₦airaland Forum

A fresh wave of bandit attacks, reportedly orchestrated by loyalists of the notorious bandit kingpin, Bello Turji, has forced residents of no fewer than 20 villages to flee their homes in Sokoto State.

The displaced villagers are currently taking refuge in Gatawa, a town in the Sabon Birni Local Government Area.

A resident, Mallam Saminu, confirmed the development in a telephone interview, stating that the mass displacement followed renewed threats and assaults by one of Turji’s top lieutenants.

“Yes, it is true. People from many villages around Gatawa have been displaced and have come here to seek refuge,” he said. “Some are staying with relatives in town, while others have been sheltered in two secondary schools—one near the military camp and another within the town.”


Villages affected by the attacks include Makira, Shabanza, Katsalle, Dan Kura, Garin Tunkiya, Dama, Dan Tazako I, II and III, Gaugai, and several others.

As of press time, efforts to obtain an official response from the Sokoto State Government were unsuccessful.

The Special Adviser on Security Matters to the Governor, Col. Ahmed Usman (retd.), could not be reached, while the State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ahmed Rufai, said he would comment once he received comprehensive details on the situation.


The mass displacement has once again highlighted the precarious security situation in the eastern part of Sokoto State, where persistent attacks have continued despite ongoing military operations aimed at curbing banditry and restoring peace to the region.

helinues:
No one will see the clear road and enter bush now

The Lagos State Vehicle Inspection Service has impounded over 200 unroadworthy vehicles across the state.

The Director of Lagos VIS, Mr Akin-George Fashola, stated this in a press release made available to the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday.

The statement was signed by Mrs Bolanle Ogunlola, Deputy Director of Public Affairs at the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation.

Fashola, who recently led an enforcement operation that resulted in the impounding of several unroadworthy vehicles, noted that the initiative was aimed at enhancing road safety and reducing accidents caused by unfit vehicles.

So This Happened (181) reviews resignation of Lagos commissioner, new UK's Prime Minister, other

Explaining the rationale behind the operation, Fashola reiterated that the enforcement exercise targeted a wide range of vehicles, with a significant number comprising commercial minibuses, including danfos and korope vehicles.


“The operation is not restricted to private vehicles alone, as is commonly believed, but extends to all categories of vehicles contributing to the state’s transport ecosystem.

“All vehicle owners, especially those intending to use their vehicles for commercial purposes, are urged to ensure they meet the required roadworthiness standards.

“Before commercialising your vehicle, make sure it is fit for the road. You can even take it to any of our annex offices for proper inspection before putting it into operation,” he advised.

He also assured the public of the directorate’s commitment to sustaining the enforcement exercise aimed at improving road safety and promoting a safer, more efficient transport system in Lagos.

Some governors elected on the platforms of opposition parties and reported to be bound for the All Progressives Congress may have ditched the plan.

Sunday PUNCH gathered that this might not be unconnected to moves by parties to stop the defections of their chieftains to the ruling APC, including changing political dynamics.

The recent defection of Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, the state Deputy Governor, Monday Onyeme, and many elected state officials from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC sent shockwaves through the political landscape.

Oborevwori’s predecessor and the PDP’s 2023 vice-presidential candidate, Ifeanyi Okowa, also joined the defection train.

The National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, had revealed that several opposition governors would soon join the party.

Ganduje, while receiving some leaders of the New Nigeria Peoples Party in Kano State into the APC, led by the senator representing Kano South, Kawu Ismailia, boasted that the defections of Oborevwori and Okowa were just the beginning, adding that more opposition leaders were on their way to the party.

Mbah, Lawal, Mutfwang, others not defecting

However, some of the governors said to be receiving overtures from the ruling party and considering joining the defection train may have changed their plans.

Governors Peter Mbah (Enugu), Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau), and Ademola Adeleke (Osun) are among those speculated to be on their way to the ruling APC.

Sunday PUNCH gathered that Mbah might have shelved his plan following the influx of erstwhile Labour Party members into the PDP in the state.

According to close sources, Mbah had initially planned to defect to the APC to secure a second term, especially if Chief Chijioke Edeoga, the LP candidate many residents believed won the 2023 governorship election, decided to contest again.

However, recent developments may have altered the political landscape.

With Edeoga, who is considered a key political force in Enugu in his party, and wide support from the Enugu North Senatorial District within the PDP, Mbah’s second term is now seen as assured.

