Below The Headlines - 135
Why Oba Fabiyi is now King-ing 4hrs away from his kingdom and Afrobeats competition from Korea
This week I wrote the latest chapter of The Whispering Class about the Itsekiri chief, Dore Numa. Who was he and how did he translate himself into power? Election season has kicked into full gear in Nigeria (sigh). Tobi tried to step back from the ‘excitement’ and take a sober view on what is really at stake in next year’s elections.
We have been able to get a few more tickets made available for Frontiers Matters Live in Lagos with Funsho Doherty on May 11th. Tickets cost N50,000 each but you get a N25,000 food voucher from the venue included in that. Get your tickets HERE.
The regular podcast should return with a guest next week.
This newsletter may or may not get to your inboxes for the next 2 weeks.
Enjoy the week’s selection below and see you in a few weeks, maybe.
Nigerian Media
If you have cash to spare, invest in Vigilante services. It is a booming business. Don’t say this newsletter does not give you business tips:
For residents of Tungan -Maje, Pegi, Abattoir extension, which cuts across Abaji, Kuje and Gwagwalada Area Councils of the territory who have suffered various kinds of crimes, especially kidnapping in the past, making local internal security arrangements remained the alternative means of safeguarding their homes and property.
In the same vein, residents of Unguwar Idris, Unguwar Toka, Ungwan Sarki and New site in Tungan -Maje community in Gwagwalada Area Council of the territory said they pay heavily to engage the services of vigilante groups to provide security in their areas.
Mrs Patience Malachy, a resident of Unguwar Toka, in Tungan -Maje, said that due to rising insecurity in the area, they were forced to organise a meeting and resolved to contribute N2, 000 monthly per tenant in order to engage vigilantes to safeguard their houses.
She noted that prior to coming up with the local security arrangement, some miscreants usually invaded homes to steal valuables when people have left for work.
She said when the trend continued unabated residents of the area decided to come up with the idea of contributing money to engage the services of local vigilantes.
Malachy, said while it wasn’t easy for them to make such a contribution, the initiative had helped in reducing the rate of insecurity in the area.
She said for over two years, there has been no case of kidnapping around the area because of the vigilantes’ effort who are always on ground day and night.
A resident of an estate in Pegi community in Kuje area council of the FCT, Kolawale Benjamin, lamented how hoodlums always invaded the estate, especially after tenants have left for work, a development which forced them to engage services of local vigilantes.
He said each tenant pays N1,500 monthly for vigilante service in the area.
“Before now, there’s a provision shop where my wife sold things in front of the estate. Any time she closes, hoodlums come overnight to burgle the place. Until when we decided to come up with the initiative of engaging the services of the vigilantes before they stopped”, she said.
Are we going to blame hunger for this one?
Consequently, the Archbishop directed that the Blessed Sacrament must never be left unattended during exposition.
The letter partly read, “It is with great sadness that we inform you of the desecration of the Chapel of Adoration of St Mulumba Parish, Wetheral Road, Owerri.
“As reported by the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr Raymond Madu, unknown persons opened parts of the roof, gained access through the ceiling, and made away with the monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament.
“It is alleged that this incident occurred during rainfall in the early hours of Wednesday, April 29, 2026. Following this act of irreverence, the Archbishop, His Grace, Most Rev. Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, hereby directs all parishioners of St Mulumba Parish, Owerri, to observe a one-week prayer of reparation from Friday, May 1 to Friday, May 8, 2026, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily.
“All priests in the Owerri Archdiocese are reminded to strictly adhere to the norms and directives regarding the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and adoration to avoid any recurrence.
“We emphasise that exposition is to take place only when a fitting attendance of the faithful is assured (cf. Can. 942). The Blessed Sacrament must never be left unattended during exposition.”
How Rabiu Shuaibu went from Almajiri to entrepreneur:
He was born into a modest family in Kebbi State, the second of six children: three boys and three girls.
In a household where Western education was neither a priority nor a shared dream, Rabiu stood
alone, nursing a quiet but stubborn desire to go to school.
His parents did not believe in that ambition. For them, the path was clear: the Almajiri system.
At a tender age, he was sent far from home to Minna for Islamic education. It was meant to shape his future.
But Rabiu, even as a boy, knew he wanted more: Western education! There was no financial support, no encouragement, no safety net but there was resolve. He refused to be broken by neglect.
