The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Center, NPF-NCCC has arrested at least four suspects in connection with an alleged case of sextortion and romance scam.

Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, who made this known in a statement on Thursday night, identified three of the suspects as Abodunrin Rasheed, Abodunrin Tunde, and Abodunrin Rokeeb.

He said they were apprehended following a report via the NPF-NCCC e-reporting portal and an intelligence report from the Centre.

According to the statement, investigations revealed that the suspects met a Croatian national on a dating app and pretended to be a woman.

He said their continuous chats progressed to Instagram and WhatsApp leading to an intimate relationship.

“However, the Croatian was deceived into sending nude pictures of himself through the dating app. The suspects subsequently conspired and pressured him to pay ransom or have his pictures sent to his family and friends.

“The operatives of the NPF-NCCC conducted a due investigation, following the obtained information from the report, which led to the apprehension of the suspects and the recovery of the following exhibits related to the crime. The recovered exhibits include six iPhones, one Techno phone, one Samsung phone, and a Lexus car.

“Further investigations revealed that the suspects have previously engaged in numerous similar cybercriminal activities, both collectively and individually, defrauding and extorting numerous victims globally. The proceeds of these crimes were primarily received through gift cards like the iTunes gift cards, steam gift cards etc. The suspects will be charged in court upon completion of the investigations,” the statement added.

Galatasaray head coach Okan Buruk has praised Victor Osimhen for his selflessness and contribution to the team.

Osimhen is yet to open his goal account for the Yellow and Reds.

The Nigeria international has, however, registered three assists in three appearances for the Turkish Super Lig champions.

Buruk stated that the 25-year-old has played a crucial role in the team’s impressive outings since his arrival.

The gaffer also added that the striker is not entirely focused on scoring goals for the team.

“Victor Osimhen’s game is very important. Not everything is about scoring goals. You score goals but you lose the game,” Buruk said, per PlaySpor.

“When he sees the net, he passes the ball to the closest player. If he focused only on scoring goals, it could be different. He fights a lot during the game. He suits us very well as a player and a person. It is very valuable to have him with us.”

Some more revelations were made at the court on Thursday on how the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, consistently paid the school fees for his three daughters in U.S. dollars through one Jamilu Abdullahi, an operator of a Bureau de Change and his associated companies.

Testifying as a third witness in the case involving the former Governor, Abdullahi, who is based in Abuja, explained in detail to the Federal High Court in Abuja how transactions for Yahaya Bello’s daughters’ school fees were made through him.

 Abdullahi serves as the third witness for the prosecution in the trial of Ali Bello, the former governor’s nephew, along with co-defendants Abba Daudu, Yakubu Adabenege, and Iyada Sadat.

Recall that the defendants face 18 charges related to money laundering and misappropriation, amounting to over ₦3 billion.

A statement released on Thursday by Dele Oyewale, the Head of Media and Publicity for the EFCC, indicated that the witness revealed that on one occasion, Daudu, the second defendant, delivered $300,000 in cash to him for the purpose of covering the school fees of Yahaya Bello’s daughters.

The statement quoted the witness as saying, “Abba Daudu called me to say that they have a transaction though it was on the weekend, but I drove down to the office and waited for them to come. Upon their arrival, three of them came. One of them stayed in the car with the driver, two of them walked to my office, and a friend of Abba Daudu was holding a black leather bag containing $300,000.

“Upon entering, he greeted, and Abba Daudu introduced him as his friend and business partner, saying he had a transaction. He dropped $300,000 in cash. I wanted to count the dollars before they left, but I could not due to the power outage. I told him I could not use my hands and needed to confirm that it was $300,000, so I locked the dollars in my office safe, and two of them left.

“Then, Abba Daudu’s friend said when I confirmed the sum, details would be forwarded to me for payment. However, the sum of $300,000 attracts some service charges which he said I should calculate and let Abba Daudu know. “

He added, “After I completed the transfer, I forwarded four receipts indicating $75,000 four times to Abba Daudu, and he confirmed to me that the payment was confirmed successfully.”

Oyewale said when asked by the prosecution counsel if he knew anything regarding the transactions on Exhibit D, Pages 50, 52 and 53, he said: “Yes I know the transactions of $75,000, being paid to the school four times totalling, the sum of $300,000 as forwarded by Abba Daudu and further confirmed that the fees were paid for one of Yahaya Bello’s daughters.”

Oyewale said another payment of the fees, the witness recalled, was done by a company, Aleshua Solutions Services, which, he said, paid the sum of $42,170 for Naima Ohunene Bello on January 24, 20222.

On Page One of Exhibit D, he identified a transaction of $44,675 also for Naima Bello.

“I have seen it on the receipt of the payment. Forty-four thousand, seven hundred dollars, ($44,700) was paid to the school, but due to internal charges from the bank, 25 dollars was deducted, making the total balance of $44,675.00,” the witness was quoted as saying.

The beneficiary school, he told the court, was American International School.

The National Christian Elders Forum, NCEF, has urged the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, reverse the recent petrol price increase, warning that failure to do so could lead to dire consequences.

