissions,” KPMG acknowledged the potential for the laws to revolutionize tax administration but stated: “There are many provisions in these laws that will result in increased revenue for the government, if well implemented. However, there is always the need to strike a delicate balance between revenue generation and sustainable growth. It is, therefore, critical that the government review the gaps, omissions, inconsistencies and lacunae highlighted in this Newsletter to ensure the attainment of the desired objectives.”

The firm noted that while the new laws aim to foster equity, competitiveness, and economic growth, certain “lacunae” must be addressed.

  • Non-Resident Persons: KPMG pointed out a gap in Section 17(3)(b) of the NTA regarding the taxation of non-residents. The firm recommended updating Section 6(1) of the NTAA to ensure non-residents without a permanent presence are not burdened by registration requirements. The report noted: “This section specifies the conditions under which profits derived by a non-resident are taxable in Nigeria. Although Section 17(4) of the NTA states that payment deducted at source in respect of payments by Nigerian residents to non-residents, irrespective of where the service is rendered, shall be final tax where the non-resident has no permanent establishment (PE) or Significant Economic Presence (SEP) in Nigeria to which the payment is attributable, it does not clearly absolve the non-resident from tax registration requirements under Section 6(1) of the NTAA. This in, our view, cannot be the intention of the law. The intention should be that non-residents that do not have PE or SEP in the country should not be required to file tax returns as provided for in Section 11(3) of the NTAA.”
  • Taxation on Communities: Regarding Section 3(b)&(c) of the NTA, KPMG noted that the law lists taxable persons but excludes communities despite including them in definitions. It said:“The section specifies persons on whom taxes should be levied, including individuals, families, companies or enterprises, trustees, and an estate, but omits ‘community. However, community’ is included in the definition of ‘person’ under Section 201.”
  • Dividend Treatment: The firm urged modifications to Section 6(2) concerning foreign dividends to prevent them from being taxed at a disadvantage compared to local dividends, noting: “The Act states that undistributed foreign profits are to be ‘construed as distributed’ but also mandates that they be “included in the profits of the Nigerian company” (implying income tax at 30 per cent). Though dividend distributed by a Nigerian company is deemed to be franked investment income, this does not appear to be the case with dividends distributed by foreign companies. It thus appears that such dividends will be taxed at the income tax rate. Consequently, there will be differences in the treatment of dividends distributed by Nigerian companies and those distributed by foreign companies.”

KPMG sought an amendment to Section 20(4) of the NTA, which limits tax deductions for foreign exchange to the official CBN rate.

The firm stated: “We do not think that this condition is necessary at this time. With the current state of the economy, focus should be on improving liquidity and introducing stricter reporting requirements to track and monitor foreign exchange transactions.”

Furthermore, the firm criticised Section 21, which denies tax deductions on expenses if VAT was not charged by the supplier: “This means that such expenses will not be considered allowable tax deductions even when those expenses have been validly incurred for business purposes. This implies that a company could be held accountable for any inaction or non-performance by its suppliers or service providers. While the defaulting service providers may eventually be required to pay the VAT during an audit or investigation, the company will have already been denied the ability to claim a deduction for the related expense. The only criteria should be that any expense that is wholly and exclusively incurred for business purposes should be allowable for tax purposes.”

KPMG also reviewed Section 30 regarding individual income, warning that while protecting low-income earners is an objective, high-income earners should not face “oppressive” rates.

The firm added, “It appears that the objective of these revisions is to ensure that low-income individuals are not taxed heavily. However, it is also not right that the tax payable by high-income earners should be oppressive. Finding the right balance is, therefore, critical. Over taxation can negatively affect economic growth while under taxation can increase inequality. Consequently, many countries embrace the concept of progressive taxation. Efforts are always being made to lessen the tax burden on all taxpayers to enhance sustainable growth. Where citizens deem the provisions of the tax law to be oppressive, it may lead to noncompliance and capital flight as wealthy individuals relocate to lower-tax jurisdictions. This may eventually stifle economic growth as high tax may discourage entrepreneurship, investment and job creation.”

The firm described the ₦500,000 rent relief as “so insignificant” and suggested that the “erstwhile consolidated personal allowance in the PITA be retained to promote voluntary compliance.”

Finally, KPMG urged businesses to analyze their tax footprints and update their internal systems.

The firm stated: “The analysis should include a detailed evaluation of tax footprints to manage undue exposures and ensure compliance. There must be assurance that adequate documentation is in place to support related-party and third-party transactions and manage exposures during a tax audit/review exercise by the tax authority. There must be proper configuration of companies’ ERPs and other systems to align with the provisions of the Acts, such as PIT tax rates/computation, Fiscalisation/E-invoicing, etc.”

