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OPINION: Obasa, Aláàfin Ṣàngó And The Capture Of Lagos

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By Festus Adedayo

On Wednesday, February 25, 2025, a very toxic but innocuous advertorial was published in the Punch newspaper. It was authored by a group which called itself De Renaissance Patriots Foundation. Entitled Systematic Marginalization of Lagos State Indigenes, and signed by Major General Tajudeen Olanrewaju (rtd.) and Yomi Tokosi, the advertorial explains the legislative gangsterism currently going on in Lagos State, ex-Speaker Mudashiru Obasa’s impudent audacity and President Bola Tinubu’s nauseating silence on the civilian coup ongoing in the State of Aquatic Splendour.

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The only fitting narrative that can explain the Obasa phenomenon and the Lagos godfather’s paternalism for Obasa and his ilk is the Osu caste system in Igboland. Among other obnoxious systems like the killing of twin babies, killing of children who grew first upper incisors, human sacrifices, among others, Osu caste is evergreen in its evil, and rooted in Igbo tradition and religion. Rev. George Thomas Basden’s book Among the Ibos of Southern Nigeria, (1921), a detailed account of the clergy’s experiences while living in Igbo land as a Christian missionary in the early 20th century, examines the people’s customs, beliefs, social structure and religious practices.

On page 109 of the book, Basden defined Osu as “a slave, but one distinct from an ordinary slave (ohu/oru) who in fact is the property of the god and when devoted to a god, he has no prospect of regaining freedom and he restricts his movements to the procuts of the shrine to which he was attached”. Centuries after the end of slavery and in spite of modernity, Osu caste’s poignant smell is rank in Igboland as Osu are still discriminated against, cannot marry a freeborn, their aspirations curtailed. They are thus forced to form an inter-group bond and alliance to press for their rights. A former minister under Olusegun Obasanjo, who is an Osu, is the rallying point of this caste against discrimination by “freeborn” Igbo. As I will argue presently, the Lagos parliament crisis, among other indicators, is fueled by the ancient indigene/settler dichotomy in Lagos. In this case, the Lagos godfather symbolizes the Obasanjo minister, hell-bent on protecting his fellow Lagos migrant-settlers.

General Olanrenwaju’s group which published the advertorial made several allegations against the godfather. They are encapsulated in the phrase, “persistent discrimination against the indigenous people of Lagos State.” Perhaps, the most insulting to the group was the temerity of the godfather’s choice of two non-indigenes of the state, Bisi Akande and Segun Osoba, ex-governors of Osun and Ogun States, to mediate in the crisis of the Lagos House of Assembly. Apart from the group’s total denunciation of this alien intervention, it specifically took Akande to the cleaners. Akande, it said, who “is struggling for political breath” in his home state, being unable to resolve the ongoing conflagration therein, feels entitled to poke-nose into Lagos matter “because his children, Akande Funmilayo (Chairman Apapa/Iganmu LCDA) and Yinka Akande are seriously benefiting from (sic) as Local Council Chairman and Director of Lekki Free Trade Zone respectively.”

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As groups or individuals, Lagos indigenes have always stood up against the ruling establishment. A 1908 proposed water rate for Lagosians is an example. On July 20 of that year, Governor Walter Egerton proposed to charge Lagosians for them to access portable water. This was after his government constructed a #130,000 pipe borne water scheme, the precursor of the Iju waterworks built in 1916. Two indigenes of Lagos, John Randle and Orisadipe Obasa, medical doctors, under the banner of the People’s Union, arranged a rally of Lagosians at Enu Owa on November 26, 1908 where they took Egerton on. Randle and Obasa were themselves not autochthonous Lagosians. Randle, born in 1855 in Regent, Sierra Leone, originally from Oyo town, was son of Thomas, who settled in Aroloya part of Lagos, while Obasa, whose father descended from the Elekole of Ikole-Ekiti, was brought to Lagos in 1878. It must be borne in mind that Orisadipe Obasa has no ancestral connect with Mudashiru who is currently recreating an MC Oluomo motor-park hijack prototype in the Lagos parliament.

