EFCC charges 2 e-mail hacking suspects

Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has raised alarm over the rising incidences of e-mail spoofing and account takeover by suspected fraudsters.

 EFCC said in a press release signed by its spokesperson, Wilson Uwajaren on Tuesday that the trend which targets influential personalities in government, the professions and the private sector has assumed a frightening dimension in recent time with not a few people losing their e-mails to the fraudsters who deploy the accounts to various nefarious ends; including soliciting funds from friends and acquaintances of the owners of the accounts.

The Commission observed that Yahoo account owners are the most vulnerable to this scam which has brought much agony to the victims. So far, effort to engage Yahoo to rein in on the perpetrators of this heinous crime has not been fruitful.

Yet their activities continue to pose grave threats to the image and integrity of the nation. In view of this, the possibility of a class action suit against Yahoo by victims who have suffered severe emotional and financial losses arising from the actions of the hackers may not be ruled out.

Nevertheless, EFCC said local banks that have cooperated with the Commission in the investigation of cases of spoofing deserve commendation for their diligence and sense of responsibility.

Onuabuike Chukwuebuka and Izuchukwu Emewulu: suspected to have hacked Bamidele Aturu’s mail

Meanwhile two suspects, Onuabuike Chukuebuka and Izuchukwu Emewulu, who allegedly hacked into the e-mail account of constitutional lawyer, Bamidele Aturu were today, March 5, 2013 arraigned before Justice Olasumbo Olarenwaju Goodluck of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Zuba, Abuja on a five count charge bordering on intent to defraud and obtain money by false pretence.

One of the counts reads, “that you Onuabuike Chukwuebuka and Izuchukwu Emewulu and another at large, on or about the 11th day of January, 2013, at Abuja within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did conspire among yourselves to obtain money by false pretence and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 8 (a) and punishable under section 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006”.

The accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to them. EFCC Counsel Samuel A. Ugwuegbulam then asked the court to fix a date for trial and remand the accused persons in prison custody.
However, counsel to the accused persons, George C. Anuba urged the court to admit the accused persons to bail on the grounds that the first accused person is a sickle cell anaemia carrier and that the offence was bailable.

Though the bail application was opposed by EFCC counsel, Justice Goodluck, however, granted bail to the two accused persons in the sum of two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (N250.000.00) each, one surety in like sum. The surety must be a grade level 14 officer in the civil service and resident in Abuja.

Chukuebuka and Emewulu’s problem started on Friday, 11 January 2013 when the duo hacked into the mailbox of Aturu, and sent messages to his friends and relatives that he was in desperate financial situation and needed the sum of N120, 000; an amount he promised to pay once he returned to Nigeria.

Aturu’s friends and family members however contacted him only to discover that his mailed box had been hacked into by scammers. This prompted Aturu to report the matter to the EFCC. The complainant said he never gave authorization for his email account to be used by anyone.

The suspect in their e-mail messages asked that the money be paid into a First Bank and Diamond bank accounts respectively. The banks were alerted and the accounts flagged. One of the suspects, Onuabuike was arrested on Wednesday, 16 January, 2013 at Onitsha branch of Diamond bank in Anambra State when he attempted to withdraw money from the account. When interrogated by operatives of the Commission, Onuabuike claimed that the second accused collected his account number and that he did not know he wanted to use it for criminal purposes. The second accused person was consequently arrested the next day.

The case has been adjourned to April 30th, 2013.

APC agrees symbol

The merger committee meeting of the Action Congress of Nigeria, All Progressive Grand Alliance, All Nigeria People’s Party and Congress for Progressive Change, with nine of the governors in attendance Wednesday night in Lagos agreed on the party’s symbol, slogan and motto.

The slogan is CHANGE. The motto is ‘Justice, Peace and Unity’, according to a short statement by Chief Tom Ikimi, the merger chairman.

Shekau’s Boko Haram in new video beheads ‘informant’

Shekau: informant beheaded

The leader of Nigeria’s Boko Haram denied any ceasefire deal with the government in a video obtained Tuesday in which a man accused of being an informant appears to be beheaded on camera.

Abubakar Shekau also makes no mention of kidnappings in the video, including last month’s abduction of seven members of a French family in neighbouring Cameroon that was blamed on his group.

It was not clear when or where the video was made. The clip has been distributed to Nigerian journalists in the country’s north in recent days through intermediaries.

Sources familiar with Boko Haram say it was handed out in this manner because Nigerian authorities have been blocking the group’s videos from being uploaded to YouTube.