Instead, he chose defiance,not loud or con frontational, but steady, deliberate, and deeply personal. Out of sheer determination,
Rabiu wangled his way into acquiring elementary education in Minna. It was a fragile start, but it lit a fire he would not allow to die.
Not satisfied, he proceeded to a secondary school in Minna, but like many dreams built on thin air, his ambition soon hit a wall.
At the Junior Secondary School level, the journey came to an abrupt halt: no money, no support, no way forward.
Where many would have surrendered, Rabiu pivoted. He turned to the streets, not to beg, but to learn. He became a cobbler.
Today, with just one machine, his hands produce sandals of various sizes, elegant hand bags, and purses that rival imported goods, each piece a proof of resilience shaped by hardship.
Interesting data point on cow valuations here. I did not know things had gone this far?
Operatives of SWAT, Ogun State Police Command, on Thursday arrested two suspects for theft and recovered a stolen cow valued at N1.7 million.
The suspects, Muhammed Monsur and Olaseinde Olatunji, who are part of a four-man gang, allegedly invaded a dairy farm located at Omitoro, via Coker in the Ifo/Ibogun axis of the state at about 2:30 a.m and rustled the cow.
According to a statement made available to DAILY POST by the police spokesperson, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, the arrest was made following a distress call.
Babaseyi stated that upon receiving the call, operatives of SWAT acted swiftly and mobilised to the scene where the suspects were nabbed while attempting to flee the farm in a mini bus popularly known as ‘Korope’.
He noted that the cow, a knife and their operational vehicle used in the commission of the crime was also recovered.
Oba Fabiyi is on self-imposed exile from his community:
Olowa of Owa Onire, in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, Oba AbdulRahman Fabiyi, currently hibernates in the outskirt of Ilorin, Kwara State capital.
One is likely to miss Oba Fabiyi’s royalty based on where he currently resides, which is about four hours journey from his kingdom. In fact, none of the passers-by who greeted us recognised him.
Interviewing him was also tedious and stressful because the interview was conducted with both of us sitting on a pavement under the scorching sun, in the downside of a bad road.
The monarch was already sitted on the pavement while giving directions to Vanguard correspondent.
When I arrived, he asked me to sit down beside him under the sun. It was obvious he didn’t want me to know where exactly he resides among the surrounding old bungalows.
The Olowa of Owa-Onire in Ifelodun local government area of Kwara state, Oba AbdulRahman Fabiyi, in this interview said, among others, that he won’t return to the palace until government provide security in his community.
Speaking with Vanguard correspondent, the monarch said he abandoned the palace since January 1, 2026, day after terrorists attacked him in his palace.
According to the monarch, “Eight terrorists broke the gates and doors of my palace on December 31, 2025. They collected my phone and that of my Olori and some money I had with me at gunpoint. But they didn’t order me to follow them. Though they later went away with two of my palace aides.
“Though I remember they kidnapped me about a year earlier when they took my Jeep away. I spent about seven days with them until I was released after my community paid them N5 million.
“I guess that was why they didn’t ask me to follow them at gunpoint on December 31, 2025. But they eventually went away with two of my palace aides.”
Not to rain on Opay’s IPO parade (see below) or anything:
Jennifer Ogbodo, the owner of ‘Ody-Best Point Collections N More’, a Point-Of-Sale (POS) business, mistakenly sent N150,000 to Olamilekan Abdulkareem, an OPay customer, on April 17. Immediately after she noticed, she called Abdulkareem to resend the money, and he promised to do so.
Ogbodo told FIJ that since then, Olamilekan has only returned N80,000 and has blocked everyone who has contacted him to return the balance.
Apologies if this story lowers the tone of what is a very serious newsletter, but we try to cover all important stories without discrimination or snobbishness:
Popular social media personality and herbal products vendor, Eniola Fagbemi, popularly known as Sisi Alagbo, has apologised following a viral video involving herself, her husband Adesola Hakeem, and another woman.
The intimte video, which surfaced online on Monday, has sparked widespread reactions on social media, with many expressing disappointment while others questioned the circumstances surrounding it.
In a post shared via her verified Facebook page on Wednesday, Fagbemi expressed remorse and opened up about the emotional toll the controversy has taken on her.
“I own my mistakes, and I apologise with all sincerity for the video circulating online. I am deeply sorry to everyone who felt disappointed in me.
