AU Commission Seeks Justice For Xenophobia Victims In South Africa

African Union Commission Tuesday asked South African authorities
to ensure the administration of justice to perpetrators of
xenophobic attacks on foreigners in the country.

The chairman of the Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat in a
statement by his spokesperson Ebba Kalondo condemned the incidents
of violence against nationals of fellow African countries in South
Africa, including the looting and destruction of their
properties.

Kalondo said Mahamat is encouraged by arrests already made by
the South African authorities.

African Union Commission Tuesday asked South African authorities
to ensure the administration of justice to perpetrators of
xenophobic attacks on foreigners in the country.

The chairman of the Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat in a
statement by his spokesperson Ebba Kalondo condemned the incidents
of violence against nationals of fellow African countries in South
Africa, including the looting and destruction of their
properties.

Kalondo said Mahamat is encouraged by arrests already made by
the South African authorities.

“He calls for further immediate steps to protect the lives of
people and their property, ensure that all perpetrators are brought
to account for their acts and that justice be done to those who
suffered economic and other losses,” Kalondo said.

He reiterated the African Union’s Commission continued
commitment to support the South African government in addressing
the root causes that led to these despicable acts to promote peace
and stability, within the framework of the African Union’s
longstanding principles of continental solidarity.

South African police have arrested more than 60 people following
looting in Johannesburg and protests in the transport industry
linked to a wave of anti-foreigner sentiment on Monday, AFP
reported.

At least 41 people were arrested after hundreds of people
marched through Johannesburg’s Central Business District (CBD),
plundering shops and torching cars and buildings, the police said
in a statement.

The unrest started on Sunday when an old building in the CBD
caught fire and collapsed, killing at least three people. It then
spread two eastern suburbs.

Such violence breaks out sporadically in South Africa, where
many nationals blame foreigners for high unemployment, particularly
in manual labour.

Police Minister Bheki Cele insisted the violence was linked to
“criminality” rather than “xenophobia“.

“(Xenophobia) is used as an excuse,” Cele told journalists after
a tour of the CBD.

“For now there is nothing that has sparked any form of this
conflict between the South Africans and foreign nationals.”

Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama reacted strongly to
the scenes of violence.

“Received sickening and depressing news of continued burning and
looting of Nigerian shops and premises in #SouthAfrica by mindless
criminals with ineffective police protection,” he said on
Twitter.

“Enough is enough. We will take definitive measures.”

Police in the southeastern province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) said
at least 20 individuals had been arrested “in connection with
incidents related to protests within the trucking industry”.

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EFCC Nabs Facebook Hackers in Uyo, Recovers N423mn in
Abuja

EFCC Nabs 6 Facebook Hackers in Uyo
The Uyo Zonal Office of the Eonomic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC), on Monday September 2, 2019, arrested six suspected
internet fraudsters, who specialize in hacking into Facebook
accounts of unsuspecting victims and defraud persons in the
compromised accounts’ contact list.

They were arrested in a two-bedroom apartment, located on No. 54
Church Road, Off Calabar Itu Expressway, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State,
following intelligence report on their nefarious activities.
The all-male suspects are: Lawrence Nnamdi-Mba Ebesike; Prince E.
Udeh; Chijioke Victor; Promise Odimba; Ugbor Ifeanyi and Prince
Anthony, all within 22 and 29 years age bracket.

During interrogation, the suspects said the apartment which
serve as their home and office was rented by their leader, Ebesike.
They stated that they have only made about $4,000,00 (Four thousand
United States Dollars) from cyber fraud.

Ebesike who claimed to be a musician with the stage name “Lawre
Blue” confessed to the crime and gave a detailed account of how
they carry out their operations on Facebook.

“I am into internet fraud. Part of how I operate is that I edit
Facebook accounts, go to Google and search for pictures of United
State military personnel. I download some of these pictures and put
them on my fake Facebook accounts. After doing that, I target
foreigners, mostly old white women who are in need of men. I stay
online all day trying to befriend them. After convincing them, I
will make them apply for my leave so that I can see them,” Ebesike
confessed.

He further revealed that the syndicate has a US-based partner,
named Benjamin Best, whom he said provides them with the account
where their victims make payments into.

“After convincing my victims, Benjamin will provide an account
for me to give them to pay the money into. He usually takes his
commission before sending mine to me,” he said.

Ifeanyi, who was caught inside a wardrobe with his laptop is an
undergraduate of Abia State University, said he was introduced to
Ebesike by Udeh, who is one of the arrested suspects.

According to Ifeanyi, “After hacking a Facebook account, I edit
it to a white military man’s account and start adding many white
women and gradually make them fall in love with me.

“After two weeks, I will tell them to apply for a vacation for
me so that I can leave the camp and visit them. I also make them
send me money. I have hacked one A. Harifat’s account and
impersonated one T. Jesus,” he said.

Udeh, Victor, Odimba and Anthony equally gave similar accounts
and that they were all trained by Ebesike. Anthony was caught while
attempting to hide his laptop in the water cistern of their
toilet.

Items recovered from them are: six laptops, 12 sophisticated
mobile phones, one International Passport, four Airtel Sim packs,
three MTN Sim packs, two Glo Sim packs and one Smile router and two
internet modems.

They will be charged to court as soon as investigations are
concluded.

Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media and Publicity
………………..

EFCC Abuja Office Recovers N423, 006,987.92; $39,253; €2,330
….Suspect on FBI list awaiting arraignment

The Abuja Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) has recovered the sum of Four hundred and twenty
three million, six thousand nine hundred and eighty seven naira,
ninety two kobo (N423, 006,987.92); Thirty nine thousand, two
hundred and fifty three US dollars ($39,253); Two thousand, three
hundred and thirty thousand euro (€2330) between January and August
2019.

This was disclosed by the Acting Chairman of the Commission,
Ibrahim Mustapha Magu who spoke through the Head of the Abuja
Office, Aminu Ado Aliyu, at a press briefing in Abuja today,
September 3, 2019.

Aliyu disclosed that the zone was also focusing on cybercrime
through intelligence gathering and collaboration with other
agencies across the world. “Prior to the release of the FBI list,
we had in collaboration with the FBI, cases under investigation of
which 2 suspects indicted in the list released by the FBI are in
our custody. On the other hand, another suspect on the list is
being investigated independently on a different case and his case
is pending arraignment”.

Two of the suspects, Chika Augustine and Godspower Nwachukwu,
were arrested in Abuja and $35,000 has been recovered from one of
them ( Chika Augustine).

The Zonal Head disclosed that 33 convictions have been secured
from January 2019 till date; 293 arrests have made and over 465
cases are currently under investigation.

He further warned that the modus operandi of these criminals
include and not limited to Love scams, Email Phishing, Identity
theft and Fraudulent Bitcoin and crypto currency sales.

Aminu also cautioned the public against the prevalence of
Fraudulent Bitcoin sales seeing that it is on the rise.

Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media and Publicity