Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of harassing citizens and opposing voices, including Dele Farotimi, with the intention to create a one-party-state.

Atiku Abubakar said the arrest of the human rights lawyer, Farotimi, was a reminder of the days of military dictatorship.

In a statement on Wednesday, Atiku stated that the use of police to abduct Farotimi in an alleged defamation case was an abuse of power.

“The arrest and detention of lawyer and human rights advocate, Dele Farotimi, is unequivocally condemned. It serves as a grim reminder of the dark days of military dictatorship when the iron fist of tyranny sought to crush all dissent.

“I am made aware that Dele is being accused of defamation — an offense that, under normal circumstances, should not warrant the involvement of law enforcement. The Police’s intervention in such matters is nothing less than the use of a sledgehammer to swat a fly, an overreach of unimaginable proportions,” Atiku said.

The former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) told President Tinubu that continued arrests of dissenting voices by his administration undermine the principles of democracy.

“This alarming trend, particularly the recent abduction — or rather, the arrest — of Dele Farotimi, is emblematic of this administration’s insidious agenda to suffocate the fundamental right to free expression.

“The aim is clear: to intimidate and harass citizens, particularly those who oppose the regime and the press, thus paving the way for the establishment of a one-party state. It is imperative to remind the Tinubu administration that these repeated acts of arrest stand in direct contradiction to the principles of democracy,” he stated.

He emphasized that freedom of speech remained a constitutional right. Atiku highlighted that defamation is a civil matter that should be addressed in the courts, stressing that he had been abused, but resorted to the court.

The former Vice President called for the immediate release of the human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi.

“Freedom of speech and association are not privileges but constitutionally enshrined rights. If anyone feels wronged by defamatory words, they are free to seek redress in the courts, not at the hands of the state’s enforcers.

“It is an appalling abuse of power to use the Police as a tool for personal vendettas. In 2019, I was defamed. I did not involve the Police to flex muscles and intimidate the defaming citizen, but I took the case to court where I am currently seeking reliefs for the injuries to my name and integrity. Therefore, I call for the immediate and unconditional release of Dele Farotimi,” Atiku added.

The popular Nigerian-born pastor, Tobi Adegboyega, is making headlines after losing his case at the immigration tribunal, leading to a deportation order from the British government.

Naija News earlier reported that an immigration tribunal ruled that Tobi Adegboyega, 44, cousin of Star Wars actor John Boyega, will be deported to Nigeria following allegations of financial misconduct linked to his church, SPAC Nation.

Investigations into his church activities revealed allegations of financial misconduct.

Despite his appeal citing family ties under the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), the tribunal ruled for his deportation.

Here are 18 key facts about Pastor Tobi:

1. Date of Birth: Tobi Adegboyega was born on November 11, 1980.
2. Nationality: He is a Nigerian pastor with Yoruba roots.
3. Church Leadership: He founded the Salvation Proclaimers Anointed Church (SPAC Nation), later rebranded as NXTION Family, in London.
4. Move to the UK: Adegboyega relocated from Lagos, Nigeria, to London in 2005.
5. Early Life in London: Initially, he shared a room with his cousin, actor John Boyega, and worked as a kitchen porter.
6. Church Beginnings: SPAC Nation started in 2008 with just three members in Croydon, South London.
7. Unique Practices: He encouraged individuals, including former criminals, to surrender weapons during church services, a controversial initiative.
8. Leadership Transition: In May 2020, Adegboyega stepped down as Lead Pastor and handed leadership to Samuel Akokhia.
9. Church Closure: The UK government ordered SPAC Nation to close in June 2022 due to financial irregularities and lack of transparency.
10. Media Scrutiny: A BBC Panorama investigation accused Adegboyega and church leaders of financially exploiting members and revealed his extravagant financial demands.
11. Allegations of Misconduct: A church member, Nino, alleged that Adegboyega requested £20,000 from him, claiming it was needed for an investment. Although the church denied the accusations, Adegboyega refused to grant an interview to Panorama.

12. Controversial Statements: Panorama later published a video of Adegboyega, quoted as saying he believed it was “no big deal for members of the church to give at least £1,000 a month to the church”, and that he needed to make £1 million monthly.

13. Parliamentary Accusations: In January 2020, MP Steve Reed accused SPAC Nation of financial exploitation and fraud, although police declined to launch a criminal investigation.

