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EXCLUSIVE: How I Was Kidnapped, Handcuffed By The Nigerian Police- Kalu Ikeagwu

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A few hours ago,  a news story  that  famed Nigerian actor, Kalu Ikeagwu, that he has been arrested by men of the Nigerian police force in connection with a Theft and Murder case. In keeping to our tradition of bringing you accurate reportage, the editorial team of Sahara weekly got the  actor to its  cooperate head office where he recounted the  horror  he  and his family went through in the hands of the Nigerian police force.   

The soft spoken actor began… “Yesterday, 26th of September 2016, at about 3:40pm my daughter had just been dropped  off at home by her official  school bus while  I opened the gate for her to come into  the house,  two men accosted  and  ordered   that I  should  follow them,  then I asked them who they are,  instead they  flashed an Identity card that I only showed police written on it without any  name. Meanwhile, these two men  were in plain clothes and one of them had  a black looped  earring .  At this point, I said I was not going to follow them since I do not know who they are. Suddenly a white unmarked bus pulled –up in  front  me and four more men on plain clothes appeared from the bus with one pointing an AK47 raffle at my fore head …” Sensing danger, the actor smartly dialled his wife’s  phone number but the men began struggling his phone from him, before they took the phone  from him  he was able to tell his wife that  “ some men purported to be police officers  are taking me away…”

The men over powered and handcuffed him while they drove to  Pen-cinema Police station Agege, Lagos State. They drove passed area G Police Station Ogba which is closer to Kalu’s residence.  Arriving at Pen-cinema Police station, they held him outside  the gate;  until a man appeared wearing a black long coat who simply identified himself as Born Great Benin. “I said to him I cannot answer any  question  from you,  unless I am taken  into the police station proper, it was this Born Great  Benin that later  ordered them to take off the cuffs  and   asked them to bundled me into  the bus again and they  drove off to somewhere I later identified as area F,  police station Ikeja.  At this area F rather than take me into the station’s main building, I was held at a  room when a certain gentle man identified as Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Philips came in and  showed me  a telephone number and  asked if I knew the owner of the number…”

Instantly,  Ikeagwu  identified the owner of the number as his friend who had picked him up from  the airport a few days earlier. Ikeagwu   inquired  from his friend if he had bought a phone recently and his friend said  yes and narrated how he had   swapped  his old phone(ipone6) for a new one(Iphone7) at the popular computer village  Ikeja, Lagos Nigeria and paid an extra N37.000 in a legal business transaction  with a phone dealer. “That was when they explained to me that since I was the last person that dialled my friend’s  phone number it made me a soft target-hence my arrest ”.

Ikeagwu’s friend who had travelled  has  since returned   to Lagos, at the time of publishing this story  Kalu Ikeagwu  is a free man while his friend  in company of a  lawyer are working with the Nigerian Police Force to identify  the phone dealer.

Asked what this experience has done to his family and his personal feelings towards the Nigerian Police, the graduate of English Language had this to say “first I will talk about my wife, she is still in fear even till this moment she even stopped me from jugging this morning . I thank God at the way she handled the situation, the situation has made me remember I have a gift in her. For me, it only reminded me of what a movie director in Enugu told me, he said, he can forgive a man that takes away his wife, or a man that stabs him so long as he did not die, but can never lift a finger to help a dying  police man. In my life I have never had dealings with the police but  it’s unfortunate the way this episode ended.  Because their actions are an embarrassment to Nigeria’s image,  the first skill of every intelligent police officer is his understanding of psychology but instead they chose to  do otherwise”.

From the  press perspective; Kalu  is disappointed at  two media houses (not Sahara Weekly)  and wishes  to thank  them for not having recourse to hear from him before publishing their stories on this issue. “But when I wedded they had the time to call me and report  it, but when this issue  came up they forgot to call me,  later remembered to call me after they had publish their stories with my private home address  knowing how susceptible my family will be to miscreants and exposing me to the public unnecessarily”  he concluded.    

     

 

Sahara weekly online is published by First Sahara weekly international. contact saharaweekly@yahoo.com

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Between Primate Ayodele and Sacked NNPC Boss, Mele Kyari, Who Laughs Last?

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Between Primate Ayodele and Sacked NNPC Boss, Mele Kyari, Who Laughs Last?