“This is a great phase for me, and I pray for God’s forgiveness and my fans’ forgiveness. Please let’s move on past this because this media is where I get little support to feed, pls don’t condemn me or castigate me am already passing through a lot,
‘I can’t eat or sleep for days, even sleeping meds aren’t working for me anymore, I am deeply sorry, everyone. Please forgive me, I don’t want to injure myself, it’s only the little strength I have.”
Fagbemi, who rose to prominence for promoting herbal remedies and her grandmother’s business locally and internationally, including in China and Qatar, has built a significant online following of nearly 400,000 followers on Facebook.
Non-Nigerian Media
One of the “biggest” ones we have covered in this newsletter. Hopefully the key to where they are locked up goes missing:
After a four-day trial, a federal jury found two men and a woman guilty of involvement with an international email hacking scheme that defrauded more than 1,000 victims out of approximately $215 million. The scheme spanned 47 states and 19 countries.
On April 24, 2026, a jury in Toledo, Ohio, convicted Oluwafemi Michael Awoyemi, 40, of Romeoville, Illinois, Aruan Drake, 37, of Atlanta, Georgia, and Peter Reed, 35, of Oak Forest, Illinois, of Wire Fraud Conspiracy. Additionally, Awoyemi and Drake were convicted of a Money Laundering Conspiracy. U.S. District Judge James R. Knepp II presided over the trial.
In total, 25 defendants have been convicted for their roles in this fraud and money laundering scheme, commonly referred to as a “business email compromise.”
According to court documents and evidence presented in court, individuals, businesses, and other organizations in the United States, were targeted and hacked by Nigerian-linked fraud organizations. Their objective was to gain access to e-mail accounts held by individual users. The co-conspirators would then monitor the communications, and other activities of the individual email users to learn about their business practices and contacts. After gaining sufficient intelligence about the nature of a hacking victim’s activities, the co-conspirators would send a fraudulent e-mail to either the hacking victim, or to someone communicating with the hacking victim, requesting payment. Because the co-conspirators were familiar with the victims’ activities, the fraudulent e-mails were crafted in a way to convince recipients that the request for payment was for legitimate business activities. Once members of the conspiracy obtained payment from victims, conspiracy members used a web of fraudulently created bank accounts and cash transfer systems to launder and distribute the funds.
United States Attorney’s Office
Nigerians in limbo caught by the partial US travel ban:
Loss of opportunity is a common theme. M, who lives in Virginia and is from Nigeria, first came to the U.S. in 2011 for her undergraduate and master’s degrees. She then pursued her medical degree and last month got into, or matched, with a surgery residency program in Oregon. But because of the hold, her visas and work permit processing are frozen. That means she may not be able to start her residency at all.
“I cried so much the day after my match, because I was overwhelmed with the fact that I worked so hard to get to this point. And I look around me and all my classmates are celebrating because they are celebrating with certainty,” M said. She said her work permit had been pending for a month by the time matches for residency were announced.
“I had so much anxiety and uncertainty around me that, yes, I did take the pictures and I was very happy to match,” she said. “But just because of my place of birth and my citizenship — that’s taking it away from me.”
Some immigrants said they paid up to $3,000 for what the USCIS calls premium processing, meaning their renewals and transfers should be decided in a matter of weeks, not months. No matter the payment, everyone from the list of travel ban countries have been left waiting.
“I really cannot move on with my life. And I really cannot contribute to the United States because I am from Nigeria,” said P, who lives in Texas. He came to the U.S. in 2023 and graduated with an engineering masters degree in December. He said he had to turn down multiple job offers because his work permit cannot be processed. “I barely can feed [myself]. I barely can pay bills. It is overwhelming and sad.”
Meanwhile over in Switzerland:
Suspected members of the Nigerian-linked Black Axe crime gang have been arrested in Switzerland accused of involvement in romance scams and cyberfraud, Europol said on Tuesday.
Black Axe grew out of a student fraternity in the late 1970s called the Neo Black Movement of Africa, and it has since evolved into a structured, violent criminal organisation often dealing in financial cybercrime.
“The suspects are accused of numerous crimes. This includes romance scams and other cyberfraud offences causing millions of Swiss francs in damages, as well as money laundering,” said Europol, which is headquartered in The Hague, in a statement.
The pan-European police body said 10 people - most of whom are of Nigerian origin - had been arrested in the operation that also involved German police.
OPay goes to the stock market:
Opay Digital Services Ltd. is working with Citigroup Inc., Deutsche Bank AG, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. as the Nigeria-focused payments platform prepares for an initial public offering, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The SoftBank Group Corp.-backed company is planning to list in the US and is seeking a valuation of about $4 billion, said the people, who asked to not to be identified as the information is still private. The company may sell the shares later this year, they said.
