Sahara Reporters Latest News Tuesday 25th December 2018
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 25/12/18
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target=_blank>EFCC Asks Court For Forfeiture Of $2.8Million Seized At Enugu Airport
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has asked the Federal High Court in Enugu State to grant an order of interim forfeiture of the $2.8million seized by its officers in Enugu State.
The motion was filed at the Federal High Court holden in Enugu State.
The EFCC claimed that Union Bank, who is claiming ownership of the money, is yet to appear before any of its offices to establish its claim.
According to the anti-graft agency, it also filed an affidavit of urgency for the matter to be heard on December 27, 2018, before a vacation Judge sitting in Port Harcourt.
EFCC had claimed that it intercepted $2.8million cash movement by two persons suspected to be money launderers at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.
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Two Arrested At Enugu Airport For ‘Carrying’ $2.8m Cash For ‘Some Notable Banks’
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A statement by the anti-graft commission noted that “Efforts are being made to secure a warrant for the detention of the suspects pending when they will be charged to court. The warrant is consequent upon the refusal of the Bank or any of the relatives to come for the release of the suspects”.
Since the arrest of the duo — Ighoh Augustine and Ezekwe Emmanuel — on Thursday, December 20, 2018, and subsequent seizure of the money by the commission, the Bankers Warehouse and Union Bank have issued a statement against the anti-graft agency that the two men arrested are criminals.
Bankers Warehouse maintained that it is a registered company authorised by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to carry out cash movement as well as currency processing.
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Bankers Warehouse Demands Apology From EFCC Over Arrest Of Employees Carrying $2.8m Cash
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They are demanding that Augustine and Emmanuel are immediately released, and an apology issued to the company and its employees whose images have been maligned.
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target=_blank>Buhari Speaks On Zamfara Killings, Says ‘This Violence Must Stop’
President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the killing of Nigerians in Birnin Magaji community in Tsafe Local Government Area and Magami community in Faru District of Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State, by suspected armed bandits.
Speaking on the incident, Buhari said: “These horrendous acts of violence are crimes against humanity. This violence must stop.”
A statement by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media and Publicity) on Monday, noted that the president expressed his deepest condolences to the families of those killed in the attacks, the government and people of Zamfara State, and wished those injured a speedy recovery.
The statement continued: “The President, who has authorized an assessment trip to Zamfara and Sokoto States by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Abubakar Baba Sadiq on Christmas and Boxing days, reassured residents of states plagued by armed bandits, including Zamfara, Sokoto, Kaduna, Niger and Taraba, that their safety is an enduring commitment of his administration and he will continue to ensure that security agencies work round the clock to protect local populations.
“To this end, a major operation by the Nigerian Armed Forces, Police, Department of State Services and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, is being considered to restore peace and stability in the region.
“President Buhari conveyed his strong support to the Nigeria Police Force, which has already deployed Special Forces in each of the local government in Zamfara State and the Defence Headquarters’ deployment of a Special Military Intervention Force comprising more than 1,000 personnel to respond to the security challenges in the North Central and North West. These measures, among others, will be intensified to flush out the bandits from wherever they are.
“The President commended Nigerians for their support to our security agencies who have continued to demonstrate dedication, commitment and bravery even in very difficult and complex operations.”
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E2%80%94-mary-chinda-organises-conference-conquering-depression target=_blank>‘It’s Not A White Man’s Disease’ — Mary Chinda Organises Conference On Conquering Depression
Mary Chinda, Nigerian journalist and author, has urged Nigerians dealing with depression to unmask their pain as this would help to bring them out of their depressed state.
Chinda, who has survived depression, made this known at a conference organised to celebrate her birthday.
The conference, titled ‘Dealing with Depression and Suicidal Thoughts’, was held in Lagos last week and was attended by Nollywood actress, Bimbo Akintola and child sexual abuse survivor Anthonia Ojenagbon, among others.
Explaining why she decided to organise the conference instead of throwing a big party to celebrate her birthday, she said she realised many people like to stay in their comfort zone rather than “move and stretch”. Mary, author of ‘The Single Lady: Starting Over’, shared her story on how she was able to come out of depression by unmasking her pain.
“Depression is not a white man’s ailment as we were raised to think,” she said.
