Below The Headlines - 131
Are you familiar with Indomie fraud? And how does Zeus manage to earn $15/hr in Jos?
The lates chapter of The Whispering Class dropped this week. This one is about Audu Timtim and the butterfly effect that led to the fall of The Sokoto Caliphate.
Hope you’re enjoying the Easter break and this week’s selection does not spoil it for you.
Nigerian Media
Competition for DHL and the likes is coming from motor parks:
Nigerians are increasingly turning to motor parks as a cheaper and more accessible alternative for sending packages across the country. The shift, which has become more pronounced in recent months, is reshaping the way goods are moved between cities, with transport parks now handling more deliveries than passengers.
Unlike the conventional logistics firms, such as DHL, FedEx and GIG, motor parks offer a more flexible and affordable system that connects senders, drivers, storage handlers and motorcycle dispatch riders in a chain that ensures packages reach their destinations.
With fuel price high and conventional logistics firms charging more, the informal network of drivers, storage handlers and motorcycle dispatch riders has become the backbone of intercity logistics.
At Jabi Motor Park in Abuja, a fully loaded vehicle is no longer a sign that passengers are ready to go; it often means that it is packed with parcels.
From bags of cloths to live animals, drivers now move more goods than people as Nigerians increasingly turn to motor parks for faster and cheaper delivery.
Parcels wrapped in nylon or sacks sealed with tape and marked with phone numbers now compete for space with passengers. In some cases, they take over entire vehicles.
Weekend Trust findings show that many Nigerians are turning to commercial vehicle drivers at motor parks to send goods, citing lower cost and faster delivery despite the absence of formal tracking systems.
At Jabi Motor Park, a booking agent, Musa Ali, said the volume of parcels, locally referred to as waybills, has grown so much that they sometimes outweigh passenger traffic.
A strange and terrible story:
A 15-year-old boy, identified simply as Gift, has died from suspected complications arising from a drug overdose reportedly taken in an attempt to gain weight.
The Delta State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe, disclosed details of the incident in an interrogation video shared on X on Thursday.
According to him, the boy ingested multiple tablets of a drug identified as dexamethasone, which was allegedly given to him by his friend, Destiny Akpofure, who claimed it could make him gain weight.
He noted that Gift fell ill days after taking the medication and later died from the resulting complications.
Edafe wrote, “A very sad case of a 15-year-old who took sachets of dexamethasone tablets and swallowed several tablets at once.
“Asked why they were taking the drug, his friend, from whom he got it, said they were taking the drug to make them gain weight and eat more.
“The boy fell sick days later and was told by the suspect not to disclose that he had taken an overdose. He died four days later.”
Recounting events leading to the incident, Akpofure said he had obtained the drug from another friend at a party.
Speaking in Pidgin English, he explained that Gift had asked about the purpose of the drug, and he told him it could make a person sleep, eat more, and gain weight.
He added that the deceased requested to see the drug.
Akpofure said he had earlier taken some of the tablets himself before handing them over.
He said, “I collected the drug from a friend at a party. I asked him to introduce me to a medicine that would make me gain weight, and he gave me the drug, saying it would make me eat, sleep, and get fat. I took four tablets.
Baby price watch:
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons has secured the conviction of a couple for baby trafficking in Cross River State.
The convicts, Esther Ini Udo, 32, and Eyo Stephen Udo, 34, were sentenced by the Federal High Court sitting in Calabar to a total of 30 years’ imprisonment.
PUNCH Metro reports that each of the convicts is to serve 15 years in prison.
According to a statement issued by NAPTIP on Thursday, the couple was arraigned on a four-count charge bordering on the buying and selling of babies for exploitation, contrary to the provisions of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015.
The statement read, “Today, April 1, 2026, the Cross River State Command secured two convictions in FRN v. Esther Ini Udo & Eyo Stephen Udo, Charge No. FHC/CA/19C/2025.
“The convicts were charged with four counts bordering on the buying and selling of babies for exploitation, contrary to Sections 13(4)(a), (c) and (e), 21, and 27 of the TIPPEA Act, 2015.
