Police operatives in Lagos State have arrested a man, Chimereze Chinedu, for allegedly defrauding a Thai to the tune of $216,000 and N30m respectively.

Disclosing this in a statement on Tuesday via his X handle, the state’s Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, said the suspect promised to supply his victim with 37 tricycles which he valued at $216,000.

In a move to further extort money from his victim, the suspect was said to have forged letters from the State Criminal Investigation Department to lure his victim into believing that the tricycles were seized by the police.

According to Hundeyin, the suspect allegedly used the forged documents to obtain another sum of N30m from the victim to secure the release of the seized tricycles.

“Chimereze defrauded his victim under the pretence of selling 37 tricycles to her. He further expanded his fraudulent activity by forging letters of the State Criminal Investigative Department, Lagos showing that the tricycles were seized by the police and further extorted N30m from the victim to purportedly secure the release of the tricycles,” the police spokesman said.

The state police command said the “suspect was arrested on May 10, 2024, in Enugu State” following weeks of investigation and a collaboration with officials of the International Criminal Police Organisation.

The police spokesperson explained that efforts were going on to apprehend other accomplices of the suspect while stressing the command’s commitment to combating internet fraud.

Seven persons said to be students of the Niger Delta University, Yenagoa, were found dead inside a music studio on Tuesday morning after inhaling what is suspected to be generator fumes.

According to sources, the music studio along Transformer Road in the Amarata area of Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, was operated by one of the deceased identified as Akpos Barakubo.

The deceased were said to be working in the studio on Monday night but fell asleep due to exhaustion without putting off the generator resulting in the sad incident.

It was gathered that six corpses were discovered in the morning and a seventh one who was unconscious was rushed to the hospital but later gave up the ghost.

Security operatives have cordoned off the area while the corpses have been evacuated to the mortuary.

A resident of the area, Damion Asamonye, blamed the federal and state governments as well as the Port Harcourt Power Electricity Distribution Company for their death saying if there was adequate power supply, there would not have been any need for the generator.

Asamonye lamented the situation in Bayelsa State where the electricity distribution company would only bring power when they wanted to collect bills and take it away shortly after customers had paid their bills.

He said, “Both the federal and state governments have failed us. If there was a public power supply, maybe these people wouldn’t have lost their lives in this circumstance.

“Seven able-bodied young men just died like that because of the failure of government. The most annoying thing is that tomorrow, the PHED officials will come with a ladder to disconnect the light that they are not supplying. How can people be spending their money on fuelling generators despite the current hardship in Nigeria even after paying bills?”

Another resident, Joy Reuben, said the neighbourhood woke up on Tuesday morning to witness the tragic incident and called on the state government to ensure that there was adequate power supply in the state so that the citizens would not be allowed to die in such circumstances again.

A Federal High Court sitting in Akure on Monday ordered the detention of the Oba-Elect of Araromi-Ekiti in Ijero Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Prince Babalola Adebomi.

The Oba-elect, Adebomi was arraigned at Federal High Court on Monday, over certificate forgery.

According to the charge sheet, Babalola, 48 was arraigned on two-count charge, bordering forging a certificate of University of Ibadan and presented same to University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti for job in 2008 and also forging his discharge certificate of National Youth Service Corps(NYSC) and presented same to the University Teaching Hospital for job.

The charges sheet NO:FHC/AK/16/2024 reads inter alia: “That you Babalola Babatunde on or about the 15th day of January, 2008 at the University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did make and uttered a forged University of Ibadan Result which you knew to be false and with intent that it may be used or acted upon as genuine by the University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti to offer you a job and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 1(2)(c) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act.

“That you Batalola Babatunde on or about the 15 day of January, 2008 at the University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did make and uttered a forged National Youth Service Corps Certificate which you knew to be false and with intent that it may be used or acted upon as genuine by the University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti to offer you a job and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 12 of the Miscellaneous Offences Act”.

However, Babalola pleaded not guilty to the charges while his attorney, Attah Paul said he had filed an application on notice and prayed the court to give the application hearing.

The prosection attorney, Itunun Osobu told the court that he was yet to read the issues raised by the Defendant’s attorney in his reply to the counter-affidavit he filed.

Osobu added that he would be presenting two witnesses before the court to prove the charges.

The Defendant’s attorney, therefore, prayed the court to release the Oba-Elect on bail, promising that he would not jump bail.

When asked if the defendant has any surety, Attah said Babalola has a younger brother who is a business man based in Akure, Ondo State capital, adding that the defendant’s in-law has a property in Akure and prayed the court to present the defendant to nearest police station pending the adjournment date.

In his ruling, Justice Owoeye ordered that the defendant, Babalola Babatunde be detained in Assistant Inspector General of Police’s office and adjourned the hearing till Thursday, May 23, 2024.