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10 remanded over rape of disabled teenager, victim gives birth

Ten men have been remanded in a correctional facility for allegedly raping a 16-year-old disabled girl in Likoro village, Kudan Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The case was presented recently before a Chief Magistrate’s Court, Ibrahim Taiwo Road, Kaduna.

According to the police First Information Report (FIR), the suspects repeatedly lured the victim into different locations and sexually assaulted her, resulting in a pregnancy.

The young girl gave birth to a baby boy four months ago.

Prosecutor Inspector Yakubu Lemu stated that the offenses violate Section 257 of the Kaduna State Penal Code.

The FIR revealed that the victim’s brother, Usman Yusuf, reported the crime on October 27, 2024, after discovering his sister’s pregnancy.

Upon questioning, she disclosed that the suspects had deceived and assaulted her multiple times.

Chief Magistrate Abubakar Lamido ordered the suspects remanded pending legal advice from the Ministry of Justice.

The case has been adjourned to May 22 for mention before being transferred to the High Court.

Speaking after the hearing, Rabi Salisu, the state Commissioner for Human Services and Social Development, assured that the government would pursue the case to its conclusion.

She described the incident as “pathetic,” noting that the victim’s parents are blind and she herself has a visual impairment.

Salisu criticized the initial handling of the case by a now-retired Divisional Police Officer (DPO), who had released the suspects on bail.

She emphasized that capital offenses like rape should not warrant bail, prompting authorities to reopen the case.

The commissioner highlighted existing state laws protecting vulnerable groups, including:

The Child Protection and Social Welfare Law and the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP), as well as Sex Offenders’ Registry, which publicly lists perpetrators.

The state government has pledged to provide social protection for the victim and her child, acknowledging her inability to care for the baby due to her own young age.

Salisu warned that Kaduna State has zero tolerance for abuse, especially against women, children, and persons with disabilities.

Authorities commended the police for re-arresting the suspects and reiterated their commitment to ensuring justice is served.

The Conclave

Are we doomed? Who will save Nigeria?

By Sonnie Ekwowusi

Na wa o. Are we doomed?. Who will save Nigeria?

Yesterday I arrived London with some Nigerian legislators.

Since our arrival to London, I have steadily noticed that the number of Nigerian job seekers in London has increased so that many of them are suffering from acute unemployment.

For example, this morning I ran into a Nigerian job scouter. He arrived in London about 6 months ago and from that time till now, the poor fellow has been searching for a job. He looked underfed. He looked sad. He was yawning in front of me.

I felt pity for him. I called a Nigerian gainfully employed and pleaded with him to assist this unemployed young man from Imo State.

Sad.

If Nigeria were livable, so many unemployed young Nigerians would not be roaming the streets of London in search of elusive jobs.

We have a government that drives its citizens mad. We have a government that cares not a hoot about the welfare of its citizens, which is the raison d’être of government.

So many frustrated young Nigerians abroad seeking to eke out a simple living. Many are being humiliated abroad. Others have been convicted and are serving various prison sentences abroad.

I won’t mention teenage Nigerian girls forced into prostitution in Benin Republic, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Italy and so forth. We have lost our being. We have lost our place of pride in the comity of nations. Are we doomed?

A few years ago, I was in Ivory Coast. The Nigerian Ambassador to Ivory Coast, or Côte d’Ivoire at that time, was lamenting that her main assignment since she became Ambassador was to repatriate teenage Nigerian girls forced into prostitution in Côte d’Ivoire

This is painful. It calls for penance

When will Nigeria rise?

Sonnie Ekwowusi

UTME, underage candidates, and the burden of a broken system

Why the JAMB crisis demands more than blame,it calls for a rethinking of our values, policies, and priorities

By John Onyeukwu, Esq.

As the dust settles on this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), what should have been a routine academic exercise has once again spotlighted deeper dysfunctions within Nigeria’s educational framework. This time, the controversies range from unprecedentedly low scores to the controversial withholding of results for “underaged” candidates.

Beyond the surface, these are not mere administrative issues, they are signs of a systemic breakdown. To understand the crisis fully, we must look through a broader lens: one that combines philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE) to expose the root causes and craft a humane, future-facing response.

The Philosophy of Merit, and its Erosion
At its best, education is society’s promise of fairness: that every child, regardless of background, has a shot at excellence. But what happens when the mechanism of that promise, the national exam, yields results that suggest widespread failure? Over 70% of candidates scored below 200 out of 400. Are we to believe this reflects mass laziness or are we witnessing the cumulative effect of poor teaching infrastructure, overloaded curricula, and deep inequality?

When children as young as 15 sit for an exam designed for university entry, we must ask: is this brilliance or desperation? Are we pushing children into academic spaces their minds and emotions are unprepared for?

Philosophically, we must reclaim the idea that education is not just about passing exams, but about forming critical thinkers and responsible citizens. Anything less is betrayal.

Political Confusion and Administrative Arbitrary
JAMB’s stance on underaged candidates—citing age concerns after administering the test—has sparked justified outrage. What legal framework defines “underage” in this context? Where was this rule before the exam? The decision to withhold results on such grounds is arbitrary, even discriminatory.

This is not merely a failure of JAMB, but of Nigeria’s entire educational policy apparatus. From the Ministry of Education to the National Assembly, there appears to be no coherent framework guiding how we prepare young people for higher education—or even define who is eligible.

