News
“Criminal Defamation Is a Serious Offence”, Jacob Idinye Cautions Fisayo Soyombo, Tells NUJ To Intervene
Two time governorship aspirant in Edo State, and public affairs analyst, High Chief Jacob Egietseme Idinye has taken a swipe at a “self-acclaimed” investigative journalist, Fisayo Soyombo over his allegation that seized items by men of the Nigeria Customs Service which are often paraded on air are later returned back to the owners after “money must have exchanged hands”.
Idinye who also berated Soyombo for discrediting journalists who cover Maritime sector, called on the Nigeria Union of Journalists to invite him (Soyombo) to substantiate his claims with prove and caution him for making further misleading comment and stop fabricating stories against Customs officers who have surpassed their targets in the discharge of their statutory duties.
During a press conference he addressed Saturday morning (April 6, 2024) at a popular hotel in Lagos, Idinye condemned the activities of people who are paid to do hatchet job with the intent to over heat the polity and upset the apple cart.
Idinye described criminal defamation as a serious offence and that no one should be allowed to infringe on other people’s right simply because they are hiding under the cover of “investigative journalism” which is at variance with the known professional ethical standards.
The Edo born politician who is also a winner of over 32 different professional awards in Maritime Reporting and Customs activities maintained that the Nigeria Customs Service under the leadership of Mr Wale Adeniyi (MFR), a thorough bred public servant has raised the bar of efficiency in public service and has turned around the fortunes of the service in terms of revenue generation, land border security as well as instilling discipline, patriotism and professional competence in all his personnel in the overall interest of the nation.
“The Nigerian extant rules are very clear on a matter like this, especially the provisions of Section 375 of the Criminal Code Act, any person who publishes any defamatory matter is guilty of a misdemeanor and is liable to imprisonment for one year; and any person who publishes any defamatory matter knowing it to be false, is liable to imprisonment for two years. This remains sacrosanct. Nobody can hide behind his or her laptop to spread falsehoods and go about tarnishing the image of those who doing their best to protect our borders and wage war against economic saboteurs who don’t wish our nation well.”
“No Customs officer will go that low by returning seized contraband goods back to the owners. This is totally far from truth. Soyombo should be properly guided, and his sponsors, too, must be ready to face the full weight of the law. We can all recall that many of these seized items for example cars, are auctioned out in a most transparent manner and the revenue generated are remitted to the Federal Government bank accounts through the Federal Ministry of Finance in a most transparent manner. Most recently, some seized rice were sold out to the members of the public at a subsidized rate, but nothing was hidden. That is the way the service has been operating, and that excellent culture of openness, transparency, and accountability has never changed. So, the self-acclaimed investigative journalist, Fisayo Soyombo, should tell the world where he is fabricating his own type of story, which is primarily based on falsehoods, insincerity and deception.
“This is one attack too many on his part. Discrediting journalists who cover the Maritime sector and Customs activities is totally unacceptable and should be sanctioned. This is also a wake up call to the highly revered leaders of the Nigeria Union of Journalists to look into this matter by inviting Soyombo to substantiate all his claims with prove and caution him for making further misleading comment and equally stop him for cooking up stories against customs personnel who have overtime surpassed their targets in the discharge of their statutory duties.
“So all those seizures evidently displayed on TV stations and newspapers across the country are fake? Later, the seized items would now be sold back to the alleged smugglers, according to Soyombo’s jaundiced estimation? This is so ridiculous and most unfortunate; social media is filled with all sorts of madness, and I think it should be regulated to an extent. We are not in a Banana Republic, Nigeria is a country governed by law, the so-called investigative journalist must be seen to be disciplined, decent, professional and socially responsible in his conduct in line with the professional ethical standards.” Idinye stated.
Naijablitznews reports that popular billionaire Emeka Daniel Okonkwo otherwise known as E-Money has been nabbed in Lagos by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC over alleged Naira abuse.
E-Money, who is the CEO of Emmy Cargoes Nigeria Limited and Five Star Music, was arrested in Lagos State for alleged abuse of the naira.
He is being investigated for allegedly spraying both Naira and US dollars at a party in Lagos in violation of Nigeria’s currency laws.
As at the time of filing this report the anti-graft agency has yet to issue an official statement regarding his arrest.
By Francesca Hangeior
Bitcoin-focused investment firms are stepping into the spotlight as key players in a growing global movement toward the widespread adoption of cryptocurrency as a reserve asset.
Industry leaders and market analysts suggest that this shift—commonly referred to as “hyperbitcoinization”—could eventually displace traditional fiat currencies and redefine global financial systems.
Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream and the inventor of Hashcash, believes that firms holding Bitcoin in their treasuries are strategically positioning themselves ahead of this potential transformation. “
Companies like Strategy are taking advantage of the gap between Bitcoin’s future potential and the current state of fiat money,” Back said.
