News & Announcements

The Department of State Services, DSS, has said that it’s investigating what appears as a mob attack at the Garki Market in the Federal Capital Territory on Thursday.

The Service said in a statement by its Spokesman Dr. Peter Afunanya on Thursday said that the probe became necessary to determine whether its operatives or the mob at the market were at fault over the incident.

Afunanya said: “The attention of the Department of State Services has been drawn to an incident that occurred a few hours ago (today, 7/9/2023) between its staff and a mob at the Garki Market, Abuja.

“Information at the disposal of the Service was that its FCT Command responded to an SOS from their field operatives who allegedly came under a mob attack in the said market.

“Consequently, the Service has commenced an investigation into the matter.

“The public is assured that details of the inquiries will be communicated as soon as possible.

“The Service assures that it will not hesitate to mete out proper disciplinary measure(s) to its staff if found culpable or running foul of Standard Operating Procedures on dealing with a member of the public,” Afunanya said.

Kenyan authorities discovered 26 Ethiopian women locked up by traffickers in a half-completed house in the central town of Murang’a.

The raid occurred on Monday night at a small house where the women had been held for approximately a week with only a single mattress on the floor.

They were said to have been taken in at the Moyale border crossing on their way to South Africa.

According to the police, the women were held and their passports and cell phones were confiscated.

The owner and security of the house have also been arrested while the hunt for the traffickers continues.

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, have rejected Wednesday’s judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal affirming the election of President Bola Tinubu.

The Legal Adviser to the Labour Party, Kehinde Edun, vowed to challenge the judgment at the Supreme Court.

Also, Atiku’s Lead Counsel, Chris Uche, SAN, said he had received instructions from his client to file an appeal at the Supreme Court.

He said “The judgment has been delivered, but we have not received justice. Luckily, the law has given us leverage to go on appeal to the Supreme Court. We have instructions from our clients to go to the Supreme Court. The struggle continues.”

The PEPT, which began sitting at 9.40am at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, ruled that the petition filed by Atiku and Obi and their parties had no merit and unanimously upheld Tinubu’s electoral victory in the February 25 presidential election.

The five-member panel took turns to dismiss the petitions presented by Atiku and Obi against the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission on March 1, 2023.

The judgment was delivered by the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Haruna Tsammani, assisted by other members of the panel-Justices Stephen Adah, Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf, Moses Ugo and Abba Mohammed.

Delivering the death knell to Atiku’s petition on Wednesday night, Tsammani stated, “This petition accordingly lacks merit. I affirm the return of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the duly elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The parties are to bear their cost.”⁣

The National Legal Adviser of the LP, Edun, expressed disappointment with the judgment, stressing that the tribunal was unfair to reject 10 of their 13 witnesses, adding that the decision weakened their case.

Edun said, “We already had a premonition that this might happen. For example, where the court was saying the statements of some key witnesses should have been filed along with the petitions. How can that be? Subpoena is an order of court by which the court has compelled a witness to come and give evidence before or as of the time you are filing the petition.

‘’This is because I have not assumed jurisdiction, the tribunal has also not assumed jurisdiction. We are just filing. It is only after filing that the court assumes jurisdiction, not before. So how can you file a witness statement at the time of filing the petition? It is when the court signs the subpoena.”

He explained, ‘’That subpoena is an invitation to the person indicating that the court has given him an order to come and give evidence. So, if the court has not ordered the person, how can he give any statement?

‘’This is why I said the judgment is so strange. And it is on the basis that they knocked out the evidence of 10 of our 13 witnesses, which inevitably weakened our case. It is a strange judgment.”

On the next point of action for the party, the legal adviser disclosed that the apex court will be the final arbiter.

“There are some filings that are unacceptable to us. So we need to see what the apex court has to say to this. We have to address this, not only for today, but for the sake of our jurisprudence. We want to see what the judges at the Supreme Court will say about all these. It is so important to do this for the sake of tomorrow.”

Delivering judgment earlier on Obi and LP’s petition marked CA/PEPC/03/2023, Tsammani said the petitioners failed to prove the allegations in their petition as required by the law and went ahead to knock off the planks of the case one after the other.

The tribunal held that although the petitioners alleged that the election was marred by irregularities, they, however, failed to give specific details of where the alleged infractions took place.

The court noted that whereas Obi and the LP insisted that the election was rigged in 18, 088 polling units across the federation, they were unable to state the locations of the said polling units.