By Shina Dayo

 

“Primate Ayodele may have taken sides in the ongoing misunderstanding in the nation’s hydrocarbon community. Using his platform to rally support for the oil cabal, he sends message to the President, who was not visible in his vission in 2023. Fortunately President Tinubu knows Primate Ayodele better than Kyari”, these were the words of Olabode, one of the defenders of the sacked NNPC Boss, Mele Kyari when Primate Ayodele told President Tinubu to sack him for incompetence.

Primate Ayodele had in August 2024 called on President Tinubu to replace the NNPCL Boss, Mele Kyari, due to the issues in the oil sector. The prophet had said that if President Tinubu doesn’t replace him, Nigeria’s oil sector will continue to be disorganized, and a continued crisis in the oil sector would lead to protests against the government.

These were his words:

“One of the major important things Tinubu should do if he wants to see the prayers of Nigerians. He should sack the GMD of the NNPC. If it is possible, he should be sacked before the end of this month; otherwise,another big protest is coming. This protest can sack Tinubu and can make Tinubu’s government ungovernable. If he doesn’t do this urgently, Tinubu would put himself into the hot pot. Sack the NNPC. There is a lot of rot in the NNPC. Protest not yet over. I’m seeing another protest that would seize the economy for 120 hours.”

This statement, which was contained in a video that went viral obviously didn’t sit well with the camp of the sacked NNPCL group CEO and in retaliation, they began to sponsor several publications against Primate Ayodele.

Among some of their publications were cooked up lies against the personality of the prophet, calling him different unprintable names, referring to him as one whose clients are oil bunkerers, twisting his past prophecies just to say they didn’t come to pass, and all sort of things.

Even when some followers of the prophet debunked some of their lies against the man of God, individuals in the camp of Mele Kyari went all out, paying several blogs to peddle false stories against Primate Ayodele. They even warned him to desist from mentioning Mele Kyari in his prophecies, but Primate Ayodele didn’t flinch.

Instead of listening to their rants, Primate Ayodele continued to warn President Tinubu to sack Mele Kyari, not because of personal issues but in the interest of Nigeria and what God has told him about the administration of the NNPCL boss. Due to his continued clamour for Kyari’s sack, his ‘boys’ thought the prophet had any relationship with oil cabals in the country, they tried to investigate him but found absolutely nothing. The prophet was only doing his job as God’s mouthpiece in the country.

One would have thought that as he advised President Tinubu to sack Mele Kyari, they would have at least sought spiritual guidance on how they can make things right for the good of Nigeria’s oil sector in order to avoid the embarrassment of being removed from office but rather, they started boasting of how the President will not listen to Primate Ayodele, listing the achievements of Mele Kyari including those that didn’t even benefit Nigeria, they were saying all sort of things to discredit Primate Ayodele.

However, months after, Mele Kyari has now been sacked by President Tinubu, alongside all members of the NNPCL Boss with replacements announced immediately.

I have just one question for the Mele Kyari’s camp, where has all the boastings now gotten them to? Primate Ayodele remains a major prophetic voice in Nigeria but what has Mele Kyari become? A sacked NNPCL Boss who may even face more persecutions. If there’s one thing these folks need to take away from this issue is the fact that pride goes before destruction.

“He who laughs last laughs longest”

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STERLING BANK LEADS PROTEST FOR REMOVAL OF BANK TRANSFER CHARGES

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STERLING BANK LEADS PROTEST FOR REMOVAL OF BANK TRANSFER CHARGES

 

LAGOS, NIGERIA – In a landmark move that sets a new benchmark for customer-focused
banking in Nigeria, Sterling Bank has championed the cancellation of bank transfer fees by major banks, announcing it will no longer take any money for itself for any local online transactions by its customers.

The announcement, made on April 1st, initially sparked widespread arguments, with many
assuming it was a marketing prank tied to April Fools’ Day. However, Sterling has confirmed that this is no stunt: the zero-transfer-fee policy is real, and effective immediately.

With this move, Sterling becomes the first major Nigerian bank to take a definitive stand against the long-standing practice of charging customers for everyday digital transfers, an issue that has grown increasingly contentious as digital banking adoption deepens.

“We believe access to your own money shouldn’t come with a penalty,” said Obinna
Ukachukwu, Growth Executive leading the Consumer and Business Banking Directorate. “This is more than a financial decision, it’s a values-based one. It reflects our commitment to making banking fair, inclusive, and truly customer focused.”