“The first convict sold her newborn baby to one Oluchi Judith, who is at large, for the sum of N300,000 (Three Hundred Thousand Naira).
“Also, the two convicts bought a one-year-old baby boy for the sum of N150,000 (One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) from Blessing and Uduak (both convicts) and resold the baby to the same Oluchi Judith for the sum of N400,000 (Four Hundred Thousand Naira).”
What does one even say to this?
In apparent effort to cushion the effects of high cost of tomatoes, the average Nigerian family has returned to the long abandoned habit of buying boiled tomato mix.
Economy&Lifestyle findings revealed that the tomato mix is a combination of tomatoes, habanero pepper and onion blended to paste and boiled.
The paste is allowed to cool before being portioned in cellophanes sachets and sold within the ranges of N200 to N500.
Mrs. Ramota Abdul, a vegetable seller, said she had to include it to her business, as there is hardly electricity in their area for residents to use their electric blenders.
“For months now we had no light.
“The increase in the price of fuel has created a rise in the cost of blending things in the market.
“My vegetable business is crawling with bills piling up. So I saw the opportunity to introduce blended tomato mix paste for sale to make profit to foot my bills.
“At first I thought people wouldn’t patronize me but they did.
“At times I sell up to a basket of tomato paste mix in a day.
The violence is real but the security is fake:
The Nigerian military has disclosed that its troops arrested two people posing as security operatives and prevented fresh attacks in parts of Plateau State.
A statement signed by Captain Chinonso Polycarp Oteh, media information officer of the Joint Task Force Operation Enduring Peace, described the development as a major step toward restoring peace in the state.
“In a significant breakthrough aimed at restoring the desired peace in Plateau State, troops of Joint Task Force, Operation Enduring Peace, achieved remarkable success in the late hours of Thursday during a targeted operation at Dutse Uku in Jos North Local Government Area,” the statement said.
“At approximately 11:45 pm, vigilant troops responding to a distress call on sporadic shooting at Dutse Uku general area intercepted and apprehended two individuals masquerading as security operatives. These impostors, dressed in tactical black uniforms, were caught actively participating in the arson of residential properties and the orchestration of violence within the community,” the statement added.
It said further, “Those arrested are currently in custody, while two persons who sustained gunshot wounds were moved by troops to a medical facility for attention, and they are in a stable condition. This pivotal arrest serves as a direct rebuttal to recent allegations suggesting military complicity in the Jos North unrest, effectively proving that the atrocities previously attributed to official personnel are being committed by criminal elements using deceptive attire to sow discord and defame the Armed Forces.”
This is the first case of Indomie fraud we have covered here at BTH:
In another development, the EFCC on the same day arraigned one Ibrahim Mohammed Tungushe before Justice Kumaliya on charges related to alleged fraud involving N1.25 million.
One of the counts read: “That you, Ibrahim Mohammed Tungushe on or about November, 2025 in Maiduguri, Borno State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court dishonestly misappropriated and converted to your own use the aggregate sum of N 1,250,000.00 ( One Million Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) only, being proceeds from the sale of 100 cartons of indomie instant noodles, belonging to one Bukar Babakura which you received under the guise that you will supply same to your customers and make payments for it within 24 (twenty four) hours and thereby committed an offence contrary section 296 and punishable under section 297 of the Borno state penal code Law and other matter connected therewith (No. 3 Vol. 48 Law 2923) respectively.”
A strange story of a couple going through a divorce who are fighting over one of their 3 children:
The Family Court sitting in Calabar, Cross River State, yesterday, extended the interim custody of an eight-year-old boy to the state’s Ministry of Social Welfare, pending the determination of a dispute between his parents.
Justice Blessing Egwu gave the order during proceedings in a suit marked HC/FC/13/2026 involving a Deputy Registrar in the state’s judiciary, Edmund Ujong (applicant), and Ms Wofai Bassey Etim (respondent).
The dispute centres on the custody of the child, with both parents who have two other children together accusing each other of abducting the boy.
