The Imo Police Command has detained 32-year-old Ikenna Emmanuel, a pastor, and his alleged accomplice, one Franklin Chizoba, for allegedly raping a 20-year-old lady under the pretext of organising prayers for her.

The command’s Spokesman, DSP Henry Okoye, disclosed this in a statement issued in Owerri and made available to newsmen on Thursday.

Okoye alleged that the pastor, who is in-charge of Authentic Power City Church, hails from Umuobom, Ideato-South Local Government Area of the state.

He stated that on June 30, Chizoba lured the lady to the pastor, who allegedly offered the victim a drink laced with drugs in his residence.

“Shortly afterwards, she became dizzy, after which both suspects had unlawful carnal knowledge of her.

“Following the report, operatives from Orlu Division promptly arrested the duo.

“During interrogation, both suspects confessed to the offence and further admitted to engaging in homosexual acts.

“They were subsequently charged to court on Aug. 12, and remanded at the Correctional Facility, Owerri, pending trial,” Okoye stated.

The Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, has announced a series of decisions regarding recent unruly passenger incidents at Nigerian airports. After consulting with stakeholders, Keyamo has decided to withdraw a criminal complaint against Ms. Comfort Emmanson, who was involved in an altercation with Ibom Air staff.

The complaint against Ms. Emmanson will be withdrawn, and she is expected to be released from Kirikiri Prisons.

The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has agreed to lift the lifelong flying ban imposed on Ms. Emmanson.

The flight ban for musician Kwam 1 (Wasiu Ayinde Marshall) will be reduced to one month.

Kwam 1 is expected to be engaged as an ambassador for proper airport security protocol by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) will restore the licenses of ValueJet pilots Captain Oluranti Ogoyi and First Officer Ivan Oloba after a one-month ban.

Minister’s Statement on X: Formerly Twitter

Keyamo stated that the decisions were made after reviewing the incidents and consulting with stakeholders.

He emphasized that safety and security in the aviation sector will be taken seriously, but also showed compassion in the cases of Emmanson and Kwam.

Keyamo had previously criticized Kwam 1’s behavior as “totally unacceptable” and likened it to a hostage situation

A retreat will be held next week to retrain aviation security personnel on handling errant passengers and de-escalating potentially explosive situations.

Airlines will also hold a session to focus on staff conduct and attitude towards passengers ².

The Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri has delivered a landmark judgment affirming that Ecobank Nigeria Limited acted unlawfully in restricting a customer’s account without a court order.

It described the bank’s actions as a gross violation of customer rights and a breach of fiduciary duty.

The judgment arose from an appeal filed by Ecobank against a decision of the trial court, which had earlier ruled in favour of the Respondent, its customer, and awarded N10 million in general damages.

Justice Ntong Ntong, who delivered the lead judgment, agreed with the lower court’s findings but reduced the damages to N5 million, deeming the original sum excessive in light of the evidence presented.

In resolving the first issue, Justice Ntong emphasised that no bank has the power to freeze or restrict a customer’s account without a valid court order, regardless of internal policies or compliance procedures such as the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Know Your Customer, KYC, regulations.

The court held that while Ecobank claimed it acted under regulatory obligations after a $65,000 cash deposit raised red flags, it failed to demonstrate that such compliance required unilateral restriction of the account.

It cited relevant precedents, including FBN v. DKN Investments Ltd and GTB v. Joshua, to reinforce the principle that banking institutions must operate within the confines of the law, warning against the use of internal policies to override constitutional rights.

On the second issue, the appellate court found that Ecobank had no legal or contractual basis to assert a right of lien over $10,000 in the respondent’s account, which was allegedly owed to a foreign trading partner, Unique International Trading Ltd.

The bank had argued that it restricted the funds to protect itself from potential litigation threatened by the trading firm.

However, the court ruled that Ecobank’s reliance on the threat of legal action by a third party could not justify the exercise of any lien, especially in the absence of any contractual agreement or court order to that effect.

“Self-help has no place in the civilized world,” the court warned, rejecting the bank’s justification as “misconceived and untenable in law.”

On the final issue, it affirmed that Ecobank had breached its duty of care by unlawfully restricting access to the customer’s funds and dishonouring cheques.

However, it found no sufficient evidence to support the customer’s claim of lost business and goodwill due to the restriction.

Accordingly, the appellate court reduced the general damages from N10 million to N5 million, emphasising that while there was a breach warranting compensation, the initial sum was excessive.