The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has confirmed the abduction of Mr. Samuel Ekerenam, owner of Hephzibah Shopping Mall, located along Afaha Uqua Obok-Idim Road in Eket Local Government Area.

The incident occurred at around 10:55 p.m. at the mall located along Afaha Uqua Obok-Idim Road in Eket Local Government Area.

Confirming the development on Tuesday, the State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Timfon John, said: “The assailants overpowered the victim’s police escort after killing his driver and forcibly took Mr. Ekerenam away.

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“The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Joseph Eribo, and his tactical team have visited the scene, and efforts are in top gear to rescue the victim unharmed.”

A family source disclosed that the injured police officer is receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in the state.

This abduction comes four years after Mr. Ekerenam’s wife, Glory Ekerenam, was kidnapped in October 2019 in Eket and held captive in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area before being freed.

The police have urged the public to remain calm and cooperate with ongoing investigations as security agencies intensify efforts to address the growing wave of insecurity in Akwa Ibom State.

The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a vigilante operative attempting to flee with a firearm concealed in a bag of rice.

The incident occurred on Friday, November 22, at Nkwelle-Ezunaka in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State.

Police spokesperson SP Tochukwu Ikenga, in a statement on Tuesday, disclosed that the suspect, 25-year-old Enediong Bassey, was apprehended by officers from the 3-3 Police Divisional Headquarters, led by CSP Emeka Obi.

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Bassey, a native of Ikono Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom State, was caught with a pump-action gun during the operation.

“Police operatives acting on credible information arrested Enediong Bassey and recovered one pump action gun wrapped in a bag of rice at Nkwelle-Ezunaka,” Ikenga said.

“During interrogation, the suspect admitted to being a member of a vigilante group but confessed that he was absconding with the weapon to join a criminal gang for armed robbery and other unlawful activities.”

Ikenga noted that the arrest reflects growing concerns over misconduct by some members of vigilante groups in the state.

As a result, the Commissioner of Police, Nnaghe Obono Itam, has emphasized the need for stricter oversight of such operatives.

“Given the above and following other complaints and unprofessional conduct by some security outfits and vigilante members, the Commissioner of Police, in line with the principles of community policing, reiterates the calls for profiling of security operatives assisting the Police and other security agencies on anti-crime operations to improve safety in the state,” Ikenga stated.

The commissioner has also directed the immediate transfer of the suspect to the command’s anti-robbery squad for comprehensive investigations.

Dutch investigative journalist, Oliver Beerman has once again turned the spotlight on Heineken’s controversial business operations across Africa, alleging a history of corruption, unethical marketing, and exploitation in his 2019 book The Dark Side of Heineken’s African Beer Empire.

During a book reading event in Abuja on Saturday, Beerman shared insights from his six-year investigation into the brewing giant’s activities in 13 African countries, including Nigeria.

The book paints a damning picture of Heineken’s conduct in the region, with Beerman accusing the company of engaging in practices that undermine local brewers, collaborating with authoritarian regimes, and exploiting weak governance to bypass ethical standards.

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“Unlike in Western markets, where regulations are stricter, Heineken has operated with far more freedom in Africa,” Beerman stated.

He pointed to the company’s use of marketing tactics disguised as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), such as funding schools in Nigeria’s Enugu state, where the buildings are emblazoned with the Heineken logo and painted in the company’s colors.

“This should be CSR, but in this case, it is another form of advertisement,” Beerman explained.

Beerman also revealed that many African consumers are unaware that brands they consider local—such as Gulder, Star Radler, and Primus—are actually brewed by Heineken.

He highlighted the company’s strategy of creating the illusion of local identity, such as printing the Congolese flag on bottles sold in the Democratic Republic of Congo, while the profits ultimately flow to Heineken’s shareholders abroad.

“They make the product look national, but in the end, the profits go to Heineken outside the country,” Beerman added.

Nigeria, according to Beerman, is by far Heineken’s most important market in Africa, contributing nearly half of the company’s turnover on the continent.

“Nigeria represents half of Heineken’s total turnover in Africa,” Beerman stated. “Lagos, the economic capital, is the heart of a conurbation that 20 million people call home. Nigeria as a whole is more than 200 million strong.”

But the journalist’s findings also expose a darker side to Heineken’s operations. Beerman uncovered a marketing campaign orchestrated by Heineken Nigeria’s CEO, Festus Odimegwu, that allegedly involved the use of sex workers to promote Heineken products.

“In Nigeria, the upper and middle classes drink in clubs without prostitution, but poor people go to bars where you pay 2,000 naira (around $10 at the time) to sleep with a woman,” Beerman recounted.

“So it came to pass that the company designated 500 well-frequented bars as so-called hot spots, where young women had to promote the beer.

“When I ask if they were also encouraged to sleep with the clients, Odimegwu’s eyes grow large as he looks at me, ‘What kind of question is that? Of course, they are prostitutes.’”

When Beerman reached out to Heineken for comment, executives defended the company’s past actions, stating that ethical concerns were not a priority at the time.

“You are looking at the past with eyes of now. Back then, ethical questions were not as important as the present,” Beerman quoted the executives as saying.

However, Beerman countered, “I show in the book that already in the 1990s, people who were already thinking of business ethics had begun asking Heineken questions about some of its practices.”

Beerman’s findings have sparked renewed calls for greater corporate accountability in Africa, where multinational companies are often able to operate with little oversight.