The Director General, National Financial Investigation Agency in Equatorial Guinea, Baltasar Engonga, has been arrested for allegedly recording over 400 sextapes of the wives of notable people in the country.

The scandal emerged in the course of a fraud investigation against the 54-year-old Economist which resulted in the search of his house and office on impromptu notice by ANIF officials who came across several CDs that later revealed his sexcapades with different married women.

The videos reportedly include encounters with high-profile individuals, such as his brother’s wife, his cousin, the sister of the President of Equatorial Guinea, the Director General of Police’s wife, and about 20 of the country’s ministers’ wives, among others.

The footage, discovered in his personal office, was said to have been recorded with consent and has since been leaked online, causing a media uproar.

In a report by a local media platform, Ahora EG, since last October, Engonga has been involved in a sexual scandal unprecedented in the history of Equatorial Guinea.

The former ANIF DG better known as “Bello” had sexual relations with several women, some of them married, and filmed these intimate encounters.

The report read, “The most striking thing is that some scenes took place in his work office, including moments in which he is seen sleeping with a woman next to the National Flag. Based on this sexual scandal, the Executive has stated that the measure is a direct response to the acts that have affected the image of the country.

“With these new measures, the Government hopes to establish a clear precedent on the expected conduct of public officials in order to create a more respectful work environment in the public and private administration of Equatorial Guinea. For days now, erotic videos have been circulating on social media featuring Baltasar EBANG ENGONGA, better known as “Bello”, who is currently the Director General of the National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIF) and is currently imprisoned for alleged corruption issues.

“Baltasar EBANG ENGONGA is said to have filmed these scenes with the consent of the women themselves, which exonerates him from a possible crime of violation of integrity. In the videos, he is seen having unprotected sex with several women, including those married to powerful and well-known people in the country, but also with the most “diva and influential” single women in Equatorial Guinea. Some scenes take place in hotel rooms, houses, even in the protagonist’s office at the Ministry of Finance,” it added.

However, speaking on the viral sextapes, the Attorney General of the country, Nzang Nguema, has stressed that, although the images suggest that the women involved were not forced to participate, the law does not consider consensual sexual relations to be a crime, unless coercion or violence is proven. This highlights the importance of victims reporting situations of sexual abuse or assault.

Nguema also emphasised that the risk is not only for the women involved but also for their partners and the wider community, adding, “The possibility of a contagious disease being spread through these sexual interactions makes the situation even more critical.

He further pointed out that the onus is on victims to come forward in cases of rape or assault, highlighting the need for an environment where people feel safe and supported to report such incidents.

Reacting to the development on Monday, Equatorial Guinea has decided to take action by immediately suspending all officials who have had sexual relations in the offices of the country’s ministries.

The government claimed that the decision was part of its “zero tolerance” policy towards behaviour that compromises the integrity of the public service.

The Vice President of the Republic, Nguema Mangue, has pointed out that these behaviours constitute a flagrant violation of the Code of Conduct and the Public Ethics Law.

In his publication on X, he emphasized that “ethics and respect are fundamental in our Administration,” and that irresponsible attitudes that put citizen trust at risk will not be allowed.

A member of the House of Representatives, Alex Ikwechegh, on Sunday, assaulted an e-hailing (Bolt) driver who went to deliver a package to him.

The distressed driver whose name is yet unknown in a viral video filmed what transpired between them in Ikwechegh’s residence in Maitama, Abuja.

The video depicted the visibly angered Reps member representing Aba North & South Federal Constituency (APGA) repeatedly slapping and insulting the driver for telling him to come out and get the snail the driver was meant to deliver to him.

In the footage, Ikwechegh insisted that the request was disrespectful given his social status while threatening to make the driver “disappear” without facing any consequences.

“Do you know who I am? I can make this man (driver) disappear in the whole of Nigeria and nothing will happen. Can you imagine this rat? I am not going to give this boy one naira of my money.

Watch the video here: https://t.co/3yBaK8WgiR

“I am not going to call my policemen to beat you up, I will do that myself. I will show that I am a big brother to you, tie you up, lie you down and put you in my generator house. Do you know where you are? Because you saw me sitting outside here. Look at this monkey.”

When the driver requested the delivery fee, the politician slapped him multiple times querying if the driver knew who he was talking to.

“Do you know who I am I just slapped you and there’s nothing you will do. My name is Honourable Alex Ikwechegh, tell them (public) I slapped you. Call the Inspector General of Police that I slapped you, let him come. Record me very well,” he boasted.

Recall that in September 2023, the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Umuahia, Abia State capital, led by Justice Adeyinka Aderibigbe, sacked Emeka Nnamani, who is a member of the Labour Party and ordered that a certificate of return be issued to Ikwechegh, a candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), who came second in the 2023 general election.

Nnamani was sacked based on certificate forgery.

The Appeal Court had in 2015 on the petition of Blessing Nwagba, sacked Nnamani on the ground that he was not a registered member of his then party, APGA in his ward at the time of the election and equally directed the police to investigate the allegation of certificate forgery against Nnamani, who said he graduated from the University of Port Harcourt.