Source: Informantonline

Forged NYSC certificate – Kemi Adeosun still beyond shame, By Ikeddy Isiguzo

Were Kemi Adeosun not beyond shame, she should have been grateful as a beneficiary of the criminal comforts that the Buhari administration firmly instituted in Nigeria – and kept quiet about her part in it.

If Nigeria were not in a declining moment, the police should have pulled Mrs. Adeosun in for questioning about the NYSC certificate. It is not late, but unlikely in a government that has no interest in the fidelity of certificates its members parade.

Could it be an undeclared APC policy for its best and brightest to thrive on questionable certificates?
Playing fully to the role of a victim in a crime that should have put her in jail and rescue the public from puerile tales of her innocence, she keeps disturbing Nigerians with stories that prove how far desperation got her. Does she want another chance?

Each time we are about to forget a certain Kemi, and her NYSC certificate, Mrs. Adeosun forcefully reminds us that she got away with the crime.

Was Mrs. Adeosun innocent of the allegation that she had serially paraded a fake NYSC certificate from her days as a Commissioner of Finance in Ogun State? Was the certificate different from what she presented as Buhari’s Minister of Finance?

Does she need to be reminded that when the scandal broke in 2018 she could only mumble incoherent answers before seeking refuge abroad? Has she forgotten?
Let’s remind her.

The issue is not whether Mrs. Adeosun had a certificate of exemption or not. What cost her the office as Minister of Finance was her forged certificate of exemption. The certificate was forged. If she does not know, forgery is a crime!
NYSC, the issuing authority, said it was not the source of the document. Mrs. Adeosun could not explain how she got it.

For three months after the story broke, Mrs. Adeosun dragged her malodorous presence around thinking she could ride the storm. She became an embarrassment at meetings. She only resigned after she was barred from official meetings.

Justice Taiwo Taiwo ruled in Adeosun’s favour in a suit at the Federal High Court, Abuja. The court determined that an NYSC certificate was not a requirement for appointment as a Minister or to contest an election.

Adeosun uses the court decision to shore up her discounted integrity. Forgery, her crime, was never presented before the court as the APC Federal Government had no interest in prosecuting her.

How could it when Buhari was battling to convince Nigerians that he had a 1961 secondary certificate that the only evidence of was a Statement of Result that Kaduna State Ministry of Education issued? A litter reminder, Katsina was created in 1987, 26 years after Buhari took the said examination.

West African Examination Council, WAEC, issued Buhari an attestation letter in November 2018.
Nigeria has been through things.

Summing up her reasons for not serving since she graduated abroad at 22 – the law approves exemption from 30 years – Adeosun affirmed, “The 1979 constitution made it very clear. This woman is not or was not at the material time a Nigerian. And the constitution, of course, is the highest law. So once the constitution says you’re not a Nigerian, then you’re not subject to Nigerian laws.”

The issue has never been the status of her citizenship. She could have had a valid reason for not serving. What we are dealing with is completely different.

Adeosun lied. She finds new lies to cover a crime – forgery. She presented a forged NYSC certificate of exemption at least twice. Absurd stories that she weaves around a non-existent integrity could only occasion more ruination for her.

She is the only known member of the organised criminal ring that produced the forged NYSC certificate she presented when she was being screened as a Minister.

The innocent Adeosun presented the same document earlier when she served as the Commissioner of Finance in Ogun State. There was no furore over the document in Ogun State because those who wanted her as Commissioner allegedly facilitated it.

Mrs. Adeosun reportedly got into trouble with her sponsors when on becoming Minister of Finance, she no longer took their calls. They kept reminding her of the unwholesome document and went public when she ignored them.

Why does she keep bothering the public with new versions of her dented innocence?
When will she sue those who got her into this jam? What would she sue them for?

“I’m not confused about the fact that I had powerful enemies who I believed saw an opportunity. Let’s get rid of her?”, Adeosun, told Laolu Akande in Inside Source, a programme broadcast on Channels TV.

The former Minister of Finance was forced to resign after Boss Mustapha, then Secretary to Government of the Federation investigated the Premium Times story of her forged NYSC certificate and NYSC confirmed the document was fake.

Mrs. Adeosun admitted the forgery in her resignation letter of 14 September 2018.

“I have, today, become privy to the findings of the investigation into the allegation made in an online medium that the Certificate of Exemption from National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) that I had presented was not genuine,” Adeosun wrote in her resignation letter.

“This has come as a shock to me, and I believe that in line with this administration’s focus on integrity, I must do the honourable thing and resign.”

