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Nigerian teenage undergraduate sues EFCC for unlawful detention during exam, demands N10m in damages

A 19-year-old 300-level nursing student of Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Miss Oluwateniola Omidiji, has filed an action against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over her unlawful detention.

Miss Omidiji initiated a fundamental rights case against EFCC marked FHC/L/CS/759/224. The suit was filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos.

She alleged that she was taken hostage by EFCC personnel over a debt which one Mr. Charles Nwoko alleged that her mother owed him from a business deal.

Nwoko accused her mother, Mrs Omoniyi Omidiji of owing him N100 million. The complainant stated that personnel of the anti-graft agency from its Lagos Zonal Command took her from the university premises during examination on April 26, 2024 and detained her for days unlawfully.

In the application filed by her lawyer, Chijioke Emeka (SAN) of Auxano Law, the student argued that she was only 16 years old (a minor) when her mother entered into the partnership with Mr. Nwoko and she knew nothing about the deal.

She further stated that it was wrong for the EFCC to hold her hostage over a crime allegedly committed by her mother.

She also argued that the transaction was a civil matter and asked the court to order the EFCC to leave her out of the issue and pay her N10,000,000 in damages for the violation of her fundamental rights to human dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing and freedom of movement.

The court has not fixed a date for the hearing of the case.

However, Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday ordered the release of Miss Omidiji following an application for the enforcement of her fundamental human rights brought by her lawyer.

Omidiji had already spent 11 days in EFCC custody.

SaharaReporters

Police Raid Indiscriminately, Arrest Citizens for Wandering, Trumping Up Charges: What is Lagos State Ministry of Justice and the Judiciary doing about it?

By Bayo Akinlade Esq

Nigerian Police On Raids Indiscriminately Arresting Citizens For Wandering and Trumping Up Charges Against Innocent Citizens: What is the Lagos State Ministry of Justice and the Judiciary Doing About it?

Duty Solicitors Network (DSN) has recently being inundated with complaints from the families of some young people who have been arrested by the police. Today, 7th May 2024, we received the complaint below:

“My name is Abdulwahab Bakare. I have a friend who resides at No 6 Moshalashi Street, Alakuko. His name is Mr Bamgbola. Yesterday Police from Alakuko Division went on a raid around Moshalashi Area, entered his compound and arrested 7 boys ranging from 14 to 16 years of age. Since yesterday at about 8pm, the boys were detained and their parents could not even have access to them.

On getting to the station this evening DPO of the Division, one CSP Toyosi Shokunbi 08037168410 told me she cannot grant them bail as they were arrested with hard drugs. My friend, whose 2 sons were equally arrested said it was a lie, they were NOT smoking; some of them were eating, sleeping and lounging in the compound when the police trooped in.

I spoke with the IPO before going in to see the DPO and he reported that the main person they were pursuing was apprehended already and that the boys were just victims of the raid as they were neither smoking or dealing drugs when they were arrested.

DPO is still refusing to release the teenage minors and as we speak they are still in detention at Alakuko Division. More so, their names were not listed on the Police Notice Board and the DPO said that she is waiting for CP’s tactical squad and Task Force BEFORE she can take a decision.

The 7 Minors are Ayomide 14, Sheriff 15, Pelumi 14, Ismail 14, Mubarack 15, Saliu 16, Ezekiel 15. The Police refused to allow them be fed or even see their parents from that yesterday till now.” Can someone enlighten me under which law the Nigerian Police operates?

I was recently informed by another victim of this ‘Police Raid’ business that many young people are arrested on the streets, taken to the oshodi taskforce office and asked to pay 20k each for their release. Those who don’t have this money are detained as long as possible and then sent to the Mobile Courts on trumped up charges and fined or sent to prison.

One such case recently happened where a 22 year old was recently sent to jail with no option of fine and it wasn’t until he entered prison that his family knew about his arrest, prosecution and incarceration.

Is the Judiciary helping the police to do injustice? Is the judiciary through it’s mobile court required to bring in revenue for the State Government? Is the Ministry of Justice in Lagos State under some sort of mandate to bring in a certain amount into the coffers of the State treasury? Do the Mobile Courts have a financial target to meet?

These and many more questions remain unanswered.

What are our youths supposed to do in this economy, no electricity, no fuel, no jobs etc…now we want to take their freedom away and lock them up in congested correctional facilities where they will be dehumanized and made worse than they were before they entered.

This has to stop!

Bayo Akinlade Esq
Convener
DSN

In 1998 and 2006 two men attempted to have homosexual copulation with me

By Joe Dauda

The first was when I was an undergraduate engineering student at the Federal University of Technology, Minna. I will never disclose the identities of these guys. So nobody (including my very close friends) should bother to ask me about that.

I was never interested in engineering and this fact is becoming clearer in retrospect. I was always a writer at heart — just waiting to be discovered and unleashed.

How can an engineering student be so committed to reading James Hardley Chase novels he nearly flunked his exams?

Indeed, I nearly did not get into the FUT Minna degree programme. Although I had secured 8 credits in my WAEC exams, I had a P7 in Mathematics. And the FUT Minna would not allow anyone into the faculty of engineering without a straight credit in Mathematics, apart from Chemistry and Physics. The only option was to do the one-session remedial programme and try to remedy that deficiency. As usual, each session in the university was made up of two semesters. But I was so disinterested in what I was learning during my remedial programme I spent more time reading novels instead of studying my handouts. Of course I was an intelligent guy. But lack of interest meant I did not have the motivation to study. And I performed poorly in my first semester exams.

After seeing my first semester results, I became scared and had a drastic change of heart. I dropped all my James Hardley Chase novels and sat down to study. The reason was because I did not want to disappoint my elder brother and my dad; it definitely wasn’t because I wanted to be an engineer and was scared of losing the opportunity. I knew I could make good grades in my second semester if I studied hard and my plan was to make sure I got such good grades they would compensate for my poor first semester grades. And I was right. I passed my second semester exams so well my aggregates were enough to get me admitted into the graduate programme of the department of Electrical and Electronics/Computer Engineering.

But habits die hard.

Once the pressure was off and I was safely an undergraduate, I carried my novels again and began to read. I was staying on campus at the time and I had the distinct habit of carrying a novel in my hand wherever I went. Interestingly, it was one of my roommates called Ige (as in Bola Ige) that observed that there were others like me on campus who walked around with novels in their hands.

Why not form a club?

One thing led to another and I established Lynx Exclusive Readers’ Club. It has proven very strategic in my life because two of my most important friends today were members of that club. What I’m saying in essence is that, except for Lynx, I may either not have met these two friends or may not have been that close to them. And we have been friends now for almost 25 years. Lynx was a social club for readers of novels and an avenue to facilitate access to all the novels we could pull together as a group. We even had a lecturer from the Department of Estate Management as a member. It was fun while it lasted. I remember we were able to buy every edition of Time Magazine, which was something only affordable to a few those days.