At the resumed hearing, each of the parties urged the court to grant them custody of the child.
However, the judge expressed displeasure with counsel to both parties for filing fresh motions on the eve of the hearing, a development the court said delayed proceedings and stalled progress towards a resolution.
[…]
The court further ordered that both parents be granted access to the child at least twice weekly, subject to conditions set by the Welfare Department, and adjourned till April 28, 2026, for continuation of trial.
Human beings are complicated beings with needs that can never be fully met:
“My husband used to cheat when we first started dating. I would suspect him and he would usually beg and beg and beg till I forgive him. Then we got married. My husband was cheating all through the first year, second year.
“In fact, every day we were fighting. Every day we were having an argument, from one argument to another. After we finished fighting, we would make up and everything would go smoothly.”
She admitted confronting other women involved, sometimes issuing threats.
“I remember calling the friend ladies, threatening them to leave my husband. I remember telling them to leave him or else I would post their pictures online. And they would insult me and I would insult them back.”
“All those things was what made our marriage sweet. It used to make me very, very happy. Our marriage was very, very interesting.”
The woman said her husband’s life changed after a spiritual encounter.
“But look, I don’t know what happened and how God encountered my husband or my husband encountered God. Now, my husband is a saint. To even cheat on me is a problem. Work will close, my husband will come back immediately.”
“I’ve asked him so many times if he’s going through midlife crisis. He will keep telling me that no, that he has found the purpose and he has known that there’s nothing out there again. And it is left for him to be faithful to his wife.”
She said the absence of conflict has made her marriage dull.
“I don’t know how to tell him to go back to the streets. I don’t know how to tell him to bring up all those things that used to make our marriage interesting. Now our marriage is just a one-way street. Very boring. Cook, sleep. Even to argue with me is a problem.”
“To me, I feel like every marriage needs a spark. Spark can be a cheating partner or an abusive partner or a violent husband. Something that just keeps the marriage going. Something that just makes it interesting. But my husband is boring.”
She also said she is unsure whether she should take drastic steps herself.
“Me now, I don’t know if I should start cheating on my husband to bring back the spark. But I know that many men don’t forgive cheating. And I don’t want to be caught cheating on him. Because I don’t want to go back to my parents’ house.”
Non-Nigerian Media
Who is Uar Bernard?
Uar Bernard (pronounced “ooh-are”) measured in earlier this week at the NFL’s HBCU showcase at 6-4 1/2, 306 pounds with 11-inch hands and almost 36-inch arms. Other people who have spent their lifetimes in football say Bernard looks like a Marvel creation. Bernard’s body fat: 6 percent. He vertical-jumped 39 inches and broad-jumped 10-10, which was 14 inches more than any other defensive tackle did at this year’s combine. His 40-yard dash: 4.63.
“Hands down, he is the most explosive athlete I’ve ever seen in my life,” Luallen told The Athletic. “He broad jumped 10-10, and it was effortless. At 306 pounds. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Longtime quarterback coach George Whitfield was helping lead the offensive positional drills at the HBCU showcase at the Washington Commanders facility. After his work was done, the defensive players took the field. Whitfield couldn’t take his eyes off Bernard. He’d never seen anyone like that, either.
“It’s like watching (Victor Wembanyama),” Whitfield said. “The numbers don’t even do him justice. He’s 6-5, 310, and he’s got 6 percent body fat on him. NBA players don’t have 6 percent body fat on them.”
[…]
Bernard has come a long way in three years. He grew up in a small village in Nigeria, where most people are farmers, he said. His father was a policeman but passed away when Bernard was 16.
He wanted to do something different from most people in his area. “I wanted to go into real estate,” he said. But after getting noticed while playing basketball and told by a coach he should try American football, Bernard attended several camps in Africa before getting selected for the NFL’s IPP program. In the past decade, the program has put numerous players on NFL rosters. Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata is the most notable IPP alum.
Not been a good couple of weeks for NIgerian dieticians:
A dietician has been struck off the UK register after using ChatGPT to give ‘textbook’ answers during a remote NHS job interview while she was in Nigeria.