Nigeria cannot afford an educational system where policy is made by press release and enforced without clarity or compassion.

Economics of Neglect
The state of our schools, especially public institutions, is a direct result of chronic underinvestment. Budget after budget, education is treated as expendable—a box to be ticked, not a foundation to be built. This neglect explains why so many students are underprepared for national exams and why parents resort to speeding up their children’s academic journey, hoping to beat a system they no longer trust.

Education is a public good. But it has also become a private burden, disproportionately borne by those with the least means. When WAEC, NECO, and JAMB results become more about luck and survival than learning, it’s the economy—and the nation’s future—that pays the price.

The Way Forward
This moment calls for more than tweaks to exam procedures or blaming students for “poor performance.” It requires a national rethinking.

Philosophical clarity: What is education for? Until we define this, our interventions will remain shallow and confused.

Policy coherence: Age policies, admission frameworks, and inter-agency collaboration must be transparent, well-communicated, and grounded in law.

Investment in early education: The UTME reflects what happens in primary and secondary classrooms. Fixing the bottom is the only way to sustain the top.

Reform with empathy: Withholding results from minors who have already endured the anxiety of the exam adds trauma, not discipline.

In the final analysis, UTME should not be a national tragedy repeated annually. It should be a rite of passage—a reflection of hope, not despair. Until we align our philosophy, politics, and economics to serve the child, not the bureaucracy, we will continue to fail the very people education was meant to uplift.

It is time to stop patching the cracks and rebuild the foundation.

Rejoinder to Falana’s Call For Probe of The Diversion of The $3.4bn IMF Loan For Covid-19 Palliatives: We, the People of Nigeria prefer infrastructure than palliatives, just like a married spouse prefers sex to masturbation and vibrators

By  Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja

Femi Falana, SAN has recently called for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the diversion of the $3.4 billion that Nigeria obtained as loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The said amount was intended for purchase and distribution as Palliatives to Nigerians during the COVID-19 pandemic in the year 2020. However, majority of Nigerians never received the said Palliatives.

A few days ago, another report surfaced that the government of Nigeria has obtained another loan facility of $215 million from the World Bank for the purpose of purchase of Palliatives to the distributed to Nigerians.

The question arises: why does the federal government of Nigeria place so much over-reliance upon distribution of Palliatives instead of providing more permanent solutions?

A palliative is like a first-aid treatment that is administered while awaiting a more permanent treatment by a medical doctor.

If we agree that Governance is a social contract between the elected officials and the general citizens, then it follows that the elected officials are representatives of the citizens of Nigeria and therefore ought to listen to and implement the interests of the majority of the citizens of Nigeria.

In this regard, the majority of Nigerians are not interested in Palliatives.

They prefer that these loans from either the IMF and the World Bank should be utilised to provide 24/7 electricity and pipeborne water to the homes of majority of Nigerians.

Instead of focusing on the provision of tangible infrastructure, the elected officials since the year 2020 have continued to allege that they utilise the loans from the IMF and World Bank to provide Palliatives.

However, the majority of Nigerians are not beneficiaries of the said Palliatives which is the reason why Femi Falana SAN has requested for a probe by the EFCC into how the said sum of IMF loan of $3.4bn was diverted instead of being utilised for the Palliatives.

Now that another World Bank loan of $215 is to be utilised by the Nigerian government as distribution as Palliatives it raises another question namely: in this marriage, social contract between the elected officials and the Nigerian citizens, is it that the overwhelming public interests of Nigerians does not amount to nothing?

Is it that it is only the interests of the elected officials that counts?

In this instance, the interests of the elected officials appears to be the continuous collection of humongous sums of money as loans from the IMF and World Bank, which is later diverted into private coffers under the guise of distribution of Palliatives to Nigerians?

This social contract between the elected officials and the Nigerian citizens is like a marriage between spouses.

One of the requirements of marriage is that both spouses would engage in sexual intercourse (barring any health challenges) on a regular basis.

Instead of indulging their spouse’s legitimate right to Sexual intercourse, the elected officials of Nigeria appear to prefer masturbation, which is a sex act that provides pleasure for only one spouse.

This appears to be the most apt analogy to describe the persistent preference for utilisation of public funds for Palliatives by elected officials since the year 2020.

The problem with the persistent preference for Palliatives is that even under Section 15 of the Matrimonial Causes Act, 1975, the spouse who is constantly denied of sex is entitled to sue for dissolution of the said marriage or social contract.

The analogy is consistent with the fact that Nigerians prefer sex, the real deal (infrastructure such as electricity, good roads and pipeborne water to their homes) instead of masturbation and the use of vibrators and other sex toys which can be likened to Palliatives.

Statistics confirm this as follows:

“According to the Society for Family Health (SFH), Nigerians consume over 400 million condoms annually. This figure was cited by SFH’s Managing Director, Bright Ekweremadu, during the launch of a new condom brand named “Flex”. He noted that this consumption may be a conservative estimate, as the SFH estimates

Section 15(2) it provides only one ground for the dissolution of a marriage and the sole ground is that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. This ground can be established in several ways, which are:

Refusal to consummate the marriage: When one of the parties to a marriage denies the other sex willfully not on health ground but just to punish the other party and has consistently done that. This is one way to prove that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.