Unfortunately, there was a member of Lynx Exclusive Readers’ Club who was a homosexual. Of course I had no idea. He seemed normal — like the rest of us. Since his name starts with a “D”, I will refer to him as Mr D. However, because most people who know me know I’m friends with Daniel Donald Onjeh, I hasten to clarify that I’m not referring to Dan. Besides, Dan was never a member of Lynx.

This Mr D was not an engineering student and I will not explain his personality further for fear that Lynx members reading this may add two and two together and know who I’m talking about.

One evening when I was in my 200 Levels, Mr D found a way to convince me to follow him to his house off campus. I can’t recall what he must have said but there was nothing to suggest that this guy had crazy ideas and wanted to hang out with me the way a normal guy would like to hang out with a lady.

I feel like vomiting but I have to continue.

There is no need to explain what Mr D tried to do but, at the end, it was clear that he was a homosexual and had picked on me for copulation. I did not react violently, though, or tried to disgrace him by calling people out to come and see this aberration. This was Africa before the internet and rapid westernization: he could have been beaten to stupor or even beaten to death by other guys who were heterosexual and who naturally couldn’t stand the thought of other men being homosexual. Somehow, I extricated myself from the sordid situation without raising dust, thoroughly embarrassed that a fellow man could look at me and think of copulation.

Again, I feel like vomiting. But I will continue.

The second case was in 2006. I won’t offer any further information on this guy. What I can say is that this second attempt made me remember the case of Mr D and I begun to realize that, indeed, there were men out there who had sexual attraction for other men. I later read from the Bible (Romans 1) that it is a terrible state of being and may indicate that an individual has crossed from grace to perdition — like Judas Iscariot after the betrayal of Jesus Christ. By the way, this second guy is Mr O (because his name starts with an O) and I understand that he has been making tremendous progress in life. Sometimes I wonder if it has anything to do with his queer sexual orientation. But that is a topic for another day.

What’s my point in sharing these heartbreaking true life stories?

It’s because homosexuality and the practice of homosexuality is an indicator of the nearness of the end of the world and the second coming of Jesus Christ.

How so?

While giving His disciples the signs of the end times (things that will happen when the Second Coming was near) Jesus Christ said the condition of the world will be similar to how things were during the days of Lot, with a clear reference to the evil perpetrated by the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. Luke 17:28-30.

What did He mean by that statement?

What happened in the days of Lot?

In the days of Lot, homosexuality was endorsed by the society.

And there is a difference between practicing the abomination of homosexuality at the individual level and having it endorsed by society at large. As the Bible says, there is nothing new under the sun. The inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah were not the first humans to practice homosexuality. But there is something significant when a given society endorses an abomination — such as homosexuality. And that was what happened in Sodom and Gomorrah. Even in our life time, people used to be ashamed of the practice of homosexuality. That was the situation of things when Mr D made his attempt in 1998. Remember that 1998 is 25 years ago. But things soon began to change — beginning with so-called developed nations. To the extent that homosexuality has now been endorsed by the major nations of the world. It was this societal endorsement of homosexuality (and not just the private practice of it) that commanded the attention of heaven during the days of Sodom and Gomorrah.

And it is its endorsement in our society today that will equally command the attention of heaven.

The homosexuality of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah had become nationally accepted sins. People were not ashamed of their homosexuality in the days of Lot. It had become the in-thing to the extent that you were excluded if you didn’t have some homosexual tendencies or absolute sympathy for its practice. According to the Bible, it was everybody in Sodom and Gomorrah that wanted to rape the two angels that came to give Lot the last warning from God for him to depart from the city.

Genesis 19:4-5

[4]But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:

[5]And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.

How did our generation descend to the level of the generation of Lot and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah?

It took the converging factors of legal backing, religious approval, political support, and cultural conditioning.

Legal Backing

Perhaps you have not noticed but homosexuality is becoming globally accepted and it is happening in this generation. Just within the past two decades, many countries have moved from classifying homosexuality as a mental disorder to punishing people who simply say that the Bible defines homosexuality as a sin and even an abomination. Before the year 2000, no nation on earth had approved homosexual marriages. Of course there were countries where you could get legal covering as a homosexual couple, but none of these (such as same-sex unions) was same-sex marriage in the full meaning of the word. It was the Netherlands that was the first country to legalize homosexual marriages in 2001. But since then, virtually the whole world (apart from Islamic countries and virtually all the countries in Africa) have followed suit, including Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, the United States, Germany, the UK, Spain, and South Africa. And even those like Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, and Switzerland who have not approved same-sex marriages have enough legal protections to allow homosexuals to live together without any consequences. The pressure is now on for African countries to succumb and join the global bandwagon. South Africa is currently the only African country that has approved homosexual marriages. Namibia has not approved homosexual marriages but recognizes such marriages as legal if done outside Namibia.

Religious Approval

On the 19th of February, 2022, I published an article titled A Special Message For My Beloved Catholic Readers. In that article, I stated how Arch Bishop Carlo Maria Vigano (who was appointed Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Nigeria by Pope John Paul II in 1992 and who served until 1998) openly criticized Pope Francis for aiding and abetting the most notorious homosexual cardinal of our time, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. Vigano, in an open letter you can read for yourself anytime you want, accused Pope Francis of protecting McCarrick so seriously to the extent that, even though Pope Benedict XVI had imposed sanctions on McCarrick over his sexual predation, Francis refused to enforce those sanctions. The article is available on request and there is no need to repeat the shocking allegations and revelations made by Arch Bishop Vigano. The fact is that

Pope Francis had always spoken in favour of homosexuals and those who have followed his statements since he became Pope were not surprised when he recently announced the approval of homosexual marriages. But beyond that, the Pope has signaled that even transgenders can look forward to better days. He did this by hosting over 100 transgender women (men who had become women) at the Vatican late in 2023.

But please don’t crucify Pope Francis. At least don’t attempt to crucify him alone. This is because virtually every other church out there has also approved homosexual marriages. It was even this issue that caused a crack between the Anglican Church in Nigeria and the one at the headquarters in the UK. For the few churches that have not yet done so, a civil war is raging within, like it happened in the Anglican Church. And things are getting hot in some of these churches. In the Methodist Church of Great Britain, for example, the words “husband” and “wife” and even “brother” and “sister” have been banned — all because of the homosexual community.

Sadly, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church is soon to be part of the growing list of churches that have approved homosexuality. For now, it seems to be just pretending not to be part of the list. But the evidence of pro-homosexuality in the SDA Church is overwhelming, especially in Europe and the United States. I’m ashamed to factually state that, at least with regard to the issue of homosexuality, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church has become an enemy of God as much as the other fallen churches. If you doubt me (especially if you are an Adventist) read the commentary by Adventist Today Magazine on the Satan-inspired documentary titled “1946”. This documentary is a heaven-daring attempt to give aid and comfort to homosexuals, and Adventist Today Magazine only had nice words of commendation to say about it in their commentary. If the remnant church of the last days (the Seventh-Day Adventist Church) is supporting homosexuality, then we are in the days of Elijah when true followers of God will be so few and so scattered they would not find a single like-mind to worship with. 1 Kings 19:10.

