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JUST IN: Alleged Internet Fraudster Ramoni ‘Hushpuppi’ Abbas Denied Bail By US Judge

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Suspected Nigerian fraudster Ramon Abbas aka Hushupuppi, failed to win bail in the US after his lawyers claimed his job as an Instagram celebrity paid for the $10,000 monthly rent on his luxury Dubai flat.

Mr Abbas, 37, known to millions on social media as Hushpuppi, was arrested in Dubai and taken to the US.

There he is accused of laundering millions of dollars from crimes including cyber heists, frauds, and an attempt to cheat an English Premier League club out of £100 million (Dh461.1m/$125.5m).

Mr Abbas appeared by video in a Chicago court on Thursday, where his lawyers applied for him to leave jail with an electronic tag and live with the uncle of a woman with whom the Instagram star had a child, the court was told.

Prosecutors said he could commit crimes with just a smartphone and an internet connection, and that he posed too much of a flight risk.

Mr Abbas, who was identified on phone contacts with an alleged conspirator as Billionaire Gucci Master, lived in the five-star Palazzo Versace hotel in Dubai, wore high-end clothing, and posed with luxury cars and private jets.

He has been accused of being the money-launderer for a gang involved in hacking corporate emails and directing huge payments to accounts they controlled.

But Mr Abbas’s lawyer, Gal Pissetzky, said his client had too much to lose to flee the country.

“He is loved and respected. He is a celebrity,” he told a judge in Chicago by videolink.

“I don’t see the reason why he would want to ruin his credibility in the world and his status rather than stay here and face this allegation.

“Anywhere he goes, people will know.”

Having grown up very poor in Nigeria, Mr Abbas is now paid to pose with high-priced items such as Louis Vuitton bags that people would buy after seeing his posts on Instagram, Mr Pissetzky said.

“He is an influencer,” he said. “That’s a job today, as much as it is hard to imagine. That’s a full-time job.”

Judge Jeffrey Gilbert, denied bail for Mr Abbas, who watched proceedings from a prison video link.

Mr Gilbert said he was satisfied that Mr Abbas was a flight risk and he would remain in custody until he was taken to a court in California.

“You’ve got to be doing something to pay $10,000 for an apartment in Dubai,” he said.

BIG STORY

NDLEA Seizes Lipsticks Stuffed With Drugs At Lagos Airport [VIDEO]

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Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have uncovered another batch of female lipsticks containing illegal drugs at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

Femi Babafemi, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, revealed this in a post shared on his X (formerly Twitter) page on Sunday.

He also urged Nigerians, particularly women, to be extremely vigilant when purchasing or accepting beauty products, especially from unfamiliar sellers or dubious online platforms.

The statement read, Ladies beware! It does appear like female lipstick is becoming attractive as an instrument for concealment and trafficking now with yet another consignment of factory fitted female lipsticks stuffed with illicit substances intercepted at MMIA barely a week after @ndlea_nigeria officers uncovered a similar cargo at a courier company in Lagos.

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JUST IN: Former President Buhari Dies In London Clinic

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Former Nigerian leader, Muhammadu Buhari, passed away on Sunday.

His longtime media aide, Garba Shehu, confirmed the news in a brief statement issued on Sunday afternoon, stating that the former president died at a clinic in London.

Shehu’s message, distributed to the media, read:
“INNA LILLAHI WA INNA ILAIHIRRAJIUUN. The family of the former president has announced the passing on of the former president, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, this afternoon in a clinic in London. May Allah accept him in Aljannatul Firdaus, Amin.”

The statement concluded with the date: July 13, 2025.

Although the cause of death was not disclosed, Buhari, who held office from 2015 to 2023, had frequently sought medical care in the United Kingdom during and after his time as president.

Buhari, a retired Major General in the Nigerian Army, first led Nigeria as a military head of state from 1983 to 1985. Decades later, he was elected president through a democratic process. He made history as the first opposition candidate to unseat a sitting president in Nigeria.

Funeral plans have not yet been made public.

 

More to come…

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No Effective Governance Without Full Local Government Autonomy — Femi Gbajabiamila

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The Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, has stated that governance at the local government level cannot be effective without complete autonomy.

He made the remark while addressing journalists after voting in the Lagos State local government elections in Surulere on Saturday.

When asked about the progress of implementing the LG autonomy ruling by the Supreme Court one year after it was delivered, Gbajabiamila described the process as ongoing and said it would be completed with time.

Gbajabiamila said, “The ruling was welcome by everybody. It’s the execution of that ruling and the implementation of that ruling that we are still trying to dot the Is and cross the Ts.

“I believe in a matter of time, we will realise full autonomy. There cannot be effective governance without full autonomy. That’s what we are working toward.”

In July 2024, the Supreme Court granted autonomy to all 774 local government areas across the country following a case filed by the federal government through the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation. However, the ruling is yet to be fully implemented.

Following the judgement, the Senate urged state and local governments to immediately adhere to the court’s directive, especially regarding local government accounts and direct fund disbursements.

The Senate also moved to amend relevant sections of the Constitution to ensure full local government autonomy nationwide.

The announcement was made by Deputy Senate President Senator Jibrin Barau, after lawmakers emerged from a closed-door session where they discussed alleged efforts by some state governments to bypass the Supreme Court’s ruling on July 11.

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