Aiwanehi Aigbokhaevbo was caught using AI to provide real-time answers to impress interviewers during a video call for a job at an NHS hospital.
The registered dietician kept asking the interview panel to repeat the question, before ‘slowly and deliberately’ repeating the question back herself, in an effort to buy time until she had ‘model’ answers, a tribunal heard.
Nigeria-based Miss Aigbokhaevbo raised suspicions when she was spotted reading off a screen and managing to speak ‘very eloquently’ despite her considerable hesitation before answering.
One of the panel members subsequently put the interview questions into ChatGPT and noted significant similarities to the answers she had provided.
It was heard that the use of AI had been a particular problem with candidates from Nigeria applying for jobs.
Three different members of the panel suggested she was cheating both while answering questions in the interview and while completing a subsequent case study question.
Miss Aigbokhaevbo has now been struck off following a hearing at the Heath and Care Professions Tribunal Service (HCPTS).
The tribunal heard that she undertook the job interview for an oncology dietician role at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in March 2024.
The work of Tolù Adẹ̀kọ́:
In a world filled with cookie-cutter interiors, there is an element of comfort and joy in embracing spaces that skew from the norm, or so thinks Nigerian-born, London-based British interior designer Tolù Adẹ̀kọ́.
As the founding designer of multidisciplinary practice Adẹ̀kọ́ & Co., he is equally acquainted with imagining exclusive hospitality and gastronomy destinations that stand out for their moody atmosphere and artisanal flair, as he is used to dreaming up homes that reflect the breadth of experiences, passions, and stories that make up his clients’ universe.
I sat down with Tolù to understand why, in his own words, personality, not trends, is the hottest new thing in decor, and why today, the best designs — the ones that stick with us, standing the test of time — are those that not only look beautiful but capture the nature of those who inhabit them.
Electric vehicle assembly from kit in Lagos:
A growing number of Nigerian companies are turning to kit-based assembly to bring electric vehicles to market in Africa. Lagos-based Saglev Micromobility Nigeria recently partnered with Dongfeng Motor Corp., in Wuhan, China, to assemble 18-seat electric passenger vans from imported kits.
Kit-based assembly allows Nigerian firms to reduce costs, create jobs, and develop local technical expertise—key steps toward expanding EV access. Fully assembled and imported EVs face high tariffs that put them out of reach for many African consumers, whereas kit-based approaches make electric mobility more affordable today. Saglev’s initiative reflects a broader trend: CIG Motors, NEV Electric, and regional players in Côte D’Ivoire, Ghana, and Kenya are also leveraging imported kits to build local EV ecosystems, signaling that parts of West Africa are intent on catching up with global electrification efforts.
CIG Motors operates a kit-assembly plant in Lagos producing vehicles from Chinese automakers GAC Motor and Wuling Motors. These vehicles include the Wuling Bingo, a compact five-door electric hatchback, and the Hongguang Mini EV Macaron, a microcar with roughly 200 kilometers of range aimed at ride-share operators looking for ultralow-cost urban transport. NEV Electric focuses on electric buses and three-wheelers for urban transit and last-mile delivery.
Saglev’s CEO, Olu Faleye, emphasizes that Nigeria’s EV transition addresses both practical economic needs in addition to environmental goals. Beyond passenger transport, electric vehicles could help reduce one of Nigeria’s persistent agricultural challenges: postharvest spoilage. Nigeria loses an estimated 30 million to 40 million tonnes of food annually because of weak logistics and limited refrigeration infrastructure, according to the Organization for Technology Advancement of Cold Chain in West Africa.
Elizabeth Adeagbo has been found guilty of assault:
A toddler was grabbed like a ‘bag of rubbish’ by an ‘experienced’ nursery worker after the ‘happy-go-lucky’ child grabbed her trouser leg wanting her attention, a court heard.
Nursery worker Elizabeth Adeagbo, 29, was found guilty of assault by beating after a trial before magistrates.
The mother of the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said the incident meant she had ‘lost trust’ in leaving her child with others.
