CRIME
Court Awards N10m Fine Against ICPC over Malicious Prosecution
A Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday, awarded a N10 million fine against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Offences Related Commission (ICPC) over malicious prosecution of a public servant, Emmanuel Ibe.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a judgment, held that the ICPC, in the course of the trial, had caused Ibe unnecessary discomfort and disruption in the life and career processing of the worker.
Ibe dragged the anti-corruption commission (defendant) before the court over malicious prosecution.
The plaintiff was, as at September 30th, 2016, the Director, Finance and Administration at the Police Services Commission (PSC) and also the acting secretary of the PSC up to July, 2016.
In the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/379/2019, Ibe asked the court to award in his favour the sum of N500 million as general damages for malicious prosecution.
Ibe averred that in April 2016, while his curriculum vitae was being considered by the Presidency for appointment as the substantive secretary to the PSC, the commission, in a bizarre manner, invited the him to make written statement under words of caution in respect of a petition written against the Chairman PSC, Dr Mike Okiro about a year ago and which had no reference to him.
He said the ICPC, based on a petition written against him by a staff of PSC, Aaron Kaose, prosecuted him on criminal allegation and charges bothering on corruption, fraud and dishonesty.
He said as a result of the case, his name was dropped and not considered fit for the office of the secretary to the PSC and a permanent secretary was posted from another ministry to replace him.
According to him, pressure was mounted on the PSC and the Head of Civil Service of the Federation to have him suspended from duty pending the outcome of the prosecution.
“But the PSC only yielded to redeployment of the plaintiff from the position of Director Finance and Administration to the position of Director Zonal Office Coordination,” he said.
However, the ICPC prosecuted Ibe up to judgment before an FCT High Court and his counsel defended himself on all the counts and at the conclusion of hearing, the court delivered a judgment and discharged and acquitted him on all the charges.
He said he defended himself in the cad by hiring the services of legal practitioners and incurred legal fees in the sum of N5 million.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Ekwo said that the court made findings on whether the ICPC was able to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
“Now, from the judgment of the Court (Exhs. PW1-A9-A34), the prosecution (ICPC) failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
“This means there was no basis for the prosecution of the plaintiff (Ibe) by the defendant (ICPC) going by the uncontroverted facts of this case.
“In other words, the defendant acted beyond the scope of its statutory duty when it filed a charge against the plaintiff and proceeded to put him through three years of prosecution which ended in his discharge and acquittal at the conclusion of the proceedings.
“This was clearly malevolent.
“I find that the case of the plaintiff succeeds on the merit, and I so hold,” he held.
Ekwo said that on the claim of N500 million against the ICPC as general damages for malicious prosecution, “the principle for the award of general damages has been well enunciated by the court.”
“The primary object of an award of damages is to compensate the plaintiff for the harm done to him or a possible secondary object is to punish the defendant for his conduct in inflicting that harm.
“Such a secondary object can be achieved by awarding, in addition to the normal compensatory damages, damages which go by various names, to wit; exemplary damages, punitive damages, vindictive damages, as where it discloses malice, fraud, cruelty, insolence, flagrant disregard of the law and the like,” he held.
The ICPC had filed a nine-count charge against Ibe on Oct. 21, 2016 and the trial concluded on Feb. 4, 2019.
“This was in my view, about three years after unnecessary discomfort and disruption in the life and career progression of the plaintiff.
“The effect that the prosecution has on the career path of the plaintiff cannot be quantified,” he said.
According to the judge, once malicious prosecution has been established, It comes with consequential damages.
“Upon weighing the circumstance of this case, I make an order awarding the sum of N10,000,000.00 (ten million naira) against the defendant as general damages for malicious prosecution of the plaintiff,” the judge ruled. (NAN)
CRIME
Enugu Police Arrest 25-Year-old Man over Alleged Kidnapping, Armed Robbery
From Sylvia Udegbunam, Enugu
Operatives of the Enugu State Police Command attached to the New Haven Division and the Distress Response Squad (DRS), on 6th December 2025 at about 6 a.m., swiftly responded to a distress call and arrested one Orlu Chukwuemeka (male, 25).
Investigations revealed that the suspect and his accomplice, who is currently at large, disguised as commercial operators of an unregistered white mini bus and abducted their female passenger in a one-chance-styled operation at Fourth Dimension, along Chime Avenue, Enugu.
During the incident, the suspects stabbed the victim, pushed her out of the moving vehicle along the same Chime Avenue, and escaped, after robbing her of an Android phone and ATM card.
Police operatives immediately trailed and intercepted them within Independence Layout, Enugu, leading to the arrest of Orlu, while the other suspect fled.Ina press statement sent by the Police public relations officer Enugu State Command, Daniel Ndukwe stated that the victim was promptly taken to the hospital for medical attention, where she regained stability and was able to positively identify the arrested suspect as part of the criminal gang.
The suspect has since been arraigned in court and remanded in custody, while intensive efforts are ongoing to track down the fleeing accomplice and ensure every person involved is brought to justice.
The Commissioner of Police, Mamman Bitrus Giwa, appreciates the timely support from public-spirited citizens that aided the swift arrest. He reiterates the Command’s unwavering resolve to combating violent crimes across Enugu State this festive season and beyond, urging residents to continue providing credible and timely security information.