Indigene/settlers conflict in Lagos dates back to the 15th century. The Awori headsmen earliest settlers on Lagos Island, descendants of legendary Ogunfunminire, who hailed from Ile-Ife, had faced a Bini attempt to uproot them which was successful. A fierce battle that took place at Iddo had Olofin, who administered the area, being routed. Since then, the development of Lagos has attracted the influx of migrant-settlers Yoruba and other ethnicities laying claim to Lagos. The influence of migrant-settlers was so overwhelming that when in 1950, Dr I. Olorun-Nimbe emerged Mayor of the Lagos Council, only him and four others were Lagos indigenes while the rest 19 were migrant-settlers. The 1951 Constitution which placed Lagos under Ibadan, in a Western Region administration, further worsened Lagos’ fate, until the 1954 Constitution restored its place. In 1967, Lagos got a state of its own and federal capital status. So, when in the 1950s, the heartland of Lagos indigenes’ residence, the Isale Eko, was demolished, groups were formed to continually fight the interest of indigenous Lagosians. They included the Isale Eko Association (1955) and Egbe Eko Parapo (Lagos Citizens’ Rights Protection Council – LCRPC) 1962. The latter emerged from a merger of the Lagos Aborigines Society and the Egbe Omo Ibile Eko (Association of the Sons of Lagos State) which was led by Chief T. A. Doherty. Today, the most prominent of those associations is the Association of Lagos State Indigenes (ALSI) hitherto led by Justice Ishola Oluwa, a retired High Court Judge.

The role of identity in Nigeria’s migrant-settlers crisis shows its importance in Nigerian social life. It also shows that identity has negative potentials that can be deployed as a tool for mobilizing violence. In the year 2000, Lagos deployed identity for violence when Hausa and Yoruba indigene-settlers engaged one other in a fratricidal war in Ketu. That fight, which claimed lives, indicates the adversarial use that autocththony can be put to. Scholars have said that several of Nigeria’s worst conflicts occurred because original inhabitants, or indigenes, are pitted against migrant-settlers. The Obasa Lagos budding conflict, though appears political, may unravel the powers behind it.

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In Yorubaland, the migrant-settlers dynamics is rich in literature. It is indeed an ancient phenomenon. Signified by the native markers of àjèjì or àjòjì (migrants) and onílé, (autocththony) the common phrase that defines that transaction is, no migrant-settler should duel with an indigene over ownership of land (àjòjì kìí b’ónílé du’lé). This is the meat of General Olanrewaju and his De Renaissance Patriots Foundation’s beef with Tinubu and why many autochthonous Lagosians, regardless of Tinubu’s behemoth political power in Nigeria, his talismanic influence and boundless wealth, are against his continued domination of Lagos. It also explains why a Tinubu, who today is carrying a monstrous elephant of Nigerian power and wealth on his head could be this needlessly bothered by the tiny cricket of being sidelined in the sack of Obasa as Lagos House of Assembly Speaker. The moment Tinubu loses this makeshift, badly-constructed Lagos identity in the battle with autochthonous Lagosians, he has lost all.

The above was recalled with the aim of stating that, though the àjèjì and onílée stranger politics in Lagos has always been on the front burner, it has been more pronounced in recent time. This specifically drew more Lagosians’ ire with the godfather, an àjèjì, becoming the Lord of Lagos and defender of the rights of fellow migrant settlers. In the above referenced advertorial, the De Renaissance Patriots Foundation claimed that since 1999, only one Lagos Omo-Onílé (son of the land) has been governor, ostensibly Raji Fashola. What this means is that Tinubu, Akinwumi Ambode and Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in the words of the advertorial, are àjòjì. The group also listed names of many àjòjì who it said have, unfairly, hoisted the banner of Lagos at the detriment of Lagosians.

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Some extreme ones among the Lagos indigenes’ rights advocates have literally equalized their battle to an ancient Yoruba wise saying that no stranger can back a child like its mother (kò s’éni t’ó le mòó pòn bí olómo). Some others, in pursuit of this narrative, have claimed that the àjòjì at the helm of political affairs in and of Lagos, don’t appreciate Lagos enough, just like the domestic goat undervalues the prowess of a hunter and his gun; or one who inherits a huge agbada gown does not appreciate its value (ewúrẹ́ ilé kó mọ iyì odẹ, aj’ogún ẹwù kó mọ iyì agbádá nlá). It is on these twin premises that they derive their two conclusions. One is that, Lagos could have developed more than it does if the migrant-settlers had been autochtonous Lagosians. Second, that Lagos could have been greater but for the fact that the wealth accruable to the Ajoji from their leadership of Lagos are being funneled to the migrants’ original place of migration.