Sources close to the governor revealed that the LP’s gains in the 2023 general elections were poorly managed due to internal crises, which led to the party’s current disarray.

“The governor has consolidated power, and the LP’s structure has virtually collapsed. The only thing that may threaten Mbah’s second term is if he fails to honour agreed promises and the sharing of political positions,” a source said.

Another source added that with the current influx of LP members into the PDP, Mbah’s second term was “certainly guaranteed.”

The source believed Mbah would not “make the mistake of failing to keep promises or properly allocate political positions” which could threaten his second-term bid.

Governor Lawal of Zamfara said he would remain in the PDP, where he was elected as the fifth civilian governor of his state.

Speaking to Sunday PUNCH, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Communications, Mustafa Kaura, said Lawal had made it clear that he would not abandon the party that gave him the ticket to contest and win the 2023 governorship election.

Kaura maintained that the governor had also stated that he would not betray the electorate who voted him into power under the PDP.

He said, “Governor Dauda Lawal will remain in the PDP and has no intention of joining any other party. He is a true believer who trusts in God and believes that whatever is destined to happen will happen, regardless of the political party he belongs to.”

A PDP chieftain in Plateau State, Dachung Bagos, told Sunday PUNCH that the state governor, Mutfwang, would not defect to the APC.

Bagos, a close ally of the governor and former House of Representatives member, cited ideological differences between Mutfwang and the APC as the governor’s reason.

“The ideology of Governor Mutfwang does not align with that of the APC,” Bagos said.

Also, Abia State Governor, Otti, ruled out the possibility of defecting to the ruling APC from the Labour Party.

He is the only LP governor among the 36 states of the federation.

Speaking on Arise TV’s breakfast programme, The Morning Show, Otti said the situation in his state did not warrant such a move.

He insisted that he had no compelling reason to abandon the party under which he came to power in 2023.

“My party is not on shaky ground. Everybody must not be in the APC. This is democracy,” he said.

He noted that remaining in opposition based on conviction had its merits and could yield bold political dividends in the future.

To buttress his point, he cited President Bola Tinubu, who consistently played opposition politics in the Alliance for Democracy, Action Congress of Nigeria, and finally the APC, which eventually brought him to the presidency.

While stating that the current situation did not warrant dumping the LP “through blackmail,” Otti noted that “things can change tomorrow,” and he would be wherever “God wants me to be.”

Addressing the crisis in the party, Otti said, “Today, we have fought and reclaimed the Labour Party,” adding that the party, which brought him to power, remains strong and is backed by a functional National Working Committee.

Governor Adeleke of Osun State, while addressing members of the PDP during a strategic meeting, rejected claims of his potential defection to the APC.

The governor declared his loyalty to the PDP, describing reports of his defection as fake news.

“My people, party elders and chiefs, I declare before you today that I am not defecting to the APC or any other political party. I remain in the PDP. Ignore any fake news,” he said.

Opposition challenges Tinubu

Reacting to the defection of some major opposition members, the National Publicity Secretary of the NNPP, Ladipo Johnson, said the moves were driven by fear, self-preservation and political survival.

Johnson maintained that the defections would not guarantee victory for Tinubu in the 2027 general elections, especially if economic hardship and insecurity persisted across the country.

He said, “It is wishful thinking for the APC and Tinubu to think they can turn Nigeria into a one-party state. I don’t believe that can happen in Nigeria, even if they want to. If the economy does not improve, if insecurity does not reduce, then they (APC and Tinubu) will find that 2027 will be tougher than they can ever imagine. Even if they have 30 governors in their party, Nigerians are already pushed to the wall, and they will react and vote the APC out. There is no magic to it. They talk as if the man (Tinubu) is a magician. There’s no magic to it.”

The National Publicity Secretary of LP, Obiora Ifoh, said opposition parties would continue to remain relevant ahead of the 2027 general election.

Ifoh equally dismissed the fear that the country might be sliding into a one-party state, saying the defections only reflected the weakness of political institutions and the self-serving interests of some politicians.

He insisted that the defections would not guarantee victory for the APC in 2027.

The National Chairman of Because Of Our Tomorrow Party, Sonny Adenuga, however, criticised the leadership of the PDP, saying the party’s internal crisis and lack of direction were paving the way for Tinubu’s possible re-election.

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, Adenuga said the defection trend reflected deep-rooted problems in the opposition.

