₦airaland Forum

By Isa Abdulsalami Ahovi, Jos


A 300-level student of the University of Jos at the weekend committed suicide over the ongoing strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) nationwide.


The deceased, Henry Ehis, of the Department of Actuarial Science of the Faculty of Management Science, of the University, was found dead last week at the Faculty.

The Guardian learnt that the deceased left a short note on his lifeless body to his parents, expressing his dissatisfaction with the current ASUU strike.

But some residents said suicide was not the best option.

MEANWHILE, the 73rd-anniversary celebration of Resettlement in Langtang South Council of Plateau State turned bloody on Saturday, March 5, as the Chairman of the Council, Bulus Venmark Vincent, allegedly assaulted his colleague at Langtang North Council, Ubandoma Laven Joshua leading to the disruption of the celebration, halfway.

The resettlement day was organised and hosted in Sabon Gida, the usual venue of the annual celebration of the Tarok Nation (both Langtang North and South) and other ethnic nationalities resident in the area.

An eyewitness, Lanchang Timpil, told newsmen that the event was about to begin when Langtang North Chairman was invited to the podium to address the crowd having been denied access to sit where dignitaries were seated.


As Laven advanced towards the podium to speak on the importance of the occasion to the entire Tarok speaking nation of North Central zone of the Bantu extraction with the return of democracy, Vincent blocked him from gaining entrance to address the gathering and chose to give Laven a slap that shattered the occasion.

Ubandoma Laven is of People Democratic Party (PDP), while Bulus Vincent is of All Progressive Congress (APC).

The state government is yet to make any statement at the time of the report.

Samuel Bolaji
Passengers were left stranded Tuesday morning at the various Bus Rapid Transit terminals across the state with no bus in sight. There are speculations the BRT has suspended operations for fear of attack following the death of 22-year-old Bamise Ayanwole, who was allegedly abducted and killed after boarding a BRT vehicle on Friday.

Our correspondent, who visited the Ikorodu BRT terminal, confirmed that there were no buses at the terminal to convey stranded passengers to their various destinations.

An official of Primero, who preferred anonymity, confirmed to The PUNCH that the operations of the BRT had been temporarily suspended across the state owing to the unfortunate incident that led to the killing of Bamise.

But he assured the commuters that the issue was being handled by the state government and services would be restored as soon as possible.

Asked what was being done about it, the official said he could not say. All efforts made to reach the Primero head office proved abortive as of the time of filing this report as the calls were unanswered.

President Muhammadu Buhari has departed Abuja for his medical trip to London, UK.

The president departed Abuja on Sunday.

Last month, Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman, had said Buhari would visit his doctor in London for “routine medical checks that will last for a maximum of two weeks”.

By Ishola Oludare

A yet-to-be-identified man and a woman have been found dead inside a Sienna vehicle along the Mowe/Ibafo axis of Lagos-Ibadan highway.

Residents of the area said the car was seen on Tuesday, locked up with the two of them inside.

The car, with Lagos number plate, LSD 992 HH, had a helmet on the dashboard, suggesting that the owner might be an engineer or a contractor.

As people could not ascertain what killed the man and the woman in the vehicle, there were speculations about the cause of their mysterious death.

A resident of the area, who simply identified herself as Jane, said, “The car has been standing here since yesterday (Monday). But this morning, people moved closer and discovered that there were two lifeless bodies inside it. We don’t know what killed them.”

Another source told our correspondent that the two might be having sex with each other when the incident happened.

“It was discovered that a man and a woman were having sex in the car but they died opposite Nasfat praying ground,” the source said.

But, one Seun Damilola countered that this couple actually didn’t die while having sex inside the car.

According to him, “the man beat his girlfriend to death at their house around Akoka, drove her down to Mowe, dropped a suicide letter to his family and fed himself a poison.”

Contacted, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident on Wednesday.

Oyeyemi said the two did not die while having intercourse inside the car, saying it was a case of murder and suicide.

According to him, the man had visited the deceased woman, his girlfriend, somewhere in Lagos.

“The two did not die while having sex. What happened was that the girl in question happened to be a girlfriend to that man. He rented an apartment for her somewhere in Lagos. He went there to visit her. We don’t know what transpired between them, but we learnt he hit the woman on the head and she slumped.

“He carried the lifeless body of the woman in his vehicle. People in that neighbourhood ran to Ilaje police station in Bariga to report. But he drove off, straight to his house at Orimerunmu. He dropped a suicide note, informing his wife that he had killed somebody. He told his wife not to bother looking for him, asking her to take care of the children. Then he left the house.

“He drove and parked near NASFAT area and he committed suicide there. We saw a container of Sniper in the vehicle, which suggested that he drank Sniper (an insecticide). He wound up the glasses and died in the vehicle.

“So, it is a case of murder and suicide, Oyeyemi explained.

The PPRO added that the corpses had been deposited in the mortuary.

By Abbas Jimoh


The 14th Emir of Kano and former Governor of the central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Muhammadu Sanusi II, has urged civil servants to be loyal to the country and not to politicians.

He gave the advice on Wednesday in Abuja at the closing ceremony of the AIG Public Leaders Programme class of 2021 comprising 49 graduands.

The event was organised by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation in partnership with Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation and the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.

He said his late father, Prince Aminu Sanusi, as a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs refused to nominate any worker of the ministry for sack during the military administration of late Head of States Gen. Murtala Muhammed and Olusegun Obasanjo.

“We all hear about how the Nigerian Civil Service was destroyed in the 1970s because of what was a purge and a massive retrenchment of civil servants, under the Murtala/Obasanjo administration, this is something that everybody talks about.”

“And we all blame the political leadership. The question is, was the leadership entirely to blame? My father was appointed Permanent Secretary in this ministry in 1975, in the period of those purges. He was given a list 40 ambassadors to retire before they were due for retirement and he refused.

“He was a civil servant he was invited to Dordan Barrack to meet the Head of State and the Chief of Staff and he was told every ministry had contributed names and why was his ministry different?

“He replied that his ministry was not different but that he knows the rules of civil service and none of these people to the best of his knowledge was queried and none of them have gone through the same process and that he has no reason to retire them,” Sanusi said.

He also said when his father was ordered to go back and bring a list, he requested that he will do a list on the condition that his name should be number one on the list.

“No one was retrenched from the ministry and my father was not sacked. If every Permanent Secretary has done that, would there have been a purge?” he said.

At the event, each of the participant awarded a scholarship worth £11,500 by the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, bring the total to £563,500, to attend the programme delivered in partnership with the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.

Speaking at the event, Chairman pf the foundation, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, the foundation’s mission of driving public sector transformation, and the role that partnerships like those with the Blavatnik School of Government and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation played in actualising that mission.

On her part, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan expressed her pleasure in witnessing the new crop of public sector leaders being developed through the AIG Public Leaders Programme.

Also, Permanent Secretary, Service Policies and Strategies Office, Office of the Head of the Civil Service (OHCSF), Dr. Emmanuel Meribole, commended the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation for committing its resources to bringing the faculty of the University of Oxford to Nigeria to help build the capacity of the public sector workforce.

The Spiritual Director of Ave-Maria Prayer Ministry, Ifite Awka, Anambra Statet, Brother Livinus Okeke, weekend condemned the quest for money and other earthly things by some greedy wives who he said even requested for money before making love with their husbands.

Making the condemnation in his sermon to mark the 10th anniversary of the Ministry, the cleric said such wives out of ignorance brought curses to their families .

His words, ,”some wives now demand N20,000 or thereabout from their husbands before going to bed with them. Some husbands don’t even have a say in the family and the only respect the wife accords him if she likes is good morning.”

He said that in such a family the husband lives in bondage as the man and woman live cat and dog life, thereby cultivating bad seed on their children.

“There will not be progress and peace and the children in turn will begin to put into practice what they have leant from their parents”

He advised that for peace and prosperity of the family both husband and wife must work, think and reason together so that the blessing of the Lord would be bestowed on them.

“Holy Ghost is telling you, go and make peace. We have many Christian mothers today who are packaged trouble makers. An envy wife can not give you peace, so families have to pray and don’t be deceived by earthly things,” he cautioned.

On the part of the husband he queried, “how many of you husbands will on return to the house purchase something for your wives or give her money.”

“Some do that to also keep the wife happy and that is love we are talking about. When you wanted to marry her you showed you were capable but now what happened, “

The Spiritual Director thanked God that the church has come a long way (10th anniversary) and prayed God for more fruitful years ahead adding that, “it was God’s divine direction that led to the institution of this Ministry”.

“Looking at what we have been able to achieve within the decade, you would testify that God has really been faithful to us. At every step of the way , even when it felt like all hell will let lose, God comes in and quenches the raging fire with a gentle breeze”

The cleric described the 10th anniversary as, “a celebration of amazing grace, great favour, health, deliverance, divine turn around, cars, houses, connections and all round goodness of Good”.

He listed some of the problems confronting the Ministry to include, finance, mini bus for evangelization, purchase of land behind the altar, among others.

Earlier, the chairman of the occasion, Chief Chigbogu C. Nweke, thanked God for the the10th anniversary of the Ministry and prayed God to guide and protect the cleric to enable him accomplish his mission on Earth.

Highlights of the occasion were the cutting of anniversary cake and dance from both the women and youth wings of the Ministry.

By Chris Ochayi


ABUJA: The President of African Development Bank, AfDB, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has lamented the state of joblessness among Nigerians, saying that about 40 percent of youths are unemployed.

Dr. Adesina, who made the disclosure in a lecture he delivered during the 80th birthday celebration of General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, said the youths are discouraged, angry and restless, as they look at a future that does not give them hope.

In the lecture titled, “Nigeria – a country of many nations: a quest for national integration”, Dr. Adesina , however said all hope is not lost as youths have a vital role to play if the country should arrive on its destined destination.

