20 feared killed in fresh Kaduna bandit attacks

No fewer than 20 people have been reportedly killed by gunmen following an attack on Chibuak and Kigudu II communities in Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna state.

The two villages were said to have been attacked consecutively on Thursday and Friday at midnight while some of the villagers were said to be missing.

The Nation gathered the bandits launched another attack on Saturday on Kigudu II where the villagers were preparing for a mass burial for some of the victims who are Catholics.

The Nation

More troubles for Magu as new facts on re-looting of recovered funds emerge

The suspended acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, may be facing fresh cases of alleged re-looting of funds recovered by the commission as well as bribery.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Magu is currently being interrogated by a presidential probe panel headed by retired Justice Ayo Salami over allegations of mismanagement and lack of transparency in managing recovered assets by the EFCC.

A final Report of the Presidential Investigation Committee on the EFCC Federal Government Recovered Assets and Finances from May, 2015, to May 2020, obtained by NAN had seriously indicted and implicated Magu on various allegations leveled against him.he 

investigative committee terms of reference were to:

1. investigate, verify and review the recommendations of the Presidential Committee on Audit of Recovered Assets as it relates to the EFCC, with a view to ascertaining the complicity or otherwise of the Ag. Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, in the mismanagement of the assets recovered by the Commission;

2. Identify Avenues through which the recovered assets are dissipated and seized, recovered, forfeited (Interim and Final) assets are valued, managed, disposed and/or mismanaged with a view to ascertain compliance or otherwise with extant laws, regulations, processes and procedures.

3. Review the existing procedures on the Management of the seized, recovered and Forfeited assets (interim and final) and proffer Standard Operational Procedures for the management of seized, recovered and forfeited assets.

4. Determine whether assets recovered during his tenure, whether locally in Nigeria or abroad, are being kept safely in a manner as to preserve their original value....

The Nation

South African church attack: Five dead after 'hostage situation'

Five people have been killed after attackers stormed a South African church, reportedly amid an argument over its leadership.

South African police said they had rescued men, women and children from a "hostage situation" on the outskirts of Johannesburg on Saturday morning.

They have also arrested at least 40 people, and seized dozens of weapons.

Eyewitnesses say the men who stormed the International Pentecostal Holiness Church were part of a splinter group.

The church's leadership has reportedly been the subject of infighting since its former leader died in 2016. Police had previously been called to the church following a shoot out between members in 2018. 

The year before, the church's finances had come under the spotlight, amid  allegations some 110m Rand had gone missing. 

BBC News

NAFDAC considers 21 herbal products for usage

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says 21 herbal medicinal products are currently being processed by the agency for “Safe use” or Listing status.

Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the Director General of the agency, disclosed this in a statement she signed and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday.

According to Adeyeye, manufacturers of these products who have applied to the agency claimed that their products are only immune boosters and anti-infectives useful for relief of symptoms that could be associated with COVID-19.

The director-general said in the statement that no clinical study has been done yet on any of the products to prove their claim of efficacy.

“Listing status involves the review of the composition of the formulation, the labelling of the product, the process of manufature and ‘Safe to use’ testing.

“Once the product is able to meet all requirements, a listing status is granted with a clear disclaimer that states clearly that the claims have not been evaluated by NAFDAC.

Jada Pinkett Smith confirms romance with August Alsina but says she and Will were separated at the time

Jada Pinkett Smith confirmed Friday that she had a romantic relationship with singer August Alsina but explained that it happened while she was separated from longtime husband Will Smith.

“We decided we were going to separate for a period of time, and you go figure out how to make yourself happy, and I’ll figure out how to make myself happy,” Will said on an episode of Jada’s Facebook Watch show Red Table Talk.

Jada had previously denied through her rep that she had a relationship with Alsina, after he said they did on an episode of The Breakfast Club. “I actually sat down with Will and had a conversation due to the transformation from their marriage to life partnership, that they have spoken on several times, not involving romanticism,” he said. “He actually gave me his blessing.” Alsina said he had “lost money, friendships and relationships” because people thought he had done something wrong in romancing Jada. He had also endured serious heartbreak.

The actress now explained that when she met Alsina about four years ago, they were initially just “really, really good friends.” In fact, Alsina was close with the entire Smith family, and he turned to them while struggling with addiction.