Political Support

America has never had a President that openly supported the homosexual community like Barack Obama. In fact, he is the first incumbent US President to publicly support the legalization of homosexual marriage. And Obama is not alone. His wife, Mitchell Obama, is also a cheerleader for the homosexual community. In fact, some people have been saying that both Barack Obama and his wife are men, with Mitchell Obama being a transgender. And there is peripheral evidence to support this view. Apart from Barack Obama’s aggressive support for homosexuals, some men have openly said he used to be their s*x partner. At least one of these guys died mysteriously. And a very popular Hollywood personality known as Joan Rivers (a presenter of her own programme known as Fashion Police) once casually told a reporter that the United States had their first gay President in the person of Barack Obama and that Mitchell Obama was a man, meaning she is a transgender. Shortly after that statement she made to the journalist, Joan Rivers died and some people think she was murdered to protect the Obamas. Note that Joan Rivers was a very good friend of the LGBTQ community. Perhaps she knew what she was talking about.

It is not a small thing for the President of the United States to call an ordinary citizen on phone. But that treatment was given to people who were secretly gay and who decided to “come out” during the Obama presidency. Mitchell Obama also sent a tweet to encourage one basketball player who came out as gay.

It was also in 2015 when Obama was still US President that the issue of homosexual marriages was finally legalized in the United States. This was shortly after the visit of Pope Francis to the US, during which he addressed a joint session of Congress. Don’t ask me if there was any connection between the Pope’s visit and the legalization of same sex marriages in the United States. But note that, of the nine Justices who seat on the US Supreme Court, six are Roman Catholics. And the United States is supposedly a Protestant nation.

Cultural Conditioning

More and more movies now have characters that are either playing roles as homosexuals in the movies or who are homosexuals in real life. These things are deliberate — to make homosexuality less irritating to heterosexuals.

My wife enjoys watching comedy. And I remember I used to warn her not to laugh or lend her mental or emotional support to any funny character within a movie or skit that is homosexual. Because I understand Satan better than her. I know that Satan is trying to normalize homosexuality and one powerful means is to present a very interesting character as an actor, get you to fall in love with that character, and then later make it apparent that the character is homosexual — after your emotions have already been ignited in their favour. In such a case, you will find yourself making excuses for the character — and that is the point. By putting you in a dilemma of discovering that your favourite actor is a homosexual, Hollywood (on behalf of Satan) wants you to either ignore, excuse or emotionally defend that favourite homosexual character.

And the evidence that you have chosen to either ignore, or excuse, or go all the way to defend their homosexuality is if you watch any movie or performance by them after your discovery. To ensure that you do watch these homosexuals again, Hollywood would ensure that they are so so so interesting and captivating.

Both Barack Obama and David Cameron (former Prime Minister of the UK) publicly said they were going to “export” this ideology of societal protection for homosexuals. And some African countries have been threatened with the suspension of financial aid except they get their Legislatures to pass laws protecting homosexuals.

Barack Obama is so dedicated to making homosexuality normal he is now targeting children — yes, children — no matter how young they are.

Did you know that Obama is now the Executive Producer of some movies?

He is even interested in cartoons. Not so that children will grow up to love the Lord (remember he claims to be a Christian) but so that they will support the LGBTQ community or even become part of the community. In a Netflix series for children produced by him (titled “Ada Twist Scientist”) little children are shown organizing a wedding for their teacher. The teacher (you guessed right) is a homosexual. Mitchell Obama is the co-producer of Ada Twist Scientist. My namesake, Joe Okechukwu, has produced well researched videos proving that, even in the seemingly innocent cartoons we allow our children to watch, there are salacious materials and/or satanic symbols. Now you know the powerful forces behind these efforts. Barack Obama and Mitchell Obama; Pope Francis. And Joe Biden. And most of the leaders of Europe. And the United Nations is also a bedrock of this effort. Just read up their so-called Sexuality Education and you will understand why teenage students in South Africa now have the courage to stand in front of a camera, smile, and introduce themselves. Then add: I’m gay; or I’m lesbian; or even “I’m bisexual.”

Normalization of this deviance is the goal and also the sign that we are ready for God’s interjection. And that’s what all of these people are working together to achieve.

They want to turn the whole world into Sodom and Gomorrah — a place where the practice of sodomy is as ordinary as going to the grocery store to buy bread.

And the fire will follow like it did in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah — because God does not change.

But the fire for these last days (even apart from hell fire itself) will be the seven last plagues, which will be poured out on those that receive the mark of the beast.

It is one thing for homosexuality to be going on; it is quite another for it to be nationalized and backed up by law.

If you distill Luke 17:28-30, it is more or less saying that, in the last days, homosexuality shall be normalized like it was normalized in the days of Lot.

With this template in mind, what else can we learn?

Violence against those who refuse to go along is the next thing we should watch out for.

Genesis 19:9

[9]And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.

Note the words said to Lot when he tried to protect the angels from being raped by deranged homosexuals:

“Now will we deal worse with thee, than with them.”

That’s the language of violence.

And it was directed at the man who dared to admonish rabid homosexuals who had become so reprobate they did not know that they were about to rape angels — angels that came from heaven!

This type of violence against anyone seemingly standing in the way of the homosexual agenda is already happening.

These days, there are laws in countries like Canada banning any type of effort (like preaching) to encourage homosexuals or transgenders to change.

Why?

Because, by encouraging them to change, you are creating the impression that the practice of homosexuality is abnormal.

And, to them, it is not!

In an earlier article, I stated how President Joe Biden released a video message specially directed at children who wanted to change their natural sex. At some point, he promised the young lads that the US government has “got their backs” meaning they could count on the faithful support of the US government. This was a subtle threat to especially parents who are horrified by the things going on and who would, under normal circumstances, not support the mutilation of their children in the name of gender reassignment surgery. Joe Biden was telling young children not old enough to qualify for a drivers license that, if they needed to make the one-way decision to change their sex, they did not need the consent of their parents nor did they need to fear anyone. Why? The US government will be their dependable ally.

Did you know that parents are being jailed in certain countries (like Canada) for opposing the gender reassignment surgery of their children? Please find out what gender reassignment surgery is (in case you do not know) and understand what I’m saying.

Away from public view, little girls are being influenced and pressured to become boys, with the promise of instant and massive social attention if they do. And the strategy is working. A growing number of American children are now unsure of their gender. This means they are likely to become transgenders later in life. Thanks to Joe Biden and his former boss, Barack Obama. And the others — known and unknown.

The first writer to make over a billion dollars from writing is a woman called J. K. Rowling. She is the author of the Harry Potter series. Her experience proves that the spirit of Sodom and Gomorrah is a spirit of violence and a spirit that demands total submission or else . . . J. K. Rowling is a feminist; she supports lesbians and gays; she is a woman of the world. But simply because she ventured to say that she does not believe in transgenderism (that a natural woman could ever become a man, or vice versa) she was massively and brutally attacked. As they say these days, an attempt was made to “cancel” her. The experience of J.K. Rowling was eye-opening because she is a supporter of homosexuals. But just because she did not go all the way to support transgenders, she was treated by the world media like a fiery preacher thumping on his King James Bible and quoting Leviticus 18:22, where God declared homosexuality to be, not just a sin, but an abomination.

