A US navy nuclear engineer and his wife have been charged with trying to sell nuclear secrets to what they thought was a foreign state.
Jonathan Toebbe and his wife Diana were arrested in West Virginia on Saturday, the Justice Department announced.
They allegedly tried to sell nuclear submarine design data, hidden in a peanut butter sandwich, to someone they thought represented another country.
In fact, it was an undercover FBI agent.
According to the statement, Mr Toebbe and his partner - 42 and 45 respectively - have now been charged under the Atomic Energy Act.
Mr Toebbe worked in the US Navy's nuclear propulsion programme and had national security clearance.
The Justice Department said that in April 2020 he sent a package to a foreign government containing restricted data and a message suggesting a covert relationship, so that they could buy more data from him.
He then allegedly began writing to an individual by encrypted email. While he thought this person represented the foreign government, they were actually an FBI agent, the affidavit said.
After several months, the accused couple allegedly made a deal to share secret information in exchange for around $100,000 (£73,000) in cryptocurrency.
In June this year, Jonathan and Diana Toebbe travelled to West Virginia to drop off the data.
With Diana acting as a lookout, Jonathan "placed an SD card concealed within half a peanut butter sandwich" at a determined location, the affidavit said.
After the agent collected the card, they sent payment and received a decryption key to access the SD card. On it was restricted data "related to submarine nuclear reactors".
Mr Toebbe then performed a second so-called dead drop - this time hidden inside a chewing gum packet - in August, with yet more secret data on it.
FBI agents then arrested the couple on Saturday, during a third dead drop.
The couple are set to appear in federal court on 12 October.
South-East crisis: 175 soldiers, cops, others killed in 72 attacks
CHIDIEBUBE OKEOMA, TONY OKAFOR, RAPHAEL EDE, EDWARD NNACHI and SUNDAY NWAKANMA
10 October 2021
No fewer than 175 persons, including soldiers, police and civilians, have lost their lives in the South-East within the last six months due to the insecurity that has engulfed the troubled region, investigations by Sunday PUNCH revealed.
Our correspondents gathered that the killings took place in 72 attacks by hoodlums across the five states in the region, namely Anambra, Enugu, Imo, Ebonyi and Abia.
Violence, killings and arson attacks had escalated in the region in recent times, with many accusing members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra and the Eastern Security Network of being behind the violence. The groups have however denied any involvement.
Apart from the killings, government facilities such as police stations and offices belonging to the Independent National Electoral Commission were also attacked and some set ablaze.
In Imo State, for example, one of our correspondents reported that 49 policemen and civilians were killed and not less than 11 vehicles burnt in 37 attacks.
In Anambra State, 76 security agents and civilians were killed within the period, while 15 buildings and 28 vehicles were set ablaze.
In Enugu State, 23 persons were killed, four INEC offices and two police stations burnt.
Ebonyi State, however, recorded 32 killings and three arson cases in five attacks while Abia State witnessed seven attacks.
In Imo State, among the several attacks, a law student at the Imo State University, Kingsley Chiwueze, was killed at Douglas Road on April 27 while a policeman was killed at the university’s back gate on May 19.
On May 8, a female officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Chinenye Nwokeocha, was killed.
On Independence Day being October 1, a man was beheaded at Oru West and in separate attacks the following day, the palace of the traditional ruler of Obor and property belonging to a former leader of Orlu legislative council were set ablaze in Orlu local government area.
On October 4, a Department of State Services official, identified as Nwachinamere Ozuzu, was also killed on Owerri-Onitsha Expressway.
Three persons were also beheaded in Orlu on August 2; four oil workers killed on August 16; an Anglican priest killed on September 14; a Germany-based Nigerian, Oguchi Unachukwu, reportedly killed by security operatives at the toll gate of Imo Airport while a businessman, Noel Chigbu, was allegedly killed by soldiers in Owerri on May 30.
In Anambra State, top police sources confirmed to one of our correspondents that about 24 security agents, including police, navy, army, DSS and NSCDC, and about 52 civilians were killed within the period.
Prominent among the recent attacks in the state were the murder of Dr Chike Akunyili, the widower of a former Minister of Information, Prof Dora Akunyili, and eight other persons at Nkpor on September 29, 2021.
