A Lagos-based businessman, Amara Kennedy, who was accused of circulating nude photos of single mothers, has been arrested.

One of the victims, Kester, confirmed the development on Friday.

The Punch news paper had reported in a special feature on Sunday that two women, Kester and one other identified simply as Temi, met Kennedy separately on different WhatsApp and Facebook chat groups for singles.

Kester, who lost her husband about eight years ago in a car crash, said the businessman, after chatting her up, started showering her with monetary gifts.

However, after a disagreement, he sent her over 50 of her nude photos which he secretly took after their lovemaking in a hotel.

She said the suspect demanded N100,000 from her as a condition to delete the photos.

The mother of two noted that after she sent the money and asked if the photos had been deleted, he demanded an additional N40,000 to delete them permanently, which she sent to him.

Despite the payments, the suspect went ahead to circulate the photos on Facebook.

Kester said she attempted suicide twice but failed, as some of those who saw the images started questioning her.

The second victim, Temi, said the suspect usually had marathon sex with her in hotels while under the influence of drugs, and afterwards gave her N1,000 as transport fares.

She said after she discovered that he was not serious about the relationship and was merely using her, she stopped talking to him.

However, Kennedy reportedly sent her several of her nude photos and demanded all the money he had spent on her in the relationship.

She said she borrowed N15,000, which she sent to him.

However, after she appealed to his sister on Facebook for help to talk to him, he started circulating the nude photos.

Temi said the businessman regularly called her to demand money.

After the report was published, the suspect on Monday threatened to continue to damage the reputation of the women for “spoiling my image.”

He then started sending the nude photos to more of their family members.

PUNCH Metro obtained some of the screenshots as the suspect continued to chat with the victims and their friends to show them those he was sending the nude photos to.

Kennedy, in a chat seen by our reporter, wrote, “Her (Kester) pictures are there. At Redeem parish WhatsApp group platform. I am all over the news, she also will be all over the news. By the time I am done, suicide will be her only option.

“This one to her colleague at work…28 pictures. I have sent to her friends abroad both male and female. I have sent to her inlaw, redeem church branch on WhatsApp, to her pastor and more random people online.

“Una never jam. My image is already dented. Hers will go round. Pictures that I have uploaded on a porn site today, all 52 pictures.”

PUNCH Metro also obtained screenshots of some of the people and groups Kennedy sent the nude photos to.

Kester, while speaking to our correspondent, said her in-laws had contacted her over the matter.

She promised not to take her own life, saying her daughters needed her.

Governor Agbu Kefas of Taraba State on Friday declared free education in all primary and secondary schools with effect from the next academic session to cushion the effects of the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit known as petrol.

The decision came barely 48 hours after announcing the reduction of university school fees by 50 per cent to cushion the current hardship in the country.

According to him, starting from the next academic session, primary and secondary education in Taraba State would be free.

A statement by his Spokesperson, Emmanuel Bello, said Kefas made the declaration at the Ebenezer Primary School in Wukari as part of his assessment tour.

The governor stressed that it was the government’s responsibility to bear the expenses and that students should not be subjected to any fees.

He said that apart from fulfilling a campaign promise, the hardship occasioned by the removal of the fuel subsidy has made the move imperative.

On Wednesday during his visit to the Taraba State University in Jalingo, Kefas announced the removal of school fees in the university, saying quality education remained his main priority.

Kefas said he had since declared a state of emergency in the education sector and was also committed to free education at the primary and secondary school levels.

Many of the University students expressed joy at the development, saying the reduction in fees would greatly enhance their lives.

“Some parents said the hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy has made payments of school fees difficult. They said the slash has raised their hopes,” Bello had said.

A former senator, Adamu Bulkachuwa has turned to the federal high court in Abuja, looking to halt an investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) into his actions.

On June 10, during the 9th senate valedictory session, Bulkachuwa claimed his wife, Zainab Bulkachuwa, used her influence as a judge to aid his colleagues in the senate.

As the former president of the court of appeal and the first woman to hold this position, Zainab’s involvement drew significant attention.

This led to a public outcry for an investigation into the former senator’s claim.

However, Zainab has since denied these allegations, asserting that she never allowed partisan interests to compromise her judicial duties.

The ICPC reacted to these developments by initiating an investigation and inviting Bulkachuwa for questioning. While the former senator was set to appear at the ICPC office on July 6, he chose to file a lawsuit in an attempt to block the invitation before the scheduled date.

