Fadekemi Branch, wife of popular Nollywood actor, Femi Branch, has narrated her ordeal in the hands of operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,EFCC, while in their detention.

Mrs. Branch  was arrested on the 21st of December 2019, by the anti graft agency for duping one UK -based lady, Itohan Emwionkpa .

She described the allegation as ‘untrue’ claiming that she never had dealings with the said Emwionkpa.

Following the allegation, she was arrested by the anti-graft agency, where she spent five days in their net, and released after paying the sum of N3,056,000 to the EFCC authorities.

This was as her late mother, Mrs. Julianah Modupeola Akanbi was also detained to enable her show up at the EFCC office in Ikoyi, Lagos.

Aggrieved by her unlawful detention, embattled Mrs. Branch sued the anti-graft agency through her lawyer, Mr. Solomon Edoh Esq. for among other things, breach of her constitutional right to presumption of innocence guaranteed and protected by Section 36(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), wrongful collection and withholding of her bank draft for the sum of N3, 056, 000 (Three Million and Fifty Six Thousand Naira) without any just cause or excuse and illegal detention.

She obtained a judgment in her favour as delivered by Hon. Justice Akintayo Aluko on 22nd July, 2022 in Suit No. FHC/L/CA/163/2022: Mrs Fadekemi Branch v Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

According to the judgment, the EFCC was mandated to pay the Plaintiff the sum of N3, 056, 000 (Three Million and Fifty Six Thousand Naira) being the value of the bank draft illegally collected from the Plaintiff, interest on the aforesaid sum, damages in the sum of N2, 000, 000 (Two Million Naira) and cost of the action in the sum of N1, 500, 000 (One Million Five Hundred Thousand Naira).

After the judgment was delivered on 22nd July, 2022, the counsel to the Plaintiff, Mr. Solomon Edoh Esq., served a certified true copy of the judgment on the EFCC and its Chairman and demanded compliance through two letters but his letters were neither responded to nor honoured.

Meanwhile, in the application currently pending before Hon. Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Lagos Judicial Division of the Federal High Court, Mrs. Branch is seeking the committal of the former EFCC Chairman, Bawa for failing to honour and comply with the judgment of the court.

Narrating her ordeal to NollyNow, Mrs Branch said while she was in the EFCC net, her husband was upset, helpless and traumatized.”

“I was detained for five days for a case I knew nothing about. I wasn’t released until the sum of N3,056,000 was obtained from me by the EFCC authorities in 2019,” she narrated.

[Vanguard]

Long before the mass relocation of Nigerians to foreign lands became a trend, referred to in local parlance as “Japa”, some famous female  Nollywood actresses whom many consider as pioneers of the Nigerian film industry suddenly disappeared from our screens and the Nigerian social circuit.

Unknown to many of their fans, these actresses who once hugged the limelight and serenaded our screens with their beauty and acting skills, completely left their acting careers in Nigeria and relocated to foreign countries.

These actresses relocated for various reasons, ranging from marriage to further education and change in careers.In this piece LEADERSHIP Sunday brings 7 Nollywood actresses who relocated abroad.

1. Bukky Wright

Nigerian actress Bukky Wright is a talented actress who has starred in blockbuster movies such as Saworoide, Abeni, When Love Happens, and Iyore. Sometime after 2016, Bukky vanished from the Nigerian movie scene and was later found to be in the United States of America.

Explaining her reason for leaving, Bukky said that she relocated because she wanted to go and do her Masters and because her two sons already lived abroad. She wanted to be with them while they grow up.

2. Regina Askia

Nigerian actress and model Regina Askia ruled our screens for a very long time before even names like Omotola and Genevieve started to become household names. Suddenly after years of dominating the screen, Regina decided to relocate abroad and start her career as a nurse.

Now, Regina not only lives in the United States, she has become a citizen. She took to social media to share the news saying:

And so today I made it official, I took the oath and became a citizen of the United States of America. Empowered and armed for the full pursuit of life, liberty and happiness.

3. Victoria Inyama

Another Nigerian actress who is now relocated abroad is the outspoken and controversial Victoria Inyama whose thoughts and opinions have kept her in the press, long after her acting has.

Victoria moved to the United Kingdom after getting married to her husband, author Ben Okri.

4. Georgina Onuoha

Yet another actress who left Nigeria after getting married is model and star actress Georgina Onuoha who starred in such movies as Egg of Life, Moment of Truth, and Wrong Desire.

Georgina now lives in the United States of America with her children.

5. Sandra Achums

Sandra Achums is another very popular actress who ruled our screens for a while especially in the 90s is Nigeria’s own Sandra Achums responsible for some very iconic roles that still get shared around social media even today.

