Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday, ordered the final forfeiture of two properties, several cars and cash to the Federal Government of Nigeria.  According to a statement posted on the official X account of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Friday, the Judge gave the order, following a motion on notice filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the EFCC, through its lawyer, H. U. Kofarnaisa. In an affidavit deposed by the investigating officer of the EFCC, Sulaiman Muhammad told the court that the commission received a petition from a first-generation bank which complained of a monumental fraud allegedly committed on the account of some of its customers, which totalled N1,403,343,400. The statement said, “The properties are one unit of a three-bedroom bungalow in Abuja; No. 8, Grace Crescent, Efab Queens Estate, Gwarimpa FCT, Abuja; one Mercedes Benz C300; one gray-coloured BMW 3 Series SUV, and one Black coloured Range Rover 2012. “Others are three Toyota Hilux of 2008, 2010 and 2014 models; one black coloured BMW SURXI 2016 and two Range Rover vehicles. Other items forfeited included a cash sum of N326,400,000 and another $480,000. “Justice Osiagor had earlier ordered the interim forfeiture of the properties and also ordered the publication of the said order in a national newspaper for any interested parties to show cause why they should not be finally forfeited to the Federal Government.” Moving the application for the final forfeiture on Friday, Kofarnaisa told the court that the application was supported by an affidavit from Muhammad. In the affidavit, Muhammad stated that the bank subsequently submitted an addendum to the petition dated July 24, 2023, wherein the total sum of N2,007,000,000 was fraudulently stolen from the customers of the bank. According to him, the bank discovered that some customers’ accounts were debited in a manner other than the pattern familiar to the bank, which led to an internal investigation by the audit unit of the bank. He further stated that the investigation revealed that Atus Homes Limited fraudulently received a total sum of N681,200,000 from 126 customers’ accounts in different tranches. “An investigation also revealed that Fav Oil and Gas Limited fraudulently received a cumulative sum of N1,388,000,000 from 429 customers’ accounts in different tranches.  “That the total sum of N887,478,600.00 of the sum fraudulently stolen was transferred to various accounts in other banks. Kofarnaisa, thereafter, submitted that the said accounts warehousing the funds sought to be forfeited received inflows reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities and are not proceeds of any legitimate business venture.  “She also told the court that the mastermind of this fraudulent crime had been charged before a Federal High Court and that ‘trial is ongoing.’ After listening to the EFCC counsel, Justice Osiagor held that he found merit in the argument of the applicant and ordered the final forfeiture of the properties to the Federal Government of Nigeria,” the statement added.

Bodo/Glimt survived a superb Lazio fightback to win a frantic encounter on penalties and reach the Europa League semi-finals. The 3-2 success on spot-kicks, following a 3-3 draw on aggregate, was the first time any Norwegian side had reached the last four of a men's European competition. Bodo/Glimt will now face Tottenham for a place in the final, with the first leg taking place in London on 1 May and the second at the Aspmyra Stadion on 8 May. With a two-goal deficit to overcome, Valentin Castellanos gave Lazio hope in the Rome return with a 23rd-minute opener. The Argentine forward sent an expert backheeled effort past Nikita Haikin after Gustav Isaksen pulled the ball back to him on the edge of the six-yard box. Tijjani Noslin then made it 2-0, levelling the tie on aggregate in dramatic fashion, when he bundled in from close range from a corner in the third minute of injury time. Substitute Boulaye Dia added a third in extra time to put Lazio in control of the tie, leaping highest to head home a Matteo Guendouzi cross. However, Andreas Helmersen brought the visitors back to parity in the 109th minute by powering Sondre Brunstad Fet's cross past home keeper Christos Mandas. The forward, though, could not take part in the resulting shootout when he was sent off for a second yellow card in the final minute of extra time. Jens Petter Hauge had Bodo/Glimt's first penalty saved while Lazio scored through Dia, but two missed spot-kicks from Loum Tchaouna and Noslin, and two scored by Fet and Sondre Sorli swung the outcome in favour of the Norwegian side. But Patrick Berg missed the chance to win it for the visitors after both sides had netted their fourth penalty. But goalkeeper Haikin then saved Castellanos' effort to make it 3-2 to Bodo/Glimt and spark jubilant celebrations for their historic achievement.