In his Monday lawsuit, Bulkachuwa requested the court to deem the ICPC’s invitation as illegal and a violation of his fundamental human rights, as defined by sections 34, 35, 36, 37, 41 and 46 of the Nigerian constitution.

Additionally, he requested the court to interpret section 1 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act 2017, which he believes grants him immunity from any civil or criminal litigation regarding any statements he made on the floor of the upper chamber.

The suit reads, “A declaration that the applicant is entitled to freedom of speech/expression by Section 39(1) of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria (as amended) and as exercise by his other senators’ colleagues and having not been so afforded by the leadership of the ninth (9th) senate, cannot be held liable for the unintended inference of an inchoate speech/statement/expression.

“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents jointly and severally, particularly the 4th respondent (ICPC), acting directly or indirectly through their agents, officers, privies, assigns and any other persons by whomsoever or however constituted from inviting, harassing, intimidating and/or compelling the applicant to appear before the respondents pending the hearing and determination of suit no: FHC/ABJ/CS/895/2023 at the Federal High Court, Abuja.”

Those joined as respondents in the suit are: attorney-general of the federation, the clerk of the national assembly, Department of State Services (DSS), the ICPC, and Nigeria Police Force.

The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Lekan Balogun has declared that there is no ill feeling regarding the elevation of his high chiefs to crown-wearing obas.

He also clarified that the elevation would not create any distortion regarding the traditional system on the emergence of an Olubadan in the future.

The traditional ruler explained that history may need to be reconstructed sometimes to make it enduring and sustainable, noting that the traditional setup in Ibadan continues to evolve, responding to the dynamics of demand and change.

He added that the elevation of the chiefs is an idea that has refused to die despite the opposition against it in some quarters because it has some merits and is worthy of embrace.

Oba Balogun gave the clarification on Friday at the Mapo hall in Ibadan during his address at the coronation of members of his Olubadan-in-Council as beaded crown-wearing Obas.

Speaking through a former Head of Service of the State, Tajudeen Aremu, the Olubadan said the crowning and coronation ceremony will not alter the uniqueness of the Ibadan Traditional System in any way.

He said: “We are here to reconstruct the history because what we are doing today, as historical as it is could not be said to be novel, but the history has to be reconstructed to make it enduring and sustainable and hopefully, it shall be.

“We have a unique system in our traditional set up in Ibadan which continues to evolve, responding to dynamics of demand as occasions may dictate and this has been confirming the agelong aphorism that the onky thing permanent in life is change.

“In our responses to the changes over the years, there had always been issues on forging consensuses as arguments for and against always ensue which makes the ongoing controversy on today’s event a welcomed one being our familiar pattern and style in Ibadan.

“In short, whatever we are today in Ibadan as far as our traditional system is concerned are products of periodic changes we have passed through and there is no shying away from making this our own contribution to the system with the conviction that posterity will record us rightly.

“Just like the previous exercise generated controversy, our gathering here today has not been spared as well with arguments for its propriety or otherwise. The fact that the issue refused to die despite the controversy that trailed it up to the point of my coronation last year means it is an idea that has some merits in it which is worthy of embrace.”

He added: “Another notable observation worthy of public clarification has to do with the fear of the stool of Olubadan losing respect, honour and prestige because of the elevation of the High Chiefs to Beaded Crown-Wearing Obas as Royal Majesties. I don’t think it can happen or I don’t see it happening because the stool of Olubadan is a sacred one that nobody dares desecrate for whatever reason or purpose.

“What’s more, today’s High Chiefs are tomorrow’s Olubadans and the law of what you sow, you will reap or the admonition of our forefathers that when you want to go and bury your senior brother nakedly, take along your younger brother (Eni to ba fe lo sin egbon e ni ihoho, ko ranti mu aburo re lowo) should remain our guide.”

The governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke has caused a stir on social media after nominating his daughter Adenike Adeleke for appointment as State commissioner.

Naija News reports that the speaker of the Osun Assembly, Adewale Egbedun had announced the names of nominees from the governor in accordance with sections 192 (2) and 196(1) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (amended).

According to Mr. Egbedun, the governor submitted 25 names for the position of commissioners and another request for the appointment of 25 Special Advisers.

The names submitted as listed; Oladosu Babatunde, Bayo Ogunbamgbe, Sesan Oyedele, Kolapo Alimi, Soji Adeigbe, Moshood Olagunju, George Alabi, and Sunday Oroniyi are among the 25 commissioners nominated, according to him.

