NBA CONFERENCE: RE-INVENT NOW OR LOSE RELEVANCE, ZINOX BOSS CHARGES LAWYERS

Chairman of Zinox Group, Africa’s most integrated Information and Communications Technology (ICT) conglomerate, Leo Stan Ekeh has called on Nigerian lawyers to re-invent in line with current technological realities or face the threat of losing relevance in the practice of the legal profession.

Ekeh made this call at the 2016 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) which held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State from Tuesday August 23rd to Friday August 26th 2016.

While delivering a paper titled: Wealth Creation for the Lawyer in the 21st Century using technology, serial digital entrepreneur Ekeh challenged the audience which included Learned Silks, Honourable Body of Benchers and distinguished Members of the Bar, among others to wake up to the strong and compelling circumstances necessitating changes in the legal market place and forcing it out of its protective cocoon. 

Noting that the legal profession is one that is notoriously averse to change, Ekeh disclosed that the survival of any sector, profession or business organisation is directly dependent on its ability to innovate and align itself with the present digital revolution.

“In our present society, technology has permeated almost all sectors, industries and several human undertakings. Many sectors have been overtaken by the internet, mobile phone apps and people’s ability to find free information as against situations they used to pay for. Any organization or sector that refuses to innovate and embrace new technological realities will eventually die. 

The law profession must embrace this change and properly align itself to the benefit maximally from the present digital revolution. In this 21st century, a lawyer’s wealth shall be determined by the application of digital technology to his work. It is either the lawyer reinvents himself to the technological realities of the 21st century and its impact on service delivery to clients or the lawyer would eventually disappear from the radar of the legal profession.”

According to Ekeh, the revolutions in the field of ICT puts a lot of pressures on the legal profession which makes it imperative for the contemporary lawyer to re-tool in order to remain relevant in the scheme of things.

“Law has been something of a protected industry spared from some of the general business realities applicable to almost all other industries. Lawyers occupy a unique place with monopoly of access to legal knowledge, and no real competition. For instance, the relationship with the client is controlled by the law firm which decides almost entirely by itself how the services are to be delivered, and dictating the costs, pricing, and strategic direction. 

“Hence, as long as the status quo served the lawyer, there is no need to innovate or provide cost-efficient services. It is a closed market. But whereas, the seller (the lawyer) appears comfortable with the status quo, he fails to realize that his earnings can greatly be increased by innovation and technology which invariably would cause a disruption of the status quo in the legal marketplace. 

But now, there are strong and compelling circumstances necessitating changes in the legal market place and forcing it out of its protective cocoon.”

According to Ekeh, today’s lawyers stand a better chance of building new and sustainable wealth, only if they upgrade their knowledge and leverage on the numerous opportunities available through technology. 

Urging lawyers to explore businesses such as Family Offices which are increasingly being embraced by discreet but very successful clients, Ekeh counselled members of the audience to acquire knowledge on Family Council as well as professional management of Trusts instead of Will which is the cause of unlimited litigations and wastage of saved resources in many families in Nigeria. 

In addition, the Zinox helmsman disclosed other areas such as set-up of virtual/digital law libraries, cloud-computing, e-form and drafting templates, digital law reporting, e-conferencing as well as networking and the use of social media which could help the lawyer lend further technological refinements to the practice of the profession.

The session which witnessed a question-and-answer session also had in attendance the Honourable Minister of Communications represented by the Postmaster General of the Federation, Asiwaju Bisi Adegbuyi as well as representatives from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) among others.

Below are pictures from the session…

Is Woman The Problem Between Freeze and Basketmouth?

I can't tell what made Freeze do this, but he did it. The popular OAP dated Basketmouth's wife Elsie before they separated and she hooked up with Basketmouth when he was still struggling.

Freeze came online to share a loved up photo of himself and Elsie when she was his woman and, as would be expected, many people disliked it. Freeze has deleted the photo.

But sadly, the pic is now everywhere on the social media. Her husband can't be happy with such act.

Police Rescue Another Little Girl Caged for Five Months

A forty -two-year-old lady, Mrs. Mary Matthew, was paraded by the Police in Akure, the Ondo State capital, for allegedly maltreating her late younger sister’s five-year-old daughter, Precious Michael.

