When the case was called for continuation of hearing, the prosecution first called its fifth witness, Victoria Oluwafemi, a compliance officer with Polaris Bank.

The witness told the court the total credit to the account in question, which came from different senders, adding that the transfers from the account were in multiples of N10 million.

He said the total credit in November, 2021 was N450 million.

While being cross-examined by the Counsel to the 1st Defendant, Joseph Daudu, SAN, the witness admitted that she was not the accounts officer for the two accounts with her bank.

She admitted also that, because she was not the accounts officer or relationship manager, she did not know how the transactions on the accounts were carried out.

Counsel to the 2nd Defendant, AM Aliyu, while cross-examining the witness, said, “Look at the portion my learned brother showed you in Exhibit M, the name Abdulsalam Hudu did not feature there?”

“That is correct. Abdulsalam Hudu’s name did not feature,” she responded.

The Sixth Prosecution Witness (PW6), Mshelia Arhyel B, was then called for cross-examination.

Daudu, SAN told the court that he had not concluded the cross-examination of the same witness in another court on a similar subject matter.

READ ALSO: Nigeria’s fake goods won’t kill you if you know your rights

The court, however, held that the matter before it was independent and that the Defence Counsel held the discretion to cross-examine or not.

During the proceedings, the prosecution sought to tender certain documents through the subpoenaed witness.

Counsel to the 1st Defendant objected to the admissibility of the documents, arguing that they did not comply with the provisions of Sections 83 and 84 of the Evidence Act.

He further indicated his intention to address the Court more extensively on the points of objection at a later stage.

Counsel to the 2nd Defendant, Aliyu, also objected, relying on the same statutory grounds.

The prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, urged the court to discountenance the objections raised by the defence team and admit the documents in evidence.

The court admitted the document, a 218-page statement of account of Alusha Services,  signed by the witness, Mshelia Arhyel, and marked P1 en bloc.

The prosecution asked similar questions posed to the same witness at the June 26, 2025 examination before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court.

He reiterated that, prior to 2023, there was no strict withdrawal limit as long as the amount written on the cheque did not exceed ₦10 million.

The EFCC counsel told the witness to examine the transactions of the 22nd, 23rd, and 25th of February, as well as the 3rd of March, 2016, up to 6th May, 2022.

He confirmed multiple transactions of N10 million each but admitted they were within the approval threshold, putting the total transactions as at January 31, 2018 at N707,267,000.

“Please confirm that, notwithstanding the multiple withdrawals made on the same day, they were all within the approved withdrawal threshold,” prosecution counsel said.

“Yes, my Lord,” the witness responded.

On the account statement of Aleshua Solutions Services and transactions from May 6, 2022, the witness said the first entry was a transfer in favour of Aleshua Solutions Services by B.O. Rosemary Chukwuma,  in the sum of $2,500.

“The second is a transfer in favour of Yau for $5,000. The third is also a cash transfer of $5,000 to Yau,” he stated.

The witness also confirmed certain transactions in December 2016 from the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service,  totalling N202 million.

The judge indicated that the session must end at 3 p.m. and adjourned the case to November 12 and 13, 2025, for continuation of examination of the sixth witness.

The third prosecution witness had, at the preceding hearing, said no banking regulation was breached by the defendants.

The witness, Williams Abimbola, a Compliance Officer with UBA, had also admitted not being the relationship or account manager of the Kogi Government House account, noting that the transactions were in line with stipulated guidelines.

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CAPPA’s Executive Director Akinbode Oluwafemi said the tobacco industry had a track record of surreptitiously using movies and music to entice young persons to take up the deadly habit of smoking.

“This is not only unlawful but also undermines tobacco control efforts and worsens Nigeria’s non-communicable diseases (NCDs) burden,” Oluwafemi said.

The tobacco control expert spoke during the second edition of the Lagos International Film and Cinema Convention, LIFACC, held at Ebony Life Place, Victoria Island Lagos, on August 14 and 15, 2024.

