Metro
Man blackmails Female Church Members with Nude Pictures, Arrested
A church protocol officer, Victor Duru, 23, has been arrested by the police for allegedly luring his female church members to hotels and taking their nude pictures, which he used to blackmail them into giving him money.
Duru, who is a Madonna University dropout, was said to have blackmailed not only his girlfriends in the church, but also other girls, who were not members of the church, before he was apprehended by the police in Surulere, Lagos State, last Thursday.
One of his girlfriends, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Duru took her nude pictures and those of another of his girlfriends at a hotel in Ijeshatedo at gunpoint.
She added that she had to call the Rapid Response Squad headquarters to report her experience.
It was learnt that Duru, who is based in Oregun, Ikeja, was investigated and discovered to have been using the nude pictures of the victim to blackmail her into giving him money.
He was also alleged to be keeping the nude pictures of other girls, whom he lodged in hotels and his apartment in Ijeshatedo.
A source added that the suspect obtained the nude pictures of the victims at gunpoint with the assistance of an accomplice.
It was gathered that there was a growing suspicion that Duru also laced the drink of another girl with a sleeping drug as the photographs obtained from one of his mobile phones revealed.
Duru, in his confessional statement, stated, “The victim, who reported me was my girlfriend. We are members of the same church. We have been dating for almost two years. We were having breakup issues.
“So, I invited her to a hotel in Ijeshatedo. I excused myself and invited my friend, Frank Obinna, to meet me in the hotel. Obinna and I had planned this together.
“The gun was a toy gun. Obinna entered the hotel room and held the lady at gunpoint. I told her to cooperate and strip naked for Obinna to take her pictures. We took seven different nude shots of her with my phone. I discharged her that day. That was in September.
“By early October, I called her to give me N80,000 or I would post the nude photographs on the Internet. She was only able to offer me N10,000, which she transferred into my brother’s account.
“Last week, Obinna called her again and requested N40,000. She promised to send something. She was a wonderful girl, who had been assisting me before the problem started. On many occasions, she had assisted me financially.”
It was learnt that Duru attempted to escape from custody in handcuffs, while the police were trying to arrest his accomplice, Obinna, in Ijeshatedo.
According to the victim’s statement, she thought Duru’s friend was a waiter when he entered the hotel room.
She said, “He brought out his phone and I asked my boyfriend what was going on, but he slapped me and told me to remove the blanket covering my body.
“I refused. He yanked it off my body and told me to cooperate. I refused again. He asked his friend for the gun, threatening that if I didn’t cooperate, they would waste me.
“His friend took several shots of my nudity. Both of them abandoned me in the hotel room afterwards.
“I asked him almost a week after what he wanted to do with my pictures and he told me that was the beginning.
“The following Saturday, he threatened to post the pictures on the Internet unless I paid N80,000 in order to delete them. I paid N10,000 with a promise to pay the balance later.
“After a week, his friend called and offered me another option of paying him N40,000 and a night out with him. I refused. He threatened that I would hear from them very soon.”
The source noted that some of the ladies, whose nude pictures were found on Duru’s mobile phones, when contacted by the police to come forward as prosecution witnesses, declined.
The suspect, along with some of the exhibits recovered from him, has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Panti, for further investigation.
The police boss in charge of the state Command, Assistant Inspector-General Zubairu Muazu, asked parents to keep watch over their children and know the kind of company they keep.
The Punch
Leading payment services bank, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank (MMPSB) continues to delight its existing customers with various freebies for every transaction.
The bank recently announced the launch of a new 100MB data offer for new customers. The initiative aims to encourage people with little or no access to banking services to set up their own mobile wallets using the bank’s USSD banking platform. The promotion is available to Glo customers using the bank’s USSD bank code, *995#.
A few weeks ago, MoneyMaster introduced a 10 percent data bonus on top-ups of 1,000 naira and above for existing and new customers on the Glo network. The offer was rated as one of the best offers in the country in terms of the amount of data offered. Data purchases are valid for 30 days, and any unused data can be rolled over to your next plan.
