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Three defendants were arrested on Monday for their initial court appearances in connection with an indictment charging them for their roles in a conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a conspiracy to kidnap persons and use weapons of mass destruction in a foreign country.

Claude N. Chi, 40, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri; Francis Chenyi, 49, of St. Paul, Minnesota; and Lah Nestor Langmi, 46, of Buffalo, New York, all of whom are U.S. citizens of Cameroonian origin, were charged in a four-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Missouri, on Nov. 18, 2022.

The indictment was unsealed and made public yesterday following their arrests and initial court appearances. The federal indictment alleges that Chi, Chenyi, and Langmi have supported and raised funds for separatist fighters in Cameroon since January 1, 2018.

As alleged, they each held senior-level positions within an organization that supported and directed the militant separatist group known as the Ambazonian Restoration Forces and other separatist fighters in Cameroon’s Northwest Region.

Chi, Chenyi, and Langmi allegedly solicited and raised funds for equipment, supplies, weapons and explosive materials to be used in attacks against Cameroonian government personnel, security forces, and property, along with other civilians believed to be enabling the government.

These funds were raised through online chat applications and payment platforms from individuals located in the United States and abroad.

The funds were later transferred from various financial and cryptocurrency accounts controlled by the accused through intermediaries to the separatist fighters to support attacks in Cameroon.

It was learned that over $350,000 was raised by the accused through voluntary donations The indictment specifically alleged that Chi, Chenyi, and Langmi conspired with others to kidnap civilians in Cameroon and hold them for ransom.
And in some instances, U.S. citizens were extorted for ransom payments to secure the release of their kidnapped relatives living in Cameroon.

According to the indictment, the ransom payments were transferred to the separatist fighters to fund their operations.
The accused were also said to have authored a document that included a list of expenditures related to improvised explosive devices (IEDs), firearms, and ammunition while other expenditures included funds associated with the kidnapping of Cardinal Christian Tumi and of a traditional Cameroonian leader named Sehm Mbinglo II on Nov. 5, 2020.

Chi, Chenyi, and Langmi were charged with one count of conspiracy to provide material support or resources intended to be used to carry out a conspiracy to kill, kidnap and maim persons in a foreign country and one count of providing material support or resources intended to be used to carry out a conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction outside the United States.

They are additionally charged with one count of receiving money from a ransom demand and one count of participating in a money laundering conspiracy. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of up to 15 years in prison for the material support charges, up to three years in prison for receiving money from a ransom demand charge, and up to 20 years in prison for the money laundering conspiracy charge.

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi has congratulated Senator Ademola Adeleke as he became the Osun State Governor, wishing him a fruitful and productive tenure. 

On his Twitter page on Monday, Obi not only congratulated Adeleke but also praised the tenacious character of the recently elected governor.

The former governor of Anambra claimed that Adeleke’s election constituted a successful expression of democracy and should be welcomed as a triumph of the actual will of the people.

“I congratulate the Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, and the good people of Osun State, on his inauguration and formal commencement of the elected mandate of his people.

“Beyond our partisanship in politics, every successful manifestation of the democratic process, above all impediments, is a triumph of the true will of the majority, and a source of shared joy to all who desire the best, for our dear country.

“I salute the doggedness and resilience of Governor Adeleke, and wish him a fruitful and productive tenure, in the service of his people,” Obi tweeted. 

The All Progressives Congress Campaign Council claimed on Tuesday that it never sent a letter of apology to Donald Duke, a former governor of Cross River State, regarding the use of his image in a documentary about Bola Tinubu, the party’s presidential candidate.

The documentary “Bola Tinubu And His Political Journey,” which uses a picture of the former governor of Cross River to show Tinubu when he was young, has subsequently sparked a lot of discussion on social media.

Prior to this, a statement purportedly from Bayo Onanuga, a spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), had appeared on some media outlets. The statement claimed that the campaign had apologized to Duke.

Onanuga, however, disregarded the aforementioned reports in a statement on Monday, pointing out that the campaign did not apologize to Mr. Duke.

No member of the Tinubu campaign media directorate, according to Onanuga, gave the former governor of Lagos State permission to issue the aforementioned apology.