She blamed associates who procured the document for the infraction.

When will Adeosun stop regurgitating new versions of her layers of lies? Shouldn’t she be grateful for the compromised system that made it possible for her not to have served a jail term?
Time is up for Kemi Adeosun and her version of integrity. It is still on record that she admitted presenting a forged NYSC certificate.

Finally…
AN accident that killed two of Anthony Joshua’s associates has been the reason for concerns about safety on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, LIE. How many have died from accidents on the same road? Have these deaths in any way addressed the bad curves and uneven surfaces that result in tankers ladened with petroleum products turning over and bursting into flames? We now know that there no facilities for medical services or rescue of victims on LIE. Our hypocrisy only gets better daily. The fact that Anthony Joshua was involved may change safety and emergency services on LIE while other roads can have all the accidents they can.

VENEZUELA has the sort of complications that only generate new debates about the sanctity of sovereignty and cures for a dictator like Maduro, and the bully Donald Trump, whose infantile praises of his decision to invade Venezuela hint at uncertainties about his mental health. So-called leaders, rather oppressors, should learn from the humiliation of Maduro, so say, well-deserved.

TALKING about lessons, Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, the claimant of Rivers State, and everything therein, is too far gone to remember sometimes that he is still a human being. He is cock-sure about tomorrow and prescribes future outcomes. Wike with a withering hold on everything plays the god of tomorrow. A stranded Wike is pushing his troops to impeach Governor Simi Fubara. What did the people of Rivers do to deserve the chaos their State has become?

NOTHING has stopped the killing of farmers and travellers in Benue and Plateau States. More States are getting into these sad situations. The number of the dead seems too low to elicit government’s action. Of course, the President is on holiday in Europe, eleven days into 2026. His solution is to give challenges a distance as he focuses on getting re-elected.

Isiguzo is a major commentator on minor issues

My son would be alive today if not for an incident at Euracare Hospital on January 6th

By Chimamanda Adichie

We were in Lagos for Christmas. Nkanu had what we first thought was just a cold, but soon turned into a very serious infection and he was admitted to Atlantis hospital.

He was to travel to the US the next day, January 7th, accompanied by Travelling Doctors. A team at Johns Hopkins was waiting to receive him in Baltimore. The Hopkins team had asked for a lumbar puncture test and an MRI. The Nigerian team had also decided to put in a ‘central line’ (used to administer iv medications) in preparation for Nkanu’s flight. Atlantis hospital referred us to Euracare Hospital, which was said to be the best place to have the procedures done.

The morning of the 6th, we left Atlantis hospital for Euracare, Nkanu carried in his father’s arms. We were told he would need to be sedated to prevent him from moving during the MRI and the ‘central line’ procedure.

I was waiting just outside the theater. I saw people, including Dr M, rushing into the theater and immediately knew something had happened.

A short time later, Dr M came out and told me Nkanu had been given too much propofol by the anesthesiologist, had become unresponsive and was quickly resuscitated. But suddenly Nkanu was on a ventilator, he was intubated and placed in the ICU. The next thing I heard was that he had seizures. Cardiac arrest. All these had never happened before. Some hours later, Nkanu was gone

It turns out that Nkanu was NEVER monitored after being given too much propofol. The anesthesiologist had just casually carried Nkanu on his shoulder to the theater, so nobody knows when exactly Nkanu became unresponsive.

How can you sedate a sick child and neglect to monitor him? Later, after the ‘central line’ procedure, the anesthesiologist casually switched off Nkanu’s oxygen and again decided to carry him on his shoulder to the ICU!

The anesthesiologist was CRIMINALLY negligent. He was fatally casual and careless with the precious life of a child. No proper protocol was followed.

We brought in a child who was unwell but stable and scheduled to travel the next day. We came to conduct basic procedures. And suddenly, our beautiful little boy was gone forever. It is like living your worst nightmare. I will never survive the loss of my child.

We have now heard about two previous cases of this same anesthesiologist overdosing children. Why did Euracare allow him to keep working? This must never happen to another child.

Agbakoba, SAN, raises possible drug overdose as Lagos orders probe into death of Chimamanda Adichie’s toddler

A senior Nigerian lawyer has raised grave concerns over the death of Nkanu Nnamdi Esege, the 21-month-old son of celebrated author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, as the Lagos State Government ordered an urgent investigation into allegations of medical negligence at a private hospital.

Dr Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association and a long-time advocate on medical malpractice, described the child’s death as “tragic and completely avoidable,” warning that it reflects a deeper crisis in Nigeria’s healthcare system.