Do you now understand the world better? Do you now understand why Black Lives Matter has such political clout in the United States? I was shocked to see the list of companies that donated money to Black Lives Matter even as they were protesting and burning down America. Every major corporation in the United States gave money to Black Lives Matter. You won’t understand this until you understand that Satan is the prince of this world. And Satan has decided that, to degrade men who were made in the image of God, getting them to engage and indulge in homosexuality is a good idea. For your information, the three founders of Black Lives Matter are all girls. And they are all homosexuals. They are all lesbians. Maybe you are beginning to get the picture.

How about the New York Times?

The New York Times is one of the most powerful newspapers in America and in the world; it is in the same class with the Washington Times and the Wall Street Journal. Most of the things most people in the world read and believe are vetted by the Editorial Board of the New York Times.

Well guess what?

As far back as 2004, 75% of members of the Editorial Board of the New York Times were homosexuals.

2004 is 20 years ago.

So what’s going on now at the NYT?

How about other media outlets?

And nobody will share this type of information with you. Only through research can you learn such things.

A good number of the rising stars in today’s world are homosexuals. And transgenderism is simply a cover for homosexuality. In the final analysis, they are both the same thing. And it is being pushed to little children because powerful personalities like Barack Obama, Mitchell Obama, Pope Francis, Joe Biden, David Cameron, Hollywood (as an institution) and the mighty United Nations, are all working at different levels to carry out this order, which I’m 100% sure came from Satan.

Here in Nigeria, watch out for this phenomenon. Knowing how averse Nigerians are to homosexuality, they will have to move carefully. And they are moving carefully. A Big Brother Naija female character that goes by the name Tolanibaj recently tested the waters by saying she is beginning to think that her soulmate is a woman. Just wait and see what happens next.

You don’t think the Bible is the word of God?

Think again.

How could Jesus Christ foretell with breathtaking accuracy that, at a time when men should be busy enjoying the inventions science has made possible, the cankerworm of homosexuality will be so promoted by powerful forces it will become as widely accepted and aggressively defended as it was in Sodom and Gomorrah?

How could Jesus Christ know such a thing?

Well He is the Son of God — the ONLY begotten Son of God.

And He is coming again. What Obama and his fellow globalists in the UN and the churches and the World Economic Forum and the whole world are doing are things Jesus said must take place before He returns.

And nobody can stop the return of Jesus Christ.

The issue is whether you will be punished when He returns or whether you will rejoice with joy unspeakable.

As usual, the choice is yours.

Isaiah 1:18

[18]Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Watch out for Part 4 (concluding part) of the ongoing series titled:

Israel-Hamas War: Are You Wiser Than The Saudis, The Emirates, And The Bahrainis?

Enquiries: [email protected]

That is: the repeated second angel message at gmail dot com

Victor Farrant: Rapist who murdered ex-girlfriend dies in prison

Victor Farrant, a rapist who was serving a whole-life sentence after murdering his former girlfriend, has died in prison.

The Prison Service said Farrant, 74, died at HMP Wakefield on Friday.

The children of victim Glenda Hoskins said his death had ended an “agonising two months” since they heard he was being considered for early release.

Glenda Hoskins was killed by Victor Farrant, who drowned her in the bath of her home in Portsmouth

They added that everyone should “feel safer that this repeat offender psychopath will not strike again”.

Farrant had been suffering from a longstanding health condition prior to his death and a coroner will now look into the cause of his death.

He was convicted of the murder of Mrs Hoskins, 44, his former girlfriend and mother-of-three, and the attempted murder of Ann Fidler, 45, in 1996.

Sentencing him to life, Mr Justice Butterfield, sitting at Winchester Crown Court in 1998, said Farrant was so dangerous that he should “never be released”.

In a joint statement on Monday, Mrs Hoskins’ children, Iain, Katie and David, said: “Farrant’s whole-life sentence and the judge’s remarks that he should die in prison should have been respected.

“However, Farrant’s death, like his imprisonment, changes nothing for us. The circumstances and death of our mother, Glenda Hoskins, will haunt us for the rest of our lives.

“His death, though, does bring to a close a very painful chapter for us all.

“We, and the public at large, should certainly feel safer that this repeat-offender psychopath will not strike again.”

Earlier this year, Mrs Hoskins’ family said they had been contacted by officials who said Farrant was being considered for compassionate leave as he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and could have months to live.

A Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (Mappa) meeting in April looked at the case and the family said it had been passed to the prison governor to decide whether to make a formal application for his release.

Farrant was jailed in November 1988 for 12 years for rape and other offences, but just weeks after he was released on 7 November 1995, he beat Ms Fidler at her home in Eastleigh, Hampshire.

Victor Farrant was caught on CCTV as he headed for a cross Channel ferry on the day of Mrs Hoskins’ murder.

Six weeks later, he murdered accountant Mrs Hoskins at her luxury waterside home in Portsmouth by pushing her under the water in the bath.

He left her body in the attic, where it was found by her 15-year-old daughter Katie.

After killing Mrs Hoskins, Farrant went on the run and was eventually found in the south of France.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: “Victor Farrant died on 3 May at HMP Wakefield.

“As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has been informed.”

BBC

16-year-old tells he got N880,000 not N1m after kidney was removed

A 16-year-old boy, on Tuesday, told a High Court of ustice in Zuba FCT that he was given N880,000 cash by one Mr Emmanuel Olorunlaye, in Alliance Hospital, Abuja, after his kidney was removed.

The teenager made this known while being led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Hassan Tahir.

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) charged the defendants alongside the Hospital with 11 counts bordering on organ harvesting.

The defendants are the Medical Director, Alliance Hospital, Dr Christopher Otabor, Emmanuel Olorunlaye, Chikaodili Ugochukwu, Administrative Secretary of the hospital and Dr Aremu Abayomi.

The 16-year-old boy said that he met Olorunlaye through a friend.

He said that Olorunlaye calls his friend when the hospital needs a kidney and that the hospital usually preferred persons with O+ blood group .

” My friend introduced me to Olorunlaye and told him I wanted to sell my kidney. Then Olorunlaye asked my friend to take me to any hospital around our area to know if I was healthy to donate my kidney.

“After going to a hospital for my check up, I was given my result and my friend took a picture of it and sent it to Olorunlaye via WatsApp  because I did not have a phone.

” After two days Olorunlaye called my friend and sent some transport money to us to meet at the tAlliance Hospital to run some tests.

“I was taken to the laboratory for my blood samples and urine when I was done,  Olorunlaye gave me N2,000 for a cab back home.

“He called me back to repeat the same test in the hospital at and again sent me N2,000 for a cab.

“I went on to see him on a Tuesday and Olorunlaye informed me that the surgery will be performed on a Friday.

“He told me not to inform any of my family members and instructed me not to eat from 8p.m to 10a.m and I did as he said.

He alleged that Ugochukwu gave him some documents at 8pm and instructed him to sign them but he did not read it.

He said Dr Abayomi (the fourth defendant) came into the room he was kept in and told him that he will perform a medical surgery on him.