Meanwhile, a youth group, under the aegis of Prudent Youth Association of Nigeria, PYAN, has called, Dr Akinwumi Adesina to join the race for 2023 presidential election.

The group said in a statement by its Public Relations Officer, Mr Haruna Awode that Adesina has outstanding qualities needed at the critical moment to address the myriad of problems confronting Nigeria as a nation.

Speaking further, Dr. Adesina noted that, “For Nigeria to be all that it can be, the youth of Nigeria must be all they can be. “


He said, “The future of Nigeria depends on what it does today with its dynamic youth population. This demographic advantage must be turned into a first-rate and well-trained workforce, for Nigeria, for the region, and for the world.

“We should prioritize investments in the youth: in up skilling them for the jobs of the future, not the jobs of the past; by moving away from so-called youth empowerment to youth investment; to opening up the social and political space to the youth to air their views and become a positive force for national development; and for ensuring that that we create youth-based wealth.

“From the East to the West, from the North to the South, there must be a sea change in economic, financial, and business opportunities for young Nigerians.

“The old must give way to the new. And there must be a corresponding generational transfer of power and wealth to the youth. The popular folk talk should no longer be “the young shall grow,” it should, rather, be: “the young have arrived.”

“The young shoots are springing up in Nigeria. Today, Nigeria’s youth are leading in the FinTech Industry. two companies – PayPal Interswitch are both valued at $1 billion.

“A third company, Flutterwave more than tripled its valuation in less than a year to over $3 billion what does this tell us? The future is here and young entrepreneurs are central to it.”

Adesina recalled that, “The African Development Bank approved $170 million in December of last year for Nigeria to support its program to expand digital and creative industries, by unleashing the incredible entrepreneurship of Nigeria’s youth.

“The African Development Bank is also exploring the establishment of Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Banks — financial institutions for young people, run by first-rate young bankers and financial experts, to drive youth-wealth creation. “

“Nigerians deserve wealth, not poverty. There cannot and should not be a Nigeria for the rich, and another Nigeria for the poor.

“We must build one Nigeria, where every citizen has the right to a decent life. We must build a better nation. We must start building again, not splintering again.

“We must re-build trust, equity, and social justice, to propel strong cohesiveness as a nation.

“The tides are high, I know, and our boat rocks from time to time. Yet, I have hope. Hope for a better Nigeria … a renewed nation. Hope for a nation that is helped and healed by God. A nation, where the sacrifices of Nigerians past and present shall not be in vain.

“I pray and long for a better Nigeria. For a nation, built not on the division of its past, or the foundations of ethnicity, but on a new foundation, the foundation of equity, fairness, justice, and unity, one Nigerian to the other.

“For a new Nigeria, where one from the north shall be at home in the east; where one from the east shall break bread with one in the north; one where the one in the west shall eat from the same plate with one in the north; and wash hands in the same basin as one in the east. “

He said for Nigeria to realize its dream, “The constituent States in Nigeria must be more financially autonomous through greater fiscal prudence. If States focus on unlocking the huge resources they have, based on areas of comparative advantage, they will rapidly expand wealth for their people.

“With their increased wealth they will be able to access capital markets to secure long-term financing to fast-track their growth and development.

“States that adopt this strategy would have less of a need for monthly trips to Abuja for grants. Instead, part of their federal revenue allocations can be saved as internal ‘state sovereign wealth funds’.

“This can then be used as guarantees against borrowings from capital markets. They would be free from needing to exclusively rely on the federal government.

“As a way out of the economic quagmire, much has been said about the need for restructuring. I know the discussions are often emotive. Restructuring should not be driven by political expediency, but by economic and financial viability – the necessary and sufficient conditions for political viability.

“Surgeries are tough. They are better done well, the first time. The resources found in each state or state groupings should belong to them. The constituent entities should pay federal taxes or royalties for those resources.

“The achievement of economically viable entities and the viability of the national entity requires constitutional changes to devolve more economic and fiscal powers to the states or regions.

“The stronger the states, or regions, the stronger the federated units. In the process, our union would be renewed. Our union would be stronger. Our union would be equitable. Our union would be fully participatory. “

The group, while justifying its call on Adesina to join the murky water of police argued that as a former minister of Agriculture and the incumbent two terms President of AfDB, given his antecedents, Adesina could be trusted to successfully run the affairs of Nigeria.

According to the body, “At the moment, Nigeria does not just need people with political exposure to lead as president; the exalted office should be occupied by a young, vibrant, intellectual with experienced and focused mind.

“Academically, Adesina has a track records of brilliancy. He was the first to graduate with a First Class Honours, bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics, from the Obafemi Awolowo University), Nigeria, in 1981.

“He holds a master’s degree and a PhD in Agricultural Economics (1988) from Purdue University, USA, where he won the Outstanding PhD thesis award for that year.

“He has demonstrated that his outstanding academic performance was not a fluke, as he has applied this in meeting the social and economic needs of humanity at both national and international stages.

The group said that as a former Minister of Agriculture and the incumbent president of AfDB, Adesina has not disappointed or failed the nation, especially the youths.

The globally renowned development economist, scholar and agricultural development expert, with more than 30 years of international experience has rather proved his worth at every given opportunity.

“It is on records that as the Minister of Agriculture in Nigeria from 2011-2015, Adesina reformed the agriculture sector.

“Within his four years as a minister, Adesina changed agriculture in Nigeria from that of subsistence to a viable business through private sector led investments, while he also expanded the country’s food production.

“Under his tenure, Nigeria ended 40 years of corruption in the fertilizer sector by developing and implementing an innovative electronic wallet system, which directly provides farmers with subsidized farm inputs at scale using their mobile phones.

The Nigerian Communications Commission’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) has discovered a newly-hatched malicious software that steals users’ banking app login credentials on Android devices.

According to a security advisory from the NCC CSIRT, the malicious software called “Xenomorph”, found to target 56 financial institutions from Europe, has high impact and high vulnerability rate.

NCC, in an advisory issued on Sunday to notify Nigerians of the dangerous software, said the main intent of Xenomorph was to steal credentials, combined with the use of SMS and notification interception to log in and use potential two-factor authentication tokens.

“Xenomorph is propagated by an application that was slipped into Google Play store and masquerading as a legitimate application called ‘Fast Cleaner’ ostensibly meant to clear junk, increase device speed and optimise battery. In reality, this app is only a means by which the Xenomorph Trojan could be propagated easily and efficiently”, NCC’s spokesman, Ikechukwu Adinde, said in the advisory.

To avoid early detection or being denied access to the PlayStore, “Fast Cleaner” was disseminated before the malware was placed on the remote server, making it hard for Google to determine that such an app is being used for malicious actions”, Adinde added.

Once up and running on a victim’s device, the NCC said Xenomorph could harvest device information and Short Messaging Service (SMS), intercept notifications and new SMS messages, perform overlay attacks and prevent users from uninstalling it.

The threat also asks for Accessibility Services privileges which allow it to grant itself further permissions, according to the NCC.

The NCC further said the malware also steals victims’ banking credentials by overlaying fake login pages on top of legitimate ones.

Considering that it can also intercept messages and notifications, it allows its operators to bypass SMS-based two-factor authentication and log into the victims’ accounts without alerting them, NCC further said.

“Xenomorph has been found to target 56 internet banking apps, 28 from Spain, 12 from Italy, 9 from Belgium, and 7 from Portugal, as well as Cryptocurrency wallets and general-purpose applications like emailing services. The Fast Cleaner app has now been removed from the Play Store but not before it garnered 50,000+ downloads,” the CSIRT security advisory asserted.

Accordingly, the NCC urges telecom consumers and other Internet users, particularly those using Android-powered devices to use trusted Antivirus solutions and update them regularly to their latest definitions. The commission also implore consumers and other stakeholders to always update banking applications to their most recent versions.

As Nigerians continue to groan under the fuel scarcity running for the third week, petroleum marketers may be on the edge over what they described as additional burden from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited which, just last week, introduced a N500,000 transshipment charge on petrol.

NNPC Limited, in a letter dated February 18, 2022, said the new charge is to cover for ship-to-ship operations for retailers, especially depot operators, taking delivery of petrol consignment from NNPC at the ports.

The current fuel scarcity, which is easing, reared its head early this month after cases of adulterated petrol across retail stations that were said to have affected vehicles just as parallel marketers sold a litre for over N600.

While in the heat of that, NNPC in the letter announced the new N500,000 Ship-to-Ship (STS) coordination charge for each transshipment operation of petrol involving the NNPC Marine Logistics.

The letter titled, “Payment of STS Coordination Charge” which was signed by O. I. O. Ajilo for the Group General Manager, Shipping said: “Please be informed that the NNPC management has directed that effective (from) 10th February, 2022, the sum of N500,000 only will be charged for STS coordination fee for each transshipment operation involving NNPC Marine Logistics.”

NNPC Ltd explained that the charge covers manpower and logistics required for coordination and production of cargo documents for the transshipment operations.

Also, in another letter from the General Manager, Marine Logistics, titled, ‘Commencement of STS Coordination Charge,’ and issued on February 8, 2022, NNPC said its functions include coordinating ship-to-ship transshipment activities for the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), NNPC Retail Limited (which are NNPC subsidiaries) and third-party marketers, as well as for facilitating the processing of clearances for shuttle vessels and preparation of Bill of Lading on completion of STS.

It then clarified that third-party marketers who do not hire marine logistics vessels were serviced free in the past but would now need to pay the new charge.


Marketers kick over new charge

Meanwhile, petroleum marketers are concerned over the new charge as they feared it could trigger a rise in petrol price.

Although the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) declined to comment on the new charge, a source said the association had written to the NNPC highlighting the implication of the shipment charges especially to the retail price of petroleum.

“This is definitely an additional cost on marketers but we are interfacing with the NNPC to agree on the best possible way of mitigating this Ship-to-Ship coordination charge,” the official said.