This is coming as Nigeria struggles with increasing poverty rates, estimated to have reached 38.9 per cent in 2023.

The group, in a communiqué on Thursday after its meeting, attributed the current economic hardship in Nigeria to the petrol price hike, which has increased the costs of food and other essential commodities.

In the communiqué signed by its chairman, Samuel Gani, the group emphasised the urgent need for government action, expressing concern over the impact of recent protests and citing the worsening hardship faced by Nigerians.

To address these challenges, the group recommended a comprehensive approach, including reviewing petrol prices to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians, reducing electricity tariffs to enhance productivity and create employment opportunities, and improving security measures, particularly for rural farmers.

NCEF also noted that the government’s efforts to address insecurity have been inadequate, emphasising the need for more immediate and effective actions.

“We urge the Government to reconsider the recent increase in petrol prices, which has led to a significant rise in the cost of food and other essential commodities. It is important to acknowledge that the recent protests by some Nigerians were because of the increase in petrol prices and aggravating hardship faced by the populace. We recommend a downward review of petrol prices to alleviate the suffering of the people.

“To further address the economic challenges, we advocate for a reduction in electricity tariffs to enable Nigerians to produce goods and services more economically. This measure will enhance productivity and create employment opportunities for our burgeoning youth population,” the communiqué partly reads.

The Nigerian Government has disbursed N24.78 billion to 991,261 poor households as part of efforts to tackle economic hardship.

The initiative, themed: ‘the National Cash Transfer Program’ is spearheaded by the National Social Investment Programme Agency with beneficiaries across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

In a statement on Thursday, NSIPA National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer, Badamasi Lawal, said the disbursement was in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda aimed at cushioning the impact of high prices of goods and services as inflation stood at 32.15 percent in August.

He explained that the Federal Government had in August 2024 paid N3.83 billion to 153,038 households.

Lawal stated that in September 2024, the agency shared N20.96 billion among 838,223 households and each beneficiary household received N25,000 through their designated Financial Service Providers.

“The Renewed Hope Conditional Cash Transfer is aimed to cushion the economic shocks of the beneficiaries who are mostly the poor and vulnerable Nigerian households,” the statement added.

The development comes as the government said it made the second tranche of payments to approximately one million beneficiaries of its cash-based Social Investment Programme.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, disclosed this during a meeting with the Presidential Panel on the Social Investment Programme.

This comes months after a scandal rocked the Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Ministry.

Consequently, in January 2024, President Tinubu suspended the Minister, Dr Betta Edu and Halima Shehu, the then National Coordinator of NSIPA over alleged financial misappropriation.

The first lady of Akwa Ibom state, Patience Umo Eno is died.

The state Commissioner for Information, Ini Ememobong, made the announcement of the first lady’s death in a statement issued in the early hours of Friday.

Ememobong said the first lady died on Thursday in a hospital in the presence of her family.

He said further details will be provided in due course while expressing the appreciation of Governor Umo Eno to those who stood by the family in this period.

“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of the wife of the Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Her Excellency, Pastor Mrs. Patience Umo Eno, following an illness.

“She passed away peacefully at the hospital, on 26th September, 2024, in the presence of her family.

“The family submits to the will of the Almighty and asks for the prayers and support of kind-hearted individuals during this difficult time.

“Further details will be provided by the family as necessary. In the meantime, the family kindly requests privacy as they mourn their beloved wife, mother and grandmother.

“His Excellency, the Governor, Pastor Umo Eno appreciates all who have stood by the first family in this period and assures all the citizens that despite this huge personal loss, his commitment to the service of the state is unwavering,” the statement read.

An Osun State-based cleric, Apostle Niyi Peter was Thursday docked before Chief Magistrate Olusegun Ayilara for allegedly referring to a gospel singer as a prostitute.

Peter was said to have posted the picture of the gospel singer, Bunmi Akinnaanu on Whatsapp platform and tagged an abusive song to it contrary to 373 of the State Criminal Law 2002.

The charge sheet which was read in the court adds, That you APOSTLE NIYI PETER ‘M’ on the same date, time and place in the aforementioned Magisterial District threatened one Bunmi Akinnaanu A.K.A Omije Ojumi ‘P through WhatsApp voice note that she will perish and that she will never rise again and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 88 (a) of the Criminal Code Cap 34 Vol. 11 Laws of Osun • State of Nigeria 2002.

“That you APOSTLE NIYI PETER ‘M’ on the same date, time and place in the aforementioned Magisterial District did conduct yourself in a manner likely to cause breach of the peace by falsely damaging the character of one Bunmi Akinnaanu A.K.A Omije Ojumi f and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 249(D) of the criminal code cap 34 vol. 11 flaw of Osun State of Nigeria 2002.

Police prosecutor, ASP Akitunde Jacob disclosed that the defendant committed the offence sometime in April 2024 at Oke-Odo Area, Osogbo at about noon.

The cleric pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against him and his counsel, Najite Okobe orally applied for his bail in the most liberal terms.