“It’s sad to know that at least 800,000 persons die by suicide each year. Depression that is not well-managed leads to suicide. If we as individuals do more to accept that people get depressed, we could curb the increase in suicides. Beyond the peripheral pleasantries we exchange with friend, colleagues and loved ones, we must learn to go beyond to lovingly find out how people are faring.
“This is what the Lord (God) would have me do right now. Someone has to stand up and own this dealing with depression/suicide campaign. More so, the increased suicide cases in Lagos break my heart. The recent Port Harcourt case of the man who killed his four children and committed suicide last week is equally disturbing. Suicide is never an option; it is not the first option, it is not the second and certainly not the last option.”
Speaking at the conference, Bimbo Akintola said the major job for humans is to give support to one another. The actress used a song by Ebenezer Obey to explain how everyone cannot be pleased.
“We need to stop victimising the victims. We don’t care about each other,” she said.
“If you are a Christian, the next person will matter to you. Love thy neighbour as thy self. I think that is the hardest thing to do and we fail at it. What do you know about your neighbours? What do you about your friends? What do you know about your colleagues ? Your job as a human is to give support.”
Also, Anthonia Ojenagbon, a child sexual abuse survivor, revealed how her mother refused to believe her when she told her how her uncle harassed her when she was still a child.
According to her, the support of her husband kept her going despite her several attempts to commit suicide.
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target=_blank>BREAKING: Security Task Force Arrests Notorious Akure-Owo Kidnappers
Officers of the combined Security Task Force in Ondo State have apprehended two members of a ‘kidnap syndicate’ on the Akure-Owo highway.
The two suspects, identified as 42-year-old Alhassan Saleh from Nasarawa State and 24-year-old Yahaya Yakubu from Kano State, were both arrested on Monday.
It was learnt that the suspects were members of the syndicate that has been terrorising travellers on the Akure/Owo/Akoko highway.
A top Army officer confirmed the arrest in a phone chat with SaharaReporters, noting that the “two suspects upon interrogation claimed they were informants of the kidnappers”.
Our correspondent learnt that an AK-47 Magazine was recovered from the two suspects shortly after their arrest.
Last week, heads of security agencies in Ondo State had set up a Joint Security Task Force to combat incessant kidnapping on the highways of Ondo State.
One of the top personnel of the security agencies had told SaharaReporters that the aim of the combined Task Force was to flush out all unrepentant kidnappers from their hideouts in the state. The officers of the Nigerian Army, DSS, Police and NSCDC that make up the Security joint Task Force have been mounting surveillance on the Akure/Owo/Akoko road.
Femi Joseph, Police Spokesman in Ondo State, also confirmed the arrest of the two suspects to SaharaReporters via phone call. He explained that the suspects were arrested after a “foiled kidnap” on Shagari Village in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
He said the security agencies got hint of the kidnapping of the victims and rushed to the scene, and were able to rescue them in a village at ijelu, along the Owo road. According to him, the top heads of all the security agencies in the state were involved in the rescue operation, including: the Police Commissioner, Commander of 32 Artillery Brigade, Commandant of the NSCDC, and the Director of DSS in the state.
“As soon as the incident occurred, all the service commanders namely: Commissioner Olugbenga Adeyanju, Brigadier James Ataguba of the 32 Artillery Brigade, Mr. Pedro Ideba of the Civil Defence and Mr S. Ayege of the DSS contacted one another and raced to the scene.
“After an exchange of gunshots with the hoodlums, their efforts paid off as they did not only rescue the victims, but also arrested two of the suspects as others escaped with gunshot injuries. Efforts are on to arrest the fleeing suspects, while those arrested are helping security agents in their investigation.”
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target=_blank>Lawmakers Booing Buhari Didn’t Come As A Surprise By Dyep Shibayan
“Campaign speech”, “lies”, “noooo” rent the air while President Muhammadu Buhari was giving a speech at a joint session of the national assembly on Wednesday.
Buhari was about to lay before the lawmakers a budget proposal of N8.83 trillion for the 2019 but delivering the speech proved to be a difficult task because it appeared that some lawmakers got an opportunity to finally air their grievances.
I watched with utmost surprise as lawmakers – those jeering and praising the president – turned the budget presentation ceremony into a huge joke.
