Category: News

ODUDUWA NEWS has just gathered that immediate younger brother of the Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Olajide Sowore has been reportedly shot dead by unknown gunmen.

According to the Publisher through a statement he made available on his Facebook account, he said, his younger brother was killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen while going to Igbinedon University, Edo State where he was studying Pharmacy before his death.

Details later.

The Department of State Services has released two more aides of Yoruba Nation agitator Sunday Adeyemo. The secret police released Tajudeen Irinloye and Uthman Adelabu on Friday after over 60 days.

The detainees’ lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, confirmed their release. Two more Sunday Igboho’s aides have been released.

Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had on August 4, 2021, granted bail to the 12 detainees. They had met their bail conditions including the provision of 24 sureties but the DSS lawyer, Idowu Awo, had kicked against the bail granted by Justice Egwuatu to four of them, claiming that they were heavily involved in the alleged offence of arms stockpiling and other criminal activities of their boss, Igboho. Awo had filed a remand application for the four detainees saying their release would affect investigation. He had also approached an Appeal Court sitting in Abuja to revoke the bail earlier granted to the four persons. The detainees were arrested around 1am on July 1, 2021, when the secret police “raided” Igboho’s Ibadan residence in a Gestapo style, killing two other associates of the activist in a “gun duel.”

The 12 detainees had approached the court to seek their release. Recall that ODUDUWA NEWS reported that barely 61 days after their arrest by the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), eight of the 12 aides of Yoruba nation agitator Sunday Adeyemo, have regained their freedom. The counsel to the eight detainees, Pelumi Olajengbesi, said that secret police released his clients on Monday, Aug. 30.

ODUDUWA NEWS gathered that the secret police, however, refused to release the remaining four detainees.

According to the report, those released appeared at a press conference on Monday afternoon with their lawyer.

Lekki, the fast-developing upper middle class area of Lagos Metropolis, is emerging as the new hub of internet-related fraud. Data from the investigation activities of the Lagos Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for the second quarter of 2021, indicates that Lekki District is the preferred location for all manner of cyber fraud syndicates.

Between April and June, 2021, the Advance Fee Fraud and Cyber Crime Sections of the Command recorded a total of 402 internet-related fraud arrests. While the Advance Fee Fraud Section was responsible for 243 arrests, the Cyber Crime Section executed 18 sting operations which resulted in 159 arrests, from which 13 convictions have so far been recorded.

Of the 159 suspects arrested by the Cyber Crime Section, 70 are from Lekki, comprising communities such as Ajah, Badore, Victoria Garden City, Sangotedo and Oniru.

Ajah accounted for 24 suspects, while Oniru and Sangotedo had 14 and 13 suspects respectively. Badore had 8 suspects. Neighbouring Ikoyi and Eko Atlantic had 2 and one suspect each. Ikorodu and Alagbado on the Lagos Mainland make up the remainder.

The suspects are mostly millennials, with 82 of them aged between 25-34 years, which speaks to the fact that most of the individuals arrested are either still in school, recent graduates or university drop outs.

Analysis of the data from the Cyber Crime Section further shows that the dominant form of internet crime is Dating Scam/Online Dating Scam/Romance Scam. Sixty Four percent (64%) of individuals arrested are involved in romance scam, followed closely by “Middle Man Scam” and “Picking” which account for 8% and 7% respectively of those arrested.

The 64% involved in the dating scam benefitted to the tune of N8, 310,000; $349,290 USD; £ 900; €10 and Cryptocurrency 0.17513.

Other typologies of fraud identified include forgery, possession of fraudulent documents, spamming, credit card fraud, impersonation, rental scam, loan fraud, Business Email Compromise, Hacking, stealing, cheque scam, phishing, and money laundering.

The data also reveals gift cards, at 39%, as the prevalent method employed by the suspects to access their illicit funds. It is followed by bank transfers at 27% and Cryptocurrency at 21%.

A total of $12, 512.49USD was recovered from the e-wallet accounts of four suspects within the period.

Lagos State Environmental and Special Offense Unit (Taskforce) has indicated its preparedness to collaborate with National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to educate willing commercial bus drivers in order to reduce the high rate of disobedience to traffic rules and regulations in the State just as it restated its resolve to keep its operatives in check.

The Chairman, Lagos State Environmental and Special Offense Unit (Taskforce), CSP Shola Jejeloye stated this today at a meeting with State Executives and branch heads of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Agege.