In the verdict that was read for five hours, the tribunal further held that Obi’s allegation that fictitious results were recorded for the Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress by the Independent National Electoral Commission was not proved.

The Presidential Election Petitions Court on Wednesday ruled that the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, failed to prove that President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was convicted for money laundering in the United States.

Tinubu had allegedly forfeited $460,000 in the US over three decades ago and the petitioners alleged that he was involved in drug trafficking and money laundering.

However, the Tribunal ruled that no criminal charge was filed against Tinubu in the US and that the APC candidate did not go through a criminal trial in America.

The Tribunal said the petitioners failed to prove that the allegation at the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division where the forfeiture occurred was a criminal case.

Justice Tsammani said the ex-governor of Lagos State was not convicted of any crime or any criminal activity and no sentence of imprisonment or fine was imposed on him.

He said according to Section 137 of the constitution, Tinubu is not disqualified from contesting the presidential poll.

The Tribunal also ruled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was at liberty to decide the mode of transmission of election results during the presidential election on February 25, 2023.

The panel said according to Sections 52 and 65 of the Electoral Act 2022, INEC was at liberty to prescribe the manner in which election results were transmitted during the poll.

The Tribunal consequently dismissed the petition of the LP and Obi, which argued that the victory of Tinubu be annulled on the basis on the “failure” of the commission’s Results Viewing Portal (IReV) to upload election results electronically in real time.

The Tribunal also dismissed Obi and LP’s petitions on 25 per cent votes of Tinubu in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), saying that Abuja is like other states.

Modupe Atanda, a fellow student at Federal University Oye Ekiti who was a nursing department student till her death, was murdered, and the students there have sought justice.

Under the direction of the Students’ Union Government, the students urged the security services to investigate the incident and apprehend those responsible.

The student, who had previously been reported missing, had been discovered dead and buried in a shallow grave adjacent to the university’s Nursing Lecture Theatre, according to information released by the state’s police on Thursday.

“The cause of death and manner in which she died is a thing of great pain to the entire student population in FUOYE,” said FUOYE SUG President Emmanuel Ajayi and Public Relations Officer Elizabeth Akuraku after mourning the deceased student.

The student leaders, in a statement on their social media handle, described their late colleague as “a precious and bright student”.

They said, “We demand justice. While we mourn her sudden loss and pay our last respects to the dead, we hereby charge security operatives in Ekiti State to investigate and bring the perpetrators of this grave crime to book”.

The students said that they visited the morgue and “no part of her body was mutilated contrary to claims and rumour flying around, just as police had made some arrests. We will not rest until the perpetrators are brought to justice.”

The student leaders, in a statement on their social media handle, described their late colleague as “a precious and bright student”.

They said, “We demand justice. While we mourn her sudden loss and pay our last respects to the dead, we hereby charge security operatives in Ekiti State to investigate and bring the perpetrators of this grave crime to book”.

The students said that they visited the morgue and “no part of her body was mutilated contrary to claims and rumour flying around, just as police had made some arrests. We will not rest until the perpetrators are brought to justice.”

Earlier, the Police Commissioner in Ekiti State, Dare Ogundare, said that “the Command will do everything possible to unearth the identity of the perpetrator(s) and ensure they are made to face the full wrath of the law”.

Sunday Abutu, the Police Public Relations Officer for the Ekiti Command, issued a statement on Thursday on behalf of Ogundare, urging everyone to remain calm. He urged anyone with information about the ugly incident to contact the State CIID at (906) 4050086 or (906) 4050086.

The statement added, “Ten suspects are currently in custody undergoing investigation.

“The CP has ordered a thorough investigation into the cause of the death of one Atanda Modupe Deborah, a 200 Level Nursing student of FUOYE, who was declared missing within the school premises on September 5, but found dead in a shallow grave at a distance of about 30 meters behind the Nursing Lecture Hall”.

The university’s registrar, Mufutau Ibrahim, acknowledged the death of the student who had been reported missing earlier that day in a communication to FUOYE management.

Ibrahim claimed that word of the student’s death had reached the university’s security team.

He stated, “While the university management condoles with the deceased family and the generality of the university community, particularly our dear students, the management reiterates that investigation is still ongoing in collaboration with national security agencies to get to the root of the sad development and bring to book the culprits.

“We, therefore, appeal to students and all other stakeholders to remain calm.”

Two brothers and a ‘disgraced’ Turkish crypto pioneer who fled to Albania have been given sentences totaling 11,196 years in prison, according to the state news agency Anadolu.