“They mean this man”, Queen Esther Iroanusi, a colleague with whom i was monitoring the budget presentation with, said. Her comment got me thinking. Why would these lawmakers want to embarrass the president?
For me, that was the most awkward budget presentation i have ever witnessed. Protocol was not followed and the session ended abruptly after Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the house of representatives, failed to give his speech. Incredible, no?
Anyway, reasons why these aggrieved lawmakers decided to take this inglorious path is not hard to figure out. The primary polls of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was marred with uncertainties and violence. Cut the long story short, the exercise across the country was a disaster.
Aspirants who could not clinch tickets to constest the 2019 polls after spending so much on nomination forms were not appeased and a move by party to calm the already frayed nerves was nothing to write home about.
Instead, aggrieved party members (lawmakers inclusive) who had already gone to court to seek redress were threatened to withdraw such cases and these made a number of them defect from the ruling party.
On the other side of the divide, opposition lawmakers, particularly from the southern part (south-south, south-east) of the country, have constantly accused the Buhari government of sidelining their region and that was why during the president speech, some lawmakers could be heard asking “where is the second Niger bridge”?
Such lawmakers will not hesitate to jump on any plan to embarrass the president. The pleas by Dogara before the session and that of the president during his speech asking them to comport themselves did little or nothing to pacify these angry lawmakers.
An indication that anger was already pent-up. The lawmakers were livid over various issues even if some people argue that they were personal and do not exactly represent concerns of the people they represent.
But it will be refreshing to know that the president reflected on that day. He should be bothered that some people booed and jeered at him in the most disrespectful and despicable manner.
The president should also be careful with those who praised that day. It is a known fact that not everyone who sings your praise genuinely loves you, there might be strings attached. Dangerous ones. What happened at the national assembly is a culmination of the booing that already started long before he got there.
However, i do not think that these lawmakers are the only ones angry with Buhari. Do we have rice and chicken to celebrate Christmas?
Happy holidays.
You can reach Shibayan on Twitter @justdyepis
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E2%80%94-atiku-admits-he-didnt-speak-slain-soldiers-wife target=_blank>‘There Was A Communication Error’ — Atiku Admits He Didn’t Speak With Slain Soldier’s Wife
Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has confirmed that he did not speak with the widow of one of the soldiers killed in Metele, recently.
The former Vice-President had initially said he spoke with the widow of Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim Sakaba, one of the soldiers killed by Boko Haram at Metele, Borno State, in November 2018.
He, however, said he spoke Sakaba’s sister, Maryam.
The widow’s wife said she didn’t receive any phone call from Abubakar and Atiku had issued a statement confirming the widow’s claim.
A statement by Paul Ibe, Media Adviser to Atiku Abubakar, issued on Monday, read: “Following the death of Lt. Col Ibrahim Sakaba during the Boko Haram insurgents’ attack on 157 Taskforce Battalion in Metele, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar’s staff has made efforts to get the contact of his widow to enable the former Vice President express his condolences over the loss of the fallen hero.
“Over the weekend, Atiku Abubakar was availed with phone numbers of Mrs. Sakaba and Maryam, younger sister of the late soldier, in the alternative.
“On Sunday, the former Vice President tried albeit unsuccessfully to contact Mrs. Sakaba but was able to eventually speak with Maryam, younger sister of the gallant soldier during which he expressed his deepest condolences to the family. However, this communication was erroneously communicated. The error is regretted.
“Atiku Abubakar, however reaffirms his deepest condolences to the Sakaba family, which sacrifices, like those of their brave son, keeps us safe.”
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target=_blank>Kaltungo: Rising From The Gorge Of Addiction
A group of youth, about 50, line up in two rows inside a small hall for a little experiment. The facilitator whispered something into the ears of the first person in each row and asked them to pass the same message on to the last person through whispers. By the time the whisper got to the last persons and they’re asked to repeat what was passed to them, the story had been twisted and no longer conveyed the same meaning as the original message.
It was an exciting experiment on the dangers of rumours and stigmatization, and the boys and girls enjoyed it. It was one of the classes held for youth in Kaltungo, Gombe State, by Reclaiming Futures in Northern Nigeria (REFINN) on the dangers of drug abuse and how to recover from addiction.
Kaltungo and their Tangale speaking neighbours in Shongom, Balanga and Billiri, who live on the plains of the central Nigeria highlands in the Southern Senatorial District of Gombe State, have found themselves in a gorge of drug addiction for the past six years.
