The Economic and Financial Crimes commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, July 14, 2021, launched an App, Eagle Eye, designed to ease the process of reporting economic and financial crimes in Nigeria.

Speaking during the launch, the Executive Chairman of the Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, described the App, being the first of its kind by any law enforcement agency in Nigeria, as a product of ingenuity by a staff of the Commission, being an application that was conceived, designed and developed by the EFCC.

According to the EFCC chairman, the initiative is a clear demonstration of his pledge on assumption of office, to run an agency that is technology-driven. “The Eagle Eye represents a new experience in information sharing and crime reporting between the public and the EFCC”, he said.

Apart from complementing the existing channels for reporting economic crimes, the unique advantage of this application, the EFCC Chairman further explained, is that it eliminates direct person-to-person interface in the reporting process and guarantees anonymity which is an added incentive to effective whistle blowing. Related Posts

While appealing to members of the public to take advantage of the App in bringing cases of corruption and economic crimes to the knowledge of the EFCC, Bawa said, “with the App, those who hitherto were afraid to report corruption cases to the Commission either for fear of being identified by the culprits or having their identities revealed, can now do so with the assurance of full anonymity”.

He emphasized that the Eagle Eye App, will go a long way in aiding the reportage of fraudulent activities of individuals particularly in the case of Money Laundering through Real Estate. “With the Eagle Eye, Nigerians and Non Nigerians can easily take a picture of a property suspected to have been fraudulently or corruptly acquired and report through the App seamlessly”.

He also said that as media practitioners, journalists occupy vantage positions not only in helping to bring the knowledge of the application to the public, but also making use of it and helping others to understand how it could be deployed to further the fight against economic crimes including corruption. “With the Eagle Eye, you have at your fingertips a device that will ultimately ensure that there is no hiding place for the corrupt in Nigeria”, he further explained.

On how it works, the EFCC Chairman said, Eagle Eye is a user friendly application, with features that can be navigated by any literate person. The first step, he said, is to download it to device from either the Apple of Google play store.

For those who want to key into the Whistle Blowing Policy of the Federal Government and obtain reward for reporting corruption, the EFCC Chairman said such persons should indicate in the information they are providing; just as he said that there are penalties clearly stipulated in the laws, for giving false information that could mislead the Commission.

The federal government has reportedly earmarked N4.8 billion for the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to monitor WhatsApp, an encrypted messaging application, and Thuraya, a satellite telephone.

The provision is contained in the supplementary 2021 budget passed by the national assembly.

Lawmakers had approved and passed a supplementary budget of N982 billion for the 2021 fiscal year.

Nigeria’s lawmakers are also working on a raft of bills aimed at regulating the media. Some of these bills include the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Act and the Press Council Act.

President Buhari’s government also recently banned social media platform Twitter, as it continues to canvass support for the regulation of the online and mainstream media space in Africa’s most populous nation.

The Federal Government has declared Tuesday, July 20, and Wednesday, July 21, 2021 as public holidays to mark this year’s Eid-el-Kabir celebration.

The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, disclosed this in a statement released today July 15. In a statement signed by the permanent secretary of the ministry, Dr Shuaib Belgore, Aregbesola congratulated all Muslim faithful and Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora on the celebration.

“I call on Muslims to continue to imbibe the spirit of love, peace, kindness and sacrifice, as exemplified by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) and to also use the period to pray for peace, unity, prosperity and the stability of the country, considering the challenges of insecurity we face at the moment.

These mainly are bandits in the North West and North Central, insurgents in the North East, kidnappers, armed robbers, ethnic agitators and sundry criminals in other parts of the country,” Aregbesola said

He added that the Buhari is “committed to the security of lives and property of every Nigerian, and empowering the citizens for successful living, the provisions of social investments programmes and adequate security in the schools, especially with the spate of innocent school children being targets of kidnapping” .

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, says the command has established conspiracy in the murder of Super TV boss, Uwaifo Ataga.

The command has since arrested the prime suspect in the case, Chidinma Ojukwu.

Speaking on Wednesday, July 14 while parading criminal suspects arrested by the command Odumosu denied claims that the command is attempting to sweep the case under the carpet. In his words

“Chidinma initially was the only suspect that we arrested, but now, we have arrested additional suspects. So, members of the public should know that investigation into Chidinma’s case is progressing.

The fundamental human rights of the suspects still exist under the constitution. The insinuation that the police want to sweep the case under the carpet, that will never happen.

