The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) has warned the federal government against signing any defence pact with either the French government or United States of America, saying such a pact will have adverse consequences on Nigeria.
National publicity secretary of the party, Ladipo Johnson, said any defence pact with either the French government or the United States may have disastrous implications for internal peace as well as the nation’s relationship with neighbouring countries, especially those in the Sahel region.
The NNPP said such reported defence pacts would not necessarily fulfil their stated objectives as similar pacts had failed in the past.
It reminded the government that countries like Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso recently expelled the French and American soldiers from their bases, adding that reports suggested they’re now lobbying to have a new military base in Nigeria, being at a geographically strategic location in the Gulf of Guinea.
The statement said further that the national chairman of the NNPP, Dr. Ajuji Ahmed, was compelled to commission an expert group of researchers to look into the matter due to the general alarm it engendered and the overriding calls for caution by many respected citizens and members of the Party from various parts of the country.
It said: “Going down memory lane, the NNPP stated that since the abrogation of the Anglo-Nigerian defence pact in the 1960’s, the country has resisted all attempts to recreate military bases in Nigeria and as such the current reported attempt must be subjected to rigorous debate and consensus from the generality of Nigerian citizens.
“The party drew attention to the need to maintain a cordial relationship with affected neighbouring countries like Niger and Mali, suggesting that any defence pact with either France or the United States could impact negatively on Nigeria’s existing regional relationships, aggravate already damaged bilateral relations, and thereby disrupt regional equilibrium and peace.
“Moreover, a new defence pact of this nature will likely compromise our national interest, sovereignty and independence as well as further worsen the current traumatic economic situation of our country.
“Indeed, contrary to justification, the defence pact in the Sahel failed to actually achieve the key objective of fighting terrorism in the region.
“Based on this, the NNPP is gravely concerned, as a patriotic Political Party with the long term interest of our nation at heart, to advice the federal government to have a hard-headed look at the complications inherent in signing any defence pact with the French or American governments.
“We have to be extremely cautious on this matter of defence pacts with both France and the United States.”
The Abia state command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has debunked rumours making rounds that an Archbishop of Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, Archbishop Uka Uka Osim and family members were kidnapped in the state.
Our correspondent reports that several social media and online media outlets in Abia reported over the weekend that the cleric Osim, along with his wife, Anne and son Roland, were abducted on May 1, 2024, along with three other clergymen in Abia State.
According to one of the reports, the Osim family and three other priests identified as Azuka Ochu, Moses Okafor, and Anderson Akwazie, were said to be traveling to Awka, Anambra State, for religious duties when armed men intercepted their vehicle at an unnamed location in the state.
The report further quoted one Bishop Denis Onuoha; the administrator of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star in Abia State to have confirmed the abduction of the Archbishop, his family and other clerics of the church.
The report which further quoted the Brotherhood administrator, said that he expressed deep concern over the safety of their priests and family members in the hands of their abductors.
“We are very worried, but we maintain faith in the Almighty Father whom they serve with utmost devotion. We believe He will guide them through this ordeal,” adding that Bishop Onuoha had urged security agencies in both Abia and Anambra States to prioritize the safe rescue of the Archbishop and his companions.
But the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Maureen Chinaka, in a statement on Sunday while reacting to the news making rounds in the state said: “The Abia State Police Command wishes to unequivocally refute misleading online reports alleging that gunmen on Wednesday, 01/05/2024, abducted an Archbishop of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, Uka Uka Osim, in Abia State.
“On Saturday 04/05/2024, some online reports had quoted one Bishop Dennis Onuoha of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, as having stated that Archbishop Osim, his wife, son, and three other priests of the religious group were kidnapped in Abia while on their way to Anambra State.
“Abia State Police Command has investigated the story, and contacted Bishop Dennis Onuoha, who denied stating that the incident occurred in Abia State.
“The Bishop confirmed that the kidnapping incident did not occur in Abia but rather in Awka, Anambra State, on Wednesday 1 May 2024.
“To this end, the Commissioner of Police, Abia State Command, CP Kenechukwu Onwuemelie urges the media, bloggers, and online reporters to always crosscheck their facts by contacting the appropriate authorities before rushing to post.
“The CP reiterated the Command’s unwavering commitment to ensuring that Abia State is safe for all and urges members of the public to go about their lawful businesses without fear.”
The family of Levi Opara, a 46-year-old from Ezedibia, Emekuku in Owerri North Council Area of Imo State, has requested the intervention of Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun and Governor Hope Uzodimma to expedite the arraignment of police officers implicated in their father’s alleged murder.
Speaking on behalf of her siblings, Iheoma Opara expressed concern over the prolonged delay in bringing the suspects to court, despite the IGP’s approval and order for their immediate arrest.
“We are worried that since the Inspector General of Police approved our petition and ordered the immediate arrest of all those involved in the murder, as the matter was ultimately transferred to Zone 9, Umuahia, but until now, they are still delaying the arraignment of the police officers and those involved in the said murder, giving room for interference, which is delaying the arraignment of those involved in the murder,” she said.
The family’s ordeal began with a family misunderstanding between Levi and his wife, Chioma Opara, which was escalated by a police informant, one Anthony Nneji, who involved the Tiger Base police in Imo.
Levi was arrested on October 15, 2023, and despite efforts to secure his release, he was found dead on October 18, 2023, with conflicting accounts of his final moments.
