The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on Monday, May 6, 2024, re-arraigned an Ilorin based Businessman, Chukudubeem Ezenwa on a five-count charge bordering on cybercrime, retention of proceeds of crime and fraud to the tune of $10,000USD.
Ezenwa, Managing Director of Chukudubem Apple Tech Limited was arraigned alongside Adeleke Damilola before Justice Evelyn Anyadike of the Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin.
The two defendants were first arraigned on September 23, 2021 before Justice Muhammed Sani of the same court. But the trial could not be concluded before the redeployment of the former trial judge to another division. Hence, the case had to be reassigned to another judge prompting the case to start de novo.

Count one of the charge reads: “That you, ADELEKE DAMILOLA, CHUKWUDUBEM EZENWA between August and November 2020 in Ilorin, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, did conspire amongst yourselves to obtain USD 10,000.00 (Ten Thousand Dollars) from a credit card which does not belong to you through the use a cash App software device and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 27 (b) read with 33(2)(b) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention Act) 2015 and punishable under same Section of the Act’’

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Upon their pleas, counsel to the EFCC, Innocent Mbachie sought the leave of the court to open the trial by calling the first prosecution witness PW1, Olamide Sadiq, to substantiate the case against the defendant, which the court obliged.

Sadiq,  a Chief Superintendent of the EFCC while being led in evidence narrated the circumstances that led to the arrest of the defendants.
In his evidence-in-chief, he said: “My Lord, the Commission received a petition from a concerned citizen of Offa in Kwara State. The petitioner specifically complained of the activities of some suspected internet fraudsters operating in three communities around Offa. The Commission swung into action and in the process, Damilola was arrested alongside twenty others.”

He added that further findings led to the arrest of Chukwudubem Ezenwa
The witness stated further that three different brands of phones and a Toyota Camry Car were recovered from Damilola. According to him, checks and analysis of the phones revealed the complicity of the second defendant (Damilola) in the fraudulent activities.

“In the course of interrogation, Damilola confessed to us that the first defendant (Ezenwa) introduced a cash app application to him which he used to make illegal withdrawal of the sum of $8,500 (Eight Thousand, Five Hundred United States Dollars) on his behalf”, he said.

Testifying further, the PW1 told the court that Damilola paid the sum of N3million into a Zenith Bank account belonging to Ezenwa from the proceeds of the unlawful activities, upon which he was rewarded with N600,000.00 (Six Hundred Thousand Naira Only), as his share.

On the strength of the confessional statements of the second defendant, Sadiq said that the Commission swung into action and got Ezenwa arrested. He said that upon interrogation, Ezenwa confessed to the crime. He added that the defendant admitted in his confessional statement that his activities were illegal and promised that he would be willing to return all that he had benefited from the proceeds of crime”
The witness disclosed to the court that, between May to September 2020, more than N350 million was received by the defendant, which he could not justify.

Attempts by the prosecution to tender in evidence the extra-judicial statements and fraudulent documents printed from the defendants’ devices were however objected to by counsel to the first and second defendants,  Ochinachi Odom and Tochi Ekwedike who alleged that their clients were coerced and made to write the statements under duress, intimidation and harassment.
Thereafter, Justice Anyadike adjourned till Tuesday, May 7, 2024, for trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of the statements.

Vice-President Kashim Shettima who was scheduled to represent President Bola Tinubu at a Summit in Dallas, Texas has aborted the trip following a technical fault with his aircraft.
Shettima was to represent the President at the 2024 US-Africa Business Summit organised by the Corporate Council on Africa.

Mr Stanley Nkwocha, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of The Vice-President, disclosed this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
Nkwocha said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar will represent the President at the Summit, as Shettima could not be able to make the trip.

He stressed that the technical fault forced the Vice President to make a detour on the advice of the Presidential Air Fleet.
According to Nkwocha, the Vice President will carry on with other national duties.

He stated that the high-profile summit, taking place at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, would bring together political and business leaders from across Africa, the United States, and other regions.

Nkwocha added that the summit would feature high-level dialogues, networking sessions, and plenary.
He said that the African leaders expected at the summit include, the President, of the Republic of Liberia; Joseph Boakai, President, of the Republic of Malawi; Lazarus Chakwera and the President, of the Republic of Angola, Joao Lourenço.