No matter the propaganda, we will never wither and we are not covering anybody as we have been able to establish conspiracy in the case.”

The Independent People of Biafara has raised the alarm over the deteriorating health of its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu at the DSS office.

Kanu was rearrested by the Federal government on June 27 and extradited to Nigeria on June 29. He was re-arraigned before an Abuja court where the DSS got an order to detain him till July 26.

A statement released by the secessionist group’s spokesperson, Emma Powerful, on Wednesday July 14, says Kanu has been denied access to his personal physician since his arrest which has led to his health deteriorating. The group warned that no harm should befall Kanu as the consequences would be imagined.

The statement in part reads

“We are alerting the world about this anomaly to compel the Nigeria government to grant our leader’s doctors access to see him for a thorough medical examination, bearing in mind the terrible torture he underwent at the hands of the Kenyan security agents.

We wish to unequivocally state that no harm should befall our leader as the consequences can only be better imagined. This is not a threat but a promise! Nigeria has been winning and dinning with bandits and terrorists but dehumanising and killing peaceful agitators and freedom fighters.”

Meanwhile the legal team of the secessionist group leader have approached the Federal High Court, Abuja, seeking an order for Kanu to be transferred from the custody of the Department of State Services to the Kuje Correctional Centre.

In an application dated 13 July, 2021, and filed July 14, 2021, Kanu’s lead counsel, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, and other members of the team in Abuja on Wednesday, the lawyers asked for “an order directing the transfer of Nnamdi Kanu from the custody of the Department of State Services to the Nigerian Correctional Service Centre in Kuje, Abuja, where he was originally detained before he was granted bail, pending the determination of the charge.”

It also prayed the court to direct the custodian of Nnamdi Kanu to grant him access to his doctors for the purpose of carrying out a comprehensive medical examination of his health status.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has warned hotels across the country to stop aiding internet fraudsters.

The anti-graft agency’s spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, said in a statement on Wednesday, that owners could become criminally liable for allowing their premises to be used for cybercrime.

He noted that this is a contravention of the Advance Fee Fraud Act which on conviction could lead to a five-year term in prison without the option of a fine.

“The Commission warns hoteliers from allowing their premises and facilities to become havens for cybercrime,” he said.

The statement was in reaction to EFCC’s recent raid at a hotel in Lagos where operatives arrested at least 30 people accused of internet fraud.

The operatives gained entry into the occupants’ rooms by allegedly seizing the master cards from the management of the hotel at gunpoint.

 It was also gathered that some of the occupants were naked under the duvet when the operatives gained entry into the rooms.

Uwujaren dismissed the allegations that the operatives invaded the privacy of guests and conducted illegal checks. He said EFCC was acting on verified intelligence on the activities of a suspected syndicate of internet fraudsters.

According to him, the hotel had been under surveillance, and that only the rooms of identified suspects were breached by operatives, with no break-in or violence involved.

He noted that 24 of the 30 people arrested have already confessed their involvement in cyber crimes and related activities.

“There was no incident as the hotel management served with the relevant warrant offered access to the operatives, to carry out their lawful duties,” he said.

Three siblings have died and two others were hospitalized after they ate Amala in a community in the Ilorin East Local Government Area of Kwara State.

According to reports, five siblings of the same parents complained of abdominal pains and started vomiting after they consumed locally prepared yam flour meal (Amala).

They were reportedly rushed to the children’s hospital in Centre Igboro but three of them were pronounced dead at the hospital.

The other two survived and are responding to treatment.

The father of the children, who is a farmer, said he produced the yam flour himself and doesn’t know what exactly went wrong.

Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has asked a federal high court in Abuja to transfer him from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) to Kuje prison facility.

Kanu was arrested on June 25 and extradited to Nigeria to face trial for alleged treason.

After his arrest, Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation (AGF), said the IPOB leader was “intercepted through the collaborative efforts of Nigerian intelligence and security services”.
 

Justice Binta Nyako, judge presiding over Kanu’s case, had ordered that he be remanded him in DSS’ custody, pending the continuation of his trial.

But in an application filed on Wednesday, July 14, through his team of lawyers led by Ifeanyi Ejiofor, the IPOB leader complained that he has been allegedly denied access to his doctors.
 

Kanu specifically applied for an order of the trial court, “directing the transfer of the Applicant from the custody of the National Headquarters of the State Security Service to the Nigerian Correctional Service Centre in Kuje, Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, where he was initially detained before he was granted bail, pending the determination of the charge”.