President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Debo Ahmed said the charge does not affect independent marketers as they deal directly with NNPC depots.

However, the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) said it would resist any planned increase in STS charges by NNPC.

It said it has written to the federal government on the implication of any new hike on members of the public, considering the current scarcity of petrol in most parts of the country.

Executive Secretary of MOMAN Clement Isong, in an exclusive chat with Daily Trust, said there are many government agencies that would want to impose new charges on marketers unduly without considering the policies of government as regards changes.

“There is a price ceiling placed on STS by the government. Any charges that would not be passed on to the consumers would be resisted. Marketers cannot be made to bear the brunt of changes.

“We have communicated our position on the issue to the federal government. We don’t want to be blamed at the end of the day,” he added.

Speaking on the persistent scarcity of petrol, Isong said it depends on NNPC which is the sole importer of fuel. He said more products have been imported but that it would take a while for it to clear.


Oil price hits $105 over Russia, Ukraine faceoff

Crude oil price hit a record $105 per barrel on Thursday after an escalated face-off between Russia and Ukraine being the highest since August 2014, records show.

Russia is said to be the third-largest oil producer and second-largest oil exporter. Already, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its alliance OPEC+ of which Nigeria is a member, is expanding production output but more countries are unable to meet their quota prompting supply decline amidst rising demand.

Reports said Russia launched an attack on Ukraine early Thursday with Ukraine guarding its borders and downing at least five Russian fighter jets.

According to a Reuters report, at least three major buyers of Russian oil were unable to post Letters of Credit from Western banks to cover purchases on Thursday.

Brent crude was up $7.26, or 7.5%, at $104.10 a barrel as of 1437 GMT, having touched a high of $105.79.

If the faceoff continues, experts fear crude oil price may continue to be above $100 per barrel unless there is more alternative of the US shale oil or the Iran crude.

The rise in crude oil price means higher income for Nigeria as the current N17 trillion budget is benchmarked on $62 a barrel.

OPEC+ continues to expand output, but output remains limited by sabotage at 1.4 – 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) for Nigeria.

However, on the other hand, it may translate to higher hike in petrol price for local consumption amidst issues of funding over N3 trillion subsidy for this fiscal year.

NNPC Ltd had proposed up to N270 billion per month to sustain the N162 to N165 per litre retail price despite having a landing cost of over N200, Daily Trust reports.


Expert reacts on oil price rise

According to a senior lecturer (Economics) at the Lagos Business School, Dr. Bongo Adi, the 1991 Gulf War gave Nigeria a windfall, during the Babangida era. It wasn’t fully accounted for.

“Oil is $105/barrel; the fuel pump price is high; we see high inflation all over the world. Nigeria is also importing from the same market, so it’ not going to help us. And that is what I say about the current high price of petrol in Nigeria, which some people erroneously link to the contaminated fuel,” he explained.

Adi said even though oil has risen, our production remains at about 1.4mb/d, against 2.2mb/d. Nigeria is actually running short on volume, so that means revenue suffers a severe shortfall.

“So, if the Dangote Refinery comes on stream, I can say that this is going to be a windfall for Nigeria. Because from what we read, Nigeria is going to sell crude oil to the refinery in naira not in dollars,” Adi enthused about the refinery billed to begin operation by year end.

A Bloomberg Businessweek report has detailed how the “romance” between the serial internet fraudster, Ramon Abass, better known as Hushpuppi, and disgraced Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, led to the sinking of the top police officer’s career.

On December 8, 2019 Ramon Abbas, better known as @hushpuppi, Ray Hushpuppi, or the Billionaire Gucci Master, posted a photo of himself lounging on the hood of his purple Rolls-Royce.

His outfit, designed by the legendary Virgil Abloh, was a sky blue shirt-and-pants set with a white cloud that appeared to float across his forearms and midriff.

He’d parked the Rolls in the driveway of the Palazzo Versace Dubai, a resort-style hotel where he lived in a penthouse apartment. For Abbas, then a 37-year-old influencer who’d gone from a childhood in a poor part of Lagos to an adulthood full of private jets and celebrity friends, this sort of extremely conspicuous consumption was his brand.

“I don’t believe in competition,” read the post’s caption. “You’re not me and THATS IT #LouisVuitton #OffWhite #VirgilAbloh #RollsRoyce.”

That same week, 3,000 miles away, DCP Abba Kyari, also known as @abbakyari75, struck a different pose. Kyari’s style was all business: seated at a desk stacked with files, wearing a blue dashiki and his ever-present AirPods. Flanked by two plainclothes deputies, he looked purposefully into the camera.

His caption was equally dry: “With my Senior Colleagues today.” Lining the walls behind him were shelves laden with dozens of his awards. In a decade-long string of busts, Kyari, then 44, had captured kidnappers, freed schoolchildren, and hunted assassins.

“He was the star,” says Rommy Mom, who sits on Nigeria’s Police Service Commission, an independent body responsible for police oversight. During a yearslong wave of violent crime and terrorism, the Nigerian press had nicknamed Kyari, the chief of the country’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT), the Super Cop.

Kyari’s glowing press ran counter to law enforcement’s checkered reputation in Nigeria.

In particular, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, or SARS—which Kyari had previously headed for six years in Lagos—was known for a mix of savage brutality and day-to-day corruption. A year later, in 2020, SARS’s tactics would be the subject of large street protests that culminated in the government agreeing to disband it. Even then, Kyari somehow seemed to float above it all.

The Billionaire Gucci Master and the Super Cop could hardly have seemed more different. Hushpuppi had more than 2 million Instagram followers to Kyari’s 80,000, and he’d have looked about as at home in an office surrounded by paperwork as Super Cop would have on the hood of a purple Rolls. Yet behind each man’s carefully sculpted public image, their fates appear to have been deeply intertwined.

Off camera, Abbas fueled his lifestyle with a different kind of hustle, as an online scammer and money launderer. He was a partner in what are called business email compromise scams, in which hackers penetrate corporate accounts and collect on phony invoices. He moved money for scams that targeted a law firm in New York, a bank in Malta, and a Premier League soccer club.

He teamed up with a loose network of hackers and fraudsters—including, at least once, a state-sponsored group from North Korea—in schemes chasing as much as $100 million.

Eventually he landed in the crosshairs of the FBI. In June 2020, local police raided his Dubai penthouse and shipped him to the U.S., where last summer he pleaded guilty to money laundering related to scams that brought in close to $24 million. This July, he’ll face a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison.

The announcement of Abbas’s plea contained a more explosive revelation, however. The U.S. government alleged that one of the influencer’s fellow conspirators was a man sworn to uphold the law: Abba Kyari.

Kyari was born in Gombe, a town in northeastern Nigeria. His dad, a teacher, raised 30 children in a polygamous family, and Kyari was the eldest. As a commander, his exploits were legion.

The connection between the influencer and the Super Cop went back to at least when Kyari paid a visit to Dubai for unknown reasons. The origins of their relationship are murky, but according to court documents, Abbas loaned Kyari a car and driver for his stay. A few weeks later, Kyari sent Abbas a slideshow of photos from the trip and an article about his recent arrest of a kidnapper. “Am really happy to be ur boy,” Abbas responded.

“I promise to be a good boy to u sir.” Unusually for the two prolific Instagram users, both fond of being seen with other famous people, neither ever posted about the other. Whatever the nature of their connection, it wasn’t something they wanted to publicise.

Kyari texted a Nigerian bank account number to Abbas. According to prosecutors, this step completed the crime, making Kyari and his team cops for hire, paid to commit a false arrest.

The same day, a photo on Kyari’s Instagram showed him at a press conference, standing by the podium for the announcement of the arrest of 60 kidnappers. “Nigeria Police will Never relent,” the caption read, “in the fight against these deadly Criminals.”

In his own personal image-making, Kyari’s Instagram showed him drifting a bit further toward Hushpuppi’s scene. In October 2020 he was pictured in his office with the Nigerian pop star Davido, once a friend of Hushpuppi.

Then, on July 28, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Abbas had pleaded guilty to money laundering. The same day, the Justice Department revealed that it had indicted Juma, Chibuzo, Kyari, and three U.S.-based defendants on charges of conspiring to commit fraud and money laundering. Juma, Abbas, and Chibuzo were accused of directly fleecing the businessperson, while Nigeria’s Super Cop was alleged to have aided the conspiracy by jailing Chibuzo in exchange for a bribe.

As befits a celebrity cop, Kyari turned first to social media to defend himself. He posted a long Facebook message, since deleted, claiming that he’d only assisted Abbas in investigating threats against his life. The bank account numbers he’d supplied Abbas, he explained, were for payments to a seller of “native clothes and caps.” Kyari had facilitated the transaction, he claimed, after Abbas had admired them on his Instagram page.

The Police Service Commission suspended Kyari from the force, pending an investigation by the inspector general of police. After the commission received an initial investigative report in December, it determined the report had “gaps” and demanded further digging.

Even facing potential disgrace and extradition, Kyari seemed unable to avoid the spotlight. At the end of January he posted photos to Instagram and Facebook from the wedding of the son of the inspector general of police—the person in charge of investigating him. Obi Cubana, the nightclub owner, was there, too.

After a media uproar, Kyari deleted the posts.
Then, on Feb. 14, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in Nigeria announced that Kyari was suspected in another major crime. The agency alleged that in late January, while supposedly suspended, Kyari had contacted an NDLEA officer saying he and his IRT team had confiscated a 25-kilogram shipment of cocaine. Over several conversations, Kyari allegedly suggested that they join forces to keep and sell most of the seizure, leave some for the prosecution, and split the proceeds.

"The boys are very, very sharp, they are very loyal,” he allegedly said of his team. “I do take good care of them.”

The NDLEA officer reported the approach and, outfitted with a wire, collected the money from Kyari. When Kyari then failed to show up for questioning, he was declared a wanted man.