Prior to 1999, there did not seem to be anyone who held the jugular of Lagos like Tinubu. Before the ascendancy of his volcanic phenomenon, the last power outpost of Lagos was a group pejoratively called the ‘Ijebu Mafia’, disciples of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, operating as Afenifere leaders, living in Lagos. They determined the political geography of the aquatic state. Indeed, this group conducted the primary for the 1999 governorship which allegedly had Late Funsho Williams coming tops but which an internal abracadabra among the group tilted in favour of Tinubu. Immediately he grabbed political power, Tinubu, applying Law 33 of Robert Greene’s 48 Laws of Power which encourages the power holder to discover each man’s thumbscrew – their weaknesses – found out the Ijebu Mafia leaders’ thumbscrew and used it to prepare their political graveyards. He then succeeded in tearing them apart, deploying the Niccolo Machiavelli divide and rule tactics in the service of his ambition.

By 2007 when the godfather left office as Lagos governor, he had totally decimated their ranks, cloning a counter-group called Afenifere Renewal Group and leaving the Awo disciples licking their fatally bruised wounds. Abetted by Lagosians themselves, only a few, like the late Chief Ganiyu Dawodu, fought Tinubu to the hilt before his transition. By the time Lagos aborigines woke up to do a reconnaissance, it was too late. The godfather had captured Lagos and kept the lagoon and the sea inside his limitless-space pocket. Twenty five years after, not only does the godfather determine the political and economic barometer of Lagos, he determines when it will rain in the state or its time of drought.

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The godfather’s migrant-settler place in Lagos is discussed only in hushed tones. Those privy to his migration and the story of his settling in Lagos maintain sealed lips. While he was governor of Lagos State, some dissident groups made efforts to document his migrancy by writing a book to document the family tree of Lagos Tinubus. Some other analysts have said that if the Lagos autochthony is to be broken into brass-tacks, virtually all Lagosians will fail the litmus test. For instance, the ancestor of the Tinubus is himself a Kanuri. While some settlers chose the Lagos Island side of Lagos called Isale Eko, Sierra Leone returnees were known as Akus or Saros, and Brazilians and Cuban returnees known as Agudas. Many of them originally hailed from towns scattered round the southwest. Only the Aworis can be said to own the Lagos autochthony. Immediately Mudashiru Obasa began to recreate the MC Oluomo-style tactic in Lagos House of Assembly, some forces came out to assert the deposed Speaker’s àt’òhúnrìnwá (migrant) status in Lagos and that he was not linked in any way with Orisadipe Obasa.

The 2023 election witnessed a groundswell of push-backs by, especially non-Yoruba indigene-settlers in Lagos, against the godfather’s fiefdom hold on Lagos. The outcome of that election showed a gradual whittling of the corrosive hold of the godfather on Lagos politics. Apparently a rebellion, Lagos migrant-settlers encircled the Peter Obi Labour Party and succeeded in giving it 582,454 votes as against 572,606 for the godfather’s APC. The godfather must have been furious. Until then and since 1999 when he held court, no one dared peer naked fire to look at the fiery face of the leopard. In the process of scapegoating for this colossal rout, a source told me the godfather held his Ajélè (an appointed official who oversees an empire’s economic and political interests) responsible and has since not forgiven him. More importantly, he is cross with him for being his own man and having the guts to win re-election due to his personal effort. For any godfather, a la the precepts of the Forty-eight Laws of Power, the Ajélè had committed an unpardonable sin against the Leviathan. So, even though Obasa rode roughshod on the Ajélè as Speaker, especially during the 2025 budget speech presentation, keeping him waiting for hours, the godfather wasn’t fazed and probably wrote the script. The world has since seen that, as Obasa’s water bug (Ìròmi) dances on the stream surface with impunity and audacity, executed with sheer brigandage, as well as abetted by institutions of the Nigerian state, the danceable tune egging the poor little creature on comes from a godfather drummer living in Aso Rock whose ego was fatally bruised.

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To buttress General Olanrewaju’s submission, today, Lagos political power echelon, from governor, deputy governor, commissioners to special advisers, ministers representing Lagos, to federal and state parliamentarians, is tilted in favour of àt’òhúnrìnwá (immigrants) as against autochthonous Lagosians. The most laughable was Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola who represented Lagos West from 2015 to 2023 and before then, from 2011 to 2015, was Lagos House of Representatives member. Today, the man, known as Yayi, has perfunctorily exchanged state of origin like a prostitute changes her liaisons. He now represents Ogun West.