Since Levi’s burial on December 15, 2023, his family has been seeking justice, and they are now calling on the IGP and Governor Uzodimma to intervene and ensure that those responsible for his murder are held accountable.
“Currently, our family and the community are in total disarray and shocked at the wicked and gruesome manner in which my father was killed,” Iheoma added.
The family’s plea comes amidst concerns over police brutality and the need for accountability within the force.
The delay in arraigning the suspects has only added to their distress, and they hope that the authorities will take swift action to address their concerns
Anambra state governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has ordered the management of the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital (COOUTH), Amaku, to dispose all the abandoned corpses in the hospital.
The hospital was asked to conduct a mass burial for all the abandoned corpses in the hospital’s morgue between 2014 – 2023 in July 2024.
This was contained in a statement by the hospital through its public relations officer, Henrietta Agbai, and made available to reporters at the weekend
The statement quoted the Chief Medical Director of COOUTH, Josephat Akabuike, and the chairman of the medical advisory committee of the hospital, Dr Emmanuel Mba.
It was gathered that the hospital had become a dumping ground of all health emergencies in and around the state capital, especially in cases of road accidents and gunshot injuries, among other cases
The statement read: “His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has approved the disposal of abandoned corpses at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Coouth Amaku-Awka.
“To this end, the management wishes to inform the general public that COOUTH Amaku-Awka intends to conduct mass burials of the abandoned corpses in its mortuary from 2014 to December 2023.”
Agbai called on those whose relatives were missing to visit the hospital’s mortuary for possible identification and collection of such corpses within one month of the announcement.
The chairman of the House of Representatives committee on media and public affairs, Akintunde Rotimi, said that Nigeria now ranked as one of the most vulnerable countries in the area of climate change around the world.
Rotimi said this is evident in the several challenges the country faces including flooding, drought, food insecurity, erosion, extreme temperature, and even conflicts due to resource scarcity and struggle.
He was delivering a keynote address titled the role of the Nigerian media in reporting environmental and climate induced conflict at a world press freedom day training organised by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development with the support of Konrad Adenauer Shifting in Abuja.
He said that “in February, the country experienced an intensive heat wave that left many asking the question: “Did God open hell’s gate and leave us to roast?” But no, the gates of hell were not opened by God, but perhaps, by humans whose activities have made heat waves 10 times more likely in places like Nigeria and other countries around the equator.”
Drawing a nexus between climate chane and conflict, Rotimi said: “The heat wave is just one of the surface impacts that we feel and experience, but the problem runs deep. In different parts of the country, climate change is exacerbating the root causes of conflict.
“The constant move of herders southwards in search of greener pastures, the drying up of Lake Chad, the struggle amongst kinsmen in oil producing communities, have all degenerated into tensions, maiming, killing and uncountable fatalities.
“The nexus between climate change and conflicts in Nigeria is established in literature. For example, a 2023 Study showed that the increasing land surface temperature in Nigeria’s Mid-Benue Trough is increasing the fatalities linked to the conflicts between herders and farmers. The nexus is clear.
“As the earth gets warmer, its surface gets hotter and drier, leading to desertification which in turn reduces arable land, pasture and water bodies available to farmers, herders, fishermen and other land users.
“This makes conflict imminent and corroborates HomerDixon’s theory which postulates that “environmental change is at the forefront of scarcity which alters the society’s socio-political fabric, disrupts production and leads to violent conflict.”
“Similarly, flooding which is exacerbated by climate change is one of the most devastating and frequently occurring natural hazards that Nigeria faces.
“The 2022 Nigeria floods affected many parts of the country. From the Federal Government Data, the floods displaced over 1.4 million people, killed over 603 people, and injured more than 2,400 people. About 82,035 houses were damaged, and 332,327 hectares of land had also been affected.
“While Nigeria typically experiences seasonal flooding, this flood was the worst in the country since the 2012 floods. Climate change has been implicated as the main cause”.
He said further that “flooding worsens the humanitarian crisis in Nigeria. It leads to significant internal displacement of people and this increases the risk of violence and social tension in the receiving communities.
“It also leads to food crises and insecurity as small holder farmers which make up 80% of Nigeria’s cultivators are most affected. Maybe the temperatures would have been lower, the lands and rivers would not be drier and the floods would not consume us if we preserved most of our fauna. We probably would not have as much conflict too!
“According to the Global Forest Watch, Nigeria loses an average of 163,000 hectares of natural forest annually – causing the extinction of distinctive flora such as our symbolic national flower, the Costus Spectabili It is hypothesised that countries with high levels of deforestation are more likely to experience domestic armed conflict due to the aftermaths of drastic land use changes and resource depletion.”
On press freedom, he said the House was committed to working with the media to promote the preservation of freedom of expression and the press by reviewing of laws and practices that restrict press freedom and the ability of the media to carry out its constitutional role.
He said further that the House will world with the media to enhance good governance practices, transparency and accountability through media chats, public hearings, townhall meetings, etc., amongst others
He said the theme for the 2024 World Press Freedom day which is ‘A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the Face of the Environmental Crisis’ alludes to the critical role that journalists play in creating necessary awareness at a time the world is battling some of the worst impacts of climate change.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, has said that Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative [NHSRII] recently launched by President Bola Tinunu would improve quality health delivery for all Nigerians.