“We’re not yet the biggest bank in Nigeria, but we’ve been the boldest,” Ukachukwu added. “Sterling fearlessly believes in the future of Nigeria, and this is us backing Nigerians with more than words.”

Under the new policy, Sterling customers will enjoy free transfers for all local transactions
conducted via the bank’s mobile app. This translates into significant savings, particularly for individuals and new small business owners who make frequent daily transfers.

This customer-first orientation is not new for Sterling. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the bank stood out by providing supplementary payments to healthcare workers in public hospitals—at a time when few others were willing or able to offer additional support. From that moment to now, Sterling has continued to redefine what it means to be a responsible and responsive institution.

The bank’s latest move has been met with widespread public approval, sparking positive
reactions across social media and placing pressure on industry peers to follow suit.

We’re proud to lead this change,” Ukachukwu added. “We hope it inspires others to think
differently about what customers truly need from their banks, not just in services, but in values.”

Online communities were not excluded as WhatsApp Nigeria lit up with viral broadcasts as users forwarded the news across various groups, including one from a prayer circle that read: “Please my good people this is not a joke!!! Sterling Bank has just shocked Nigeria today o!! My neighbour Justina just transferred N100k and no charges!!! God bless Sterling Bank!!”. The message quickly gained traction, sparking massive public interest and mounting pressure on other banks to follow suit.

Sterling’s zero-fee policy is part of a broader strategy to transform the customer experience and deliver transparent, ethical banking solutions at scale.

 

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Dr Ifeoma Eze gives reasons on how to know A Genuine Vision

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Dr Ifeoma Eze gives reasons on how to know A Genuine Vision

Dr Ifeoma Eze, a mentor and author of different books gave an insight from her book ” Becoming A Person Of Exceptional Value”, shed more light on The Elements Of A Genuine Vision.

*THE ELEMENTS OF A GENUINE VISION*

There are five key elements that must be present whenever you receive a genuine vision. They are;

1. *Knowing what to do.*
Every genuine vision must be clear, and the terms well spelt out on what to do. It should be tangible and clear enough for anybody to understand. Hab. 2:2.

2. *Knowing when to do it.*
Every genuine vision impacted by God has a time of appointment. Eccl. 3:1-3, Eccl. 9:11, Ps. 31:15. When a man is in the right purpose at the right time, he won’t miss his honour. Knowing the time of your vision requires a lot of prayers which will lead you to high level of sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. Acts 13:1-3.

3. *Knowing where to do it.*
Every genuine vision has an appointed place because destiny answers to the location. Divine location provokes divine allocation. Places are important, hence, God makes places before bringing you on. Gen. 2:15. He made the garden before placing Adam in it! When you get to that God’s appointed location, you will also meet provision for the vision.

And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

[11] And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and
said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

[12] And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

[13] And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. [14] And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen

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Gen. 22:1, 11-14.

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In the scripture, we saw that God deliberately and patiently waited for Abraham to obediently relocate and get to the God-appointed place for the sacrifice and having a readiness to obey God in full; before God made provision of the lamb for the sacrifice. Hence, Jehovah Jireh is the name of God because it is a place where provision met with the discovery of the God-appointed place.

4. *Knowing who to do it with*.

Every God given vision will require some Godly and God-given relationships to make it work. Where there is no vision, the people perish; but where there is vision without people, the vision becomes a burden. The best gift a leader can receive from God is the gift of men.

5. *Knowing How to do it:*

Every vision has a pattern. When God asks you to do a thing it is important that you obtain clear instructions on the structure, pattern and style required to fulfill that vision!

And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. [9] According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it. Exodus 25:8-9 KJV

Building outside the pattern is setting yourself up for failure. Adherence to set pattern is guarantee for divine presence and guidance.

*VISION KILLERS*
It is possible to receive a vision from God but still experience frustration in life because of the following vision killers. Some vision killers include;

1. *Tradition.*( Mark 7:13.)

2. *Fear*- It paralyses creativity.

3. *Stereotypes structural rigidity. Break the satus quo.*

4. *Lack of Discipline and Laziness*

5. *Comparison*

6. *Procrastination*

7. *Wrong Association*

*Coined from the book, Becoming A Person Of Exceptional Value By Dr. Ifeoma Eze, The King’s Rubies*

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