According to the prosecution, Thodex CEO Faruk Fatih Ozer, 29, should serve 40,562 years in jail for fraud, money laundering, and founding a criminal organization.

“If I were to establish a criminal organisation, I would not have acted so amateurishly,” Anadolu quoted Ozer as telling the court.

Following a quick trial, his two brothers, Serap and Guven, each received the same penalty, according to Turkish media reports.

When Ozer left Turkey in April 2021, according to the prosecution, he transferred user assets totaling 250 million liras—roughly $30 million at the time—to three secret accounts. A large portion of the money ultimately ended up in a Malta bank.

The Ozer brothers allegedly damaged clients to the tune of 356 million liras, according to the indictment.

The case made national headlines since it occurred at the same time as Turkey’s cryptocurrency boom, which has now largely receded as a result of stricter government regulation.

As a line of defense against a severe decline in the value of the lira that started more than two years ago, Turks started turning to various cryptocurrencies.

After being photographed meeting with ultranationalist government supporters, Ozer’s notoriety increased.
A global arrest warrant from Interpol led to his capture in Albania last year.

Akinola Adeleye, a friend of the victim who goes by the name of John, is accused of fatally stabbing him over a dispute over who should pay for a plate of food.

Ifako Ijaiye Local Government Area in Lagos State is where the incident took place.

According to reports, the two men got into an argument over who should pay for the lunch plate that Akinola had consumed, and during the ensuing battle, Akinola fatally stabbed John.

A few locals told that the tragic incident took place on Idiagbon Street, close to the local government offices, two weeks ago.

Further information revealed that the victim was squatting at the suspect’s home at the time of the argument over who would pay for a plate of food.

A resident in the area, Ugochukwu, narrating what happened to our correspondent on Wednesday, said, “It happened that Akinola went and ate a plate of food in their usual buka and after eating instead of paying he asked them to add his bill to the account of his friend who wasn’t there with him at that time.

“So, when the victim went to eat at the local restaurant, they informed him that he owed them for the food his friend ate. He was surprised and angry that his friend would ask them to bill him without even telling him about it.

“So, he quickly finished his meal and went home to confront his friend about the debt that was passed down to him. That was how they started quarrelling. As they were fighting over the matter, Akinola, out of anger asked John to pack out of his house immediately but John refused and the fight intensified.

“Before anyone knew what was happening, Akinola left the scene of the fight, rushed back with a knife and stabbed John. We had assumed the fight was over when Akinola left, only for us to see him rush at John with the knife.

“Before we could do anything, John was on the ground and blood was gushing out from his body. Everywhere became scattered in confusion.”

The local also mentioned that John urinated on himself before passing away immediately, which further added to the bewilderment and sadness in the neighborhood.

In the midst of the chaos, Akinola attempted to flee the scene, but was apprehended by some nearby young guys, according to Ugochukwu.

On the day of the incident, a different local resident who only went by the name Dada informed Newsmen that he witnessed the dead man’s body being rolled past his shop and to the intersection of the streets.

The policeman who were contacted indicated they wouldn’t enter the street due to the area’s volatile nature, so the body was wheeled out, he claimed, according to what he learned from the neighbors.

He said, “They called the police to come to the area but the policemen refused saying that the area was too dangerous and that they should bring the dead man and the suspect to the junction.

“They carried the body on a wheelbarrow to the junction. The boys in the area then handed the suspect to the police.

Benjamin Hundeyin, the public relations officer for the Lagos State Police, was contacted and confirmed the event. He also said that the suspect had already been transported to the State Criminal Investigations Department.

Additionally, he informed our correspondent that the case would be brought before the court today—Friday.

The case will be heard in court tomorrow, the police superintendent announced.

On Thursday night, Federal Capital Territory Police Command officers put an end to a violent demonstration that broke out after a fashion designer was allegedly killed by a Department of State Services agent who fired irregularly and injured several people.

One of our correspondents learned that the DSS representative was summoned to the victim’s store by a client who claimed the victim had failed to deliver certain clothing by the scheduled delivery date.

A market vendor, who did not want her name published for fear of retaliation, claimed that some of the fashion designer’s coworkers learned about the incident and tried to intercede, but the DSS agent did not take kindly to their efforts.

She mentioned that when the operative reportedly shot and killed the fashion designer, the police detained and arrested him.

 “A female customer of the fashion designer brought the DSS. She said the fashion designer did not sew her clothes. Her colleagues joined and defended her. The issue led to a serious argument.