After Sandra got married, she relocated to live with her husband and children in Germany where she now resides.

6. Laide Bakare

Laide Bakare is an actress and producer, known for Mi’ ofoworola, Love You Forever, and Mi’ ofoworola 2. In 2017 after splitting her time between Nigeria and America, Laide spilled the beans on social media that she has now become a permanent resident in the United States and now spends most of her time there.

7. Stella Damasus

Stella Damasus was and is still a household name in Nigeria because she acted and delivered in some of Nollywood’s very best movies and blockbusters. It came as a surprise to everyone when suddenly, we started seeing less and less of the actress on screen.

Eventually, we all came to find out that it was because Stella Damasus and her husband Daniel Ademinokan now live in the United States of America.

[Leadership]

In 2005, the National Electric Power Authority, NEPA which Nigerians nicknamed Never Expect Power Always, was unbundled and renamed Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN (Problem Has Changed Name) because contrary to expectations, the change of name and unbundling did not make them more efficient. The problem of epileptic power supply persisted. Due to the importance of light, most homes have one alternative power source or the other, the most common being the generator. Right now, with the fuel subsidy removal, many people can no longer afford to fuel their generators and so, all eyes are on the electricity company. 

Many are complaining about epileptic power supply and some are begging to have that epileptic power supply because they have been in darkness for over 15 years! That is the reality for residents of Ondo South Senatorial District, OSSD. Some still use candles and lanterns which are getting out of the reach of the masses. Their travails seem to be coming to an end thanks to the hard work and tenacity of their leaders. Vanguard spoke with the Olu of Igbokoda and a few residents. The Olu vowed not to rest until his people are served electricity. Excerpts:

Impact on economy

Speaking on the sufferings of his people, His Royal Majesty, Oba Afolabi Odidiomo, Olu of Igbokoda, said OSSD has not had light in the last 15 years and have had to depend solely on generators and those who cannot afford it depend on candles and lanterns.

He said it has affected the economy badly with most of the youths unemployed. “One of the easiest ways to make ends meet is to think of what to do on your own like buying and selling, dry cleaning etc. Some people are into palm kernel breaking; they all need electricity. Many who took bank loans to invest in businesses are battling to pay back. In a nutshell, the lack of electricity for many years has destroyed the minutest of hope that most of our children had.”

He noted that the people who are mostly fishermen, dry their fish, shrimps and crayfish mostly in the night and need electricity. Due to lack of electricity, the women have resorted to manual processing of fish. If there was electricity, their job would be easier as there are local technologies they could employ to dry their shrimps and crayfish. That’s why we have been looking for solution at all cost,” he said.

Sharing her experience, Deborah Aluko, a resident, noted that students cannot study at night nor do computer-based test as others, they are forced to do pencil-on paper because of the light issue.

“Life is just too difficult for us here. Without light, this place cannot develop.”

Another resident, Dr. Giwa said they have been using generator and fuel is very costly. “Many people are using solar which is also expensive; because we use generator for production, prices of goods are high.”

Health, Education

Continued the Olu: “Today, any child in OSSD that wants to do JAMB or computer-based exam, must go to either Ondo Central or Ondo North. That has reduced the number of our children gaining admission into higher institutions. Most of the children here have never seen a computer. They hear about it and do theory in class because there is no light to use one. Labs need electricity to do some basic experiments and preserve reagents, but most of our children do alternative to practical due to lack of electricity, this affects their performance.

“As bad as Nigerian hospitals are, it’s worse here. At a point, we had incubator and scanning machine but we couldn’t use them. We called on Niger-Delta Development Commission, NDDC for help; they installed solar panels for solar electricity in general hospital but that couldn’t do all that needed to be done. My generator can’t carry my small coffee machine, so what do you say about hospital equipment? We don’t even have a mortuary!”

The Olu who is the Legal Adviser and a member of the OSSD Power Resuscitation Committee said the electricity problem has been on for about four years before he ascended the throne 12 years ago. He immediately made efforts to see if the PHCN could solve the problem “but they were always telling us that one transformer or cable is bad, and needed to be replaced. Once we buy, they charge us for the electricity and say it’s theirs.”

Why we have no light

On why OSSD has been in darkness for so long, Oba Odidiomo said that the DISCO is all about profit and see OSSD as unprofitable so they would rather give to those that would give them bulk money. ”For instance, the industrial park in Ore has many companies so if 10 companies can pay N40m/month, the whole of Igbokoda may not even pay N3m and the DISCO is not ready to buy enough electricity. There’s also technical loss during transmission which they are not ready to bear so they would rather give the little they buy to companies and make much profit. Those who are lucky to fall within that region are given estimated bill to cover the losses.”

