Metro
Court jails 3 civil servants over collection of salaries of 15 ghost workers for 4 years

An FCT High Court on Wednesday, sentenced three civil servants to six years imprisonment each for payroll fraud.
The convicts are Justin Itemoagbo, Dayo Aliyu and Sylvanus Ojeifo.
A fourth officer, Dayang Jacob, was discharged and acquitted.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) dragged them to court on a 32-count charge of criminal conspiracy, theft and cheating by impersonation.
Delivering judgement, Justice Peter Kekemeke sentenced them after going through their evidence and that of the prosecution.
“In totality, the evidence of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants collapsed like a pack of cards. I, therefore, find the 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants guilty as charged. The 4th defendant is found not guilty. He is accordingly discharged and acquitted,” the judge ruled.
All the defendant’s counsel pleaded for leniency and urged the court to tamper justice with mercy and give the convicts option of fine.
Responding, the prosecution submitted that the sentencing is left at the discretion of the court.
The judge held that the plea of all the defendants counsel is moving and that the prosecution relied on the discretion of the court.
The judge said: “The defendants are all approaching 60 years of age. They are aged. They have been out of job for eight years.
“I shall have mercy on them, God does not require the death of a sinner but that all should come unto repentance.
“In count 1, the three defendants are sentenced to 2 years imprisonment or option of N500,000 each.
“In counts 2 to 23, they are to serve another two years on each count or N1 million fine.
“Count 24, 25 and 26 are against the 1st defendant, he is sentenced to one year imprisonment without option of fine in each count.
“The 2nd defendant is sentenced to one year in count 27, 29, 30 and 31 respectively without option of fine.
“For the count 32, the three defendants were sentenced to a year in prison or N500,000 fine.”
The prosecution said they do not know the exact amount of the Federal Government money that was paid as salaries to the defendants.
“In the circumstance, this court cannot order a refund of federal government money paid as salaries,” he said.
The defendants were arraigned in the court for payroll fraud they committed between 2012 and 2015.
They were accused of smuggling about 15 names of either deceased workers or retired ones and collected their salaries every month.
The first defendant worked with human resources department, Federal ministry of works while the second defendant worked at the help desk officers, office of the Accountant General of the Federation.
The third defendant worked at the nominal roll and manpower budget office of the Federal Ministry of Works.
Metro
Outrage As Police Officer Vows to Kill Southerners Over Edo Killings

Reactions have trailed the comment of a Kaduna State police officer, Hadaina Hussaini Dan-Taki over the killings in Uromi area of Edo State.
Dan-Taki has threatened reprisal attacks on southerners living in northern Nigeria.
His remarks followed the brutal killing of 16 northerners in Uromi, Esan North East Local Government Area of Edo State.
Dan-Taki made the inflammatory comments in a Facebook post on Tuesday, vowing that northerners would retaliate.
“I swear to Almighty God, we must do something for you guys. Have you forgotten all your brothers living here in the North? Mark my words, after one week, you shall see the result,” he reportedly wrote.
Following backlash, Dan-Taki changed his Facebook name and restricted access to his profile, limiting public visibility of his posts and comments.
Dan-Taki’s post was flagged by an X user identified as Uche, who shared a screenshot while tagging Force Public Relations Officer Olumuyiwa Adejobi.
Adejobi swiftly acknowledged the post, stating, “Noted for necessary action. Thanks.”
Meanwhile, law enforcement continues to investigate the attack in Uromi. Fourteen suspects linked to the killing of hunters from Kano State have been arrested and transferred to Abuja for further interrogation. Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo confirmed the arrests and assured Nigerians that justice would be served.
The victims were reportedly traveling to Kano for Sallah celebrations when they were ambushed by a mob. Their vehicle was stopped and ransacked before they were killed, sparking nationwide outrage and calls for swift justice.
Governor Okpebholo condemned the attack as “tragic and condemnable,” emphasizing that law enforcement agencies are taking decisive steps.
“The president is deeply concerned, and the suspects arrested so far are being transferred to Abuja for further interrogation,” he stated.
The killings have heightened tensions, prompting leaders across the country to call for calm and restraint. Officials from Kano and Edo States have been engaging in discussions to prevent further escalation.
The Chief of Defence Staff has also condemned the attack and vowed that justice will be served.
Authorities continue to investigate both the killings and Dan-Taki’s comments, with expectations that decisive action will be taken to prevent further unrest.
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Metro
Police uncover ‘yahoo’ training school in Lagos, arrest suspects

