General
How CCTV Caused Dismissal Of 3 Lagos Policemen
By Ebitonye Akpodigha
The end of the road has come for three policemen in Lagos alleged to be terrorists to drug pushers and cyber-crime fraudsters in the Surulere area of the state.
According to New Telegraph, the three policemen followed a suspected fraudster into a banking hall to withdraw money from his account.
It was reported that the policemen, Sergeant Okechukwu Okpokwu, Sergeant Idemudia Monday and Corporal Bienonwu Richard, were all attached to Area C Police Command, Surulere, Lagos State.
Trouble started for the policemen after they sighted a car while on a ‘Stop and Search’ duty along Bode Thomas Street and accused the driver of being a fraudster.
Although the driver, who was in the car with a friend tried to deny the allegations, but a bank alert, which came into his phone while the argument was still on, belied his claims. Rather than arrest him, the policemen insisted they wanted a piece of the action.
They followed the suspect to the nearest First Bank branch in the area to withdraw some money. The policemen would have made away with the money, but for the Close Circuit Television (CCTV), in the banking hall which recorded the transaction. The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Fatai Owoseni, was said to have been furious with the policemen that he ordered for their arrest and orderly room trial.
They were subsequently later dismissed and charged with armed robbery. A police source said that the suspected fraudster was driving a Honda Accord car (End of Discussion), white in colour, when he was flagged down by the policemen. The policemen carried out a search of the car.
They accused the driver and his occupants of being cyber fraudsters, but they denied.
The policemen seized their phones and ATM cards.
The source said: “Unfortunately for the driver, at that precise moment, a bank alert entered his phone. The alert allegedly implicated them as being cyber fraudsters.
“The policemen were happy. They asked the suspects the meaning of such an alert. The suspects started begging. The policemen said they would collect N1m or arrest them.”
It was gathered that while this haggling with the suspects was going on, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), who was in charge of the team, sat in the police patrol van with the police driver, unaware that his men were making a deal that would change their lives. After haggling and begging, the policemen agreed to accept N350,000.
The driver told the policemen that he wouldn’t be able to withdraw N350, 000 with his ATM card. He said that he needed to go to bank to make withdrawal. One of the policemen, Okechukwu, said he would go with him.
The police source said: “Before leaving for the bank, Okechukwu went and changed from his uniform, into a mufti. He went to his team leader, the ASP, who was inside the patrol van, to tell him that he needed a few minutes break. All this while, he held unto the ATM cards and phones of the suspects.
“He didn’t want them to escape. He followed them to the nearest First bank branch there. The driver first used his ATM card to withdraw some money, but he couldn’t get up to N350, 000; he decided to cash the rest over the counter.
“Okechukwu followed him into the banking hall. After the driver collected the money, he handed it over to Okechukwu, but Okechukwu refused to collect it. He wanted to know if the money was complete. The suspect told him to count it. He proceeded to count it.”
Assured that the money was complete, Okechukwu handed the seized phones to the driver and his friend and went back to his duty post. When the driver got home, he narrated his experience to a friend.
The friend narrated it to a policeman stationed at police headquarters, Ikeja. The matter was taken to Owoseni. Owoseni ordered that the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), in charge of operations, should investigate the matter.
A radio message was sent that the policemen should report to the command.
When they walked into the DC’s office, they sighted the suspect and were shocked. The DC told the suspect to narrate his story. He did. The policemen said they had never set eyes on the suspect, let alone to have received N350, 000 from him. When the ASP heard the story, he was shocked.
He said he wasn’t aware of such an incident and didn’t know or recognise the suspect. The suspect told the DC that it was just the three policemen, Okechukwu, Monday and Richard that searched his car and later transacted with him. The suspect stressed that the ASP was inside the police van, with a police driver. The policemen still denied the allegation, insisting that the suspect fabricated lies against them.
The DC became infuriated and went to report the latest development to Owoseni.
The policemen were brought before Owoseni. Owoseni begged them to tell him the truth and bring out the money. Owoseni said if they told the truth and bring out the money; he would apologise to the suspect, hand over the money and forget the matter. But the policemen remained adamant in their denial.
The CP became confused and decided to question the suspect, turned complainant further. The driver stuck to his story. Determined to dig out the truth, Owoseni took over the investigation himself. He went to the bank and convinced the bank manager to play the bank’s CCTV recording.
Owoseni presented the recording to the policemen, but Okechukwu, even though he saw himself collecting and counting money in the screen, still said the image wasn’t him. Owoseni got angry. Owoseni ordered that the men should go on orderly room trial. It was during the trial that they owned up to their crime and brought out the money. The police source said: “While this was happening, the Area C Commander was not around.
The Acting Area Commander was called on the matter, and without thinking twice, started defending the men. He said they were innocent. The CCTV was played for him. The CP issued him query and later suspended him. The ASP and driver were pardoned.”
Last week Friday, their signal came out; the three of them were dismissed. The CP further instructed that they should be detained and charged to court for robbery.
“The CP said they held gun, followed someone into banking hall to collect money. He said it was robbery,” said the source.
