Results tagged “nigeria”

Outspoken Nigerian dissident and afrobeat trailblazer Fela Kuti was beaten and arrested hundreds of times during his turbulent life, which came to an end in 1997 due to AIDS-related complications. Several years after his death, Femi and Yeni Kuti, his eldest son and daughter, opened a performance venue and cultural center in Lagos called the New Afrika Shrine, a living tribute to their father and his famous commune-nightclub-recording studio, which was burned down by the Nigerian army. Femi, who has since taken up the afrobeat torch, performs with his band Positive Force often at the New Afrika Shrine, which has become a refuge for politically active youths and a source for information in defense against the AIDS.

The Queens DA's office and NYPD announced that they broke up an international major identity theft and credit card ring. The scam, which cost individuals and banks $15 million, has roots in—wait for it—Nigeria, involved the suspects using "spoofing" technology. The suspects would call credit card companies, masked their voices, and were able to "spoof" the companies into thinking they were calling from the cardholder's actual phone number, allowing them to change PIN numbers, order new cards and increase credit lines. Then they would buy expensive items, take out cash, or sell the cards to foreign buyers. The Daily News reports, "The scam was discovered nearly two years ago when a Queens Realtor opened a package meant for one of his employees and found 60 credit cards - the type 'normally issued in anticipation of a customer's card expiring,' [Police Commissioner] Kelly said."

Andrew Berends, a documentary filmmaker, was arrested by Nigerian authorities are filming in the country's oil region. He was released 36 hours later, but faces more questions. According to the AP, the Nigerian military spokesman Lt. Col Sagir Musa said, "He had no security clearance. It is for his own safety. If something happens to him it’s an embarrassment to the security agencies... The S.S.S. will investigate him and once they are satisfied they will release him, God willing.” However, Reporters Without Borders says Berends was "doing his job... It is absurd for the authorities to think that, by arresting him and his interpreter, they can conceal the economic and ecological disaster unfolding in the Niger Delta.” Espionage carries a death sentence in Nigeria. Here's the CIA Factbook on Nigeria.