He said : “Our attention has been drawn to a press statement currently in circulation credited to the Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Bayo Onanuga.

“In the said statement, Mr. Onanuga was reported to have apologised to Mr. Donald Duke for an error in the use of his picture in a documentary on Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“We want to categorically state that the Directorate of Media and Publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign Council did not authorise the said statement and Mr. Onanuga didn’t issue any statement on behalf of the campaign council and our principal, Asiwaju Tinubu today.

Debo Adebayo, also known as Mr. Macaroni, is a well-known Nigerian comedian and social activist. He has urged Aisha Buhari, the first lady, to file a lawsuit if she has any complaints about Aminu Adamu’s criticism.

She was also counseled by Mr. Macaroni to utilize her influence for the good of the people rather than to subjugate them.

He made the statement on Tuesday via his verified Twitter handle.

Recall that Adamu was arrested as a result of a tweet, drawing condemnation for Aisha Buhari and the Department of State Services (DSS).

Adamu, a student at the Federal University in Dutse, Jigawa State, is currently in detention for making a weight-related remark about Aisha.

However, Mr. Macaroni has publicly stated that the First Lady is not greater than the populace in response to Adamu’s wrongful incarceration due to his remark.

He wrote,: “Madam First Lady, you are not God!!! If you have any grievance whatsoever, go to court!!!
You are not bigger than the Citizens of Nigeria, neither are you bigger than the Law!!
You should use your power to serve the people, not oppress them!!
Free Aminu!!!

“President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife suffered so many insults. Even from people who are in this present government.
“APC trolls curse and insult some of us here every day. We dey chest am. The ones we can’t chest, we go to court!
“Madam First Lady, stop abusing power!!!

“I can speak so much about issues like this because I have been a victim of oppression and brutality and I know how horrible the experience is!!! If you are being held by security agents with backing from political figures, they will do the unthinkable!! Dem go lick you finish!!”

The federal government has identified those it claims are in charge of funding terrorism in the nation.

The FG named some of those participating in the 2022 National Inherent Risk Assessment of Terrorism Financing in Nigeria study to include:

1. Foreign Non-Governmental Organisations,
2. Banks,Financial technology firms,Point of Sale terminal operators

The affected NGOs, which include those working in terror-prone areas and involved in humanitarian work, service delivery, and faith-based activities, were identified in the assessment that evaluated the extent of terrorism financing risks to which the country was exposed.

Further, the investigation demonstrated that there are ongoing interactions between designated non-financial businesses and professions, financial institutions, bureaus of change, fintech companies, and terrorist actors who use cash.

The assessment read in part:

“The findings of this report indicate that TF in Nigeria is generally associated with the use of cash. This notwithstanding, field information flowing from law enforcement investigation as well as financial data have revealed constant interactions between the use of cash by terrorist actors and financial institutions, Bureau de Change, fintech firms and Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions.

‘’The use of bank accounts in the movement of TF funds has featured prominently in both intelligence and investigations related to TF.

“Financial data have also shown that the illegal currency exchangers comingle transactions in their personal accounts as well as entity accounts held and controlled by them with that of their BDC activities.’’

The state House of Assembly has rejected the governor of Osun State Ademola Adeleke’s proposal to rename the state from “State of Osun” to “Osun State.”

The state’s anthem, crest, and flag were enacted by a law that was approved on December 18, 2012, therefore no one may compel someone to modify them, according to lawmakers in the House.

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Governor also changed the state motto from “The State of the Virtues” to “The State of the Living Spring.”

Adeleke overturned all appointments beginning on July 7, 2022, after warning the previous governor of the state, Gboyega Oyetola, not to make any appointments in the state.

The House of Assembly through the Chairman of House Committee on Media and Publicity, Moshood Kunle Akande, wrote in a statement, 

“The State of Osun House of Assembly having reviewed the inaugural speech of the Governor and the activities of the inauguration hereby resolves as follows;

“The usage of the State Anthem, Crest and Flag is an enactment of the law and as such, its usage is a matter of law and not choice.

