Crime

Cyber Crime: Former Enugu SSG drags Assembly aspirant to Court

Published

3 years ago

May 31, 2023

Everydaynewsngr

Former State Assembly aspirant and local politician in Nsukka Local Government Area, of Enugu State, Mr. Onyeka Ugwu, was today, Wednesday, May 31, 2023, charged to Chief Magistrate Mba’s Court in Enugu metropolis following the unraveling of his alleged relentless exercise in cyber-stalking of former Secretary to the Government of Enugu State, Dr. Dan Shere.

The cyber-stalker who was learnt to be one of Shere’s close aides and Opi-Nsukka townsman, had allegedly worked ceaselessly at injuring the reputation of Dr. Shere from about 2018 to the present day when he was eventually caught and brought to court.

He had allegedly, steadily crafted and circulated malicious contents against the person of the former SSG, ensuring that his prestige and social capital within the political and community leadership levels were kept at the lowest ebb at all times.

He had allegedly acquired various SIM cards for this operation and had achieved a level of steady flow of his brand of propaganda that readers of his obnoxious contents had gotten used to his choice of words.

His media were WhatsApp personal and group forums, and other social media platforms.

First Count of the Charge, No: CME/354c/2023, reads, “That you, Onyeka Ugwu ‘Male’ and others now at large, between the month of December 2022 to May 2023, at No. 7 Deacon Okey Ogbodo Street, GRA, Enugu, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did conspire among yourselves to commit felony to wit: cyber-stalking and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 24 (1) (b) of the Cyber Crime (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015.”

The charge was filed by Police Prosecutor, E. Ajogwu, Esq.

In one of the tweets in question, 58-year old Ugwu had allegedly claimed that Shere had faked his kidnap when he was seized and hauled into the Ugwogo/Ekwegbe bushes by kidnappers sometime last year.

Shere spent over five days in the jungle, where he was subjected the worst of horrific sights and fear for his dear life.

But in the words of the stalker, the story of kidnap was allegedly made up by Shere for personal popularity and political agenda.

He allegedly asked his audience to ignore the news of any such kidnap.

In another tweet which he widely circulated on WhatsApp and other social media platforms, he allegedly claimed that Shere had used one of his agents to script a petition to the EFCC and ICPC, against the Governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, over a claimed 50 million Dollar water grant.

In the same tweet, he alleged that Shere had also clandestinely propped Labour Party candidates against the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, candidates, a story capable of strongly annoying PDP leadership to mobilise against Shere.

The second Count of the Charge reads, “that you Onyeka Ugwu and others now at large on the same date and place in the aforementioned Magisterial district did intentionally type and send messages to Barr. Sylve Onah, Joel Asogwa, Fr. Ben Agbo, Barr. Ralph Ugwu, Hon. Emeka Odoh, Sen. Chimaroke Nnamani, Hon. Eugene Odoh and other members of the public variously titled “Dan Shere’s obsession for power and intrigues in Opi”, “Bombshell!!! Dr. Dan Shere’s Multi Billion Fraud Busted”, “Dan Shere as clog in the wheel of progress of PDP in Enugu North”, “Destabiliser”, etc, through the phone number, 08160954334 to WhatsApp social network, knowing same to be false, for the purpose of causing annoyance, insult and hatred of Dr. Dan Shere, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 24 (1) (b) of the Cyber Crime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015.”

Ugwu, an Opi-Nsukka local politician, who had endlessly begged Dr. Shere to recommend him to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for a seat in the Enugu State House of Assembly, 2023, was also charged under Section 24, subsection 2 (a) and Section 34 of the same Cyber Crime (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015, and risks various terms of imprisonment if convicted.

Police sources said that the stalker was arrested after Shere had lodged complaints against the user of certain GSM numbers which had been persistently used in attacking and stalking him. The Police had then carried out investigations and eventually tracked the numbers to Ugwu’s home which was searched and many SIM cards, including the ones used against Shere, were discovered. He was said to have confessed to the acts, but pleaded effusively to be forgiven.

Since his arrest, another source revealed, Shere had come under intense pressure by friends and other networth persons who had been contacted by the stalker and wife, to plead on his behalf.

Shere, who was at the arraignment sat calmly, in utter shock. When he eventually spoke, it was in shocked whispers, “this man’s damage to my person is unquantifiable…it is colossal…there is no end to it, and it went on for too long…I had been wondering who was doing this to me…for so long,” he moaned, almost in tears.

When prodded to speak on the possible reasons for such sustained campaign of calumny, he said that he had no idea. “I actually regarded him as one of my closest boys. I was his first son’s godfather. I took him into confidence. We were so intimate that he could pass the night in my house, without any formal notification…now can you imagine what would be in the mind of the immediate past governor when a person who was always in my personal company or entourage each time I visited him (the governor) sent him such fabricated story of me writing or promoting somebody to write petitions to EFCC and ICPC?” His frame quaked in reverberation, as he contemplated the quantum damage.