While 82% of Nigerians find it easy to purchase condoms, affordability and availability can still be challenges for some, according to a report from NOIpolls.”

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

The lawyer’s guide to authenticating electronic evidence in Nigeria

By Folarin Aluko

“Even the wind leaves a trail—if you know where to look.”— African Proverb

In a time when deepfakes, filters, and artificial intelligence distort the boundaries of perception, today’s Legal Practitioner must become a master of the law and technology. Today, a single WhatsApp message can tilt the scale in a multimillion-naira contract dispute. A screenshot may decide guilt or innocence in a criminal trial.

Digital evidence has not only entered the courtroom—it is reshaping it and in this digital age, authentication is the compass we use to navigate an environment where information is abundant, but trust is rare. For Nigerian lawyers, this transformation offers opportunity, immense responsibility and the burden of evolution.

A Brief Historical Lens
Electronic evidence is not a stranger to the Nigerian legal system. As far back as Esso West Africa Inc. v. T. Oyegbola (1969) 1 N.M.L.R 194, the Supreme Court acknowledged the inevitable influence of computers on modern litigation, stating, “The law cannot be and is not ignorant of modern business methods and must not shut its eyes to the mysteries of the computer.”
However, it wasn’t until the Evidence Act of 2011, particularly Section 84, that the courts were given a structured legal framework for admitting electronically generated documents. The legal framework for electronic evidence has been further expanded by the Evidence (Amendment) Act, 2023 to include digital signatures, electronic oaths, and computer simulations.
But despite these developments, many practitioners continue to stumble at a critical threshold: authentication—the legal and technical bridge between a document’s mere existence and its admissibility. For all the advances in legislation, the central challenge remains the same: proving that a piece of electronic evidence is genuine, reliable, and free from tampering.

What is Authentication?
Authentication is the process of proving that evidence is what it purports to be. It’s not just about whether a file exists or a message was forwarded—it’s about origin, integrity, and reliability.
In the context of electronic evidence, authentication ensures the evidence is genuine, while relevance establishes its connection to the case. Once both are satisfied, admissibility is determined. However, the weight of evidence is assessed by the court, considering factors like reliability, collection method, and metadata.
In traditional litigation, authentication may involve presenting an original signed contract or calling a witness to verify handwriting. In the digital age, it requires interpreting server logs, timestamps, metadata, and sometimes code. The principle remains the same, but the method evolves.

A few years ago, I represented a client in a case where the opposing party tendered photographs as evidence of service. The embedded timestamps showed the photos were taken months after the service date, and the device name didn’t match the one listed in the Certificate. The court rejected the evidence, causing the claim to collapse. This underscores the importance of scrutinizing digital evidence and metadata.

Old Doctrine, New Tools
Section 84 of the Evidence Act remains the cornerstone of digital authentication in Nigeria. It provides two primary avenues for authenticating electronic evidence: oral testimony and a certificate of compliance.

Oral testimony typically involves the creator or custodian of the digital document confirming its authenticity. A Certificate, on the other hand, is a formal written statement detailing how the document was produced and affirming that the system used was functioning properly.

This dual mechanism was affirmed by the Supreme Court in Dickson v. Sylva (2017) 8 NWLR (Pt. 1567) 167, where the Court held that authentication may be satisfied by either method, provided the document meets the reliability standards prescribed by law.

And here, reliability refers to the consistent performance of the device or software used to generate the evidence. Integrity refers to whether the data has remained unchanged between creation and presentation in court.

Authentication, then, is not about format or technology alone. It is about trust—trust in process, in system, in intention. While the courts have provided the legal scaffolding for authentication, the Lawyer is responsible for bringing those rules to life through diligent, technical engagement with the evidence itself.

Practical Handling of Electronic Evidence
The first step in handling digital evidence is understanding its nature. Is it a text message, an audio file, a screenshot, an email, a social media post, or a PDF scan? Each format has vulnerabilities. A tweet can be deleted. An email can be spoofed. A chat log can be fabricated with simple apps. Data on RAM can be wiped by a simple reboot.

During an IP mediation I had opportunity to handle, a party submitted a WhatsApp screenshot to prove ownership of a jingle. On inspection, the message content checked out—but the timestamp didn’t. It turned out the phone’s clock had been manually adjusted before the screenshot was taken. The message itself was real, but the format—easily manipulated—made the evidence suspect.
A clear reminder that understanding the nature of digital evidence is key, because even genuine content can lose force if the format isn’t trusted.

The second step is preserving the chain of custody. From the moment a digital file is obtained, its handling must be documented. Was it retrieved from a phone, a laptop, a server? Who accessed it? Was it copied, moved, renamed, or edited? A documented chain of custody shields the evidence from claims of tampering.

Third, collect metadata—information about the file that may include its creation date, last modification, author, software used, and access history. Metadata often tells the story that the file cannot. It can confirm or destroy a claim of authenticity.

Fourth, consider engaging digital forensics experts. These professionals can extract, analyze, and preserve evidence using industry-standard methods. Their expert reports can provide not only credibility but context—showing the court not just what the evidence is, but how it came to be.