Youth, male and females, and mostly between aged 16 to 35, seemed to have taken to opioids as the means of socialization. Its common to see youth rendezvous in street corners, markets, motor parks and other public places where they engage in orgy of substance and opioids abuse.
The common pharmaceutical opioids of abuse here are tramadol and tramol. Marijuana use is also prevalent while ‘solution’, a local substance, and ‘ogogoro’, which is a locally made gin, are widely abused.
Community leaders say drug and substance addiction is fast ravaging the youth population of the area and poses danger to the welfare and security of the communities. A shocking statistic of death resulting from drug overdose have also been recorded in Kaltungo. Not less than 20, in a community of 149,805(2006 census) are killed by overdose every three months in the community while crimes of burglaries and robberies have also made the neighborhoods more unsafe.
The development led to the formation of the Tangale East Development Association (Kormana) by the community with the support of the Mai Kaltungo, Emir of Kaltungo, Alhaji Sale Muhammed five years ago. The association was empowered through a bye-law to go after drug couriers and drug users in the community.
Drug suppliers arrested were handed over to the Area office of the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for prosecution while users caught were punished to serve as deterrent.
Depending on the nature of drug or substance, the punishment could be strokes of cane or cleaning of drainages-which could take up to 3 days to finish. They are then given “serious warning” to quit the habit or risk excommunication.
A drug dealer was banished from Kaltungo after ignoring repeated warnings to stop the trade. A few afraid of exclusion by the community managed to quit. But many others found other ways of indulging themselves.
But the coming of REFINN to Kaltungo has offered a new opportunity and ways of fighting the menace. A project of some alumni of the International Visitors Leadership Program of the United States Department of States, sponsored by the Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund, is designed to help youths in Northern Nigeria recover from addiction by giving the drug demand coping skills and empowering them for useful living.
But REFINN is also helping to change the narrative and help the society understand the need to show love and not rejection to those with addiction disorder by training a group of youth volunteers in all the communities the project would be executed. “These youths will be the REFINN ambassadors that would go into the communities to spread the message,” stated Bishop Ogueji Ejikeme, one of the IVLP alumni behind the project.
It was easy to assemble the youths, thanks to the committed effort of the officials of Kormana who kept data about drug addiction. They provided contact information about old and new drug offenders in the district and helped persuade them to attend the 3-week training seminar. But not all the youth volunteers had used or sold drugs. Some were persuaded out of concern for the well-being of their brethren and their communities.
Sani Usman was introduced to tramol and marijuana by a friend he lived with when he was 22. He had rebuffed several attempts to make him start drug use but succumbed on a day he felt weak and exhausted. The drug gave him strength and had since become addicted. He is now 25. But after the REFINN seminar, he was happy to have attended.
“After attending just two lectures, I have summoned the courage to stop abusing drugs,” he said, adding that he has found a new lease of life. He has also been able to convince two of his close friends to quit addiction.
Yakubu Abdulkadir, 39, revealed he sold and used drugs for 23 years until he was invited to the seminar. “We thought we had become useless in life and nobody cared about us. But this seminar has changed us and we have become facilitators for the campaign against drug abuse.
Jonah Joel, 26 had also used drugs since he was 19, and has been unable to quit addiction. He was one of those invited for the seminar. “They have shown us love and we are ready to change and also show love to our brothers and sisters. We are determined to take the right decisions,” he said amidst applause from his colleagues.
One of the six female participants, Talatu Yakubu, said she learnt useful lessons on drugs and effect of drug abuse. “I talked to two boys in our house and they have changed,” she revealed as her face flashed with a smile.