About 19 persons were killed in Awkuzu in Oyi local government in May after four naval officers were killed in the same Awkuzu.
The attacks in the state had worsened in recent times, which according to analysts and observers, could be tied to the forthcoming November 6 governorship election in the state.
Traditional rulers in the state, led by the Obi of Onitsha, Nnaemeka Achebe, after a meeting in Awka called on the Federal Government to improve the security situation in the state.
In Enugu State, Sunday PUNCH gathered that there had been no fewer than 19 attacks, leading to the death of 23 security personnel and civilians.
Among the attacks were the assassination of the Executive Director, Scientific Equipment Development Institute, Prof Samuel Ndubuisi, and his orderly on July 7; including the killing of the Chief Executive Officer of AutoEase, Ifeanyi Okeke, on July 4.
Also, a retired state High Court judge, Justice Stanley Nnaji, was killed on May 31, 2021, while two officials of Igbo-Eze North Neighbourhood Watch Group were killed and their office burnt on October 3.
In Ebonyi State, some of the attacks include the killing of two soldiers at a checkpoint in Afikpo North local government on April 26, 2021, and the killing of a policeman by gunmen at Onueke in Ezza local government on April 27.
On May 2, another policeman was killed by gunmen at Abaomege Police Station. Also, five farmers were killed by gunmen at Ali Ugwelu village in Ekoli on July 12; while three persons were killed during the enforcement of IPOB’s sit-at-home order on August 9 at a boundary between Onicha and Ohaozara local government areas.
A six-month-old baby, her seven-year-old brother and their mother were brutally murdered by hoodlums in Ohaukwu local government on August 13, while on September 8, security agents killed a fruit seller in Onicha-Igboeze, Onicha local government.
Also, two suspected IPOB members were shot dead at Ugwulangwu in Ohaozara local government on September 16 and on October 7, gunmen killed two policemen and eight civilians at Isu and Onicha-Igboeze communities in Onicha local government.
48 police stations, INEC offices burnt, 700 arrested in Ebonyi
About 48 police stations, INEC offices and other property were attacked in the region within the period under review.
In Imo State, the state police command headquarters, the Owerri Correctional Centre and an army checkpoint on Owerri-Onitsha Road were attacked on April 5. Several inmates were freed during the attack on the correctional centre.
Also, the home of Governor Hope Uzodinma in his hometown, Omuma, was set ablaze on April 24. Izombe and Isu Divisional Police headquarters were also torched in different attacks. Some policemen were injured in the Isu station attack.
On May 25, the Orji police station was burnt and three persons killed; on May 28, Atta police station was attacked while the Atta Magistrate’s Court and health centre were attacked on May 28.
On July 26, Omuma Divisional Police headquarters was attacked, which led to the killing of four policemen and the Divisional Police Officer. Also, the INEC office at Njaba was burnt on May 29, while the Njaba Divisional Police headquarters was attacked on July 30.
On August 4 and 5, there were attacks on Orsu division police headquarters, leading to the killing of an Inspector.
In Anambra State, police sources told one of our correspondents that about 15 public and private buildings were attacked within the period.
For example, INEC headquarters in Awka was set ablaze, though six of the hoodlums who attacked the facility were killed by security agents Also, a police station at Ajali was burnt in early October. Six policemen were reportedly killed during the attack.
In Enugu State, no fewer than four INEC offices were razed during the period. They are the commission’s headquarters in the state and its offices in Udenu local government, Igbo-Eze South local government and most recently the Awgu council office attacked on Sept 19, 2021.
Although nobody was killed in the attacks, property belonging to the electoral body, including vehicles, generators and office equipment were destroyed.
Two police stations were razed while 15 policemen were killed in different attacks. Three civilians and two soldiers were reportedly killed as well.
The police stations attacked include Iwollo Oghe police station on May 25 with four policemen reportedly killed; Adani police post on April 21 with two policemen reportedly killed. Also, on July 21, a police checkpoint at Obeagu Uno-Amechi Road was attacked and four policemen were reported killed, while a police checkpoint at Nachi in Oji-River was attacked with two policemen reportedly killed on September 20, 2021.