He said, “President Tinubu appears politically strong today, not necessarily because of exceptional performance, but largely because the opposition, particularly the PDP, has failed to provide a credible alternative.

“There is no unity or clear purpose. Many of their (PDP) governors are even backing Tinubu secretly. If we continue like this, the APC will keep dominating.”

Adenuga, however, expressed hope that the defections could eventually lead to the emergence of a new political force.

He said, “Let everyone who is not serious move to the APC. That will clear the space for a fresh political movement with real ideology and focus before 2027.”

In the same vein, the National Secretary of the SDP, Dr Olu Agunloye, said the wave of defections showed that the PDP was gradually merging with the APC, stating that both parties had failed to deliver good governance.

“Nigeria is not sliding into a one-party state. It is fast becoming a two-party state of the APC and the SDP. We know that the APC and PDP have been indistinguishable in their resolve to provide bad governance and unsustainable development,” Agunloye said.

Agunloye called for a more united front of opposition parties, arguing that only a formidable coalition of opposition parties could defeat the APC.

For our every-last-Saturday-of-the-month “Diaspora Dialogues” podcast on April 26 on the topic “Kyari Out, Ojulari In: Politics and Corruption in NNPC,” my colleagues—Dr. Osmund Agbo in Houston, Texas, and Professor Moses Ochonu in Nashville, Tennessee—and I invited revered oil industry expert Mr. Dan Kunle as our guest.

He helped us (and the thousands of people who watched our show) to navigate the complex contours of the politics, operational uniqueness, financial indiscretions, and enduring transparency deficit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).

But during the show, we noticed an unusually disproportionate, seemingly synchronized, and obviously induced volume of comments both in Zoom and on my Facebook page (where the podcast was livestreamed) extolling Kyari’s virtues, hyping his putative managerial acumen, and celebrating his supposedly magisterial strategic successes as NNPC’s Group Chief Executive Officer.

If the well-choreographed cascade of comments merely stopped at the unnaturally cloying veneration of Kyari, we would simply have laughed and said some people were earning their keep. But they went beyond that. They also poured scorn, coarse invective, and toxic rhetorical venom on Mr. Dan Kunle, a calm, conciliatory, compulsively polite, mild-mannered, and even-tempered gentleman’s gentleman.

After the show, I told my colleagues that our promo probably attracted the attention of Mele Kyari (or his minders) who sent hordes of well-oiled social media trolls to invade us and try to influence our show’s tenor and flow with tendentious questions and comments.

They agreed that I might be on to something because since our show began in 2024, we never had an experience quite like what we witnessed on April 26. But it was still at the level of suspicion, well-justified suspicion.

My hunch was confirmed when, a day after our show, an evidently paid but intensely malicious and mendacious, not to mention substance-free, “news story” appeared in many major Nigerian newspapers besmirching Dan Kunle’s reputation, misrepresenting what he said during our show, and amplifying the intentionally propagandistic comments that members of the Kyari troll factory left on my Facebook page.

“Mele Kyari: Nigerians Slam Dan Kunle Over Call for Private Takeover of Oil Sector,” reads a headline from the Vanguard. The headline in the Independent is similar: “Nigerians Berate Analyst Dan Kunle Over Call for Private Takeover of Oil Sector.” Blueprint Newspaper’s headline is a slight variation of the same theme: “Kunle: Nigerians Berate Analyst Over Call for Private Takeover of Oil Sector.”

Several other well-known and not-too-well-known news sites published the story. The content is exactly the same, from the lead to the last paragraph. Only the headlines are modified marginally.

Some news sites, rather scandalously, used their reporters’ bylines for what is clearly native advertising (as we call paid content that mimics the forms, presentation, and frozen stylistic choices of news stories) — malicious, unethical native advertising, I might add.

Although I earn a living studying, researching, teaching, and writing about issues like this, I confess that this nadir of journalistic depravity and dark, social-media-enabled mind management is a new frontier even for me.

I am aware that data boyhood, that is, the mobilization of conscienceless, unprincipled, and cash-strapped social media denizens with internet data—and a stipend—to venerate politicians (and other image-conscious public figures) and smear their critics on social media is now a growing, well-oiled industry in Nigeria.

I was, after all, a victim of the paid and pointed projectiles of minions of the Buhari Media Center during Muhammadu Buhari’s eight years in office.