“I was very devastated to learn of the tragic and completely avoidable death of Nkanu Adichie,” Agbakoba wrote on X. “Having been involved in over 50 cases of medical malpractice, I am, quite honestly, not shocked that such a simple procedure at an acclaimed, reputable hospital has ended so terribly.”

My son would be alive today if not for an incident at Euracare Hospital on January 6th

Agbakoba, who said he has focused on medical malpractice for over two decades, pointed specifically to concerns around Propofol, a sedative reportedly administered to the child.

“Propofol requires great care due to its potential for cardio-respiratory failure,” he said. “An overdose can be fatal. There appears to be a strong possibility of overdose.”

He added that Nigeria’s medical care system had reached “a critical point requiring emergency action,” while offering condolences to Adichie and her family.

Lagos Orders Immediate Investigation

Amid mounting public concern, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has directed the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding the child’s death, which reportedly occurred on January 7, 2026, following a brief illness.

In a statement signed by Dr Kemi Ogunyemi, Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, the state government described the loss of a child as “a profound tragedy” and extended condolences to the family.

“On behalf of the Government and people of Lagos State, we commiserate sincerely with Ms Chimamanda Adichie and her family over this painful and irreparable loss,” the statement read.

The government reaffirmed its zero tolerance for medical negligence and unprofessional conduct, stressing that human life remains its highest priority.

According to Ogunyemi, HEFAMAA has already visited the facility involved and commenced a thorough, independent, and transparent investigation, reviewing clinical protocols, professional conduct, and patient safety standards.

She added that the agency would work with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) and other regulatory bodies, and assured the public that findings would be made public.

“Any individual or institution found culpable of negligence, professional misconduct, or regulatory violations will face the full weight of the law,” the statement said.

Hospital Pushes Back on Allegations

The Euracare Multispecialist Hospital, where the child was treated, has denied what it described as inaccuracies in reports surrounding the incident, while expressing sympathy to the family.

In a statement, the hospital said the child was critically ill upon referral and had previously received treatment at two paediatric centres before arriving at Euracare for specific diagnostic procedures.

According to the hospital, its “internationally trained clinical team” provided care in line with established protocols and globally accepted standards, including sedation where clinically indicated.

“Despite these concerted efforts, the patient sadly passed away less than 24 hours after presenting at our facility,” the statement said.

Euracare said it had launched an internal investigation in line with its clinical governance standards and pledged transparency and cooperation with regulators.

Family Grief and Public Outcry

Nkanu was one of Adichie’s twin sons, born in 2024, with her husband, Dr Ivara Esege. The author has reportedly expressed deep anguish and anger over the circumstances surrounding her child’s death, according to accounts circulating online.

The tragedy has sparked an outpouring of grief and solidarity from writers, academics, and admirers across Africa, Europe, and North America, while intensifying debate over patient safety, oversight, and accountability in Nigeria’s private healthcare sector.

As investigations proceed, health advocates say the case could become a watershed moment for medical regulation in Lagos and beyond.

Mr. Justice Steppin’ Razor

By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

If you wanna live – treat me good
If you wanna live, live –
I beg you treat me good

I’m like a walking razor
Don’t you watch my size
I’m dangerous, said I’m dangerous

I’m like a walking razor
Don’t you watch my size
I’m dangerous, dangerous.

Peter Tosh, Steppin’ Razor (1977)

Winston Hubert McIntosh, the Jamaican martial arts exponent better known by his stage name Peter Tosh, was one of the trio – together with Robert Nesta (Bob) Marley, and Neville Livingstone (Bunny Wailer) – who founded the legendary Reggae band, the Wailers, in 1963. By 1974, the group was all but dissipated. First Bob Marley and then Peter Tosh launched off into what would become epochal solo careers.

Their respective paths as solo artistes telegraphed the ideological conflicts that ultimately sundered the Wailers. While Bob Marley’s music offered a medley of reconciliation, romance, and regroup, Peter Tosh was muscular in protesting the injustices of his environment. His solo debut in 1976, which came out under the title “Legalize it”, was way ahead of its time in making the political and clinical case for the legalization of Marijuana.

The following year, in 1977, Peter Tosh’s second album which came out under the title “Equal Rights”, was to become the anthem of an international movement for social justice whose birth coincided with the launch of the album. One of the tracks in this album was “Steppin’ Razor”, a perspicacious dirge of self-assertion which was to define his identity in life as well as his legacy upon his untimely killing ten years later in 1987.

Musicians, of course, have an entitlement to artistic license in framing themselves in public imagination, which is not necessarily available to other vocations. Forsaking the rules that control their own vocation, it now seems that some judges in Nigeria may prefer, like Peter Tosh, to exercise both artistic license and faux testicularity in inventing themselves in judicial fashion as Mr. Justice Steppin’ Razor.