“We later heard a gunshot and learnt that the fashion designer had been killed and another injured. The DSS operative was arrested and detained at Wuse Market Police Station. That is where all our people are now,” the trader said.

Responding to the development in a statement on Thursday, the spokesperson for the FCT Police Command, SP Josephine Adeh said, “In an incident at Garki International Market on September 7, 2023, an altercation arose between market occupants and certain individuals, including a DSS personnel and a tailor named Muhammad Habibu. The Garki Divisional Police station mobilised officers in response to a received distress call reporting the invasion of the market by these individuals, who fired shots at a tailor known as Mubarak Mubarak.

“This incident led to some of the local youths reacting angrily and attempting to confront the DSS personnel involved. In response, the police intervened to rescue the individuals and protect public safety. During the incident, there was damage to a section of the Police outpost as some of the irate youths acted in a disorderly manner. It is important to note that some weapons used in the commotion have been recovered, and normalcy has now been restored.

“The Commissioner of Police, FCT, Haruna Garba, emphasises the commitment to maintaining peace and respecting the rights of all citizens within the FCT. He encourages market occupants to also refrain from engaging in mischief involving public property, especially that which belongs to the security agencies in place to safeguard their well-being. Additionally, he urges the public to utilise the police emergency lines 08061581938,07057337653, 08028940883, for assistance when needed.”

However, in a statement on Thursday, the spokesperson for the DSS, Peter Afunanya, said the secret police was investigating the matter.

“The attention of the Department of State Services has been drawn to an incident that occurred a few hours ago between its staff and a mob at the Garki Market, Abuja. Information at the disposal of the Service was that its FCT Command responded to an SOS from their field operatives who allegedly came under a mob attack in the said market.

“Consequently, the Service has commenced an investigation into the matter. The public is assured that details of the inquiries will be communicated as soon as possible. The Service assures that it will not hesitate to mete out a proper disciplinary measure(s) to its staff if found culpable or running foul of the Standard Operating Procedures on dealing with a member of the public.”

Dele Alake, the minister of solid minerals, has announced that Nigerian mining experts will be flown to Western Australia for free training in contemporary mining techniques.

The agreement between the Ministry of Solid Minerals and the Hon. Bill Johnston, Australia’s Minister for Mines and Petroleum, Energy, Corrective Services, and Industrial Relations, contained this information.

Alake added in a statement on his X account, which was once Twitter, that while Nigeria works to reform the industry, miners will profit from training, study abroad visits, and professional exchanges.

The statement read, “The deal involves sending Nigerian mining professionals to Western Australia to study modern mining technology and practices for free. Australia has a wealth of knowledge and skills in developing its modern mining industry.

Alake also said he is personally delighted about this collaboration as it will attract foreign direct investment, forming a solid mineral corporation, and enabling the sector to compete globally.

“It’s an exciting time for Nigerian mining professionals, and we can’t wait to see the impact of this new knowledge and skill transfer on the sector,” he added.

Sagir Koki of the New Nigeria Peoples Party defeated Muntari Ishaq Yakasai of the All Progressives Congress in the Kano Municipal House of Representatives election that was held on February 25, 2023, according to the National/State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, which met in Kano on Thursday.

In its ruling, the three-judge panel presided over by Justice Flora Azinge found that the petitioner had failed to substantiate the claims of excessive voting and a failure to collate results in 25 of the constituency’s polling places during the election.

The tribunal claimed that the petitioner was unable to substantiate his claims of irregularities since he provided insufficient and improbable witnesses.

The tribunal also concluded that the petitioner’s witnesses were “second-hand and hearsay witnesses.”

“In their testimonies on oath, the witnesses testified that they were not in polling units, where the allegations of overvoting occurred. They are not worthy to believe.

”None of the witnesses adduced that evidence derived from their direct experience are not credible to be believed.

“He also presented irrelevant documents to prove the allegations of irregularities, overvoting, and not being in compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022.

“The tribunal will not grant the reliefs sought by the petitioner against the respondents without him presenting the BVAS Machine and the Voter register in all the polling units where the overvoting is alleged to have occurred.

“The petitioner failed to discharge the burden of proof against the respondents.

“We have no duty to stop the return and declaration of Sagir Koki by INEC, as the winner of the Kano Municipal Federal of House of Representatives Election held on 25th February 2023.

“The sum of N100,000 cost is hereby awarded in favour of the Respondents against the Petitioner.

“The petition is hereby dismissed for lack of evidence,” Justice Flora ruled.