How to Authenticate Electronic Evidence in Nigeria
It’s important to note that Authentication is not a checklist—it’s a narrative that relies on certain essential steps

  1. The Source: Identify who created the document. Can they testify to its origin and how it was produced?
  2. Secure the chain of custody: Document every transfer, copy, or interaction with the evidence from collection to court.
  3. Obtain a certificate of compliance: This should come from the person in charge of the device or system and must confirm:
    a. Their identity and role
    b. The nature of the system used
    c. That the system was operational
    d. That the document was produced in the ordinary course of business
    e. That the data has not been altered

Circumstantial Authentication can be inferred by the Court, where a document reflects personal knowledge, style, or context familiar to the parties.
For example, in a recent cyberbullying case I consulted on, the Defendant denied sending harassing messages from an anonymous social media account. However, the tone, grammar, and references in the messages were identical to previous undisputed messages sent by the Defendant. The victim testified to receiving the messages, and the Court admitted them as “linguistically traceable” to the Defendant, thus authenticating the evidence.
Anticipate objections: Be prepared to counter claims of fabrication with supporting evidence—server logs, forensic reports, or corroborating testimony.

Final Reflections
Having mentored many young lawyers in the area of digital rights, I have witnessed how mastering the technical intricacies of electronic evidence can significantly impact the outcome of a case.

As our courtrooms increasingly adopt digital technologies, it’s crucial to recognize that while electronic evidence may be silent by nature, it leaves behind digital trails—if you know how to find them. Tendering electronic evidence requires more than just certificates; it demands an understanding of the technical workings of digital media.
Like the skilled hunter who reads the wind, the modern lawyer must learn to read the data—not only for content, but for its journey.

Folarin Aluko is an IP Lawyer, Digital Rights Expert and Partner at Trumann Rockwood Solicitors. He can be reached at [email protected]

The 22-year-old POS operator was murdered by hotel manager in Delta and he collected ransom from her father

The manager of Century Home Hotel in Owhelogbo community, Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State, Iboirode, has confessed to the brutal murder of a 22-year-old POS operator, Onoriode Bethel. 

LIB reported that Iboirode, the security guard, and two other staff members were arrested in March 2025 for the murder of a guest, Pastor Sunday Ogofotha. read here

Bethel was declared missing by her family on Friday, 13th December, 2024. 

The suspect’s wife had earlier confessed that her husband killed Bethel because she accused him of using a fake alert to withdraw N10,000 from her account. Bethel was said to have recovered her money, but the suspect vowed to kill her in retaliation for ‘ruining his reputation.‘

“My husband called her into the hotel; she is a friend of his. That day, he called her on the phone and took her into a room. It was around 7 pm one evening. I don’t know how he killed her because I was in our room. It was when he came out around midnight that he told me he had killed her,” the wife said. 

The spokesperson of the Delta State Police Command, SP Bright Edafe, who confirmed the development in a statement on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, said the suspect murdered Bethel and buried her body on the hotel premises. 

According to Edafe, the suspect demanded ransom from Bethel’s father and used her POS machine to collect the money after getting the password from her. He then killed her.

He added that her remains have been recovered. 

“If we remember the Owhelogbo hotel murder case, where a POS of a missing girl was recovered from the manager of the hotel. On a very sad note, he has confessed that he murdered the girl who owns the POS. She only went to ask the hotel manager for her money, and he murdered her because, according to him, she spoiled his reputation. He killed her and used her phone to call her father, demanding ransom. He even used her POS to collect the money, extracted the password from the girl before killing her. Her remains have been recovered,” the PPRO stated. 

How Delta hotel manager m8rdered 22-year-old POS operator and collected ransom from her father
How Delta hotel manager m8rdered 22-year-old POS operator and collected ransom from her father
How Delta hotel manager m8rdered 22-year-old POS operator and collected ransom from her father
How Delta hotel manager m8rdered 22-year-old POS operator and collected ransom from her father

Senate’s needless security summit

By Tribune Editorial Board

As a response to the widespread insecurity in the country, the Senate, last week, proposed a national security summit. The summit, it said, would find solutions to the killings, banditry, kidnappings and insurgency ravaging the country. The two-day summit, it said, would draw participation from different stakeholders, including heads of security agencies and state governors. The Senate’s resolution followed a motion by Senator Jimoh Ibrahim (APC, Ondo-South) drawing attention to the daily loss of lives across the country.

Reacting to the resolution, however, the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, maintained that while such gatherings could provide useful input, they could not be a substitute for well-thought-out military strategies. He said: “When you hold a summit, you have people, they talk. We take what they expect, and we go back to design or renew our strategy. Then, the Chief of Defence Staff gives operational orders based on the strategy they developed. So, what the National Assembly is trying to do, maybe, is to bring people together to discuss issues. I visited most of the past defense ministers. I visited most of the past service chiefs to discuss issues of security during their time and what we see today. And I’m sure the service chiefs also do the same. So, the summit can help, but the strategy is much more important.”