In August 2023, for instance, Flora Azinge, a senior judge of the High Court  of Delta State presiding over election petitions in Kano, north-west Nigeria, complained publicly for the second time in open court that “a senior member of the bar offered one of her staff a sum of N10 million bribes for onward delivery to the panel.” On an earlier occasion, she has claimed that an un-named senior lawyer had asked her to provide him with her account for the transmission of a seasonal gift.

Preferring instead to flex her credentials as Madam Justice Steppin’ Razor, the judge was reported as having threatened that she “would no longer take any attempt to bribe judges, saying that attempts to pervert the cause of justice through the back door is not tenable in her court.” She did not say what she would be prepared to do or how many importunations it would take for her to do them.

In the court hall where the judge voiced these claims, there were lawyers present but none had the courage or presence of mind to remind her that she had powers to deal summarily with the complaints that she raised or that by choosing not to exercise those and instead bury them in anonymous allegations, she was actively involved in bringing her judicial office into disrepute.

This past week, Polycarp Nwite, a judge sitting in Abuja, has chosen to join the ranks of the judicial Steppin’ Razor, in announcing that he is “dangerous”. The occasion was the adjourned sitting of the Federal High Court in the Federal Capital Territory for the hearing of the application for bail in the trial of former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, his wife, and his son on charges of money laundering and aggravated pillage of Nigeria’s patrimony.

After granting the application of the accused for bail, the judge is reported to have launched into what can at best be described as performance-enhanced monologue, suggesting that he had been importuned by some senior lawyers to compromise the case or to “go easy” on the accused: “When I am handling any case, please don’t approach me. When you are doing your case, you can get the best lawyers in this country to do your case, but don’t attempt to approach me for any help. I am not the type of judge. I know what God has done for me by giving me this job, and I have vowed to do it to the best of my ability. I have sworn before Almighty God and man that I am going to do my duty without fear or favour.” He added, with a touch of hyper-ventilation, that “any attempt to try this will be vehemently resisted.”

His audition for the position of Mr. Justice Steppin’ Razor this time was a tad more pathetic than the earlier example. In one stroke the judge undermined his claim that he is not the type of judge who can be influenced and made his promise of vehement resistance to such sound desperately shameful.

To understand why, it is relevant to recall that Nigeria’s Constitution makes it a human right that all courts must be “independent and impartial.” The Judicial Code of Conduct requires all judges to “preserve transparently, the integrity and respect for the independence of the Judiciary.” According to the United Nations Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, judges “shall decide matters before them impartially, on the basis of facts and in accordance with the law, without any restrictions, improper influences, inducements, pressures, threats or interferences, direct or indirect, from any quarter or for any reason.”

It amounts to a perversion of the cause of justice to seek to influence a judge in the performance of his or her judicial functions. There are many options for dealing with this. One, the affected judge can report the matter to the police or to the Attorney-General for investigation and prosecution. Two, the affected judge is also endowed with powers to punish it summarily as an act of criminal contempt for which the guilty person may be sent to jail. Three, if the perpetrator is a lawyer, a public servant, or other regulated professional the judge may additionally refer the conduct for disciplinary process before mechanisms of professional sanction. Four, the judge could use his or her judicial bully pulpit for naming and shaming by inviting the perpetrator to allocute to or admit the facts in open court and simply reprimand thereafter.

Our latest Mr. Justice Steppin’ Razor is so endowed with courage that he managed in this case to not consider any of these options worthy of his exertions. Instead, he bloviated, threatened, auditioned for the role of Steppin’ Razor, and was so dissipated by the colossal effort required for all these that he could not even manage to name the person or persons to whom his threat or resistance was addressed.

On the whole, this shameful show was a squalid advertisement of judicial malpractice. A judge who finds himself or herself in a position to make the kind of public declamations that our latest Mr. Justice Steppin’ Razor made in court has two options: to disclose the identity of the perpetrators and subject them to sanction or to recuse himself or herself from further participation in the case.

In this present case concerning Malami et fils, the judge was unwilling or unable to muster either. Instead, he chose to threaten consequences for a future contingency whose occurrence, on the evidence of the current one, we are unlikely to ever hear of. The only thing the judge managed to accomplish in this case, therefore, was to publicly advertise his availability to be nobbled. Peter Tosh, the original Mr. Steppin’ Razor, will suffer no fear that his title is about to be taken away. The most recent judicial candidate failed the audition hopelessly; it was not even close.

A lawyer and a teacher, Odinkalu can be reached at [email protected]

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.

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