Category: Crime

ABUJA– THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT has threatened to use every legal tool at its disposal to rid the Nigerian gaming industry of all criminal elements.

Following the discovery of a forged Sports Betting Permit by some criminal elements operating in Lagos State, the Director-General of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Mr. Lane Gbajabiamila, issued a warning.

Mr. Magnus Ekechukwu, the NLRC’s Head of Public Affairs, said in a statement in Abuja that the Director-General stated that the criminals have been arrested and are being prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others who may harbor similar thoughts.

“It is quite appalling to discover that people could want to defraud the Federal Government believing they would not be arrested at this time and age,” he says. All criminals should stay away from the lottery industry, because I can assure them that they will be apprehended and prosecuted.

“The criminals who have already been apprehended will serve as a deterrent to others who want to defraud the government.” Such criminality will not be tolerated or allowed in our industry.”

The Director General went on to say that the Commission represents integrity, transparency, and accountability, all of which are hallmarks of the Nigerian gaming industry.

He emphasized that any operator who fails to adhere to these core values risks breaking the Commission’s rules and guidelines, which could result in severe penalties.

Gbajabiamila urged Commission staff, licensed operators, and the general public to be more vigilant in their efforts to catch illegal operators who are out there trying to sabotage the Commission’s efforts to build a strong Nigerian gaming industry, while also encouraging licensed operators to always follow the rules.

The Department of State Services (DSS) has dismisses an false online publication authored by one Adio Oluwole Bashir who purported to be a former staff of the Service. Bashir claimed to have led the team that arrested suspected killers of David Imoh, a sound engineer allegedly murdered on 12th May, 2022 at Lekki, Lagos State. He further alleged that the suspects who were of Hausa origin were exchanged with Christians.

The Service states that Bashir is neither a serving nor retired staff on its roll. Besides, his writing style and use of paraphernalia gave him out as fake and an impostor. Findings have, however, revealed that his aim is to ignite an ethno-religious conflict. His co-conspirators are elements of separatist groups who are desirous of achieving the same objective as well as pitting security agencies against one another.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Police Command has issued an unambiguous statement on the entire episode. The Command’s clarification should guide public understanding of what actually transpired. Dragging the DSS which never participated in the operation at Lekki into his skewed account exposes the lies and intentions of Adio Oluwole Bashir and his cohorts.

The DSS in a statement issued by its PRO, Peter Ifunaya states that the write-up is completely false and frowns at the calculated effort to use its name for malicious purposes. It therefore requests the public to disregard the misleading narrative. The Service also warns those bent on throwing the country into violence to retrace their steps and give peace a chance. While it reaffirms its commitment to continue to work with sister agencies to ensure lasting peace in the country, it will also not hesitate to bring to book those determined to break the law.

Authorities at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the discovery of a mangled body on Runway 18R on Thursday, according to Daily Trust.

At night, the runway serves international and domestic flights.
According to a reliable source who spoke with our reporter, the dead body could not have been that of an airport employee because no one would be wandering around the restricted area.

Security personnel, including the Department of State Services (DSS), have been invited to investigate the situation, according to him.
Furthermore, it was discovered that identifying the body would necessitate some forensic analysis because it could not be identified easily.

“As I speak with you, security operatives such as the police, Department of State Service (DSS), and Aviation Security (AVSEC) are currently investigating it,” the source said. However, we believe it is a case of stowaway.

“However, this will be determined by investigation.” At the airport, no one has been reported missing by any agency, company, or organization. As a result, the person could be a stowaway.”

When asked about the incident, Mrs. Victoria Shi’naba, Regional Manager of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), simply said, “We are still investigating.”

She did say, however, that the incident had little impact on flight operations because the body was evacuated right away.

Group Capt. John Ojikutu, rtd, a former MMIA Commandant, also stated that many questions about the incident remain unanswered.

“It happened yesterday before the body was discovered around 9 a.m.,” he said. So it could have happened before 9 a.m., and all flights that arrived before that time could be held responsible if no one reported it. Second, who was the victim or whose body was discovered, an airport employee or an intruder?

“Is he expected to be on duty?” “If airport worker, it should not be difficult to identify him if he is wearing the correct uniform and On Duty Card (ODC).” How did he get into the restricted area of the airport if he was an intruder?

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“Do we have a security fence outside the perimeter fence?” Is the perimeter secured to meet the global standards for airport security fence if there is no security fence?”

There are a lot of questions that the airport authorities and air traffic control management need to answer in order to figure out what caused the serious incident or who was negligent in causing the serious incident.”

A man has been arrested by the Ogun State Police Command for allegedly trafficking his wife and two-year-old son to Mali.

Abimbola Oyeyemi, the state’s police public relations officer, identified the suspect as Kingsley Essien.

He was apprehended after selling his son for N600,000 and fleeing the country with his wife for prostitution.

“The suspect was arrested after his wife, Bright Essien, reported to Agbara divisional headquarters that sometime in October 2021, her husband, Kingsley Essien, informed her that he had secured a job for her in Bamako, Mali, and that he has assisted many people to that country for greener pastures before,” read part of the statement released on Thursday.

“She went on to say that because she was married, she didn’t suspect anything until she arrived in Mali and discovered she had been sold to a human trafficker cartel led by a woman for one million four hundred thousand naira.”

The suspect’s wife was forced into prostitution in Mali, according to Oyeyemi, but she later found her way to the Nigerian embassy in Bamako, where she was helped back to Nigeria.

Bright discovered her son, who was in the custody of the suspect, was missing when she arrived in the country from Mali, according to the police spokesman.

After filing the report, Abiodun Salau, the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the Agbara division, dispatched his detectives to track down the suspect, who was eventually apprehended.

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During questioning, Oyeyemi said the suspect confessed to the crime, admitting that he sold the boy for N600,000.

In response to the arrest, the state’s Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, ordered that the suspect be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department’s Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Labor Unit for discreet investigation.

In order to recover the stolen child, he ordered that the buyer of the son be tracked down and arrested.