This, however, did not go down well with the Senate, which panned the minister during a subsequent plenary sitting. It warned the minister to stop speaking openly against the decisions of the National Assembly, as it could breed conflict between the legislative arm and the Presidency. Said Senate President Godswill Akpabio: “If the defence has any issue with any resolution of the Senate, it shouldn’t do so in the market. It should get in touch with the Senate president or the Senate elders. I think I’m speaking our mind. It should get in touch with us, not to go and speak in the open.” Strangely, following this declaration, the minister capitulated, describing the proposed summit as “a timely initiative to tackle Nigeria’s growing security concerns”, saying that he would participate in the summit. Hear him: “When you hold a summit, you hear people speak, gather perspectives, and take those insights back to review and strengthen our strategy, which is translated into action. That’s how change happens. I commend the National Assembly’s efforts to bring stakeholders together. It is a commendable move towards inclusive policy-making. That talk must lead to tangible outcomes.”

To be sure, the proposed security summit and the arguments canvased for it have no basis in logic. But that is not even the most insidious aspect of the issue. The main point, and it is striking that the Senate completely ignored the issue, is that the lawmakers acted in a way that suggests complete abdication of governance responsibilities and total isolation from the yearnings and needs of the Nigerian populace, which is being decimated by terrorists of different hues on a daily basis. Everywhere you turn in the country, terrorists are having a field day slaughtering innocent Nigerians, razing and seizing their villages and ancestral homesteads. For instance, just hours after the Senate flayed the Defence Minister for his initial position, which he sadly jettisoned either because he lacked the courage of his convictions or because he placed partisan politicking above his primary mandate of security of life and property, nomadic terrorists staged bloody onslaughts across four local government areas in Benue State, killing at least 23 persons in a series of coordinated attacks.

In a regular pattern of horror, the wave of attacks forced many members of the affected communities to flee their communities, heading into uncertainty. Nine people were killed in Logo Government Area, eight in Ukum, and three in each of Guma and Kwande local government areas. It is profoundly sad that rather than simply mandating the president and the service chiefs to do their jobs and save hapless citizens and their communities from the prospect of extermination, the Senate chose to hold a meaningless summit where its members and other invitees will pontificate on security issues while the people that need protection will keep getting killed. As the “experts” at the summit mount the rostrum, citing various statistics, hapless Nigerians will be in the terrible process of being gunned down! Now, the Senate has committees on security, specifically on the various arms of the security services. Is it that those committees have not been working?

If they have been working, what did the Senate do with the various reports they submitted? Is it time to talk rather than take pragmatic steps to stop insecurity? If your house is on fire—and no one who claims sanity can claim that this metaphor does not apply to the communities plagued by terrorist attacks—do you hold talk shows? What will the national security summit really achieve? Why not galvanise the security agencies to do their jobs and stop the onslaught of criminals on law-abiding citizens and communities?

It is distressing that the Senate and the House of Representatives, while recognising the impracticality of Nigeria’s current centralised security network, promised state policing during the 9th National Assembly but failed to implement it. Time and again, the two chambers of the National Assembly throw the bait of state policing to Nigerians and received accolades from citizens sick and tired of the current iniquitous federal structure, then shelve the idea soon afterwards.

The lawmakers calling for a security summit have access to the report of the 2014 National Conference which made far-reaching recommendations on how to turn the country around in all sectors, including the security sector, but they say nothing about bringing that report to life by way of resolutions or laws, only planning a talk-show at which security agencies will provide them with adequate security while the people on whose behalf they hold public office will keep getting mercilessly slaughtered by the same outlaws that they (lawmakers) will be talking about. In any case, the National Assembly has held such summits since the 7th Assembly, with the recommendations rarely implemented, a point referenced by Senators Enyinanya Abaribe, Adamu Aliero and Abdul Ningi, who advised the Senate against embarking on yet another jamboree. Why not do something noble by looking at the reports of various conferences in the past and passing resolutions on them?

We ask the lawmakers directly: if you were in the shoes of the masses, confronted with maniacal and genocidal criminals angling to end your life here and now, would you organise a talk-show or call for the neutralisation of your would-be killers? Nigerians are dying on a daily basis and it is time for the Senate to demonstrate that it truly cares about them. If service chiefs don’t know their jobs, it has a moral duty to speak out against them and ask the president to relieve them of their duties. The country does not need another jamboree. Nigerians are tired of meaningless talk.

After being arrested for misconduct in public office, 24-year-old female prison officer caught sneaking into a cupboard with inmate and swapping love letters admits she messed up her life

Ex-prison officer Morgan Farr Varney, 24, admitted to police she had 'fallen in love' with an inmate while working at Lindholme Prison near Doncaster

A besotted prison officer who was filmed entering a cupboard with an inmate is behind bars herself after admitting she had ‘fallen in love’ with him.

Morgan Farr Varney’s illicit relationship was exposed after CCTV footage showed the pair ‘loitering’ together at Lindholme Prison near Doncaster in South Yorkshire.

After being arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, the 24-year-old admitted she had ‘f****ed her life up’.

Farr Varney – who also appeared on This Morning talking about her ‘online dentistry nightmare’ – has been jailed for ten months. 

The case comes as a record number of female prison guards have been fired for affairs with male inmates – with 29 given the sack in the past three years. 

That compares to just nine women who lost their jobs for the same offence between 2017 and 2019.

In January, former Wandsworth prison officer Linda De Sousa Abreu was jailed for 15 months after a film of her having sex with an inmate was shared online.

After joining the Prison Service in April 2022, Farr Varney was given anti-corruption training – including how to spot attempted manipulation by inmates.