Nkwocha said other African leaders that would grace the summit are the President, of the Republic of Botswana, Mokgweetsi E. K. Masisi, the President of, the Republic of Cabo Verde, José Maria Neves, and the Deputy Prime Minister, of the Kingdom of Lesotho, Nthomeng Majara.
He said that the US-Africa Business Summit is expected to foster economic cooperation and explore investment opportunities between the United States and African countries.

A 19-year-old kidnapper identified as Mohammed Abdullahi from Gujba local government area in Yobe State is currently in police custody. He is accused of kidnapping his 11-year-old neighbour for a ransom of ₦600,000, administering a lethal substance that resulted in the victim’s death, and subsequently burying him.

The Commissioner of Police in Yobe state, CP Ahmed Garba, paraded the suspect alongside 17 others at the Command’s headquarters in Damaturu, expressing concern over the reemerging criminal activities in the state.

He said, “Mohammed Abdullahi, a 19-year-old suspect from Buniyadi, abducted the son of their neighbour’s 11-year-old and later demanded a ransom of 600,000 naira. When the parents of the victim could not meet his demand, he later bought drugs and administered them to the victim to sleep and the victim later died.

“The suspect later buried the corpse in their house while his parents were away and was later apprehended by the police.”
Another suspect, identified as Sani Musa, aged 22 years, stabbed his victim, known as Sheba Simon, with a knife and snatched her cell phone. He was also trailed, arrested and paraded by the police.
Speaking with journalists, the suspect, Sani Musa, admitted to committing the crime, saying his intention was not to kill her but to collect the cell phone.

Other suspects, also paraded by the police were transformer vandals at the Pompomari community of the state capital and house burglars among other crimes, ranging from rape and armed robbery.
Items recovered include 3 AK47 rifles and live ammunition.

The CP, while expressing worry over the insecurity, urged the Yobe State government to provide empowerment and skills for the teaming youths in the state, to keep them busy instead of roaming the streets, taking drugs and causing mayhem in communities.

A military court in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s war-torn east, on Friday, handed a death sentence to eight soldiers, including five officers, for desertion and cowardice when fighting M23 rebels, AFP reports.

AFP said that prosecutors had sought the death penalty against 11 soldiers on trial in the same case, but the Goma court acquitted three of them, ruling that the charges against those soldiers were “not established”.

The troops were fighting against the mostly Tutsi M23 (March 23 movement) rebels, who took up arms again in late 2021, seizing large swathes of North Kivu province.

“They never fled from the enemy nor abandoned their position — on the contrary,” said Alexis Olenga, a lawyer for one of the five officers facing charges.

Olenga said the soldiers were based at Lushangi-Cafe, a federal army position close to the strategic town of Sake, 20 kilometres (12 miles) down the road from North Kivu’s capital Goma.
These were the first capital punishment sentences since authorities decided on March 13 to lift a suspension on executions that had been enforced since 2003.

The failure of the army and its auxiliaries to halt the advance of the M23 rebels has raised suspicion that the security forces had been infiltrated.

Several military personnel as well as members of parliament, senators and business leaders have been arrested and accused of “complicity with the enemy”.

For the last 20 years, death sentences have been handed down in the DRC, especially in cases involving the military or armed groups, but have systematically been commuted to life in prison.
Human rights groups and the Catholic Church have called on the government to abolish capital punishment for any crime.

A journalist with Abubakar Rimi Television (ARTV), Naziru Ya’u, has been hit by a stray bullet inside the Kano State Government House.

Ya’u, who is a correspondent attached to the Kano Government House, was said to have been rushed to the clinic where he was treated and discharged by medical experts in the facility.
As gathered on Saturday, the reporter was said to have been hit by the bullet inside the government house at about 6.30 pm yesterday.

The incident occurred amidst the observance of World Press Freedom Day set aside by the United Nations, on May 3rd annually.
In an interview, after he was discharged, Ya’u narrated that while inside the government house, he suddenly discovered that his body had been forcefully pierced.
He added that the next discovery after the sudden change in body temperature was blood oozing out from the part where the bullet pieced him.

The victim lamented that hours after the incident, the origin of the stray bullet was still unknown and could not ascertain if the security personnel inside the Kano Government House had commenced an investigation to unravel the perpetrator.
A medical personnel at the clinic was said to have told the victim that the injury could have been severe if the bullet removed was shot at close range.