In Ebonyi State, it was also learnt that within the period under review, hoodlums burnt police stations, a Federal High Court Complex and an INEC office.
Police stations in Ugbodo in Ebonyi local government and Abaomege were attacked while farmers and others in Ali Ugwelu and Onicha-Igboeze communities were attacked by hoodlums.
Sunday PUNCH also learnt that arsonists burnt the Federal High Court in Abakaliki, on April 26; they set a car ablaze at Onueke on April 27 and they set ablaze the INEC office at Ebiaji in Ezza North local government on June 18.
Meanwhile, the Ebonyi State Police Command said it had arrested over 700 suspects in the state in nine months.
The state Commissioner of Police, Aliyu Garba, said they recovered many arms and ammunition from the criminals, adding that strategic synergy with stakeholders made it possible.
Garba said in a statement that the command also rescued about 33 underage girls trafficked from Nigeria to Ghana within the period.
The statement read in part, “It is pertinent to note that over 700 suspects have been arrested in connection with different heinous crimes perpetrated in the state and conviction of sizable number out of them have been secured.”
In Abia State, one attack was recorded at the Uzuakoli police station where the building was set ablaze in April.
In May, five attacks were recorded. They include Ubani Umuahia police station, Bende police station, Ubakala police station with two police killed, the SCID in Umuahia with two police reportedly killed. On May 30, the Immigration office in Umuahia was attacked but no life was lost.
On June 7, angry traders burnt the Umuahia modern timber office of the Abia Vigilance Service office. However, no life was lost.
Ex gov Ezeife, others seek peace
Meanwhile, an elder statesman and former Governor of Anambra State, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife; a former Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Trafficking, Prof Joy Ezeilo, and other leaders in the region have called for peace in the region.
Ezeife advised that everyone should go into prayer and fasting for God’s intervention, adding that a meeting of all serious Igbo elite should be called to holistically look at the issues and proffer solutions.
He added, “We are praying also that God will intervene. The noise about state of emergency is nothing. Is Anambra State more violent compared to what is going on in Kaduna State and all the states in the north? We have to keep on praying. Let God help us. Some people want to rig the election and they want to create a favourable condition for it but it will not work.”
Also, Ezeilo said the South-East was crying for justice and fairness. She called on the government to engage the youth, noting that if they failed to do so, others “will fill the void because nature abhors vacuum.”
She added, “Our youths feel hopeless when they think of their future in this country. Good governance and leadership responsiveness are vital to finding a durable solution. I see a lot of opportunities in dialogue and negotiation for a political solution.”
Also, a former Commissioner for Information in Ebonyi State, Chief Abia Onyike, in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents recently, said pressure should be mounted on the authorities and the international community to allow self-determination for the Igbo and Nnamdi Kanu’s release from detention.
Viral video: Charles Inojie, Gbenga Adeyinka urge Kwara Govt to investigate brutal flogging of madrasa students
Ademola Olonilua 10 October 2021
Nigerian celebrities, Charles Inojie and Gbenga Adeyinka, have called on the Kwara State government to investigate the brutal flogging of some madrasa students in the state by their senior colleagues.
Since the video made rounds on the internet, it has sparked outrage due to the way the students, both male and female, were severely beaten.
It was gathered that the students were severely beaten because they went to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Pictures of the birthday celebration were posted online. However, their teacher saw the post and thought they drank alcohol, but they only had yoghurt.
Nigerian celebrities have condemned the action while some called on the state government to investigate the matter.
Taking to his verified Instagram page with video snippets of the incident, popular Nigerian actor, Charles Inojie, while urging the state government to investigate the incident, wrote, “How could any school authority find justification for this? Which parent would see slide four and be able to sleep well at night, and to think that their teachers are there watching with glee and urging the assailants on is all the more heartbreaking.
“Whatever offence they might have committed, the school should have other means of administering discipline than this brazen display of barbarism. I hear this happened in Ilorin. Oya, Kwara State government over to you. You have a duty to redeem yourself before the whole world otherwise you would only have succeeded in raising hardened criminals that would turn around to terrorise society tomorrow. SAY NO TO BRUTALITY. SAY NO TO MAN’S INHUMANITY TO MAN. SAY NO TO VIOLENCE. SAY NO TO TORTURE.” (sic).