How the US caught flashy Nigerian Instagrammers 'with $40m'

The day after his 29th birthday in May, Olalekan Jacob Ponle posted a picture on his Instagram standing next to a bright yellow Lamborghini in Dubai.

"Stop letting people make you feel guilty for the wealth you've acquired," he admonished, wearing designer jewellery and Gucci clothes from head to toe.

A month later, the Nigerian, who goes by the name "mrwoodbery" on Instagram, was arrested by Dubai Police for alleged money laundering and cyber fraud.

The most famous of the dozen Africans nabbed in the dramatic operation was 37-year-old Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, "hushpuppi" or just "hush" as he was known by his 2.4 million Instagram followers.

Police in the emirate say they recovered $40m (£32m) in cash, 13 luxury cars worth $6.8m, 21 computers, 47 smartphones and the addresses of nearly two million alleged victims.Mr Abbas and Mr Ponle were both extradited to the US and charged in a Chicago court with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and laundering hundreds of millions of dollars obtained from cybercrimes.

The two have not yet been asked to plead and are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

"I think there's probably a certain arrogance when they believe they've been careful about maintaining anonymity in their online identities, but they live high on the hog and get careless on social media," said Glen Donath, a former senior prosecutor in the US Attorney's Office in Washington, DC.

It is a spectacular crash for the two Nigerian men who extensively documented their high-flying lifestyle on social media, raising questions about the sources of their wealth.

They unwittingly provided crucial information about their identities and activities for American detectives with their Instagram and Snapchat posts.

They are accused of impersonating legitimate employees of various US companies in "business email compromise" (BEC) schemes and tricking the recipients into wiring millions of dollars into their own accounts.

On Instagram, hushpuppi said he was a real estate developer and had a category of videos called "Flexing" - social media lingo for showing off. But the "houses" were actually a codeword for bank accounts "used to receive proceeds of a fraudulent scheme", investigators allege.

"Our value system in Nigeria needs to be checked, especially the emphasis we place on wealth, no matter how you got it," the economist Ebuka Emebinah told the BBC from New York.

"It's a culture where people believe that results speak for you. We don't place as much emphasis on the process and this has built up over time."

In April, hushpuppi renewed his lease for another year at the exclusive Palazzo Versace apartments in Dubai under his real name and phone number.

"Thank you, Lord, for the many blessings in my life. Continue to shame those waiting for me to be shamed," he captioned an Instagram picture of a Rolls-Royce just a fortnight before he was arrested.

"Abbas finances this opulent lifestyle through crime, and he is one of the leaders of a transnational network that facilitates computer intrusions, fraudulent schemes (including BEC schemes), and money laundering, targeting victims around the world in schemes designed to steal hundreds of millions of dollars," the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) said in an affidavit.

BBC News

Youths attack Church of Satan’s Pastor, demolish structure

A pastor in-charge of Assemblies of Light Bearer Greater Church of Lucifer, popularly known as Church of Satan, Ohafia, Abia State, Ifekwe Udo, has narrowly escaped being lynched by angry youths of Ebem Ohafia community.

Udo is said to be cooling off in police custody after being whisked away by a team of personnel of the Abia State command of the Nigeria Police Force.

It was gathered before the arrival of the police team, angry youths had already pulled down his church building and other monuments/statues in the compound.

It was gathered that police had arrested Udo, also known as Lucifer or Fada-Fada, earlier in the week for violating the lockdown protocol directives of the State and Federal government.

Udo, who is reported to own a brothel in Ohafia, was also said to have been arrested for allegedly terrorising the community.

The development forced youths of the area to destroy the satanic images outside his church when he was arrested.A native of the community, who gave his name simply as Kalu, said people of Ohafia knew his evil practices but nobody could confront him because of his claimed connections with evil forces.

Another source, who simply identified himself as Chukwudi, said: “The evil that this man commits in this community is too much. The destruction of his church was done not only by youths in the villages, but including others that came from Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.“This man has been snatching wives from men with charm. He has been doing all manner of things including collecting land by force.

“We learnt that he made young men to deposit their sperm in a calabash. His hotel is known for series of notorious activities including promoting prostitution and homosexuality. Our youths are becoming irresponsible and wayward as a result of this man’s activities.

“He is dragging the name of our community to the mud and that is why the youths have decided to rise up against him, because if this is allowed to continue, the danger it will bring to our community and the state in general will be unimaginable.”

The Nation