CSP Shola Jejeloye who was meeting the full house of the union leaders as part of the steps to address the misunderstandings between commercial bus drivers and the agency’s operatives.

He stated that ‘if truly we are to eliminate friction between commercial bus drivers in Lagos State and the Enforcement Team of Lagos Tasksforce, we must be ready to educate willing union members on what constitutes obstruction, driving against traffic and driving on BRT Lane.

If this involves engaging other relevant government agencies, it won’t be a wasted effort if we desire sanity on Lagos roads”.

He added that the agency has created a team not only to monitor its operatives but also those using the name of Lagos State Taskforce to extort motorists and road users.

While promising more changes in the operations of the agency, CSP Jejeloye assured that it would all be in the best interest of Lagos State.

Appealing to his members for co – operation with the Lagos State Taskforce, the Chairman, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NUTRW), Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya urged drivers not to pick commuters at places that are not designated as bus stops, eschew obstruction and driving on BRT lane and to avoid driving against the traffic (one-way).

He urged the branch leaders to put mechanisms in place to ensure that union members are enlightened and that they do not obstruct traffic as well as remain considerate to other road users.

By Adebayo Miracle

On the 28th of August 2021, it was gathered that MRA which is the Media Rights Agenda filed a law suit at the Federal High Court in Lagos, Nigeria asking the Lagos State Government and authorities of the Police to launch a vivid, transparent, independent investigations free from partiality to the circumstances leading to the death of Mr Pelumi Onifade, a journalist  killed while doing his job during the #ENDSARS protest in 2020.

Late Mr Pelumi Onifade was a 20 year old student at Tai Solarin University of Education, a part two student of department of history in the school which is located at Ijebu-Ode, Ogun state. He was working as a reporter under internship at Gboah Tv, a privately owned media organization.

Late Onifade was on the course of performing his duties as a journalist, when he was allegedly shot while taking a covering of the #ENDSARS protest in Lagos for the television on October 24 2020. He was shot, and arrested by the policemen who took him away while bleeding. It was reported that Pelumi Onifade had died in the police custody as the police informed his family a corpse was deposited at the Ikorodu General Hospital morgue in Lagos. His corpse was found at the hospital on October 30, 2020.

In one of the summons filed by a Lagos-based lawyer, Mr Charles  Musa on behalf of the MRA against the (COP) Commissioner of Police, the Inspector General Of Police(IGP), and the Attorney-General of Lagos State, the organization is asking the court to determine if:

Mr. Pelumi Onifade’s shooting and arrest by the agents of the commissioner and IGP on 24^th of October 2020 while performing his journalistic duties were nconstitutional and a gross violation to his freedom of expression and fundamental rights as guaranteed by section 33,35 and 39 of the 1999 constitution (as amended) and articles 4, 5 and 9 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights ( Ratification and Enforcement) Act (Cap A9) Laws of the federation 2004;

Mr Pelumi Onifade’s death in the Police custody regarded as extrajudicial killing and infringement of his fundamental rights as guaranteed by section 33,35 and 39 of the constitution and Articles 4,5 and 9 of the African Charter; and if the police have an obligation to investigate the death of Onifade Pelumi as a journalist exercising his right to freedom of expression, having regard to the provisions of section 33 and 39 of the constitution and Articles 4 and 9 of the African charter;

By virtues of the section 33 and 39 of the Constitution, Articles 4 and 9 of the African Charter, section 15,18 and 21 of the Coroner system Law of Lagos state, the government of the Lagos state has an obligation to conduct a coroner’s inquest procedure to discover the cause of the death of Onifade; and

Regarding the provisions of Section 33,35,39 and 46(1) of the constitution and Articles 4,5 and 9of the African charter, the court can direct the Police and the government of Lagos state to investigate the harassment, shooting, arrest and death of Onifade while in the custody of agents of the commissioner and the IGP.

According to the report, the MRA stated that in the events, all these questions were resolved in its favour, as an organization incorporated under the companies and Allied Matters Act, with a mission to promote freedom of expression and the press and the right of access to information in Nigeria, it is entitled, among other things, to various orders by the court directing the Police and the Lagos state government to launch a transparent, impartial and independent investigation into the circumstances of Onifade’s death; to conduct a Coroner’s inquest procedure to ascertain cause of his death as well as for them to accordingly identify and Prosecute those responsible for his death.

The MRA is also praying the court direct the defendants to identify and also prosecute all those involved and responsible for the death of Mr Pelumi ONifade.