Foreign media coverage of the never ending war on fake drugs in Nigeria:
Across Nigeria, flames are consuming towering piles of seized drugs – but not cannabis or heroin.
Hidden in warehouses are millions of doses of counterfeit and substandard medicines, now being burned in highly visible operations that have become the hallmark of an intensifying government crackdown.
In one of the largest raids, officials in Lagos seized 10 million doses of fake and banned drugs in February.
“What we seized from that warehouse alone could kill three million Nigerians if it reached the markets,” said Martins Iluyomade, director of investigations at Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control.
Such raids – and the resulting bonfires – are being repeated nationwide as authorities target a trade blamed for thousands of deaths.
The approach, experts say, could offer a blueprint for other developing countries grappling with the global crisis of falsified and substandard medicines.
“Nigeria is regarded as a model for the global south,” said Dr Harparkash Kaur, director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s bioanalytical facility and lead investigator into the university’s drug quality project. “Their regulator has been doing a brilliant job… they’ve gone from strength to strength.”
In the last year alone, NAFDAC has conducted six large-scale raids of open-air markets, seizing millions of doses.
Janice Okoh’s debut novel is getting good reviews:
Fans of atmospheric thrillers won’t want to miss Janice Okoh’s debut novel.
Girl Number 8 promises “Tana French–level atmosphere meets the cultural resonance of Black Cake and The Girl with the Louding Voice,” according to an press release shared with PEOPLE.
“It means so much to me to share this book with you,” Okoh tells PEOPLE in an exclusive statement. “I began writing it when I was partway through my 10-year infertility journey and found it cathartic to explore my feelings around motherhood and to discuss it in all its forms through a story about a missing girl.”
Set in Nigeria, where Okoh’s family is from, the book “pairs a propulsive investigation with rich cultural insight and emotional depth,” per the press release.
The novel follows fictional Detective Sola Adeyemi of Nigeria’s real-life Department of Ritualistic Murders and Human Sacrifice as she investigates the disappearance of a 4-year-old girl, who vanished from the home of a powerful politician.
“I love writing about older female characters and can’t wait for you to meet 50-year-old cop Sola Adeyemi,” Okoh says of her lead character. “She’s the badass I’d love to be and she’s menopausal, too!”
The Guardian review Iyabo Ojo’s new movie, The Return of Arinzo. 3 stars out of 5:
This Nigerian thriller unfolds mostly in the bustling city of Lagos but it makes excursions to Ghana and Tanzania and casts actors from all three countries, making for a diverse, textured tale that is thoroughly entertaining. That said, there are still plenty of imperfections, especially in the editing, and the acting ranges from professional and polished to amateur and awkward, so it’s a bit of a bumpy ride. Still, it is yet more evidence that the increasingly well-financed Nollywood industry can hold its own internationally, and grow audiences beyond Africa.
Even if a male character’s run for president is a major engine of the story, this is very much a female-centric film, encompassing women across several generations in an assortment of configurations, often far from harmonious. That comes across very clearly in an early scene in which we see bossy matriarch Aisha Williams (Mercy Aigbe), wife of aspiring politician Marcus Williams (William Benson), having a screaming match with her sister-in-law as members of the household look on aghast. A complicated character to say the least, Aisha can turn on the charm when she needs to, for example when her son, aspiring actor Mandla (Enioluwa Adeoluwa), brings home his fiancee Simisola (Prisca Lyimo) to meet the family. But as soon as Aisha meets Simisola’s aunt Bridget (Bimbo Akintola), a devout preacher, the hospitality spigot is abruptly turned off. By degrees, we learn that there’s a long history between the two older women who are connected through familiarity with Simisola’s birth mother Arinzo (played by director Iyabo Ojo) who everyone thought had died years ago.
While the storytelling is jittery and slapdash in places, the cinematography is stylish and crisp, full of umbral shadows and backlighting that add to the noir feel. And while the story is about particular families who hate each other, there is a strong sense of the wider social context through the many crowd scenes in the streets and in church, complete with drone shots that bolster the sense of place.
What’s in store for Uar Bernard and how do the Eagles plan to use him?
The Philadelphia Eagles are giving Uar Bernard a chance.
The supreme athlete from Nigeria is part of the NFL’s International Pathway Program, and the Eagles made him a seventh-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Bernard has never actually played football, only learning the game through the pre-draft process.