“With the intelligence at our disposal,” the NDLEA said in its statement, “the Agency believes strongly that DCP Kyari is a member of a drug cartel that operates the Brazil-Ethiopia-Nigeria illicit drug pipeline.”
Late on Valentine’s Day, the Super Cop was taken into custody.

The national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to hand over power to him when he leaves n 2023.

The former Lagos governor had openly declared his intention to contest for President in 2023.

During his visit to the palace of the Ooni of Ife and Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, in Osun State, to seek their support, Tinubu said he stood with Buhari ahead of the 2015 election when he was contesting to be President.

“We went around the country in 2013 to campaign for Buhari. Again in 2019, we stood with him and he won,” he said.

“He will soon finish his tenure. I am saying they should not just leave the post; they should hand it over to me. I cannot demand it alone. I must seek your assistance.

“If monarchs in the region unite and ask for it, if we ask for the presidency gently that they should hand it over to us, I am ready to take over.

“I am competent, capable and fit to pilot the affairs of the country to greatness.”

From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja

As the battle on stamp duty collection intensifies, there are indications that the Federal Government and a trade union may be heading for a collision course over whose mandate it is to collect stamp duties and charges.

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) have for a while now been embattled over who is authorised by the law to assess, collect and account for the stamp duty charges.

NIPOST was stripped of the capacity with the recent signing of the Finance Act by President Muhammadu Buhari.

But the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies (SSASCGOC), an affiliate of TUC, has opposed the development.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja at the weekend, the National Treasurer of TUC, who is the immediate past President-General of SSASCGOC, Mohammad Yunusa, said that the Federal Government has already been dragged to court over the matter.

He said, ‘’The problem we have is the one that is connected to the Federal Government directly which is about the Finance Act. The Finance Act has given the primary functions of NIPOST which is one of our branches to FIRS and we have challenged the government on this matter even to the court that the Finance Act must be repealed.

‘’You can’t take the statutory function of NIPOST and give it to other agency in the disguise of the Finance Act, we can’t accept it. Is there any organisation by law that is allowed to produce and sell stamps in Nigeria apart from NIPOST? That’s what they are trying to do but it is not acceptable to us.’’ In addition, Yunusa disclosed that his union would do everything possible in its rights to ensure the move by the government to privatise the Nigerian Communications Satellites are not achieved.

A policeman, Bamidele Olusegun, said Dowen College was initially indicted in the first legal advice issued by the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) over the death of 12-year-old student, Sylvester Oromoni Jnr.

Mr Olusegun, who is serving with the Homicide Section of the Lagos State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Panti, Yaba, Lagos, stated this on Monday while testifying before an Ikeja Coroner’s Court.

While under cross-examination by counsel to the Oromoni family, Femi Falana, the policeman said he had received interim legal advice from the DPP dated December 30, 2021, which recommended that the school and its staff should be prosecuted for alleged negligence.

Mr Falana showed the witness a copy of the interim report and requested that he read the last paragraph of the document.

Reading it aloud, the policeman said: “There are sufficient facts to establish this offence against Mrs Celina Uduak, Valentine Igboekweze, Hammed Ayomo Bariyu, Adesanya Olusegun and Mr Adeyemi and Dowen College.”

The witness also noted he received another legal advice dated January 4, which had exonerated Dowen College of involvement in the deceased’s death.

The witness affirmed that he conducted a thorough investigation on the matter. He said he was aware that the police had protested that they were not allowed to conclude their investigations on the case due to the issuance of the January 4 DPP advice.

Mr Olusegun also disclosed that two of the suspects detained over the death of late Oromoni had confessed that he was bullied.

“During the investigation, one of the suspects informed me that the deceased was bullied. Another one also told me that he was taken to the third floor to be tortured,” he said.

He also said the suspects were not brought back to the police station for the conclusion of the investigation.

Asked if any suspects had informed him that the deceased was injured on November 14, 2021, Mr Olusegun said he did not have any recollection.

The policeman told the inquest that the deceased’s sister said to him that her late brother was also bullied sometime in October 2021 and that the boy who allegedly bullied him was not punished for the act.

Mr Olusegun confirmed during the cross-examination that a female parent had also reported that her son was bullied by some Dowen College students at the Maroko Police Station.

The director of the Lagos State DPP, Babajide Martins, and counsel to Dowen College, Anthony Kpokpo, informed the inquest that they were not previously served copies of the legal advice with which Falana had cross-examined the witness.

The Coroner, Mikhail Kadiri, adjourned proceedings until February 22 for the continuation of cross-examination.

Controversies had trailed the circumstances surrounding the death of the 12-year-old student who died on November 30, 2021, from injuries sustained in an attack by five senior students of Dowen College for allegedly refusing to join a cult

It was also alleged that he was forced to drink an obnoxious substance by his attackers.

On January 4, the Lagos State DPP’ advice, however, stated that the cause of Oromoni’s death was acute bacterial pneumonia due to severe sepsis.

In this interview, the Chairman of the Council of Amotekun Commanders in South-West and Corps Commander Ondo State, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, speaks on the emerging security challenges in the country, how determined the state Commanders of the Corps in the region are to safeguard life and property and root out criminal elements and the urgent need for a legal system to prosecute parents of ‘Yahoo Boys’.

Let’s talk about emerging security challenges in the country

Security issues are broad; the challenges of security we have are multifaceted. When we came on board about one and a half years ago, the prime of the challenges we had in this part of the country was herders/farmers’ clashes. We were not only bothered about the loss of lives and property but also about the long term effects: Farmers could no longer go to the farm, shortage of food loomed and there was this situation where you had money and there was no food to buy with it.

You will recall that at the time a bowl of garri that sold for N200 rose to N1, 000. Why? Farmers were scared of going to the farm. And the moment Amotekun came, you need to see the barrage of petitions within the first 90 days.

We received petitions in hundreds. Our first challenge was to educate herders and farmers on the limitations and the fact that herders have the right to herd their cows and the farmers the right to grow their crops but none of them should trample on the other’s business. After that, we now went into enforcement and that was where the problem started.

We were attacked initially and a lot of things went into it. We were able to bring to book over 800 herders and we had about 560 massive operations to rescue farmers before the advent of the Anti-open Grazing Law.

Within the last one year of the law in operation in Ondo, which we are enforcing to the letter, we brought the leadership of Miyetti Allah into it, educated them and gave the herders the option of going to court or paying fine. So far, over 300 of them have paid fines while about 50 are going through different stages of prosecution, especially those found with ammunition.

Now, more than 75 per cent of herders/farmers’ clashes in Ondo State are resolved; we are coping with the remaining 25. Another menace we found is kidnapping which degenerated to a stage whereby within the town, people could no longer board taxis for the fear of being kidnapped in Akure. We embarked on massive Operation Clean-up we are on Phase Seven now.

We started Phase One, which was within the city; Phase Two within the borders of the city, Phase Three, we took the initiative to go into the hideouts of criminals and smoked them out; Phase Four, we went into all the 18 local governments; Phase Five, we went into the forests because we now found out that they left the cities and began operating from the forests. The government came up with a policy that made it very easy for us to operate because there are guidelines on how herders can operate in forest reserves, and the biggest of such is that they must be registered with the government. This enables us to know that they are there and, if there is any criminal activity around there, we hold them responsible.

This is mainly why most of these herders don’t want to register, but, substantially, we have been able to handle a lot of such. Again, we found out that after the #ENDSARS crisis, weapons got into the wrong hands; and Akure has a history of requisite peace became the haven for criminals. We strategized and came up with a policy, having discovered that 80 per cent of these criminal activities were done in the evening using motorbikes.

The government came up with a policy banning the use of Okada after 6 pm. We raked in over 2,000 Okadas within the first three months and criminal activities dropped by over 50 per cent. Of late, we came up with a policy after observing also that now criminals don’t use Okada but unregistered cars and tinted vehicles without registration numbers. We reminded the citizenry of the need to register their vehicles and obtain police permits.

Again, we embarked on massive public enlightenment for the people to be aware, we gave them a month before we began enforcement. Initially, the public did not see the benefit but again criminal activities dropped tremendously once we had a clampdown on the use and violators are punished: some were prosecuted; most of them were made to pay separate fines for tinted glass and non-registration.

By and large, we have been able to bring sanity to the state. In the last five years, it has been a norm in Ondo and generally in the South-West that criminal activities increase between October and December. But the last one, we did a massive deployment to all control points. We created 15 major control points in Akure and four in each of the other local governments to an extent that criminals cannot even get out of the state.

We also know that their targets are banks, so we created pin-down points on major commercial areas and financial institutions. We were able to ensure, in collaboration with sister security agencies, that there was no single robbery operation in the state during the Yuletide season. Even ‘Yahoo Boys’, we are on top of the situation with synergy with hoteliers in the state.

What would you proffer as a solution to fraudsters called ‘Yahoo Boys’?

The majority of the parents of these boys know what their children do: coming home with exotic cars, a 200-level student buying houses and cars for their parents, and they know that they don’t have legitimate jobs. They are accomplices as far as I am concerned. I am looking forward to a situation whereby the legal system will take care of such parents. Decadence is a big failure in the family setting.

There is no way your ward will be misbehaving to such an extent and you will not know, otherwise, you have failed as a parent. Again, the majority of our youths are on the streets and idleness they say is the devil’s workshop.

They are graduates, their parents had laboured to train them, coming out with good grades but no job; government should consider massive job creation for these youths to stem crime.

And for security agencies, the government has a lot of work to do: the system needs to be reinvigorated to such an extent that basic tools and equipment are provided for the personnel.

Most security agencies don’t have these; even we in Amotekun, we give kudos to Governor Odunayo Akeredolu, but I tell you that a whole local government is being policed by only one vehicle by Amotekun.

So, you now know that we have a big task. It was a welcome idea today, in the magnanimity of Mr Governor, he donated three additional operational vehicles to Amotekun. It will greatly assist us and go a long way in solving most of the problems we have, especially at the senatorial levels.

