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By Emmanuel Uti Ngozi Njoku, a Lagos-based trader, has accused a staff member of the Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) branch in Egbe, Lagos, of defrauding her under the guise of helping her. Njoku also accused the bank of shielding the employee whose name she did not know. She told FIJ that she went to the branch on March 18 to upgrade her account’s daily transfer limit. After she explained why she was there, a male staffer asked her to use the bank app. Seeing she could not use the app, Njoku said the staffer asked for her card and pin to help her set up an account on the app. He did it successfully, and she left for her house. But the following morning, I woke up to four debit alert messages totalling N600,000. What I saw surprised me, as nothing of the sort had happened before. I knew it had something to do with registering the app and with the man who helped me,” she told FIJ. I did not use the application to do any transactions after I left the bank. He told me the app would only work af...

The embattled former Commander, Intelligence Response Team, Abba Kyari, has rejected food offered him by the Nigerian Correctional Service after being remanded in prison custody on Monday. The suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, it was learnt, opted for the food prepared by his wife or other family members. Kyari, who is under prosecution for drug trafficking alongside four other policemen, was denied bail by the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency had in the charge before the court, accused Kyari and the other four officers of conspiracy, obstruction and dealing in cocaine worth 17.55kg. The trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwike, ordered the drug agency to transfer the defendants to prison custody, shortly after he denied them bail. The court held that the NDLEA placed sufficient materials before it to warrant the refusal of bail to Kyari and his co-defendants -Sunday Ubia, Simon Agirgba, and John Nuhu, who are former IRT members. Findings on ...

A suspected rapist standing trial before the Samuel Ilori Magistrate’s Court in the Agege area of Lagos State has escaped. PUNCH Metro gathered that the defendant was arraigned on Wednesday for allegedly raping a teenager. The court was said to have ordered his remand in prison custody. The suspect was being processed for remand when he reportedly fled the court premises. Efforts by warders to apprehend him were said to have failed. A credible source said, “The suspect was brought to court by the police and he was remanded. He had been taken to a holding cell by the police when it was discovered that he had not been properly processed. As the police and the prison warders were perfecting the arrangement, he used the opportunity to jump on a vehicle from where he scaled the court fence and escaped. A trader in the area, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the incident to our correspondent. She said, “I was there yesterday (Wednesday) when the incident happened. I saw security...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has alleged that some staff of A Bank defrauded the bank and its customers of N874 million within three days. The agency said this, on Wednesday, when it presented witnesses in an ongoing fraud case. The suspects in the trial are Olusegun Babasola, Abisola Ahmed, Uchechukwu Uma, and Jude Aphaeus, who are staff of the bank, They are being prosecuted for an alleged N874 million fraud before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos. They allegedly played roles in the hacking of the bank’s database and cloning of more than 22 ATM cards used to steal and divert to personal use about N874 million belonging to five corporate customers: American International Insurance Company Limited (AIICO); Interswitch; OVH Energy Marketing Ltd.; Fidelity Bank Sinking Fund Account and FSL Securities Ltd. They pleaded “not guilty” to the charges, which prompted the ongoing trial. At Wednesday’s proceedings, Peter Ige, a...

PRESIDENT BUHARI ATTENDS SPECIAL SESSION ON UNEP@50 IN KENYA Sequel to an invitation extended to him by his Kenyan counterpart, Uhuru Kenyatta, President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja Tuesday, 1st March to participate in the Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP@50), scheduled for 3rd – 4th March, 2022 in Nairobi, Kenya. The theme of the Special Session is "Strengthening UNEP For The Implementation Of The Environmental Dimension Of The 2030 Agenda For Sustainable Development.” According to the organisers of the event, "for 50 years, UNEP has coordinated a worldwide effort with Member States to address the world’s biggest environmental challenges. Member States are vital partners in formulating UNEP’s policy, implementing UNEP's programme and championing solutions to our shared environmental challenges. UNEP@50 is a time to reflect on the past and envision the future. It provides an opportunity to reinvigorate intern...