Opposition parties in Lagos State have rejected the conduct of the local government elections held on Saturday, alleging widespread irregularities, voter suppression, and ballot box stuffing. This is even as a former deputy governor of the state, Senator Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele, called for the cancellation of the election over alleged irregularities. Speaking in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, the Secretary of the Labour Party in the state, Sam Okpala, described the exercise as a “complete sham,” claiming that elections did not take place in many polling units across the state. “As far as the Labour Party in Lagos State is concerned, there was no election today (Saturday). The level of malpractices we witnessed today is unprecedented in the history of elections in Nigeria,” he said. According to him, in several polling units, officials of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission were absent, while in others, the process was marred by gross misconduct. “Where there is a semblance of voting, it’s all about ballot box stuffing and LASIEC staff coming with already thumb-printed ballot papers. The ruling party chieftains also came with thumb-printed ballot papers and stuffed them in the boxes,” he added. Okpala further alleged that LP supporters and agents were prevented from participating in the voting process, with many barred from entering polling units. Also speaking, the Deputy Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, Tai Benedict, accused the ruling APC of manipulating the election process in an attempt to paint a false picture of popularity. “What the APC did today is not new; we knew this was going to happen because even before the election, they were everywhere trying to force Lagosians to love and accept them. “We won’t be surprised if the total number of votes recorded for the APC at the end of the day is more than the total votes that Tinubu scored in Lagos during the 2023 presidential election. We know they will manipulate the outcome,” he said. Benedict also alleged that already thumb-printed ballot papers were stuffed into ballot boxes in several polling units, noting that the PDP was not expecting the results to reflect the will of the people. “They want to use this election to lie to people that their party is widely accepted by Nigerians. But the outcome will not be the true reflection of the people’s choice,” he stated. The Chairman of the Social Democratic Party in the state, Femi Olaniyi, on his part, accused the electoral body of deliberately omitting the party’s name and logo from the ballot papers, thereby shutting the party out of the election. He vowed that the party would challenge the outcome of the election in court. Olaniyi said, “There was no election in Lagos State today because the ballot paper carried APC and PDP, which we know is dead in Lagos State. And some in Badagry carried APC, PDP and Zenith Labour Party. No other political party. So, there was no election. This is daylight robbery. It is selection and not an election. We are going to address it and take the matter to any court of jurisdiction to address it.” Speaking in an interview with Nigeria Info on Saturday, Bucknor-Akerele expressed frustration over her inability to vote at her polling unit. “I have been to my own unit; my name is not there,” she said, adding that several units had been moved without prior notice. “There are units meant to be in front of Eko Hotel & Suites, but they’ve been moved here to Ajose Adeogun,” she said. The former deputy governor claimed that the relocation of polling units and the missing names were part of a larger plan to rig the election. Bucknor-Akerele urged LASIEC to cancel the election, citing disenfranchisement and widespread logistical failures. APC confident of victory Meanwhile, the Publicity Secretary of the APC in the state, Seye Oladejo, has expressed confidence that the party will win all chairmanship and councillorship seats in the state. Oladejo, who spoke with journalists in Agege, said the expected victory was based on the party’s performance at various levels of government. He said there was no alternative to the party in the state, adding that the opposition was almost non-existent. “There is no doubt about APC’s victory, but the question is how massive the voting is. This local government election is a preparation for the 2027 election. “So, we are confident that we will win all 57 local governments because the APC is the party of choice. “Apart from this, there is no alternative to the APC in Lagos, based on our performance at various levels, the local governments, state, and federal government.” Late arrival of materials, officials The election recorded voter apathy, late arrival of voting materials, and electoral officials in many parts of the state. According to LASIEC announcements, voter accreditation was expected to commence as early as 8:00 a.m. across the polling units, with voting