People speak about the rivalry between Amotekun and sister agencies in the state in the cause of duty…

We don’t have that kind of challenge in Ondo. I work in synergy with the police, DSS, the Army and the NSCDC. Out of about 1,000 major operations that Amotekun led, all of them were with the support of all these security agencies. Virtually all the kidnap cases, apart from using our equipment, we rely on the tracking given to us by the DSS. And when we need to penetrate, we involve the Army, the police and Civil Defence. In the last five weeks, it has been a joint operation in Ose and Owo local government areas; we have been combing the forests to arrest criminals. A similar operation took place about two weeks ago in Akoko and all our border areas.

Amotekun Corps appears to be relatively effective even with a few personnel...

I want to thank the governors of the South-West for the Amotekun initiative. As of the time we came on board, the security situation of the South-West was in a sorry state. We sat down and drafted our means of recruitment and training; and in the recruitment, we agreed to deploy both conventional and unconventional security. That is the combination of literate and illiterate, talents, knowledge and whatever it takes to guarantee the security of our people.

And if you look at our recruitment style, and age bracket, we have it between 20 and 70 years old, educational background is between Primary Six and PhD, very broad. We have pastors, priests, traditionalists and different forms of spirituality in our security method. This is why we are able to confront bandits with sophisticated equipment and we subdue them.

Since FG says state police is not an option, what hope for Amotekun?

The primary responsibility of a democratically elected governor is the protection of lives and property, and that has not been taken away from them. This is what the South-West governors are exercising; don’t forget, Amotekun is set up by law and we are operating within the ambit of that law. By this time, I don’t think we should bother about nomenclature, what is more, relevant is the protection of lives and property.

Somebody brought from Taraba to protect someone from Ondo in Igbara-Oke will not know the terrain, but I know the terrain. So, there are times when we go on the joint operation, they don’t have a choice but to rely on us to penetrate the indigenes. This is one of the advantages.

Let’s talk about the agitations to carry firearms by state security outfits such as Amotekun…

There should be good regulations in place to allow government security agencies to carry the kind of sophisticated weapons that bandits, kidnappers and armed robbers use.

Any plan to fight crime with the use of modern technology?

We had a reported case in Ekiti recently of some victims being kidnapped and what we deployed (shows satellite gadget); this is a geo-location, the point where the kidnappers were.

We have satellite imaging, and, again, if you look at my communication equipment, we use the state-of-the-art equipment devoid of topography; whether you are on the water, in the water, on the hill and we don’t use the repeater. So, we can reach out to everywhere in the state that we need to talk to and all these are satellite imaging in real-time.

LAGOS – Following the re­cent arrest of the suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Abba Kyari, and other police officers over alleged involvement in a case of illicit drug trafficking involving a perpetual transnational drug cartel, some Nigeri­ans have expressed doubts over the likely outcome of the case.

Barrister Emeka Iheonu, a Lagos lawyer and member of the Af­rican Bar Association (ABA), said that Abba Kyari and his accomplic­es should be made to face trial immediately.

He said: “When I heard the news the first time, my first reaction was that it was a ploy by some people in government to shield Kyari from being extradit­ed to the US with respect to Hushpuppi’s case.

To even learn that the drug deals occurred re­cently while the suspend­ed DCP is still on suspen­sion as the Head of the Police Inspector General’s Response Team is more worrisome and suspicious at the same time.

“Be that as it may, if it has been established that he actually connived and conspired with others, he and his co-conspirators should be charged to court immediately and given an accelerated hearing.

“Unfortunately, crim­inal prosecution in Ni­geria is very slow due to various factors. That is why I would prefer him to be extradited to the US to face earlier allegations against him by the FBI.”

Another lawyer and hu­man rights activist, Bar­rister Alaowei E. Cleric, in his reaction, maintained that DCP Abba Kyari’s case seemed to be what he described as “a dicey sit­uation.”

Barrister Cleric, Chair­man, Board of Trustees, Centre for Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Crusade (CHURAC), expressed misgivings over “the Federal Gov­ernment’s earlier claim that arrangements were ongoing to extradite the indicted officer to the USA and all of a sudden, the NDLEA declared him wanted for drug traffick­ing”.

According to him, “It may look like the author­ities are rooting for soft landing for him. I just hope that the NDLEA’s trial is not a ploy to shield him from possible extradition.”

Adding his voice, Sha­kirudeen Olofin, the South West Secretary of the New Nigerian Peo­ples Party (NNPP), said: “I saw it coming. This is another abracadabra sold to Nigerians. This dum­my is sold to stall the ex­tradition process.

“We should read in-be­tween the lines. An IRT head would not pull such a stunt without ensur­ing that all loopholes are properly and adequately blocked.”

Olofin, former chair­man of the party in La­gos State, added: “Abba Kyari is not a neophyte in the Nigerian Police Force. He understands how the game is being played. This is another episode of the Nigeria comedy.

“We’ll wait patiently for the concluding part of this comedy. Nigeria we hail thee.”

The police authorities had, last week, said that it arrested DCP Abba Kyari and four other po­lice officers for their in­volvement in an alleged case of criminal conspir­acy, discreditable, uneth­ical, and unprofessional conduct, official corrup­tion and tampering with exhibits in a case of illic­it drug trafficking involv­ing a perpetual transna­tional drug cartel.

The Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Hajiya Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, was booed during the presentation of certificates to elected area councils chairmen on Friday.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner in the nation’s capital, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, presented the certificates at a ceremony attended by top politicians.

Tijjani’s speech was disrupted by some party supporters when she advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to devise an alternative where people will vote manually if there are technical glitches.

There were complaints of INEC BVAS malfunctioning during the last Saturday’s council election.

But shouting in Hausa, they said, ‘Karya ne ba ma so’, meaning “It’s a lie, we don’t want it”.

The minister attempted to pacify the aggrieved crowd but they shouted her down as sounds of “Ba ma so’, meaning “We don’t want”, rend the air.

Senator Philip Aduda, representative of the FCT at the National Assembly, stormed out of the venue in anger.

Security personnel at the venue were unable to control the rowdy party supporters.

The minister, who later dropped her microphone, went round to exchange pleasantries with some dignitaries before leaving the venue.

The INEC REC later presented the certificates of return to the chairmen of AMAC, Kwali, Gwagwalada, Bwari and Kuje area councils.

Bello, while congratulating the elected chairmen, urged stakeholders to partner with INEC in order to ensure smooth elections in 2023.

He also called on party leaders and stakeholders across the FCT to sensitise their people on the need to collect their voters card.

Daily Trust observed that the chairmen of APC and PDP in the FCT, Alhaji Abdulmalik Usman and Sunday Zaka, were not present at the occasion.

There is uneasy calm among top officers of the Nigeria Police Force as the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) deepens its investigation on the embattled Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, and four accomplices who were arrested for involvement in drug business.

Kyari was arrested by the police on Monday for alleged drug trafficking and handed over to the NDLEA along with four others – Sunday Ubuah, ASP Bawa James, Inspector Simon Agrigba and John Nuhu. Another officer, ASP John Umoru, is said to be at large.

The NDLEA vowed on Wednesday that it would not back down in getting to the root of the matter – hence its move to approach a Federal High Court in Abuja to detain the suspended police officers beyond 48 hours.

It was gathered that some officers who have links or have done one or two things with the suspended colleagues in one way or the other, are becoming apprehensive because the embattled cops might be forced to mention names.

Our correspondent, who visited the headquarters of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) popularly called Abattoir in Guzape District, Abuja on Thursday, where Kyari’s office is located, observed that the issue of probe was topical among the officers.

One of the officers was heard saying “the matter get as ehn be o… my prayer be say make anybody no mention my name o… I no like wahala o…” (sic).

Another officer, who was also heard, said, “We are all law enforcers. We will settle the matter at last, but the NDLEA should tread softly on this matter. They should not spoil the names of our Ogas with this their acclaimed investigation. No one is a saint or clean as far as Nigeria is concerned.”

Daily Trust reports that the defunct SARS headquarters which houses Intelligence Response Team (IRT), anti-cultism, anti-car theft, anti-kidnapping, anti-bomb units among other units, is still filled with activities.

Similar situation rented the atmosphere at Force headquarters where efforts among top echelons in the police are in top gear to re-strategise.

A senior official while discussing with one of his colleagues said, “We heard NDLEA has gone to court in order to detain already suspended personnel beyond 48 hours.

“Head or tail, the agency wants them to disclose more information at their disposal in order to finger some people, we are not afraid. Anybody found connected with the matter will definitely defend himself. Legally, the Force will clear its name. The Force will also ensure its image is rebranded.

Meanwhile, the spokesman of the Force, Muyiwa Adejobi, when contacted to find out how far the Force had gone with the deadline of two weeks PSC gave it to submit a new report, said he’s not aware of it.

He promised to find out and get back to our correspondent but he was yet to do so as at when filing this report.

Wilson300:
Wil be taking it down shortly someone should tell me what to do was so embarrassed today having sex with my girlfriend today didn’t even feel a thing

Many passengers have been left injured after the 18 seater commercial bus conveying them was hit by a Joint Task Force (JTF) vehicle Friday in Osogbo.

The JTF operatives it was gathered were giving chase to suspected yahoo boys when the accident occured.

The accident occurred around Ring Road and it was learnt that the JTF operatives tried to run away from the scene of the accident but for angry onlookers who prevented them from leaving.

Information available to DAILY POST indicates that victims have been conveyed in an O’Ambulance to an undisclosed hospital for treatment.

Idowu Abdullahi


Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has said former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, and his successors elected under the Peoples Democratic Party platform built the Second Niger bridge with mouth for sixteen years.

Adesina, who made the claim in an article titled, ‘NDABOSKI! If Only For 2nd Niger Bridge, This Country Won’t Ever Forget Buhari’, and shared on his official Facebook page on Thursday, noted that the successive PDP governments only pay lip service to the project.

