Crime

Putin Likens Opponents to ‘Gnats,’ Signalling New Repression

Published

3 years ago

March 18, 2022

By Derrick Bangura

Faced with stiff opposition in Ukraine and crippling economic sanctions at home, Russian President Vladimir Putin is employing rhetoric reminiscent of Josef Stalin’s show trials of the 1930s.

Putin’s ominous speech on Wednesday compared opponents to “gnats” who seek to weaken the country at the behest of the West — crude remarks that set the stage for sweeping repressions against those who dare to speak out against Ukraine’s war.
His rant appeared to reflect his frustration about the slow pace of the Russian offensive, which bogged down on the outskirts of Kyiv and around other cities in northeastern Ukraine. Russian forces made comparatively bigger gains in the south, but they haven’t been able to capture the strategic port of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, and their advance along the Black Sea coast also has stalled.

Meanwhile, Russia has been battered by devastating Western sanctions that cut the government’s access to an estimated half of the country’s hard currency reserves and dealt crippling blows to many sectors of the economy.

With his hopes for a blitz in Ukraine shattered and economic costs mounting swiftly, Putin unleashed a venomous diatribe at those who oppose his course.

“The Russian people will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors and will simply spit them out like a gnat that accidentally flew into their mouths — spit them out on the pavement,” Putin said during Wednesday’s call with top officials. “I am convinced that such a natural and necessary self-purification of society will only strengthen our country, our solidarity, cohesion and readiness to respond to any challenges.”

The coarse language carried ominous parallels for those familiar with Soviet history. During show trials of Stalin’s Great Terror, authorities disparaged the declared “enemies of the people” as “reptiles” or “mad dogs.”

His voice strained by anger, Putin charged that Russians who oppose the war in Ukraine were a “fifth column” obsequiously serving Western interests and ready to “sell their own mother.”

“I don’t condemn those who have villas in Miami or the French Riviera, those who can’t live without foie gras, oysters or so-called gender freedoms,” Putin said. “It’s not a problem. The problem is that many of those people are mentally there (in the West) and not here with our people, with Russia. They don’t remember or just don’t understand that they are just … expendables used for the purpose of inflicting the maximum damage on our people.”

As he spoke, the Russian State Investigative Committee announced the opening of criminal probes against several people accused of spreading “false information” about the military action in Ukraine.

The first person singled out by the country’s top investigative agency was Veronika Belotserkovskaya, a popular blogger and socialite who has written books about French and Italian cuisine and divides her time between Russia and southern France. She appeared to be a target conveniently fitting Putin’s scathing description of cosmopolitan Russians who love fancy food and are seemingly at odds with the broad masses.

The investigative committee said it would move to issue an international arrest warrant for Belotserkovskaya, alleging her Instagram posts “discredited” state authorities and the military.

Belotserkovskaya responded by writing: “I have been officially declared to be a decent person!”

She is being investigated under new legislation fast-tracked on March 4 by the Kremlin-controlled parliament, a week after Putin launched the invasion. It envisions prison terms of up to 15 years for posting “fake” information about the military that differs from the official narrative.

Putin and his lieutenants describe the war in Ukraine as a “special military operation” intended to uproot alleged “neo-Nazi nationalists” and remove a potential military threat against Russia— goals that most of the world has rejected as bogus.

Russian officials have attributed the offensive’s slow pace to their desire to spare civilians, even as the military pummeled Mariupol, Kyiv, Kharkiv and other Ukrainian cities with indiscriminate barrages and airstrikes, killing untold numbers of civilians.

With the action in Ukraine in stark contrast with official declarations, the authorities acted quickly to control the message, shutting access to foreign media websites, along with Facebook and Instagram and moving to outlaw their parent company Meta as an “extremist” organization.

The tight lids on information have helped the Kremlin rally support of broad layers of the population who rely on state-controlled television as their main source of news. State TV programs carried an increasingly aggressive message against those who oppose the war.

Asked about incidents in which the apartment doors of war critics were spray-painted with the letter “Z” — a sign used to mark Russian military vehicles in Ukraine that has been heavily promoted by the state — Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described it as an “emotional” move by Putin’s supporters.

The campaign in support of the war saw Russian cities flooded with “Z” posters and vehicles emblazoned with it. School children were shown standing in groups in the shape of the letter or wearing clothes marked with a “Z.”

Despite the draconian new laws, tight controls on information and increasingly aggressive propaganda, however, thousands of Russians showed up at antiwar protests across the country to face immediate arrest.

In a powerful symbol of defiance, an employee of state television interrupted a live news program, holding a handmade sign protesting the war. Marina Ovsyannikova was fined the equivalent of $270, but still faces a criminal probe that could land her in prison.

One loud voice of dissent was that of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Putin’s fiercest political foe who is serving 2 1/2 years in prison and now faces a trial that could hand him a 13-year sentence.

In a speech at his trial Tuesday, Navalny warned that the war will lead to the breakup of Russia, saying that “everyone’s duty now is to oppose the war.”

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Crime

2 ladies docked for allegedly obtaining money by fraud

Published

6 days ago

December 16, 2024

Saadatu Sahabo

The police in Lagos have dragged two women, Mmesuma Ofunna, and Blessing Adimekwe, before an Ojo Magistrates’ Court in Lagos, over alleged obtaining money by false pretence.