to begin shortly after. But voting started late in some polling units in Ikosi-Isheri LCDA, Eti-Osa LG, Ikoyi/Obalende LG, Iba LCDA, Agboyi-Ketu LCDA, and Ojodu LCDA, visited by our correspondents, as LASIEC officials arrived late with voting materials. Some voters, who spoke with our correspondents, lamented that they arrived at their polling units as early as 7:30 a.m. but were forced to wait for hours due to the late arrival of officials and materials. They expressed frustration over the poor logistics and called on LASIEC to improve the conduct of subsequent elections. As of 9:45 a.m., dozens of security personnel and electoral officials were seen stranded at the Ikosi-Isheri LCDA secretariat, awaiting their deployment. Our correspondent observed that the officials, some of whom had arrived since Friday night, were visibly frustrated by the logistical arrangements. “I slept out here on Friday night, and till now, they have yet to allocate us. It is frustrating,” one of the officials, who declined to be named, told our reporter. Electoral officials were absent at some polling units at the Awolowo Road area of Ikoyi as of 8:51 a.m. when our correspondent visited. Sunday PUNCH observed that many of the polling units were deserted, save for a handful of patient voters awaiting the election officers. Specifically, at Polling Unit 29 near the Federal Service Club, only a single party agent was present, also awaiting LASIEC officials. As of 10:43 a.m., both electoral officials and voters were seen waiting for electoral materials in several polling units in Iba LCDA, Ojo. The affected polling units include 012, 014, 033, and 044. A voter, who declined to mention his name, told our correspondent, “We have been here for some time. The election should have started by now, so we can go back home.” The situation was the same at some polling units in Ketu-Agboyi LCDA, as voters were left stranded while awaiting the arrival of electoral officials and voting materials. Electoral officials were also absent at Polling Units 061 and 008 in Ojodu LG as of 11 a.m., when our correspondent visited. A voter, Mrs Muinat Adejobi, said, “We have been here since 7 a.m. What is delaying them (electoral officials)? When are we going to start accreditation if by 11 a.m. we haven’t started?” Meanwhile, officials of LASIEC deployed to conduct the election in the Abule Egba and Meiran areas of Alimosho LG, blamed logistics errors for their late arrival, which delayed voting in no fewer than 15 polling units. In separate interviews with our correspondent, some LASIEC officials attributed their late arrival to the wrong sorting of materials, deployment to incorrect polling units, and fuel shortages, among other logistical lapses. “We were at the local government office on time to sort out the election materials, but the directions given to us weren’t clear. So, we had to call the office again to get a clearer description of our polling units. That’s why we got here late,” said the Presiding Officer at Polling Unit 039 at Meiran Bus Stop, Grace Tolape. Voters’ apathy Despite a public appeal by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Friday urging residents to actively participate in the election, voter turnout remained low across several parts of the state. Our correspondents who monitored the situation across the metropolis reported that many polling units were largely deserted, with only a handful of voters seen waiting for the arrival of electoral officers. In Obalende, several youths were spotted playing football on the roads around 9:15 a.m., prompting security personnel to intervene and dismantle makeshift barricades used as goalposts. Meanwhile, an agent of the APC, Alli Olugbenga, raised the alarm over incidents of voters demanding money before casting their ballots. Olugbenga, who was stationed at Ward C, Kosofe LG, told Sunday PUNCH that he encountered several residents who refused to go to the polling units unless they were paid. He said, “They want me to pay them before going to vote. It’s wrong. It’s their civic right. They should not sell their votes. We’ve been going from house to house, begging people to come out, but many say they won’t vote unless they are ‘settled’.” Some residents of Ikosi-Isheri expressed frustration over their inability to participate in the voting process, citing a lack of voter cards and inadequate information about the process. Our correspondent, who visited a residential compound in the area on Saturday morning, met a woman busy with her laundry, unbothered by the ongoing polls. Asked why she was not at a polling unit, she responded in Pidgin English, “I no know when dem do am, I for register.” She added that she had not received any information about the voter registration or card collection process. Her sentiments were echoed by several other residents, who said they were unaware of when registration commenced or ended. Many said they had no idea of where or how to collect their PVCs. A