Below The Headlines - 45
Tempted to drive 'one way'? You may be insane and Yahoo Boys are now 'into' AI
Welcome to another week of BTH. This week has even more shenanigans than usual.
Enjoy
Inside Nigeria
A recent report said the ongoing heatwave in Nigeria (and West Africa) was actually running at 50 degrees centigrade when all factors were taken into account:
Many poultry farms have been recording losses as their birds are dying without showing any signs of sickness.
The situation, according to some sources, has forced some of the farms to close down while others resorted to selling the birds at an earlier stage.
A small-scale poultry farmer in Kano, Gambo Moh’d Idrís, told our reporter that he lost more than 70% of his birds to the heat wave, adding that it took him time to realise that the heat wave was the cause.
“I started noticing that every day, a chick or two died and it was so disturbing because they didn’t show any symptoms of being sick. I called an expert who later told me it was the heat wave. There are many farms that have incurred more losses than me,” he added.
In other weather related news:
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Thursday, said the government would relocate a lot of correctional centres to create better infrastructure and security.
Tunji-Ojo made the pledge when he visited the Niger custodial centre, where 119 inmates had escaped following a rainstorm that damaged the facility on Wednesday.
This was contained in a statement issued in Abuja by the Director of Press and Public Relations of the ministry, Ozoya Imohimi.
The minister said it was imperative to relocate a lot of the correctional centres to a conducive environment.
“This facility was built in 1914 to house 250 inmates. Before this incident, we had 499.
This is an amazing cast of characters:
The police in Lagos, recently, recorded a breakthrough by arresting 10 members of suspected criminals who specialize in exhuming body parts from cemeteries and killing human beings for rituals.
Among the arrested suspects was an 85-year-old traditional ruler in Benin Republic, Yusuf Lawal Muse, the son of a pastor said to be the kingpin, Ademola Akinlosota, 33, an Ifa priest, Sunday Badonu, aka Osekure, 25, his father, Vijamiya Badonu, an idol priest and Osetura’s father, Dada Trival, 33, Bale of Akalekumo in Badagry, Hunsu Segun,35, Balogun in Ogboni fraternity, Badagry, Amodu Wahab, aka Alhaji Bororo, 58, specialists in collecting human parts both fresh and dry, Kamolu Aderibigbe, 44, a trade-medical doctor in Ijedfodo and Muyibat Adesina, 49, the herbalist who uses human parts to prepare concoctions for people.
If you drive ‘one way’, you may be insane:
Lagos State Government has said that henceforth, any arrested offender who drive against the flow of traffic, popularly called “One-Way” will be taken for pyschiatric test and face prosecution.
Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Oluwaseun Osiyemi, stated this on Tuesday, at the commencement of the 2024 ministerial briefing on the activities of the ministry so far during the administration of Lagos State Governor, Bababjide Sanwo-Olu, held at Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.
According to Osiyemi, “The menace of driving against flow of traffic is worrisome and the state government is determined to curb it.
“Henceforth, any offender apprehended will be taken for pyschiatric test as well as prosecuted according to Lagos State Traffic laws.”
An Emir in Zamfara made some interesting but obvious comments on banditry in his domain:
According to him, “the challenge of insecurity in Zamfara state and Northern Nigeria is largely caused by the disagreement between Fulanis and Hausas over cattle rearing,” pinpointing a longstanding tension, but the presence of gold and other mineral resources has changed the narrative with the involvement of foreigners with selfish agendas.
He expressed concern over the complicity of foreign collaborators in exacerbating the security crisis in the North, emphasizing the need for transparency in addressing the issue.
While insisting that he would continue to speak out his mind on the insecurity in the area, he condemned the cycle of violence, stating, “Our people have been killed, and other Nigerians have also been killed.”
He lamented the vicious cycle of retaliation, noting, “The more security agencies kill the armed Fulanis, the more their numbers increase.”
He cited incursions from neighboring countries such as Mali and Burkina Faso, advocating the dire need for concerted efforts to stem the tide of violence and exploitation in the region.
Not only is there something called National Association of Charcoal Producers and Exporters (NACPE), but the President of this association is now going to jail:
Justice H.H. Kereng of the Gombe State High Court has sentenced the President of the National Association of Charcoal Producers and Exporters, NACPE, Edu Babatunde Azeez, to one year in prison over a fraud case involving N7 million.
Azeez and his company, Ablims Limited, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy and obtaining under false pretenses.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Gombe State Zonal Command, arraigned Azeez and his company following a petition filed by Ayanbisi Ismail, who alleged that Azeez defrauded him of N7,183,750, and all efforts to get a refund proved abortive.