But I didn’t know that there is now a symbiotic synchrony between data boys on social media and crafty, if inept, PR experts who deploy the half-cooked bunkum of data boys as raw materials to manufacture sponsored news stories in legitimate news outlets, which the data boys them amplify again on social media in a dance of idiocy sanctified by falsehood.

That is spin doctoring taken to a new level. It is disappointingly unethical perception mercenariness. It’s scorn-worthy narrative illusionism. And the news media that participate in this giant scam, this enterprise of fact twisting and professional gaslighting, should be ashamed of themselves.

How can any professionally competent, self-respecting news editor approve the publication of a piece of sponsored wish-wash by an outside group as “news” and even go so far as to attach a reporter’s byline to that? That is journalistic self-annihilation. I am certain that this isn’t the first time that has happened.

We disagreed with several things Mr. Kunle said during the show (such as his defense of subsidy removal or even his occasional over-the-top commendation of President Bola Tinubu) but he did provide much-needed education on the issues and possibilities of the oil sector during the show.

He laid bare, with remarkable clarity, impressive empirical fidelity, and granular specifics, the grand deception of revived refineries. Kyari’s people hired a private jet, according to credible media reports, to convey paid-for journalists to the site of the “blending” refinery to tour the so-called rehabilitated refinery in a sophisticated propaganda charade designed to deceive the nation.

Mr. Kunle pointed out that the price of the rehabilitation of refineries went up from $400 million during Goodluck Jonathan’s time to $1.5 billion a couple of years later during Buhari’s time and has now probably climbed to above $2 billion because of run-on costs. This is a national heist of historical proportions.

He made other scandalous revelations, such as the fact that our oil production, despite claims of opening up new fields, has dipped to about 1.6-7 million barrels a day, and that Kyari and his boys were not serious about reforming NNPC or even doing the groundwork necessary for taking NNPC public through an IPO.

But the story that was packaged by Kyari’s boys and fraudulently published as a recap of the show is neither faithful to the issues discussed in the show nor to even the sponsored criticisms of Mr. Kunle by the Kyari data boys on our show.

The headline accuses Kunle of advocating monopoly in the oil and gas sector and of encouraging the sale of refineries to private investors. He articulated no such positions. Clearly, the aim of the story, especially the lead, is to associate Kunle with those two positions, which get Nigerians emotionally worked up and to which the propagandists know Nigerians are opposed.

Sale of national patrimonies like our refineries to private individuals is a legitimate ground for angst. So is the advocacy for anti-competitive practices in the oil and gas industry. Kyari’s spin doctors manufactured those lies against Mr. Kunle in hopes that no one will bother to verify their accuracy—and in the service of destroying the credibility of the well-made case he articulated against Kyari’s profligacy and opacity, which Mr. Kunle was careful to say was not limited to Kyari.

The coordinated smear campaign against Dan Kunle exposes two things: Mele Kyari’s vulnerability to rigorous scrutiny and the frighteningly deteriorated state of journalistic ethics and public discourse in Nigeria. The symbiotic collusion between so-called data boys, spin doctors, and ostensibly respectable media organizations points to an emerging culture of misinformation and perception manipulation that threatens democratic accountability and informed citizen engagement.

When journalism descends into the depths of paid propaganda, the casualty is not just the reputation of individuals unfairly maligned; it is the very heart of democratic society itself.

Nigerians must remain vigilant and discerning and refuse to be swayed by the cynical manipulations of those who would substitute truth with lies, substance with sensationalism, and critical debate with orchestrated smear campaigns.

IkeAnumudu:
CHILD OF HATE, rest!

Arume:
Sentiment aside, this administration is Future driven when it comes to infrastructural development. If other administration tried this much we won't be were we are today

The Federal Government has begun high-level discussions with private concessionaires willing to invest over N1.5tn in Nigeria’s road infrastructure, but who are yet to mobilise due to unresolved administrative issues.

At a meeting held on Wednesday in Abuja, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, alongside the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, and the Director-General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, Dr Jobson Ewalefoh, met with representatives of concessionaire firms to address concerns delaying the commencement of work on major highway projects.

The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, who joined the meeting virtually, assured the concessionaires that the Federal Government was committed to resolving all outstanding matters to facilitate immediate mobilisation to the site.

Speaking at the meeting, Edun disclosed that the government had finalised agreements for the reconstruction and management of nine major highways spanning approximately 900 kilometres.