The presidential spokesman noted that despite the trauma and travails users of the River Niger bridge passes through, the administrations before that of his principal, the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), used words of mouth to sway the people for votes when its election time.

According to him, when politicians want the votes of South Easterners as elections approach, they go and offload shovels, pickaxes, wheelbarrows, cutlasses, and others at the site, as if that is what is required to build a bridge of that magnitude.

He wrote, “Built-in 1965, the artery between the South East, South-South, and the rest of the country has become grossly inadequate, and torture to navigate at peak seasons. There was a year travelers even spent the night on the bridge.

“There is a long history to the building of a second bridge over the River Niger, and it had over the years become a tool of false promises, lies, and propaganda.

“When politicians want the votes of South Easterners as elections approach, they go and offload shovels, pickaxes, wheelbarrows, cutlasses, and others at the site, as if that is what is required to build a bridge of that magnitude.

“After they’ve got the votes, they come to remove their miserable implements. Goodbye basket, I’ve carried all my apples. The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) did it for 16 years, building the bridge with their mouths.”

After giving details on the project from the successive military regimes before Obasanjo’s presidency, Adesina wrote, “Then came Olusegun Obasanjo, a former military head of state, as civilian President. He promised to build the bridge. It didn’t happen in eight years.

“About five days before he left office, Obasanjo flagged off the project, to cost N58.6 billion, and handed it to his successor, Umaru Yar’Adua. No action in the three years that the administration lasted. Understandably so, for Yar’Adua was infirm.

“Then came Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, who even at a point added Azikiwe to his name. He promised Heaven on earth, saying he was a South easterner, and he would build the bridge. During a Town Hall meeting on August 30, 2012, in the region, he said what would he claim he had done for his Igbo brethren, if he didn’t build the bridge.

“Later, Azikiwe disappeared from Jonathan’s name, and the Second Niger bridge disappeared with it. All that happened in the about six years that the administration lasted was a Federal Executive Council approval for final planning and design of the bridge. All motion, no movement.”

On Buhari’s response, he added, “And then came the man from Daura, a Fulani, with no affinity with the South East. He didn’t make promises, he didn’t boast. He just went to work quietly.

“From September 1, 2018, without fanfare or swashbuckling, action started on the Second Niger bridge. Babatunde Raji Fashola, Minister for Works and Housing, was the chief executioner. Doggedly, he and his principal set to work. And here we are today. What has defeated many military and civilian administrations is now reality in our country.”

Kayode Oyero


An Abuja-based human rights lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, has urged the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency to parade narcotics suspect, Abba Kyari, with 25kg cocaine, $61,400 and other exhibits recovered from the Deputy Commissioner of Police.

Olajengbesi stated this in a Facebook post on Thursday, noting that security agents should embarrass Kyari by parading him before the media as they do to other suspects.

“In this Abba Kyari’s case, the Nigerian security agencies are yet to demonstrate equal lawlessness they carry out in investigating and embarrassing citizens by interviewing them on cameras, taking their pictures holding boards with incriminating inscriptions and parading them with their criminal items in press conference like they do to common criminals.

“We need the NDLEA to bring Abba Kyari to answer questions on TV with display of the 25kg cocaine. Let us not be hopeless in this country!” the lawyer wrote.

The PUNCH had earlier reported that the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, on Monday, handed over Kyari to anti-narcotics agency for prosecution over alleged link in drug trafficking after the NDLEA release damning photo and video evidence to nail Kyari.

The NDLEA said Kyari, the suspended head of the Intelligence Response Team, belonged to a drug cartel that operates the Brazil-Ethiopia-Nigeria illicit drug pipeline.

The anti-narcotics agency also said Kyari contacted one of its officers in Abuja and struck a deal to secure the release of a total of 25kg seized cocaine and offered $61,400 bribe to NDLEA officers who played along until his arrest.

The NDLEA also said it had photo and video evidence against Kyari.

The IGP in a statement had corroborated the NDLEA’s findings, saying incontrovertible evidence indicted Kyari in the drug crimes.

The police had been investigating Kyari for over eight months after the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States indicted the “super cop” in 2021 for his alleged role in a $1m scam allegedly perpetrated by alleged international Internet fraudster Ramon Abbas, aka, Hushpuppi and five others.

The FBI had said Hushpuppi paid Kyari N8m or $20,600 for the arrest and detention of a “co-conspirator,” Chibuzo Vincent.

The United States Attorney’s Office at the Central District of California had declared Kyari wanted but the Nigerian government has yet to extradite him to face prosecution in the US before the cop’s NDLEA ordeal.

However, in its recent report, the Nigeria Police Force revealed that members of a syndicate led by Hushpuppi paid N235,120,000 to Kyari’s younger brother.

The probe also indicated that Kyari equally funnelled N44m to his brother’s bank account in multiple transactions.

However, the investigation report obtained by our correspondent failed to disclose whether Kyari’s brother was acting as a proxy for his embattled elder brother who is currently in NDLEA custody and is expected to be arraigned for drug trafficking-related offences.

Security agents have also not arrested Kyari’s brother as of press time.

A12-year-old girl has allegedly been raped at gunpoint by a man identified as Israel and said to be the Chairman of Oguname Street Association in Agbarho, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State.

It was learnt that the suspect was apprehended by local security men in the area on Tuesday night.

Isreal was said to have offered N20,000 as a bribe to the security guards who caught him in the act. They, however, reportedly, declined and took him to the town hall.

It was learnt that some members of the community are trying to cover up the incident, saying that "the 12-year-old girl was not a virgin” and that “sex is not a new thing to her," Warri Aproko reports.

When contacted by SaharaReporters, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bright Edafe, said they had also heard about the alleged rape but it had not been reported.

"The matter has not been reported, we are only hearing the rumour just the way you did. We don't have information; nobody has reported it. We don't know who to arrest, we don't even know who was raped.

"As soon as I get information that concerns the matter, I will revert," he said.

The Police Service Commission has announced the suspension of the two police officers working under the suspended Abba Kyari in the Intelligence Response Team of the Force Investigation and Intelligence Department of the Nigeria Police Force.

The suspended police officers are Assistant Commissioner of Police, Sunday Ubua and Assistant Superintendent of Police, James Bawa.

This was following their alleged involvement in a drug deal being investigated by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

In a statement on Thursday by the Commission’s Head, Press and Public Relations, Ikechukwu Ani, their suspension were with effect from Monday.

Also, the Inspector General of Police was requested to suspend Inspector Simon Agrigba and Inspector John Nuhu in accordance with the Powers of Delegation.

Ani said a letter dated February 16 and signed by a retired Justice of the Supreme court, Justice Clara Ogunbiyi, and an ex-IGP, Musiliu Smith, had been sent to the IGP to intimate him of the commission’s pronouncement on the matter.

The statement partly read,” The Police Service Commission has suspended Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP Sunday Ubua and Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP James Bawa in accordance with the provisions of the Public Service Rules 030406. the Commission has approved the suspension of the Officers until the outcome of the investigation into the allegations levelled against them.

Abba Kyari owes Nigeria more than the USA
“The Commission also directed the Inspector General of Police to note also that DCP Abba Kyari, who prior to this allegation was on suspension, shall remain so until the conclusion of investigations.

“The Inspector General of Police was requested to place on suspension Inspector Simon Agrigba and Inspector John Nuhu in accordance with the Powers of Delegation.

“The IGP is further requested to inform the Commission of the arrest of ASP John Umoru who is currently at large whenever his arrest is effected to enable it take necessary action.”

He added that the commission also directed the Inspector General of Police to furnish it with information on further development on the matter for necessary action.

Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy, says the federal government has outlawed the use of generic internet domains for official purposes.

Pantami said this on Wednesday while addressing journalists at the end of the weekly federal executive council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

The minister said the council approved the ‘National Policy on the Government, Second Level Domain’, which mandates the migration of all official communications from generic domains to the nation’s second-level domain under government top-level domain.

He explained that all government agencies must switch to an official communication medium and stop using public email systems such as Gmail, Yahoo mail, Hotmail, and others.

“This policy has been approved, and it focuses more on mandating federal public institutions, ministries, departments, agencies (MDAs) and all institutions as long as they are for government; they should migrate from using generic domains in their websites and their emails to our second level domain under government top-level domain,” Pantami said.

“For example, you will discover today, some government institutions will engage in official communications using private email: yahoo.com hotmail.com gmail.com.

“And it is an official communication and someone may retire or will complete his tenure or the tenure can be terminated, and he will go with the same email. And in that email, there are many official documents.

“So, this will not be tolerated by the government anymore. Any official communications must be using an official email and that email should not be a generic one, it must be ‘.gov.ng.’ What is most important is ‘.ng’ that is our national identity.”

“There are many categories of the second-level domain, some are for military, you will see like mil.ng mil is a short form of military.ng for Nigeria. You can see .gov.ng — Gov for government and ng for Nigeria.

“So, there are categories of the second-level domain, while our country top-level domain.ng must be there in our websites so that whoever gets access will know that this website is from Nigeria, while for email, it must reflect the official name.”

TORTUOUS from the onset, the long-running scandals involving a disgraced senior police officer, Abba Kyari, just got messier. From being indicted in 2021 for aiding the fraudster, Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi, he has allegedly been caught red-handed and neck-deep in international drug trafficking by agents of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and is finally in their custody. The sordid affair is still unfolding before a shocked global audience. Without question, Nigeria’s global reputation on corruption, misgovernance and fragile institutions has suffered further battering.

Worse may be on the way. From the President, Major-General Buhari (retd.), who (as usual) failed to act swiftly and decisively when Kyari was first fingered in a fraud deal by the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation, down to the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, who has been ambiguous in punishing the tarnished police officer, and the official delay to facilitate his extradition as demanded by the US government, the country has been ill-served. The lack of synergy among critical agencies prevalent in the regime is also playing out. Some NDLEA operatives too will not escape exposure.