He described the practice as a “logical and sustainable arbitrage” scalable enough to support large corporations transitioning their treasuries to Bitcoin.
One of the frontrunners in this strategy is Strategy, whose Bitcoin holdings have already generated over $5.1 billion in profit since the beginning of 2025, according to co-founder Michael Saylor.
The firm’s bullish stance on Bitcoin has been instrumental in legitimizing corporate treasury allocations into digital assets.
Across the globe, Asia is also seeing a surge in institutional Bitcoin adoption. Metaplanet, often referred to as “Asia’s MicroStrategy,” recently surpassed 5,000 BTC in holdings and aims to acquire 21,000 BTC by 2026.
These moves illustrate the expanding geographical spread of institutional confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term viability.
At the regulatory level, the climate in the United States is becoming more favorable. The Federal Reserve recently reversed its 2022 guidance that had discouraged banks from engaging with cryptocurrencies. Michael Saylor welcomed the development, stating that U.S. banks “can now begin openly supporting Bitcoin without regulatory concerns.”
In an even more significant move, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a national Bitcoin reserve using BTC seized in criminal investigations. The initiative marks a historic moment in the relationship between government and cryptocurrency, signaling a new era of state-backed digital asset reserves.
Bitcoin’s price growth is also outpacing inflation rates, bolstering the argument for its superiority over fiat currencies.
“Bitcoin’s price has been growing faster than traditional fiat currencies over four-year periods,” Back noted, emphasizing Bitcoin’s fixed supply and inflation resistance as core attributes driving its adoption.
As investment firms, multinational corporations, and now governments increasingly turn to Bitcoin, momentum is building for a future where Bitcoin could serve as a dominant global reserve currency.
With market experts projecting Bitcoin’s market cap could one day exceed $200 trillion, the financial world may be on the cusp of a historic transformation.
By Francesca Hangeior
The global system of law and human rights is under threat from a “multiplicity of assaults” which have accelerated since US President Donald Trump’s return to power, Amnesty International said Tuesday in its annual report.
“Unprecedented forces are hunting down the ideals of human rights for all, seeking to destroy an international system forged in the blood and grief of World War Two and its Holocaust,” said the rights group’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard.
The lives of millions of people had been “devastated” in 2024 as a result of conflicts and abuses committed in the Middle East, Sudan, Ukraine and Afghanistan where women’s freedoms continue to be curtailed.
The report singled out some of the world’s biggest powers such as the US, Russia and China for “undermining” the achievements of international law, as well as the fight against poverty and discrimination.
While these “reckless and punishing offensives” had been underway for several years, according to Amnesty, Trump had served as a “super-accelerator” of those trends.
The new administration has frozen US international aid and reduced its funding to several UN organisations.
The start of Trump’s second term had been marked by a “multiplicity of assaults — against human rights accountability, against international law, and against the UN”, Callamard said, calling for “concerted resistance”.
“While international justice mechanisms have taken important steps towards accountability in some cases, powerful governments have repeatedly blocked attempts to take meaningful action to end atrocities,” Amnesty said.
In particular, it took aim at countries that had challenged decisions by the International Court of Justice in The Hague against Israel, following a complaint of “genocide” against the Palestinians in Gaza filed by South Africa.
Others, like Hungary, were criticised for refusing to enforce arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against several Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The year would be remembered for how “Israel’s military occupation grew ever more brazen and deadly” and how “the USA, Germany and a handful of other European states supported Israel”, the report added.
Amnesty accused Israel of committing a “live-streamed genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza by forcibly displacing most of the population and deliberately creating a humanitarian catastrophe.
It said Israel had acted with “specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, thus committing genocide”. Israel has repeatedly denied such charges.
The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023 with an unprecedented attack on Israel by Hamas militants from Gaza resulting in the deaths of 1,218 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP report based on official Israeli data.
Hamas also kidnapped 251 people, 58 of whom remain in the hands of the Islamist group, although the Israeli military says 34 are dead.
In response, Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and is conducting a military offensive that has left more than 52,000 dead, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
In December, Amnesty condemned the ongoing “genocide” in Gaza, an accusation since echoed by other NGOs such as HRW and Doctors Without Borders, but strongly rejected by Israel.
Amnesty also highlighted the suffering in Sudan from famine and a conflict between the regular army and the RSF paramilitaries.
The conflict had led to the “largest forced displacement crisis in the world” today, uprooting some 12 million people but had been met with “near-complete global indifference”, Amnesty said.
On another front, the rights body said violence and discrimination against women had “soared” in 2024, both in conflicts, such as in Sudan, and in Afghanistan.
Women in the south Asian country are subject to draconian legislation restricting their freedoms under the Taliban.
Finally, the report highlighted an “urgent need” for governments to do more to regulate AI technologies to safeguard human rights.
It warned also that a growing number of governments were abusing spyware and other surveillance tools against opponents.
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