The charges stated that Azeez and his company fraudulently obtained the money in December 2022, falsely representing it as payment for exporting charcoal to Saudi Arabia.
At some point, Nigeria will need to get serious about tackling this problem holistically. And no, poverty is not the reason why it exists. From the EFCC Chairman:
The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has lamented the existence of criminal centres in the country, which he called “419 training schools,” where primary school students are recruited and prepared for illicit activities.
He made the statement while addressing newsmen on the steps the commission was taking to stamp out corruption in the country.
The anti-graft boss said in the course of tackling fraud nationwide, the agency has identified such schools where young children are recruited and trained to become cybercriminals
According to him, this practice is also done with the consent of the minors’ parents who are made to sign an undertaking.
Good to see that the current terrible heatwave is at least sparking some civic action:
In the wake of a relentless heatwave engulfing some parts of Northern Nigeria, a grassroots movement has emerged, reviving the initiative of planting millions of trees across the region in order to restore its natural landscape and promote a healthier environment.
The initiative, led by passionate young climate activists and tens of volunteers, started as a social media campaign with “Make Kano Green” in 2019 and recently spearheaded a tree-planting programme across Northern Nigeria. The programme has reached 13 states in the Northwest and North Central of Nigeria, including Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Plateau, and Zamfara.
According to Isma’il Auwal, a climate advocate and a key figure in the initiative, the volunteers had many motivations, but key among them were religious duties and environmental protection. “In Islam, planting trees is considered worship and an act of charity,” he explained. “The Prophet Muhammad himself emphasised the significance of this act in his sayings.”
[…]
Recent forecasts from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) show trends of heatwaves across the country, with people in many parts of northern Nigeria being susceptible to extreme danger that could lead to heatstroke, muscle cramps, and exhaustion. States like Abuja, Adamawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, and Sokoto are said to face the harshest weather conditions, with temperatures rising as high as 40°C — a situation that could persist until May.
Outside Nigeria
Bloomberg have a long-ish read on how young teenage boys are being targeted by online scammers in sextortion crimes. If you’re a regular reader of this newsletter, you will be familiar with this growing menace by now:
The Ogoshi and Shanu alleged crime rings are the modus operandi of Nigeria’s Yahoo Boys, according to a January report written by Paul Raffile, an analyst at the Network Contagion Research Institute in Princeton, New Jersey. Nicknamed after the Yahoo.com emails they used to swindle thousands of unsuspecting Westerners into sending money, often posing as Nigerian princes, the Yahoo Boys are a group of digitally savvy con men who design new scams and encourage others to copy them.
Raffile found hundreds of instructional videos on TikTok and YouTube about how to blackmail teens. They were posted by young men in Nigeria who used the hashtags #YahooBoysFormat and #BlackmailFormat. The how-to guides advised targeting, or “bombing,” American high schools and sports teams to make friends with as many kids as possible from the same community. One of Jordan’s football teammates was a mutual friend of Dani Robertts’, which made her account appear legitimate.
And over in Germany:
German police on Wednesday announced that eleven suspected members of a criminal syndicate from Nigeria, the Black Axe, were arrested during nationwide raids
The gang is internationally famous for different criminal activities such as "human-trafficking, fraud, prostitution and drug-trafficking."
In Germany they were focusing especially on large-scale dating scams and money laundering.
Who is behind the 'broken hearts' scam?
The police raids targeted 19 properties in total, including both homes and refugee shelters.
All eleven suspects are Nigerian citizens but most of them have been in Germany for many years. The alleged gang members are between the ages of 29 and 53.
[…]
The fraudsters created fake profiles on social networks and dating platforms where they gained the trust of victims and promised marriage after requesting money. The fraudsters transferred money from fraudsters to Black Axe in Nigeria "via financial agents," authorities said.
In the German region of Bavaria in 2023 alone there have been 450 dating scams and the victims lost about 5.3 million euros ($5.7 million).
Patrick Paul plays college football for University of Houston. He also happens to be Major General Aguiyi-Ironsi’s grandson:
Paul, however, said he draws some of his greatest inspiration from his grandfather, Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, the late former Nigerian head of state who climbed the military ranks and at one time served as emissary to Queen Elizabeth II. A Major General at the time, Aguiyi-Ironsi seized power after an attempted coup was thwarted in January 1966. Six months later, Aguiyi-Ironsi was assassinated in a countercoup.
“He inspired me,” Paul said during the NFL draft combine. “I want to inspire change. Nigeria is very corrupt. Our money is worth nothing. The country, I believe, just needs reforming. That’s my lifetime goal. I want to go back there and change the country.
“I want to lead my people and unite the nations that are in Nigeria. There are so many (developing nations) that don’t have so much. I want to rebuild the entire infrastructure. I want to be able to provide jobs, I want to be able to provide good medicine, affordable housing. I just want a change.”