”He told me not to worry he will save my life.

“A nurse came later arrived to get me and asked me change into the hospital wear and wheeled me into the theatre and gave me an injection that made me sleep.

” Two days later, I heard the nurse screaming my name so I answered and as I tried to get up I felt the sharp pain on my side.

” Olorunlaye came into to my room and informed me that my kidney had been removed and asked if I needed cash or mobile transfer of money,” he said.

He told the court that Olorunlaye told him that his friend, who “found” him, asked for his share of the N1 million and that he gave N100,000 from the money.

The minor said when he was discharged from the hospital,  Olorunlaye asked him to get a me hotel to stay in and that he should not mention his name in the whole thing.

“I was still in pain and decided to go back home, My friend broke the news to my brother that I had removed one of my kidneys.

“My brother immediately informed my father and he came and asked me to remove my shirt and he saw the stitches,” he said.

He said he met the MD of the hospital at the police station for the first time.

The minor said the MD approached his family and asked them to withdraw the matter from the police because he will take care of them.

During cross-examination, the prosecuting counsel asked the boy to raise his shirt for the court to see his scar and asked about his health.

The boy said he feels pain in the area sometimes and is still on medication

The defence counsel, Afam Osigwe, SAN showed the boy the consent form and the affidavit from the high court and asked if he signed the documents and if his photograph was on the document.

He also asked if the boy stated in the document that he was 20 years old and that he wanted to donate a kidney for one Usman Mohammed, who he said was his cousin.

He replied that he only signed on a light pen and denied donating his kidney to Mohammed.

The prosecution however asked for an adjournment to enable him continue with his re-examination concerning the witness statement of oath made in the civil suit filed earlier in another High Court.

Justice Kezziah Ogbonnaya granted the application and adjourned the case until Wednesday for continuation of hearing.

NAN

Nigerian/American couple convicted of forced labor and other federal crimes in New Jersey

After a two-week trial, a federal jury in Camden, New Jersey, found Bolaji Bolarinwa, 50, and Isiaka Bolarinwa, 67, both of Burlington County, New Jersey, guilty of forced labor and other crimes related to their coercive scheme to compel two victims to perform domestic labor and childcare in their home.

According to a statement published on the official website of the Office of Public Affairs, US Department of Justice, Bolaji Bolarinwa was found guilty of two counts of forced labor, one count of alien harboring for financial gain and two counts of document servitude.

The jury also convicted Isiaka Bolarinwa of two counts of forced labor and one count of alien harboring for financial gain. The defendants were each acquitted of a second count of alien harboring for financial gain.

“The defendants deceitfully lured the victims to the United States with promises of benefits, but then betrayed them,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The defendants confiscated the victims’ passports, threatened them, degraded them, physically abused them and kept them under constant surveillance, all to coerce the victims’ labor and ruthlessly exploit them for the defendants’ own profit. Human trafficking is a heinous crime, and this verdict should send the very clear message that the Justice Department will investigate and vigorously prosecute these cases to hold human traffickers accountable and bring justice to their victims.”

“These defendants engaged in an egregious bait-and-switch, luring the victims with false promises of a life and an education in the United States, and instead subjected them to grueling hours, physical abuse and psychological abuse,” said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey. “Forced labor and human trafficking are abhorrent crimes that have no place in our society, and I am grateful to our team of prosecutors, agents and support staff for ensuring that justice was done in this case.”

“Imagine showing up in a foreign land, hoping for a better life and ending up trapped with no place to go and no one to turn to for help,” said Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy of the FBI Newark Field Office. “The victims in this investigation suffered in unimaginable ways at the hands of their captors, enduring years of physical and mental abuse. Human trafficking often takes on many different forms and can hide in plain sight. I want to commend the agents and victim specialists who worked on this case, alongside our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. We want everyone to know if you or anyone you know is a victim – you can come to us for help. We will bring your tormentors to justice.”

The evidence presented at trial, including the testimony of two victims, established that, between December 2015 and October 2016, Bolaji and Isiaka Bolarinwa – originally from Nigeria, but living in New Jersey as U.S. citizens – recruited two victims to come to the United States and then coerced them to perform domestic labor and childcare services for their children through physical harm, threats of physical harm, isolation, constant surveillance and psychological abuse. The defendants engaged in this venture knowing that both victims were out of lawful status while working in their home.

Once Victim 1 arrived in the United States in December 2015, Bolaji Bolarinwa confiscated her passport and coerced her through threats of physical harm to her and her daughter, verbal abuse, isolation and constant surveillance to compel her to work every day, around the clock for nearly a year. Isiaka was aware of his wife’s threats and abusive behavior toward Victim 1 and directly benefited from Victim 1’s cooking, cleaning and childcare.

The defendants then recruited Victim 2 to come to the United States on a student visa. When Victim 2 arrived in the United States in April 2016, Bolaji Bolarinwa similarly confiscated her passport and coerced her to perform household work and childcare but relied more heavily on physical abuse. On at least one occasion, Isiaka Bolarinwa also physically abused Vitim 2, and he was aware of his wife’s coercive, abusive behavior toward Victim 2 and directly benefited from her cleaning and childcare. Victim 1 and Victim 2 lived and worked in the Bolarinwa home until October 2016, when Victim 2 summoned the courage to outcry to a professor at her college, who in turn, reported the targets to the FBI. 

A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date. Both defendants face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each forced labor count, and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for the alien harboring count. Bolaji Bolarinwa faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each unlawful document conduct count. 

They will also be required to pay mandatory restitution to the two victims and each face a fine on each count of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or gross loss from the offense, whichever is greatest.

The FBI Newark Field Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Bender for the District of New Jersey and Trial Attorney Elizabeth Hutson of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit prosecuted the case.

Police nab 36 suspected rapists, 22 armed robbers in Katsina

  • Suspected rapists who specialise in targeting young women on social media apprehended

The Katsina State Police Command has within the month of April arrested about 36 persons in connection with rape and sodomy as well as 22 suspected armed robbers in the state.

The Command’s spokesman, ASP Abubakar Sadiq-Aliyu, confirmed this while briefing newsmen on the command’s achievements within the month under review.

Sadiq-Aliyu said that 10 murder suspects were also arrested during the period.

He disclosed that 81 cases of major crimes, such as armed robbery, kidnapping, culpable homicides, cattle rustling among others were reported.

“Within the period, 69 cases were charged to court, as a total number of 145 suspects were arrested in connection with these suspected cases.

“A total number of 58 suspects were arrested for various offences such as criminal force, intimidation, inciting disturbance, theft, and belonging to gang of brigands, among others.

“Also, the command has succeeded in neutralising 12 suspected bandits, rescued over 30 kidnapped victims, and recovered 492 rustled animals,” Sadiq-Aliyu said.

He further revealed that on May 5, the command successfully foiled a bandit attack on two commercial motor-vehicles at Unguwar Boka village, along Funtua-Gusau road, and rescued 52 passengers.

