Author: David Great

Former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, has deferred his invitation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), citing medical ailments. Akpabio’s medical claims come one day after the EFCC on March 29 requested that he reports at their office for questioning. The former Akwa Ibom governor in a letter to the anti-graft commission  explained that he was not available due to his medical condition and that he is scheduled for medical appointments abroad. In the letter, he claimed he was suffering from cardiac arrhythmia and pneumonia. The letter by his lawyer, Umeh Kalu, suggested the EFCC picks…

Nigerian singer, rapper, and music producer, Falz have taken a swipe at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Mahmood Yakubu in a new single. The lawyer-turned-entertainer insinuated that the INEC chairman’s conduct in the 2023 elections is tantamount to fraud. The single which combined English, Pidgin, and Yoruba began with Falz saying Yakubu behaves like a fraudster. “You behave like a fraudster, you don’t want to prosper, come and collect Oscar, N300 billion you took from the government, what did you do with it,” he quizzed. The single features Vector went on to probe the conduct of the 2023…

Alphabet’s Google Cloud has accused Microsoft of anti-competitive cloud computing practices and criticised imminent deals with several European cloud vendors, saying these do not solve broader concerns about its licensing terms. In Google Cloud’s first public comments on Microsoft and its European deals its Vice President Amit Zavery told Reuters the company has raised the issue with antitrust agencies and urged European Union antitrust regulators to take a closer look. In response, Microsoft referred to a blogpost in May last year where its president Brad Smith said it ‘has a healthy number two position when it comes to cloud services,…

The Nigerian government on Wednesday began an online registration of medical laboratories in Nigeria to enhance service delivery. Dr. Tosan Erhabor, the Registrar of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) disclosed this in Abuja during a meeting with stakeholders and the agency’s consultants on automation led by Prof. Effiong Akpan of the University of Calabar. He urged stakeholders to embrace the great opportunities offered by the new framework to enhance service delivery. Erhabor said that the registration would improve efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, speed of service delivery, as well as data collation and management of medical laboratories. He noted…

England forward Marcus Rashford, 25, has dismissed reports he wants a new deal, worth £500,000 per week to stay at Manchester United, as “complete nonsense”. (Independent) United are planning to step up contract talks with Rashford before the end of the season. (ESPN)  PSG has shown interest in bringing Rashford to the Le Parc des Princes. (The Athletic) Georgia’s 22-year-old winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is set to sign a new five-year deal to stay at Napoli. (Footmercato – in French) Brighton want to sign Japan midfielder Reo Hatate, 25, from Celtic. (Football Insider) The Seagulls are set to offer Republic of Ireland striker Evan Ferguson, 18, a…

The United States government has announced an increment for its non-migrant US visa application fee effective from March 30. The US Mission in Nigeria, which said this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, disclosed that the increases were published in the Federal Register on March 28. According to the US government, the changes is in line with the Department of State’s commitment to facilitating legitimate travel to the United States for both immigrant and nonimmigrant travellers. “The Department of State published a Final Rule regarding increases to certain non-immigrant visa application (NIV) processing fees and the Border Crossing Card…

The Enugu Command of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, arrested 23 suspected internet fraudsters. They were arrested along the Monark, Emene and Golf axis of Enugu state, following actionable intelligence. The suspects include Ugwuanyi Innocent Kasiemobi, Emmanuel Chukwu Agwu, Onyeama Christian Arinze, Hycienth Nnabuike Emmanuel, Chibueze Augustine Oluebube, Ogaraku Chidiebube Obinna, Chibueze Stanley Onyedikachi, Austus Jeffrey Chiemerem, Ikechi David Faithful and Okafor Collins Chika. Others are Chimaobi Chukwu Joshua, Onuoha Miracle Oluebubu, Udo Ugochukwu Stanley, Igbo Christian Ikenna, Nweke Kingsley David, Obinna Stanley Obumneme, Okocha Elisha Ewah, Nweke Cosmas Chidera, Justice Anyaegbunam Mba, David…

Former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Professor Ibrahim Garba, and former bursar, Ibrahim Shehu Usman were arraigned on March 29 before Justice R. M. Aikawa of the Federal High Court sitting Kaduna, Kaduna State, on a nine-count charge bordering on fraud and money laundering to the tune of over N1billion by the Kaduna Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. The duo accused of fraud were alleged to have diverted the monies from different accounts of the institution meant for the renovation of the popular Kongo Conference Hotel, Zaria. One of the counts reads, “that…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibadan Command on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, arraigned the owner of Ibadan-based Club, De Rock Club, Adepoju Olawale Sunday alias SSG before Justice Uche Agomoh of the Federal High Court in Ibadan, Oyo State on two separate charges for his alleged involvement in fraud, cybercrime and obtaining money under false pretence to the tune of N31, 821, 000.00. The first charge, containing eight counts, bordering on identity theft, obtaining COVID–19 and unemployment benefits from the United States of America Government, while the other 19- count charge is premised on transfer of proceeds of…

Elon Musk and a group of artificial intelligence experts and industry executives are calling for a six-month pause in developing systems more powerful than OpenAI’s newly launched GPT-4, in an open letter citing potential risks to society and humanity. Earlier this month, Microsoft-backed OpenAI unveiled the fourth iteration of its GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) AI program, which has wowed users with its vast range of applications, from engaging users in human-like conversation to composing songs and summarising lengthy documents. The letter, issued by the non-profit Future of Life Institute and signed by more than 1,000 people including Musk, called for…