man who identified himself simply as “Oga Electrician” told Sunday PUNCH, “This LG election is for good to vote, but I don’t have a voter’s card. My own don loss.” Sanwo-Olu, Gbajabiamila, others hail exercise Sanwo-Olu, his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, have hailed the conduct of the elections, describing the exercise as peaceful and orderly. The governor and his wife, Ibijoke, arrived at his Ward E3, Polling Unit 006, at St. Stephen Primary School, Okepopo, Lagos Island, at around 11:06 a.m. and voted around 11:10 a.m. Speaking after casting his vote, Sanwo-Olu commended LASIEC and security agencies for what he described as a largely hitch-free process. The governor further stated that, although there were a few logistical issues, the situation showed that LASIEC had put forth its best effort to conduct the election. On his part, Gbajabiamila said local government autonomy was still being perfected for full implementation. Speaking after casting his vote at his ward, Elizabeth Fowler Memorial Primary School, Surulere, he said, “The challenge lies in execution and implementation. I believe that, in time, we will achieve full local government autonomy.” Gbajabiamila stressed that effective grassroots governance was impossible without full autonomy at the local government level. Obasa, who voted at Polling Unit 019, Ward E, on Oluwole Olaniyan Street in the Orile Agege area of the state, expressed satisfaction with the process, calling it peaceful and free of violence or irregularities. “So far, the process has been peaceful and without any form of disruption. It is good to see citizens exercising their democratic rights,” he said. Also speaking after voting at Polling Unit 002, Ward A4, in the Oke Balogun area of Epe, Hamzat expressed optimism about the election’s outcome, saying he expected his party to win by a large margin. Despite the delay, he expressed satisfaction with the process and encouraged voters to participate. EFCC moves against vote buying The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission deployed its officials to monitor the election and combat vote buying. Officials of the anti-graft agency, led by the Zonal Director, Michael Nzekwe, visited polling units across Lagos Island, Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Lekki, Ajah, Ibeju-Lekki, and Epe Local Government Areas as part of the monitoring exercise. A statement by the commission on Saturday disclosed that the operation marked a significant step in reinforcing public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral system. “In polling units such as Bonny Camp, Banana Island, Elegushi, Gbangbala Street, Olushi Kakawa, and various locations along the Lekki-Epe Expressway, the Director ensured real-time oversight and officer compliance with EFCC’s non-interference directive,” the statement noted. Nzekwe described the election as peaceful, while reaffirming the agency’s mandate to uphold integrity in public life and reiterating its readiness to continue supporting free, fair, and financially credible elections in Nigeria.A

Victoria Abosede, a 28-year-old single mother of two, narrates to AJIBADE OMAPE her terrible experience of drinking the same water as camels and donkeys, working as a maid in Libya, and a horrible trip of one month and two days through the desert Can you tell us what inspired you to travel and how you ended up in Libya?  I am from the Ori-Ade Local Government in Osun State. I lost one of my children to an unknown sickness. The reason is that I had a breakup with my husband of six years because he was not taking care of the kids. So, I decided to travel. I intended to work for three years and return to Nigeria after making some money. That is the reason why I chose to travel. I left for Libya on the 12th of January, last year. What caused the death of your child?  I heard two weeks ago that she was dead because I left both children with my parents before I travelled to Libya last year. I wasn’t informed about her death, but when I decided to visit them at their grandmother’s place, I was then told that the little girl had died. I was told that she was urinating blood. What were your goals when you left Nigeria, and what were you hoping to achieve in Libya? I was hoping to be a great person after working. I planned to return to Nigeria and start a business of my own. I was hoping to pay my agents money within a year and work for two years to save up for my business. I met the agent through my aunt. How was the journey to Libya, and what were the circumstances surrounding the trip? The journey was a desperate one. I spent one month and two days on the road before I reached Libya. I started the journey from Kano State in a Hilux vehicle. They packed us like cows at the back of the truck; some people fell from the pick-up truck on the journey, and people were dying. We spent about eight to nine hours from Kano to Niger Republic. We spent seven days in Niger Republic before we