The story of Lagos, its godfather and potential explosion is beginning to resemble the cataclysmic end of the Yoruba deity of thunder and lightning, Ṣàngó. Aláàfin Ṣàngó, the third monarch of the Oyo Empire, was about the most celebrated and one of the most controversial rulers of the Empire. He was fiery, ambitious, charismatic and was extremely powerful. Like the cap insignia with which the Lagos godfather is known by today and which his worshippers scramble to don, Ṣàngó’s motif was a staff called Ose Ṣàngó, an ornately carved symbol depicted by fire, lighting and thunder.

Ṣàngó, the third Aláàfin of Oyo, who reigned between the 15th and early 16th centuries, was a man of great ambition, fiery charisma, and immense power. His name is invoked today to reify awesome might and the mystery of power. He mirrors a complex interplay of leadership acumen, divinity, and eventually, a reference point of potential human vulnerability. Like the Lagos godfather, Aláàfin Ṣàngó had a talismanic and commanding presence and inspired widespread loyalty. He also had the magical and mystical ability to command fire from the sky in his fit of anger. Ultimately, though his strength , the endowment ultimately led to his downfall. One day, Ṣàngó, enraged, invoked fire which resulted in a conflagration that went out of control. It eventually led to the destruction of his palace as well as lives of its inhabitants. It was the beginning of his end. Stripped of all he had, Ṣàngó departed Oyo Kingdom and never returned. He eventually committed suicide at a place called Koso.

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Apart from the power of Yoruba anecdotal retelling latent in that Sango narrative, the downfall of Oba Ṣàngó is a detailed illustration that even in a modern world, no ruler or godfather is immune from the vulnerabilities of power. It also illustrates the destruction immanent in human nature. The Obasa episode, though seemingly miniature, has the potential to implode and flush the Lagos godfather down the drain, replicating the Ṣàngó downfall in recent history.

Maybe we all should just watch while an end comes to this tyrannical hold, after all, in the words of Nawal El Saadawi in her A daughter of Isis, “Things that never end are only boring, and were it not for death, life would be an impossible burden.”

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The Nigerian Senate erupted again last week. This time, it was not about allegation of its leadership being a cesspool of sleaze, a home of self-serving parliamentarians nor corruptible budget-padding that have become a boring refrain. Sequel to an earlier seemingly infantile squabble over sitting arrangement, the female anti-hero of that row, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, came on air on Friday to allege that her continuous spats with Senate President Godswill Akpabio were due to a sexual harassment she rebuffed in the past. And the social space went bonkers.

First, the two issues that threw Akpoti-Uduaghan and Senate President Godswill Akpabio to centers of discourse have throwbacks to and possess symbolic bearing in American and biblical history. Many have berated her on why a trifling matter of space/seat allocation on the floor of the parliament should get her that worked up. They must however have forgotten that one of the issues that women who try to square up to men in a patriarchal society like ours face and fight is visibility. While in pursuit of the male dominance thesis, men try to hold women down, such women try to assert themselves and create visibility for themselves.

Akpoti-Uduaghan’s squabble over seating arrangement and Akpabio’s senate’s resistance and insistence on maintenance of status-quo remind me of the famous Montgomery bus altercation of 1955. On December 1 of that year in Montgomery, Alabama, a 42-year-old woman named Rosa Parks did what philosophers call against method. Paul Feyeraband, an Austrian philosopher, had in 1976 pioneered that thesis. In a racial American society of the time where blacks were inferior and expected to leave their bus seats for whites, Parks refused to give up hers for a white male passenger. Her refusal sparked off a boycott that changed the paradigm of racial relationship in America. It even shot the less-known Martin Luther King Jr to world recognition. At the risk of sanctions for her impudence, Parks had reportedly told the Montgomery bus driver, “My feet are tired.” Like Parks’ fight for the visibility of the black race, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s resistance was a fight for the visibility of women.

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If other women in the senate like Ireti Kingibe had seen the fight as being beyond mere seat allocation into an underscore of their womanliness and fight against the irritant male-dominated status-quo, they probably would have given the Kogi senator more collective push. Like Bettina Aptheker wrote in her Foreword to Nawal El Saadawi’s A daughter of Isis, “women (daily) struggle for voice and human dignity and to overcome the binds of patriarchy…and are crushed under patriarchal conventions”. Women’s sexuality is constantly crushed in this struggle.