He added: “There are allegations that Richard used to hunt suspected drug pushers and cyber fraudsters in Surulere and was always collecting money from them. It was also believed that he knows that particular suspect that led to his downfall. He was also described as a very rich man and terrorist to residents of Surulere. If they had brought out the money earlier, the CP would have pardoned them.”
https://newtelegraphonline.com/cctv-caused-dismissal-three-policemen/
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) has attributed the poor power supply facing a considerable number of Nigerians to inadequate gas supply to thermal power plants.
Business Post reports that epileptic power supply has plagued consumers in Lagos, Oyo, Abuja, and Osun, among others, this month, leading to worries. Also, some businesses have recorded losses due to the epileptic power supply in their areas.
In a statement posted on its X handle, NISO disclosed that average available generation on the national grid currently stands at about 4,300 megawatts (MW), with the low output primarily attributed to gas supply constraints.
The system operator noted that thermal power plants, which account for the dominant share of Nigeria’s electricity generation mix, require an estimated 1,629.75 million standard cubic feet (MMSCF) of gas per day to operate at optimal capacity. However, as of February 23, 2026, actual gas supply to the plants was approximately 692.00 MMSCF per day.
The available supply represents less than 43 per cent of the daily gas requirement, resulting in constrained generation output and reduced electricity allocation to Distribution Companies (DisCos).
NISO, which independently manages the nation’s electricity grid, explained that any disruption or limitation in gas supply directly affects available generation capacity and overall grid output, given the heavy reliance on thermal plants.
It added that when total system generation drops significantly, the operator is compelled to implement load shedding across the network while dispatching available energy in line with allocation percentages approved under the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) framework of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), to maintain grid stability and prevent system disturbances.
While expressing regret over the inconvenience to electricity consumers and market participants, NISO said it is working closely with relevant stakeholders to restore full energy allocation once gas supply improves and generation capacity returns to normal levels.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has re-arraigned former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), his wife, Mrs Asabe Bashir, and son, Mr Abdulaziz Malami, on money laundering charges.
They were brought before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja, following the re-assignment of the case to the new trial judge.
Upon resumed hearing, EFCC’s lawyer, Mr Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), informed the court that the matter was scheduled for defendants’ re-arraignment.
“The matter is coming before your lordship this morning for the very first time. I will be applying for the plea of the defendants to be taken,” he said.
Mr Okutepa equally applied that the sums listed in Counts 11 and 12 be corrected to read N325 million instead of N325 billion for Count 11, and N120 million instead of N120 billion for Count 12.
When it was not opposed by the defence lawyer, Mr Joseph Daudu (SAN), Justice Abdulmalik granted the oral application by Mr Okutepa.
The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the 16 counts preferred against them by the anti-graft agency bordering on money laundering.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu had, on February 12, withdrawn from the case shortly after the civil case filed by the EFCC was brought to him.
The case was formerly before Justice Emeka Nwite, who sat as a vacation judge during the Christmas/New Year break.
After the vacation period, the CJ reassigned the cases to Justice Egwuatu, who had now recused himself, before it was reassigned to Justice Abdulmalik.
The former AGF, his wife, and son were earlier arraigned before Justice Nwite on December 30, 2025.
While Malami and his son were remanded at Kuje Correctional Centre, Asabe was remanded at Suleja Correctional Centre before they were admitted to N500 million bail each, on January 7, with two sureties each in the like sum.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria will hold next year’s presidential and National Assembly elections a month earlier than planned, after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) revised the polling schedule.
The elections will be held on January 16, instead of the previously announced date of February 20, INEC said in an X post, signed by Mr Mohammed Kudu Haruna, National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee.
There were also changes to the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections initially fixed for Saturday, March 6 2027, in line with the Electoral Act, 2022, have now been moved to Saturday, February 6, 2027.
The electoral commission said the changes were caused by the enactment of the Electoral Act, 2026 and the repeal of the Electoral Act, 2022, which introduced adjustments to statutory timelines governing pre-election and electoral activities.
“The Commission reviewed and realigned the schedule to ensure compliance with the new legal framework,” it said.
INEC said party primaries (including resolution of disputes) will commence on April 23, 2026 and end on May 30, 2026, after which Presidential and National Assembly campaigns will begin on August 19, 2026, while Governorship and State Houses of Assembly campaigns will begin on September 9, 2026.
It noted that campaigns will end 24 hours before Election Day, and political parties have been advised to strictly adhere to the timelines.
INEC also stated it will enforce compliance with the law.
The electoral body also rescheduled the Osun Governorship election which was earlier scheduled for Saturday, August 8 2026, by a week to Saturday, August 15, 2026.
INEC noted that some activities regarding the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections have already been conducted, and the remaining activities will be implemented in accordance with the Electoral Act, 2026.
Speaking at a news briefing in Abuja two weeks ago, the chairman of INEC, Mr Joash Amupitan, expressed the readiness of the commission to conduct the polls next year.
The timetable issued by the organisation for the polls at the time came when the federal parliament had yet to transmit the amended electoral bill to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
Later that week, the Senate passed the electoral bill, reducing the notice of elections from 360 days to 180 days, while the transmission of results was mandated with a proviso.
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