Pate said the NHSRI was anchored on a Sector-Wide Approach, which the president had mandated every actor within the Nigerian health system to adopt to a common template in an efforts to “developing and implementing initiatives to save lives, reduce physical and financial pain, and produce health for all Nigerians in an equitable and accessible way.”
The minister said this in at the Roundtable Discussion on Rethinking Malaria Elimination in Nigeria, in Abuja.
The Nation reports that the President launched the NHSRI in December 2023 as part of achieving the Renewed Hope Agenda for improved quality health outcomes for all Nigerians.
Pate said that Nigeria has not been able to eliminate malaria, 70 years since it began implementing programmes to eliminate the disease, due to “insufficient focus and commitment.”
He said twenty-four years after the African Summit on Roll Back Malaria in Abuja (popularly known as Abuja Declaration on Roll Back Malaria) Nigeria still bears 30 percent of the global burden, with an estimated annual 68 million cases and over 194,000 deaths from the disease.
The minister said that for Nigeria and African to eliminate malaria all critical stakeholders must “utilize newer evidence-based tools, quality data systems, strengthen collaborations, develop smarter financing models, and and new procurement modalities to suit our realities in Nigeria as well as the African continent.
He said: “We must reimagine the routine approaches that have so far defined our interventions over the recent years.
“Nigeria, African countries and the global malaria community must also reinvent approaches to address the constraints that prevent efficient delivery of existing effective key malaria control strategies and forthcoming innovations and tools. Tools for the control of the disease have evolved both in quantity and quality over the years.”
Pate said that despite the availability of new tools, commitment by countries towards the elimination of the disease could not be sustained as budgets for healthcare across countries on the continent dwindled over time, and only a few countries could achieve the Abuja targets.
According to him, several novel strategies and interventions have been deployed and scaled up in the Nigeria towards the elimination of malaria.
Some of these strategies, the minister said, include the introduction of artemisinin-based combination treatments as treatment, the Affordable Medicine Facility for Malaria (AMFm) to make antimalarial medicines available and affordable, training of community-oriented resource persons on recognizing and treating malaria.
He said: “Over 140 million have also been distributed since 2010 through campaigns and routine distribution to households.
“One of the latest interventions is the Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC), which protects children below the age of five years from malaria attacks, and this has been scaled up from the initial nine states in the Sahelian region at onset to cover 23 states across areas with seasonal rainfall in the country.”
This was according to a statement by the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters Abuja, Femi Babafemi on Sunday, May 5.
Babafemi said five members of the cartel were arrested in a two-week intelligence led operations in Lagos, Abia and Anambra states following the seizure of their illicit drug consignments at the NAHCO import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos.
He said the unravelling of the drug cartel started on Sunday 20th April when their cargo of four big suitcases arrived the NAHCO shed on an Air Peace airline flight from Johannesburg, South Africa.
Babafemi said after days of close monitoring and investigation, the first suspect, Umeh Chisom Peter was arrested on Wednesday 24th April after he showed up to pick two of the suitcases containing Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis owned by a Thailand based member of the syndicate, Obum Michael.
According to the statement, the consignment of four parcels was concealed in false bottoms of the two suitcases, while the four suitcases contain a total of 17.6 kilograms Loud and drug candies.
The NDLEA said another member of the syndicate, Chiwendu Uche Ugbe whose South Africa based husband, Aloytus Uche Ugbe sent some of the consignments, was traced to Anambra state where NDLEA officers arrested her on Saturday 27th April while attempting to collect the drug parcels sent to her by her husband.
Two other suspects: Onyejakor Francis Chimezie and Naaji Valentine Chukwukere, with links to the cartel were also arrested in parts of Lagos on Monday 29th April, the statement revealed.
Babafemi said their arrest led to another operation in Abia state where Mrs. Chinazo Osigwe was arrested when she was to pick up some of the parcels containing Loud and drug candies sent by her husband, Osigwe Chidiebere Anthony who is equally operating from South Africa.
The spokesman also said NDLEA operatives on stop and search operation along Abuja-Abaji highway on Wednesday 1st May intercepted a 40-ft gas tanker marked RBC 77XG and upon a thorough search discovered 511 jumbo sacks of cannabis sativa weighing 4,752kg concealed in the gas tank compartment of the truck.
He said the consignment was loaded into the tanker in Ondo state and meant to be delivered in Abuja for further distribution.
He disclosed that four suspects: Efe Abel Mikel, 39; Ebigide Cyril, 29; Ejechi Monday, 41; and Friday Benson Chukwudi, 39, have been arrested in connection with the seizure.
The statement reads: “While two suspects: Aminu Umar, 25, and Anas Umar, 22, were arrested with 207.1 kilograms of cannabis sativa in their house at Unguwan Rimi, Basawa, Samaru, Zaria, Kaduna state on Monday 29th April, Bashir Umar, 35, was nabbed at Ladanai, Hotoro area of Kano on Friday 3rd May with 194 bottles of codeine syrup.
“In Osun state, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday 1st May arrested an ex-convict, 51-year-old Suleiman Usman who is currently facing trial for another drug offence at the Federal High Court Osogbo. At the time of his latest arrest at Okinni town, Suleiman was found in possession of 4.4grams of Cocaine, 28.5kg of cannabis sativa, 20 tabs of rophynol weighing 6.2grams and 812 pills of tramadol.
