Headlines
EFCC Adds More Influential Names to FBI Fraud Suspects’ List
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Wednesday stated it was monitoring more suspected Nigerian fraudsters apart from the 80 names released by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Ibadan zonal head of the EFCC, Friday Ebelo, said, “Bigger suspects have been put on the commission’s watch list and will be tracked before long.”
Speaking at a press conference at the commission’s zonal office in Ibadan, Ebelo said some bankers and Bureau De Change operators conniving to swindle victims were also on the list.
He disclosed that a banker was arrested on Monday and was facing interrogation.
Ebelo, who gave an analysis of how the syndicate worked across the globe to dupe victims, urged parents to be vigilant and train their wards in profitable ventures.
He named a suspect, Ajayi Festus, arrested in Ado-Ekiti for alleged illicit transactions.
He explained that Ajayi worked with cybercriminals abroad to illegally access accounts of individuals and organisations to defraud them of their money.
“We were able to establish a number of illicit transactions through his Nigerian bank account amounting to over N223m. Ajayi serves as the conduit through which proceeds of crimes reach members of the syndicate. His cuts in the deals total over N75m.
“The suspect is still helping the commission in its investigations. He surely will have his days in court as soon as investigations are concluded and the matter is ripe for prosecution,” Ebelo said.
He noted that the suspect would be revealed after providing the anti-graft agency with more information about his crime network.
“The zone is unrelenting on the mandate of the commission to combat all forms of economic and financial crimes and the effort is yielding result, our longstanding collaborative engagement with the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies remain intact and yielding mutual benefits.”
The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (NWC) has suspended the National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade; National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu; Deputy Legal Adviser, Okechukwu Osuoha; and National Organizing Secretary, Umaru Bature for one month.
The suspension comes on the heels of the judgement of the Federal High Court On Friday, which stopped the party’s planned national convention.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba, told journalists in Abuja on Saturday, that the decision followed an emergency meeting of the national working committee, which was held in Abuja.
President Donald Trump of the United States on Friday designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), in response to allegations of widespread persecution and genocide against Christians.
Writing on his Truth Social account, Trump stated that Christianity faces a serious threat in Nigeria.
The US leader also added Nigeria to a State Department watch list.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump wrote.
According to the US president, he was placing Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer and most populous nation, on a “Countries of Particular Concern” list of nations the US deems to have engaged in religious freedom violations.
According to the State Department’s website, the list includes China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, and Pakistan, among others.
Trump said he had asked US Representatives Riley Moore and Tom Cole, as well as the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, to look into the matter and report back to him.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has removed Hon. Abubakar Gummi from the House of Representatives after he left the Peoples Democratic Party for the All Progressives Congress.
The lawmaker represented the Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency in Zamfara State.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu delivered the ruling, holding that Gummi’s defection breached the Constitution.
The court said the seat does not belong to any politician but to the political party that sponsored the election.
According to the judgment, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, is barred from recognising Gummi “as a member representing Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency.”
The judge also instructed the Independent National Electoral Commission to “conduct a fresh election” for the vacant seat within 30 days.
The case was instituted by the PDP and its Zamfara chairman, who insisted that Gummi’s move to the APC had no legal justification. They argued that there was no division in the PDP to support his defection, as required by Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution.
Gummi, through his counsel, claimed he left the PDP due to internal crises which he said made it “impossible” to serve his constituents effectively. The judge, however, dismissed his arguments and granted all the reliefs requested by the plaintiffs.
Justice Egwuatu, in a firm comment, warned politicians against what he described as reckless party hopping.
“Political prostitution must not be rewarded,” he declared, adding that lawmakers must not transfer votes won on one party’s platform to another party.
The court also ordered Gummi to refund all salaries and allowances received from October 30, 2024, until the date of judgment. He is also barred from earning any further benefits as a member of the House.
Additionally, the judge imposed a N500,000 cost against the defendants in favour of the PDP.