It was three weeks of intense interaction with experienced facilitators who lighted up the lessons with memorable lines to encourage faster recovery. Marcus Ayuba, a United Nations Certified Trainer and one of the executors of REFINN, made the group shout: “Anyone, Anytime Can Recover”, “What You Don’t Confront, You Can Never Conquer,” and “The Future You Cannot Picture, You Can Never Capture,” several times before introducing his interactive presentations. He is also the Head, Drug Demand Reduction Unit of NDLEA Borno Command,
Gaius Dogo, NDLEA Area Commander who was one of the facilitators, beamed with smiles as he gave a closing remark on Tuesday December 18 when the seminar ended. “This program is going to make my work easier and I’m happy that you have brought it here,” he stated, and commended Emir Mohammed and officials of Kormana for their sustained effort to rid the community of drugs.But despite the upbeat mood on the menace of opioids abuse, local leaders still lament the non-chalance of political leaders in the district and the state. “Our politicians and leaders are not helpful. You only see them during election campaign; once the elections are over, they’re done with you,” lamented Gajeri Aminu, Chairman of Kormana. He said the youths need to be empowered so that they don’t go back to drugs.
Organizers of REFINN however tasked the youths to work hard on taking back their communities from the grip of addiction for them to realize their full potentials. It is a task for which the youths appeared ready and willing to execute.
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target=_blank>REPORTER’S DIARY: The Dishonest Trading, Thievery At Computer Village, Ikeja
If you have never been to the Lagos (Ikeja) Computer Village, what you are perhaps missing is a chaotic world of ICT gurus, a community of both computer and phone accessories and etcetera. If you have never been to the Computer Village, what you may be missing are fraudsters and tricksters, dubious traders whose businesses in the market are shady; hungry, angry Nigerians who are ready to turn one naira to one million within a wink of an eye. Again, if you are a first-timer at the market, especially in the beehive vivacity of the day, look very carefully at the people you see around. You will notice aberrant faces looking like the leftovers of a hunger’s feast. Some of these people are victims of the day-to-day dishonest trading dominating the heart of the market.
Discretion, they say, is the better part of valour, but Doicy, a Benin-based-man and first-timer in Lagos, was not discreet enough when he patronised the Computer Village at Ikeja; he was simply shown how to shine his eyes next time.
It was in 2017, Doicy (as he preferred to be called) was on a visit to her cousin in Lagos. The young man, who had never been to Lagos, must have heard about the market called Computer Village, which is said to be rich of computer accessories, both new and fairly-used phones, and has numerous men with computer and phone-repair wizardry. The newcomer was not aware that as it is easy to get fantastic ICT accessories in the Computer Village, so it is to be defrauded. He told this reporter how he was duped in the market.
He had had an iPhone 6 and wanted to replace it with an iPhone 7. Having being briefed by his cousin on how to go about it in the market, he joyfully headed to the place but returned home with a sad tale to tell.
“When I went to the market, I saw a guy with the exact phone I was looking for. He wishpered to me to come and because I loved the phone already, I accepted. When he gave me the phone, I went through all the functions and concluded in my mind that everything was working perfectly,” he said.
“He asked me to bring my phone (the iPhone 6) so as to check if it was working perfectly. I gave him and we started negotiating the price; he said I should come over to ‘his shop’ so as to leave the road. As we were heading over to the shop, I just discovered that I couldn’t find him again — he disappeared, suddenly.”
Doicy was left with no choice other than to return home, embittered. When he got home, he told his cousin the hellish experience he had at the computer village and, instantly, his cousin called her aunty, who is a police officer in the market.
“The policewoman ordered her boys to accompany me down to the Computer Village to look for the guy. When we got there, we couldn’t find him and, we proceeded to the shop he was trying to take me to,” Doicy said. “On getting there, the real owner of the shop said he didn’t know anyone I described to him. Worst still, I did not know his name, too. I believe I was easily duped just because it was my first time in Lagos and in the market.”
But, was Doicy a victim of thievery only because he was a first-timer at the Computer Village? No!
So many Nigerians across the country have painfully been duped; they have experienced some form of loss of money to fraudsters and thus have bitterly criticised the fraudulent business activities in the market. There is a massive illegal street hawking of phones and computer accessories by unregistered traders and retailers who hawk on the streets of the market without any definite shop; some of them just have bogus display units rather than a proper store.
So much profit is made from reselling stolen phones by criminal phone dealers and their accomplices at the Computer Village. For example, in 2017, the Lagos State Special Task Force on the Environment and Other related Offences apprehended some robbers who operated around the Oshodi area. They confessed that on several occasions, they had dispossessed passers-by of their phones and other valuables, and that the majority of their loot were sold at the Computer Village and other markets in Mushin and Obalende.