AFP could not verify the authenticity of the video but the man speaking closely resembles a person identified in previous clips as Shekau.

There are two separate parts to the video: one of Shekau speaking and another of the apparent beheading. Shekau cannot be seen in the second part.

The video is in part a response to a man claiming to be a Boko Haram commander who has appeared in public several times in recent months calling for dialogue and declaring a ceasefire.


There has been deep suspicion over whether the man calling for the ceasefire has truly represented Boko Haram.

“We have never made a truce with anybody, and no one represented us in any dialogue,” Shekau, wearing a knee-length green caftan and with an AK-47 dangling from his neck, says in the video, which is about 10 minutes long.

Speaking in the Hausa language common throughout northern Nigeria, he names the man who made the ceasefire claim, Sheikh Muhammed Abdulazeez Ibn Idris, and promises punishment for those who falsely represent the group.

“We have not entered into dialogue with anyone,” he says. “Which kind of dialogue, for God’s sake, when day and night our brothers are being arrested, imprisoned, including women and children?”
Shekau is flanked by six men holding weapons with their faces covered by headscarves, standing outdoors in an unknown location.

After he finishes speaking, the video cuts to another clip that shows a man with his hands and legs bound. A group of men pin him to the ground, while one appears to slit his throat.

They later appear to behead the victim, who is labelled an informant who provided information to the military. Shekau cannot be seen in the clip of the apparent killing and beheading.

Violence linked to Boko Haram’s insurgency in northern and central Nigeria has led to the deaths of some 3,000 people since 2009, including killings by the security forces.

A video that emerged on YouTube on February 25 showed the kidnapped French family as well as their abductors, who claimed to be from Boko Haram, though the video was significantly different from past footage attributed to the group.

Boko Haram had never before claimed responsibility for a kidnapping, though a splinter faction of the group, known as Ansaru, has appeared to focus on abducting foreigners in recent months.
The group is believed to have a number of factions with varying aims.

Anxiety mounts in Kenya over delayed result

Kenyans awaited presidential results with growing frustration Wednesday at controversial delays and mountains of spoiled ballots, five years after violence sparked by a disputed tallying process.

With counting continuing into the second day since polls closed, partial results put Uhuru Kenyatta — who faces an international trial for crimes against humanity over violence after the last elections — in the lead.
Kenyatta, the deputy prime minister, has maintained a steady lead in partial results over rival Prime Minister Raila Odinga, but political parties on both sides have raised concerns at delays in the tallying process.

Odinga says he was robbed of victory in 2007 when disputed results triggered bloody ethnic violence in which more than 1,100 people were killed and 600,000 were forced to flee their homes.

While millions of Kenyans turned out peacefully on Monday for the elections, how they react to the final results will be key to stability in the regional powerhouse. Leaders and election officials have urged people to remain calm.

Stalled electronic voter systems meant that by midday Wednesday just over 40 percent of the almost 32,000 polling stations had sent results, making up five million valid votes counted from the 14.3 million registered voters.

Kenyatta had won just over 2.82 million or 53 percent of valid votes cast against Odinga with 2.23 million or 42 percent, a gap that could still be overturned.


More than five percent of votes cast were rejected, and those were not initially included in total tolls.
To win outright and avoid a second round run off, a candidate must win “more than half of all the votes cast”, according to the constitution, as well as winning at least 25 percent of votes in more than half of all counties.
If these spoiled ballots were included, it would greatly add to the numbers needed for a candidate to break the 50 percent threshold for a first round win, raising the prospect of another round due within a month after the vote.

Kenya’s Daily Nation in its Wednesday editorial warned that despite largely peaceful holding of polls there was a potential “rocky road” ahead.

“Election-related violence last time occurred not during the peaceful voting and counting, but in protest after the announcement of suspect results following lengthy unexplained delays,” it noted.

Vote counting in Kenya. AFP

Despite appeals by leaders for patience, in the western town of Kisumu, an Odinga stronghold and flashpoint in 2007-8 violence, concern was growing.

“It’s taking a long time, let’s hope that they are not doing something fishy,” said airport worker Jack Mwai.
There have already been multiple complaints at the widespread failure of electronic biometric voting registration (BVR) kits introduced by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to frustrate potential rigging.

The failure meant stations used paper records and manual registration, and many returning officers were due to travel by road Wednesday to deliver results by hand.

Sitting in the near empty hall at Kisumu county tallying centre, returning officer Dolly Akili was waiting for results for one final constituency.