Ofunna, 22, and Adimekwe, 25, were arraigned before the Magistrate, Mr L K J Layeni, on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence, stealing and conduct likely to breach peace.

They each, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The prosecutor, ASP Simon Uche, told the court that the defendants conspired with others now at large, to commit the offence on Oct. 26 at the Okokomaiko area of Ojo.

He alleged that they had obtained the sum of N70, 000 from one Faith Ahamefule, with a promise not to post her nude photo on social media.

The prosecutor alleged that the defendants later posted the nude photo of the nominal complainant on social media, knowing that their promise was false.

He alleged that they stole the N70, 0000, thereby conducting themselves in a manner likely to breach public peace.

The offence contravenes the provisions of sections 168(d), 287, 314, and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.

The court granted the defendants bails in the sum of N500, 000 each, with two sureties each in like sum.

He adjourned the case until Jan. 8, 2025 for mention.

Crime

Mechanic jailed 15 months for pickpocketing passengers

Published

6 days ago

December 16, 2024

Saadatu Sahabo

A Jos Magistrates’ Court on Monday, sentenced a 26-year-old Mechanic, Sadiq Umar to 15 months imprisonment for pickpocketing from passengers.

The Magistrate, Shawomi Bokkos, summarily tried and sentenced the convict after he pleaded guilty to the charge.

Bokkos in his judgment, ordered the convict to pay an option of N100, 000 fine or spend one year in prison.

He also asked him to pay a compensation of N15, 000 or an additional three months in prison in default.

Earlier, the Prosecutor, Insp Ijuptil Thiawur, told the court that the case was reported on Nov.16, at the “A” Division Police station by Moses Pam, Alexander Bakshak and Simon Justice the complaints.

Thiawur said that the convict attempted to steal from them before he was caught in the act and when the driver stopped the vehicle to search him he fled but was caught.

The Police said that the offence contravened the Plateau Penal Code Law.

Crime

Police detain 2 suspected fraudsters, reject N66m bribe in Lagos

Published

6 days ago

December 16, 2024

Saadatu Sahabo

Police rescue 14 passengers from bandits in Jibia

The Zone-2 Police Command in Lagos says it has detained two suspected international fraudsters that allegedly specialised in forging foreign certificates in Lagos and Ghana.

The AIG in charge of the zone, Adegoke Fayaode, confirmed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday.

Fayoade said that the suspects allegedly offered N66m to the operatives with a view to free them but the offer was turned down.

NAN reports that the same zone operatives rejected a N174m bribe offered by a suspect in November to set him free.

Fayoade said that the suspects simply identified as Elvis, 23 and Kelly, 24, allegedly specialised in forging certificates of different nations and African Universities and defrauding their unsuspecting victims on the internet.

He said that the suspects have succeeded in acquiring exotic cars and erecting mansions in different parts of the country with the proceeds of their loot.

The AIG pointed out that luck ran out of the suspects after detectives at the Anti-Corruption Unit of the Zone received credible information from Nigerians in diaspora concerning some group of boys that specialised in forging foreign certificates.

According to him, on getting the information, he detailed the anti-corruption unit to investigate it and arrest the suspects without delay.

Fayoade said that based on his directives, the detectives stormed Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos waiting for the arrival of the suspects, whom they trailed to a five star hotel at Osapa-London in Lekki Area.

He said that the operatives arrested the suspects at a bus stop while they were about to escape secretly from the hotel, after monitoring their activities.

“Searching their luggage, one certificate of Blue Crest College, Ghana, belonging to Elvis and a student identity card of Academic City College belonging to Kelly were recovered.

“Further search revealed a transcript of an academic record from Blue Crest University belonging to Elvis.

“A letter of English proficiency from the said college and a letter of recommendation from the same Blue Crest College were recovered,” he said.

The AIG said that the suspects made useful statements to the police and confessed that they never got any admission into the school, stressing that they only procured the degree certificates through the help of a female Nigerian resident in Ghana.

“The suspects further confessed that the major aim of doing that is to enable them to get Ghana resident permit, which they got.

“The resident permit is showing them also as a student of Academic City University and that none of them has ever been admitted in the school.

“They claimed they paid a total of 26,000 Ghana Cedis for all the documents procured.

“They confessed that they procured all the documents to evade arrest in Ghana since they don’t have any means of livelihood.

Whenever police intercepted them, they showed their passports that they were students in Ghana.”

Fayoade said that the suspects were also allegedly involved in online romance scam, provision of foreign bank accounts for fraudulent transactions on the internet through what they call ‘Facebook bombing’.

He said the suspects presented themselves as an American soldier by name Captain Donald Rowe, serving in Syria, whom they impersonated on Instagram, using his name to defraud innocent persons.

The AIG said that while detectives were making frantic efforts to get more credible information from the suspects, they started negotiating to bribe the operatives for them to be set free.

“I directed my men to play along and recover the money as an exhibit. Subsequently, the detectives played along and the suspects paid them a sum of N66m, which they collected and kept as an exhibit.

“The Nigeria Police authorities have written to the Ghana embassy to get more information about the result and their suspected partners in Ghana said to be spearheading the fraud.

Fayoade said that they had also spread their dragnets through the International Police, Interpol, to round up their foreign accomplices.