14. Youth Exploitation Claims: In 2019, the church faced allegations of pressuring young people to sell their blood for money.

15. Domestic and Sexual Abuse Claims: SPAC Nation was also accused of abuse and other forms of misconduct.

16. Lavish Lifestyle: Adegboyega resides in a £2.5 million mansion in Surrey, reflecting a life of luxury.

17. Marriage: In a 2020 interview, he revealed he had been married for eight years to a British woman, a factor he used in his deportation appeal.
18. Legacy: While his church attracted followers and controversy in equal measure, Adegboyega’s practices and leadership remain under scrutiny.

The Nigerian Police Force has linked many cases of missing young women to ritual practices, with a growing connection to the rising hookup culture in the country.

The Public Relations Officer of the Ogun State Command, Omolola Odutola, revealed this on Wednesday when she was featured on Channels Television’s Morning Brief.

During the discussion on “Hookup Culture: Impact on Youth Values and Relationships,” Odutola revealed that young women aged 20 to 32 are the most affected.

She added that many young people, especially males, believe that ritual killings are a way to become wealthy.

“This particular menace is very serious and I would like a lot of young people to understand the danger in the hookup culture. Today, we have lots of reports of missing persons. By the time we start an investigation, not less than 10 young girls and ladies go missing daily.

“In-depth investigations also reveal that those cases are not by accidents. Most of them are connected to hookup channels and apps. They fall victim to strangers who causally invite them to unknown places, and eventually fall victim to being used for ritual purposes,” she said.

“Most cases of missing girls and ritual killings occurring in Ogun State of recent, I would like to say that it is not new. But as much as possible, the Ogun State Commissioner of Police has been able to tame these ugly incidents.”

The police boss added, “It stems from the ugly perspective of young persons who believe that ritual killing could enrich them. We have some of these unscrupulous elements who deceive young people to get human skulls or human body parts, which they use for some kind of concoction to get them rich.

“That is why we are having advocacy and sensitization, to enlighten young persons to make them understand that engaging in ritual killings does not in any way make them rich,” she said.

She stated that the police command is collaborating closely with the State Women Affairs Commission to tackle and curb the menace.

She stated, “The Ogun State government, particularly the Women Affairs Commission works in tandem with the police command by providing counselling sessions.

“Apart from that, whenever we have cases such as this if per adventure the girls escape the rituals, we also have a proper way of helping them go through the distress of mental health and anxiety they might have felt during the incident.

“The hookup culture is prevalent among young girls between the ages of 20 to about 32 years. The reason they get involved in this menace is because they feel they don’t get enough from their parents, and then the get-rich syndrome.”

Hookup culture refers to casual sexual relationships, like one-night stands, that often don’t involve emotional attachment or long-term commitment. While this trend has existed since the 1920s, it has become more common and accepted in recent years.

Some argue that hookup culture is a step forward for women’s freedom and empowerment, but others believe it harms the development of healthy and meaningful relationships.

This culture also reflects a double standard, with women often judged more harshly than men for engaging in casual encounters. For instance, women who hook up frequently or go too far in a single encounter may face derogatory labels like “hoe,” while men in similar situations are often praised.

Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, has detailed how the commission, in collaboration with the Bureau of Public Procurement, successfully intercepted and blocked $300,000 allocated for a students’ Information and Communication Technology program, which was being funneled through suspicious accounts.

He shared this information on Tuesday in Abuja during the Centre for Media Policy and Accountability one-day National Policy Dialogue on Anti-Corruption, held at the ICPC Auditorium.

Aliyu emphasized the importance of cooperation between sister agencies to prevent corrupt officials from carrying out illicit activities.

He explained, “It was BPP that gave us an idea because something strange was happening concerning ICT for students. It was then that we had to look properly and make recoveries, blocking $300,000 in one of the accounts, as well as recovering an expensive vehicle.”

Aliyu also explained why his leadership is prioritizing the strengthening of the Commission’s prevention mandate.

As outlined in Section 6 (a-F) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000, the ICPC is tasked with three key mandates: enforcement, prevention, and public education/enlightenment.

The ICPC boss further detailed how the synergy with BPP uncovered irregularities related to the fund for ICT students, resulting in the recovery of $300,000 and an expensive vehicle.