“The following day, Thursday 2nd May, NDLEA operatives at Agbara checkpoint, Seme border, Badagry Lagos intercepted a Toyota camry car marked KJA 825 FT conveying 113 jumbo parcels of cannabis with a total weight of 64kg. The driver, Charles Amoni, 45, was promptly arrested.
“In Bauchi state, NDLEA operatives on patrol along Bauchi-Jos road on Monday 29th April arrested Clement Chukwuka, 39, with 595 bottles of codeine; 38,260 pills of opioids such as tramadol, rohypnol and diazepam, while another suspect, Friday Ibochi was nabbed at NDLEA check point, Aloma junction, Otukpa, Benue state onTuesday 30th April with 66 blocks of cannabis weighing 33kg. In the same vein, 42-year-old Ifeanyi Stanley was arrested with 12kg of same substance at Swali Jetty, Yenagoa, Bayelsa state.
“With the same vigour, the various commands of the Agency across the country continued with the War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, advocacy campaign in the past week. Some of them include: WADA sensitisation lecture for students and teachers of Ekimogun Community Grammar School, Bolorunduro, Ondo East LGA, Ondo state; students of Lafenwa High School (Senior), Abeokuta, Ogun state; students of Sky Brain International School, Enugu Ezike, Enugu state; intending Muslim pilgrims on dangers of illicit drug trafficking, Katsina state and WADA advocacy visit to Olobaoke of Oba Oke land, Oba Adam Iyiola Bamidele Yusuf and his chiefs, Osun state as well as WADA advocacy visit to Lagos state First Lady, Dr. Mrs. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu.
“While commending the officers and men of the MMIA, FCT, Kano, Kaduna, Osun, Seme, Bayelsa, Bauchi, and Benue Commands of the Agency for their outstanding feats in the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) equally applauded their counterparts in all the commands across the country for intensifying their WADA advocacy lectures.”
Five suspected kidnappers who abducted a pastor’s wife and two other persons have been arrested after their victims identified one of them.
The victims had escaped when the kidnappers slept off while taking them to their den.
It was gathered that the effect of hard drugs taken by the kidnappers made them to fall at sleep.
Names of the suspected kidnappers were given as Garuba Mumuni aged 27, Yusuf Tale aged 21, Kabiru Muhammed aged 16, Shaibu Umar and Adamu Mohammed aged 22.
Police said the suspects were arrested by men of the Ofosu Division after the victims identified one of them.
The police said: “A case of kidnapping was reported at Ofosu Division, that a pastor’s wife and a member were kidnapped in the church while the third victim was kidnapped while picking snails at the farm. The victims however escaped from their assailants at different dates after they had taken hard drugs and slept off.
“Through Intelligence, on the 1st of May, 2024, five amongst the six kidnappers were arrested by men of Ofosu division and have been identified by the victims as part of the gang that abducted them.
“On the 28th of March, 2024 at about 1800hrs, a case of Kidnapping was reported at Ifon Police Station, in which two people were abducted and a woman killed by suspected kidnappers.
“Police Detectives from the division in collaboration with local vigilantes arrested one Muhammad Bello, Muhammad Suraju and Suleiman Saliu.
One of the victims identified two of the suspects as part of the people who kidnapped him and collected the sum of ₦1,800,000 as ransom before he was released.”
Ondo police commissioner, Peter Abayomi, said the suspects would soon be charged to court.
A foundation member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Osita Okechukwu, has advised the organised labour to avoid economic consequences of the stagflation which N615,000 minimum wage they are demanding for will trigger off.
He gave the advice in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, May 5, while reacting to the new minimum wage being demanded by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC).
Instead of the N615,000 minimum wage demanded for by labour, Okechukwu, former Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON) appealed to labour to go for mortgage housing.
Arguing that “the amount is unrealistic”, Okechukwu cited Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, to avoid stagflation which will wipe out social welfare policies being put in place by the federal government.
He further said that the blatant refusal of some states to pay N30,000 and that the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) had frowned on 25 and 35 percent increase recently approved by the federal government.
“Whereas one agrees with the working people that the neoliberal policies like fuel subsidy removal is no doubt taking its toll on our living conditions; however unrealistic minimum wage is not a better deal than mortgage housing for all, one of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as the core take away from fuel subsidy removal quagmire. “Okechukwu retorted.
To avoid the dire economic consequences of the stagflation labour demand will trigger off, Okechukwu counseled that “labour’s collective bargaining should be mortgage housing for all, affordable health and education facilities and channeling of funds to mass transport infrastructure of CNG and Electric Vehicles, not unrealistic minimum wage difficult to implement under stagnated economy already at the lowest ebb of growth.”
The APC chieftain further said that experience and meaningful economic indicators gazette that N615,000 minimum wage will further debilitate the living conditions of workers, escalate gross unemployment, and reduce purchasing power parity of the same vulnerable working class, making nonsense of the Labour proposal.
The NLC president, Comrade Joe Ajaero in a statement on May 2, 2024, said it took the organised labour wide consultations to arrive at the N615,000 minimum wage family monthly upkeep as proposed.