Mary, who is a mother of six, was accused of chaining and caging the little Precious in a kiosk for five months for allegedly being possessed and suffering from an incurable disease.

Mary, an indigene of Enugu State but resident in Imafo, Akure North area, was said to have travelled to their home town last December, when she was informed of her younger sister’s death.

She later returned to her base with little Precious.

It was learnt Precious was put in the cage when Mary and her husband accused her of being possessed and suffering from a disease.

The five year-old girl fed, defecated and urinated in the cage for five months before she was rescued last month by the police.

Precious’ condition was said to have been pathetic, forcing an Assistant Superintendent Police (ASP), Special Children Centre at Akure “A” Division, Mrs. Olayemi Ojumu, to donate blood to her when the medical team said she needed blood transfusion.

But Mary, who denied caging the little girl, said she always lock her in a shop when going to the farm until she comes back.

Mary said she locks her up after she observed that one of her legs was swollen.

She said: “Immediately, I called my mother in Enugu that Precious’ leg was swollen, and she said she must have contracted the disease that killed her mother.

“I became perplexed, and in the cause of preventing her from infecting my other six children, I put her in a shop when going to the farm and when I return, I always remove her from that place. God is my witness.”

Precious accused her aunt of chaining her two legs and hands and flogging her before putting her in a cage.

She added that sometimes, she would not be fed by her foster parents.

Police Commissioner Mrs. Hilda Ibifuro-Harrison said the police came to the kid’s rescue when their neigbours told his officers about the girl’s situation.

The commissioner said when she saw the kid in her anaemic state, she could not control her emotion.

She hailed her officers, particularly the one who donated her blood, for the survival of the girl.

The police commissioner promised that the suspect and others apprehended in connection with the case would be charged to court.

Man kidnapped His Sister for being stingy, demands N300k for her Ransom

Money wahala...! A 27yrs old man, Chigozie Egegonye, has been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly planning the kidnap of his sister, identified only as Franca.

The sister Franca and her four children were declared missing since April 2016, when they suddenly disappeared from their home on Mayowa Street, Ago-Palace Way, Okota, Lagos.

It was gathered by Punch that Egegonye told his childhood friend, Michael Oluchukwu, that despite the wealth of his sister, she was stingy.

It was learnt that Oluchukwu, a cobbler, sent a text message to the victim, giving her an ultimatum of 12 hours to pay N300,000 or risk being kidnapped and killed.

Franca called the suspect and pleaded for her life, saying she could only afford N50,000.

Oluchukwu reportedly agreed and sent her his account details. However, it was learnt that the victim had yet to send the money when she and her four children went missing.

Franca's husband petitioned State Department of Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Yaba, after which detectives launched a manhunt for the suspects.

A police source said investigations revealed that Egegonye was behind the plot.

He said, “Chigozie (Egegonye) and Michael (Oluchukwu) are childhood friends. After losing contact, they reunited in Jakande Estate, Isolo, where Michael had his workshop.

“On April 13, 2016, Chigozie went to Michael’s shop and told him he had a sister who was so stingy that each time he demanded money from her, she wouldn’t give him. He asked him to send a threat message to her on the phone.

“They told the woman how she normally took her children to school every day. They said she should pay N300,000 within 12 hours or risk being eliminated together with her four children.”

The source told Punch that Franca, who immediately became jittery, called back the phone number and said she couldn’t raise the sum within the time frame, but could afford N50,000.

The suspect was said to have sent a First Bank account number 3034268561 with the name Chigozie Egegonye.

Another source said Franca and the children went missing on that same day when the money had yet to be paid. He explained that her husband got home to discover their apartment had been emptied.

He said, “The man got home on that day and discovered that his wife and the children were missing, including his two cars. He found the house scattered and all the luggage of the wife and children taken away.

“The man said he received a text message from his wife detailing the death threat she received. He said he called his in-laws to tell them he had not seen his wife and the children and they told him to go and find her. All of them thought he masterminded the kidnap of his wife and children.”

Her husband wrote a petition to police, which led to the arrest of Egegonye and Oluchukwu.

A source said police used the account number and phone number of Oluchukwu to track him down.

He later led operatives to Oluchukwu’s house where he was also arrested.

However, Oluchukwu denied kidnapping his sister, saying she fled the house due to the disagreement she had been with her husband.