Following the incident, police personnel stationed at the Government House have initiated a thorough investigation to uncover the circumstances leading to this alarming event.
As of the time of compiling this report, there is no official statement from the Kano Government House regarding the shooting.

However, the silence on the matter has prompted a wave of speculation and unease among the press community, highlighting the perils faced by journalists even in supposed places of safety.
Efforts made to contact the Spokesman to the governor, Sanusi Tofa, for the state government’s reaction to the development proved abortive as calls made to his telephone line did not go through.

British authorities have started detaining migrants as part of preparations to relocate them to Rwanda within the next nine to 11 weeks. The government announced on Wednesday (May. 1st), marking a significant step in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s immigration strategy.

Officers were seen entering homes and bringing out people in handcuffs, who were put in the back of secure vans in an undisclosed location.

According to the government, “operational teams within the Home Office have been working at pace to safely and swiftly detain individuals in scope for relocation to Rwanda, with more activity due to be carried out in the coming weeks”.

Reports from Care4Calais, a refugee charity, confirm that detentions commenced on Monday (Apr. 29), with numerous individuals reaching out to their helpline expressing concerns. Details regarding who will be selected for the initial deportation flight and its timing remain undisclosed.
Photographs shared by the UK’s interior ministry on Wednesday depict individuals being detained by immigration enforcement officials.

“Our dedicated enforcement teams are working diligently to promptly apprehend those without lawful status so that we can expedite the departure of flights,” remarked Interior Minister James Cleverly in a Wednesday statement.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged that the first deportation flights will leave the UK by early July.
He has staked the future of the Conservative Party on that bill. General elections will be held in the nation no later than January 28th next year. 

In April, Parliament endorsed legislation to facilitate the transfer of asylum seekers to Rwanda if they entered Britain without authorization. Sunak aims for the inaugural flights to depart in July.
With over 7,500 migrants having arrived in England via small boats from France this year, the government asserts that this policy will dissuade individuals from undertaking perilous journeys across the Channel. Tragically, five people lost their lives attempting the crossing last week.

Opposition to the policy from human rights organizations and unions is anticipated, with expectations of renewed legal challenges to prevent the flights from proceeding, especially following the UK Supreme Court’s ruling last year declaring the policy unlawful.

Photographs shared by the UK’s interior ministry on Wednesday depict individuals being detained by immigration enforcement officials, underscoring the swift implementation of these measures.
According to The Sun Newspaper, Britain has already initiated its first asylum seeker relocation to Rwanda under a voluntary program, distinct from the deportation policy.

Natasha Tsangarides, Associate Director of Advocacy at Freedom from Torture, highlighted the widespread fear among migrants, suggesting that apprehensions about detention and relocation to Rwanda may drive some individuals to evade authorities and sever ties with support networks.

A 14-year-old boy who lost his life on Tuesday after a man wielding a sword stabbed the youth, two police officers and two other people in a street attack in east London has been identified as Daniel Anjorin.

A 36-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
BBC reports that Anjorin attended Bancroft’s, the same independent day school as Grace O’Malley-Kumar, one of the victims in the Nottingham stabbing incident.

In an official statement, the Metropolitan Police reported that the suspect rammed his van into a property on Laing Close, resulting in a collision that injured a 33-year-old man.

Subsequently, the suspect physically assaulted the victim, causing a wound to the neck.

Additionally, a 35-year-old man sustained lacerations to his arm during an assault within a neighbouring residence. The Metropolitan Police have stated that although both victims’ injuries are severe, they are not deemed life-threatening.

Following these, the suspect proceeded to attack Anjorin.

“It’s with great sadness that one of those injured in this incident… has died from their injuries,” Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell from London’s Metropolitan Police told reporters at the scene.
“He was taken to hospital after being stabbed and sadly died a short while after.”
According to Buckingham Palace, King Charles III expressed his disbelief at the stabbings and commended the bravery of the emergency services.

“His thoughts and prayers are with all those affected — in particular, the family of the young victim who has lost his life,” a spokesman said.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a post on his X account said, “such violence has no place on our streets.”