Though Okechukwu agreed that the basket tabulation of monthly family upkeep proposed by the NLC is appetising, he urged labour to rejig their collective bargaining strategy to fire-up and compel President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to retool his mortgage housing program, which will better soften the prevailing economic hardship.
“It is my humble opinion, since necessity is the mother of invention that labour should instead of unrealistic minimum wage, demand as a matter of urgent national importance from President Tinubu; that a greater percentage of fuel subsidy removal accruals be utilised for mortgage housing which will benefit the greatest number of working people across federal, sub-national units, the formal and informal private sector.” Okechukwu submitted.
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At the interchange leading to the once posh Government Reservation Area (GRA), in Ikeja, Lagos, the traffic lights are constantly on the blink. Chaos rattles at the junction as motorists plying Maryland, the GRA and Airport Road jostle to outwit the lights and the eagle-eyed traffic wardens hunting for defaulters.
Amid the chaos, a group of enterprising Lagosians dart in and out of the traffic: frantic youths and the elderly seeking to eke a living. Ultimately, they engage in a “felony” that few dare to acknowledge openly.
“Come for your affidavit and police report,” they called out to me at my umpteenth visit. It is their customary chant to engage prospective clients.
Amid the bustle, a buxom lady approached me. Her name is Blessing, and for a fee, she offered to get me an affidavit, police report, a court seal, or any other “legal” documentation I might need.
From her perch at the Conoil Petrol Station, opposite the General Hospital, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Blessing led me back to her base in the premises of the Lagos State Police Command, Ikeja.
Situated directly opposite the Lagos High Court, Ikeja, the Police Command serves as a refuge and operational base to hundreds of hustlers juggling urgent requests for affidavits, police reports and other legal documentation by members of the public.
Blessing and cohorts claimed to work with certain judicial officers and police personnel to produce a series of fake documentation for unsuspecting public members.
They are the forgers of integrity, the architects of deceit, and their canvas is the very fabric of the legal system itself. They brazenly operate in front of the Lagos High Court, lining up the sidewalk that leads to the courthouse.
Despite successive reports of their activities, they persist in reckless abandon. Opposite the courthouse, they loiter and sit in the open, beckoning motorists and pedestrians plying the vicinity to patronise their services.
Inside the precincts of the Police Command, Blessing led me to an alley where she consulted with me in more explicit terms, offering to make me an affidavit/change of name, on behalf of my wife, at the rates of N3,000 and N5,000. An affidavit that would not be recorded in the court register will cost N3,000 while the one that would be documented with the court will cost N5,000, she said.
“The signature, stamp and court seal on both documents will be original. But only the one of N5,000 will be registered with the court,” said Blessing, adding that she had produced a lot of such affidavits for clients who needed to use them for bank transactions and processing of migration applications for relocation abroad.
Eventually, we settled for the N5,000 worth of affidavit, and I asked if we should wait for my wife to appear in person as the law requires the deponent to appear in person before the Commissioner for Oaths but she said that wasn’t necessary. “Just send me her picture. It doesn’t have to be an official passport photograph,” she said.
Thus I wrote the pseudonym, Morolake Abeni Bisoye, and an imaginary house address.
Forgers operating in the law’s precinct
Immediately after I paid her fee, Blessing led me to a shop – built like a makeshift business centre within the Lagos State Police Command. There, she instructed a typist to input my so-called wife’s details in an affidavit template stored on a computer in the shop.
With the details entered, Blessing printed the document on an A4 paper and told me she needed to go inside the Lagos High Court, to secure the signature, stamp and seal of the Commissioner for Oaths.
She refused to let me accompany her to the latter’s office.
Nonetheless I tailed her until she disappeared inside a backstreet in the Police Command.
About 20 minutes later, she returned with the affidavit bearing what looked like an official stamp and seal. With the transaction over, she urged me to patronise her and recommend more people to her.
According to her, she produces other legal documentation including marriage certificates, land titles, and dissolution of marriage certificates.
Court officers dismiss affidavit as a fake
To confirm her claims, I took the document to the office of the Acting Chief Registrar (ACR) of the Lagos High Court but even though he wasn’t on seat, officers in his department dismissed the affidavit as a fake one. “Everything about it from the stamp, and signature to the seal is fake,” said a senior officer with the department.
Likewise, the Chairman of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja chapter, Oluwaseyi Olawumi, declared, at first glimpse, that the affidavit was a fake one.
While it bears close semblance to three others, all fake, previously produced on March 7, 8 and 12 at the local councils in Amuwo Odofin, Ikotun-Egbeda and around the Lagos State Police Command, Area G Division in Ogba, Agege, respectively. Although they were all produced by touts in these areas, they all bore stamps, signatures and seals showing that the affidavits were produced at the Lagos High Court in Ikeja.
Interestingly, there are glaring discrepancies in the colour and quality of the court stamps, seals and signatures appended to each affidavit.
There is no gainsaying, fake affidavits and other legal documentation have become endemic and deeply rooted in our system, argued Olawumi. There are fake affidavits and documents everywhere, mostly at local governments, on the streets, gas stations and business centres. Banks, companies, organisations and even individuals who require affidavits do not know that what they have in their possession are fake affidavits and fake legal documents.