As well as, “An order of this Honourable Court directing the Defendant/Applicant’s custodian, to grant access to his medical experts/doctors to carry out a comprehensive independent medical examination of the defendant/applicant’s health condition/status, while in custody.”

He alleged that he has been “subjected to mental and psychological torture” by the DSS, saying it would be in the interest of justice for the court to order his transfer to the Nigerian Correctional Service centre, which he described as “an impartial facility that has no interest whatsoever” in the outcome of his trial.

The affidavits attached to support his application stated “that an ECG examination was carried out on the defendant, and it was discovered that the defendant’s heart had been enlarged by more than 13%, posing a serious threat and danger to defendant’s life”.

“That the health personnel attending to the defendant in the custody of the State Security Service is not adequate, considering the circumstances of the defendant’s health condition,” the document reads.

“That the defendant requires the services of his medical experts as his medical records issued by the chief cardiologist of Nairobi Hospital, who has the defendant’s medical records, mainly, before the arrest/abduction of the Applicant shows a debilitating medical condition. Copies of these medical records showing the applicant’s subsisting health condition are hereby attached and marked as Exhibit MNK.

“That if the health condition of the defendant is not addressed most promptly, the defendant may die in custody, even before his trial.”

Kanu also said in the legal documents that he has limited access to his lawyer, whom he said has to go through a “rigorous process” of seeking the approval of the DSS director, which may sometimes take days before it is granted.

The document added that Kanu can only be granted fair hearing in his trial, when he is “not remanded in the custody of his accusers”.

Ejiofor said the Nigerian government should allow his medical personnel to visit him in the custody of the Department of State Services.

Ejiofor stated these in an exclusive interview with Sahara Reporters on Tuesday morning, adding that the legal team had filed court processes in that regard to enforce that his medical doctors are allowed to see him.

The lawyer added that none of Kanu’s family members had seen him since July 18 when he was arrested by the Nigerian authorities.

Ejiofor said, “We have formally applied to the court in that regard (to have doctors visit him). We have filed a court process to allow medical experts to visit him. Whatever treatment they (the DSS) are giving to him is not enough. We want an expert that will examine him because he is still not feeling good. We want an expert that will provide him with advanced medical attention – not the type is given where he is being detained.

“The preliminary investigation conducted on his health shows that his heart has enlarged by 13 percent. So he needs quick and prompt advanced medical attention. So we have formally applied to the court for that. Let us see what happens in the coming days. So then we can pick it up from there.

“Yes, it is correct that his family members have not been able to see him. I am particularly worried. They don’t have access to him. The wife, the brothers, cousins and children have not been allowed to see him. That is why I classified his detention as solitary confinement and also being subjected to regular mental torture. If you have access to your wife and children and brothers and sisters, you will have some element of relief from your immediate family. But in this case, they are not allowed to see him. They have not been allowed to see him. It is only us, his lawyers, who visit on appointment.”

SaharaReporters had on Monday reported that the wife of Nnamdi Kanu, Uchechi Okwu-Kanu, lamented that none of the family members has been able to reach him since he got into the custody of the Department of State Services.

Uchechi had added that Kanu is believed to be beaten and tortured by the security agencies in Kenya and Nigeria, giving all of them a great worry.

The IPOB leader’s wife, who is currently in the North of England, stated this in an interview on Sunday she granted to United Kingdom newspaper, The Sunday Times.

Speaking for the first time since the arrest of Kanu, the wife said, “It’s hard for me to speak. I’m extremely devastated. He has been beaten and tortured and I am scared for his life.”

She said she and the family had had no contact with him since his arrest.

Uchechi added, “I was always worried about Nnamdi. When you’re asking for freedom from dictatorship, you are a target. But when I saw what happened in Belarus and how no one did anything, I knew nowhere was safe.

“We’re just calling for a referendum exactly like Scotland did with the UK and UK did with the EU but the Nigerian government wants to exterminate our whole family. It’s a scandal and a thing of shame that Britain is not acting to secure their citizens.”

Three weeks ago, Kanu appeared in court in Abuja, hooded and charged with inciting violence. The Nigerian authorities had claimed that he was extradited to the country to continue his trial.

The lawyer representing the arrested leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has stated that his client needs “quick, advanced medical attention because he is not feeling too good.”

Ejiofor said the Nigerian government should allow his medical personnel to visit him in the custody of the Department of State Services.

Ejiofor stated these in an exclusive interview with Sahara Reporters on Tuesday morning, adding that the legal team had filed court processes in that regard to enforce that his medical doctors are allowed to see him.

