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S3xtape: Equatorial Guinea govt fires anti-graft boss nabbed with clips of many women

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The government of Equatorial Guinea has fired Baltasar Ebang Engonga as Director General of the National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIF) after a series of sex tapes involving him and multiple women surfaced online.
It wrote, according to Real Equatorial Guinea, the dismissal of Mr. Engonga, the son of Baltasar Engonga Edjo (current president of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa, CEMAC), was formalized in Decree No. 118/2024, dated November 4.
The decree cited Mr. Engonga’s alleged misconduct in office and his family-related and social behavior as incompatible with public office.”
In response to the scandal, the First Lady of Equatorial Guinea, Mrs. Obiang, took to Facebook on Wednesday to call for immediate government action to protect the dignity of Equatoguinean women in the digital age.
Her office emphasised that while progress has been made in gender equality, proactive measures are necessary not only to address such incidents but to prevent them. “It is essential to create a safe and respectful environment for all women,” she said.
Prime Minister Osa Nsue also acknowledged the damaging impact of the situation, particularly on the country’s public image and gender equality initiatives.
He highlighted that the government was considering stricter privacy laws in light of the scandal. “The Government of Equatorial Guinea, aware of the impact of social media and the growing presence of private content on digital platforms, is contemplating strengthening laws related to privacy and personal data protection to prevent further violations of citizens’ rights,” said Mr. Nsue.
He added that the case had sparked a broader discussion on the boundaries of privacy in the digital age, urging for a comprehensive approach involving legislation, education, and social awareness to curb the spread of inappropriate online content.
Both the First Lady and Prime Minister expressed a shared commitment to restore public trust in institutions and safeguard the reputation of Equatoguinean women. They discussed potential strategies to prevent such incidents from happening again.
Meanwhile, Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue has ordered the country’s telecommunications ministry, regulator, and mobile providers to take action against the viral distribution of pornographic videos.
He stressed that the government cannot allow families to suffer due to the widespread circulation of Engonga’s video.
In a move to curb the spread of inappropriate content, the government imposed restrictions on the sharing of multimedia files over mobile data on platforms like WhatsApp. Local news outlet Ahora EG reported that citizens were frustrated by the new limitations, as they were forced to rely on Wi-Fi connections to share media.
The leak of the tapes is believed to have occurred while Mr. Engonga was incarcerated at Malabo’s notorious Black Beach prison for embezzling public funds.
In a related development, Equatorial Guinea’s chief prosecutor, Anatolio Nzang Nguema, assured the public that if medical tests confirmed Engonga had a sexually transmitted disease, he would be prosecuted for endangering public health.
Further to the ongoing investigation, Vice President Nguema announced that surveillance cameras would be installed in all state agency offices.
He explained that this initiative is part of efforts to ensure compliance with civil service laws, improve accountability, and tackle official misconduct.
“We will not tolerate any actions that tarnish the integrity of our administration,” he said, stressing that individuals involved in misconduct would face strict measures.
Additionally, he introduced a ban on sexual relations in the workplace, warning that any officer caught engaging in such behavior would face immediate dismissal.
“The ministries are solely and exclusively for carrying out administrative tasks in favor of the country’s development. It is forbidden to have sexual relations in offices,” he stated.
Recall TribuneOnline reported earlier that Baltasar Ebang Engonga had an intimate situations with several women, with sex tapes, reportedly over 400 in number some of whom are linked to high-profile figures in the country.
This prompted the government to suspend him initially, and subsequently, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo ordered his dismissal. (Tribune, excluding headline)
News
Rivers logjam: Obi begs combatants to think about the suffering people

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The 2023 Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has weighed into the raging power tussle in Rivers State and wants the warring leaders to think about the poor in the state.
In a long tweet on Tuesday on the crisis, Obi noted that the situation in Rivers is an example of how not to use democracy to serve the people
“It is unfortunate that 60 years after independence and nearly 30 years of our celebrated unbroken civil rule, our democracy is still marred by undemocratic practices and values.
“A significant percentage of our elections are deeply flawed—manipulated to serve the interests of a select few rather than reflecting the true will of the people.
“Governance at most levels does not reflect the genuine values and aspirations of the people because the welfare of the citizens is often neglected in practice.
“Looking at the ongoing crisis in Rivers State, we see yet another glaring example of how our democracy and governance are not serving its purpose, the welfare of the people of River State. The disagreement is not about improving the measurable indices of development: education, healthcare, or lifting people out of poverty but rather for reasons that do not in any way benefit the people of Rivers State and Nigeria in general.
“I fully understand the impact of what is happening in Rivers State. The real losers are the people—their welfare and the future of the society their children will live in.
“My respectful appeal to all those involved is to reconsider their positions and reflect on the grace God has bestowed upon them as leaders. They must think about the suffering people of Rivers State and work towards a better future for their children.
“My commitment remains to continuously remember them in earnest prayers and to advocate for their well-being. I also appeal to well-meaning Nigerians and the Federal Government, in the spirit of true democracy and good governance, to use their offices to restore normalcy and bring an end to this crisis.
A new Nigeria is POssible!
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Galadima knocks Jandor’s return, says SDP is APC’s branch