An Undercover Mission
Who on earth can know the colour of a killed chicken in the soup if not an insider? Isn’t it a thief that can tell perfectly how to catch a co-thief? For three straight hustling and bustling days, inside the babbling noisy market, my colleague and I combed the market, first, disguising as a student researcher, second as ardent customers of the market — all to get firsthand details of how customers are defrauded in the market and how improbity outmaneuvers the trading activities therein.
It was midday already, my colleague and I had trekked and footed places in the market before we met Olumide Ayoola, who, like a teacher would teach his student, gave a chapter-by-chapter how-to of defrauding customers in the Computer Village. While he played the role of an erudite of computer-village-fraud, we became his students and wrote meticulously as he spoke.
“When you get to the market, you will meet people hawking on the streets with phones in their hands; if you see the phone you like and feel like buying, they will give you the original phone — the phone you really want to buy and allow you to operate it well. They might even show you the accessories and manual and when you are convinced that the phone is working perfectly, the negotiation of the price will commence immediately,” he explained, scrupulously.
“You guys will agree to pay some certain amount of money. And, after you might have agreed on payment, they will tell you that they need or want to package it for you. Immediately they take the phone, they will give you another phone entirely, though it will be the same colour and look alike. After getting home and you open it, you will see that it is not working or that it is only ‘fufu’ they have given you.”
He rounded off his ‘how-to’ by stating what the notorious traders are capable of doing even when one later realises that one has been defrauded.
“Of course you will be furious and when you get back to the exact place the phone was sold to you, you may get them and they will ask if you weren’t the one who checked the phone yourself.
“And, they have ‘arrangee’ fake policemen who will come to shout at you just to intimidate and initiate that fear in you. If you are the type that is not brave, you will begin to beg them instead. All you will want to do at that time is to get rid of their trouble.”
Another black tall man who claimed he was once into the business but is now a phone repairer told us another version. “I will tell you but don’t mention my name anywhere,” he said in Yoruba.
“This is the logic. They’ll hold the original item, let’s say a phone. They’ll negotiate with the intending buyer using the original product. They know what they want to do. The fake product will be in their pocket. After negotiating with the intending buyer, they’ll quickly change the original with the fake while the buyer is counting money.
“They are good at doing that without the buyer noticing. They’ll then raise alarm about the arrival of the police. When that happens, one wouldn’t even be able to check what one has bought. Then, they’ll run away.”
Earlier, we had visited the police station located in the heart of the market to find out how often aggrieved victims come to lodge complaints at the station. But the fair, round senior police officer we met was as tacit as possible, aswering us mainly with monosyllabic clauses. He said swiftly that he had just been posted to the market’s police station and thus, he had no idea of the recurring menaces in the market. Not even his name could he tell us; he then directed us to the Chairman of the market and ‘honourably’ excused us.
A two-time visitation to the Chairman’s office was futile; messages were sent and calls made, but he refused to respond.
More Unpleasant Stories About The Market
What happened to Doicy in the market is a similitude of Anabel Issabella’s experience. But unlike Doicy, she was very conversant with Lagos and its environs. Issabella had been to the Computer Village on several occasions but her knowledge of the market’s nooks and crannies could not prevent her from being victim of a dubious phone trader.
To Isabella, patronising the men on the streets might be very dangerous, thus she decided not to buy from any of those boys who carry about and offer phones for sale, typically advertising on streets. She wanted one of those traders displaying their phones on show glasses in their own shops, preferably a woman. Those women, she thought, would not be as dubious as men could be. But she was wrong for, what she saw was different from what she thought. How it happened, she said, was still very fresh in her memory.
“Because I thought I was safer to buy from a woman than a man, I met this woman whom I told the type of phone I wanted to buy — a ‘London used’ Samsung phone. She offered it to me and after we’d bargained about the price, I gave her N25,000. But when I took the phone home, I realized that the camera and other stuffs were not working.”
When Anabel went back to the woman to complain, she denied any wrongdoing. Therefore, she decided to create a scene that would taunt her.
“I was chasing away all her customers, telling them that this woman sells bad phones. I taunted her so well that she started ranting and calling me names,” she said. “We took the matter to the police station and luckily for me, a woman was the DPO and she asked both of us to tell her what really happened.
“After the DPO heard from both of us, she ordered the woman to give me a good phone, adding that I should have been in school but she, the phone seller, had prevented me. So, the woman agreed to give me the money, which she did the following day.”