The lawyer added that none of Kanu’s family members had seen him since July 18 when he was arrested by the Nigerian authorities.

Ejiofor said, “We have formally applied to the court in that regard (to have doctors visit him). We have filed a court process to allow medical experts to visit him. Whatever treatment they (the DSS) are giving to him is not enough. We want an expert that will examine him because he is still not feeling good. We want an expert that will provide him with advanced medical attention – not the type is given where he is being detained.

“The preliminary investigation conducted on his health shows that his heart has enlarged by 13 percent. So he needs quick and prompt advanced medical attention. So we have formally applied to the court for that. Let us see what happens in the coming days. So then we can pick it up from there.

“Yes, it is correct that his family members have not been able to see him. I am particularly worried. They don’t have access to him. The wife, the brothers, cousins and children have not been allowed to see him. That is why I classified his detention as solitary confinement and also being subjected to regular mental torture. If you have access to your wife and children and brothers and sisters, you will have some element of relief from your immediate family. But in this case, they are not allowed to see him. They have not been allowed to see him. It is only us, his lawyers, who visit on appointment.”

SaharaReporters had on Monday reported that the wife of Nnamdi Kanu, Uchechi Okwu-Kanu, lamented that none of the family members has been able to reach him since he got into the custody of the Department of State Services.

Uchechi had added that Kanu is believed to be beaten and tortured by the security agencies in Kenya and Nigeria, giving all of them a great worry.

The IPOB leader’s wife, who is currently in the North of England, stated this in an interview on Sunday she granted to United Kingdom newspaper, The Sunday Times.

Speaking for the first time since the arrest of Kanu, the wife said, “It’s hard for me to speak. I’m extremely devastated. He has been beaten and tortured and I am scared for his life.”

She said she and the family had had no contact with him since his arrest.

Uchechi added, “I was always worried about Nnamdi. When you’re asking for freedom from dictatorship, you are a target. But when I saw what happened in Belarus and how no one did anything, I knew nowhere was safe.

“We’re just calling for a referendum exactly like Scotland did with the UK and UK did with the EU but the Nigerian government wants to exterminate our whole family. It’s a scandal and a thing of shame that Britain is not acting to secure their citizens.”

Three weeks ago, Kanu appeared in court in Abuja, hooded and charged with inciting violence. The Nigerian authorities had claimed that he was extradited to the country to continue his trial.

The Inspector-General of Police (IG) Usman Alkali Baba has said vehicles with factory-fitted tinted glasses are exempted from getting police permit.

The police boss gave the clarification during a virtual interaction with selected journalists on Monday, July 12.

“Factory-fitted tinted glasses are not affected. They are not the ones we are quarreling about because you can see through most of the factory-fitted glasses. If you want them to open, you can then ask them to open. We are talking about the ones you cannot even identify, whether there’s someone inside or not.”he said

Asked what the police were doing to ensure that operatives enforcing these laws understood the directive, Baba said the force is making efforts to educate the cops on the policy for effective implementation.

He also said plans were underway for the police to have a centralized database as well as other security agencies that would aid crime prevention and control.

As part of measures to combat crime in the country, the police boss announced the suspension of the issuance of tinted-glass permits across the country. 

Yoruba Nation Agitator Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho, Leader of Ilana Omo Oodua, Emeritus Professor Banji Akintoye and other 49 Yoruba Self-Determination groups have filed a 27-page petition before the International Criminal Court (ICC) against President Buhari, Attorney General of the Federation Abubakar Malami, and others.

Those dragged before the ICC are President Muhammadu Buhari; Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation Abubakar Malami; former Chief of Army Staff Tukur Buratai and former Inspectors General of Police, Ibrahim Idris and Muhammed Adamu.

Others petitioned are Comptroller General of Customs, Hammid Alli; Inspector General of Police, Alkali Baba; Chief of Army Staff, Farouk Yahaya; former Chief of Air Force, Sadiq Abubakar; former Commandant-General of NSCDC, Ahmed Abubakar Audi, Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Services, Mohammed Babandede and the Current Commandant-General of NSCDC, Abdulahi Gana Muhammadu.

In the 27-page petition submitted at the ICC on behalf of Yoruba leaders by an International Lawyer, Aderemilekun Omojola, Esq, the petitioners accused the  President Buhari, Malami, Buratai and others of genocide offences such as killing members of the petitioners group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction in whole or in part.

The ICC has formally acknowledged receipt of the petition.