LIFACC is promoted as the finest gathering of cinema owners, top executives, film distributors, film producers, cinema set-up facilities/equipment manufacturers/suppliers, and all sundry businesses around the cinema business worldwide.

Oluwafemi, represented by CAPPA’s Policy and Research Manager Zikora Ibeh, spoke on “Smoking in Movies and Urgency of Regulatory Action: Lessons from Other Film Hub.”

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“Tobacco is a killer,” he said, “the tobacco industry is built on deception, lies. The industry is notorious for exploiting the film industry worldwide to influence youths.

“Nollywood films and Nigerian music videos are watched by families and youths in Nigeria and beyond. We must protect them from harmful images encouraging tobacco use.

“There is enough data to show that a lot of teenagers take up smoking because of what they watch on screen. Entertainment is used by the industry to influence young people to use tobacco. Nigerian entertainment is watched across the continent and even Asia and Europe. We cannot allow tobacco corporations to continue exploiting these films to compromise the health and the future of our children.”

Oluwafemi urged Nigeria’s film industry, known as Nollywood, to be wary of the industry’s tricks, adding that “the depiction of tobacco use in films is a form of promotion that influences tobacco use, particularly by young people.”

He explained that the industry targets Nollywood through indirect marketing in movies through “product placement, products mention, actors’ outfits/props, unnecessary smoking scenes and endorsements.”

The CAPPA ED urged stakeholders to comply with the directives of the National Tobacco Control Act and the National Tobacco Control Regulations that already prohibit the use, promotion or sponsorship of tobacco in films.

Oluwafemi also commended recent efforts by the National Film and Video Censors Board, NFVCB, to sanitise the entertainment industry with its latest subsidiary regulation, aimed at prohibiting the glamorisation of tobacco and nicotine products in movies, musical videos, and skits.

He noted that the NFVCB Regulations 2024 mirrored global best practices and should be upheld by all stakeholders in the industry to safeguard the well-being of the public who consume their content.

The event featured the Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa; Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Toke Benson-Awoyinka; Managing Director of the Nigerian Film Corporation Ali Nuhu; Director-General of the National Film and Video Censors Board, Dr. Shuaibu Husseini; President of the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria Ope Ajayi; Chairman Silverbird Group, Ben Murray-Bruce and Association of Nollywood Core Producers’ Board of Trustees member Alex Eyengho, actors, producers, directors, among other stakeholders.

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CAPPA, in a statement issued to mark this year’s World No Tobacco Day (WNTD- 2024), commended the Nigerian Films and Censors Board, NFVCB, for introducing the regulation that seeks to end the glamorization of smoking in movies and films, saying the regulation would help curb youth initiation in the country.

This year’s WNTD theme, “Protecting Children from Tobacco Industry Interference”, is aimed at raising awareness on how the tobacco industry continues to target young persons as replacement for smokers who die or quit the habit.

According to the World Health Organisation, WHO, in 2022, at least 37 million young people between 13 and 15 years use some form of tobacco globally.

Many youths are taking to new products by the industry that include electronic cigarette, Shisha etc.

“With growing evidence showing that the tobacco industry deliberately targets our youths, the Nigerian government must intensify efforts for diligent enforcement of the Tobacco Act, particularly sections that protect initiation and the health of young ones,” says Akinbode Oluwafemi, CAPPA Executive Director.

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He added: “Those provisions in the Tobacco Act that are targeted at protecting the youth include the ban of tobacco advertisement sponsorship and promotion, ban on the sale of tobacco to, or by minors, and smoke-free public places, among others.

“Apart from those measures, there is also the need to raise tobacco taxes so they are priced beyond the reach of our children and the ban of the sale of tobacco products arounds schools and educational institutions.”

CAPPA commended the NFVCB for introducing the regulation on glamorization of smoking in Nigerian movies, saying the Board had taken a globally applauded step to block a major tool used by the tobacco industry to lure the youth into smoking.

“Our children should enjoy healthy screens. We applaud the censors board for this timely, public health-driven regulation which has also been commended by a great number of practitioners in the Nigerian movie industry and will be looking forwards to its effective enforcement,” Oluwafemi further stated.