According to him, a luxurious bus conveying passengers from Onitsha en route Gusau, Zamfara State, and a Volkswagen Golf-3 en route Zaria from Gusau, were attacked by suspected bandits, forcing the driver to veer off the road into the nearby bushes.

“Upon receipt of the report, promptly, the DPO mobilised operatives and responded to the scene, where they engaged the assailants in a fierce gun duel, successfully thwarted the kidnapping attempt, and rescued all the passengers unhurt.

“Efforts have been intensified to ensure the arrest of the fleeing suspects. The investigation is still ongoing,” the police spokesman said.

Likewise, the Police Command in Rivers has announced the arrest of a gang allegedly specialised in kidnapping and raping young women in the state.

SP Grace Iringe-Koko, the command’s spokesperson, told journalists in Port Harcourt on Tuesday that the gang kidnapped and molested one Ogechi, 28, in Elele, Ikwerre LGA on July 1, 2023.

She said that the police had been pursuing the gang, resulting to the apprehension of a 32-year-old resident of Igoni Street, Abuloma, linked to the crime.

“Investigations revealed that Louise Brutolu engaged his victims through phone chats, inviting them to meet him at Pacific Suite Hotel in Abuloma, Rivers.

“After booking a room, the suspect drugs his victims, rendering them unconscious before disposing them of their valuables.

“In Ogechi’s case, the suspect took her iPhone, N28,000 and ATM card,” she explained.

Iringe-Koko stated that the police anti-kidnapping unit had swung into action to capture Brutolu after the incident was reported.

“Operatives recovered the substances used by the suspect to incapacitate his victims before disposing them of their valuables.

“During interrogation, Brutolu identified the gang leader, who was subsequently arrested after several months of persistent investigation.

“Various items belonging to different victims, such as 21 mobile phones, three female handbags, and receipt booklets, were found in possession of the gang leader,” she added.

Iringe-Koko, who declined to disclose the gang leader’s identity, mentioned that the suspects had previously faced charges for similar offences in 2021.

Similarly, the police spokesperson announced the arrest of one Jemifor Timi, 28, for his alleged involvement in several rape cases of young women in the state.

“Timi specialises in enticing women and Bolt and Uber drivers through social media platforms like Instagram, Tinder, and Badoo.

“After selecting victims who flaunt expensive phones on social media, the suspect invites them to his hotel rooms and offers them drinks.

“Following the consumption of drinks spiked with tramadol, Timi proceeds to rape and rob them of their belongings,” Iringe-Koko disclosed.

The police image maker emphasized that the suspect had been engaged in these crimes for three years and had been previously arrested and charged twice.

Iringe-Koko urged residents, particularly young women, to be cautious of kidnappers and rapists who exploit popular messaging platforms to lure victims.

“Personal safety should be a priority, with individuals insisting on meeting strangers in public places and informing family and friends about their whereabouts,” she advised.

NAN

Herders’ Attack in Enugu: State Assembly passes Public Ranch Management Agency Bill

The Enugu State House of Assembly has passed the Public Ranch Management Agency bill.

The bill, which was passed on Tuesday in Enugu by the lawmakers, authorised the state government to establish an agency to manage both government and privately owned ranches in the state.

Speaking before the passage of the bill, the member representing Igbo-Eze North Constituency II, Clifford Obe, argued that the legislation would end the farmers/herders crisis in the state.

Obe said the farmer/herder crisis was responsible for the low agricultural output in the market.

According to him, many farmers have been driven out of their farms, which has increased crime and rural-to-urban migration.

“The bill will help people not be afraid. It will make it a must for herders to register whenever they enter any community. It will reduce crime and how cattle mess up our city and rural communities because there would be an agency on ground to guide the herders.

“Above all, the state government will be able to collect tax from the herders, who before now did not pay tax,” Obe added.

Also contributing, Okechukwu Aneke, representing Udi South Constituency, noted that there was no need for people to be afraid of the bill, adding that herders were not only Fulanis.

Aneke stressed that herders had come to stay, urging the people to learn to co-exist with them.

The lawmaker reiterated that the bill was intended to control the herders, adding that those invading and attacking communities in the state were not real herders.

“This agency, when established, will have designated areas where the cattle and their herders will be stationed.

“Any herder who is found in our bushes and not in the designated places should be treated as an intruder and a kidnapper,” Aneke said.

Another lawmaker, Mr Chima Obieze, regretted that people condemning the bill are arguing about what they do not know, saying there is nothing on the bill for people to shout about.

Obieze asked the public not to discourage people from other parts of the country from coming to Enugu to do business.

He said that should the mostly nomadic herders come to the state, however, they must operate under existing laws.

Mr Harrison Ogara, representing Igbo-Eze South, noted that the bill would guarantee peace between farmers and herders and asked the executive arm of government to be strategic in its implementation.

In his remark, the Speaker, Chief Uche Ugwu, assured the people of the state that the Assembly would not pass a bill capable of truncating peace in the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that a similar bill on “Open Grazing Prohibition” was passed by the last state assembly in 2021.

The passage came in line with the deadline issued by the Southern Governors for an end to the open rearing of cattle.

The bill sought to “prevent the destruction of farms, farm crops, community ponds, settlements and property by open rearing and grazing of livestock.

Premium Times‘ Chinagorom Ugwu reports that the past week was eventful in Nigeria’s south-east, where both shocking and sad events made headlines.

Below is her report.

The attack and killing of four residents in Uzo-Uwani, Enugu State was among the top stories within the past week in the South-east.

The massacre of about 11 people, including a pregnant woman, in Ebonyi State was another top story in the week.

Here are the highlights of the top stories that made headlines in the region within the past week:

Many killed as suspected herders invade Enugu community

The week began on a sad note on Sunday 28 April when at least four people were killed by suspected herders who invaded Nimbo, a community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State.

The hoodlums, on arrival in the community, opened fire on some residents who were mourning a deceased person in Ugwuijoro, a village in the Nimbo Community. The victim died instantly.

Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State would later visit the community and assure the residents that his administration would end herders’ attacks in the area.

Mr Mbah equally announced a scholarship programme for children of those killed in the attack.

On their part, the police in Enugu State told the residents that they have ordered the deployment of police operatives to track down the killers.

The police said the operation would continue until their aim was achieved.

The latest incident highlights the urgent need for the Nigerian government to revisit the issues around anti-open grazing to solve the frequent friction between farming communities and nomadic herders in the country.

17 travellers killed in Enugu road crash

It was a tragic day last Tuesday when occupants of a Toyota Hummer Bus were burnt beyond recognition in a road accident.

The incident happened when the bus burst into flames after plunging into a fence along Enugu/Opi/Nsukka Road in Ekwegbe in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State.

Sixteen occupants of the vehicle were initially confirmed dead after the incident, according to a statement by a police spokesperson in Enugu State, Daniel Ndukwe, on Tuesday night.

Mr Ndukwe, a deputy superintendent of police, said two passengers of the vehicle were rescued and being treated at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu.

But the Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Commission, Adeyemi Sokunbi, later confirmed that one of the hospitalised victims had died, bringing the death toll to 17.