The second issue that flows from the first is Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegation of sexual harassment. People have taken stands either on account of their stomachs, what lies between their thighs or their political affiliations. Again, the allegation is a symbolism. Many who cannot stand Akpoti-Uduaghan’s femininity or her boldness to underscore it in a patriarchal senate have likened her allegation to the biblical Portiphar’s wife who alleged that Joseph wanted to sexually assault her. Many have also brought out her alleged history which they claim feeds the trope of her usual allegations of blackmail against the male gender. If allegation is a typecast, Akpabio’s alleged history with women validates Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegation. A couple of years ago, Joy Nunieh, a former NDDC MD, had alleged that she slapped the senate president when he attempted to sexualize her in his guest house at Apo, Abuja.

On an Arise News interview, Ireti had attempted to infantilize Akpoti-Uduaghan, the same way a huge percentage of the senate fatherlize Akpabio who is only first among equals in the parliament. This is due to the huge war-chest in the possession of his leadership and capability to substantially jerk up members’ personal finance through graft. The other day on the same television station, Peter Onyeka Nwebonyi, representing Ebonyi State, did this by claiming that Akpabio was “our father.” Last Friday, Kingibe did this, too by referring to Akpoti-Uduaghan as “my daughter”. She further fell into the argumentative pitfall of claiming that since Akpabio never assaulted her and the two other female senators, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegation must be concocted. I pray thee, do these elderly women still possess their colleague’s sultry disposition? And, isn’t it a rarity to see lascivious flesh-devouring vultures attempt to take grandmothers for supper?

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We cannot suffer on all fronts by having a National Assembly that is allegedly a cesspit of Nigerian national patrimony-devourers, as well as home for devourers of the flesh of our women. Yes, it is almost an impossibility to prove sexual harassment by a woman, but Akpoti-Uduaghan’s boldness and the sheaves of evidence she claimed to possess to buttress her claim should be encouraged. No one must attempt a “family affair” settlement or else, one more rascally libido would be let loose.

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NYSC Commends Bauchi Govt On Infrastructural Development In Orientation Camp

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The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has commended Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi state on his infrastructural development projects in NYSC permanent orientation camp in the state.

Mr Umoren Kufre, the NYSC Coordinator in the state made the commendation on Tuesday during the closing ceremony of the 2025 Batch ‘A’ stream II orientation course on Wailo, Ganjuwa Local Government Area of the state.

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According to him, the renovation of corps members’ hostels and camp officials’ blocks as well as the construction of a brand new multipurpose hall in the camp by the state government portrayed the governor as a good father of the youth.

“This kind gesture will remain very fresh in our minds for a long time to come. Once more, thank you, your Excellency.

READ ALSO: NYSC Urges Bauchi Governor To Reconstruct Collapsed Camp Fence

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“I also wish to thank the Bauchi state Government for providing the conducive environment and security for both Corps members and camp officials which contributed in no small measure in making this exercise a huge success

“Similarly, I appreciate all of our collaborating agencies that sent their personnel to assist us in the running of the camp. My staff, as usual, were at their very best to ensure a seamless exercise. May God bless and reward you all

“I wish to register our appreciation to the Wailo Community for being our good host and neighbours over the years, their efforts in meeting our needed casual labour demands eased much stress on the Corps members and officials

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“In the same spirit, I sincerely like to commend the patriotism, loyalty, patience, perseverance, understanding, and the good conduct of Corps members during the orientation course,” he said.

READ ALSO: NYSC Assures Impactful Participation Of Corps Members On Host Communities

Kufre enjoined the corps members to continue to be obedient, loyal and diligent, urging them to endeavour to settle down quickly in their places of primary assignment and adapt to the ways of life there.

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He further called on them to do their best in obeying the rules governing their host communities, learn to appreciate their customs and culture and ensure that they leave the places better than they meet them.

The people of Bauchi state, as you have been told many times, are hospitable people and the glaring proof as you can see are the buses sent by Local Government Councils to convey you to your places of primary assignment.

“I implore you to reciprocate this good gesture by contributing your best to the upliftment of your host communities and Bauchi State in general,” said the Coordinator.

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1,300 corps members completed the orientation course and were posted to different parts of Bauchi state for the one year compulsory service.

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Ghana Deports Convicted Nigerian For Smuggling Fake $100,000

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A Nigerian, Aremu Adegboyega, convicted by a Circuit Court in Accra, Ghana, for smuggling counterfeit CFA francs worth over $100,000 into the country through an unauthorised border route will be deported to Nigeria, according to The PUNCH.

Justice Christiana Cann, who presided over the case ordered his immediate deportation by the Ghana Immigration Service.

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According to ASP Isaac Anquandah, as cited by a Ghanaian news outlet, The Chronicle, on Monday, Adegboyega was arrested in 2023 by customs officers stationed at the Aflao border while he was travelling on a motorcycle.

