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Met police officers plead guilty over photos taken at scene of sisters’ deaths

A police officer made degrading and sexist insults about two murdered women as he shared photos from the scene where they were found with a colleague photographing their bodies and also sharing the images via WhatsApp.

The two Metropolitan police officers pleaded guilty on Tuesday after sharing photographs from the crime scene they were supposed to be guarding in a London park, where two sisters, Nicole Smallman, 27, and Bibaa Henry, 46, were found stabbed to death.

PC Deniz Jaffer, 48, and PC Jamie Lewis, 33, admitted misconduct in public office at the Old Bailey, with the judge, Mark Lucraft QC, warning that they were “extremely likely” to be jailed.

Jaffer left the post he had been assigned to in June 2020 at Fryent Country Park in Wembley, north-west London, and went into bushes where the women had been left by their satanist-obsessed killer. The officer took out a mobile phone and took pictures of the bodies.

He sent four images to Lewis, who edited one of the photos and superimposed his face on to it with the two murdered women visible in the background. Lewis took other photos from the crime scene, which did not show the victims, and shared them with a group of more than 40 officers via WhatsApp who called themselves the “A-team”.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct said Lewis had “used degrading and sexist language to describe the victims”. A spokesperson confirmed the remarks were directed at the murder victims and it was fair to characterise the remarks as insulting.

Henry, a senior social worker, and Smallman, a photographer, had been celebrating the elder sister’s birthday in the park. After the celebration ended, they stayed behind and were attacked. They were reported missing the next day and a search by family and friends led to the partner of one of the sisters finding their bodies.

The family of the murdered women were last week backed by the police watchdog in their claims the Met had let them down when the force failed to search for the two sisters after they went missing.

The scandal, first revealed by the Guardian, has further blighted the Met’s reputation and the guilty pleas meant more detail about the officers’s actions were finally revealed.

On Tuesday, the women’s mother, Mina Smallman, said the Met was “beyond hope” and called for its leaders to “get the rot out once and for all”. She accused the Met commissioner, Cressida Dick, of a “shoddy way of behaving”. She said: “She has not contacted us to say ‘I am really sorry’. She has not spoken into this story at all. And it’s shameful that the IOPC [Independent Office for Police Conduct] had to tell the Met they should apologise to us in their failings for the missing persons [investigation]. Too little, too late. Too little, too late.

“When I was in a senior position, if my organisation or department failed, it was on me. I had to take the can for it. Well, it’s now time for them to take the can for it. They are beyond hope.”

The Guardian understands that Jaffer was a mentor for new recruits. The Met say he resigned in August and that he and Lewis will face a fast-track process to sack them.

Jaffer, of Hornchurch in east London, and Lewis, from Colchester in Essex, were based with the Met’s North East Area Command.

The judge told the men he viewed their offences as grave enough to merit lengthy imprisonment: “These matters are extremely serious and you should be under no illusions when you return for sentence it is extremely likely you will receive custodial sentences, custodial sentences of some length for your conduct.”

The indictment says the offences took place between 7 June, the day the bodies were found, and 23 June 2020.

In a statement after the guilty pleas, the Crown Prosecution Service said: “PC Lewis edited one of the pictures by superimposing his own face on to the photograph with the victims in the background. He sent the resulting image to PC Jaffer, who then forwarded it unsolicited to a female officer also present at the scene.

“PC Jaffer showed one of the photos of the victims to a male officer as they left the park. PC Lewis also shared photographs he had taken at the crime scene, which did not show the victims, with a WhatsApp group of 40-plus police officers called the A Team.

“PC Jaffer, meanwhile, sent photographs of the victims to three friends via WhatsApp.”

Dick said: “I deeply regret that at a time when they were grieving the loss of their loved ones who were taken in such awful circumstances, they faced additional distress caused by the actions of two police officers. What former PC Jaffer and PC Lewis chose to do that day was utterly unprofessional, disrespectful and deeply insensitive.”

The officers will be sentenced at a later date and were granted bail.

Danyal Hussein, who was 18 at the time, from Blackheath in south London, has been convicted of the murder of both sisters and jailed for life.

The IOPC said that three officers who received the images but did not report them had a case to answer for misconduct.

News

EFCC arraigns Lexicon Multiconcept Media CEO, Osabohem Ologbosele for N459m fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has arraigned the Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Lexicon Multiconcept Media Limited, Osabohem Alex Ologbosele, his company and one of his staff, Augustine Osas Iyoha before Justice E. Akpan of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.

They were arraigned on six- count amended charges bordering on fraud, obtaining under false pretense and money laundering to the tune of N459, 050,000 (Four Hundred and Fifty Nine Million, Fifty Thousand Naira only).

Before the charges were read to them, the prosecuting counsel, O.S Ujam, informed the court of her intention to substitute the initial charges filed on March 7, 2025, with the amended charge filed on March 10, 2025. The court granted her request to substitute the charges.