“The enactment “State of Osun Anthem, Crest and Flag Law, 2012” assented to on December 18, 2012, contained in Schedule 1, II, III, IV and V, which carefully details every component of this law is not in ambiguity.

“Schedule I is the State Anthem, Schedule II has to do with the State Crest, and Schedule III is the symbolic significance of the elements in the Flag.

“Lastly, while we are aware of a court judgment in effect.”

The state shall continue to be referred to as the “State of Osun” and “Ipinle Omulabi,” the legislators stated (State of the Virtuous).

Oil marketers, on Friday, said the frequent appearance of queues of desperate motorists at filling stations in search of Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol, could affect the Christmas and New Year festivities.

It was also gathered that oil marketers were now free to sell petrol at any rate as the Federal Government was no more restraining them from dispensing the commodity at a regulated price.

According to reports, fuel queues have continued to appear and disappear since January this year despite the hike in the cost of the commodity by oil marketers without any approval from the Federal Government or sanctions imposed on them.
Rather than speak on the matter, the Federal Government, through its Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, chose to remain mute.

Officials of the agency neither answered calls nor replied to text messages sent to their mobile phones from The Punch on issues of the scarcity of petrol nationwide.

Similarly, the sole importer of PMS into the country, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, has refused to make any comment on the development.

The NMDPRA, in its report on product sufficiency on Thursday, however, claimed that there was 33.17-day sufficiency of PMS in the country as of November 24, 2022.

It also said about 2.1 billion litres of petrol was in stock despite the widespread queues nationwide.

But oil marketers countered the government as they argued that there had been concerns around logistics and the supply of products by the national oil company and sole importer.

They also said some new charges had been introduced in the downstream oil sector, which had given rise to a hike in the ex-depot price of petrol, adding that all these concerns could further make the current fuel queues to linger beyond December.

“Recently, there have been a lot of charges that marketers pay. There are some charges that the NNPC adds to the pump price, but recently we were told to be prepared to bear freight charges and others,” a major marketer, who pleaded not to be named due to lack of authorization, stated.

The official added, “Also, pipeline charges that used to be 50 kobo before, are now N1 per litre. Now, these charges force depot owners to increase their ex-depot rates as against the one proposed by the NNPC.

“These and more concerns have led to the crisis in the downstream sector and it may stretch till December or even beyond if nothing tangible is done to address the challenges.”

Asked if the government was no more concerned about the pump price of petrol, the marketer replied, “Nobody cares about how much you sell now. That is why you cannot see the NNPC ex-depot prices to be the same in all the depots.

“There are some changes in rates now, which the NNPC cannot accommodate and they have to push it to marketers to absorb. This is why you see people sell at different rates.”

The National Public Relations Officer of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chief Ukadike Chinedu, said the scarcity of foreign exchange was also a setback to petroleum products supply.

He said, “There was a time you interviewed me some months ago, and I told you that fuel would sell for N200 per litre. You were really not comfortable with that statement.

“After that publication, many stakeholders called you to react to it. Some of them also called me to say why did I say fuel would be sold at that price? But I was only discussing based on the indices of the industry at that time.

“As a PRO of IPMAN in Nigeria, I can read the policies of the government towards the distribution of products in the downstream oil sector. You look at the exchange rate of the dollar to the naira, some foreign interruptions, and the price of diesel.

“All these are factors that definitely affect petroleum products’ prices since we are not producing refined products in Nigeria. We cannot sustain the importation of petrol.

“Otherwise, we will continue to see ghost queues every month and this may continue till the end of this year. The major solution now is to speed up the repairs of our refineries.

However, we are meeting and looking for quick interventions.”
On his part, the Deputy National President, of IPMAN, Zarma Mustapha, said the queues would likely continue till December, but noted that efforts were on to address the hitches.

He said, “The on and off queues are due to issues of logistics in terms of supply of the commodity to the retail outlets from either the mother vessel to the private depot owners and from there to independent and major marketers’ stations.

“There are a series of logistics issues as regards the supply chain. But the government and stakeholders are engaging in order to get a solution to these issues. However, we believe that this will be addressed, though it may drag beyond December.”

Men of Ogun state Police Command on Friday, November 25, 2022, arrested a 36-year-old gay, Sikiru Ajibola for raping a 5-year-old boy to death in the Ogijo area of Ogun State. 