These include the Lagos-Badagry-Seme Border, Shagamu-Benin, Lagos-Abeokuta, Abuja-Lokoja, Enugu-Port Harcourt-Owerri-Aba, and Potiskum-Damaturu-Kano-Zaria corridors.

“These road projects are valued at about N1.5tn and will be financed and executed by the private sector under a 25-year concession agreement, with cost recovery through tolling,” Edun said.

He noted that while most of the legal and financial arrangements had been concluded, some administrative issues were still delaying take-off, prompting the meeting with the investors.

Edun said, “It’s a substantial investment by the private sector, bridging budgetary gaps and taking over revenue-generating assets which they can manage, improve, and maintain over a long period.”

He reiterated that the Tinubu administration remained committed to creating an enabling environment for private investment, adding that highway development was a key part of the government’s strategy to boost productivity, create jobs, and reduce poverty.


The finance minister cited the Benin-Asaba Highway as a model project under the initiative.

The 125km road has already been handed over to the concessionaire, with reconstruction works underway. The project is expected to reduce travel time between Benin and Asaba from four hours to one hour.

One of the concessionaires, Mr Kola Karim of Shoreline, urged the government to provide updated, enforceable documentation specifying takeoff and handover dates.

He also requested the signing of an addendum to the original agreements to enable tolling on completed sections while work continues on other parts of the roads.

“Each concessionaire has unique challenges that need to be addressed,” Karim said.


Although the meeting ended without final resolutions, Edun disclosed that another session had been scheduled for Tuesday, where all parties, including the Minister of Works, are expected to finalise the outstanding issues.

Bagudu, in his remarks, described the meeting as a milestone, assuring the investors of the government’s support. “Your funders need confidence that reforms are in place and will be sustained. We are here to give you that assurance,” he said.

Edun also revealed that Nigeria’s economic reforms under President Bola Tinubu had received strong backing from the international community during recent engagements in Washington D.C., adding that the government’s economic recovery plan hinges heavily on private sector participation.

The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has claimed responsibility for a devastating improvised explosive device (IED) attack that killed at least 26 people near Rann in Kala-Balge Local Government Area of Borno State.

The attack occurred around 11am last Friday along the Furunduma axis and initially left 17 people dead, including four women, six children, and seven other passengers.

However, by Monday, more bodies were recovered from the surrounding bush, pushing the confirmed death toll to 26.

Reuters reports that the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has claimed responsibility for an attack in northeastern Borno State, Nigeria, which left at least 26 people dead, according to a statement posted by the group on Telegram on Tuesday.Nigerian fashion

For over 15 years, Islamist insurgents Boko Haram and ISWAP have waged a violent campaign against Nigerian security forces in the region, frequently deploying improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to target both civilians and military personnel.

SaharaReporters reported that two Nigerian soldiers were killed on Tuesday in another deadly landmine explosion along the Maiduguri-Damboa Road in Borno State — an area increasingly plagued by insurgent violence and repeated terrorist ambushes.

It was gathered that the incident occurred at about 11am near the deserted village of Nyeliri in Konduga Local Government Area, barely 17 days after an earlier Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack killed eight passengers and left dozens wounded on the same route. Nigerian fashion

Meanwhile, motorists and passengers reportedly abandoned vehicles and fled into nearby bushes, fearing further attacks.

The Maiduguri-Damboa Road has remained a volatile corridor, only accessible under strict military escort due to the persistent threat of Boko Haram insurgents.

However, despite these precautions, the road continues to witness lethal ambushes and bombings.

Tuesday's explosion is the latest in a series of attacks that underscore a worrying resurgence in terrorist activities in southern Borno.

Just last Friday, six charcoal hawkers were reportedly slaughtered by insurgents in the Mulgoi area. Two days later, on Sunday, April 27, Boko Haram fighters killed two farmers at Kanama Road in Damboa Local Government Area while they were preparing their fields ahead of the rainy season.

Confirming the latest landmine tragedy, the District Head of Damboa, Alhaji Lawan Maina, expressed deep concern over the increasing boldness of the attackers.

“Two soldiers were killed,” he said. “The renewed Boko Haram attacks are alarming and largely unchallenged. People can no longer move freely or go to their farms without fear.”

Also reacting, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South) condemned the incident and urged the Federal Government to urgently enhance military capacity in the region.

“The frequency of these attacks is deeply troubling,” Ndume said.