Others are Abiodun Ojo, Bashir Salami, Moruf Ayofe, Sola Ogungbile, Bunmi Jenyo, Ayo Awolowo, Wole Bada, Dipo Eluwole, Rasheed Aderibigbe, Moruf Adeleke, Adeyemo Ademola, Olabiyi Odunlade, Jola Akintola, Mayowa Adejorin, Adenike Adeleke, Tola Fasheru and Gani Ola-Oluwa.

Reacting to the appointment, Nigerians called out the governor for giving appointments based on favoritism rather than competence.

One user, packagedjteejuiz wrote: “So most of you supportts this but were crying Tinubu daughter added “”iyaloja general “” to her social media bio?”

amaryllisboozer wrote: ” Before ya all hypocrites come for her don’t forget that Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, was appointed as the Advisor to the President,” a government employee.”

kc_ebu wrote: “IF SEYI TINUBU BECOMES MINISTER FOR PETROLEUM MAKE UNA NO COMPLAIN OOOOOO. CUS IT SEEMS EVERYONE IS NOW BEING USED AS BUTTON FOR HYPOCRISY.”

judebare: “Although there is no law against this act, however I see a lot of comment supporting this action as if morality does not count. To me it is double standard because if Buhari had appointed his son or daughter as a minister when he was president these hypocrites would have cried cried till their voice become hoarse. What if Tinubu appoints his daughter as a minister in his cabinet? I will like to hear what some people will say.”

weightloss_mall: “The double standard in Nigeria is alarming. I say this all the time, MOST NIGERIANS DON’T HATE CORRUPTION, THEY ONLY HATE CORRUPTION BECAUSE THEY DO NOT BENEFIT PERSONALLY. I rest my case.”

More reactions below;

Adenike Adeleke is an Instagram star who uses the platform to promote her love for fashion, makeup and her daily life.

The London-based Economist magazine has often acted as a conservative Anglo-American establishment mouthpiece. Its recent leader (“How Not To Repair America” June 10, 2023) and the accompanying main article (“The Tide Goes Out”, 10 June 2023) on the reparations debate in the United States, exposes both its illiberal ideology and consistent misreading of race issues in America. The British-based magazine crudely caricatures this important issue, making lazy arguments that are often put forward by conservative analysts: reparations are unpopular and backed by only 30% of Americans; most living whites played no part in Jim Crow segregation and so none can be held responsible; black Americans are not the only disadvantaged group in America; resources are finite, and should go towards better schools and health for all Americans.

The argument that reparations are not popular, however, needs to be disaggregated. Explaining complicated historical issues to voters also requires strong and courageous leadership, as America’s partisan media space is often deluged by stereotypical arguments presented by conservative outlets such as this Economist perspective. Many Americans tend to think differently once this issue has been sensibly explained as a structural one in which the country benefited from 400 years of unpaid labour which facilitated America’s industrialisation, using 450,000 enslaved Africans who only won their basic voting rights in the 1960s. Such an approach would also note that, as the Economist itself concedes, the lingering effects of this legacy remains with America today, with many of the victims still alive as heirs who have inherited these socio-economic disadvantages. The Economist itself observes that the median net worth of black families in 2019 was 13% that of white families.  

Such gross racial inequalities are also evident in the lower levels of life expectancy and health, as well as continuing discrimination against African Americans. During the recent COVID/19 crisis, black Americans accounted for 30% of deaths, despite constituting only 13% of the US population. Today, members of this group are less likely to have healthcare; are more prone to police brutality; while 26% of black men have been incarcerated in what scholar-activist, Angela Davis, dubbed America’s “prison industrial complex.” Many African Americans also live in ghettos, suffering more the effects of bad housing, bad diet, and bad schooling, with 34% of black children born on or below the poverty line. These stark realities all constitute the continuing legacies of four centuries of slavery.

In terms of the Economist’s argument that African Americans are not the only group discriminated against, this is scarcely an argument for not paying reparations. After the Second World War in 1946, the US government’s Indian Claims Commission paid $1.3 billion (worth $20 billion today) in reparations to indigenous Americans who had historically been victims of widespread land dispossession and genocide. Japanese Americans incarcerated in concentration camps during the Second World War were also compensated through a $1.2 million payment (worth $18 million today). Though the Economist cites the Japanese case, attempts to repair historical crimes should not be turned into a hierarchy of suffering. Historical injustices with far-reaching and continuing consequences should be repaired regardless of the groups involved.