From this scandal, Buhari should take sweeping, decisive action, including sacking complicit senior officials, overhauling the police and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, as well as taking charge of, and coordinating the anti-corruption and anti-drug trafficking wars. Nothing less will suffice to salvage the havoc done to the country’s image.

The drama came into public glare on Monday when the NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, addressed a news conference in Abuja, where he dropped the bombshell that Kyari, a deputy commissioner of police, had been ensnared in a sting operation while aiding and abetting drug trafficking. Kyari had allegedly sought to bribe NDLEA operatives, tamper with exhibits, and facilitate collusion with drug traffickers, he said. Babafemi declared, “With the intelligence at our disposal, the agency believes strongly that DCP Kyari is a member of a drug cartel that operates the Brazil-Ethiopia-Nigeria illicit drug pipeline…” This is damning. He presented video evidence that appeared to show Kyari making illegal deals with an NDLEA agent and handing over $61,400 as bribe to pervert justice.

Consequently, the NDLEA declared Kyari, who headed the IGP’s Intelligence Response Team before his suspension, wanted. Shortly afterwards, the Nigeria Police HQ issued a statement, saying Baba had ordered an investigation into the matter. Crucially, it said the Force had arrested Kyari and four other officers and handed them over to the NDLEA.

Regardless of how the case ends, the entire Kyari saga exposes how deep corruption, impunity, incompetence, and criminality have corroded institutions and governance in Nigeria. True, under the law, Kyari and other suspects are presumed innocent until otherwise pronounced by the courts, but his case smears mud on the regime, the police, and the system.

Many questions beg for answers, including the conduct of key officials. Start with the IG: when in July last year, a US court indicted Kyari in the $1.1 million scam perpetrated by Abbas and ordered his arrest, based on which the US eventually requested Kyari’s extradition to face trial, Baba suspended the erstwhile “super cop.” As a Lagos-based civil rights lawyer, Femi Falana, observed; “That a serving police officer who is suspended, would also (be able to) mobilise police personnel to go and perpetrate drug trafficking shows that the system has collapsed.”

Baba must explain how Kyari was able to conduct operations and mobilise police officers he called “my boys” while ostensibly on suspension, especially as another officer had been appointed to run the unit. Besides, Baba needs to explain why it took him four days after the NDLEA formally requested it and the viral public exposure by the NDLEA to arrest and hand Kyari and his accomplices over to the drug law agency. Buhari should order an inquiry that will among others, uncover the veracity or otherwise of attempts to shield, cover up and exonerate Kyari, who recently turned up as a guest at the wedding of Baba’s son in Maiduguri, Borno State, from the Hushpuppi extradition affair.

Nigerians will recall that Baba has been having a running battle over Kyari with the Police Service Commission. While the IG’s initial report on the Abbas case was deemed to be mild on the disgraced officer, the PSC has insisted that the officer has a strong case to answer and should be so treated. Its insistence on a new investigating panel after it rejected the tepid result of the one set up by the IG has not been acted upon. Elsewhere, there is zero tolerance for corrupt law enforcement officers. In February 2020, a South Texas, US, police officer, Hector Beltran, was sentenced to 10 years in jail for drug trafficking. Similarly, in May 2021, a corrupt Scotland Yard, United Kingdom, officer, Kashif Mahmood, was jailed eight years for involvement with a drugs gang from whom he also stole £850,000. China executes such offenders.

An independent inquiry enquiry should thoroughly examine the role of the Office of the AGF. Though Malami has always declared that the Federal Government is cooperating with the US government over the extradition request, some civil rights groups have alleged delaying tactics in bringing Kyari to trial by his office.

That is not all. The police also alleged collusion with traffickers by NDLEA operatives, citing investigations and confessions by detained suspects. This is certainly plausible. The NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Mohammed Marwa, should first order a thorough internal investigation to smoke out complicit officers. Buhari’s investigation should also encompass the agency. The police allegations should not be swept under the carpet.

Buhari should wake up to the reality of his regime in near-chaos. Agencies and officials go rogue, often working at cross-purposes. Lacking effective coordination, and with the President perpetually aloof and inattentive, anti-corruption and security agencies often operate as they like.

In this case, corruption is also on display; so is impunity. He must rein in both. He should set up a strong inquiry, shake up the police and order extensive reforms. All those who colluded with or shielded Kyari should be uncovered, flushed out of the service, and prosecuted. The process must be transparent enough to dismiss conspiracy theories of a ploy to prevent Kyari’s extradition. All processes, including investigation, trial and extradition, should be expedited and long-lasting reforms undertaken.

Former presidential spokesman, Reno Omokri, has raised concerns over the circumstances surrounding the arrest of suspended Head of Intelligence Response Team and Deputy Police Commissioner, Abba Kyari, by the Nigeria Police.

He questioned the rationale behind the secret nature of Kyari’s arrest, which he claimed, was unlike that of embattled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra who was publicly paraded by the Directorate of State Services on several occasions.

Omokri, a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, raised the concerns on his Twitter page on Monday.

He tweeted, “Why the secrecy over Kyari’s arrest? We saw how they paraded a political prisoner like Nnamdi Kanu in handcuffs. Let’s see Abba Kyari paraded like that too for equity. And since Kyari is a fashion consultant, let them force him to wear designers as they did to Kanu!”

The PUNCH had earlier reported that Kyari was arrested alongside four others on Monday hours after the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency declared him wanted over alleged drug links.

The suspended DCP is also under investigation after the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States of America indicted him in the case of fraud involving Instagram celebrity, Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi.

NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, had at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, chronicled how Kyari belonged to a drug cartel that operates the Brazil-Ethiopia-Nigeria illicit drug pipeline.

The anti-drug agency said Kyari contacted one of its officers in Abuja and struck a deal to secure the release of a total of 25kg seized cocaine.

Babafemi said, “After the Agency gave the officer the green light to play along, he and Kyari began a WhatsApp call for the rest of the day. The officer conveyed “their” willingness to play the game.”

“He (Kyari) brought with him the money from the sale of the 5kg share of the NDLEA team, a total of $61, 400. Our officer, however, preferred to take the money inside his car. Well, the car was wired with sound and video recorders. And the moment was documented, part of which I will play for you at the end of this briefing.

“We have a trove of intelligence, hard facts, from chats to photos and video and a detailed transcript of the communication between him and the NDLEA officer,” NDLEA spokesperson said.

By Aliyu Jalal


A Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, has recently been in the news for the wrong reasons. The suspended police officer who had once been one a well-decorated police personnel in the country has been linked with a series of controversies since last year. They are as follows:


– On July 29 2021, infamous Nigerian fraudster Ramon Abbas popularly known as Hushpuppi who is currently facing charges of money laundering and internet fraud in the United States implicated Abba Kyari as a party in an international scheme to defraud a Qatari school founder.


– On August 1, 2021, the Police Service Commission (PSC) suspended Abba Kyari from office as the Deputy Commissioner of Police and Head of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), as a reaction to the charges against him.


– On August 3, 2021, Kyari released a statement on his verified Facebook page narrating how he had only been connected to Hushpuppi through a fabric dealer whom the latter paid about N300, 000. He later edited his statement to further include another money-related case he had handled involving Hushpuppi. But he deleted the post where he had earlier claimed to have linked Hushpuppi up with his tailor.


– On February 14, 2022, Kyari was declared wanted by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency over alleged drug links which included a video of him in a suspicious interaction with another person over deals involving cocaine.


– On the same February 14, a few hours after the NDLEA had declared the suspended DCP wanted, he was arrested by the Nigerian police.

By Wale Akinselure



The Agbekoya Farmers’ Association of Nigeria has called on the government of Benin Republic to urgently release the detained Sunday Adeyemo, popularly called Sunday Igboho, else traditional powers will be used to release Igboho from detention.

In what it called a final ultimatum, President General of the association, Kamorudeen Okiki said the Agbekoya is being forced to activate traditional means to release Igboho because the legal way being adopted was getting more frustrating by the day.

Addressing journalists in Ibadan, on Friday, Kamorudeen warned against anyone daring or belittling the potency of traditional powers in effecting Adeyemo’s release from detention.

The Aare Agbekoya expressed displeasure at the continued detention of Igboho in Benin Republic, saying no criminal charge has been established against Igboho.

He noted that the Agbekoya association is not unaware of plans to frustrate Igboho including his being moved from one detention facility to another in Benin Republic, coupled with his recent six-month detention extension.
Kamorudeen added that the frustration is telling on Igboho’s mum, who he said, is sick presently.

Kamorudeen said: “Last time that I told them in Osogbo that Agbekoya will release Sunday Igboho the traditional way, people think it is a threat.

“Who says there are no traditional means? Agbekoya has powers today as of old. We will do what we say we will do. The advice Yoruba leaders have given is that the legal process should be allowed first but if that does not provide the needed solution, Agbekoya should use its traditional powers.

“We are observing all that is happening in Benin Republic. They are taking him from one prison to another.

“Security with Igboho was changed. But, all that means nothing to us because we mean business regarding releasing Sunday Igboho using traditional means.

“After we said in Osogbo that we will release Sunday Igboho, the government of Benin Republic took him to court and secured another six months extension of his detention. “The government of Benin Republic should not dare us. They should not allow the Nigerian government to corrupt them in illegally detaining Sunday Igboho.

“Release Sunday Igboho now.

“Honestly, we don’t need to enter Benin Republic before we bring Sunday Igboho to Nigeria.

“We are unmoved about the number of security personnel around Sunday Igboho, we will do what we want to do.

“The first time we said we will adopt traditional means to release Igboho, he was taken to court to secure the six months detention order.

“We are giving them the second chance. The third time, we will not call journalists before we do what we want to do.

“We are facing the government of Benin Republic and saying, Release Sunday Igboho now before Agbekoya will release him using our traditional means.