The 55-year-old was charged with two counts of possessing forged notes, in violation of Section 18(2) of Ghana’s Currency Act, 1964 (Act 242), as well as one count of illegal entry into the country.

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For possession of counterfeit CFA francs, the court fined the convict 250 penalty units, equivalent to GH¢3,000.

In default of payment, according to the report, he will serve a two-year prison sentence with hard labour.

For illegal entry into Ghana, he was reportedly fined an additional 120 penalty units or GH¢1,440. If he fails to pay, The Chronicle reports, he will serve another two-year prison term.

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The sentences are expected to run concurrently, meaning he will serve a maximum of two years if he defaults on both payments.

READ ALSO:Ghana’s Ex-security Chief Charged With Theft, Money Laundering

The report added that, in addition to the fines and prison sentence, the court ordered his immediate deportation to Nigeria.

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Adegboyega was apprehended at Beat Zero, an unauthorised crossing point along the Ghana-Togo border.

Riding as a pillion passenger on a motorcycle and carrying a backpack, according to the police, he aroused suspicion, prompting the officers to search his belongings.

During the search, officers discovered bundles of suspected counterfeit currency: CFA francs totalling CFA 80,653,000 and Nigerian naira amounting to N101,500.

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READ ALSO:US Deports Six Nigerians For Various Offences

Further investigation revealed that he had smuggled the fake currency into Ghana from Togo.

According to the police, he admitted in a caution statement that he was aware the money was counterfeit.

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He also confessed to receiving the forged notes from a man identified as Alhaji Saibu in Nigeria, under the instruction of an alleged mafia figure named Alhaji Dials, believed to be based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

Adegboyega joins another Nigerian, Abu Arome, who is currently standing trial alongside three Ghanaians for alleged fraud.

A statement issued on Friday by the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, disclosed the suspects were accused of committing the crime using forged documents, falsified signatures, and fraudulent claims.

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CAC Unveils AI-powered Portal For 30-minute Company Registrations

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The Corporate Affairs Commission has launched a pilot Artificial Intelligence-powered registration portal to overhaul the current Company Registration Portal.

The Registrar-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, disclosed this at the 2025 Stakeholders’ Forum meeting.

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A statement issued by the commission on Tuesday described the initiative as a game-changer aimed at significantly reducing registration timelines and enhancing the ease of doing business across the country.

According to Magaji, the new system allows for instant name reservation approvals, likening the process to opening an email account.

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It is intelligently designed to suggest available alternatives and grant real-time approvals, removing the traditional bottlenecks,” he said.

One of the portal’s standout features is its ability to facilitate business registration using only the National Identification Number of a director or proprietor.

Magaji said that once real-time NIN verification is successful, a certificate of incorporation would be generated and delivered to the applicant’s email within 30 minutes.

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He stated, “The target time for business registration is under 30 minutes to generate a certificate and deliver to the customer’s email, subject to real-time NIN verification.”

READ ALSO:CAC’s Good Women Choir Leader, Fasoyin, Speaks On Composition Of ‘Odun Nlo Sopin’ Song

While acknowledging that some delays may still arise due to external validations from the National Identity Management Commission, he revealed that a contingency plan has been built into the platform, using AI-powered photo ID matching to overcome such hitches.

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In addition, the Commission plans to introduce a two-factor authentication system with OTP verification for all transactions.

This, according to him, will ensure no changes can be made to company records without the explicit knowledge and consent of the registered directors.

Magaji further announced that a CAC mobile application would be launched in the final quarter of 2025 to allow users to track and manage transactions on the go.

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READ ALSO:JUST IN: CAC Gives Unregistered Businesses Deadline, Warns Of Jail Term

Speaking on new partnerships, he disclosed that the Commission is currently reviewing over 100 requests from local and international super agents, including the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System, aimed at deepening access and streamlining services.

Meanwhile, the Registrar-General also revealed that the Commission would commence a review of its service fees effective August 1, 2025, citing the need to maintain service quality and implement ongoing reforms.

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The statement added that goodwill messages at the forum were delivered by the Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association, Port Harcourt Branch, Cordelia U. Eke; Chairman, Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, Sir Sebastian Essien; and Chairman, Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, Elder Dogala Sakpege.

Also in attendance were Mechi Brown, Director of Industry at the Rivers State Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and Miema Akpa, who represented the Chairman of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Port Harcourt branch.

A CAC technical team was present during the event to attend to customer complaints and provide on-the-spot solutions to registration challenges.

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