There are persons in some local governments and local council development areas in Lagos State who make affidavits for deponents where there is no Commissioner for Oaths. What they do once you approach them is to tell you to wait in a corner, and they would charge you even more than what is chargeable at court registries and other judicial designated centres where original affidavits are obtainable. They would now go to a hidden place, produce an affidavit (which unknown to you is fake) and hand over a counterfeit affidavit to you. These deponents would not have appeared to sign before the commissioner for Oaths (because there is no Commissioner for Oath anyway). These deponents also fail to attach their passports and other requirements that need to be met before a proper affidavit is executed. They just prepare the fake affidavit, apply a fake stamp and seal and give it to the unsuspecting individual(s) and they go and use it for whatever purpose they need it for.
The pricing often varies across courthouses and local councils in Lagos. It depends on the bargaining prowess of the client as the same tout may do the same affidavit for different clients at different prices.
Ganiyu, who touts his services around the local council in Festac, Amuwo Odofin, stated that he also produces fake marriage certificates. “If you wish for it to be registered, I will collect N450,000 but if you want an unregistered one, I will collect N230,000 from you,” he said.
A fake Dissolution of Marriage certificate will cost between N150,000 and N200,000 depending on who recommends you to the tout.
The true cost of an original affidavit
Further findings revealed that the cost of a real affidavit is significantly lower than the cost of a counterfeit one obtainable on the street.
Sulaiman Tella, a Lagos-based lawyer, stated that even though touts hovering around court premises and local councils charge between N3,000 and N7,000 for an affidavit, one can type his affidavit and take it to the office of the Commissioner of Oaths for validation at the meagre cost of N500.
In most cases when the prospective deponent asks people for directions to the office of the Commissioner for Oaths, they would most likely lie to you so that they can sign the affidavit for you and extort you.
To get an affidavit isn’t as cumbersome as it’s made up to be. At the Lagos State High Court in Igbosere, for instance, the prospective deponent may approach through the Tafawa Balawa Square (TBS)/Kings College route and go straight to the Commissioner of Oaths’ office in the courthouse. There, the document will be initialised, after which the deponent can take his affidavit to the cash office, where a flat rate of N500 will be charged. At payment, the court seal will be appended to the affidavit, which will then be taken back to the office of the Commissioner of Oaths who will sign and stamp the document.
What the law says
The relevant section of Nigeria’s federal 2011 Evidence Act that deals with affidavits (Articles 107-120) is clear about its provisions. In particular, Articles 108-111 of the Act state that: “Before an affidavit is used in the Court for any purpose, the original shall be filed in the court and the original or an office copy shall alone be recognised for any purpose in the court.”
Legal sources indicate that there are two categories of affidavits: those used in court proceedings and those used in non-court proceedings.
The most common types of affidavits available in Nigeria include Written Statements “which accompany processes used to initiate court proceedings in court in proof of a party’s case before the court; Affidavits of facts “in support of applications filed in court which by the Rules of the court(s) must accompany all motions;” Affidavits of facts “which are generally filed to bring facts to the attention of a court;”
Affidavits “verifying the loss of documents or other property;” Affidavits for a change of name; Sworn declaration of age in lieu of a birth certificate; and Affidavits “of good conduct.”
And pursuant to Article 10 of the Federal Oaths Act, the following persons are authorised to administer oaths and therefore issue affidavits under federal law in Nigeria: The Chief Justice of Nigeria; the Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria; the President and Justices of the Court of Appeal; the Judges of the Federal High Court; Notaries Public; and Commissioners for Oaths.
Commissioners for Oaths are officers of the court designated to administer oaths.
Verification of affidavits
According to an Assistant Superintendent with the Police Special Fraud Unit, the Police often rely on the “issuing authority to verify all documents,” including affidavits. Similarly, a Notary Public indicated that for affidavits sworn in the courts, the Assistant Chief Registrar of the court is “usually the authority to confirm the genuineness of any purported affidavit.” For affidavits sworn by notaries, the Notary Public who issued the affidavit can be contacted for confirmation of the genuineness of the document.
Further findings revealed that it is easy for forgers to replicate security features on an affidavit as it is almost impossible to determine the authenticity of a document via on-the-spot assessment.
An affidavit will carry the signature of the deponent, the signature of the Commissioner for Oaths/Notary that swore the document, and the seal/stamp of the court/Notary.
For court-issued affidavits, every court has its own rubber or plastic seal, and the Commissioner for Oaths will affix the seal of the court to the affidavit, and sign his name at the bottom of the affidavit.
The Notary Public-issued affidavits will carry the stamp of the notary that issued the affidavit and sometimes a seal and the name of the Notary Public. Also, a notary will usually put his seal bearing his name and Supreme Court enrolment number.
Judicial officers and other court officials are also required to keep a record or copy of affidavits deposed before them, as the authenticity of an affidavit is verified by checking the records of the authority that administered the affidavit.
Thus genuinely issued affidavits are usually properly documented and can be verified as the Commissioner for Oaths usually keeps a copy with the court registry. The only way that the court can determine the authenticity of an affidavit is to consult their records, according to legal experts.
In order to determine if an affidavit is genuine, the receipt number is confirmed in the court records, and the signature of the Commissioner of Oaths and the stamp on the receipt are verified.
There is no gainsaying a significant number of affidavits are procured by proxy, as established by The Nation’s findings at the Lagos High Court and Police Command, both in Ikeja, and across local councils in Amuwo Odofin, Ikotun, Idimu, Egbeda-Akowonjo, Ogba-Agege, to mention a few.