Uzodinma appoints self as land commissioner, gives reason

Many Nigerians were shocked on Tuesday when Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State announced that he had appointed himself as the commissioner for lands, survey and physical planning in the state.

Mr Uzodinma explained that the decision to appoint himself to the position was because of the need to “restore the confidence” of the residents in the lands ministry in the state.

Ebonyi governor makes case for state police

The debate on the need for Nigeria to adopt state police continued last Wednesday with Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State outlining the reason the country should give the idea a trial.

Mr Nwifuru, while speaking on the need for state police, said Nigeria has grown to the extent that central policing will not make the desired impact in fighting insecurity.

“The country has grown so large to an extent that central policing will not control crime. State policing will allow us to use people familiar with our terrain to combat crimes in our various communities,” he said.

A bill which seeks to create state police is before the National Assembly.

In the last assembly, the bill was rejected by the lawmakers, who believed that state governors might abuse the state police if created.

But in the face of rising insecurity across the country and renewed calls from various groups, the bill appears to be receiving attention from lawmakers.

Security agencies kill suspected IPOB bomb expert – Official

Nigerian security agencies, last Friday, announced that they had killed a suspected bomb expert of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its militant wing, Eastern Security Network (ESN) in Nigeria’s South-east.

The suspect was killed on Wednesday during a clearance operation by the security agencies at Orsu-Ihitteukwa, a community in Orsu Local Government Area of Imo State, according to a statement by the spokesperson of the Nigerian army, Onyema Nwachukwu.

The army spokesperson said the security agencies intercepted the suspected IPOB/ESN members during the operation in the area.

Crackdown on suspected cultists in Anambra

The police in Anambra State, last Saturday, announced that they have arrested seven suspected cultists.

The arrested suspects were between the ages of 17 and 18.

The police spokesperson in the state, Tochukwu Ikenga, who disclosed this in a statement on Saturday, said the suspects were arrested on Friday when some police operatives from the Special Anti-Cult Squad intercepted them along UNIZIK Junction in Awka, the state capital.

The latest development highlights how young people have taken to cultism in the state.

There has been an upsurge in cult-related attacks and killings lately in Awka.

Last Monday, Henry Mbachu, representing Awka South I in the Anambra House of Assembly, said that from Easter Sunday till date, 34 persons had been gunned down in Awka and its environs alone due to activities of cultists.

Mr Mbachu, a Labour Party lawmaker, said the situation is worrisome and hinted that he plans to hold a security summit within his constituency on 29 May.

One dead as security operatives raid Enugu community

It was another sad day on Saturday in the Igga Community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu state where a combined security team comprising personnel of the Nigerian army and Nigeria Police Force allegedly invaded, and razed houses and other properties.

Residents told PREMIUM TIMES that the combined security operatives invaded the community at about 10 p.m. and only left around 1 a.m. on Sunday.

One resident, identified as Richard Okoye, who was about 70 years old, died during the invasion.

It was not immediately clear why the combined security operatives carried out the operation in the area.

Both police and army spokespersons had initially refused to speak on the incident when contacted by PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday evening.

However, the police in Enugu State would later suggest that the operation was carried out as part of the efforts to track down suspects who allegedly attacked and killed two police operatives and three members of a Neighborhood Watch Group in the community on Friday.

Daniel Ndukwe, the police spokesperson in the state, in a statement on Sunday night, claimed the slain operatives were among a joint security team providing security for a group of visiting investors from Lagos State on a tour of a proposed agricultural investment site in the area when they were ambushed and killed.

Mr Ndukwe, a deputy superintendent of police, quoted the Commissioner of Police in the state, Kanayo Uzuegbu, as asking those accusing the joint security team of burning houses in the community and looting shops to “desist forthwith.”

However, the police commissioner did not deny or confirm the allegations against the security operatives.

Meanwhile, a leader in the community, Festus Okonkwo, told PREMIUM TIMES that some gunmen, suspected to be members of the Eastern Security Network, the militant wing of the IPOB, attacked the security operatives.

On the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Circular Relating to the Collection and Remittance of the National Cybersecurity Levy†

By Professor ‘Gbenga Bamodu, FCIArb

Background

On the 6th of May 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria (‘CBN’) issued a circular (PSM/DIR/PUB/LAB/017/004) addressed to ‘all commercial, merchant, non-interest and payment service banks; other financial institutions, mobile money operators and payment service providers.’ The circular self-describes as an ‘implementation guidance on the collection and remittance of the National Cybersecurity Levy’.

As a matter of background information, the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act 2015 had by its section 44(1) established a Fund to be known as the National Cyber Security Fund. Section 44(2)(a), which has now been amended as to be explained shortly, indicates that the Fund is to be domiciled at the CBN and had provided that there shall be paid and credited into the Fund a ‘levy of 0.005 of all electronic transactions by the businesses specified in the second Schedule’ to the Act. Further provisions in section 44(2)(b)-(e) list other sources of monies and accruals to the Fund while section 44(3) exempts monies accruing to the Fund from income tax, and also makes contributions into it tax deductible.

The second Schedule to the Act provides that businesses which section 44(2)(a) refers to are:

  • GSM Service providers and all telecommunications companies;
  • Internet Service Providers;
  • Banks and other Financial Institutions;
  • Insurance Companies;
  • Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Section 44(2)(a) has now been amended by section 11(a) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) (Amendment) Act 2024 to clarify the amount of levy to be collected and remitted as ‘a levy of 0.5% (0.005) equivalent to a half percent of all electronic transactions value by the business specified in the Second Schedule’ to the Act. Rather curiously, the amended version uses the word ‘business’ as opposed to the almost certainly more accurate and intended ‘businesses’ in the original provision. In any event, the new section 44(2)(a) at least seemingly now clarifies prior apparent ambiguity in relation to the amount of the levy.

Other provisions in section 44 of the Act indicate, if not indeed make evident, that the intention under the section is that the levy is due from and payable by the businesses specified in the second Schedule to the Act. For example, section 44(4) provides that the levy ‘shall be remitted directly by the affected businesses or organizations into the Fund domiciled in the Central Bank within a period of 30 days’. The new section 44(8), introduced by the 2024 amendment legislation, now provides that a business specified in the second Schedule to the Act which fails to remit the levy commits an offence and is liable to a fine, and that failure to comply shall lead to closure or withdrawal of the business operational licence.

Controversy: Are Nigerians Generally and Non-Specified Businesses Obliged to Pay the Cybersecurity Levy?

Following the publication of the CBN’s circular of 6th May 2024, reactions in both traditional news media and on social media evinced some concern, if not indeed dismay, based on the supposition that the circular directs the institutions to which it is addressed to make deductions for the levy from bank accounts of members of the public involved in electronic payment transactions. To take just one example for the sake of brevity, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) is widely reported to have given the Federal Government a 48-hour ultimatum to reverse the levy imposed ‘on Nigerians’. The organisation is quoted to have said: “The Tinubu administration must immediately withdraw the grossly unlawful CBN directive to implement section 44 of the Cybercrime Act 2024, which imposes a 0.5% ‘cybersecurity levy’ on Nigerians.” [Punch Newspaper Online, 07 May 2024, https://punchng.com/serap-gives-fg-48-hrs-ultimatum-to-reverse-cbns-0-5-cybersecurity-levy/]

While ordinarily, the Act itself seems clear that the levy is directed at the businesses specified in the Act, which may in fact pass on the costs to their clients and customers, the CBN’s circular does seem to contain some ambiguity and is perhaps in a sense capable of being interpreted in a manner that suggests that deductions may be made from accounts of members of the public. Quite significant, and a possible root of the potential ambiguity, is that the guidance given by the CBN in the circular on the implementation of the levy provided for in section 44 of the Act is susceptible to interpretation which makes it contradictory to the provisions of section 44.