Count one of the charge reads: “That you, Osabohien Alex Ologbosele, sometimes in the year 2023 and 2024 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honorable court, directly took possession of the total sum of N340,000 (Three Hundred and Forty Million Naira) paid into your account with account number 202277***** domiciled at Kuda Microfinance bank from the account number of Hope Onome Ogholemu with account number 08272****** domicile in Access Bank when you knew or reasonably ought to have known that the said sum formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 and Punishable under 18 (3) of the same Act.

Count two of the charge reads: “That you, Lexicon Multiconcept Media Limited, sometime in the year 2023 and 2024 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court, directly took possession of the total sum of N16,000,000 (Sixteen Million Naira), paid into your account with account number 63665292**** domiciled in Moniepoint Microfinance Bank, from the account of Osebohien Alex Ologbosele with account number 2022773919 domiciled at Kuda Microfinance bank, when you knew or reasonably ought to have known that the said sum formed part of the proceed of an unlawful act and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18 (2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, and punishable under Section 18 (4) of the same Act.

The defendants pleaded not guilty after the charges were read to them.

In view of the not guilty plea, Ujam asked the court for an adjournment to enable the prosecution to open its case and call witnesses. Defence counsel, Samuel Ogala, drew the attention of the court to an application for bail for the first and second defendant which was filed on March 24, 2025 and the second application for the 3rd defendant, dated March 27, 2025, urging the court in the interest of justice to grant bail on liberal terms.

However, Ujam told the judge of a 17 paragraph affidavit in response to the counter-affidavit of the defence dated April 2, 2025 and filed same date in opposition to the application for bail, urging the court to denial the application on the ground that the defendants are flight risks, who stopped reporting to the EFCC office for months and may fail to appear for their trial if granted bail.

“My lord, the first defendant was arrested in November 2023, and he left in November 2024 and did not report back till February 5, 2025, and I believe that if granted bail, he may not appear for his trial,” she said.

Thereafter, Justice Akpan after listening to the arguments of the two counsels on bail application adjourned the matter till May 2, 2025, for ruling for bail and ordered that the defendants be remanded in Kuje prison.

News

Bandits kill Imam, abduct 10 worshippers during Isha prayer in Katsina

Bandits on Wednesday night stormed a mosque in Tudun Malamai community, Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State, killing the Imam who was leading the Isha prayer and abducting at least ten worshippers.

The incident, which unfolded during the night prayers, left two other individuals injured.

Details of the attack were made public on Thursday in a post by a prominent Katsina-based security analyst, Bakatsine on X.

“Yesterday night, bandits attacked worshippers during the Isha prayer in Tudun Malamai community, Faskari LGA of Katsina State. They killed the imam leading the prayer, injured two people and abducted at least 10 worshippers during the attack,” the post read.

The Katsina State Police Command is yet to issue an official statement regarding the incident as of the time of filing this report.

News

Lagos Govt bans pregnant women from 2025 Hajj

The Lagos State Government has officially barred pregnant women from participating in this year’s Hajj pilgrimage, citing health and safety concerns.

The announcement was made on Wednesday in Badagry by the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Olanrewaju Ibrahim Layode, who stressed that the rigorous nature of the pilgrimage poses significant risks to the health of expectant mothers.

Layode noted that the state’s decision aligns with the directive issued by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), which has instructed State Muslim Pilgrims’ Welfare Boards not to register pregnant women for the pilgrimage.

Supporting the directive, NAHCON’s Commissioner for Planning, Research, Statistics, Information, and Library Services (PRSILS), Professor Abubakar Yagawal, reiterated the policy while addressing preparations for the pilgrimage, including the establishment of medical clinics in Makkah and Madinah and the distribution of Yellow Cards to various states.

Layode added that the Lagos State Ministry of Home Affairs is also acting on the directive of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who has emphasized the need to ensure that only medically fit individuals are cleared for the pilgrimage.

Governor Sanwo-Olu, during the First Family of Lagos State and Ministry of Home Affairs Eid-el-Fitr celebration, at the Lagos House, Marina, said: “By May, those travelling to Makkah will begin to travel. Please ensure you are in good health. If you are ill, refrain from travelling for the 2025 Hajj; stay back and pray here in Nigeria.”

According to the Commissioner for Home Affairs, “It is very dangerous, very delicate for expectant women to go for hajj exercise.

“The processes are rigorous. From Medina to Makkah, the Tawaf, the Safa and Marwah, these are not things an expectant woman should undergo. It’s not about fashion or naming a child after a prophet because they were born in Saudi Arabia.”

The commissioner revealed that in previous years, some women had attempted to hide their pregnancies in order to partake in the pilgrimage, with instances of individuals allegedly submitting their husbands’ urine for medical screening.

To prevent such deceptive practices, the state government has introduced advanced medical screening measures, including the deployment of mobile diagnostic vans equipped to detect pregnancies and tuberculosis at designated screening centres.