Also, funnyman, Gbenga Adeyinka, while condemning the act, described the flogging of the students as dehumanising and criminal. He further tagged the Kwara State government on the post to draw their attention to the situation.
He said, “This is not just animalistic, it is criminal. Nobody has a right to mete out such punishment on a fellow human being under any guise. They even beat a lady and one bastard is in the background urging them on saying “ẹ nọ̀”.
“We will now complain that people are beheading and carrying out dastardly acts against other Nigerians when we are actually breeding hardened criminals in the name of religion. Shame! the Kwara state govt must get to the root of this and bring out the culprits as well as teachers to face the full wrath of the law.” (sic).
Ace actress, Monalisa Chinda Coker, while fuming over the incident, wrote, “The heart of man… so over the top wicked.. so one person can’t do the flogging? They must be 4,5 plus the koboko join… then they go and pray after one hour … smh so vigorously.” (sic)
Comedian Nedu simply wrote that he feels disgusted watching the video. He said, “OMG. I am gutted looking at this.”
emmabest2000: With her poor game in National Team abi?
And that's 100% the fault of our rubbish administration in the NFF. I created a thread in November 2018 to warn about what would happen and my prediction has come to pass. I predicted that defeat to South Africa.
Read that thread and see the step by step method that South Africa used to get to where they are today and see the absolute nonsense that the NFF did to the Super Falcons to get them to where they are today.
Bring any player or any coach and give them the same administration that we've had from the NFF and the result will be the same. The players are doing well at their clubs, why aren't they doing well with the Falcons? Here's the answer
Do their clubs go several months, almost a whole year, without a coach?
Right now, as we speak, Banyana Banyana are playing in another competition (the Cosafa Cup) after the Aisha Buhari Cup, what's happening to the Falcons?
Did you see what the NFF tried to do to Desire Oparanozie??
naptu2,any update on Jenny hermoso??I haven't seen her play any game so far.
She came on as a substitute in the Champions League game against Arsenal and she was also a sub in yesterday's match. On both occasions they took off Oshoala and Mariona and brought on Jenni and Lieke.
Barcelona has a rotation policy that ensures that nobody has a guaranteed starting shirt. The players are constantly being rotated and this causes a lot of anxiety among the fans of individual players. The only player that has anything close to a starting shirt is Caroline Graham Hansen, the deadly winger (and maybe Sandra Panos in goal, but she has also been rotated with Catta Coll and Gemma Font a number of times).
Awards like the best player of the year and so on and so forth are a bit subjective, which is why I'm not too bothered about them. Reputation plays an important part in determining who wins the award. For example, there was a year during the 2000s when Zinedine Zidane won the world best player of the year award, even though he had been injured most of the year and had not really done anything. Pavel Nedved should have won the award that year, but he didn't have the reputation that Zidane had.
The only player in Barcelona Femeni that is a guaranteed started is Caroline Graham Hansen. No one else is guaranteed a starting shirt. Yet she was not nominated for the Ballon D'or award.
Lieke Martens spent a lot of time on the bench last season and this frustrated the hell out of her supporters. However, she played in the semi-final and final of the Champions League and put up a good performance, but I believe that most of all, her reputation played a part in her nomination (this has been a subject of discussion for months. Many people had speculated that she would be nominated despite what happened last season). You see, Lieke is a former world player of the year and she has a huge reputation. In fact, there are many people that support Barcelona Femeni just because of Lieke. There are even people that have not watched Barcelona Femeni's matches in more than a year (or those who very rarely watch their games) but they know Lieke. So it's not really a surprise that she was nominated despite what happened last season.
Most Barca players have a strong support base. Asisat is supported by Africans, Lieke has a massive support all on her own (that's apart from the support from Dutch people) and Jenni, Alexia and Mariona are massively supported by Spaniards, but CGH doesn't seem to have that kind of support, despite the fact that all fans agree that she is one of the most important players for Barca.
screenshots 3 and 4)
naptu2: The only person that has a guaranteed starting shirt at Barcelona Femeni is Caroline Graham Hansen. Everybody else can be rotated. This is driving fans of other players crazy.