The World No Tobacco Day was initiated in 1987 by the WHO to raise awareness about the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocate for policies to reduce tobacco consumption.

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Somiari, a Director and Consultant for the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre, gave his evidence before a Lagos High Court, at Tafawa Balewa Square, on Tuesday in Lagos.

Ojukwu, a 300-level Mass Communication student of the University of Lagos, is charged with the murder of Ataga, the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, alongside her sister, Chioma Egbuchu and one Adedapo Quadri.

At the resumed hearing, the witness was led in evidence by the Lagos State Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Mrs Adenike Oluwafemi.

He told the court that he had practised on the area of forensic for a period of 15 years and had conducted over 500 forensic tests.

The forensic analyst told the court that his office received 21 different items on different days from their DNA centre staff members.

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He said the items were received for evidence and they included a stained red dress, an army green T-shirt, a DNA sample from Chidinma Ojukwu.

He added that other items received were urine, blood, gastric content and byle which were retained for toxicology report.

He said that the goal was to create an evidence triangle to link the suspect to the crime scene and the victim.

Somiari said that the DNA on the red dress matched that of the victim, Ataga.

He, however, said that the DNA did not match that of Chidinma and the other suspects, Babalola Disu and Oluwatomi Dada.

The witness was cross examined by the first defendant’s counsel, Mr Onwuka Egwu.

The witness narrated how the result of the toxicology report was forwarded to the office of the Attorney-General of Lagos, the Commissioner of Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions.

He, however, said that not all forensic reports went through such procedure.

When asked if he questioned the report given by Dr Andrea Nuhu, the witness said: “I have already said that I am not a toxicologist. It is a toxicologist that can do such.”

Egwu, however, requested for the video of the crime scene to be played and the court granted it.

While the video was playing, he asked the witness whether the samples of the blood on the cotton, the wall, duvet, white polo the victim was wearing, were tested.

The witness answered that the samples were not submitted.

He, however, said that the markers indicated in his report had nothing to do with the video.

He had earlier said that some samples were in storage but not tested.

The second defendant counsel, Mr Babatunde Busari, also cross examined the witness.

Busari asked if any DNA sample was taken from the second defendant, Quadri, the witness said no.

The counsel also asked the witness if he took part in the toxicology analysis which he answered no.

The third defendant counsel, Ms C. G. Ugochikwu, said that she had no examination for the witness.

After listening, Justice Yetunde Adesanya, adjourned the case until May 30 for continuation of trial.

Ojukwu and the two others were arraigned on October 12, 2021 by the Lagos State government.

Ojukwu and Quadri are facing the first to eight counts bordering on conspiracy, murder, and stabbing.

Egbuchu, however, is facing the ninth count of stealing an iPhone 7 belonging to the late Ataga.

Source: NAN

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The call was made on Tuesday in a statement issued by the Media and Communication Officer, CAPPA, Robert Egbe.

It urged the government to not only expose and prosecute those found culpable for the incident but to also make public and execute advice from the report of investigations by the Nigeria Society of Engineers, NSE, and the Mining and Geosciences Society, reportedly scheduled to be submitted to the Oyo State Government on Tuesday, January 30, 2024.

CAPPA gave its assessment of the incident in a statement on January 30, 2024, following its visit to the blast site and interaction with survivors, relevant government agencies and other private experts.

The transparency watchdog identified intelligence failure, poor oversight of critical regulatory institutions, porous security measures, government negligence and breakdown in the social fabric, as some of the underlying causes of the blast.

It noted that according to preliminary findings by the state government, the blast was triggered by a fire outbreak at a premises unlawfully housing explosives, resulting in the death of no fewer than five persons and injuries to 77 others, while about nine others are unaccounted for.

The impact was visible on property within about 250 metres radius of ground zero on Dejo Oyelese Street, Bodija.

