The principle of probable cause has been enshrined in most Constitutions of the world as a way to curtail the excessiveness and abuse of powers of law enforcement agencies, especially, that of police officers.

It has been provided that the privacy of individuals should be respected at all times and their privacy can only be invaded on probable cause or legal reasonable justifications.

This principle is of the effect that it is illegal for a law enforcement agent to randomly stop and search any individual; his person or his property without a probable cause or reasonable justification, if not it will amount to harassment and invasion of privacy which is an infringement on the fundamental right to privacy of the citizen.

The phrase probable cause as a legal principle took its root in the constitution of the United States in the Fourth Amendment, and it provides thus; “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized”.

In Nigeria, the fundamental right to a citizen’s privacy is provided for in S.37 of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, 1999, and it reads thus; The privacy of citizens, their homes, correspondence, telephone conversations, and telegraphic communications is hereby guaranteed and protected.

Subsequently, the Administration of the Criminal Justice Act, 2015 provides that before a search is to be conducted on a person or his property, the law enforcement agencies that intend to carry out this search must first apply to the court for a search warrant, telling the court that they have probable cause or reason to believe that the citizen or his property is involved in a crime hence why they need to conduct the search. If the law enforcement agency fails to successfully show that it has probable cause to carry out the search the court is at liberty to deny granting the search warrant.

Therefore, Probable cause as a legal principle simply means “the reasonable grounds to believe that a particular person has committed a crime or is about to commit a crime to justify conducting a search on him or on his property.

If a police officer cannot show that he has a reasonable ground to believe that a person has committed a crime or is about to commit a crime or is in possession of criminal elements thereby giving that police officer the probable cause or reasonable ground to conduct a search on that individual, that police have committed a crime of encroachment of the fundamental right to privacy of a citizen.

Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has appealed the judgment of an Abuja Federal High Court that convicted its Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa for contempt of court.

Bawa told journalists that he has taken the step to appeal judgment after Justice Chizoba Oji ordered the Inspector General of Police to see that the EFCC boss gets sent to prison.

Speaking on the development, the EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, said in a statement that the order of Justice Oji came as a surprise to the agency. He said the judgment that resulted in sending Bawa to prison for contempt of court happened three years before he became the EFCC’s chairman.

The court had in a November 21, 2018 court ruling, ordered the EFCC to release seized property belonging to Air Vice Marshal Rufus Adeniyi Ojuawo, after it found him not guilty of the charges leveled against him by the anti-graft agency. The property include N40 million and a Range Rover Sport (Supercharged) Ojuawo was accused of corruptly receiving as gratification from one Hima Aboubakar of Societe D’Equipment Internationaux Nigeria Limited.

Uwujaren explained that despite inheriting the judgment, Bawa has released the Range Rover Sport and is working to see that the N40 million is returned to Ojuawo.

“This ruling is surprising, as it creates a wrong impression of the person of the Executive Chairman of the EFCC as encouraging impunity. As far as the relationship between the EFCC and the judiciary is concerned, the Executive Chairman, Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, has been an apostle of rule of law, due process, and close collaboration between the two institutions in justice administration.

“As an investigator, and the only chief executive of a law enforcement agency, who regularly goes to court, the executive chairman will not tolerate impunity or disregard any lawful orders of court. Abdulrasheed Bawa, in his capacity as Executive Chairman of the EFCC since March 5, 2022, did not disregard any order of court.

“For the benefit of the public, the said order of the FCT High Court was given on November 21, 2018, three years before Abdulrasheed became EFCC Chairman. This fact is germane as the contempt process is quasi criminal in nature and must be served on the person involved. In this case, Bawa as incumbent chairman of the EFCC, was neither served form 48 nor form 49.

“Despite this fact, the executive chairman, upon being aware of the said order of November 21st 2018, had released the Range Rover in question to the Applicant on the 27th of June, 2022 and had approved the process of the release of the remaining N40m.

“Taking into cognisance the procedural lapse in the contempt proceedings, the commission has initiated a process to set aside the entire contempt proceedings and committal of the executive chairman for contempt.

“Despite the discomfort of this ruling, which is seemingly promoted by misinformation, the commission remains committed to working closely with the judiciary in furtherance of the fight against economic and financial crimes in Nigeria,” the statement said.

Explaining why he failed to execute the order of the court respecting Bawa, the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali, said he was not aware of the October 28 judgment that committed the EFCC boss to prison for contempt of court.