By Francesca Hangeior
A chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Buba Galadima, has described the Social Democratic Party as a faction of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Speaking on The Morning Show on Arise Television on Tuesday, Galadima claimed that the SDP was merely an extension of the APC, questioning the party’s independence.
“The SDP is a branch of the APC. It was those APC people that moved to what you now call SDP. How many people from other parties have moved to the SDP?
“That is the question the people or the media should ask. It is not out of place. You are in Lagos, this is the character of Lagos; to decimate opposition,” Galadima said.
His remarks come amid the recent defection of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, from the APC to the SDP.
El-Rufai has been mobilising politicians to join the party in a bid to challenge President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
Galadima also criticised opposition politicians who rejoined the APC after contesting elections.
He cited the case of former Lagos PDP governorship candidate, Abdul-Azeez Adediran, known as Jandor, who returned to the APC on Monday, citing internal crises in the PDP.
“Look at what Jandor has done. Look at the support the people of Lagos have given Jandor. In fact, I will say that he won the election. It was taken away from him.
“But look at him, he just backpedalled and went back to the APC. How are we going to do opposition? We should do opposition of principles, even if you’re alone, you should stand on your own principles,” Galadima stated.
He, however, insisted that the NNPP would not enter coalitions just to gain power.
He said, “We are a party of ideology. We are a party of principle. We don’t just go into a coalition for the sake of it because we want power at all costs.
“We are content with the platform we have. One day, we can grow this party and win the national election.”
News
China, Cambodia hail Trump’s decision to defund US-funded media

By Francesca Hangeior
Beijing on Tuesday said media outlets facing the axe by US President Donald Trump had a “notorious” history of reporting on China, as Cambodia’s autocratic former leader hailed the move for “combating fake news”.
Trump signed an order last week freezing Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe and other outlets as part of his sweeping cuts to Federal Government spending.
RFA was created to provide reporting to China, North Korea and other countries in the region with heavily restricted press.
It has reported extensively in recent years on issues highly sensitive to Beijing authorities and other autocratic leaders in Asia.
Asked about Trump’s decision during a daily news briefing, China’s foreign ministry said it did not comment on domestic policies of the US government.
But, said spokeswoman Mao Ning: “I think it is no secret that some of the US media you mentioned have a notorious track record in reporting on China.”
In an editorial, state-backed nationalist tabloid Global Times went further — describing Voice of America as a “lie factory”.
“The so-called beacon of freedom, VOA, has now been discarded by its own government like a dirty rag,” it said.
“The demonising narratives propagated by VOA will ultimately become a laughingstock of the times,” it added.
China has frequently criticised Western media reporting on the country as “biased” and it heavily restricts the operations of domestic news outlets.
Thorny topics covered by RFA and its fellow outlets included China’s alleged large-scale human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in the regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, as well as the crackdown on democratic activists in Hong Kong.
Notably, Radio Free Asia’s reporting is published in a wide range of languages spoken in China, including Tibetan and Uyghur as well as Mandarin and Cantonese.
Related news stories are heavily censored in China’s domestic media environment — and foreign reports on the subjects are blocked online.
The outlets had also long been critical of the influential former leader of Cambodia Hun Sen.
He welcomed the move to cut their funding, praising Trump for “his courage to lead the world in combating fake news, starting with news outlets funded by the US government”.
Hun Sen, who ruled Cambodia with an iron fist for nearly four decades and shut down multiple independent media outlets, has been the subject of critical reporting by VOA and Radio Free Asia.
In 2020, Beijing ordered several US media outlets — including VOA — to declare in writing their staff, finances, operations and real estate in China.
The decree was part of a media row between Washington and Beijing that saw more than a dozen journalists working for US media expelled from China.
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