According to CAPPA, the incident raised questions about government’s preparedness to fufill its sacred mandate of protecting the lives and properties of citizens, adding that the government must not only learn the hard lesson from the blast, but also implement measures to prevent a repeat.

The organisation strongly urged the Oyo State government to ensure adequate compensation and social support, devoid of discrimination, to families and individuals affected by the incident, many of whom are now displaced, with some still in the hospital battling for their lives.

CAPPA’s Executive Director Akinbode Oluwafemi, who condemned the blast, lamented that it was one more example of a completely avoidable tragedy, which also underscored the need for urgent proactive collaboration among federal and state governments, law enforcement and regulatory agencies, and the people.

“The decision of the culprits to warehouse explosives for whatever reason is a complete violation of Section 42 of the Terrorism Act, 2022 which criminalises the unauthorised keeping or detonation of an explosive device in a place of public use,” Oluwafemi said.

He noted that the incident also “revealed the ineffectiveness of our legal framework and how easy it is to subvert its provisions for personal gains and interests while security agencies look the other away.’’

During its tour of the site, the CAPPA team led by Programme Manager Ogunlade Olamide expressed concern about the potential impact of the blast on the earth’s crust in the area as massive blows were noticeable on the earth along its fault lines around ground zero.

Olamide said it was in the overall interest of residents of the area to steer clear of boreholes pending the completion of an investigation by geophysicists and geologists and analysis of their findings on the blast’s impact on the underground water and soil integrity.

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CAPPA, however, urged the government to ensure adequate stakeholder engagement and incentives for alternatives, in the light of the potential economic impact of the ban.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by its Media and Communication Officer, Robert Egbe, the transparency watchdog gave the advice in reaction to an announcement by the state’s Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, on January 21, 2024, that the ban was with immediate effect.

CAPPA noted that single-use plastics, SUP, contributed heavily to environmental degradation globally.

It further observed that Nigeria faced serious challenges with SUP waste, generating tons of garbage, especially in densely populated cities such as Lagos.

It explained that “the waste, which takes years to decompose, is often dumped in drainages and water bodies, or ends up in landfills and as unregulated waste in the environment, thereby leading to clogged ecosystems and pollution that cause irreparable damage to public health and marine life.”

CAPPA added that it was on record that about 60 million plastic sachet water bags were consumed and disposed daily in Nigeria, with Lagos topping the list.

It said the state also generated about 870,000 tonnes of plastic products ranging from drinks bottles, packs of sachet water and plastic bags annually from the combined total of 2.7 million tonnes generated throughout the country.

Executive Director of CAPPA, Akinbode Oluwafemi, applauded the immediate order given to the state’s waste management authority and the Kick Against Indiscipline, KAI, to enforce the ban, adding that fair enforcement should be prioritised.

READ ALSO: Lagos bans use of styrofoam, single-use plastics

Oluwafemi said: “Enforcement is where the problem lies. But with this clear mandate, we are getting closer to our shared goal of mitigating the adverse effects of unsustainable plastic production on our oceans, climate, biodiversity, health, and human right to a liveable environment.”

Oluwafemi added that “while heavy fines, seal of business premises, and clean up obligations by defaulters could serve as instructive penalties, the government must be mindful and guide against conflict of interest and selective enforcement in the interest of fairness and equity as plastics are products of fossil fuel enterprise, a sector that is long dominated by big corporations and powerful individuals who have often acted as though they are above the law’’.

The NGO said while the ban gave a clue about the state government’s stance on critical issues like plastics control, a clear policy document or framework was essential for effective monitoring of the progress of the ban.

The organisation also urged the government to foster a comprehensive waste management system and create an enabling environment that encouraged the recycling of waste materials and easy transition of citizens from SUPs to greener and more sustainable alternatives.

Ogunlade Olamide, CAPPA’s pogramme manager also spoke on the issue: “Drawing from the principles of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which is the only international treaty that offers a governance model for addressing the disproportionate influence by commercial actors, government should also recognise cigarette filters as one of the most problematic and avoidable plastic products and include it on the ban list as they contribute immensely to marine alteration.”

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