found another vehicle and started our journey from Niger Republic to Libya inside the desert. We were sleeping in the desert. The journey was not easy because we were using garri to survive. There was no water for us, so we were drinking water from a petrol keg. The driver of our vehicle would help us look for water, but the only container available was the petrol container. All my food was stolen. We drank the same water as camels and donkeys; we would chase them away and drink it. We spent four days in the desert, and we changed vehicles almost regularly. We moved from one ghetto to another. Sometimes, it took about four days before another pick-up truck came to take us to another ghetto. Our drivers were always wary of the policemen before passing the border. What happened when you arrived in Libya?  When I arrived, I went to my agent’s place and I was there for one week. I was treated, and I collected drugs and injections. Then, after a week, I started working as a maid in the house of an Arab man. How many months did you work for this Arab man?  In the first place, I worked for just over a month, but when the job was too much for me, I called my agent to change my work because I could not bear it anymore. I spent about six months in the second place I worked. I also had to manage the second place because my agent said if I complained about the job, he would sell me out to someone else and get paid. Some agents, after getting paid by the workers, sell them off to another agent. After working for six months, I went to another workplace. I left the second workplace because my boss always maltreated me. I was only able to manage the place for six months. The work there was not easy; I almost died, but God saved me. I woke up at 9 in the morning and go to bed around 2 am. It was hard work; I was cleaning all the time; cleaning the house, washing everything, mopping the floor, washing the rug and other things. I always repeated the same work every day, and my boss was never satisfied; my boss always called me different types of names, and if I worked, the woman would say the work was not good; she always complained all the time. I was also taking care of her young son in addition to my regular duties. Looking after him wasn’t part of my job, but I did it regardless. I didn’t even have time for myself; no time to sleep or do things for myself. I fed twice a day, and I had my first meal around 2 pm. The Arab people were the ones responsible for my feeding and clothing. My agent always came to collect his monthly pay from my boss. Were you told the kind of work you would be doing in Libya?  No. Nobody knows. My agent told me that I would just be washing plates and toilets, but the work I was doing there was different from the work they told me I would do. How long did it take you before you finished paying your agent’s money?  I had just two months left to finish paying my agent when the Libyan police arrested me. At that time, I was working at the third place. I left my workplace to visit my agent. The police accosted me and asked for my passport because they knew many Nigerians usually entered their country through illegal means, and I didn’t have one (passport). I was not the only person who was arrested; there were many, but I was the first one that the police took. Was your arrest and imprisonment immigration-related, or were you accused of a specific offence? I was arrested because I was seen without a passport. We spent four days inside that station before we were shifted to another station, where we spent three days before they took us to a prison in Tripoli. I was arrested on November 26th, 2024. Sometimes it’s not because of a passport that Nigerians get arrested. Some people had their passports but still got arrested and deported. The policemen would tear their passports and would say they didn’t want Nigerians in their country anymore. While you were in prison, did you try to reach out to your agent so he could bail you out? There was no phone in the prison for us to use. But if they came to bail some people out, we normally wrote out numbers for them so they could help call our agents and tell them where we were so we could be freed. But I didn’t see any help, and my agent didn’t come looking for me. I’m sure my boss would have called him and told him I was nowhere to be found, but he did not come looking for me, although he claimed that he came looking for me, and did not see me because there were too many people in the prison cell. Can you describe the prison conditions and how you were treated? The conditions were terrible, and we were treated poorly. There was no food, no water, nothing. We had our morning meal around 4 pm and had dinner past 11 at night. They were giving us small bread and rice. What we were being fed was so small that it would not be enough for a child. The halls were extremely overcrowded; there were about 1,000 inmates in the first hall and around 400 to 500 in the second. The cells for men and women were different. There were pregnant women, elderly women, and even children who had been born inside the cells. They didn’t attend to the pregnant women especially, but if the situation got worse, we would knock on the gate, then the police would open the door and they would carry them out to a hospital. They didn’t attend to sick people unless the situation was critical. Some people were dying there, a little boy of four years old also died. How long were you in prison for? I spent more than four months in prison before I was deported to Nigeria. Was there any time while working in the Arab house that you regretted travelling to Libya?  