In an interview with LBC, Sir Mark Rowley, the Met Police Commissioner, said, “The first thing you have to say is for the parents involved, who’ve lost their 14-year-old, and that is just horrific, and it’s everyone’s worst nightmare.
“I’m sure we’re all thinking about them.”
Separately, Holy Family Catholic School, where the teenager’s mother is employed, released a statement.
“It is with great sadness that I share with you the news of the death of the child of one of our staff members.

“Please keep Mrs Anjorin, her husband and their other children in your prayers.”
A resident, who asked AFP not to be named, recounted the experience of hiding behind a window as the suspect was outside her home, yelling, “Do you believe in God?” at the police.
“We were very scared and trying to hide and not show ourselves through the window because he was standing right next to our house and he could have seen us if he looked up,” she added.

In the fight against cross-border banditry, the Niger Armed Forces have apprehended a notorious Nigerian bandit kingpin known as Kachallah Mai Daji near the border town of Illela, Niger.
According to Zagazola Makama, a security analyst and counter-insurgency expert, Kachallah Mai Daji has left a trail of terror and devastation across northeastern Nigeria over the past decade.

“He has killed dozens of people, burnt down villages, kidnapped hundreds and imposed levies on villages for almost ten years,” Zagazola Makama said
The bandit leader was said to be particularly active in the Illela region, terrorising villages such as Tozai, Sabon Garin Darna, Darna Tsolawo, Tudun Gudali, Basanta, Ɗan Kadu, Takalmawa, Gidan Hamma, Ambarura, Gidan Bulutu and many others in the surrounding areas.

Kachallah Mai Daji was captured by Nigerian forces as he attempted to rustle livestock across the Nigeria-Niger border.

“He was apprehended by Nigerien forces when he tried to rustle livestock through the country border,” the report added.

On Sunday, no fewer than 11 persons reportedly died and five were injured when two vehicles drove over suspected bandit’s landmines in Gamboru-Ngala and Dikwa local government areas of Borno State.

Russia has added Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to its list of wanted criminals, a move Kyiv dismissed as a sign of Moscow’s “desperation”.
Zelensky’s name appeared on Saturday on the Russian interior ministry’s “wanted” list, an online database of alleged criminals sought by the Russian authorities.
It said the Ukrainian leader was wanted “under an article of the criminal code” without providing further details.

There was no immediate comment from Russian officials as to why Zelensky had been added to the list.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry said the decision demonstrated “the desperation of the Russian state machine and propaganda, which are at a loss for what else to invent to garner attention”.
Moscow has targeted Zelensky since the start of Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine in February 2022.
The Ukrainian president said last year he was aware of at least “five or six” assassination attempts against him that had been foiled.

The day after sending troops into Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an address to the nation in which he urged the Ukrainian army to overthrow Zelensky.
Russia has placed several foreign politicians and public figures on its wanted list, which has tens of thousands of entries.

The commander of Ukraine’s Land Forces, Oleksandr Pavliuk, and former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko also appeared in the online database on Saturday.

In February, Moscow said it was seeking Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas for what the Kremlin said was the “desecration of historical memory” over the Baltic country’s move to destroy Soviet-era monuments.
Last year the International Criminal Court ordered the arrest of Putin on war crimes charges related to the abduction of Ukrainian children — accusations rejected by Moscow.

SOURCE: AFP

The Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company has reduced the tariff for its Band A customers to N206.80 per kilowatt-hour from the previously approved N225/kWh by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The company’s spokesperson, Olufadeke Omo-Omorodion, announced this change in a notice given to our correspondent on Monday.
According to the notice, this reduced tariff for Band A customers will take effect starting Monday, May 6, 2024.

The DisCo has committed to providing a minimum of 20-hour daily power supply for those connected to Band A feeders, while the tariffs for customers on other bands will remain unchanged.
Previously, Band A customers were charged N225/Kwh, but under the new review, the charge has been lowered to N206.80/Kwh.
This decision to lower the tariff likely stems from widespread public dissatisfaction with the recent increase in electricity rates, which industry observers, Civil Society Organisations, and labour unions have criticized as insensitive.
In a notice to its customers on Monday, Ikeja Electric said “Please be informed of the downward tariff review of our Band A feeders from N225/kwh to N206.80/kwh effective 6th May 2024 with guaranteed availability of 20-24hrs supply daily,”.
The tariffs for Bands B, C, D, and E remain unchanged