In a letter to the petitioners’ Lawyer, the ICC’s Head of Information and Evidence Unit of the Office of the Prosecutor, Mr. Mark P. Dilon, wrote;

“As soon as a decision is reached to formally commence investigation into this petition, we will inform you, in writing, and provide you, with reasons for this decision.

“This communication has been duly entered in the Communications Register of the Office.

“We will give consideration to this communication, as appropriate, in accordance with the provisions of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,” the letter reads.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has accused the Nigerian police of arresting three Israelis who were shooting a documentary in southeast Nigeria. 

Times of Israel reported that a Zionist activist, Rudy Rochman, filmmaker Noam Leibman and French-Israeli Journalist E. David Benaym were allegedly arrested last week when they visited Ogidi village, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State to shoot a documentary.

The Israelis were in Nigeria to film “We Were Never Lost,” a documentary exploring Jewish communities in African countries such as Kenya, Madagascar, Uganda, and Nigeria. They took off from Ben Gurion Airport on July 5 and landed in Nigeria the next day.

Locals said the SSS operatives allegedly interrogated and detained the crew at a synagogue during Friday night services in Ogidi, before taking them to Abuja.

Last Thursday, a post shared on “We Were Never Lost” Facebook page read; 

“We Were Never Lost is a project working to reconnect unknown, disconnected and re-emerging Jewish communities around the world. Our first season is set in Africa and we are currently filming our first episode on the Jews of Nigeria. There are many Jews in Nigeria, Igbos included and we are here only to help the local practicing and observing Jewish communities, to provide them with resources, and to document their lives, experiences and aspirations.

“We do not take any position on political movements as we are not here as politicians nor as a part of any governmental delegations.

“After days of being here our team has experienced and met some of the most amazing humans beings (Jews) in the world and we can’t wait to share their story.

“We are here to spread light. Stay tuned.”

Peoples Gazette reported that Nigeria’s foreign ministry confirmed the arrest on Tuesday July 13 and noted that the Israeli Embassy in Abuja was following up on the case.

Sahara Reporters also reported that last week, the “We Were Never Lost” group met with Igbo leader, Eze Chukwuemeka Eri and presented him with a framed Shiviti made in Jerusalem.

Rochman also presented another Igbo community with a Torah scroll whose cover was designed by British-Israeli street artist Solomon Souza. 

A lie detector might be deployed by the Lagos state police command after 21-year-old Chidinma Ojukwu denied killing SuperTV CEO, Usifo Ataga, days after admitting to the crime several times on camera. 

Recall that in a trending video interview with Crime Fighters, the University of Lagos claimed that she had nothing to do with the murder but only found Ataga’s corpse after returning to the service apartment where both of them had lodged at Lekki, Lagos State.

Ojukwu said; 

“Before I was leaving, he stood up to lock the door, but when I got in, I was knocking, and when there was no answer, I opened and the door was already opened, as it wasn’t locked; the duvet and pillow were on the floor.

“The couch was facing the door and the bed was stained with blood already. The floor where he was was filled with blood and then music and TV were on. The room was already disarranged like someone broke in, then I saw him on the floor.

“I didn’t know what to do, so I took my things with his things and left. I was afraid; I didn’t know if I had raised the alarm, they would have arrested me for doing it because I and him were just the only people in the room.

“I just left; I was packing my things to leave, then I noticed that my clothes were stained, so I changed to another. I took the bag that contained his ID and documents like bank statements. So, I just packed them and put them into the nylon and left.

“I just did it; it is not like I had something to do with his death. I never had anything to do with his death.”

A senior police officer who reacted to Chidinma Ojukwu’s “new story”, told PUNCH Metro that a lie detector could be deployed to test if her latest claim was true or not.

The officer said; 

“It appears that her lawyers or relatives are teaching her; but this is different from our investigation. This is a fake angle and she cannot dismiss convincing evidence that is already available and recorded, which she herself demonstrated.

“So, this means she is a two-faced person; she tells lies and when the investigation gets to a top level, they will use a lie detector to know whether she is telling the truth or not.”

The state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu also said that the UNILAG student is exhibiting traits of an active criminal with her new confession. 

The police chief also recalled how she was recorded the night she was arrested and the state CIID. 

Odumosu said; 

 “That is the trait of an active criminal; she was here, we recorded her. The night she was arrested, we recorded her at the state CIID, even the lady that rented the place to her, we recorded her and we have all that. If she now has an afterthought, investigation will prove that.”