The anticipation for Tems album is building to a crescendo:
While "Love Me Jeje" is the first official offering from Born in the Wild, the album still doesn't have a release date or tracklist. Tems announced the record earlier this month with a short trailer, which appeared to feature a snippet of the album's title track.
Born in the Wild arrives six years after Tems dropped her debut single, 2018's "Mr. Rebel." She's since enjoyed several hits of her own, like 2020's "Damages" and 2022's "Free Mind," and made memorable features on Wizkid's 2021 smash "Essence" and 2022's "Wait for U," with Future and Drake.
Haven’t talked about Nigerian food’s relentless international march in a while. Akara, which opened last year, gets a review in The Times:
Akara: a new, very terracotta opening by Borough Market that is doing a roaring trade among the business lunch and romantic dinner crowds. It’s an offshoot of Akoko, a more luxe joint in the more luxe Fitzrovia, also touched by the hand of the car-tyre people.
Akara are black-eyed bean fritters. They started in Yoruba cooking and made their way across West Africa and Brazil. And now they’re here. Thank God they made the journey. Start by thinking of a doughnut. Make it more solid. And more savoury. Add in the crunch of a sourdough crust on the outside. Inside, the solidity of a dense cake. Make it taste like mashed beans. Now dial the mashed beans down slightly and the savoury cake up. You’re there.
Olujare Oguntibeju, a 6 foot 8 rugby player is back after a 2 year injury:
Olujare Oguntibeju, the 21-year-old South African-born lock with Nigerian parents who qualifies to represent Scotland having lived in Edinburgh between the ages of 2 and 14, has signed for Stirling Wolves as he continues his comeback from the horror injury he suffered playing for the national under-20 team against Wales in the 2022 Six Nations.
“It was a total freak accident,” he recalled. “At their lineout, they went off the top and first phase round the corner. Christian Townsend [the Scotland under-20 fly half] made a tackle on one of their players and was hanging outside of the ruck. I’m trying to get round the corner and I trip over his foot on the outside, and then my other foot lands awkwardly; lands backwards. My momentum is going forward and my leg is still stuck in the ground. A freak accident, as I say.
An incredibly shocking story:
An abusive husband beat his wife to death with their son's skateboard while police outside waited for permission to enter from superiors.
Officers heard 'a number of bangs' inside the house which Olubunmi Abodunde had gone into, despite bail conditions imposed the day before that banned him from the property following another violent episode.
When they finally entered 25 minutes later, they found Taiwo Abodunde, 41, with her 'skull smashed in'.
Abodunde, 48, who had been repeatedly investigated by Suffolk Police about domestic violence, was due to go on trial for murder but changed his plea to guilty yesterday after a jury had been sworn in.
Judge Martyn Levett, sitting at Ipswich Crown Court, warned him the only possible sentence was life imprisonment.
Had to read this stat multiple times. Incredible:
In 2020, about 82,000 Nigerian women died from pregnancy or childbirth-related complications, including severe haemorrhage, sepsis and unsafe abortions. That number might be "a slight improvement" on the previous year, but it's a marked increase on previous decades, said The Guardian.
And one of the highest in the world, in fact. Nearly 20% of all global maternal deaths happen in Nigeria, said the World Health Organization in 2019. A Nigerian woman had a 1 in 22 lifetime risk of dying during pregnancy, childbirth or postpartum/post-abortion. In most developed countries, the risk was 1 in 4,900.
Borders in many parts of Nigeria are merely a suggestion:
Three Cameroonian aid workers with a French NGO who were kidnapped in the country's jihadist-hit north were freed in Nigeria Friday after 100 days in captivity, their organization told AFP.
The two men and a woman "were freed this evening near Maiduguri" in northeastern Nigeria, around 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Cameroonian border, said Olivier Routeau, head of operations at Première Urgence Internationale (PUI).
"It is a little early to say they are in good health, but they are safe and sound, shaken, but we are reassured about their physical integrity," he added. "They were smiling in the photos we were sent."
Routeau was unable to provide further details on the circumstances of the liberation or the group which held them, but said the Nigerian army had collected them.
All three were kidnapped on January 10 in the village of Yeme in Cameroon's Far North region, where they were working on food security and the fight against malnutrition, PUI said at the time.
Cameroon's northern tip and northeastern Nigeria have been the scene of violence involving the Boko Haram jihadist group and its bitter rivals, Islamic State West Africa Province.
Who is Ruke Orhorhoro?:
Ruke Orhorhoro is a defensive line prospect who was born in Lagos, Nigeria.