Daily Mail

Okonjo-Iweala v Fawehinmi: Demystifying Locus Standi (1)

By Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN

The Concept of Locus Standi

In law generally, a plaintiff approaching the court for any remedy is expected to establish sufficient interest in the subject matter, which in simple terms, is his standing to institute and maintain the action. For decades, there has been a fierce battle to widen the scope of the concept of locus standi, which has so far been very narrowly interpreted by the Courts. In the case of Centre for Oil Pollution v NNPC, the Supreme Court had the opportunity to expand the frontiers of locus standi when it reviewed all its previous decisions on the subject to reflect some flexibility, but it was still short of outright reversal.

The question of who can be sufficiently aggrieved to approach the court for any remedy, especially in public interest litigations, is still far from any acceptable and conclusive resolution. Given the apparent decline in leadership accountability, good governance and the rising cases of corruption and poverty in the land, the court must come to terms with the need to relax the rigid principles to be established to satisfy the demands of locus standi. To hold our leaders accountable to the people, the right of access to court must be widened to allow established institutions, notable activists and well-meaning individuals to take up cases on behalf of the people.

The need to guard against busy bodies to avoid a floodgate of cases is well appreciated but we must take into consideration the rate of illiteracy in our land in order to recognize a class of litigants to confer them with locus on behalf of the rest of society. Permit me to share with you the latest decision of the Supreme Court on locus standi, delivered on February 7, 2025.

Facts of the Case

The facts of the case are as reported in Okonjo-Iweala v. Fawehinmi (2025) 7 NWLR (Pt.1988) 1. This case also birthed the Supreme Court decision in President, FRN v Fawehinmi (2025) 7 NWLR (Pt.1988) 61. The original plaintiff, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN (now deceased), commenced an action vide an originating summons at the Federal High Court, Abuja against the 2nd and 3rd respondents as the 1st and 2nd defendants, the appellant as the 3rd defendant, the 4th defendant and the 4th respondent as the 5th defendant seeking the determination of the following questions:

  • Whether any public officer in Nigeria, particularly a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is entitled to be paid yearly salary outside the salary prescribed by the Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, Etc) Act No. 6 of 2002;
  • Whether particularly a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is entitled to be paid in foreign currency outside the currency prescribed by the Act; and
  • Whether the authorisation by the 2nd respondent of payment of a Minister’s salary outside that prescribed in an Act of the National Assembly and in a foreign currency is not an abuse of power under the 1999 Constitution.

Upon the determination of the questions, the plaintiff sought a declaration that the appellant and the 4th defendant, who were Ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and public officers, were not entitled to earn salaries above those prescribed by the Act; a declaration that no public officer under the Act is entitled to receive his or her salary in any other currency other than Naira; a declaration that the yearly salary of $247,000 (about N36 Million) being paid to the appellant, the Federal Minister of Finance, was a flagrant violation of the Act which prescribed a yearly salary of N794,085.00 for every Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; and a declaration that the yearly salary of $120,000 (about N17 Million) being paid to the 4th defendant, the Federal Minister of External Affairs, was a flagrant violation of the Act which prescribes a yearly salary of N794,085 for every Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The plaintiff also sought an order compelling the appellant and the 4th defendant to refund to the Federal Government of Nigeria any amount in excess of the prescribed salary in the Act; and a declaration that the authorisation by the 2nd respondent of the salaries paid to the appellant and the 4th defendant in violation of the Act amounted to an abuse of power contrary to section 15(5) of the 1999 Constitution and section 153 of the Constitution which empowers the 3rd respondent to determine the remuneration appropriate for political office holders, including the President, Vice President, Governors, Deputy Governors, Ministers, Commissioners, Special Advisers, Legislators and the holders of the offices mentioned in sections 84 and 124 of the Constitution and in pursuant of which the Act was promulgated. He also sought an injunction restraining the Federal Government of Nigeria, its agents, servants, privies or howsoever called, particularly the 2nd respondent, from paying Ministers or any other public officers covered by the Act outside the salaries prescribed in the Act.

The plaintiff’s originating summons was supported by a thirteen-paragraph affidavit and subsequently, he filed a six-paragraph further affidavit with an exhibit marked “Exhibit Gani1”. His originating processes indicated that he was a Nigerian; that he was the Chairman of the National Conscience Party; that he was a former presidential candidate; that he was a taxpayer bound by provisions of the 1999 Constitution; that he was a Senior Advocate of Nigeria who subscribed to the oath to support and uphold the 1999 Constitution; that he also subscribed to the oath to truly assist the courts of law established by the 1999 Constitution; and that he will uphold the integrity of the Rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

The appellant and the 2nd and 4th respondents respectively filed notices of preliminary objection dated 10th March 2004 praying that the suit be dismissed or struck out for lack of locus standi of the plaintiff. The 3rd respondent also filed an objection dated March 12, 2004.

Decisions of the Trial Court and the Court of Appeal

In its ruling, the trial court upheld the preliminary objections and struck out the action for lack of locus standi of the plaintiff to institute the suit. Aggrieved by the ruling of the trial court, the plaintiff appealed to the Court of Appeal. In its judgment, the Court of Appeal held that he was a political elite in Nigeria and represented the conscience of the people and by the averments in paragraph 6 of the affidavit in support of the originating summons and paragraph 5 of the further affidavit, he qualified as a person who had sufficient interest to bring an action in court in respect of an infraction of the provisions of the Act; and that in paragraph 5 of the affidavit in support, he claimed that he was a taxpayer bound by the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, which was not controverted by appellant and 2nd–4th respondents in their counter-affidavit which gave him sufficient interest of coming to court to enforce the law and to ensure that his tax money is utilized.