Ugwu had also allegedly sent out tweets claiming that Shere had seized swaths belonging to his Opi community, and that lands belonging to the Ekweghe, a neighbouring town were also netted into the Shere vast land estate. He claimed that the size was more than two times that of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, land areas.

He even alleged that Shere had started selling some portions of the lands and had planned and commenced a designed massive housing scheme, independent estates and commercial farm lands, at a place close to the Maduka University at Ekwegbe, Igbo Etiti Local government area.

Shere is a politician of good measures and being targeted as he was, does not appear to observers as a mere design, plot and execution of a loner as Onyeka Ugwu, who stood in the arraignment box.

One of Nsukka political players who chose anonymity, told this reporter that Onyeka Ugwu was an agent of some persons who had worked hard, from 2003 to clip Shere’s wings in politics of Enugu State. According to him, it was the same group that used their kind of measures to get the then governor, Chimaroke Nnamani, to change his mind about fielding Shere as his successor in 2007. The same group or an offshoot of it has been at work, and the aim was that Shere must be stopped at all costs from being admitted into the inner chambers of the immediate past governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

“I don’t know what they have planned in this new administration,” he said, but, “in my calculation,” he averred, “it would be naïve to think that the coast is clear just because one of them is uncovered. It is a ring, and it is one that is deeply embedded in the Shere clan,” he said.

Ugwu, whose plea could not be taken, was denied bail and the matter adjourned to June 16, 2023, by Magistrate Mba.

Crime

US: Nigeria Not Doing Enough to Stop Attacks on Christian Communities

Published

8 hours ago

November 13, 2026

Everydaynewsngr

The United States has said Nigeria has yet to make sufficient progress in addressing attacks on Christian communities, warning that the country’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) should remain in place.

Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Frank Garcia, stated this while responding to questions from US Congressman Riley Moore during a congressional hearing on violence in Nigeria on Thursday.

Moore questioned the Nigerian government’s efforts to dismantle militia strongholds and kidnapping camps in the Middle Belt, particularly in Benue and Plateau states.

He also demanded explanations for the exclusion of Benue and Plateau from the 10 states covered by Nigeria’s new forest guard initiative, despite persistent attacks in the areas.

The congressman further expressed concern that 1,000 presidentially approved forest guards for Plateau State had yet to be deployed.

Moore maintained that the US should not remove Nigeria from the CPC list, arguing that the country had not done enough to address the violence.

“Before you answer that, we cannot take this CPC designation off of this country. They have not done enough,” he said.

Responding, Garcia acknowledged that Nigeria had not made sufficient progress but maintained that the government was taking steps to address the concerns, although the measures had yet to produce the desired results.

“I think we would agree, as Under Secretary Hooker stated, after our CPC meeting that progress has not been there, but that doesn’t mean that Nigeria is dismissing concerns, and it doesn’t mean that they’re not taking actions, but it does mean that it hasn’t had an impact to this point,” Garcia said.

He identified the establishment of the US-Nigeria Joint Working Group as an important step towards ensuring accountability, noting that the platform would provide a framework for monitoring Nigeria’s commitments and assessing their implementation.

Garcia also acknowledged US-supported counterterrorism operations in the Lake Chad Basin but noted that such efforts had not necessarily addressed the activities of Fulani militants operating across the Middle Belt.

“I would have to characterise the Nigerians’ placement at this point as in building capacity. And that capacity is not deployed, is not being effective yet, and is not moving fast enough, as far as I’m concerned. But we do see a seriousness, and a deployment underway with the Nigerian government,” he said.

In his prepared testimony, Garcia said President Donald Trump’s administration had prioritised the persecution of Christians in Nigeria since the country was redesignated a Country of Particular Concern on October 31, 2025.

He noted that attacks had continued despite diplomatic engagements, citing an attack on a Christian community in Kaduna State on July 27 and killings in Plateau State in August and September.

“Unfortunately, the violence has not stopped,” Garcia said, describing the attacks as an ongoing atrocity.

According to him, the US-Nigeria Joint Working Group, which held its inaugural meeting in Abuja in January and another meeting in Washington in August, had been engaging the Nigerian government on improved security deployments in vulnerable Middle Belt communities, faster responses to early warnings and accountability for perpetrators.

He added that Washington had provided training and equipment to police units responsible for protecting vulnerable communities through its Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

The US had also expanded biometric information-sharing with Nigeria to help identify and prosecute perpetrators and engaged Nigerian financial institutions on measures to disrupt terrorist financing networks allegedly funding attacks on churches.

Garcia further disclosed that US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Allison Hooker, had raised concerns about civilian casualties, the safe and voluntary return of internally displaced persons and transparency in humanitarian aid delivery during the Joint Working Group’s second meeting.

However, he acknowledged that Nigeria’s security architecture remained stretched, while judicial access to some parts of the Middle Belt remained limited.

Garcia said the US would continue to deploy diplomatic engagements, the CPC designation and targeted security cooperation to press for the protection of Christian communities and accountability for those responsible for attacks.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Federal Government has consistently rejected allegations of a Christian genocide or systematic religious persecution, maintaining that the country’s security challenges are driven by broader issues, including terrorism, banditry, communal violence and resource conflicts, which affect citizens of different religious backgrounds.