The Economist’s argument that no living whites are responsible for slavery ignores the structural issues of those who continue to benefit from four centuries of free labour, in stark contrast to those who continue to suffer from it. This statement is akin to saying that no one is responsible and should be held accountable for America’s contemporary racism, which was consolidated over 400 years of black exploitation, dehumanisation, and disenfranchisement. Governments in Canada, Australia, and Germany have paid reparations for crimes committed against indigenous populations and European Jews for which many of their living citizens were not directly responsible. The governments of Germany and the Netherlands have recently announced similar reparations for past crimes. Regarding, the Economist’s argument of resources being finite, the fact that Washington continues to spend more on its military than the next 10 countries combined is the clearest sign of the distortion of socio-economic priorities through its lobbyist-fuelled legislative process of legalised corruption. America can thus clearly afford to pay compensation to repair its past.   

The Economist then cites the case of two commissions in the “Golden State” of California which recently recommended reparations for descendants of American slavery, as an example of how “it is impossible to create an actuarial table of injustice…to determine how much cash is owed and to whom.” The reparations commission recommended that the maximum cost of reparations per African American should be $1.2 million as a down payment, while a similar reparations commission in San Francisco suggested $5 million per person. The Economist notes that California is focused more on repairing current racial disparities which the magazine concedes remain considerable across the country. It further cites 2016 figures showing that black Angelenos had 1% of the wealth of their white compatriots in Los Angeles.

The Economist then suggests that the sum of the proposed reparations would cripple the state’s finances. However, its own British government had paid the country’s slave-owners – and not the exploited slaves themselves or their descendants – £20 million (equivalent to £17 billion in 2016) for the loss of their “property” after Westminster abolished slavery in 1833. This sum was fully paid out just eight years ago in 2015. If the British government could take out a loan worth 40% of its Treasury’s annual income and 5% of its GDP at the time, to make perverse payments to 46,000 slave-owners and their descendants over a 182-year period, why can the government of California not have the ingenuity to devise a similar long-term compensation scheme for a more just cause? The Economist’s alternative suggestion that race-neutral anti-poverty programmes be put in place instead of reparations, seems utterly insensitive given that the institution of slavery itself had been based solely on race. The magazine’s suggestion that the governor of California, Gavin Newson, and mayor of San Francisco, London Breed, oppose cash payments is also mean-spirited.  

In seeking to nuance the Economist’s views, I consulted two mainstream American newspapers. The Los Angeles Times noted that California had been requested by its reparations commission to issue a formal apology for the persistent damage of slavery and discrimination, an important fact that the Economist omitted in its rush to discredit the case for reparations. The California-based newspaper further explained that monetary losses for the descendants of enslaved African Americans had been calculated based on the three categories of health disparities, mass incarceration and over-policing, and housing discrimination, making these sums less arbitrary than portrayed by the Economist’s superficial analysis. The New York Times also nuanced the 30% of Americans that the Economist noted are opposed to reparations, by citing disaggregated figures from the same Pew Research Centre survey: 77% of African American adults support reparations, as do 39% of Hispanics, 33% of Asians, but only 18% of whites. Unsurprisingly, the main beneficiaries of slavery are the most opposed to its redress, while the main victims of this crime against humanity are the most supportive. Significantly, the New York Times also exposed the ideological disparity in this debate, with 50% of Democrats backing reparations, in contrast to 8% of Republicans: a camp into which the Economist falls.

The Economist – not renowned for its cultural diversity, and notorious for a Eurocentric gaze on the non-Western world – tends to view race relations in America through the jaundiced lens of its own British society which is often in denial about widespread prejudices against black and brown people, despite clear evidence of institutional racism in its policing, public health, and more recently, its cricket. A magazine living in a London glass-house is clearly throwing stones.

Professor Adebajo is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Pretoria’s Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship in South Africa.

The Supreme Court has upturned the conviction of Senator Peter Nwaoboshi and his sentencing to seven years imprisonment for offences of fraud and money laundering.

The apex court ordered the immediate release of Nwaoboshi, who represented Delta North in the ninth Senate, from Ikoyi prisons in Lagos, where he is currently being held.

Delivering Judgement, the court also freed the two companies – Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd and Suiming Electrical Ltd – tried with him on a two-count charge brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

In a split decision of four-to-one, the Supreme Court set aside the July 1, 2022 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos, which had reversed their discharge and acquittal by a Federal High Court in Lagos.