Curiosity That Kills The Cat…
Curiosity that kills the cat pushed this reporter and his colleague out to the market again; this time, not just to discreetly unveil the how-to of defrauding customers, but to practically face the fraudsters and tricksters, disguising as customers.
As we stepped in, countless eyes welcomed us. While some carousing advertisers were deejaying a series of music at one side, many other traders were drawing passers-by to what they were selling.
We minded our business but set our eyes carefully on other people’s businesses in the market.There and then, a man suspected to be one of the unregistered traders dragged us aggressively to buy his phone, Samsung Galaxy S6. “Come, make I give you this one,” he said, as if he would give the phone for free. We played along, as if we were really going to buy; we started haggling on the price. “That phone wey you dey see, I just buy am last month, just wan sell am make I use the money for something,” said the man. As he spoke, his mouth stank of acrobatic schnapp, his lower teeth also cola-nut coloured.
While we haggled, he signalled to a man beside him to move closer and handed over to him a replica of the same Samsung Galaxy S6; I observed, while the other confrere chacked the functions of the phone. He insisted we paid N25,000 for a N100,000-worth phone.
As of the time of writing this story, the price of Samsung Galaxy S6, when checked on several online electronics market platforms, showed that purchasing such an expensive phone for N25,000 may be tantamount to buying trouble with one’s money. On Jumia, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge-64GB-White Pearl (the exact phone the man wanted to sell for N25,000) went for N105,000. On Konga, another renowned online electronics market, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge-64GB-Black was sold for N195,000, while its 32GB went for N98,000. Further checks on OLX.com.ng, an online market website for fairly used electronics, revealed that the price of the same phone is not less than 50,000 Naira (at the cheapest price).
Meanwhile, the phone hawker wanted us to purchase a spic-and-span looking Samsung Galaxy S6 for just N25,000 and wanted us to believe we would be safe to buy such phone. When all sorts of magnanimity were observed in his trading mannerism, we scorned him and left the spot. But we never evacuated the scene of the scenario without picturing the face of the aggressive seller.
Fast-forward few more minutes, we ran into trouble in the market with one of the street hawkers of phones. Tall, pale-looking with scars on his face, he hissed to draw our attention to himself. “Come, which kind phone you wan buy?” said the man, his palm-kernel eyes were dominating and intimidating. He looked left and right; front and back, vigilantly, as if somebody could come his way at anytime.
No sooner than we began haggling with him that we felt insecure with his smooth talk. He told us to be smart and watchful of policemen. While the other reporter negotiated with him, I stood a bit aloof to discreetly take his picture like I did the other time. But unfortunately, I had hardly taken the picture when the man, with a harmful look voiced out. “What are you trying to do?” he shouted. “Na so una dey do. You wan kon take my photo put for newspaper. God go punish you.”
Forcefully, he hijacked my phone and checked the picture records; though, he couldn’t find his picture, he saw that of one of his accomplices which was taken earlier. He raised the alarm; and suddenly, the said man whose picture appeared on my phone showed up. “I no know say you be mad man. E no go better for you. Wetin I do you? Me wey I dey hustle on my own. Shebi if you no wan buy phone, you go waka go! God go punish you,” he lamented.
For over two hours, we we were there. While we maintained that we meant no harm with the pictures taken, they insisted we must pay for what we had done. “I no go leave this phone if you no pay 10k,” he said as he held my phone firmly, holding me to ransom. More and more by-passers crowded around us. The atmosphere was tense. They threatened to drag us to the nearest police station, but when they saw the arrant courage we had to go to the police station, they changed their minds, insisting we must pay.
At a point, the partners in crime had a brief whispering meeting. The meeting, we understood, was to plot how to run away with the phone. At once, all of them shouted on my co-reporter and many people rounded him up as if he was a thief. The other man with my phone picked up a horsey race, but I ran after him, quickly. When I saw he was a bit far from me, I pulled off my left leg’s shoe and stoned him. He fell. Then, I shouted on him as they did to my colleague, too. Sooner, the other abbetors came around and, with a calm voice, they insisted we would not go scot-free; we must pay the price for what we did. Then negotiations began.