Commenting on the data offer, Julius Arhebun, head of agency banking at MoneyMaster, said: “as a payment service bank, one of our core mandates is to promote financial inclusion. This offer builds on the various financial education we have been providing online and across our various customer touchpoints.
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MoneyMaster PSB is a leading provider of innovative digital financial products and services that transform lives and contribute to sustainable living. With a mission to deepen financial inclusion, MoneyMaster has been instrumental in providing financial technology services to bridge the gap between the banked, unbanked and underbanked.
Leading real estate and property firm, Adron Homes and Properties, has announced the postponement of the earlier advertised seventh edition of the Adron Homes Games, with the theme Fit to be the Biggest.
The postponement, according to a statement signed by the Group’s Managing Director, Adenike Ajobo, and made available to Pointblank.ng, is as a result security concerns as the company prioritizes the security of its staff, attendees and participants.
Recall that the sports fiesta, originally billed to take place on November 29 and 30, 2024, was scheduled to hold at the Lekan Salami Stadium in Ibadan.
Read the statement in full:
POSTPONEMENT OF ADRON GAMES 2024
Adron Homes wishes to announce the cancellation of the much-anticipated Adron Games 2024.
This decision, was made in the best interest of all participants, stakeholders, and the broader community. The postponement is necessitated by heightened security concerns in certain regions that could potentially jeopardize the safety of staff, attendees and participants.
As an organization that is committed to the well-being of its staffs, partners and everyone involved, priority is designated to safety and security above all else. Also, the organization is taking this opportunity to rethink and restructure its sporting initiatives to ensure public inclusivity
and as part of efforts to enhance and expand the impact of its wellness programs, the Adron Games will evolve into a broader, more inclusive sporting initiative.
This transformation will foster collaboration, unity, and healthy competition among a wider array of participants, and will embody the same spirit of excellence, teamwork, and wellness that the Adron Games has championed over the years.
We deeply regret any inconvenience this decision may cause and hereby extend our heartfelt gratitude to our valued staff, participants, partners, ambassadors and supporters for their understanding and continued trust in Adron Homes.
Adron Homes remains committed to inspiring excellence and fostering community engagement through corporate wellness initiatives such as Adron Games at all times.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Police Affairs, Mr. James Sule, has retired from service after 35 years of meritorious service to the nation, according to a statement signed by the Deputy Director, Information and Public Relations Unit, Mr. Bolaji Kazeem, and made available to the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP).
The Permanent Secretary however, charged the directorate cadre to mentor officers in the service for effective service delivery to the citizens, as a parting advice.
He made the charge during the send-forth ceremony organized on his behalf by the Ministry staff at the Headquarters of the Ministry in Abuja.
The retired Permanent Secretary said that everything starts and ends with leadership and the need to uphold the organization’s rules and regulations without considering people’s feelings.
“We are all leaders just like I said, don’t just think the president, vice president, and governors are only leaders. What can you do in your community to impact positively on others? What are you doing to mentor the younger ones so that whatever corner you find yourself in, whether you are a union leader, whether you are an assistant director or you are a principal officer, you do your best to be fair, accountable, and transparent in your activities?
He used the opportunity to thank the management and staff of the Ministry for their support and for working with him as a team to ensure the success of the ministry.
According to James, “Indeed, it was a privilege to work alongside a talented and committed team. Together we have achieved a lot, and I am proud of knowing you and we have accomplished it while we were here although it was short, I also want to thank you for your kind words. I thank my personal staff that’s brought so much to the nation-building,” he said.
In his response, the Director charged with the Permanent Secretary Office, Mr. Yusuf Abubakar Argungu, stated that the staff has learned so much from the retired Permanent Secretary noting that the friendship and mentorship have just begun and not the end of it, just the beginning of it.
“It is the perfect time to reflect on the invaluable lessons, experiences, and memories you have shared with us and to experience our heartfelt appreciation. Retirement isn’t the end of an era but the beginning of a new chapter in life. We are wishing you a retirement filled with exciting journeys. Congratulations,” he said.