“Then I will get my security, they will take me to the airport to fly to Nairobi,” she said, adding that she hoped to travel by nightfall Wednesday.

Coronation rites begin for Attah-Igala

The new Attah-Igala, Idakwo Ameh-Oboni, has left Lokoja for Ugwolawo at the beginning of a week-long traditional rites for his coronation. Alhaji Yakubu Yunusa, the Majority Leader of Kogi House of Assembly, disclosed this on Tuesday at the house’s plenary session.

He said the performance of traditional rites for ascension to the throne was mandatory on the new Atta-Igala.

“After spending some days at Ugwolawo, the new Attah-Igala will proceed to Idah on foot to meet the Achadu-Oko-Attah, the traditional husband of Attah, where some aspects of the rites would be performed,’’ Yunusa said.

According to him, the Attah-Igala would then proceed to Ajainah in Idah to identify where he would be interred by the time he had vacated the throne to join his ancestors.

“On completion of the rites, the Attah-Igala will address the Area Traditional Council of Chiefs and thereafter ascend the throne in his palace,’’ he said.

The House Majority Leader enjoined all Igala sons and daughters at home and in diaspora, as well as all Kogi indigenes and Nigerians, to join the people in the celebrations.

“It is the heralding of a new era in the kingdom,’’ he said.

The new Attah-Igala was elected by the four ruling houses out of seven aspirants who contested the seat with him.

The body of kingmakers in November 2012 submitted Idakwo Ameh-Oboni’s name to the Igala Area Traditional Council for ratification after his election.

Chief Abel Etuh, the head of the kingmakers and Etemahi of Igalamela, then issued a statement announcing the election of the Attah designate from among seven contenders.

He said then that the members of the body were unanimous in their choice.

The Attah-Igala seat became vacant on 16 July, 2012 following the demise of Alhaji Aliyu Obaje, after 56 years on the throne.

Fashol-Lagos economy rated above Ghana, UK

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola has said the economy of the state is rated above Ghana and the United Kingdom. He also said his administration is currently executing about 1,966 projects across the state.

 

He said the projects would boost government’s plan to transform the state and turn it into “Africa’s modern” mega city.

 

The governor said this during the inspection of ongoing projects in Lekki and Victoria Island in Lagos.

 

Fashola said, ”Currently we are executing about 1,966 projects across the state. The projects we have visited really are the ones that have problems. We have been going round to see what the problems are instead of just reading reports.

 

“Now we are having a feel of the challenges and see whose ministry is responsible and what we can do to ensure that the ministries and contractors are communicating. These inspections are to ensure that we get many of those projects completed.”

 

Fashola insisted that on completion, the projects would further endear the Action Congress of Nigeria to the electorate.

 

He said the party would beat the opposition with a wide margin during the 2015 general elections in the state.

 

He assured the residents that the Ikoyi-Lekki Link Bridge would soon be inaugurated, saying the bridge required finishing work and toll plaza.

 

The governor, who also flayed the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku’s assertion that the ongoing national good governance tour was muted at the Governors’ Forum, said it did not mean all the governors supported the initiative.

 

He said, “The question I asked then was of what purpose is the tour? Do the people of Nigeria need a tour to know that they are being well governed? What is the tour supposed to achieve? Are they resolving problems at project sites? Where are their projects? What is the value of tour when you can’t implement a budget? I can go on tour of projects because my budget performed 89 per cent last year.

 

“I am not on a good governance tour. I am on a project inspection tour trying to solve problems at project sites.”

 

Fashola argued that the yardstick for measuring good governance could only be done by those who know, adding that the economy of Lagos is now rated ahead of Ghana and the United Kingdom.

The governor said, “Currently, the Lagos State economy is being upgraded from stable to positive, that’s good governance, you don’t need any campaign to do that.”

Mimiko’s wife disowns Facebook account

Wife of the Ondo State Governor, Mrs. Olukemi Mimiko, on Tuesday raised the alarm over activities of swindlers, who have been operating a fake Facebook account in her name.

 

Mimiko, in a statement in Akure on Tuesday, said the fraudsters had used the fake social media account to fleece innocent people.

 

She said, “My attention has been drawn to the existence of a fake Facebook account created by some cyber criminals in the popular social media network.

 

“The purported Facebook-social media account with the name Mrs. Olukemi Mimiko has my personal and official pictures.”

 

She also appealed to members of the public to be vigilant, insisting that she never operated any official Facebook or social media network account or page.

 

She said, “Any person who transacts any business or makes any comment in the said fake Facebook or social media accounts does so at his or her own risk.”