Ruling on the application, Ayilara admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N1 million with two sureties in the same sum and adjourned the matter till October 22 for a hearing.

Femi Otedola, the chairman of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Holdings and majority shareholder, has further increased his stake in the company to 13.15 percent.

According to a statement signed by the Acting Secretary, FBNH, Adewale Arogundare released by the Nigerian Exchange, NGX on Thursday, Otedola increased his stake after purchasing 534,094,407 shares at N30.00 per share between September 23 and 25.

The acquisition raised his interest in FBN Holdings from 11.67 percent (4,187,602,704 shares) to 13.15 percent (4,721,697,111 shares), worth N136.9 billion as of Wednesday.

It also expands the gap between Otedola and Barbican Capital Limited, FBN Holdings’ second majority investor with an 8.67 percent stake, which represents 3,110,400,619 shares, valued at N90.2 billion as of Wednesday.

Meanwhile, there has been contention over the exact shares Barbican Capital holds in FBN Holdings.

In a lawsuit (no. FHC/L/CS/1172/24) against FBN Holdings, Barbican Capital, owned by Oba Otudeko, claimed that about 5,386,397,202 units of shares representing 15.1 percent of FBN Holdings were acquired over the years and at different times.

Barbican Capital said its shares purchases and dates of issue, were adequately captured by Meristem Registrar and Probate Service Ltd, the financial institution’s appointed registrars, and further acknowledged in the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), which contained its value of shares with the bank.

In response, FBN Holdings said Barbican Capital only notified the financial institution on July 7, 2023, that about 4,770.269,843 units of shares were acquired.

FBN Holdings told the court that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was only able to verify 3,110,400.619 units of shares out of the 4,770,269,843 shares Barbican Capital claimed it acquired.

In a stunning twist that has sent shockwaves through the Nigerian gaming community, Nigerians and thousands of other users have been left feeling betrayed and cheated by the highly anticipated release of Hamster Kombat.

After months of intense engagement and strategic gameplay, Nigerians and other gamers from around the world had been eagerly awaiting the launch of the Hamster Kombat coin, enticed by the promise of substantial financial rewards. Many had invested countless hours tapping and earning points, dreaming of striking it rich.

However, the reality of the coin’s launch on Thursday was far from the rosy picture painted by promoters. Instead of the life-changing payouts that had been touted, users were met with stark disappointment: the actual rewards ranged from a mere 1 to 4 dollars.

The sudden reversal has left many feeling duped and questioning the legitimacy of the entire Hamster Kombat project. The widespread outrage has sparked discussions about the ethical implications of such promotional tactics and the need for greater transparency in the gaming industry.

As the dust settles and investigations into the matter unfold, it remains to be seen how Hamster Kombat will address the growing discontent among its user base and restore trust in the platform.

For instance, an X user with the handle @Ali89X wrote:

“Scamster Kombat is now the real name of Hamster Kombat. We will not play Scamster Kombat for season 2. Bye bye Scamster Kombat. Now see your decline…”

Another X user, @ConcellorSunny, expressed frustration, writing:
“After farming Hamster Kombat for months, Hamster Kombat don give me dust. I’m the third guy ??”. Hamster_Kombat #HMSTR

@MattybnksOf: “After all the game and tapping. For 3months @hamster_kombat; you will ask for bread Allah will give you stone.”

Similarly, @Mohsin_71 wrote: “#HamsterKombat Token Distribution: Unfair Distribution ?? People wasted 2-3 months to mine #Hamster_Kombat tokens. What did they get? ….. Few pennies? Retweet ? Season 2 = Advance Failure due to bad distribution. People are not happy. You can destroy your whole empire.” hamster @hamster_kombat

Speaking with one of the players, Sam, he told Vanguard, “I expected much more than what I got. I had two million coins and received just $1.46.”

The Chairman of BUA Foods Plc, Abdul Samad Rabiu, on Thursday, stated that greedy distributors and producers should be blamed for the rising cost of foodstuffs in Nigeria.

Rabiu made the claim at the 7th annual general meeting of the company in Abuja.

He applauded President Bola Tinubu for granting duty waivers on food imports into the country.

He said, “BUA products are the cheapest in the market. And because we have other companies producing similar products, it is very difficult to price them low. For instance, a few months ago, the price of flour went as high as N70,000 per bag. We retained ours at N50,000 for quite some time to try and force other companies to also come down. But when they saw it was going to happen, they deliberately stopped production, and the prices kept going up.

“So when we were at N50,000, the distributors added N20,000 and were selling at N70,000 per bag. At one point, customers were making almost N20 million per truck of 75 tonnes of flour. Yes, it happened. While we were there at N50,000, still puffing and praying for the prices to come down, some companies were not happy that we were keeping the prices low.

“That was why they suddenly stopped production to create scarcity. With that scarcity, the price kept going up. So that is part of the problem. When we saw that, we knew it did not make sense for us to continue selling at N50,000 when the market was at N70,000. Our production is substantial, but there are two other companies that are bigger than us.

“However, we believe that by next year, we are going to be bigger than them.”