Energy Law: “As a lawyer, one of the weapons I know to use best is the law so the first thing I did was to find out if the Nigerian Constitution has any provision as to how energy companies should serve us. Power sector is divided into Generation, Transmission and Distribution. Transmission and Distribution are the problem areas.”

Laws: ”I picked the law establishing Distribution Companies, DISCOs. One of them says that if a DISCO disconnects a consumer, the DISCO is liable to pay compensation of N1,000/day if the consumer is a private residence; N1,500 and N2,000/day respectively for commercial and industrial premises. So if I go to court and say the DISCO should pay N1,000/day/household in Igbokoda for 14 years, we should be talking of trillions of naira..

“Another law says that no DISCO has the right to disconnect consumers for more than three months otherwise, the consumers can declare an Emergency and publish it and once they do, they are no more under that DISCO; they have the right to ask the National Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, for an independent licence to distribute electricity. The only thing you can’t do is generate more than one megawatt of electricity and distribute it without permission.

NERC: “That law further says that a group of consumers denied electricity for three months, can apply to NERC to distribute electricity to themselves. NERC could also on its own, issue them a licence to take care of their interest if the DISCO is not serving them the way it should. When I saw all these, we approached NERC for an independent licence. We were asked to submit our application, and we did. The law says the unserved and underserved can apply. In our case, the Obas, in all the LGAs came together as the mouthpiece of the people to demand to buy electricity.

“We formed the Ondo South Power Utilities and Natural Resources Limited and got a consultant. When NERC saw that we were about to meet the requirements, they asked us to leave independent licence and take franchise. Franchise means we can distribute electricity to our people using the DISCO’s infrastructure and pay compensation.”

Franchise: The journey turned to snakes and ladders; when they are almost achieving their goal, something happens and they are back to square one.

Said the Olu: ”We agreed to go for franchise but there were a lot of rigmaroling. In the end, the BEDC management gave us a letter dated 9/12/2022, agreeing to franchise but with the exception of Odigbo LGA. They thought Omotosho, the cash cow, is in Odigbo. We didn’t mind but without Odigbo, OSSD will still not have light because the junction from where electricity can go to the five LGAs is in Ore, except the sub-station in Erinje is energized.”

Transformers vandalized: ”The Niger-Delta Power Holding Company, NDPHC, set up a joint committee with us and BEDC to check what is left of the infrastructure. The report shows that all the transformers have been vandalized and would need about N3b -N4b to restore. Out of 79 transformers in Ilaje, 74 are vandalized; 126 out of 170 in Okitipupa; 18 out of 23 in Irele and 27 out of 36 in Ese-Odo. All the sub-stations are damaged. We decided to replace all of them and asked for prices, entered into agreement and signed MOUs to buy transformers.

Pre-paid metres: The Olu said they have over 1,000 pre-paid meters for the people to buy once electricity is restored as the DISCO has refused to give pre-paid meters. 

Setback: “They were to hand over to us about two months ago but before the handover date, the chairman of the DISCO was removed and replaced with another. With the new man, we are going back to the trenches. Government is selling off their interest in energy and the new MD wants to resell Ondo South to NDPHC because the N3b –N4b needed for repairs is huge. We asked him to allow us finish what we are doing and if after six months, there is no electricity, he could take back the franchise. He refused and insisted on going into an agreement with NDPHC to manage Omotosho and another juicy area while the rest goes to the grid. I told him that we didn’t need to do that. Also, NDPHC is a generation and not a distribution company.

“We were already telling people that within one month, there would be electricity. The only problem was to repair the vandalized transformer in Ore (which would belong to BEDC as the letter said) so if Odigbo is out of it, then we must sit down and talk.

He said the committee met with the DISCO and they still insisted on giving OSSD to NDPHC if they agree otherwise, we come back to our own. He was thinking about profit. They wanted us to help them collect some millions of naira they said we owe them. How do we go to people that have not had electricity for 15 years to pay the money they are owing?

I asked them to restore electricity first and we would be collecting the money little by little.’ They said no.

Legal option: The hope of having electricity in this area is becoming very dim but I told the MD that since they are not ready to listen, we want to test the law. NERC says they should pay me N1,000/day for the number of years they denied me electricity. Two, the law says they cannot disconnect us beyond three months and after three months, we can go to NERC to ask for independent distribution licence. We want to approach the court and ask for an order of mandamus to compel NERC to obey their laws and regulations. 

