The duo of John Elijah Edet and Jeffery Ulu Orji was on June 6 arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice U.N Agomoh of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, Rivers State on an 8-count charge of internet fraud and obtaining by false pretence to the tune of Two Thousand, Nine Hundred and Seventy Four US Dollars ($2,974). The accused persons were apprehended following an intelligence report on their alleged fraudulent escapades. Upon their arrest, various scam mails were printed from their laptops which they use in defrauding unsuspecting victims. One of the count reads: “that you…
Author: Kunle Edun
The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu has vowed to ensure that there is transparency and accountability in the use of the resources meant for internally displaced persons in Maiduguri, Borno State and elsewhere in the country. He made the declaration Thursday in Maiduguri while speaking at the newly reopened Zonal office of the Commission. The EFCC boss expressed worry about complaints of corruption in IDP Camps, coming from International humanitarian organizations and other civil society organizations that are helping the distressed victims of the Boko Haram insurgency in the city and beyond. “We…
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) today arraigned Air Vice Marshall Olutayo Tade Oguntoyinbo before Justice Olukayode A. Adeniyi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Apo, Abuja on one count charge of bribery to the tune of N166million (one hundred and sixty-six million naira). Allegedly, AVM Oguntoyinbo while being the Chief of Training and Operations of the Nigerian Air Force collected the sum of N166m (one hundred and sixty-six million naira) as gratification from a contractor with the Nigerian Air force, Societe D’ Equipments Internationaux Nigeria Limited. The act contravenes Section 17(a) of the Independent Corrupt…
Imo Efiong Akpan, a lawyer was arraigned on Wednesday, June 1 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice Ifiok Ukana of the State High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State on a 2- count charge bordering on stealing and obtaining money by false pretense to the tune of Forty Million Naira. The petitioner alleged that the suspect, Barrister Akpan sold a filing station (Tripple Tower Petroleum Resources) to him for Twenty million Naira, which he paid in two installments. He further stated that after several months, he found out that the owner of the property whom…
More documentary evidence were yesterday presented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to further back up its claim against former Jigawa governor, Sule Lamido for allegedly defrauding the state to the tune of N1.35billion. Lamido and his accomplices are being prosecuted on a 27-count charge by the EFCC before Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja. He allegedly abused his position as governor between 2007 and 2015 by awarding contracts to companies where he had interest, using his two sons as fronts. At the resumed trial today, PW18, Micheal Wetkas, an operative of the…
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday opened trial with two witnesses (Umar Dalhatu and Abdulkadir Saidu) in a case of alleged bribery involving Abumere Joseph Osagie, a former deputy director, Federal Inland Revenue (FIRS) and one Jamila Ojora before Justice O. O. Goodluck of the FCT High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja. Dalhatu and Saidu while being led in evidence by counsel to EFCC, Joseph Uzor, as PW1 and PW2 respectively gave detailed account of how the accused persons conspired to obtain a sum of N5million as gratification from the Pro-chancellor, Base University, Senator Datti Ahmed. The accused…
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday, May 31 tendered a myriad of documentary evidence before Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to further establish its claim on how the former Jigawa Governor, Sule Lamido and his cohorts defrauded the State. Lamido is being prosecuted alongside his two sons: Aminu and Mustapha and two others on a 27-count charge bordering on abuse of office and money laundering. The other two on trial are; Bamaina Holdings Ltd and Speeds International Limited. With prosecution witness, PW 18, Micheal Wetkas, in the witness box, counsel to EFCC,…
Acting Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has charged Nigerians to imbibe the culture of ‘living with clean hands’ as a way of stamping out corruption from the society. Magu, who stated that the job of EFCC entails confronting looters of the nation’s commonwealth, taking on impunity and restoring hope to the hopeless, said the Commission had been reshaping the face of law enforcement in Nigeria in the past 13 years. In his welcome address titled “We Must Win The War on Corruption and Impunity” during the launch of EFCC Clean Hands Campaign on Thursday, May…
An alleged fraudster, Fred Ajudua, has been re-arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice K.A Jose of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja on Thursday May 26, 2016 on a 28-count charge of offences bordering on conspiracy and obtaining by false pretense. The offense is contrary to Section 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No. 13 of 1995 as amended by Act No. 62 of 1999. One of the charges reads, “That you, Fred Chijindu Ajudua, Alumile Adedeji a.k.a Ade Bendel (still at large), Mr. Jonathan (still…
A 62-year old retired colonel, Eugene Okpala, has been sentenced by Justice F. N. Yunusa of the Federal High Court sitting in Enugu on Wednesday, May 25 to seven years imprisonment in a case of conspiracy, and obtaining by false pretence to the tune of N34.5million (thirty-four million, five hundred thousand naira) brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The matter which was earlier slated for trial on Wednesday took a different turn when the convict decided to change his plea from “not guilty” to “guilty”. Okpala allegedly in 2008 approached one Barrister Vincent Obetta of…