In a lead judgment by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court held that Nwaobishi and the two companies were unjustly and maliciously prosecuted by the EFCC for committing no offences known to the law, and subjected them to a criminal trial in relation to a civil transaction, needlessly.

The EFCC had accused Nwaoboshi and his companies of illegally acquiring a property named Guinea House on Marine Road, in Apapa, Lagos, for N805 million, the property said to belong to the Delta State Govt.

They had claimed that part of the money paid for the property was transferred by Suiming Electrical Ltd on behalf of Nwaoboshi and Golden Touch Construction Project Ltd, adding the funds are believed to be proceeds of their illicit activities.

The Osun State House of Assembly, has announced the names of Commissioner and Special Adviser nominees as forwarded to the Assembly by the Executive Governor of Osun State, Sen. Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke.

The Speaker of the Osun assembly, Rt. Hon. Adewale Egbedun read the governor’s letter containing the nominees to members of the House of Assembly at Plenary on Friday, 7th July, 2023.

The Nominees are:

1. Barr. Oladosu Babatunde

2.Prince Bayo Ogungbangbe

3. Mr Sesan Epharaim Oyedele

4. Barr. Kolapo Alimi

5. Mr Soji Ajeigbe

6. Mr Moshood Olalekan Olagunju

7. Hon. George Alabi

8. Hon. Sunday Olufemi Oroniyi

9. Mr. Abiodun Bankole Ojo

10. Dr. Basiru Tokunbo Salami

11. Mr Morufu Ayofe

12. Mr Sola Ogungbile

13. Rev. Bunmi Jenyo

14. Mrs Ayo Awolowo

15. Barr. Wole Jimi Bada

16. Hon. Dipo Eluwole

17. Alh. Rasheed Aderibigbe

18. Prof. Morufu Ademola Adeleke

19. Mr Adeyemo Festus Ademola

20. Mr Olabiyi Anthony Odunlade

21. Barr. Jola Akintola

22. Hon. Mayowa Adejorin

23. Mrs Adenike Folashade Adeleke

24. Mr Tola Faseru

25. Alh. Ganiyu Ayobami Olaoluwa

The Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Olamide Tiamiyu, in a statement, disclosed that state assembly has also set up an Ad-Hoc Committee to conduct preliminary screening of the nominees before they will appear before the House for full screening and confirmation.

Tiamiyu added that the process will be completed in good time.

An All Progressives Congress (APC) group known as the League of Youth Voters for Tinubu and Shettima has cried out to President Bola Tinubu to come to the aid of Nigerians.

The group lamented that the suffering in the country is too much due to high cost of living.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, Ayoola Oyejide, national coordinator of the group, said the rise in the cost of living is unbearable for the ordinary Nigerian.

“Rise in the cost of living is unprecedented and unbearable. The president is expected to revamp our ailing and critically dysfunctional economy,” he said.

“Corruption among public functionaries in Nigeria is endemic. Though the president is strongly opposed to it, we expect him to confront the menace head-on, setting an example of transparency and zero tolerance of self-regard.

The group urged the president to ensure that young people are appointed to his administration, noting that the country is blessed with intelligent youths.

“Nigeria is blessed with a lot of talented and intelligent youths but are barely given the chance or opportunity to exercise these gifts. Thank God, President Tinubu has a very good record of grooming and including youths in governance,” Oyejide said.

“Therefore, we expect him to continue in that line, most especially, in his subsequent appointment of ministers, heads of departments and agencies, board members of federal institutions, etc.

“We are using this platform to assure the president and the vice president of the youth’s support and to also assure the youth that President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima have the strength of character and dedication to mitigate these problems and even exceed our expectations.”

A Cameroonian lady has embarked on a mission to set a new Guinness World Record.

The lady identified as Danny Zara has declared her interest in embarking on a 200-hour sex marathon.

Zara, in a controversial post on Facebook, noted that the Guinness World Record is “aware of my proposed attempt to have continuous s3xual intercourse for 200 hrs.”

Sharing the flyer, she seeks the participation of capable men who are willing to join her in the endeavour commencing on 17th July to 25th July 2023.

Zara said: “Ladies and Gentlemen, after the confirmation from the Guinness Books of Records, I have decided to break a record of the Longest S3x Hour (Sex-Thon).

“Planet Cameroon, it is time for you to support your own so we can bring this book to our country make Nigeria no help us tear am. Thanks to my defense team Bella Powers of Bella Powers Voice.

“All we need now are guys that will Volunteer theirselves for this project to be carried out. Your girl is loyal.”