At all these locations, touts masquerading as court agents commit a series of fraudulent activities by producing fake affidavits, marriage certificates, Police Character Reports and other legal documentation featuring forged court seals, stamps and signatures.
These touts claim to work for highly influential court officials and police personnel as they charge exorbitant fees for documentation that significantly costs less to procure.
The court seal, according to lawyers and police personnel, does not establish an affidavit’s authenticity anymore as all fake ones also carry the seal and court staff involved in fraud will pocket a deponent’s money, forge the signatures of the Commissioner for Oaths and return the affidavit with “signatures and seal.
According to a Deputy Chief Court Registrar in Ogun State, the procedure to obtain an affidavit is as follows:
The deponent will state his name, in full, in a printed form. He must include his sex, tribe, address, religion and nationality. The applicant will depose to the information that he wants to state, which must be facts and not law. It must be duly signed before the Registrar or Commissioner for Oaths.
The Commissioner for Oaths must identify and confirm that the person swearing the oath is the actual deponent. The identification of the deponent is very important; it must be ascertained before the affidavit is commissioned.
The same source explains that the deponent is identified through personal identification documents such as a National Identity Card, National Driver’s License, International Passport, Voters Registration Card, and Passport photographs. Once the deponent is identified by the Registrar or Commissioner for Oaths, he obtains the requisite fees, issues a receipt, stamps the affidavit with the official stamp, he writes the receipt number on the stamp on the affidavit. The deponent is put on Oath and his document is later commissioned. The serial number of the receipt is quoted on the affidavit.
There is no standard form to be used for a Statement of Facts used in court, but a passport photograph is displayed on this type of affidavit.
For age declaration, the law stipulates that no declarant under the age of 50 years could swear to an affidavit personally. He or she is required to come along with an older person such as the mother, the father, an uncle or an elder brother, who would inform the commissioner about his knowledge of the time the declarant was born as well as provide other necessary data about such a person.
This provision of the law is daily circumvented as court commissioners sign declarations without following the stipulated procedure. This is also the case with other documentation in the court such as loss of items and change of name. The consequence of this is that anyone could simply falsify his or her age or any declaration and still get it signed in court.
But despite what the law stipulates as conditions for the issuance of affidavits, touts and court officials, daily circumvent the stipulations, and brazenly bend the rules, robbing the system of millions of revenues that should go into government coffers.
The NBA’s attempts to curtail the scourge
The NBA is doing a lot to curtail the excesses of forgers of court seals, stamps, signatures and other legal documentation, according to Olawumi. He said, “We have such matters in court and we have even arrested some persons in whose possession we found fake documents, court seals and even receipts. We have even arrested some persons parading themselves as lawyers and other impostors issuing fake affidavits and other documents. Their matters are in court.”
According to him, “You know as Nigerians we like things done the easy way and we like shortcuts. My number one advice is that if you need an affidavit you must go do it yourself, irrespective of your status. You need to appear before a Commissioner for Oaths or a Notary Public to depose to the affidavit yourself. You can’t just send someone to go get an affidavit for you. So many persons have been denied school admissions because of fake affidavits because once the school discovers they are sent out of the school while some have lost their jobs because of fake affidavits and when they come to us at the Secretariat to complain, and we ask them where they got the affidavit, they would say they met the person by the petrol station or outside the Court premises.
Stop giving your information to people by the roadside. Please note that if you do not appear before a Commissioner for Oaths or a Notary Public, with your passport photograph and append your signature before the affidavit is executed, then it is not a genuine affidavit.”
Learning the hard way…
Those who patronise touts eventually learn the hard way.
Rukayat Shonekan experienced a raw deal in the hands of such shady characters. In February 2024, Shonekan sounded the alarm after the United Kingdom (UK) consulate banned her for 10 years, over alleged forgery of a Police Character Certificate (PCC).
Shonekan recounted her ordeal at the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) annexe, Alagbon, Lagos, lamenting that a cybercafe operator whom she identified as Shina Obafemi, issued the forged certificate to her in Alagbon, very close to the FCID, last year.
She said, “I was issued the Police Character certificate in a cafe at Alagbon in September 2023. I paid N50, 000. I wasn’t lured; I believed I was in the right place because it was a police environment. I was directed to a person within the police station to assist me with the process.
“But the embassy said it was fake when I presented it in December 2023 and I was banned from entering the UK for 10 years. I informed the police, and upon investigation, they arrested those involved.”
The four suspects arrested were subsequently arrested. According to the FCID Public Relations Officer, ASP Mayegun Aminat, upon receiving a complaint by Shonekan bothering on the falsification of the Police Character Certificate, impersonation, forgery of signatures and official stamp and obtaining money under false pretence, the FCID Annex operatives took swift action which led to the arrest of Osinowo Obafemi, 35; Sebastine Olamide, 21; Shittu Babatunde, 25; and Bilal Yekeen, 25.
The investigating team searched 267, Igbosere Road, off Obalende Area Lagos Island, Lagos State and uncovered a plethora of fraudulent documents which included fake Police character certificates, seven medical reports issued from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH belonging to several individuals, 65 fake international driving permits,18 international driving license permit forms with different pictures belonging to different persons, one pack of both booklets of the traffic foreign vehicle regulation license among others.