The Lagos State Police Command has uncovered a building in the Iju area of Lagos State, used for internet fraud training.
Popularly called “Yahoo School’, the command said four Yahoo experts who had been running the school were arrested alongside six trainees who were undergoing training in cybercrime and fraud during the operation.
Nine of the suspects were between ages 20 and 26, while the tenth, a trainee, is 12 years old.
Consequently, the command has directed owner of the facility to turn himself in for investigation.
Preliminary investigations according to the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hudenyin, revealed that the principal suspects of the facility recruited their trainees from Anambra State and engaged them to commit internet fraud and other related crimes.
He said the proceeds from their fraudulent activities were confiscated by the principal suspects.
Hudenyin said: “All suspects have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID Yaba, for further discreet investigation and prosecution.
“Efforts are ongoing to apprehend the sponsors who financed the trainees’ enrollment in the school as well as the owner of the facility where these criminal and illegal activities took place. The owner of the facility is hereby warned in his own interest to turn himself in immediately, at the SCID Panti from wherever he is hiding.The Lagos State Police Command will ensure that all suspects are charged to court for prosecution upon the conclusion of the investigation into the case”
He noted that ” In line with due process of the law, the underage suspect among them, Minachi Ugochukwu, 12 years old, with healing marks of injuries on his body allegedly inflicted on him by the main principal suspect to compel him into the commission of the criminal acts, is being given medical attention and kept in protective custody till his relatives are identified and reunited with him”
He therefore advised parents and guardians to monitor the activities of their children and wards , with a view to preventing them from being ” exploited, lured, or compelled into criminal activities”.
Furthermore, Hudenyin called on members of the public who had fallen victim to the fraudulent activities of the syndicate to visit the SCID, Yaba, with their complaints.
“The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Olohundare Jimoh, also commends the police personnel involved in this operation for their dedication and professionalism that resulted in this success.
“CP Jimoh assures all Lagosians that the Command remains resolute and committed to combating all forms of crimes and criminalities, including cybercrime tagged “yahoo”.He urges residents to report every suspicious activity or incident to the Police in their localities for prompt police action.
Metro
Mortuary Attendants Arrested Over Dead Man’s Missing Genitals

There was pandemonium resulting from a sad discovery by relations of a deceased young man in Abia state, that his testicles were missing in a mortuary his remains were kept.
The situation led to the destruction of the mortuary and near lynching of it’s workers in Umuezibe, Obingwa area, along the Aba/Ikot Ekpene highway, where it is located.
The deceased, whose name was simple given as Chimaobi, in his twenties, was allegedly electrocuted while fiddling with high tension electricity cables in Abayi Okorator, in the same area with his corpse kept in the mortuary, pending burial.
However, things got awry, when youths from his (the deceased) community went to retrieve his corpse only to discover that his genitals were missing from the body they were being shown by the attendants who thereafter, tried to escape but got apprehended.
The situation got so tensed that relations of dead person’s whose bodies were deposited in the mortuary quickly came to remove them either for immediate burial or to other locations, as the youths insisted on destroying the facility.
Eyewitness account told our correspondent that a quick intervention of the police in Eastern Ngwa, saved the mortuary attendants who were said to have been taken into custody.
A senior police source in the area, said the situation was under control, though he didn’t speak further on the issue.
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