After the Tribunal judgment, there was a report (not The PUNCH) that the tribunal sacked Nnamani because of certificate forgery and that there was a court ruling banning him from participating in elections for 10 years.

Although the lawmaker has debunked and described it as a “lie from the pit of hell”, adding, “There was nothing like the court banning me, Emeka Nnamani, for 10 years from contesting an election in Nigeria. That’s a fallacy and a fabrication from the pit of hell, used regularly by opposition parties to pull us back.

“The records of what the court said at that time in 2015 are there. I do not want to bring the competence of the court into question because our jurisprudence is a perfect one and works according to the evidence available to them.

“As of 2015, there were lots of hiccups that my opponent took advantage of mentioning the institution they mentioned, and the institution has since then said that they had issues with the exams and records of the school, which led to misplacement of some records when they were moving from analogue to digital records keeping.

“There were cases of missing records and somebody went to that institution and took advantage of such a problem. But since then, the institution has cleared me,” he maintained.

As the trial of four bloggers charged with alleged defamation and Cyberstalking Guaranty Trust Holding Company as well as its Management resumed today, the Investigating Police Officer, IPO, Mr Yaqob Sule informed the court that the first defendant in the case, Mr Precious Eze is a serial blackmailer.

The IPO, the first prosecution witness In the matter, made this known while testifying before Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court, Lagos today.

Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Chief Ajibola Aribisala, SAN, Sule told Justice Ayokunle Faji that during the investigation, it was discovered that the first defendant, Precious Eze had been arraigned before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate Court, Lagos early this year and was only admitted to bail on the 31 of May only for him to commit another similar offense.

These facts were made known at the resumption of the trial today after the four bloggers Precious Eze, Olawale Rotimi, Rowland Olonishuwa, and Seun Odunlami were re-arraigned on a fresh 10 counts amended charges for alleged cyberstalking and publishing false allegations through various social media outlets against GTCO, its management and Group CEO. Mr Segun Agbaje.

While being led in evidence by the prosecutor, Yaqob Sule told the court that on the 19th of September 2024 the Commissioner of Police, SFU, Ikoyi minuted a petition from GTCO legal consultant to his team and was directed to take charge of the petition as the Investigation Police Officer.

Sule said the kernel of the petition was libelous publications, breach of peace, and an attempt to extort all linked to publications.

He added that as an IPO he tried to open the links and saw the publications against GTCO, GTbank, the CEO, Management, and the Central Bank of Nigeria among others.

He added that after the arrest of the four defendants, their statements were taken. They own up to being behind the publications but confessed that they did not confirm the story’s authenticity before posting it on their blogs.

Sule added that the defendants also denied asking for money before they could pull down the story.

While investigating we discovered that the 4th defendant had registered two platforms, Newsjaunts.com and Thevision.com, and that it was through the Thevision.com platform that the 4th defendant used to negotiate for funds with the GTCO legal consultant before he would pull the story down.

The witness said that during the investigation, they profiled the defendants and took their fingerprints for forensic analysis and found out that the first defendant had earlier been arraigned for a similar offense at Ebute-Meta Chief Magistrate Court, Lagos early in May this year and was granted bail on 31st of May this year before committing this offense again.

The defendants counsel however refused the prosecution’s attempt to tender the

statements of the defendants made to the police on the ground that the statements were not voluntarily made.

Consequent upon the objection, the trial judge ordered trial within the trial of the case and adjourned the matter till tomorrow.

It will be recalled that the Body of Bank CEOs recently issued a statement expressing concern over the persistent and unwarranted attacks on social media directed at Nigerian banks. It noted that The Nigerian banking industry is the most regulated sector in the country. Banks are subject to stringent regulations as financial services companies by the primary regulator, the country’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and several other direct and indirect regulators. A large number of banks are publicly quoted and subject themselves to global scrutiny by domestic and international regulators and

investors.

The banking sector plays a pivotal role in the economic development of Nigeria, contributing significantly to both individual and growth of businesses of all sizes and the society at large.

Without gainsaying, the development of the economy rests significantly on the banking sector and its intermediation roles. If any individual or group has grievances or concerns regarding the operations of any bank, we strongly encourage that such complaints be directed to the appropriate regulatory authorities.

It went further to say that resorting to social media attacks, blackmail, or smear campaigns against banks and the banking sector not only undermines the hard-earned reputation of these institutions but also seeks to unfairly manipulate the targeted banks.

“We strongly urge individuals engaging in such activities to desist and consider the facts before making accusations. Regulatory agencies are well-equipped to handle such concerns with impartiality, diligence, and professionalism, ensuring that all issues are addressed through the proper channels.

We remain committed to delivering the highest standard of banking services, and we will continue to operate with the utmost professionalism, guided by the rules and regulations that govern our industry.

Together, let us encourage an environment of trust and collaboration rather than division; citizens should desist from criminalizing a highly professional sector that has brought glory to Nigeria and Africa, as the banking sector works hard individually and collectively to build a stronger and more resilient Nigerian economy that works for everyone”