“Further investigation confirmed the suspects’ involvement in the criminal racket involving the issuance of the fake police character certificate that led to the 10-year ban of Mrs Shonekan by the UK. They also admitted to issuing forged documents to several individuals,” said ASP Mayegun.
Attempts to get the reaction of the Lagos State Police Command, Ikeja, to the activities of forgers operating within the command proved abortive as SP Benjamin Hundeyin declined The Nation’s call and failed to respond to a written query at press time.
However, a police officer, pleading anonymity, stressed that the Police can’t be held accountable for the activities of the forgers. Most of them are freelancers who operate in rented shops on the fringes of the Command. Those shops are owned by private tenants who have nothing to do with the Police Command.
Offenders risk seven years of imprisonment
Under the Criminal Law of Lagos state, forgers of government seals are liable to a seven-year imprisonment term. Section 365 (3) states that: “If the thing forged purports to be, or is intended by the offender to be understood to be or to be used as any of the following things — the seal of a Court of record in Nigeria or any other country or the seal used at the Chambers of the Head of a Court or for stamping or sealing summons or orders; the offender commits a felony and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for seven (7) years.”
According to section 362 of the Criminal Law of Lagos state, a seal is said to be “counterfeit if it is made without lawful authority, and is in such a form as to resemble a genuine seal or mark, or in the case of a seal, in such a form as to be capable of producing impressions resembling those produced by a genuine seal.”
What has Lagos State done to curb the scourge?
Raphael John, a Client support officer at Cinfores Limited and the consultant for the Lagos State Court Management Information System (LaCoMiS) deployed to the Magistrate court, argued that LagosCoMiS has helped in mitigating affidavit forgery and other kinds of forgery in the judicial system.
LaCoMiS is an information management system that enables the State Judiciary and other relevant stakeholders to find a one-stop for all relevant administrative activities as it relates to the judicial arm of government in all the LGAs of the state.
“So, for affidavit, the system has made it difficult for affidavit forgery – every affidavit done on the platform has a unique Affidavit number and a QR scan code, which has made verifying affidavits very easy and convenient. Individuals or Institutions do not need to go to the court to verify affidavits, they just need to go to the URL (website) https://lagoscomis.lagosjudiciary.gov.ng/verification/ or scan the QR code on the affidavit to verify it.
If any of the security measures are promised, when it’s been verified, the affidavit won’t display on the portal, or if it’s a case of replacing an authentic affidavit code to a fake affidavit, when verifying it the original affiant affidavit that will display.
The system also covers the aspect of swearing before the Commissioner for Oaths – when an affidavit is being made online, it goes to the Commissioner for Oaths to vet, and schedule for a virtual swearing (if need be) before commissioning the affidavit,” said John.
Notwithstanding these measures, itinerant touts circumvent, daily, the rules and procedures of the court, to fleece unsuspecting applicants, by procuring fake affidavits for them. These transactions are conducted openly within the precincts of the Lagos High Court and the Lagos State Police Command in GRA, Ikeja.
There it is not unusual for persons to obtain affidavits by proxy, without being physically present, while touts claiming to represent judicial and non-judicial officers of the court, arrange and procure affidavits at exorbitant fees – often beyond the statutory charges.
The majority of deponents, across Lagos, do not always get to see the Commissioner for Oaths as affidavits, marriage certificates, police character certificates, and other legal documentation, are rampantly forged.
Stressing his organisation’s mission to end the scourge, Adeniyi Quadri, a lawyer and Chairman of the Task Force/Security Agencies Relations Committee (SARC) of the NBA, Ikeja Branch, lamented that aside from Court precincts and local government secretariats, the counterfeiting of court seals, stamps and signatures to produce fake legal documentation is rampant in locations close to end-users like the telecommunications companies and examination bodies including the West African Examination Council (WAEC).
The anomaly, he argued, strikes at the integrity of Court instruments, proceedings and processes. These activities pose a significant threat to the pursuit of justice and due process while limiting the earnings of legal professionals and making the performance of their duties arduous. In an embarrassing contrast to this, “the touts acting in cahoots with Court officials get preferential attention. They are availed a pride of place attention-wise at the Registries while legal professionals are subjected to sometimes excruciating delays as a result of touts jumping queues in the provision of these unauthorised “legal services,” said Quadri.
To remedy the situation the NBA has initiated a sensitisation and awareness campaign to educate unwary members of the public on the proper procedure as it concerns procurement of affidavits/documents from the Court and LaCoMiS has initiated similar sensitisation measures.
Against the backdrop of these efforts, touts like Blessing and Ganiyu will persist in their schemes thus fuelling a clandestine industry that thrives openly in police and court precincts.
In their grey market economy, a well-placed signature holds the power to alter destinies and a carefully crafted seal can open doors that were once firmly shut.
In the shadows of the Lagos State Police Command and High Court, for instance, peddlers of forged documents operate with a precision born of necessity, their actions driven by a primal urge to profit off a diverse clientele comprising criminal masterminds and unsuspecting victims.
However, the consequences of their actions reverberate far beyond the confines of their underworld. Innocent citizens fall victim to their schemes, facing wrongful accusations, loss of property, and even imprisonment.
And the judicial system’s integrity stays undermined, as forged documents flood the courts, blurring the lines between truth and fiction.