While he’s relatively new to the sport, he still could be a prospect to watch in the 2024 NFL Draft. There have been 34 players in NFL history who were born in Nigeria, per Pro Football Reference. Among the current players are Nelson Agholor, David Onyemata, Emmanuel Ogbah, Samson Ebukam, Efe Obada, Prince Tega Wanogho, Amen Ogbongbemiga, David Ojabo, Joseph Ossai, Kingsley Jonathan, and Moro Ojomo. Orhorhoro will soon join that list.
Jackie Aina is under new management. But do skincare products actually work?:
Since starting her YouTube channel in 2009, Aina has become one of the most influential voices in the beauty and lifestyle space. Her engaging content reaches a large following of over 10 million across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
In the brand partnerships space, Aina has launched inclusive, best-selling product collaborations with top beauty brands Anastasia Beverly Hills, e.l.f. Cosmetics, Too Faced and partnered with a variety of well-known brands including Google, Olay, Dior Beauty and Amazon.
Aina co-founded FORVR Mood in 2020, a self-care focused lifestyle and candle brand, which garnered a wait list of over 45,000 customers prior to its launch. The brand recently debuted its Fine Fragrance Line at Sephora stores nationwide, which sold out within hours of its release.
Article claims that Yahoo Boys in Nigeria are now using AI for online scams:
THE COMPLIMENTS START flowing as soon as she answers the video call. “Wow, you so pretty, honey,” says the man on the other side of the screen. His video feed shows he’s white, with short hair, likely a few years younger than her, and is sitting in front of his camera wearing a plaid shirt.
“You’re looking different with that beard and stuff gone,” the woman says in an American accent as the conversation gets going. The man doesn’t miss a beat. “I told you I was going to shave my beard so I will look good.”
Except, he isn’t who he claims to be. His videofeed is a lie. And—beard or not—the face the woman can see over the video call is not his: It’s a deepfake.
In reality, the man is a scammer using face-swapping technology to totally change his appearance in real time. In a video of the call—filmed by the scammer’s accomplice likely thousands of miles away from the woman—his real face can be seen on this laptop alongside the fake persona as he speaks to his victim.
This self-shot video is one of scores posted online by scammers known as Yahoo Boys, a loose collective of con artists, often based in Nigeria. The video reveals how they are using deepfakes and face-swapping to ensnare victims in romance scams, building trust with victims using fake identities, before tricking them into parting with thousands of dollars. More than $650 million was lost to romance fraud last year, the FBI says.
Lagos to New York direct is back. Start saving your money:
Delta plans to relaunch flights to Lagos, Nigeria from New York-JFK on Dec. 1, 2024. The decision comes nearly two years after the company suspended its NewYork-JFK route to Lagos.
According to a press release from the company on Thursday, Delta will offer daily services to Nigeria until shifting to three times per week on Jan. 16, 2025. Additionally, fleet enhancements in service from New York-JFK to Accra, Ghana and South Africa are also underway.
The carrier says it carries more than half a million customers between the U.S. and Africa each year on more than 34 weekly flights. Currently operating a daily service between Atlanta and Lagos, the resumption of daily New York-JFK service will offer a total of 14 weekly flights to Nigeria in December through the first half of January and 10 weekly flights for the remainder of 2024.
The family of a young Nigerian man who was shot dead by Irish Police is challenging the public prosecutor's decision not to charge the officers involved:
Mr Nkencho (27) was shot dead on December 30, 2020, on the porch of his home in Clonee, west Dublin, following a stand-off with gardaí during which he refused to drop a knife.
"The Nkencho family are disappointed with the decision of the Director of Public Prosecutions not to prosecute members of an Garda Síochána involved in the shooting dead of their son and brother George. The family intend to appeal this decision and in the circumstances will not be making any further statements until this process has been concluded."
The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) investigated the circumstances of his death in its immediate aftermath and submitted a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) last summer
The Irish Independent has learned that the gardaí at the centre of the inquiry have been informed that they will not face criminal charges.
This includes the armed garda who discharged his firearm resulting in Mr Nkencho's death, as well as another member of the Armed Support Unit who was present at the scene.
When I heard this story on the day of a Tottenham Hotspurs match, for some reason I feared a Nigerian was the victim:
A man has been charged with murder after a 46-year-old was stabbed to death near Tottenham Hotspur's stadium in north London.
Okechukwu Iweha was found with knife wounds on Worcester Avenue near Northumberland Park, in Haringey, on 7 April. He died at the scene.
Leandro Kaienga, 28, of no fixed abode, will appear in custody at Willesden Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.
He has also been charged with possession of a bladed article.
The Metropolitan Police arrested Mr Kaienga on Monday.
The force said Mr Iweha's family continued to be supported by specialist officers