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Outrage As Ivory Coast ‘Unlawfully Jails’ Nigerian Lady 20 Years Over Alleged Theft Of Her Personal Items

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Nigerians have condemned the reported incarceration of a 23-year-old woman, Itunu Babalola, by the Ivorian government over alleged theft.

Babalola, a trader based in Bondoukou, Cote d’Ivoire, was said to have been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment after a theft case she reported to the police was allegedly turned against her.

Our correspondent learnt that Babalola had been in prison since 2019 after she refused to grant the request of a divisional police officer to drop the case.

A journalist, David Hundeyin, who shared Babalola’s story on Twitter, explained that the victim’s flat was burgled and items worth over N300,000 stolen, adding that she reported the matter to the police and later traveled to Nigeria to see her sick mother.

However, upon Babalola’s return to Ivory Coast, she was notified that the thief had been caught.

Hundeyin tweeted, “The thief turned out to be a 14-year-old boy who lived nearby. His embarrassed dad apologized and admitted that his son was a habitual thief. The items had already been sold.

“Itunu (Babalola) reported this to the police, who told her to return on Tuesday, November 5, 2019. The appointment held on Wednesday, November 6. There, she says the DPO informed her that the suspect was his nephew. He then offered her a settlement worth roughly N100,000 to drop the case.

“She refused the settlement, citing the disparity between the value of the stolen items and what was offered. Next, she says the visibly enraged DPO tried everything to frustrate her into dropping the case, including making her travel to Abidjan for a police appointment.

“In Abidjan, she hired a lawyer to attend the appointment with her, all to no avail as the police refused to cooperate. Frustrated, she returned home to Bondoukou. Around 5 pm the following day, a convoy of police vehicles showed up outside her house and publicly arrested her.

“On getting to the station, she was charged with theft — the theft of her own items in her own apartment. She spent the next four days in police custody, after which she was taken out of the cell and offered her freedom if she agreed to sign papers dropping her case.

“For whatever reason despite the clear bad faith displayed by the Ivorian police, Itunu says she rejected the offer and chose to go to court instead. She says she then overheard an officer saying ‘Elle est une Nigériane? Elle mourra ici!’ (She’s a Nigerian? She will die here).

“The decision to go to court turned out to be a monumental error of judgment compounded by her own naivety about the Ivorian justice system. The (French-speaking) court did not allow her adequate legal representation or give her a chance to properly state her case.

“She was speedily convicted and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. Further complicating this was her decision to identify herself to the court as ‘Becky Paul’. She says she did this to avoid getting her family name mixed up in bad news and potentially upsetting her aged mom.

“As a result, for the past one year and 4 months since her conviction, Itunu, alias Becky Paul, has become, to all intents and purposes, a forgotten inmate at the notorious Maison d’arrêt et de Correction Bondoukou (Bondoukou Remand and Correctional Facility).

“When her Nigerian friends in Cote d’Ivoire approached the Nigerian Embassy in Abidjan to provide consular assistance for her case, officials reportedly asked for N400,000 to get her a passport before anything can be done.”

Hundeyin, who noted that Babalola had spent her savings in trying to clear her name, said she had attempted suicide twice.

Nigerians on social media started a campaign, #JusticeForItunu, calling on the Federal Government to ensure her release from prison.

A Twitter user, @Sikowitz17, urged the government to also ensure that other Nigerians detained unlawfully were released.

He said, “As we get #justiceforitunu, please let’s reach out to other African countries to get our citizens wrongly accused out of their prisons too. Schooling in the Republic of Benin, I know how many Nigerians got arrested for practically nothing and are still in prison today.”

Another Twitter user, Joseph Yomi, said, “Whenever I read about how some African countries are hostile to Nigerians, it just makes me sad. Let’s create more awareness about this Ìtunu case until something is done about it. #justiceforitunu.”

Another user with the alias, Pontius Pilate, stated that Babalola’s case was one of many Nigerians unlawfully detained in the Ivory Coast.

Reacting, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, through its Twitter page @nidcom_gov, promised to investigate the matter.

It tweeted, “We will investigate and get back with our findings. Our mission in Abidjan will also help out.”

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My Wife Invited Her Friends To Our Home To Beat Me During Our Crisis — Oritsefemi

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Famous Nigerian singer, Oritsefemi has alleged that his wife, Nabila Fash, invited her friends to their home to beat him up during their marital crisis.

He said the ladies, numbering about 20, overpowered and physically assaulted him.