He said, “My sister and her husband are rich, but they always quarrel in the house. She had wanted to quit the marriage, but I begged her. My sister fears a lot. I and my friend sent a threat message to her line and she used that opportunity to run away from the house. I blame myself for everything that happened. I am now repentant. I wasn’t praying at home before I came here. Now, I lead the devotion in the cell.”

Egegonye, on his part, said greed and ignorance pushed him into the act and he had learnt his lesson.

Check how this Nigerian guy conned a Vietnamese woman of N58m

One Iwuchukwu Martin Uche (pictured above) has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for defrauding a woman of $145,000 (about N58 million) after promising to marry her. Uche, who claimed to be a military officer working for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO in Kabul, Afghanistan allegedly, collected the money from his victim, H. Uyen, a Vietnamese woman.

The suspect, who also claimed to be a property agent operating in Nigeria and Ghana, allegedly told the victim that he needed the money to procure some documents for the planned wedding.

The money was allegedly wired to the suspect’s Diamond Bank account number:  0028998256.

A statement by the EFCC on Thursday said that the suspect will soon be charged to court, after investigation is concluded.

Man killed and buried his business associate in Warri (Photo)

Ogbaire, pictured above is a spare parts dealer in Warri, Delta State and has admitted that he callously murdered his associate, Lawrence Okoh, and buried his body in a shallow grave.

On August 2, Okoh had left his Port Harcourt business outfit to supply generator spare parts to Ogbaire in Warri.

After the supply, he did not return home and the police declared him missing. He had, earlier that day, sent a text message to his wife that he would not make it back to Port Harcourt and that he would pass the night with Ogbaire in Warri.

His wife contacted Ogbaire, who claimed that he knew Okoh very well, but that he had not seen him for over a period of time. 

The police, however, raided the spare parts market in Warri where the wife was able to identify some of the parts Okoh left with on the fateful day.

The shop owner, where the parts were found, took the police to Ogbaire, the person who supplied them. Ogbaire allegedly confessed to the police that he murdered Okoh and buried him in a shallow grave in an uncompleted building.

Okoh’s decomposing body was later exhumed and released to the family for burial. 

Ogbaire said he killed Okoh in order not to pay him the money for the spare parts he supplied him. Okoh left behind, a set of twins, which he had last year, 8 years after his marriage.

Female graduate who's a shoemaker receives her first Award

The pretty Michelle Ekure, a female shoe maker who's doing nice works, has received her first award. The Delta-born lady is a graduate of International Studies and Diplomacy from the University of Benin, but ventured into shoe making six years after searching for a job to no avail.

Fortunately, she has started getting recognition. After receiving her first award, she wrote:

"About last night, this is my first award from delta state heritage. I want thank God for all he has done me, i am so grateful. thank you guys i love you all."

Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade wants to Make Hawking Legal In Cross River State

Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has sent a bill titled, “Hawkers’ Right Bill,” to the House of Assembly in the bid to legalise hawking in the state.

Ayade, who disclosed this during an interaction with journalists in Calabar, said it is bad for any state government in Nigeria to ban hawking without providing an alternative in this harsh economy.

He said any decision to ban hawking amounted to an infringement of the right of the hawker.

Ayade said, “I have just sent the ‘Hawkers’ Right Bill’ to the House of Assembly, to provide a right for hawking. You cannot tell a man not to sell his goods because he does not have the money to rent a store. And you tell the man not to steal?

“Just provide a regulatory framework. There should be reflective outfits and there should be a minimum age of 18 to hawk. You will have a time frame when you come out so that you don’t constitute a nuisance.

“But to prohibit hawking is to tell a man I don’t want to give you food and I want you to steal. It is unfair. They have the right to seek and determine how they chose to live within the ambits of the law.

“Cross River would be the first state that would officially recognise hawking. The core mandate of a leader should be the social security of his people. If a man chooses to hawk, if you are a government that is sensitive and understands the real principle and objective of the law, then you will know that the hawker has a right.

“Governance is about how you protect the weakest in the society and that is why even with the way things are, Cross River is still doing tax exemption for the poor.”

Richest Footballer, Ronaldo, Wins UEFA Award

Superstar footballer Cristiano Ronaldo won the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award on Thursday after winning both last season’s Champions League and Euro 2016 with Portugal.