“It was the synergy between us and BPP that led to the discovery of a strange thing that was happening in respect to a certain fund earmarked for students in the ICT sector.

“It was then that we had to look properly and make recoveries, blocking $300,000 in one of the accounts, as well as recovering an expensive vehicle,” he added.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Abiodun Fagbemi, SAN, expressed his satisfaction with the event.

Represented by Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, he noted that the dialogue offered stakeholders a valuable opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss ways to sustain successful anti-corruption initiatives.

He also underscored the need for stronger collaboration among all stakeholders to enhance the preventive approaches of anti-corruption agencies.

Aliyu shared a notable achievement, highlighting the successful partnership between the ICPC and the Bureau of Public Procurement which led to the identification and blocking of $300,000 earmarked for students in the ICT sector.

He remarked, “I am encouraging us across all agencies to open up to one another. This will help us streamline what we are doing. There is no single arm of government, tier of government, or agency that can fight corruption alone, so we need to come together locally, regionally, and internationally to fight corruption.”

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has stated that the company associated with the forfeited estate in Abuja has denied ownership of the property.

On Monday, the anti-graft agency secured the final forfeiture of an estate in the federal capital territory (FCT).

The estate sits on 150,500 square metres in the country’s capital and contains 753 units of duplexes.

Dele Oyewale, the EFCC spokesperson, said the recovery was the agency’s largest since its inception in 2003.

However, the anti-graft agency did not immediately name the owner of the property—a development that many Nigerians criticised.

The EFCC spokesperson said the criticism that trailed the forfeiture of the estate is “unacceptable”.

Oyewale, in a statement on Tuesday, said the legal action that led to the forfeiture of the estate was instituted against the property and not the owners in line with provisions of the Advance Fee Fraud Act.

He said the company flagged during the investigation denied ownership of the estate after newspaper publication.

“The allegation of a cover-up of the identity of the promoters of the estate stands logic on its head in the sense that the proceedings for the forfeiture of the estate were in line with section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act, which is a civil proceeding that allows for action-in-rem rather than action-in-personam,” the statement reads.

“The latter allows legal actions against a property and not an individual, especially in a situation of an unclaimed property.

“This act allows you to take up a forfeiture proceeding against a chattel that is not a juristic person. This is exactly what the commission did in respect of the estate.

“The proceedings that yielded the final forfeiture of the estate were products of actionable intelligence available to the commission.

“The company flagged by our investigations denied ownership of the estate following publications made in leading national newspapers.

“On the basis of this, the commission approached the court for an order of final forfeiture, which Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the federal capital territory, FCT, high court granted on Monday, December 2, 2024.

“It is important to note that the substantive criminal investigation on the matter still continues. It will be unprofessional of the EFCC to go to town by mentioning names of individuals whose identities were not directly linked to any title document of the properties.

“The EFCC is unwavering in its no-sacred-cow approach to every matter, and together we will make Nigeria greater.”

The lawmaker representing Ondo South in the Senate, Jimoh Ibrahim,  has said that wealthy Nigerians should be made to pay taxes.

According to Ibrahim, it’s a global practice that when an economic crisis hits a nation, the government directs its policies toward making the rich citizens pay heavy taxes to help the nation overcome its economic problems.

Senator Ibrahim stated this while briefing the Senate Press Corps after plenary on Tuesday evening, December 3.

He gave clarification on his intervention at plenary on the consideration of the report of the joint committees on Finance and National Planning and Economic Affairs on the 2025-2027 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).

Jimoh said it would be the first time that the nation would tax wealthy citizens, adding that adequate taxing of economic net worth Nigerians was a means of shoring up the nation’s revenue base.

“My worry is that the rich in Nigeria are not paying enough taxes in order to be a good jolly fellow with the poor.

“In other countries, taxes are paid on transactions. The rich need to pay more taxes and one of the areas where our economic gap can be covered is when we address those lacuna.

“Luxury taxes should be monitored and collected. We should look at a law that will police transactional tax on the rich,” he said.

To make this effective, he said “there should be an adequate data bank of the taxable rich”.

“GDP to tax ratio in Nigeria is 18 percent, while the test 72 percent are not taxed.

“It is unfortunate economically that 72 percent of the Nigerian population are not in the tax net,” he added.