“Our soldiers are doing their best, but they need more sophisticated weapons and logistical support. The Federal Government must step up and provide all necessary tools to defeat this insurgency. Our people deserve to live in peace.”

Residents in Borno continue to live under the shadow of a conflict that has lasted over a decade, claiming thousands of lives and displacing millions.

While the military maintains that insurgents have been technically defeated, recent events suggest otherwise, with rural communities and security personnel increasingly becoming soft targets for the terrorists.

A country’s currency matters; therefore, the naira should matter. Yet, the naira, like the currency of many import-dependent economies, has one denominator: weakened currencies, caused mainly by unbridled demand for dollars and other hard currencies for imports.

The Nigerian currency has depreciated sharply since President Bola Tinubu floated it in June 2023. Its weakened state strongly contributes to high commodity prices and soaring inflation.

In the one year to June 2024, the naira depreciated by 216.64 per cent against the dollar; it exchanged at N471 per dollar in June 2023 to N1,482.72 in June 2024. On Monday, the rate was N1,599.55 to $1.

In most countries, local currencies are used as the primary medium of exchange, allowing for the smooth and efficient flow of goods, services, and capital within the economy.

However, in Nigeria, many transactions are done locally in dollars, pushing the local currency to the back seat and further piling pressure on the naira. There have been instances of Nigeria-based schools demanding dollars for payment of fees, and estate agents demanding dollars for rent.

Many politically exposed persons keep their loot in dollars. Indeed, the naira value depreciates more during electioneering.

However, the law is solidly against transactions made in any currency other than the naira in Nigeria.

Section 20 of the CBN Act 2007 states that the currency notes issued by the bank are legal tender in Nigeria at their face value for the payment of any amount.

It says a person who refuses to accept the naira as a means of payment is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine or imprisonment.

So, demanding dollar payments for goods and services offered locally is punishable under the law.

Lately, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has been using the provisions of the CBN Act to go after some people who are ignoring the law and offering goods and services priced in dollars rather than the naira.

For instance, a Lagos-based jeweller was arrested, arraigned, and convicted for refusing to accept naira payment for goods following the EFCC’s sting operation. The vendor had rejected the naira for a diamond watch, insisting on $5,700. He was sentenced to a four-year jail term with an option of a N650,000 fine.

However, the conviction of a soft target is not a strong deterrent to those who continue to disrespect and disregard the local currency by insisting on dollar payments.

The EFCC should go after bigger players who openly demand dollars for local transactions.

First, the government should restore confidence in the naira as a store of value. The naira depreciation has only led to a marginal drop in local petrol prices, even though crude oil prices have dropped significantly in the international market.

So, on the government side, all hands must be on deck to strengthen the naira, while the citizens must respect the naira and make local transactions in the local currency.

The government should crack down on corruption, especially the one that happens among officials, which pressures the naira. In many instances, naira is changed to dollars not to import goods, but to be laundered abroad.

Thus, beyond arresting and prosecuting a jeweller, the EFCC and the ICPC must work hard to fight corruption by the political elite. Economic reforms could hardly succeed without a strong fight against graft.

Efforts must be intensified to diversify the economy, strengthen the country’s manufacturing base, attract more foreign investments, and broaden the country’s export base by reducing the dependence on oil revenue.

There must be strict enforcement of the use of the naira for local transactions.

Punch Editorial Board

At least four ladies have narrated their ordeal in the hands of a notorious e-hailing cab driver who they accused of serially robbing female passengers and sexually assaulting them.

The driver was said to have concealed his identity using names such as Femi, Benjamin and Samuel, and allegedly preyed on stranded female commuters whom he had lured into his vehicle.

Some of his victims who spoke to our correspondent disclosed that Femi often operated around midnight or early morning, locked the car doors, and threatened female passengers with weapons such as a gun, a knife and even acid.

Sunday PUNCH gathered that the police had yet to act on the complaints filed by some of the victims who reported the matter.

Speaking to our correspondent, a digital marketer, Mary Okene, said she and her colleague were robbed when they entered the suspect’s car while returning from work around 5am on April 5.

According to her, the ride she had earlier booked had an accident at the Civic Centre and Femi was said to have stopped to offer them a ride to the Mainland.

She said, “On our way, we negotiated the fees and he conversed with us. Suddenly, when we got to the Third Mainland Bridge, he parked, brought out a knife and told us to bring our bags.


