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Man fakes kidnap, demands N50m ransom from parent

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The Delta State Police Command says its men have arrested suspected one self-kidnapper, Nelson Eserada, and his accomplice, Jerry Lawrence.

 

The Command’s Spokesperson, SP Bright Edafe, disclosed this on Thursday while speaking to PUNCH Metro in Asaba.

 

He said the suspect and his accomplice reached out to Eserada’s parent and demanded N50 million ransom.

 

He said, “Following complaints received from the father of one Nelson Eserada at Abraka Division that his son Nelson Eserada was kidnapped and that the kidnappers were demanding a ransom of N50 million in bitcoin.

 

“The suspect also sent a video of the supposed victim tied and being tortured. The DPO Abraka SP Fabian Ayameh swiftly moved into action and embarked on a technical intelligence-led investigation. On June 10, 2024, one Jerry Lawrence of Jeddo Community Warri was arrested in connection with the crime.

 

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect conspired with the said Nelson Eserada, a 400 Level Student of Banking & Finance Department of the Delta State University Abraka, and that the father had already paid the sum of N5.2 million ransom through a Bitcoin account belonging to the principal suspect Jerry Lawrence.”

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Edafe said the suspects are in custody and the investigation was ongoing.

 

He also added that eight suspected armed robbers terrorizing the Asaba metropolis have been arrested by the command.

 

The police spokesperson said the arrest followed complaints of house-to-house armed robbery incidents received from residents in Bonsaac, Okwe, and other areas in the Asaba metropolis.

 

“The Commissioner of Police CP Abaniwonda Olufemi deployed a new DPO to ‘B’ division Asaba with a clear mandate to identify, and arrest those responsible.

 

“Consequently, on May 8, 2024, the newly posted DPO CSP Edewor Akponegware received credible information from a concerned resident (name withheld) that he cited some suspicious-looking boys around the Mango Tree Market and that they were armed.

 

“The DPO immediately led patrol teams of the division to the scene and in the process the following suspects were arrested, John Dalami 25, Musa Suleiman 25, Abdullahi Jibril 20, Solomon Uchechukwu 24, Yusuf Joda 21, Egboka Chukwu Charles 21, and Wisdom Sylvester 21,” he said.

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Edafe said the search was conducted at the scene and a Bagco bag containing a locally made cut-to-size gun, and one live cartridge were recovered.

 

He said the suspects have confessed to being involved in a series of house-to-house armed robbery operations in Issele-Asagba, Coka, and Ibusa areas.

 

The spokesperson said acting on the confessions of the suspects, the special Anti-Kidnapping and Cybercrime squad led the operatives to their hideout at the back of DDPA estate Asaba where six additional suspects were arrested and three locally made cut-to-size guns were recovered.

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JUST IN: FG declares October 1 as public holiday

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The Federal Government has declared Tuesday, October 1, as a public holiday to commemorate Nigeria’s 64th independence anniversary.

Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, minister of interior, announced the holiday on Saturday in a statement by Magdalene Ajani, permanent secretary in the ministry.

The minister praised patient and hardworking Nigerians, adding that their sacrifices would not be in vain.

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Good Morning! Here Are Some Major News Headlines In The Newspapers Today: Bobrisky scandal: We won’t spare indicted officials –Minister

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1. The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Friday warned that officials of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) found culpable in the apartment-for-prison scandal involving notorious cross-dresser Idris Okuneye, a.k.a. Bobrisky, would not go unpunished. Tunji-Ojo, who spoke at a media briefing in Abuja to mark his one year in office, vowed that no personnel or officer of the Nigeria Correctional Service found involved in the ongoing probe would be spared.

 

2. Ahead of the resumption of flights to Nigeria by Emirates on October 1, the federal government has finalized an agreement with United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities to guarantee reciprocal rights for Nigerian airlines willing to start flying to any UAE cities, especially Dubai.

 

3. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday arrested a former governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku, over alleged fraud of N27 billion. He was reportedly picked up at his Abuja residence.

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4. President Bola Tinubu on Friday appointed seven executive directors for the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).

 

A press release signed by his media aide, Bayo Onanuga, said the president re-appointed Ayo Adewuyi as the Executive Director of News.

 

5. The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Friday justified the increase in passport fees, stating that the rise was only about 45 percent. According to him, the increase was driven by the exchange rate between the dollar and the naira.

 

6. Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court in Lagos State, on Friday, ordered the remand of four bloggers for allegedly cyberstalking and spreading false information aimed at insulting the Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Holding Company PLC, Segun Agbaje.

The bloggers, Precious Eze, Olawale Rotimi, Rowland Olonishu, and Seun Odunlami, were remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre.

 

7. The Lagos State Police Command has summoned four of its officers to account for their alleged involvement in the extortion of N1 million from some National Youth Service Corps members.

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In an X post, a user tweeting as #YemieFash, identified as Olúyẹmí Fásípè, revealed that the corps members were threatened by the officers and later taken to the Kafaru Oluwole Tinubu House, Area C Police Command, where they were “robbed.”

 

8. The Lagos State Wastewater Management Office has sealed off the Orchid Shopping Centre in the Eti-Osa area of the state over a threat to public health.

 

This was disclosed in a statement shared on X.com by the state Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, on Friday.

 

9. The House of Representatives has summoned the EFCC Chairman, the Nigerian Correctional Service Comptroller General, Bobrisky, VeryDarkMan, and all officers involved in the prosecution of Bobrisky.

 

This was contained in a letter written by the Lead Chairman of the joint committee, Jon Ginger Onwusibe, to parties on Friday over the disturbing allegations of corruption against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigeria Correctional Service.

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10. A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize Chief Olusola Ebiseni and Dayo Awude as the governorship and deputy governorship candidates of the Labour Party (LP) for the November 16 governorship election.

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CBN extends suspension of processing fees on deposits to March 2025

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has extended the suspension of processing fees on cash deposits for six months.

 

The development comes six days before the suspension date initially fixed, expires.

 

On May 1, banks resumed the collection of processing fees on cash deposits.

 

Six days later, CBN suspended charges on the deposits until September 30.

 

However, in a circular directed to all banks, other financial institutions and non-financial institutions, dated September 24, 2024, and signed by Adetona Adedeji, CBN’s director of banking supervision, the apex bank extended the date to March 31, 2025.

 

“Further to our letter dated May 6, 2024, referenced BSD/DIR/PUB/LAB/016/023, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) hereby extends the suspension of processing charges on cash deposits above N500,000 for individuals and N3,000,000 for corporates,” the apex bank said.

 

“The previous suspension, set to expire on September 30, 2024, has now been extended until March 31, 2025.

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“This suspension pertains to the 2% and 3% fees outlined in the ‘Guide to Charges by Banks, Other Financial Institutions and Non-Bank Financial Institutions, issued on December 20, 2019.”

 

CBN asked all financial institutions to continue accepting cash deposits from the public without any charges during the period.

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