Author: Vincent Osuwo

The Edo State High Court in Benin City has convicted and sentenced 11 internet fraudsters to varied jail terms for obtaining by false pretenses, advance fee fraud, and possession of fraudulent documents. According to a statement issued on Friday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission via X, Justice W.I. Aziegbemhin imposed the penalties after the EFCC’s Benin Zonal Directorate prosecuted the offenders on separate one-count charges. The convicted are Izomor Samuel Efe, Nosakhare Bright, Emovon Destiny, Vincent Arogbo, Osarentin Morgan Aduwa, Osagiede Destiny Oghosa, Nosakhare Ernest Theophilus, Junior Emmanuel Efe, Osimen Princewill, Obamedo Clinton, and David Iyobor. According to…

Convicted kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, popularly known as Evans, has told the Lagos State High Court, sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square, that he is now a teacher at the Kirikiri correctional center after receiving a teaching diploma in economics from the Yewa College of Education and that he is not a criminal. Evans stated that he was willing to forfeit all of his possessions as part of a plea bargain arrangement if the court granted his motion on compassionate grounds. This information was included in his plea bargain application. As part of the proposed plea bargain agreement, he promised to…

The Ogun State Police Command announced on Friday that it has opened an investigation into a case of arson involving cattle herdsmen who allegedly set fire to a large cassava field in Adao Village, via Alabata, Abeokuta, the state capital. CSP Omolola Odutola, a spokesperson for the state police command, confirmed this in a statement to the press on Friday. Odutola stated, “On February 20, 2025, one Mr. Ogunbayo Adewale of Raka Village reported at the police station that upon visiting his 35-acre cassava farmland on February 19, 2025, at about 1640 hours, he discovered that the farmland had been…

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo advised former military president General Ibrahim Babangida (retd.) not to be overly concerned about criticism of his autobiography and what he referred to as “put him down syndrome.” Obasanjo made the comment while releasing Babangida’s autobiography, “A Journey in Service,” and launching his presidential library in Abuja on Thursday. The former president, who served as the event’s chairman, stated that when he authored his own book, the late Tunji Braithwaite, whom he described as his chronic critic, criticized it without having read it. He claimed that through the autobiography, Babangida had succeeded in documenting history while…

General Ibrahim Babangida (retd.) has denied involvement in the assassination of Dele Giwa, a journalist and editor-in-chief of Newswatch. Giwa, a critic of Babangida’s military government, was assassinated by a parcel bomb in his home in Ikeja, Lagos State, on October 19, 1986. Two days prior, a senior official of the Directorate of Military Intelligence accused Giwa of illegally importing and stockpiling arms and ammunition to stage a socialist revolution in Nigeria. Perturbed by the charge, Giwa quickly briefed his lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi. However, the following day, a security chief, Colonel Halilu Akilu, called to reassure Giwa that the accusation…

Former military Head of State General Ibrahim Babangida (retd.) has admitted that late Chief MKO Abiola won the presidential election on June 12, 1993, but called the annulment the most painful choice of his life. Babangida made the disclosure in his book, ‘A Journey in Service,’ which was launched in Abuja on Thursday. Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who was reviewing the book at the event, quoted Babangida as saying that Abiola, who ran on the Social Democratic Party’s platform, met all constitutional requirements for president, including obtaining a majority of votes and the necessary geographical spread. “There was no…

The Lagos Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has charged 14 Filipinos and a firm, Genting International Co. Ltd., before Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court, sitting in Ikoyi for cyberterrorism and internet fraud in Lagos. According to a statement obtained from EFCC’s X handle on Thursday, “The defendants are: Marj Maranga, Zara Fabian, Jonalyn Mendoza, Dominique Medina, Rachelle Cabalona, Krystel Aquilesca, Caselyn Pionela, Raizza Camara, Danica Silad, Reyna Mae Eriba, Chynna Samonte, Mary Grace Dela Cruz, Sevien Cire Renovilla, and Rose-Ann Gonzales. In a surprise operation known as the “Eagle Flush Operation,” EFCC…

Gunmen in Abuja have abducted Eniola Ojajuni, the National President of the Afenifere Youth Council. On Monday, February 17, Ojajuni was captured after allegedly being shot twice in the buttocks. Abiodun Aderohunmu, the council’s national secretary, confirmed the abduction in a statement on Wednesday. The kidnappers have demanded a ransom of N100 million to free him, according to a statement released by the council’s National Secretary, Abiodun Aderohunmu, on Wednesday. “The Afenifere National Youths Council is deeply saddened to announce the kidnapping of its National President, Prince Eniola Joseph Ojajuni, in Abuja. During the attack, he sustained a gunshot wound,…

The first-ever Commonwealth Peace Prize has been awarded to Muhammad Ashafa and James Wuye, both Nigerians. The Interfaith Mediation Center’s co-founders received recognition for their outstanding services to Nigeria’s “peacebuilding and reconciliation.” Patricia Scotland, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, wrote a letter of congratulations to Sani Suleiman, the Deputy High Commissioner of Nigeria, on Wednesday to proclaim their victory. The panel, she said, was pleased by the Nigerians’ exceptional work, pointing out that their efforts have established a global standard for peacebuilding and reconciliation. Scotland added that their “dedication to bridging religious divides, fostering mutual understanding, and preventing violent conflict has made…

The Iranian government executed at least 975 people in 2024 in a “horrifying escalation in the use of the death penalty,” human rights activists said on Thursday. According to an annual report by the human rights organizations Iran Human Rights, based in Oslo, and Together Against the Death Penalty, based in France, the number represents a 17% increase from the 834 reported in 2023. Additionally, it is a far greater number of executions than the average throughout that time period and the greatest number since the IHRNGO’s first annual report in 2008. “The death penalty is weaponized and instrumentalized against…