But he’s so athletically impressive that Philly believes he can become a contributing NFL player.
“It’s a dream come true for me because I’ve worked hard for this,” Bernard said after being selected. “I’ve not played football, but I’ve gone through some drills that made me believe that I’m going to get better every day. I thank God for everything. I thank God for life. I thank God for the opportunities given to me to be drafted by the Eagles.”
The reality is that it could be a long journey for Bernard, but it starts at rookie minicamp.
That’ll be his first chance to get real coaching from the Eagles’ staff, and he’ll have to grow even in simple areas of the game that lifelong football players have known for a long time.
The Eagles will be patient if they have to be, and Bernard will surely stick around through training camp and the preseason.
From there, it’s very possible he ends up on the practice squad, but as long as he keeps working, he’ll eventually get a chance to break through.
Police are looking for Ifedapo Adeyeye:
A British-Nigerian man who abducted his five-year-old son from his mother was mistakenly released from prison last month and remains at large.
Ifedayo Adedapo Kolawoe Adeyeye was released from HMP Pentonville in London on April 21, with prison staff not realising until April 23 that he was due to serve an additional 12-month sentence and be extradited to France upon its completion.
Last June, Mr Justice Hayden ruled that Adeyeye, a dual British-Nigerian national, had abducted his son, Laurys N’Djosse Adeyeye, from his mother in France in July 2024 and took him to Nigeria, saying the abduction was ‘in the most serious class of cases’.
Adeyeye, an engineer, was arrested upon his return to the UK and was jailed for six months in January for contempt of court after failing to return Laurys to his mother, Claire N’Djosse, who has not seen her son since he was abducted.
On April 20, the day before he was due to be released, Adeyeye was jailed for a further 12 months for further contempt of court offences, but the High Court heard on Friday that he was mistakenly released from HMP Pentonville the following day.
Lawyers for Ms N’Djosse said there was then a ‘two-day gap’ between Adeyeye’s release and an alert being issued to prevent him from leaving the UK.
Barrister Tori Adams, for Ms N’Djosse, asked the court in written submissions to allow reporting of Adeyeye and Laurys’ identities in a bid to locate them, adding that the case was of ‘the utmost seriousness’ and that Adeyeye’s whereabouts ‘remain unknown’.
Mr Justice Hayden allowed the reporting and said ‘the state has failed’, adding that there was an ‘alarming lack of urgency’ from prison staff and that he was ‘not even sure if the police have any impression of the seriousness’ of the case.
News from Korea:
Rising Afrobeats artist Para (PARA) meets global listeners with his first mini album.
At 6 p.m. on the 7th, Para’s mini album ‘Ola (Ola)’ will be released on various online music sites.
Ola, which means wave in Spanish, is the album title that conveys the idea that music, which starts with one person, spreads to the world like a small ripple growing as it crosses the sea.
The title track of the album, also called “Ola,” is a song that expresses the thrill of falling in love over rhythmic drums and a smooth melody. Para’s distinctive vocals blend with a relaxed groove to create a sophisticated Afro-fusion sound.
The mini album also includes a total of five songs, from “Better,” which captures a global Afrobeats sensibility, to the cheerful and distinctive “Chihuahua (feat. Emarshal),” “Change (feat. Kriss killz),” which adds hip-hop sensibility to Afrobeats rhythms, and the addictive-hooked “Loco (feat. Insane chips).”
Collaborations with Nigerian artists are another notable point. From Emarshal to Kriss killz and Insane chips, local artists working in Afrobeats, hip-hop and other genres participate as featured artists, raising expectations that they will show unique synergy with Para.
Para, who performs Afrobeats, a modern African popular music, plans to announce his new beginning through his first mini album. He aims to present a single wave that connects different rhythms and emotions of Korea and Africa through music and deliver resonance to listeners around the world.
Police in Thailand raided an unlicensed school and arrested 10 members of staff:
Authorities have raided an unlicensed international school in Prawet district of Bangkok, arresting 10 foreign teachers and staff found working without permits.
Investigators from the Immigration Bureau joined officers from the Prawet police station and officials from the Department of Employment to inspect the premises on Wednesday following reports of suspected irregularities.
The team found the school had been operating without a legally required licence for more than a year, offering kindergarten and primary-level classes to over 100 students.
Investigators said they found 10 foreign nationals from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nigeria who were working as teachers and staff without valid work permits.