Nobody is ready to obey the law in Nigeria and everybody believes that judges can be bought; not all judges are without conscience.

The OSSD Power Committee later wrote a letter to NERC on the danger of repeated abandonment of the new 33kv line as it could be vandalized again. “We have it on good authority that the management of BEDC Electric Plc is about to take over from TCN the new double circuit 33kv lines from the new 2x40mva, 132/33kv Erinje Substation to Okitipupa and Ilaje. This means there will be no light for a long time to come.” They called on NERC Management to be decisive on the license being sought and the temporary permit being requested. “We are hereby asking for an update on the position of the application with NERC,” the committee stated.

Since the announcement of the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government on May 29, many Nigerians have been adjusting their lifestyles, even as the ‘new normal’ has evidently crashed their purchasing power.

In Bauchi State, the situation created by the recent subsidy removal by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration has paralysed small scale businesses, Daily Trust report.

A dealer of grinding machines and accessories in the Central Market in the state, Alhaji Umaru Bello, said that since the announcement of the removal of subsidy on fuel, his main customers have stopped coming from neighbouring towns and villages.

“Our major customers come from villages and towns across the state, but since the removal of subsidy, the turnout has reduced due to the hike in the pump price of petrol, which caused a rapid increase of transportation fares.

“Their absence has crashed our income and affected not only sales but our means of livelihood, including feeding and other basic needs of our families.

“We are appealing to the government to quickly introduce a mass transport scheme to reduce the cost of transportation, which is affecting the chain of businesses.

“Government should also assist the poor, especially those identified in the social register, to avert hunger and diseases in the country,” Bello said.

Aliyu Ahmed, who sells dry pepper at the Central Market, said business activities had been weakened.

“The hike in the pump price of petrol has caused the increase of prices of commodities and we now witness poor sales, making the market very difficult to run as the little sales are being depleted by high cost of living. My greatest fear is the possibility of consuming our capital.

“I want to appeal to federal and state governments to invest in the provision of subsidised agricultural inputs to farmers under a strict condition to only practicing famers to maximise food production.

“Government should also involve civil society organisations and cooperatives to ensure adherence to the guidelines of the agricultural intervention programme,” he said.

A grain trader at the Central Market, Bauchi, Muhammadu Haruna, said their purchasing power had dropped by half.

“We used to go and buy between 10 and 15 bags of grains, but now, we buy half the number. Transportation fares have doubled also,” he said.

A civil servant who preferred not to be named said that government should increase the minimum wage of workers to meet up with the present economic realities.

“There is a need for the government to quickly address the issue of power supply across the country. Another important area is to revitalise the railway service to reduce the overdependence on petroleum resources,” he said.

He added that government should introduce price control across markets to check the excesses of bad traders increasing prices of commodities without justification.

In Benue, residents have decried the rising cost of commodities and transportation, which is crashing their purchasing power.

A federal civil servant, Dorothy Aninge, said she spent so much on transportation while doing her best to manage her household needs.

“With the way transport fare has skyrocketed, it is not easy to move around. I need to plan my movement before going out as I spend not less than N1,000 everyday instead of N500 or less.

“Foodstuffs in the market have also doubled in prices, so I have to try to manage what I have in the house for feeding because there is no corresponding increase in my income.

“I wish government could at least bring up palliatives that would help the less privileged because they are the ones that are suffering from this situation.

“There is the need to increase salaries to alleviate this hardship that has taken its toll on the masses,” Aninge said.

For Inalegwu Adakole, a barbing salon owner in Makurdi, his purchasing power has significantly dropped, making life more difficult.

“As a businessman that operates a barbing salon, with this epileptic public power supply, I have to buy fuel at N580 per litre, and when I increased the barbing price from N300 to N400 and N500, people are reluctant to come,” he said.

On his part, Amos Terna opined that although the fuel subsidy removal is a step in the right direction, it was ill-timed since oil refineries are yet to be fixed.

‘Lifestyle adjustment way out’

In Yenagoa, residents said prices of commodities in various markets increased by almost 60 per cent.

Traders and transporters have also lamented low patronage due to the high cost of things, which have scared customers away from patronising them.

A manager of a popular transport company in Yenagoa said that since the removal of fuel subsidy, they struggled to get passengers for two buses in a day, compared to the five or seven they normally got before now.

Also, some market women at Swali Market told Daily Trust Saturday that their sales reduced as customers don’t shop as they used to do.

A fish seller, Femowei Monday, said that in the past, food items hardly lacked patronage in the market, but fuel subsidy removal has really cost them low patronage.

