After eight years in prison, a Nigerian televangelist accused of raping young women in his South African church was found not guilty of all counts.

Timothy Omotoso disputed the 32 counts in a live trial that drew widespread attention across the country.

In 2018, one witness testified in court that she had been raped by the pastor, who headed a church in Port Elizabeth, when she was 14.

When announcing the decision on Wednesday, the trial judge stated that Mr. Omotoso was found not guilty because prosecutors mishandled the case.

South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) shared a similar assessment, saying that “former prosecutors in the case acted improperly and the accused were not sufficiently cross-examined by the state”.

The NPA said it would now “consider its legal options” and that the drawn-out nature of the trial was partly down to Mr Omotoso filing numerous legal challenges.

For his part, Mr Omotoso told the media he thanked God for the verdict.

Hi co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zikiswa Sitho, were also found not guilty.

Mr Omotoso was dramatically arrested at an airport in 2017 as he sought to leave the country.

His trial was the first prominent rape case to be broadcast live in a country where sexual violence is rampant.

The hearings attracted huge interest, and raised difficult questions about victims’ rights, impartiality and whether justice is best served by having television cameras in courtrooms.

PalmPay, one of Africa’s fastest-growing fintech platforms, today officially launched its new PalmPay Debit Card in partnership with Verve, Africa’s largest domestic card scheme.

This partnership reflects PalmPay and Verve’s shared commitment to driving financial inclusion by expanding access and delivering greater value across the digital payments ecosystem.

With over 35 million users and a network of 1.1 million agents and merchants across Nigeria, PalmPay is building one of the continent’s most dynamic fintech ecosystems. The launch of its debit card represents a key milestone in PalmPay’s transformation from a mobile wallet and agent network into a comprehensive digital financial services provider – offering integrated solutions for payments, savings, credit, insurance, and now, card access.
The PalmPay Debit Card is seamlessly integrated with the PalmPay wallet, combining the convenience of a traditional bank card with the speed and flexibility of a digital platform, and access to PalmPay’s unique financial ecosystem.

Key Features include:
Zero maintenance fees
Easy in-app application and nationwide delivery
Exclusive cashback and merchant rewards
Full wallet integration, including access to high-yield savings (up to 16% APR, paid daily)
Seamless offline and online payments across the Verve network
The card is accepted at all major payment terminals within Nigeria, offering both debit and contactless options. With this launch, PalmPay aims to redefine the everyday banking experience – making it more accessible, reliable, and rewarding.

Alongside the standard debit card, PalmPay is also rolling out PalmPay Premium, a tailored offering for high-volume users. Benefits include:
A dedicated PalmPay Premium Card
Priority customer support
Higher transaction cashbacks and savings interest rates
Exclusive merchant rewards and advanced financial tools

This premium service reinforces PalmPay’s commitment to empower users at every stage of their financial journey – from first-time account holders to high-earning professionals seeking more from their financial tools.
The PalmPay Debit Card was made possible through PalmPay’s strategic partnership with Verve, reinforcing both companies’ shared commitment to inclusive, locally relevant digital banking solutions.

“PalmPay is dedicated to using technology to broaden financial access,” said Chika Nwosu, Managing Director of PalmPay Nigeria. “This collaboration enables us to offer secure, widely accepted payment cards integrated with the full power of PalmPay’s ecosystem. Together, we’re reshaping how Nigerians experience digital finance.”
Vincent Ogbunude, Managing Director of Verve International, added:

“We are proud to partner with PalmPay on this important milestone. Our alliance with PalmPay reflects our shared mission of accelerating financial inclusion and delivering payment innovation that meets the needs of African consumers.”

From zero-fee transfers and high-yield savings to instant credit, insurance, and now cards, PalmPay is building the financial infrastructure of the future – redefining digital banking to be more personalised, comprehensive and accessible to everyone.

National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, Felix Morka on Wednesday came hard on the 2023 Presidential Candidate of Labour Party LP, Mr Peter Obi, describing him as a portrait of frustration whose pastime is sensationalizing the ‘temporary’ difficulties facing Nigerians as a result of the economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu.

He said it was delusional for man who could not manage 21 local governments states which make up Anambra state to fantasizing about managing the country.

Morka in a statement recalled that during a Tuesday interview on television station in Abuja, the former governor of Anambra State “sauntered down his path-beaten tunnel accusing President Bola Tinubu of poor performance in implementing economic policy reform, claiming he would have done better”.

He said it was painful to watch Obi as he laboured in vain to cobble together any sensible critical economic argument in the face of stark and undeniable record of progress of the administration’s economic reforms.

“Even Mr Obi’s trademark opportunistic sensationalization of transient difficulties that Nigerians have endured in patriotic support of the President’s bold and transformative economic plan availed no respite, as he floundered on national television, framing himself as a portrait of frustration and political desperation.

“Mr Obi’s favourite retort, ‘I would have done better as president’, must be a symptom of a protracted bout of election failure-induced hangover from which he has not awakened to the reality that he is not the president. Like an unlicensed back seat driver that thinks himself to be a race car driver, Mr Obi needs to tame his bloated and deluded imagination.

“Opposition politics is not about denying the administration’s many successes. It is about critiquing what may be wrong but affirming what is right. It is not about wholesale condemnation that is only intended to mislead and score cheap political gains. The steady progress of the Tinubu-administration across sectors is undeniable and evident for all Nigerians to see.

“It is hysterical that Mr Obi, who was governor of a failed and forgotten administration in Anambra state of only 21 local government areas would so brazenly boast of his capacity to govern Africa’s largest democracy. Obi bequeathed a sordid legacy of economic stagnation,  infrastructural decay, ecological disaster, and religious polarization”, he stated.

The APC spokesman added that whereas global institutions and experts are applauding the unfolding silent economic revolution of President Tinubu, “Obi and his co-opposition drummers of empty partisan barrels continue to deny President Tinubu’s superlative and incomparable near mid-term successes and achievements”.