The suspect was arrested following a report lodged at Ogijo Divisional Headquarters by the CDA Chairman of Olorunwa Arogbeja Ogijo, who reported that one of the community members informed him that the suspect had unlawful carnal knowledge of a 5-year-old boy, consequence upon which the innocent boy died in the process. 

Upon the report, the DPO Ogijo Division, CSP Enatufe Omoh, quickly detailed his detectives to the scene where the suspect was promptly arrested. 

On interrogation, the arrested suspect confessed been a homosexual and that, while he was having sex with the deceased boy, the boy gave up the ghost. 

He confessed further that he quickly dug a shallow grave in a nearby bush, where he hurriedly buried the boy.

He has also taken policemen to where the deceased was buried. 

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP Lanre Bankole has ordered the immediate transfer of the case to the Homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation and diligent prosecution.

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the weekend disrupted the activities of a major cocaine syndicate in Lagos following the arrest of a 56-year-old trafficker, Lawal Lateef Oyenuga who was on a mission to deliver 400grams of the class A drug concealed in a pair of palm sandals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and the swift follow up the arrest of a wanted notorious drug kingpin, Wasiu Sanni Gbolahan popularly known as Teacher, who recruits moles for the cartel.

NDLEA operatives attached to the screening point of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos had on Thursday 24th November intercepted Lawal Lateef Oyenuga with a pair of black palm sandals packed in the luggage he was going with to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airways flight.

A thorough examination of the sandals revealed they were used to conceal two parcels of cocaine weighing 400 grams.

This is barely a week after a 56-year-old widow and mother of four, Mrs. Ajisegiri Kehinde Sidika was arrested at the airport over her attempt to traffic 400 grams of cocaine concealed in her footwear to Makkah, Saudi Arabia on board a Qatar Airways flight.

Ebonyi state governement lodge AbujaIn his statement, Oyenuga claimed he was recruited to traffic the drug by Wasiu Sanni Gbolahan popularly known as Teacher, adding that he was first given some pellets of cocaine to swallow but when he couldn’t do that, then he was given the ones concealed in the palm sandals.

He said he resorted to the criminal trade to raise money to pay an examination fee for his daughter who is in Senior Secondary School class 3.

The Agency’s database revealed that Wasiu Sanni Gbolahan (Teacher) is a major drug kingpin and had been linked to some previous attempts to traffic cocaine to Saudi Arabia and Dubai, UAE.

He was earlier named as the one who recruited a BRT driver, Bolajoko Muyiwa Babalola for Lagos socialite and owner of Adekaz Hotels, Alhaji Ademola Afolabi Kazeem (a.k.a Alhaji Abdallah Kazeem Muhammed) to traffic drugs to Dubai. Bolajoko was arrested on 27th June while taking 900 grams of cocaine to Dubai while Ademola Kazeem was nabbed on Thursday 10th November, barely 10 days after he was declared wanted by NDLEA.

A follow-up operation in the early hours of Friday 25th November led to the arrest of the kingpin, Teacher, who specializes in recruiting mules for drug barons in Lagos and its environs at his residence located in the Ikorodu area of Lagos.

The 64-year-old Wasiu Sanni Gbolahan is a housing and property agent, with seven children and four wives, one of whom is now late.

A section of the famous primary market in Onitsha, Anambra State is on fire.

The cause of the fire, which reportedly started around midnight is yet to be ascertained.

A trader in the market, Obenta Jude said two blocks of shops within the section of the market known as Kano Street have so far been razed by the inferno.

He said efforts by firefighters who arrived at the scene shortly to put out the fire had not been successful as the fire continued raging.

Confirming the incident, Fire Chief, Engr Martin Agbili said his men were promptly deployed to the area immediately after he was alerted.

He said: “At about 0220hrs (2.20 am) of Monday 28-11-2022, Anambra State Fire Service, received a distress call of a fire outbreak at Kano Street behind Main Market, Onitsha.

“However, we deployed our fire truck and firefighters to the scene of the fire and they have been working there. They have gone for the refilling of the fire truck twice.”