She said, “Sellers now buy less in order to sell it off that day. You know that fish is perishable, so you have to sell it out on time. Yesterday, I had to take the fresh fish that remained home to dry because putting it in the cold room would bring additional cost on me.”

Amatari Gospel, another resident of the Bayelsa State capital, said the situation caused his family to reduce their eating habits from 3 to 2 times a day.

He said the money they used in cooking a pot of soup for the family increased to almost double while his income is still like before the subsidy was removed.

Another resident said, “Most of us civil servants are still struggling with the implementation of the new minimum wage, and now, prices of things have gone up. We will now be left with debts after paying transport to work at exorbitant prices, buy food for the family and pay other bills.

“That is why civil servants are pleading with the state government to increase our salaries to an appreciable amount to be able to cope with the realities on ground. I learnt that the federal government is doing something about the salaries of those in the federal service, states should follow suit.

“Things are very hard, the distance I used to pay N100 to work is now N250 and I spend N500 a day. I spent that amount for five days a week, so calculate that for a month and see if anything would be left,” he said.

A passenger in one of the transport companies operating inter-state services in Bayelsa State, Mr Anyanime Udoh, said that before now, he used to travel every weekend to see his family who reside in Akwa Ibom State, but with the hike in fare over fuel subsidy removal, he was thinking of making it just once a month.

He said, “There was a time transport fare from here to Uyo was N2,200. This was just about four years ago. After COVID-19, it was changed to N4,000 and N3,500, but now, we are paying N8,000 for the same distance. But our income is not improving.

“Nigerians are really suffering, government should take some measures to cushion the harsh effects of fuel subsidy removal,” he said.

Umar Abdullahi, a civil servant in Kaduna, also said the removal of fuel subsidy significantly impacted his purchasing power, making it difficult for him to properly take care of his family members in recent days.

He said, “As we speak, I now spend N1,000 on fuel for my motorcycle daily to go to my office, compared to the previous N500 that took me days.”

Abdullahi said he resorted to eating leftover foods for breakfast to augment what is required for other basic things for survival.

He called on the federal government to reduce fuel price as many people have stopped using their vehicles due to the high cost of fuel.

A guard, Babangida Abdulmomin, said he could hardly afford to eat three meals a day.

“I want to eat three times a day, but it is difficult due to the rise in food prices. In the past three days, I couldn’t even have dinner. I can only manage to eat twice a day, so life is difficult,” he said.

Ango Bally, a media practitioner based in Kaduna said, “Before the subsidy removal, I used to spend N15,500 to fill the tank of my car, but it will now cost N40, 000.

“With the recent development, I have to find other sources of income to buy food and pay school fees for my dependents. It is not easy.”

Bally criticised the timing of the subsidy removal, saying government should have provided palliatives before taking such action.

Also, residents of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, have continued to lament the hardship caused by the hike in prices of goods and services.

Daniella Omotosho, a 400-level student of the University of Ibadan, who resides off campus at Orogun, disclosed that the hike in her transport to and from school had impacted on her daily expenses on snacks and drinks.

She said, “I used to spend N300 on bike to and from the school gate and N100 on tricycles within the school. I also spent N300 on water and egg roll or biscuits, but in the past few days, I have been spending more,” she said.

Mrs Ogunbewon, popularly called Iya Abbey, who sells yam in the Amuloko area of Ibadan, said the prices of her goods increased because of the hike in transportation fares. She said a medium sized tuber of yam, which used to go for N700 or N800, would now cost between N1,000 and N1,200. “Sometimes I am forced to sell at a lower price because these yams don’t have a long shelf life. So it would be better to sell them cheaply than throwing them away when they rot.”

Asked what she thought would be a solution, she said, “Let us keep praying for the government, they can’t do anything without our prayers. Things are tough for everyone, but by the grace of God, we shall scale through. We overcame Corona virus and cashless policy, we will overcome this too.”

Lending his voice to the issue of subsidy removal and its attendant impact on people’s purchasing power, Alamu Saheed Jayeola, a 39-year-old husband and father of three who works in a loan company in Lagos but resides with his family in Ibadan, said that unless government became more serious with the provision and equitable distribution of palliatives, subsidy removal would continue to bite hard on the people.

Jayeola said he was about relocating his family to Lagos State when the new government came in.

“I had to shelve that plan and focus on how to survive the situation. A bag of rice is now N34,000 despite the border opening. There is no magic anywhere. Our people want to make profit while being considerate too, but the increase in transportation prices is not helping at all. We can only plead that the government continues to make humanitarian policies to cushion the effects of this subsidy removal,” he said.