“He told us he’s not a cab man and that this is what he does and that he preys on sex workers because they did something crazy to him. We told him we were not prostitutes. I showed him some of my work gadgets like a light and a tripod as proof. He said he wasn’t convinced.

“He then put his hand under my dress, asking if I wore underwear. I removed his hand and told him I wore a tight. That was how he slapped me and pointed the knife at me. He then grabbed the breast of the second lady with me, who is my Human Resources Manager. We kept begging. He collected our bags, then he returned them and told us to bring our phones.

“I was trying to send a text when he threatened to pour acid on my face. He then said he liked me and he wanted to rape me. He told the HR to open the door and run but the doors were locked. He said I should start undressing. I started crying and begging furiously. He also had a Love Machine in his car.”

Okene said the suspect robbed her and the HR of a total sum of N100,000, adding that when she reported the case at Ifako police station, the officer there exclaimed, “This man again!”

Also narrating her ordeal, another victim who gave her name simply as Isi said she encountered the suspect on January 26, 2024 when she booked an e-hailing cab from Ikeja City Mall to Berger.

“When he came, we got into a discussion and he talked about his wife. Then, he started asking me out, but I refused, citing that he already had a wife. Later, he brought out a very sharp dagger and gave me three hot slaps for refusing his advances,” she said.

Isi further disclosed that after a while, Femi parked his car and asked her to take off all her clothes.


She alleged that the driver began touching her inappropriately and asked if she was a prostitute, adding that he was out to avenge what a sex worker did to him.

“He threatened that if I didn’t behave well, he would kill me and my colleagues would do nothing more than come pick up my body by the roadside the next morning.

“This was after he had strangled me to the point where I had felt my last breath leave my body. After robbing me of my iPhone 11 and 6, he told me to get down from the car naked, after which he zoomed off,” she said.

That same month, two friends, Temi and Rachel, who also ordered an e-hailing ride from Lagos Island to the Mainland, said the suspect picked up an accomplice who assisted him in robbing them.

“He parked on the Third Mainland Bridge and brought out a gun and knife. He took everything on us – phones, wigs and money – and left us on the bridge.

“When we reported to the police, they said they would work on it but we never even got any feedback,” Temi said.

An event hostess, Peculiar Daniels, also claimed she and her friends were robbed by Femi on October 2024.

She added that the cab driver had a bit of a different look from the pictures that have circulated on the internet.

“He said he was going to work at Berger. All this time, his car windows were down so we didn’t notice that it was tinted. Everything was fine until he climbed the Third Mainland Bridge and reduced his speed.

“Suddenly, he parked and put the car on lock. When I tried to open the door, he brought out a gun, knife and acid. He said if I didn’t calm down, he would pour the acid on me.

“I had never seen a gun in my life so the sight of it made me freeze. He asked us to give him all the money we had with us. I was trying to send my location to my sister when he dragged my phone from my hand. He then pointed the gun at my friends and asked for their phones,” Daniels disclosed.

She further said the suspect took all the cash she had which was more than N20,000, her new iPhone 13 Pro Max and N30,000 from each of her friends.

Another victim, who gave her name as Victoria, said the suspect robbed her of her phone, money and ATM card somewhere close to Omole, adding that she experienced the biggest trauma during the ordeal.


The spokesman for the Lagos State Police command, Benjamin Hundeyin, in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, disclosed that Femi’s latest victim could not have had her experience last weekend because the suspect was arrested last month by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for a drug-related offence.


He said, “We approached NDLEA with some of the victims who identified that he was the one but we couldn’t take him away from the NDLEA. They have to finish their investigation and prosecution before they hand him over to us if he is going to walk free from their case.

“If not, the day they are taking him to court to prosecute him, we will also go with our case so they will prosecute him for all of his offences simultaneously. We are waiting for the NDLEA to finish their prosecution”

Femi Babafemi
Spokesperson, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi
Also speaking with our correspondent, the spokesman of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, disclosed that the suspect was not the same person in their custody but a look-alike.

“Benjamin (Lagos PPRO) got in touch with me at a point. He said that some women saw pictures of somebody they thought or believed had been robbing or rapping them. We organised an arrangement for the police to bring the women to come and identify him but he is not the same person because he was brought before them and they were not sure he was the person.

“From the report I got after he was paraded before the women, it is obvious whoever it is must still be on the loose. I am guessing he is a look-alike because when he was brought face-to-face with the women, they couldn’t confirm he is the one.”