She said: ‘Leaving your children at nursery for the first time is a significant and emotional step. No family should have to fear that their child will come to harm. It’s shaken our confidence.
‘They’re looking after the youngest, most vulnerable children, what happened has made me so wary.
‘It’s vital that standards of care for children are upheld so that those entrusted with their care cannot be given free rein do what they see fit with our children.’
Sefton Magistrates’ Court heard the incident happened at a nursery on the Wirral, which also cannot be named.
The incident happened at around 9.30am on April 16, last year, when the ‘happy-go-lucky’ child grabbed her trouser leg, wanting her attention.
[…]
The teaching assistant, who moved to the UK from Nigeria, where she was a teacher, in 2023, then lifts the child by his left upper arm and carries him across the room. At the end of the CCTV clip she grabs him by both arms and lifts him up.
Adeagbo, who had a 17-month-old son at the time of the incident, said her intentions were to remove the ‘wet apron’ with her other arm, while carrying him.
Nigerian gig workers training robots in Nigeria:
When Zeus, a medical student living in a hilltop city in central Nigeria, returns to his studio apartment from a long day at the hospital, he turns on his ring light, straps his iPhone to his forehead, and starts recording himself. He raises his hands in front of him like a sleepwalker and puts a sheet on his bed. He moves slowly and carefully to make sure his hands stay within the camera frame.
Zeus is a data recorder for Micro1, a US company based in Palo Alto, California that collects real-world data to sell to robotics companies. As companies like Tesla, Figure AI, and Agility Robotics race to build humanoids—robots designed to resemble and move like humans in factories and homes—videos recorded by gig workers like Zeus are becoming the hottest new way to train them.
Micro1 has hired thousands of contract workers in more than 50 countries, including India, Nigeria, and Argentina, where swathes of tech-savvy young people are looking for jobs. They’re mounting iPhones on their heads and recording themselves folding laundry, washing dishes, and cooking. The job pays well by local standards and is boosting local economies, but it raises thorny questions around privacy and informed consent. And the work can be challenging at times—and weird.
Zeus found the job in November, when people started talking about it everywhere on LinkedIn and YouTube. “This would be a real nice opportunity to set a mark and give data that will be used to train robots in the future,” he thought.
Zeus is paid $15 an hour, which is good income in Nigeria’s strained economy with high unemployment rates. But as a bright-eyed student dreaming of becoming a doctor, he finds ironing his clothes for hours every day boring.
“I really [do] not like it so much,” he says. “I’m the kind of person that requires … a technical job that requires me to think.”
Zeus, and all the workers interviewed by MIT Technology Review, asked to be referred to only by pseudonyms because they were not authorized to talk about their work.
A tragedy in London:
A 14-year-old boy shot dead in south-east London has been named as Eghosa Ogbebor.
Officers received reports of a shooting on Lord Warwick Street, Woolwich, at about 15:40 BST on Thursday. The boy was treated by paramedics but died at the scene. His family has been informed, the Met said.
Two boys, aged 14 and 16, and an 18-year-old man have been arrested on suspicion of murder.
Detectives leading the inquiry have urged anyone with information about the incident to come forward as well as appealing for anyone who may have relevant CCTV or dashcam footage.
Customers sitting outside a nearby pub, The Greyhound, are said to have run inside in panic as they heard gunshots.
Pub worker Sofia Pereira said she heard someone fall on one of the bins on the pub’s patio at the time of the shooting.
Pereira said she then saw a teenager run through the patio towards Woolwich Church Street.
She said: “I just heard like a big ‘bang’, like a big, strong ‘boom’, which was obviously one of the kids, I think, jumping on the wall, through the bin, and then obviously the bin fell and broke, then he just ran off.”
She said about 10 customers who were on the patio ran inside “panicking”, adding the atmosphere in the pub was “very overwhelming”.
“Everyone got scared because they heard shooting and they could see one of the guys had a machete, or something like that.
“So everyone just ran inside, said ‘lock, lock all the doors and everything’, because obviously we didn’t know what was going on.”