Lieke Martens is a former world player of the year, yet she has often had to start from the bench in the past year. She came from the bench to replace Asisat Oshoala in the match against Arsenal (tactically, she actually replaced Mariona, but it was a double substitution) and she also came from the bench late in the second half yesterday. She scored on both occasions.
Barcelona have announced that they are seeking to renew her contract, but some of her fans like Zoe, want her to leave and go somewhere that she'll be treated as a star that she is.
That's why the Ballon D'or nominations seem funny. CGH was not nominated, but Lieke was nominated.
The Classico in men's football is Barcelona vs Real Madrid, but the Classico in women's football is Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid. Atletico are 3rd on the table.
Atletico was the only team that beat Barcelona last season. That was because Barcelona suffered fixture congestion because a lot of their matches were postponed due to Covid-19 and the postponed matches were packed together at the end of the season. Barcelona were snowed in and couldn't get a flight to go play Atletico because the airport was closed, but the Spanish FA threatened that they would be sanctioned if they miss the match, so they had to travel by bus and the result was that they lost to Atletico.
The admin of the Barcelona Twitter account had already issued a threat to Atletico on Friday evening. They tweeted at Atletico to let them know that "We are coming".
Before yesterday's match Asisat Oshoala and Alexia Putellas of Barcelona were joint highest goal scorers with 7 goals each, while Deyna castellanos of Atletico Madrid was the third highest goal scorer with 4 goals.
Asisat Oshoala marked her birthday by scoring in her 6th consecutive match as Barcelona beat archrivals, Atletico Madrid, 3-0 away at the Centro Deportivo Wanda Alcalá de Henares in Madrid.
Oshoala has scored 9 goals in her last 6 consecutive matches. She scored 2 goals against Real Betis, 2 goals against Valencia, 2 goals against Villarreal, 1 against Alaves, 1 against Arsenal in the Champions League and 1 against Atletico Madrid yesterday. She is the highest goal scorer in the Liga Iberdrola with 8 goals.
With Atlético defending well, the opening minutes were tightly contested. Both sides had hit the woodwork before deadly winger, Caroline Graham Hansen, fed Oshoala whose initial shot was blocked by the keeper, but she pounced on the rebound to open scoring for Barcelona in the 35th minute. Someone joked that Oshoala got both the goal and the assist because she played the initial shot that was blocked.
Scores remained Atletico 0-1 at half time.
Barça really started piling on the pressure after the restart, with Alexia Putellas getting three of the best chances and extraordinarily not managing to convert any of them. Barca rang the changes in the 61st minute and brought on Lieke Martens and Jenni Hermoso for Mariona and Asisat Oshoala and it was down to Aitana Bonmatí to finally get the second goal that Barça more than deserved (in the 71st minute), and for Lieke Martens to top things off with a third just three minutes later.
It was a quiet game for Sandra Panos who marked her 200th appearance in the Barcelona goal. Rasheedat Ajibade of Nigeria did not make the Atletico squad as she continues to recover from the injury that kept her out of the Aisha Buhari Cup, while Thembi Kgatlana of South Africa was on the Atletico bench.
Barcelona top the table as expected, but their arch rivals, Atletico Madrid, are 3rd.
I wish I could show you a clip of the wicked way that Oshoala dribbled an Atletico defender, but unfortunately it's not in the highlights.
Atletico supporters are marvelling at the fact that Barca can take off fantastic players like Oshoala and Mariona and bring on equally fantastic players like Jenni and Lieke. They believe that nobody can beat Barca.
Someone said that Oshoala can claim both the goal and assist on her goal (because she took the initial shot and scored off the rebound).
The assist was by Caroline Graham Hansen and this has brought back the Ballon D'or argument. Fans of Barca are wondering why Hansen and Oshoala were not nominated.
Hansen ran down the right and crossed to Oshoala in the 35th minute. Oshoala's first shot was blocked by the defence, but she banged in the rebound for Barca's first goal.
Foreign Affairs › US Couple Accused Of Selling Nuclear Submarine Secrets by naptu2(op): 4:01am On Oct 11, 2021