The Court of Appeal also held inter alia, the provisions of the Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowance, Etc.) Act No. 6 of 2002 possesses constitutional flavour and must be accorded constitutional dignity and consequently, the trial court should have given a liberal interpretation to the issue of locus standi, so that not only the plaintiff but every Nigerian should have access to approach the court for an interpretation of the Act.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and set aside the ruling of the trial court. After setting aside the order of the trial court striking out the plaintiff’s claim for lack of locus standi, the Court of Appeal held that it was a proper case where the court would invoke its powers under section 16 of the Court of Appeal Act and it proceeded to grant all the reliefs sought by the plaintiff.

Final Decision of the Supreme Court

Dissatisfied, the appellant appealed to the Supreme Court. The 1st respondent at the Supreme Court was by a court order substituted for his late elder brother, Mr. Mohammed Fawehinmi, who died on 11th August 2021, while Mr. Mohammed Fawehinmi was earlier and originally substituted for Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, who died in September 2009, during the pendency of the appeal.

On locus standi of Nigerian citizen to institute action for protection of Constitution –

Nigeria is a developing country with a multi-ethnic society and a written Federal Constitution, where rumour-mongering is common. To deny any member of such a society who is aware or believes or is led to believe that there has been an infraction of any of the provisions of Nigerian Constitution or that any law passed by any of Nigerian legislative houses, whether Federal or State, is unconstitutional, access to a court of law to air his grievance on the excuse of lack of sufficient interest is to provide a ready recipe for organised disenchantment with the judicial process.

Any person, whether he is a citizen of Nigeria or who is subject to the laws in force in Nigeria, has an obligation to see to it that he is governed by a law which is consistent with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution. It is his civil right to see that it is so.

[Adesanya v. President F.R.N. (1981) 2 NCLR 358; A.-G., Bendel State v. A.-G., Fed. (1982) 3 NCLR 1; Fawehinmi v. Akilu (1987) 4 NWLR (Pt. 67) 797; Fawehinmi v. I.G.P. (2002) 7 NWLR (Pt. 767) 606 referred to.]

Ganduje and China’s execution noose

By Suyi Ayodele

“I have not knelt since China’s liberation.” Those were the last words she spoke before the executioner put a shot in the back of her head. She refused to kneel down at her execution. She died standing!

Yan Jianhong was a Deputy Secretary of the Guizhou Provincial Planning Commission, People’s Republic of China. She was also a former member of the Standing Committee of the Guizhou Provincial Political Consultative Conference, and former Chairman, Guizhou International Trust and Investment Corporation. Her husband, Liu Zhengwei was Communist Party Secretary of Guizhou Province. She took undue advantage of those positions. She was executed on January 16, 1995, for corruption; her status did not count. She was not alone.

On September 14, 2000, China executed Cheng Kejie. He was the Chairman of the People’s Government of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. China’s Supreme Court approved his death sentence on September 7, 2000, and he was executed a week later!

Cheng was executed for accepting bribes and was also accused of fraudulently procuring 7,000 tonnes of sugar from Guiyang Sugar Factory at a reduced price for resale, thereby generating a significant profit margin. Such a practice, the authority reasoned, was capable of ruining the nation’s economy.

Earlier on March 8, 2000, the Chinese Government executed Hu Changqinga, a prominent Chinese politician who served as vice governor of Jiangxi. He was found guilty of bribery and corruption and was executed by firing squad!

The same fate befell Lai Xiaomin, who served as Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary and Chairman of the Board of China Huarong Asset Management from September 2012 to April 2018. He was executed on January 29, 2021, for bribery, embezzlement, and bigamy. His private assets were also seized and his family left with nothing!

The former vice governor of Anhuli, Wang Huaizhong, was on February 12, 2004, executed by firing squad, also for corruption. The same thing happened to Wang Shouxin on January 8, 1980 when she was executed for the “biggest scandal of the People’s Republic of China prior to 1979.” She was said to have embezzled “at least 536,000 yuan of state funds”.

There were other executions for corrupt practices such as Wen Qiang, a judicial officer whose life was on July 7, 2010, snuffed out for taking more than 12 million yuan ($1.76 m) in bribes. Zheng Xiaoyu, Director, State Food and Drug Administration, who was executed on July 10, 2007, for “corruption and allowing possibly tainted products in mainland China.”

China’s largest corruption case involved Li Jianping, a former official in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. He was said to have been involved in fraud running into $421 million (over three billion yuan). The 64-year-old was executed in August 2024.

I have taken the time to list the above cases in China since the present administration is likely to copy the one-party system operational in China. Unlike how we have messed up the presidential system of government we copied from America in 1979, Nigerians owe it a duty to ensure that as the nation slides, gradually, to a one-party State, a la China, we should also copy those things that make China great.

In China, it is a capital offence for politicians or government officials to be caught on camera stuffing dollars in their suits pocket. Such persons don’t live to spend the dollars. In multi-party Nigeria, such people get promoted!

Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the immediate past governor of Kano State and current National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Alliance (APC), loves China and its development. In contrast, given the examples above, China hates characters in Ganduje’s mould.

That Ganduje loves China for its development is good enough. It is equally noble that our leaders love the developmental strides they see in the sane nations of the world. But unfortunately, as much as Ganduje loves China, the country hates the Gandujes of this world because it knows that people like Ganduje would hamper, hinder and retard its development.

China is not just a developed country; it is a nation that has converted its huge population to greater advantages for the Chinese people. Every rational mind and leader should be proud of a nation like China. Nigeria was also once on the path of greatness like China before wasters took over the reins of leadership, and the locusts we have as leaders ate up our vegetation!

China, contrary to Ganduje’s warped reasoning, is not developed because it practises a one-party system. One of the major factors, the most prominent, I say without prevarication, that made China what it is today, is that the country gives the worst treatment to its corrupt leaders.

Ganduje is happy that members of the opposition political parties are trooping daily to the ruling APC. The latest was the defection of the three senators from Kebbi State (Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central, Yahaya Abdullahi, Kebbi North and Garba Maidoki Kebbi South), who all abandoned their Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The APC National Chairman took the trio to the Aso Rock Villa on Friday to see President Bola Ahmed Tinubu like trophies. He was accosted by State House correspondents who asked him about his feeling concerning the shift towards a one-party State in Nigeria.

Ganduje, rightly though, noted that nobody should quarrel with the fact that politicians were moving in droves to the APC. He assured that leaders who worried “about a one-party State have no need to fear.”

Then he posited: “A one-party State is not by force; it is by negotiation. It is by other political parties seeing the effect of the positive governance of our party. If they decide to come to our party willingly, I think there is nothing wrong with that.”

To further allay the fear, the Kano politician drew a parallel from China’s one-party system, saying, “Today, China is one of the strongest countries in the world and is a one-party system. We are not saying we are working for a one-party system, but if this is the wish of Nigerians, we cannot quarrel with that.” He went further to slam the current multi-party system Nigeria runs philosophising, “You know they say too many cooks spoil the soup; too many political parties spoil governance.”

There are some fundamental issues in Ganduje’s submissions. One, the APC National Chairman lied when he tried to project that those moving over to the APC were doing so because they were “seeing the effect of the positive governance of our party.” We all know that nothing can be farther from the truth than this assertion. Except Ganduje lives in another Nigeria than the one we have; every rational mind knows that the APC-led government, since 2015, has led Nigeria to the bottomless pit of poverty and despair. “I cannot see anything enviable that should attract this level of bandwagon folly going on in our political space!

Again, the attempt by Ganduje to condemn the multi-party system is equally an unfair judgment on that system by the very people who made nonsense of the system. If, for instance, the PDP had behaved the way the Ganduje APC is behaving, there would not have been a party called APC today! It is people like Ganduje and the intolerant president like his principal that make the multi-party system to look like a failed system.

That Ganduje also made the attempt to hoodwink us to believe that his party and government were not forcing people to join the APC goes to confirm the hopelessness of our situation in the hands of these guys whose penchant for the tall tale is legendary! The most doltish of us knows that there is nothing ‘voluntary’ in the gale of defections we are witnessing.

It is also fallacious for Ganduje to think that China is developed because it practises a one-party system! We need to impress on Ganduje that a nation that hates corruption is bound to develop. China abhors corruption and executes corrupt leaders. Anyone who shows any sign that could hinder China’s paths to greatness does not live to tell the story. Evidence of that attitude abounds. That is what makes China great. That is what can make Nigeria to be great again, if we all desire greatness.

It is also perilous for Ganduje to think Nigeria becoming a one-party State will have no consequences. For him to believe that the heavens will not fall if Nigeria slides to a one-party State as the APC is wont to have it, tells more about the shallowness of his discernment!

So, justifying the intended perfidy of a one-party State, Ganduje drew an analogy from China. Can we ask the former Kano State governor, who was once caught on camera stuffing dollar bills into his babariga, what would have been his fate if he were Chinese?

Honestly, a one-party State like China would not have been a bad idea here if only we could copy China wholesale by doing to people what China does to its citizens who are caught with their hands in the nation’s cookie jar. The elders of my place say that when one prays to be as rich as the man with a big mansion, the one praying should also be prepared to go the same route the owner of the mansion passed through (Òòsa òkè jé kí ndà bí onílé yí gbúdò se òhun tí onílé se).

This is what Ganduje should consider before drawing a parallel between Nigeria and the one-party State of China. He should have mentioned that China has no room for the type of leaders we have in Nigeria. That if it were to be China, there would have been no way President Tinubu would be occupying Aso rock Villa now.

Can any minister in China ride a Rolls Royce to the office without the State interrogating his sources of income? Or can the son of President Xi Jinping embark on ‘state visits’ to any of the provinces in China with crass impunity as we have here in Nigeria?

The axiom: “a nation gets the type of leaders it deserves”, has proven to be true of our calamity as a nation. The possibility of a one-party State before 2027 is something that should not scare us again. If it happens, we SHALL all live to savour the sour taste. So, for the Gandujes of this era, I say, ride on!

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

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