Crime

Couple Sentenced To Five Years In Prison Each For Attempting To Sell One-Year-Old Son

Published

1 day ago

November 12, 2026

Everydaynewsngr

Couple Sentenced To Five Years In Prison Each For Attempting To Sell One-Year-Old So
A Nigerian couple have been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment each for attempting to sell their one-year-old son for exploitation in Cross River State.
The couple, identified as 28-year-old Emmanuel Okechukwu Ogbodo and 22-year-old Peace Ufeabuchi Nnamonu, were convicted by the Federal High Court in Calabar after pleading guilty to conspiracy and attempted child trafficking.
The convicts were sentenced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, after they were arraigned on November 3, 2026, on a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy and attempted child trafficking.
The charges were brought under Sections 27 and 29 of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015.
Delivering judgment, Justice Rosemary Dugbo Oghoghorie sentenced each defendant to five years’ imprisonment for conspiracy and two and a half years for attempted child trafficking.
However, the court ordered that the sentences should run concurrently, meaning the couple will each spend a total of five years in prison rather than serve the sentences consecutively.
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), which announced the conviction in statements shared on its Facebook and X accounts, said the prison terms would take effect from the date of the couple’s arrest.
NAPTIP condemned the couple’s actions and reiterated its commitment to prosecuting human trafficking offences and protecting vulnerable persons, particularly children.
The agency also urged members of the public to report suspected cases of child trafficking to the appropriate authorities.

Crime

Tragedy At UNN As Six Fresh Graduates Are Found Dead In Nsukka Apartment

Published

1 day ago

November 12, 2026

Everydaynewsngr

Six fresh graduates of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), have reportedly been found dead in an apartment around the Hilltop area of the university community in Enugu State.

The incident, which occurred on Thursday morning, has thrown the university community into mourning and sparked panic among residents and students.

According to a report by Daily Post, the victims, comprising five females and one male, were said to have graduated on Wednesday, a day before their bodies were discovered.

Their graduation celebration has reportedly turned into tragedy, with the circumstances surrounding their deaths yet to be established.

Efforts to reach the Enugu State Police Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe, for confirmation were unsuccessful, as calls put through to his telephone were not answered.

Meanwhile, anxiety has gripped the Hilltop area and the wider university community, with students and residents seeking answers over the tragic incident.

As of the time of filing this report, the police had yet to issue an official statement on the incident.

Crime

Two Inmates Escape From Kogi Prison, Security Agencies Launch Manhunt

Published

3 days ago

November 10, 2026

Everydaynewsngr

Security agencies have launched a manhunt for two convicted inmates who escaped from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Okene, Kogi State.

The Nigerian Correctional Service confirmed the incident, which reportedly occurred on Sunday, November 8, 2026, saying efforts were underway in collaboration with other security agencies to recapture the fleeing inmates.

The Service’s Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent of Corrections Jane Osuji, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday.

According to Osuji, the Controller-General of Corrections has ordered a comprehensive investigation into the incident to establish the circumstances surrounding the escape and identify any possible security breaches.

She explained that the investigation would examine potential lapses in the facility’s security arrangements and determine appropriate measures to prevent a recurrence.

The correctional authorities assured members of the public that all necessary steps were being taken to track down the escapees and return them to custody.

The Service also pledged to provide further updates as verified information emerges from the ongoing investigation.

The incident comes weeks after an awaiting-trial inmate escaped from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Auchi, Edo State, where he was being held over allegations of conspiracy and stealing.

Crime

Saudi Arabia Executes Five Ethiopians For Drug Smuggling

Published

1 week ago

November 6, 2026

Everydaynewsngr

Saudi Arabia has executed five Ethiopian nationals convicted of smuggling hashish into the kingdom, bringing the number of executions carried out in the country this year to 205.

The Saudi Interior Ministry announced the executions on Thursday, November 5, 2026, saying the five men were found guilty of participating in the smuggling of hashish into the country.

According to a statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency, the executions were carried out in the Asir region in southwestern Saudi Arabia.

The latest executions bring to 32 the number of Ethiopian nationals put to death in Saudi Arabia in 2026, making Ethiopians the largest foreign nationality among those executed this year.

Five Ethiopians were reportedly executed in June, while another five were put to death in July over similar drug-related offences.

The latest development comes amid growing international concern over Saudi Arabia’s increasing use of capital punishment, particularly against foreign nationals convicted of drug-related offences.

Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a report published in July, warned that at least 79 Ethiopian nationals remained at imminent risk of execution over similar charges.

The rights organisation also raised concerns about alleged violations of fair trial guarantees, including inadequate access to legal representation and interpretation services for some Ethiopian migrants facing capital punishment.

Saudi Arabia recorded 356 executions in 2025, its highest annual figure on record.

Thousands of Ethiopians live and work in Saudi Arabia, many of whom migrate in search of employment through the dangerous Eastern Route connecting the Horn of Africa to the oil-rich kingdom through Yemen.

The route exposes migrants to serious security and humanitarian risks during their journey.