Crime

Bribes now paid in dollars, Falana condemns fuel subsidy removal

Published

3 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove fuel subsidy, insisting that the policy has worsened hardship and was a grave economic blunder.

The outspoken Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who was a key voice during the 2012 Occupy Nigeria protests against subsidy removal under former President Goodluck Jonathan, insisted that Tinubu’s policy has only deepened hardship instead of providing relief.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Sunday, Falana reminded Nigerians that the subsidy debate was not new but one tied to decades of IMF and World Bank prescriptions that have often left developing countries poorer.

“I have always been against fuel subsidy removal since 2012. No country in the world has abolished or removed subsidies completely.

“Even leading Western countries, like the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France, and others, subsidise electricity, agriculture, and many aspects of the lives of their people,” he said.

Falana accused the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank of dictating Nigeria’s economic direction, including subsidy removal and naira devaluation, urging Tinubu to chart a more independent path.

According to him, the unpopular decision has created social tension across Nigeria.

“We asked the government to muster the courage to tell these Western imperialist institutions that there is no country that has succeeded on the basis of the prescriptions of the Bretton Woods institutions.

‘That is why we have to review the economic programme of the government. It’s not by taking one at a time. It needs to be holistic. You cannot devalue the currency. You cannot dollarize the economy while you are also removing subsidies,” he cautioned.

The activist also condemned the growing dollarisation of Nigeria’s economy, faulting President Tinubu’s recent practice of gifting footballers cash in foreign currency.

As a way out, Falana encouraged the government to consider joining BRICS as a full member, saying the bloc provides better opportunities to reduce dependence on the dollar and Western financial institutions.

BRICS is a bloc of major emerging economies formed to increase the influence of the Global South in international affairs, challenge Western dominance in global institutions, and promote economic and political coordination among its members.

The original five members are Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, but the group has expanded significantly.

“So, we must promote the Naira, strengthen the Naira, against the dollar, because the Naira is the legal tender, and not the dollar. It’s a criminal offence, to reject the Naira. It’s a criminal offence, under the Central Bank Act Section 20.

“So, unless you stop people paying dollars, school fees in dollars, properties are being sold in dollars, bills in dollars, then I can say, bribes, bribes are now paid in dollars.

“You cannot run an economy that will be stable, an economy that will be in the interest of the people. Once you devalue your currency, particularly for an import-oriented economy, you are damaging the economy.”. Falana said.

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Crime

Police arrest suspected scammers in Akwa Ibom, recover stolen funds

Published

2 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Newsbreak365_Admin

Operatives of the Akwa Ibom State Police Command have apprehended three suspected scammers believed to be part of a syndicate that specialises in defrauding unsuspecting members of the public across the state.

A statement by the command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Timfon John, in Uyo on Monday said the arrest followed several complaints received by the Command.

She said the operatives launched a technical intelligence-led operation in July 2025, adding that the effort culminated in the arrest of the three prime suspects on September 5, 2025, at approximately 1330 hours, from their hideout in the Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area.

”The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has successfully apprehended three individuals suspected of being part of a syndicate responsible for defrauding numerous victims across Nigeria. The arrests followed several complaints received by the Command.

”Acting on the instructions of the Commissioner of Police, CP Baba Mohammed Azare, the operatives initiated a technical intelligence-led operation in July 2025.

“This effort culminated in the arrest of the three prime suspects on September 5, 2025, at approximately 1330 hours, from their hideout in the Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area.” the statement read.

John listed the suspects to include Prince Francis Albert, 27 years, of Edemeya village, Ikot Abasi Local Government Area,
Augustine Bassey, 39 years, of Okobo LGA and Mbetobong Godwin, 35, from Ibesikpo LGA.

According to the PPRO, Albert, the alleged gang leader, has confessed to the crime of luring victims from various states using multiple phone numbers.

“The arrested suspects have been identified as: Prince Francis Albert, 27 years, of Edemeya village, Ikot Abasi Local Government Area. Albert, the alleged gang leader, confessed to luring victims from various states using multiple phone numbers.

”He admitted to beginning his criminal activities in 2022 after graduating from Sokoto State Polytechnic. He also confessed to successfully scamming several high-profile individuals, including politicians, military officers, and senior police officers, by using fake identities.

”He relocated from Oyo State to Akwa Ibom in April 2025 to evade police and DSS pursuit sourced his victims’ phone numbers from marriage invitations, obituary posters, complimentary cards, and online sources,” the statement added.

John disclosed that the second suspect, Augustine Bassey, a POS operator, was involved in receiving scammed funds through his OPay account, number 8081732375, adding that he had confessed to receiving large sums of money from victims between April and August 2025.

The third suspect, Mbetobong Godwin, according to the statement, shared a residential building with the gang leader and had also confessed to receiving funds through his OPay account, number 8160526905.

She said the three suspects are fully cooperating with the police to recover their SIM cards and assist in the arrest of other syndicate members who are currently at large.

John urged the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities.

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Crime

PHOTOS: Security operatives arrest notorious thugs disguised as women to carry out targeted attacks in Kano

Published

9 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

Security operatives in Kurna area of Kano metropolis have arrested a group of suspected thugs who disguised as women to carry out targeted attacks.

It was gathered that the thugs raided the area with the intent to assassinate their targets before they were intercepted and apprehended by the local security outfit on Saturday, September 13, 2025.

Sources told security analyst Zagazola Makama that the arrested hoodlums belong to a network of hired hitmen who often use such disguises to infiltrate their targets undetected.

The suspects are currently with the relevant security agencies for further investigation and prosecution.

Residents of Kurna commended the security forces for its swift response and urged security agencies to intensify surveillance to curb similar incidents in the state.

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Post Views: 64

Crime

Nigerian man arrested in Romania for alleged r3pe and attempted m8rder of s3x worker

Published

1 day ago

September 14, 2025

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

A 30-year-old Nigerian man has been arrested for alleged r3pe and attempted m8rder of a s3x worker in Bucharest, Romania.

The accused was placed in preventive custody for 30 days on Friday, September 12, 2025.

According to reports, the suspect allegedly choked and r@ped a prostitute after she told him to leave when she realized he did not have money to pay in advance for the services provided.

The Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Sector 6 Court in Bucharest now accuses him of r@pe, destruction, and home invasion.

According to investigators, on September 8, the Nigerian man went to a residence in Sector 6 to engage in intimate relations with a prostitute. Nigerian fashion

When the woman realized that the man did not have money to pay in advance for the services provided, she asked him to leave the residence.However, the man refused to leave and allegedly grabbed the woman by the throat and hands, then pushed her onto the bed and allegedly r3ped her.

The prosecutor said at the same time, the man destroyed the woman’s mobile phone by throwing it on the floor, causing the case and display to break.

The investigation is being pursued by the Criminal Investigation police, under the prosecutor’s coordination.