The ‘Double Wahala’ hitmaker disclosed this in a candid chat with media personality, Chude Jideonwo.

Oritsefemi stated that he has been unlucky with marriages, claiming that his first wife also dumped him after sponsoring her to Dubai.

“My wife [Nabila Fash] asked her friends to come and beat me up in my house. I said, ‘Look at me o; a whole me, lion na he women dey pursue.’ They were about 20. They dealt with me. I’m not lying,” he said.

Oritsefemi’s marriage to Nabila Fash hit the rocks in 2022, with Fash accusing the singer of incessant cheating.

In October 2022, Fash officially filed for divorce from Oritsefemi over infidelity and domestic violence.

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Chain Reactions In 7 Star Performance At 2024 SABRE Awards

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It was a seven-star performance for Chain Reactions Africa (CRA), one of Africa’s leading Public Relations and Integrated Communications Consultancy as it took home seven African SABRE trophies, more than any other public relations firm in Africa in the 2024 competition.

The awards which were held at the end of the annual African Public Relations Association (APRA) Conference, were presented by Provoke Media, organizers of the awards in Basam, Abidjan, Cote D’Ivore on May 16th 2024.

The work covered campaigns for the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), and its Lagos Blue Rail, 9mobile’s The Hack – Expand Your Hustle’, ‘Taming the Bull’ for the Presidency, ‘Next Era of Happiness’ for leading biscuit company, Pladis Foods Nigeria Limited.

Receiving the awards on behalf of Chain Reactions and its clients, was its Managing Director/Chief Strategist, Israel Opayemi, who noted that this is a seven-star performance by Chain Reactions Africa at the 2024 SABRE Awards.

In his comments Opayemi said “to emerge as the highest winner at the 2024 edition of the award with seven SABRE Awards is humbling as well as exciting for us at Chain Reactions Africa. We are immensely proud to be honoured on such a global platform like the SABRE awards which is the holy grail of Public Relations globally as the awards programme is dedicated to benchmarking the best PR works across the globe.”

He continued, “I am making a three-fold dedication of these multiple trophies to our clients who believe in us, my team members who do the brave works relentlessly and our dear country Nigeria. Ten years ago, we were at the SABRE Awards in Miami, Florida in the United States watching and applauding as winners took turn on stage. Ten years ago, we were asking for a seat at the table. Today, we are sitting in creative resplendence at the head of the table. Today, we are flying the Nigerian flag on the global stage. We are now a territory of reckon and relevance in the global PR space.”

It seems winning awards is just a Chain Reactions thing, chuckled Arun Sudhaman CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Provoke Media, organizers of the SABRE Awards as Opayemi rose up seven times to receive the awards. The PR consultancy also picked up four Certificates of Excellence in recognition of its work launching the Nigerian Youth Trend Report 2024 known as ‘ARAMANDA’, ‘Next Era of Happiness’, ‘Lagos Blue Rail’, ‘The Hack – Expand Your Hustle’, and ‘Taming the Bull’.

In his reaction, President and Chairman of Council of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) described the awards by Chain Reactions Africa as “a harvest of honours for Nigeria”. He thanked the Chain Reactions Africa team for their outstanding works saying, “thank you for making us proud.”

Chain Reactions Africa has over the years won several prestigious SABRE awards and has been awarded more than 15 Certificates of Excellence. At last year’s award, the company won CEO of the Year category for the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu for use of public relations to tell the story of his administration’s achievements and scooped two Certificates of Excellence in the Corporate Image category for the ‘Momentum Campaign’ for Cellulant, a flagship payment solution provider; and ‘Marketing to Consumers’ category for ‘The #NaijaHighlandah Campaign’ for William Lawson’s, Scotch Whiskey brand.

The 2024 Africa SABRE Awards shortlist included more than 120 campaigns, selected from over 500 entries in this year’s competition, which recognizes Superior Achievement in Branding, Reputation and Engagement. The campaigns were evaluated by a jury of industry leaders.

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BREAKING: Court Denies Binance Executive Tigran Gambaryan Bail

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Tigran Gambaryan, Binance executive, had his bail plea dismissed by a Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday.

In his verdict, Justice Emeka Nwite stated that the bail application is denied because, after carefully reviewing the application, he concluded that, should bail be granted, the defendant will violate it.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission filed charges against Gambaryan, his business Binance Holdings Limited, and another high-ranking executive who is presently fugitive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, for money laundering and supporting terrorism.

 

More to come…

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