People frequently misunderstand this when they approach to trade. Many have the mindset that basic concepts like price movements, trending networks, technical indicators, etc., can solve the market’s problems. These instruments represent the market mathematically, but without the math, the market appears considerably more disorderly and unpredictable. That’s because thousands of various dynamic factors clash and reinforce one another to create it. This kind of aggressive movement is impossible to predict completely. As a result, it is unwise to hope for the ideal predicting trading strategy method.

Nevertheless, a lot of advisors make claims of almost perfect market analysis and prediction accuracy. If you come across these advisors, be wary of them and raise your guard. This kind of learning should be avoided because it is completely absurd. A system that promises to do the job for you comes with the same caution. The system is inadequate for the innovation required to effectively manage a continuously evolving market since it can only examine code-specific trends or sequences of data.

DYOR on trusted crypto platforms that have credible brokers who will not leave you with extravagant and unrealistic promises about big rewards and market gains. Utilise linking platforms that are proven and tested by many such as Bitcoin Profit. The platform connects you to reliable brokers upon signing up. These brokers act as your advisors and help you prevent massive loss in funds, especially if you are a beginner.

Debunking Trading Myths

Diversifying Your Portfolio

Certainly, you don’t want to spend every last cent on a stock in the hopes that it will increase. However, it is difficult to determine which direction a stock will go next in an unstable market. Diversification has no impact on that. Furthermore, standard diversification ignores differences in risk between equities and bonds.

Diversify, but do so throughout markets and strategies. Extending out your transactions over a period of time and utilising strategies such as vertical option spreads and other defined-risk, higher-probability option spreads that allow you to capitalise on fluctuating markets. Additionally, you can have lesser amounts at risk across even more equities and stocks if you adopt strategies that need less money than purchasing stocks or bonds, increasing diversification. To help determine the potential overall risk of all your positions, think about using instruments such as the beta-weighting features on the platforms.

Market Volatility

Volatility has two aspects. An investment that increases by 10 per cent is just as volatile as one that decreases by 10 per cent. The enormous profits that some traders seek are only accessible in erratic markets. Furthermore, volatility is constantly changing. It shifts upward when there is a lot of market uncertainty and downward when there is greater confidence. And following a significant recovery, confidence frequently comes in. Because of this, volatility may increase with effective sales when you determine it is low enough to resume investing in equities.

Market volatility, which increases the stock price’s possible swings, may also result in greater option prices. Additionally, it may result in higher credits for strategies like specific option spreads. These higher credits could also translate into bigger earnings potential. You shouldn’t hesitate until the volatility is significant to fill your portfolio with short-option methods just because the credits are greater. Be mindful that a higher potential reward typically entails a higher possible loss. Maintain your trading style minimal so that, even in the most unlikely scenario, the loss is bearable, regardless of how volatile the market is.

Small Losses

For instance, due to the bid/ask expansion, every option trade begins as a loser. And if your sole criterion for exiting a trade is “small losses,” you run the risk of being caught off-guard out of every kind of investment on an overnight swing. Furthermore, since trades with high returns are uncommon, this strategy doesn’t provide any direction on when to take gains to prevent trades from going against you. The probability that the stock will flip itself and turn your profitable trade into scrap or even a loss increases the longer you keep a beneficial position. Because of this, it appears that this myth is more about chance than strategy.

Consider trading with lesser earnings and smaller lost deals rather than concentrating on aiming to get enormous gains. In short,  use tactics with higher intrinsic win rates and lower predetermined risk to keep both your projected gains and losses in check. For instance, option-credit spread methods like vertical spreads can have a better probability of profit and specified risk with a lower maximum loss. They may serve as the cornerstone of a portfolio where profits are gradually increased substantially.

Utilising Stop Orders

Stop orders appear reasonable, but the key concern is: where should they be placed? Losses can be minimised by using a stop price that is almost similar to the current price. However, due to the industry’s erratic swings, a long position can be closed out as a losing position before the stock rebounds, and the position possibly turns beneficial. The possible loss is significantly higher for a halt that is too far away. In any case, if stock limitations lower, resulting in stop orders being served at values much lower than the stop price, a stop order does little to secure you.

A basic method of risk management for a stock you’ve purchased is to use stops. It would be wiser to see risk management as beginning with order entry. However, a stop order doesn’t actually let you know how much you could lose. Instead, employ strategies where the highest loss is known at the time the order is placed and is within your risk tolerance.

Conclusion

To cut it short, there is no best strategy to follow. You do not require one, which is great news. There are many highly successful traders out there operating in similar trading and financial conditions. Dismiss the myths and begin working more rationally. The trader develops the strategy, not the other way around, so stop searching for the ideal and start honing your own trading abilities.