Justice Ekerete Akpan of the Federal High Court in Abuja has remanded 113 foreign nationals at Kuje and Suleja correctional facilities.

The foreigners were arraigned before the court on Friday on the allegations of their involvement in high-level cybercrime and hacking activities said to be threatening Nigeria’s national security.

The accused persons comprising 87 men and 26 women from China, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, Philippines, Myanmar and Malaysia, as well as 17 Nigerian collaborators were facing six counts bordering on cybercrime, money laundering and unlawful residency in Nigeria.

Justice Akpan declared that the male defendants be remanded at Kuje prison while the females should be taken to Suleja prison.

The suspects were arrested on November 3, 2024, at Plot 1906, Cadestral Zone 807, Katampe District of Abuja. They were allegedly using computers and other sophisticated devices to facilitate criminal activities.

In the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/599/2024, the suspects were alleged to have accessed a computer network and input, altered, and deleted suppressed data, resulting in inauthentic data, with the intention that such inauthentic data would be considered or acted upon as if they were authentic or genuine.

They were also alleged to have removed “from Nigeria proceeds generated from operating fraudulent and unregistered gambling platforms.”

According to the charge sheet, the platforms are 9f.com, c2.top, and 8pg.top.

The accused persons were also charged with entering “the territory of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with a business permit of 30 days duration and failed, or neglected to leave the Nigerian territory at the expiration of the said permit and remained in Nigeria without a valid resident permit or appropriate valid visa.”

At the resumption of proceedings on Friday, the arraignment of the suspects was also stalled because the defendants’ names were misrepresented on the charge sheet.

Counsel to some of the defendants, James Onoja (SAN) told the court that there was a need to have interpreters to interpret for those who do not understand English.

Onoja asked the court to adjourn the scheduled arraignment following an observation that there were discrepancies in the names of the defendants, arguing that some of the names given to the defendants were not their proper names.

The prosecution counsel, A. A. Egwu, who did not oppose the adjournment request, stated that the police lacked the facility to continue to keep the defendants, stating that he had earlier filed an ex-parte motion for the accused persons to be remanded in a correctional centre.

Egwu said most of the defendants were arrested without their papers, urging the court to remand them in a correctional centre pending their arraignment.

Following the submission of the counsel, the court ruled that the defendants should produce their travelling documents for their proper names and spellings to be gotten.

Meanwhile, counsel to the Brazilian accused persons, Eric Oba, asked the court to separate his clients from other defendants.

Oba appealed to the court to conduct separate trials for them, just as he prayed the court to allow his clients to stay back at the police facility.

He said the Brazilians were afraid that they could be harmed by the other defendants because they made extra-judicial statements to the police that others were not happy about.

Rejecting Oba’s appeal, Justice Akpan directed him to file a formal application for the separation of the trial of his clients.

He adjourned the case to Friday, November 29, for arraignment.

Gunmen on Thursday afternoon, have abducted three relatives of former Daily Trust Editor, Ahmed Ajobe.

The victims include a male and two females including Ajobe’s immediate younger sister, Halimtu-Sadiya Tahir.

City Round gathered that they were abducted on their way from a nearby community market in Awo, in the Ankpa Local Government Area of Kogi State, along the deplorable Ankpa-Adoka-Markudi road.

Ajobe who had lost his mother, Malama Aishetu Tahir on Sunday after a protracted illness was preparing for the seven days prayers.

The victims were said to have gone to the market to purchase items for the seven-day prayers of the ace journalist’s deceased mother when they were kidnapped.

Although Ajobe could not be immediately reached for details on the incident, a family friend who preferred anonymity said their abductors have demanded N50 million for the release of the victims.

“Yes, three of Ajobe’s family members were kidnapped at gunpoint at about 3 pm on Thursday. The kidnappers reached out on Friday afternoon demanding N50 million as ransom.

“However, I can’t confirm what the family is offering in the negotiations because I had to leave the community for an emergency in Lokoja.

“What I can say is that no amount has been paid yet and the victims are still in captivity,” he explained.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, William Aya, confirmed the incident, adding that the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the area, had already deployed his men to the area to ensure the rescue of the victims.

He added that the Police Commissioner, Bethrand Onuoha, has also ordered the drafting of the police tactical team to the area to reinforce the team there.

“Everything possible would be done to ensure the safe release of the abducted person and bring the criminals to justice,” Aya said.