This time, they were successful in dragging us to a deserted area in the market and terrorised us, immensely. They insisted we either paid them or went home without the phone. We were forced to transfer the total sum of N8,000 to two account numbers. They deleted the pictures on the phone and asked us to find our way. Meanwhile, the pictures they deleted still exist on the deleted records of the phone!
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Ibrahim Adeyemi and Peter Ogunsona
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target=_blank>INEC Withdraws Certificate of Return From Delta Deputy Speaker Who Forged His NECO Certificate
INEC national Commissioner, South-South, presenting the certificate of return to Emeka Ozegbe in Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has withdrawn the Certificate of Return it issued to the Deputy Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Friday Osanebi.
Last month, a Court of Appeal sitting in Benin City, Edo State, had ruled against Osanebi over allegations of certificate forgery.
Dr. Muhammed Lecky, the INEC National Commissioner, South-South, issued the Certificate of Return withdrawn from the Deputy Speaker to Emeka Ozegbe, as the elected member of the Delta State House of Assembly representing Ndokwa East constituency.
In April 2018, a Delta High Court sitting in Kwale sacked Osanebi over allegations that the NECO certificate he submitted to (INEC) for his election in 2015 was forged. The court also declared that Osanebi lied on oath by submitting a forged NECO certificate and ordered the immediate swearing in of Ozegbe into the House.
According to the presiding judge, Justice V.I. Ofezi, there was no evidence to prove that Osanebi sat for the NECO examination at Orogu Grammar School, Orogu, Ughelli North local government area of the state as he claimed. Ozegbe was able to prove that Osanebi presented a NECO certificate, which was not his, in the form CF001 2014 that he submitted to INEC for the election and, therefore, directed INEC to immediately withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to the Deputy Speaker and issue sit to Emeka Ozegbe, who was validly nominated as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 elections.
The Delta State High Court judgment was appealed by the Deputy Speaker. However, at the Court of Appeal in Benin City, ruling was issued in favour of the claimant, Odegbe.
Osanebi, however, appealed against the judgement of the Court of Appeal in Benin City to the Supreme Court, which is yet to begin hearing on the matter.
In a chat with our correspondent, Ozegbe disclosed that there were two Appeal Court judgements that ruled in his favour. “One in the case instituted by me with suit number: HCK/78/2017, Appeal Number: CA/B/210A/18 and in the case instituted by Friday Osanebi with suit number: HOK/78/2017, Appeal Number: CA/B/210/2018. In both cases, judgements were issued in my favour and in the Appeal instituted by Osanebi, N500,000 was awarded as costs against Osanebi in my favour,” he said.
“Mr. Friday Osanebi is on appeal at the Supreme Court, but as I talk to you now, the Supreme Court has adjourned the case sine dine and till June 24, 2019 and this current administration must have elapsed, hence the commission did the needful by obeying the Court of Appeal judgement to issue me the certificate of return. So, as at this moment, I am the lawful member representing the Ndokwa East constituency in the Delta State house of Assembly today.”
While thanking his supporters, constituents, family members, friends and the youth for standing and believing in him, Ozegbe said: “I give God the glory and I thank INEC for complying with the orders of the court in this respect and also hope that the leadership of the Delta State House of Assembly, especially the Speaker, would also respect the orders of the court”.
Checks by SaharaReporters revealed that Ozegbe, former member of the PDP, is currently seeking election into the Delta State House of Assembly to represent the people of Ndokwa East constituency in the 2019 general election.
However, Osanebi debunked the story of his sacking, saying it was mere rumour and should be discarded.
“Those peddling the rumour shouldn’t be taken seriously,” he said. “Please, don’t mind them. The case was just heard on Wednesday. The case is still with the Supreme Court. The case has been adjourned till January; they are just carrying fake news.”
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‘Mamalawo’ Sophie Oluwole, 1st Nigerian Female To Bag A PhD In Philosophy, Is Dead
Sophie Oluwole, Nigeria’s first female Doctor of Philosophy, is dead.
News of her death was announced on Monday.
Popularly referred to as ‘Mamalawo’, Professor Oluwole, who was 82 at the time of her death, was a senior lecturer at the University of Lagos and the Chief Executive Officer of Centre for African Culture and Development.
She retired from the Department of Philosophy, University of Lagos.
She is also an author on several books on philosophy and traditional religion.
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