“As we are talking, mother of Sunday Igboho is sick. Do you want her son to die? Moreover, there is no criminal charge in Igboho’s file.”

Speaking further, the Agbekoya President called on President Muhammadu Buhari to yield to calls for restructuring of the country.

He held that the Buhari government will enter history books as the best government if it embarks on restructuring of the country

By Saviour Imukudo

Governor Udom Emmanuel said the Akwa Ibom State Government has been taken to court by “witches” for building a Christian worship centre in the state.

The multi-billion naira worship centre which is ongoing in Uyo has been criticised by many who felt it would have been better to use the money to tackle the many development needs of the oil-rich state.

But Mr Emmanuel has always argued that it was necessary for Akwa Ibom, “as a state named after God, to build a temple for God.

“All (the) witches and wizards came together and took me to court that we are building a Christian Worship Center,” the governor said on Saturday at a media chat that was broadcast live on radio and television.

The programme was also streamed live on Facebook.

“They say they are atheists. The case is in the court, we won them but they have appealed,” the governor added.

Mr Emmanuel, who recently hand-picked one of his cabinet members as his preferred successor in the 2023 governorship election, was responding to a reporter’s question if God truly revealed to him his successor as he claimed.

While answering the question, he veered off to talk about how “witches” sued him and the government.

“Communication between a leader and God is different from what any other person would see or understand, people must understand that,” Mr Emmanuel said about God “revealing” who should succeed him as governor.

The governor’s remark about “witches” appeared to have overshadowed all the other things he said about his administration, as several people from the state took to Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms to talk about “witches”.

One of Mr Emmanuel’s aides, Aniekeme Finbarr, quickly took to Facebook to offer clarifications to the governor’s remarks.

Mr Finbarr said Mr Emmanuel was referring to a lawsuit filed by the Atheist Society of Nigeria against the Akwa Ibom State Government in 2019 to stop the government from building the worship centre.

The court had dismissed the suit and awarded a N500,000 cost against the atheist society.

“It sounds extremely funny but it is true. There are actually real legal attempts to stop the building project,” Mr Finbarr said.

According to Nigeria’s criminal law, it is an offence to accuse any person of being a witch.

Akwa Ibom, with about five million population, is predominantly Christian, with many holding superstitious beliefs and attributing almost every occurrence, including ill-health, job loss, and a failed marriage, to some “evil forces”.

Children in the state, mostly from poor families, have been branded witches, kicked out into the street, while some have been tortured and left to die.

Some residents of Isiala-Ngwa and Ihiala in Abia and Anambra states have fled their homes over the rising cases of ritual killing in those places.

SaharaReporters reliably gathered from fleeing residents that people were being hacked to death and their bodies mutilated by unknown persons, who go away with vital organs.

A resident of Isiala-Ngwa named Ifeanyi Okoli, disclosed that persons had been disappearing from the area mysteriously with their mutilated bodies later discovered in the bush or roadside.

According to him, at least four persons have been killed in this manner in recent times with the dismembered body later found.

As a result of this, some residents afraid for their safety have been moving out of the place to other areas they consider safe enough.

"I moved away from the community more than one week ago over the rise in mysterious deaths and mutilated bodies.

"Ritual killings subsided here a bit some time ago but it appears the evil has returned.

"Everybody is living in fear around this place because they don't want to be a victim of ritual killing," Okoli said.

A community leader in the area, Ezekiel Mba, told SaharaReporters that they were worried about the situation, adding that ritual killers were wreaking havoc around Isiala-Ngwa.

"The police and other law enforcement agencies should come to our aid before it is too late.

"We don't have peace of mind again, ritual killers are causing serious problem," he said.

More residents are contemplating moving out of the area as a result of the situation, SaharaReporters gathered.

In Anambra, a student of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli, under Ihiala Local Government Area of the state, Kelechi Anyoku, told SaharaReporters that some of her colleagues in the area had moved out of their apartments following rising ritual killings and diabolical attacks in the region.

She said at least three mutilated bodies had been discovered along a major highway linking the town and other parts of Anambra in recent weeks.

"Both the student population and residents of the local government area, everybody is afraid and seriously concerned about the ongoing development.

"At least three bodies with several parts removed have been discovered in recent weeks.

"This is in addition to rituals like Okeite that young men do around this region. This is common among Internet fraudsters known as ‘Yahoo Boys’, who release semen inside a lady and after sometime it decays inside her with the guy getting rich in the process.

"Many young ladies have been affected by this ritual, so a lot of us are afraid, we are careful of the places we go to these days," she said.

Uli and Ihiala communities share proximity with Okija – a sleepy town that shot to prominence in 2004 after decomposing human bodies were found at a shrine inside one of its forests during a police invasion.

Current Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, was in 2003 forced to take an oath of loyalty at the shrine by his then political godfather, Chris Uba, before he contested the state's governorship election and won on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party that year.

The Court of Appeal on March 15, 2006, nullified Ngige's victory, paving the way for Peter Obi of the All Progressive Grand Alliance to assume leadership of Anambra.

Disturbed by the latest development, a resident of Uwabakwem, a village close to Okija, Obinna Anokuru, told SaharaReporters that the activities of ritual killers were forcing people to move to safer places over fear for their lives.

"Everybody is afraid. The things happening these days are causing panic.

"Those of us who live here now ensure that we don't move far away from our houses late in the night or go anywhere without letting our family members know about our movement.

"It is the height of wickedness for somebody to kill a fellow human for ritual purposes. Something urgent has to be done about this evil in our land," he said.

Apart from the South-East, ritual killers especially individuals craving quick wealth have also been running riot in other parts of Nigeria, hacking both young and old to death in cruel ways.

A recent security alert by the police identified Ota, Lambe and Mowe in Ogun State, Ikorodu in Lagos, Ilorin in Kwara, Osogbo in Osun, and Oyo State as the major hubs of ritual killings in the South-West.

In an incident that shook Nigeria to its roots, a 20-year-old girl, Sofiat Kehinde, was on February 4, 2022 hacked to death in Abeokuta, Ogun State, by four boys for money ritual purposes.

The victim's boyfriend, Majekodunmi (19); his friend, Mustaqeem Balogun (her 18-year-old ex-boyfriend); and two accomplices killed Kehinde and were burning her head in preparation for a ritual when they were discovered and arrested.

Earlier on January 6 this year, residents of Otuja Harmony Estate in the Ikorodu area of Lagos raised the alarm over the constant invasion of a cemetery in the community by suspected ritualists scavenging for human parts.

Five days later, the police in Ikorodu apprehended a mother and her son for being in possession of fresh human parts.

The son named Afeez Olalere disclosed that his mother encouraged him to kill his younger sibling for a money ritual.

“My mother took me to an herbalist who told me if I want to be successful in the Yahoo business (internet fraud), I will have to sacrifice one life and that person must be a sibling to me," he said.

In December 2021, two siblings, Monsuru Tajudeen and Lawal Tajudeen, were arrested by the police in the Iwo area of Osun State after a ritual den was discovered.

In other parts of the South-West, ritual murders were equally rife in the outgone year with law enforcement agencies unable to nip the menace in the bud.

According to General Secretary, Traditional Religion Worshipers’ Association in Oyo State, Femi Fakayode, the lack of appropriate sanctions for persons found to be involved in ritual killings in Nigeria is responsible for the rise in the disturbing trend.

Fakayode told SaharaReporters that no genuine traditional priest will perform money rituals involving the killing of a human because such is forbidden in their line of work and comes with severe repercussions.

He said those carrying out such rituals for young people seeking quick wealth will suffer the consequences no matter how powerful they may think they are.

"Check all the reported cases and those arrested for carrying out money rituals for members of the public, you will realise that none are traditional priests. Most of them are alfas.

"No real traditional priest will do such because the punishment is instant.

"These killings thrive because our laws are weak and punishment is almost non-existent for serious crimes especially when the offender has money to bribe officials.

"In our traditional system, the punishment for such heinous act is instant. You can't escape it.

"Therefore, we must go back to the traditional system, the way we operated before alien religion came in.

"If we go back to that system, even our leaders who are looting our treasury and destroying the country will buckle down," he said.

Renowned traditional priest, Chief Yemi Elebuibon, told SaharaReporters that those killing fellow humans thinking that it would make them rich are wasting their time as there is no spirit anywhere that will bring money to them.

According to him, only honest and genuine labour could bring money and wealth in the long haul.

"There is really nothing like money rituals, there is no spirit anywhere that will bring money to you in your house. That idea is erroneous and unfortunately many young people in Nigeria today are falling for it.

"One of the best ways out of this problem is for government to create jobs for youths across the country to get them productively engaged. A lot of them are idle and that is why the desire to make quick money is rampant among them.

"It is very sad how we have come to this point where people just kill another human because they want to be rich. It is sad," he said.

Spokespersons for the police in Abia and Anambra states, Geoffrey Ogbonna and Ikenga Tochukwu, when contacted by SaharaReporters on Thursday, said that the cases will be looked into and appropriate measures would be taken to tackle the menace.

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives called for the declaration of a national emergency of the rising cases of ritual killings across Nigeria.

Minority Leader of the House, Mr Toby Okechukwu, moved the motion during plenary at the lower chamber of the National Assembly.

He and his colleagues urged the National Orientation Agency and other stakeholders in the society to embark on vigorous campaigns to open the eyes of members of the public especially youths to the evils of ritual killings for money.

But according to a Lagos-based sociologist, Nike Adetutu, tackling this dangerous trend in Nigeria will also require the return to core morals and values in society.

According to her, training and monitoring at the family level has broken down and that is why there are young people with misplaced priorities and poor orientation everywhere.

"We must go back to the family system, where everything starts, we have failed in that area as a society.

"Parents are no longer giving the right training and monitoring to their children and that is why many of them have gone astray.

"The return to core morals and values will save us from all these problems. If we don't act fast, we may not be able to handle the disaster already looming," she said.