I even regretted my decision to travel through the desert before I got to Libya. Why do you think many young Nigerian ladies like to travel to Libya to go to work? Some agents normally lie to people that there is money in Libya and it is possible to earn N400,000, N500,000 or N600,000 within a month. But the truth is that if the money is converted to Nigerian currency, it’s just about N200,000 or N250,000 in one month, and that money will be collected by the agent until you are done paying. Were you given any legal representation, or were you able to communicate with Nigerian authorities while in prison? I was not given a lawyer, and we were not allowed to communicate with the Nigerian embassy. The Nigerian embassy comes to the prison and asks us if we want to go back to Nigeria. Some people even said they still wanted freedom to go back to Libya, because they can’t go to Nigeria without anything. So some people spent up to a year, two years and more. The Nigerian embassy does not bring medical supplies, food, clothes and other things when they visit the prison, it’s only the International Organisations for Migration that brings some things like sanitary pads, soaps and small towels for us. Did you register for deportation and when were you deported back to Nigeria?  Yes, I registered for deportation, and I was deported on the 18th of March, 2025. We registered for deportation in November last year, but our terms and conditions were not out yet. We re-registered on February 19th this year, and the terms and conditions became available on March 12. I was released from prison on March 18, 2025; the same day we were brought back to Nigeria. We arrived at the airport in Lagos. We were over 150 who were deported to Nigeria that day. Sometimes, people are deported back to Nigeria twice in a month. Some representatives of the Federal Government came to meet us in Lagos, and they gave us food, the kind of food we had not eaten in months. We ate jollof rice and chicken. Did the Federal Government assist or empower you in any way?  Yes. After we arrived at the airport and we were welcomed, a vehicle conveyed us to a camp in Ikeja. A seminar was held to re-orientate us. We spent about four to five days in the camp. They also promised to assist us with a start-up business after three months of our arrival. Did they start up any business for you?  Some people have got paid. The IOM has called me about the business I want to start. They called me in the first week of this month. What do you think the government should do to stop our ladies and men from travelling to this country to do dirty work?  I know the government is trying, but I know it would be difficult to block the Kano road that leads to Niger Republic because many people are travelling through deadly means to that terrible country called Libya. If allowed to travel legally to Libya, will you take it?  I cannot allow the rat in my family to travel to that country again. It’s a terrible place for any Nigerian. What lessons have you learnt from your experience in Libya?  I learnt a lot of lessons. I know that Nigeria is good but our leaders are bad. In Libya, there is no freedom; no freedom of expression, no freedom of movement. You can’t live the way you like; you can’t go out of your house without looking out for the police. What message will you give to other young women who are considering travelling to Libya through the desert?  They should never give up on what they have here. It may not be easy, but it is not better in Libya. They should stay in their country. For anybody who would like to support you now, what would you want them to do for you?  I would love them to support me in business. I want to sell food, or if possible, sell first-grade secondhand clothes. At least I would be able to take care of my children. Do you believe Nigeria is doing enough to sensitise and educate people who have been victims of irregular migration and human trafficking?  Not at all. I believe they should organise more awareness campaigns to educate people about the dangers of travelling to these country and the risks associated with illegal migration. How have you been coping with the trauma and terrible experience since you came back? It has not been easy; it has been the grace of God that has been keeping me since I returned.