The Director of Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Mr. Francis Usani, at the presentation of Nigeria National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment Report held at Barcelona Hotel, Wuse 2, Abuja on Thursday, May 26 disclosed that the Nigeria National Risk Assessment Report, NRA, Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing have been identified as high risk areas in the fight against corruption. The report which was compiled by over 96 persons drawn from 26 MDAs is a response and compliance to Recommendation 1 of the FATF revised standards which enjoined countries to identify, assess and understand its money laundering and terrorist financing…
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has responded to a report entitled, “Judge faults EFCC over detention of Jonathan’s Cousin”, which appeared in a number of newspapers on Friday May 27. The syndicated story tended to create the wrong notion that Justice Olasumbo Goodluck of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, condemned the Commission for allegedly violating the fundamental rights of Roberts Azibaola, a suspect that is under investigation for receiving $40million in a phantom contract from the Office of the National Security Adviser. According to the EFCC, this is further from what transpired in court on Wednesday May 25 when…
The application by the embattled spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olisa Metuh, seeking the release of his international passport to enable him travel abroad for medical treatment, has been dismissed by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, May 25. Counsel to Metuh, Onyechi Ikpeazu,SAN, had on Monday, May 23, 2016 through an application dated May 16, 2016 sought the permission of the court to allow his client travel to the United Kingdom for five weeks to attend to his failing health. He said that, the court could order the defendant to…
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday, May 25, secured the conviction of one Mallam Kabiru Jibrin before Justice Joseph Awak of Gombe State High Court after he was found guilty of a thre count charge bordering on obtaining one million, five hundred and sixty thousand naira (N1,560,000) by false pretence. The complainant, Aliyu Audu Awwal, had alleged that the convict defrauded him and one Mallam Hussani Kumo, of the sum of N1,560,000 on the pretext that the said amount will be use to secure Hajj seats for them which he never did but diverted the money for…
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Wednesday, May 25 has dismissed the appeal brought before it by the embattled National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olisa Metuh, ruling that the trial judge, Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court Abuja was right when he dismissed Metuh’s no-case-submission. In a unanimous judgment delivered today by a three-man panel of Justices led by Justice Abdul Aboki, the appellate court held that, Metuh had a case to answer regarding the N400million allegedly transferred from the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, into his company account.…
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on May 24 successfully secured the conviction of one Agumandu Christopher Nnamdi, before Justice F.N Yunusa of the Federal High Court in Enugu on one count charge bordering on Money Laundering. The convict was arrested by a team of Presidential Trans-border Task force of the Nigeria Customs Service on the 5th September, 2015 at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu for falsely declaring the sum of $9,500.00 (Nine Thousand, Five Hundred United State Dollars) out of the total sum of $51,000.00 (Fifty One Thousand United State Dollars) on his way to China on…
The fourth prosecution witness, PW4, Mustapha Yerima At the resumed trial of a former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Alex S. Badeh, on May 24 gave Justice Okon E. Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja a blow-by-blow account of how he was paid the sum of N108million through Badeh’s company, Vetivo Nigeria Limited. Yerima whose testimony started yesterday stated that, the process of the payment came through a third party. According to Yerima,” the payment that came through a third party is as a result of the meeting between myself, Air Comodore Yushau (a retired…
Dr. Love Obiani Iwori was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday before Justice R. I. Ahiakwo of the Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, on a one- count charge bordering on issuance of dishonored cheque to the tune of Four Million Naira (N4,000,000.00). Dr. Love Obiani allegedly presented a cheque of N4million in payment for a 2008 model Toyota Avalon saloon car belonging to the complainant, Lawal Babangida, which on presentation at the bank was returned unpaid due to insufficient funds. She pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to…
A suspected land scammer, Victor Ochala who is standing trial on a 27-count charge bordering on obtaining by false pretence and forgery to the tune of over N300million (three hundred million naira) brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been granted bail in the sum of N10 million (Ten million naira) by Justice A. R. Mohammed of the Federal High Court Abuja on Tuesday, May 24. The judge also ordered the accused to provide two sureties in like sum. One of the sureties must have a landed property worth N10million naira in Abuja or its environs, while second…
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was on Thursday, April 7, 2016 arraigned five former staff of the Department of Finance and Accounts, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), Borno State for offences bordering on conspiracy and obtaining by false pretence to the tune of N185m (One Hundred and Eighty-Five Million Naira), were on Friday, May 13, 2016 granted bail by Justice M. T. Salihu of the Federal High Court sitting in Maiduguri, Borno State. The accused persons-Mahmud Deji Sambo, a former Assistant Director; Bukar Musti, a former Assistant Chief Accountant; Mohammed Saleh Kasim, a former Executive Officer; Haruna…