CRIME
We Say No to killings of Christians in Nigeria – Group
By David Torough, Abuja
The Future Platform, a Nigeria-based organization headquartered in the United States, has expressed deep concern over the increasing attacks and killings of Christians in various parts of Nigeria.
In a statement signed by its President, Mr.
Austine Dafe, the group condemned the ongoing violence and called on the Nigerian government to take decisive steps to ensure the safety of all citizens.The organization cited recent incidents in Plateau, Benue, Kwara, Jigawa, Anambra, and Kaduna States, where Christian communities have come under repeated attacks, leading to loss of lives, destruction of properties, and displacement of families.
It described the situation as deeply troubling and urged authorities to act swiftly to bring perpetrators to justice.“The government must address the root causes of these violent attacks and prioritize the protection of human life,” the statement said. “Every Nigerian, irrespective of religion, deserves to live in peace and worship freely without fear.”
The group further noted that the persistent killings have drawn international attention, with calls from the United States and Canada for urgent intervention to halt the violence.
The Future Platform appealed to Federal and State Governments, as well as religious and community leaders, to speak out against hate and intolerance while working together to promote peace, unity, and justice.
“This is a time for leadership and moral courage,” Mr. Dafe stated. “The killings must stop, and the lives of innocent Nigerians must be protected.”
CRIME
Police Arrest Seven Suspects Linked to Murder of IBBUL Student
From Dan Amasingha, Minna
Following the killing of a 300 level Student of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai (IBBUL), Abdulwahab Jafar that led to a massive protest, the State Police Command has arrested seven persons linked to the crime.
The Niger State Police Command in a Statement on Tuesday by the police public Relations officer, Wasiu Abiodun said a total of 19 persons were initially arrested, but after screening 7 were detained.
He said the breakthrough is coming almost four months after the 23yrs old was killed from wounds he sustained while been stabbed at his lodge.
“It could be recalled that on June 23, 2025 at about 3am, there was a report of an unfortunate attack on a student of the IBBUL identified as Abdulwahab Jafar 23yrs of Paiko at his lodge in the school, among other attacks leading to loss of life of the said student”
He recalled that, the incident led to other crises in Lapai community and Police tactical teams were deployed to the town through which normalcy was restored.
“However, in a follow up investigative effort of the Command, jointly carried out by TST and FID STS, a total of 19 persons were arrested in Lapai and other locations in the State based on intelligence and other information at the disposal of the Police Command
“The investigation activities were narrowed down to seven suspects for criminal conspiracy, robbery, unlawful society, internet fraud, having in possession of dangerous weapons and suspected culpable homicide “
The Command named the seven suspects as ; Idris Hamza 27yrs of Maikunkele, Suleiman Damilare 27yrs of Maikunkele, Abdulsemiu Bashir 23yrs of Lapai,Bawa Aliyu 27yrs of Suleja and Yakubu Musa – Pypa 24yrs of Maikunkele .
Others are Samson Abbah, Small 28yrs Rafin /Yanshi, Solomon Musa – Cabella 28yrs of Maitumbi.
Acvording to SP Wasiu Abiodun, based on credible intelligence, Idris Hamza and Suleiman Damilare were arrested on June 27 at Fadikpe with cannabis, charms, and local black soaps with a Toyota Corolla vehicle at one Abdullahi Ahmed a.k.a catch-up residence.
The suspects confessed to members of Neo Black Movement of Africa (NBM) and further confessed to having carried out a series of cultist activities in IBBUL such as initiation of members’ e.g Jolijoli and other members.
“Their confessions led to the arrest of Abdulsemiu Basir, who is reasonably suspected to be a rival member of the group known as VIKINGS.”
He explained that, upon his arrest in Lapai at a motor park on June 29, a spot search was carried out on him, he was found in possession of 16 SIM cards, POS machine and sum of seventy-seven thousand naira.
“He claimed that he bought the SIM cards from one Audu, another member of VIKINGS presently at large, and the SIM cards were confirmed to be from stolen/robbed phones of victims”.
Bawa Aliyu, before his arrest, was said to have admitted that he was a butcher with axe in NBM Lapai while Yakubu Musa a.k.a PYPA (protect your peace) was arrested on August 14, also a member of NBM, they confirmed to have carried out several attacks and robberies in students lodges to finance their dues, with internet fraud.
Samson Abbah a.k.a Small of Rafin-Yanshi was a student of Federal Polytechnic Bida, graduated in 2017, but joined NBM in 2015, he was also mentioned as the group Admin officer of their WhatsApp platform for Minna zone.
The platform was named as “Men that matters” before he changed it to “Football News”, where they discussed their nefarious activities. Solomon Musa known as Cabella, a close friend of Bawa and Yakubu, the three of them with others attempted to attack another student in the school in August, but met his absence and destroyed the student’s apartment over an alleged rude attitude of the student to them as they claimed.
The Command said investigation is still ongoing and effort to identify either VIKINGS or NBM members responsible for the attack of the deceased is intensified, as it was established that the attack was cultists related.