The CBN circular states, inter alia, that:

  1. The levy shall be applied at the point of electronic transfer origination, then deducted and remitted by the financial institution.
  2. The deducted amount shall be reflected in the customer’s account with the narration: “Cybersecurity Levy”.
  3. Deductions shall commence within two (2) weeks from the date of [the] circular … and the monthly remittance of the levies collected in bulk to the [Fund] … by the 5th business day of every subsequent month.

This implementation guidance or procedure suggested in the CBN’s circular is apparently at variance with the provisions of section 44 of the Act which impose the obligation to remit the levy on the businesses specified in the second Schedule to the Act. Section 44 does not seem, either, to make provisions for the collection of the levy by or through any other institutions; penalties are even outlined to be imposed on a business specified in the second Schedule of the Act which fails to make due remittance.

That the implementation guidance states that the levy shall be applied at the point of electronic transfer, then deducted and remitted by the financial institution and reflected in ‘the customer’s account’ raises curious eyebrows and questions of interpretation. In the first place, who and who fall within the category of ‘customer’ in whose account deductions are to be reflected with the narration ‘Cybersecurity Levy’? Further, although section 44 of the Act provides that the levy shall be on transactions by the businesses specified in the second Schedule to the Act, the transactions must surely of necessity be with another person or entity and may indeed be with another person or entity not falling within the businesses specified. Thus, the danger is that, for example, a transaction between a private individual and a business specified in the second Schedule to the Act will attract imposition of the levy. If that is the case, then there is at least the risk that the CBN’s implementation guidance may be read to mean that the private individual is to be debited with the amount of the levy to be remitted and that individual becomes the ‘customer’ in whose account the levy is reflected as ‘Cybersecurity Levy’! The result is that the provision of section 44 of the Act that the levy is to be imposed on transactions by the businesses specified essentially becomes that the levy is to be imposed on transactions with or through or involving the businesses specified.

Imperative for Clarification by the CBN

Considering that the provisions of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act 2015 (as amended) appear to be sufficiently clear that the intention under section 44 of the Act is that the levy is due from and payable by the businesses specified in the second Schedule to the Act, it is imperative and of utmost urgency that the CBN provides clarification about its implementation guidance and, specifically, whether deductions can be made from the accounts of individuals and entities not falling within the businesses specified in the second Schedule to the Act but who are involved in transactions with such businesses.

Finally, there is another dimension in which the standpoint of or clarification by the CBN is desirable. There is an extant argument that the Federal Government is not entitled to withhold from the Federation Account funds that it collects, including levies collected from companies. The argument is predicated on the further consideration that it was decided in relation to the Police Trust Fund in an unreported first instance case, Rivers State v Attorney General of the Federation & ors FHC/ABJ/CS/511/2020, that all revenues collected by the Federation of Nigeria, except for some personal income taxes, are required to be paid into the Federation Account for distribution between federal, state and local governments. It is also desirable to have the perspective of the CBN on this line of argument in order at least to demonstrate and reassure the public that the actions of the Federal Government and the CBN are in conformity with extant laws, whether statutory or case law.

† This article also appears on the Lex Nigeriana Blog, www.lexnigeriana.org.

Professor ‘Gbenga Bamodu, FCIArb, Partner, Phillipsons Legal Practitioners & Arbitrators, www.phillipsonslaw.com, [email protected]

The Death of Ovularia @81: Jide Kosoko, ‘Oga Bello’, others mourn

Old-time Nollywood actors, Jide Kosoko, Adebayo Salami and many others in the industry have paid glowing tributes to Elizabeth Evoeme, popularly known as Ovularia in the 1980s TV sitcom, ‘The New Masquerade’, passed away at the age of 81.

Kosoko said the late Ovularia was a disciplined woman who had contributed immensely to the growth of the entertainment industry.

Lizzy, as she was affectionately known by friends and family, was part of the original cast of the show that ran from the 1970s to the mid-1990s.

Lizzy, born on December 1, 1942, died on Sunday in Port Harcourt surrounded by her loved ones, a family member told Vanguard.

Mourning her passage, Kosoko said: “We have lost another gem though at a ripe age, I pray the almighty God grant her soul a peaceful rest.

“We worked together on The New Masquerade, I was a guest artiste at that time, she was just fantastic. May her soul rest in peace and may God continue to keep us that are still alive.

“Her virtue of discipline that has to do with keeping to call time, submitting to the directors’ wish at all time and other professional ethics she stood for, should be emulated by all other actors.”

Also, Adebayo Salami, popularly known as “Oga Bello”, described death of the actress as shocking.

He said, “We are all getting older but no one wants to die, we are going to miss her but her legacies still remain with us. We love her but God loves her most.”

Fred Amata, also expressed shock over the death of the actress.

Her death was announced by family on Tuesday.

A statement from the Evoeme Emekalam family on her passing read: “Friends, fans, colleagues, the family of the legendary actress, Elizabeth Lizzy ‘Ovularia’ Evoeme would like to inform the public, everyone who loved her and work in ‘The New Masquerade,’ of her death. Elizabeth ‘Ovularia’ Evoeme will be deeply missed and loved by her family as well as you, her fans.

“We thank you all for your support and for respecting our privacy at this time. God bless you all and may our precious Elizabeth “Ovularia” Evoeme rest in perfect peace now and always.”

Her daughter, Justina Ngozi Evoeme, who lives in London, confirmed news reports of Ovularia’s death, which she described as painful and shocking.

On November 5, 2019, Evoeme’s rumored death was reportedly announced on Twitter by one Churchill Ebhodaghe without any detail as to what caused her rumored expiration.

Ovularia denied the rumor and reportedly said on November 8, 2019 that those behind the rumor deserved to be punished.

The New Masquerade was a long-running Nigerian sitcom that kept audiences laughing from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. The show actually started as a radio program called ‘The Masquerade’ on the East Central State Broadcasting Corporation.

It was subsequently adapted for television and renamed ‘The New Masquerade’. The show was created and written by James Iroha, who also starred in it as Gringory Akabogu.

Popular actors such as Chika Okpala (known for his role as Chief Zebrudaya Okoroigwe Nwaogbe), Claude Eke — Jegede Sokoya and thrilled in the sitcom in those days.

The New Masquerade was a cultural touchstone, offering humor and social commentary. It addressed real life issues faced by Nigerians at the time of its performance, making it more than just entertainment. It ran for many years and remains one of Nigeria’s longest running sitcoms.

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