Parents of Segun Olowookere, an inmate who was convicted to death and currently in Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison have pleaded with Governor Ademola Adeleke to grant their son amnesty ahead of his second year anniversary in office.

Olowookere was sentenced to death by Justice Falola of an Osun State High Court, sitting in Ikirun for robbing a poultry farm in Oyan, Odo-otin local government where he was said to have stole a fowl and eggs.

But fifteen years later his conviction, Olowookere who was arrested at the age of 17 is still languishing in the prison with his appeal pending at the Court of Appeal in Akure Court, Ondo State.

Speaking with reporters yesterday, Segun’s mother, Mrs Folashade Olowookere call on the governor to revisit the case and use his good office in granting amnesty to her son.

The mother who spoke in a laden voice noted that Segun is their only son and they cannot afford to continue wasting within the four wall of the prison, saying the crime her son did not committed the offence he was convicted for.

“I want to plead with our amiable governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke to please use his office to release my son. We have sold our properties to secure his release since he was convicted in 2014. He is a brilliant chap who have a brighter future ahead of him. We must not allow him to waste the peak of his life within the four wall of the prison.

“The speaker of the House of Assembly is from our town, we also plead for his intervention on this case. Also, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice should also help us. Segun has a promising future and can be useful to the society,” the mother pleaded.

Also, Segun’s father, Mr Olanrewaju Olowookere asserted that his son has never involved in any crime before he was arrested in 2010 on the accusation of stealing fowls and eggs from a relative poultry.

The father claimed that his son was arrested in his shop while playing with some of his friend, saying the arrest was a setup.

He said: At this point, all we need is the assistance of His Excellency, Governor Ademola Adeleke to grant amnesty to our son. We are always in grief since he was sentenced. We have not experience any kind of happiness. Nobody will be happy seeing his only son to rot in jail.

“Meanwhile, his case was a kind of frame up. He never gone out on the day of his arrest in 2010. He was with me at my shop in Oyan playing with some of his friends until the police came to arrest him. We don’t know what his offence was. Also, the poultry they claimed he robbed belongs to one of our relatives. The owner even denied it in open court that Segun was not involved.

“The governor should please help us with his power. We have spent fortunes, sold properties on this case. But proved futile. As the governor prepares for his second year anniversary in office, we want him to set our son free. He can be useful to the society.

Olowookere according to his parents has finished his first degree at the National Open University (NOUN) while in prison.

OSUN DEFENDER in its September 13, 2024 reports that about 86 convicts from Osun state are in dire and unbearable conditions as a result of overcrowding in the death row section of the Nigeria Correctional Centre, especially in Lagos and Ogun States.

The medium learnt that the convicts are presently in Ibara Custodial Centre, Abeokuta and Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison. This, according to findings, is due to the unavailability of a Board of Mercy yet to be constituted by Governor Ademola Adeleke in place.

In the meantime, a faith-based nongovernmental organisation, the Centre for Justice, Mercy, and Reconciliation (CJMR), has asked Governor Adeleke to establish the Board of Mercy to see to the needs of prisoners, especially in relation to granting amnesty to inmates on death row.

CJMR, in a letter signed by its Executive Director, Pastor Hezekiah Olujobi, stated that “It has come to our notice that throughout the previous administration in Osun State, there was no Board of Mercy; as a result, the state governor has not been granting amnesty to inmates on death row in Osun State, in contravention of the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution.

“We would like to humbly draw your attention to Sections 175 and 212 of the Constitution of the Nigerian Constitution, which empower the state governor to grant amnesty to convicts, both those serving imprisonment and those on death row. It is concerning that this constitutional provision has not been fully implemented in Osun State for nearly six years.

“Furthermore, we wish to highlight the dire and unbearable conditions of overcrowding in the death row section of the Correctional Centre. Presently, in Ibara Custodial Centre, Abeokuta, Ogun State, there are 85 people on death row who are convicts from Osun State.

“We believe that some of these inmates could be transferred to the general convict section, thereby reducing the overcrowding in the death row section. Additionally, we urge that those who meet the criteria for total freedom under the Constitution be considered for release.

“We respectfully request that Your Excellency looks into this appeal and take the appropriate steps to constitute the Board of Mercy in accordance with the provisions of the constitution and take the necessary actions to address the issues raised,” CJMR stated.