•ChatGPT logo/ AFP

(AFP) American artificial intelligence firm OpenAI said Tuesday it would add parental controls to its chatbot ChatGPT, a week after an American couple said the system encouraged their teenage son to kill himself.

“Within the next month, parents will be able to… link their account with their teen’s account” and “control how ChatGPT responds to their teen with age-appropriate model behaviour rules”, the generative AI company said in a blog post.

Parents will also receive notifications from ChatGPT “when the system detects their teen is in a moment of acute distress”, OpenAI added.

Matthew and Maria Raine argue in a lawsuit filed last week in a California state court that ChatGPT cultivated an intimate relationship with their son Adam over several months in 2024 and 2025 before he took his own life.

The lawsuit alleges that in their final conversation on April 11, 2025, ChatGPT helped 16-year-old Adam steal vodka from his parents and provided a technical analysis of a noose he had tied, confirming it “could potentially suspend a human”.

Adam was found dead hours later, having used the same method.“When a person is using ChatGPT it really feels like they’re chatting with something on the other end,” said attorney Melodi Dincer of The Tech Justice Law Project, which helped prepare the legal complaint.

“These are the same features that could lead someone like Adam, over time, to start sharing more and more about their personal lives, and ultimately, to start seeking advice and counsel from this product that basically seems to have all the answers,” Dincer said.

•Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo

The Federal Government has declared Friday, September 5, 2025, a public holiday to mark Eid-ul-Mawlid, the birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Dr Magdalene Ajani.

In the statement, the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on behalf of the Federal Government, extended warm greetings to Muslims in Nigeria and worldwide.

He urged the Muslim Ummah to emulate the Prophet’s virtues of peace, love, humility, tolerance and compassion, stressing that these values are crucial to building a united and progressive nation.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to escalate its fight against fraud and economic crimes plaguing the aviation industry.

NCAA Director General, Captain Chris Najomo, made the appeal during a courtesy visit to EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, at the commission’s Abuja headquarters on Tuesday, according to a statement released on the EFCC’s official X handle.

Najomo highlighted how fraudulent activities are severely undermining safety oversight and operational transparency within the sector. He specifically pointed to high-value transactions like aircraft purchases, leasing arrangements, foreign maintenance contracts, and safety infrastructure procurement as areas particularly vulnerable to abuse.

“Non-remittance weakens the NCAA’s ability to fund safety oversight and operational efficiency, and may require EFCC’s intervention to investigate cases where deliberate withholding, diversion, or misappropriation of these funds is suspected,” Najomo stated.

He further alleged that some aviation operators deliberately under-report revenues, manipulate ticketing systems, or divert funds, actions that cripple the NCAA’s regulatory capacity.

Najomo also raised concerns about illegal charter operations disguised as private flights, which involve unregulated financial flows, emphasizing the critical need for the EFCC’s financial intelligence expertise to uncover such practices.

To address these challenges, Najomo proposed collaborative initiatives, including training NCAA personnel to identify financial red flags, organizing joint sensitization workshops, and establishing robust intelligence-sharing mechanisms to enhance regulatory oversight.

Responding, EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede welcomed the partnership and announced that senior EFCC officers would collaborate with the NCAA to finalize a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The agreement will focus on joint investigations, intelligence exchange, and compliance monitoring. “With the kind of work you do, when people see us beside you, they will take you seriously. Aviation is an area where we have seen money laundering, particularly through chartered services.

That is why we have been reaching out to you, and we will continue until we achieve the desired results,” Olukoyede affirmed.