AFP reports that Ronaldo received the accolade for the second time in his career after finishing ahead of Real Madrid team-mate Gareth Bale and Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann.

The award is voted for by journalists from each of UEFA’s 55-member associations. Congrats to him!

Photo: GT The Guitarman and Wife Welcome Baby Girl

Singer GT The Guitarman and his wife, Annie have welcomed their first child, a baby girl. He shared the good news on social media, while expressing joy. Congratulations to the couple!

How I Killed My Girlfriend – Chukwudi Oweniwe confesses

Lack of conscience. This 22-year-old student of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic in Ondo State, Chukwudi Oweniwe has been arrested for allegedly killing his girlfriend, Nifemi Adeyeye in a bush at Ilu-Abo, in Akure North area of Ondo State early this month.

Chukwudi and late Nifemi were both part-time students of the department of Science and Laboratory Technology (SLT).

The suspect, who lives in Ayede-Ogbese was said to have invited Nifemi to his place from school and subsequently lured her into a bush in Ilu-Abo and killed her.

He was alleged to have performed some ritual activities on his late girlfriend.

When Chukwudi was speaking with reporters at the police command in Akure, when he was paraded, he confessed to the crime but denied using the lady for ritual.

He narrated how he killed the lady:
“I invited her from Owo to Akure and after introducing her to my parents, I lured her into a bush and strangled her, leaving her body in the bush.

“On the second day, I asked a commercial motorcycle rider to take me to the bush where I left her; I observed that she was not dead and I used a stoned to hit her head and she died immediately.

“My parents became curious when they did not see her and I was arrested by Police in Ayede Ogbese and from there, they transferred me to anti-cultism in Akure”.

When asked why he killed his girlfriend, Chukwudi said he did not know the spirit that came on him and that it was when he killed her that he realised that he had committed a sin.

He also denied being a cultist. He said they had been dating since February this year and that she had never cheated on her.

The State Police commissioner, Mrs. Hilda Ibifuro-Harrison said Nifemi’s remains were recovered in the bush by men of the Special Anti-cultism squad.

CP Harrison said the police were still investigating the matter to unravel the suspect’s action.

Police uncover Baby Factory in Aba, rescue 5 pregnant ladies

Men of the Nigeria Police Force have uncovered a baby factory at the Ogbor-Hill area of Aba in Abia State and rescued five pregnant ladies. Police also arrested a 54-year-old man, Nkem Nwokocha and his wife, identified simply as Nurse, who were said to be the owners of the baby factory.

The pregnant ladies rescued are:
29yrs old Chidinma Ifeanyi Chukwu, who hails from Isiala Mbano in Imo State, Kelechi Sampson, 20, and Happiness Godwin from Mboko Umuanunu village in obingwa, Abia State.
Others are Okoronkwo Mercy, a native of Alayi in Bende Local Government Area and Oluebube Onyabu also from Umuanunu village in Obingwa Local Government Area of the state.


Parading the suspects at the police headquarters in the state capital, Umuahia, the Commissioner of Police, Adeleye Oyebade, said the police acted on a report that the suspects were running a child trafficking home, which led to their arrest.

The police boss frowned at the rate at which people indulge in the illegal sale of children in the state, adding that it was an act of wickedness against children.

Gov Ugwuanyi visits town where Herdsmen killed a Seminarian

With a heavy heart, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State visited Ndiagu Attakwu community in Akegbe Ugwu, Nkanu West area, where herdsmen allegedly killed a Catholic Seminarian and injured 4 persons. The governor, who was visibly angry, condemned the dastardly act in its entirety.

He vowed that the perpetrators of the heinous act will not go unpunished, saying his administration will not tolerate the wanton destruction of lives and property in the state by herdsmen anymore.

The governor allegedly stormed Hersdmen settlement inside a thick forest apparently to express his displeasure over the incident, only to discover that they had fled.



The Catholic Bishop of Enugu, Dr. C.V.C Onaga, who visited the grief-stricken community, also condemned the attack and expressed sadness over the incident. He prayed for peace and unity of the country, calling for a permanent solution to the menace of the herdsmen in the country.

The governor has summoned an emergency meeting with the security chiefs and Fulani community in the state at the Government House, Enugu.