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Court jails fake EFCC operative one year for defrauding Belgian €45,000

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Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court in Lagos, on Wednesday, convicted and sentenced one Ume Ifechukwu Clinton to one-year imprisonment.

Clinton had defrauded Axelle Mahieu, a Belgian educator and caregiver, of the sum of €45,000 in a well-orchestrated online fraud.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) made this known in a statement issued Thursday.

According to the EFCC, Clinton was arraigned on Feb. 22 this year on an amended 3-count charge bordering on impersonation and possession of fraudulent documents.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Clinton approached the prosecution for a plea bargain.

However, after Clinton’s guilty plea, Bilikisu Buhari, counsel for the EFCC, called a witness, Damilare Adeosun, an investigative officer with the EFCC, who testified against the defendant and through whom different documents were tendered in evidence against him.

Led in evidence by Buhari, Adeosun, who took part in the investigation, explained how the EFCC had acted on an intelligence report from the Foundation for Investigative Journalism indicating that Clinton disguised as an EFCC officer to defraud Mahieu.

According to Adeosun, Mahieu was deceived into believing that Clinton was an official of the EFCC after he deceived her with an alleged EFCC ID card that she never knew was fake.

“The defendant presented himself to be a staff of EFCC and introduced her to non-existing cryptocurrency investment while assuring her that she is in safe hands,” Adeosun tells the court.

“During the course of his arrest, the fake ID card was recovered from him along with several expensive wristwatches and a bundle of cash totalling about N150,000.

“He admitted that he made the forged ID card in Owerri, for N3,000, to gain the trust of the victim.”

Adeosun added that the investigation confirmed that Clinton transferred money received from the Belgian through cryptocurrency to his own Binance account and exchanged the same through P2P, crediting the same in Naira to his bank accounts in Nigeria.

Consequently, Justice Dada declared Clinton guilty as charged.

Dada, however, sentenced him to one year in prison.

The judge further ordered the convict to restitute the €45,000 to Mahieu within three months.

Crime

Traditionalist attacks late members’ residence

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…threaten to kill his children if they fail to fulfill rites

There was a pandemonium at the Alasoro Annex, Oluwo Nla, lbadan on the 1st May, 2024. At the early hours of the day, around 7am, a group described as the Yoruba traditionalists stormed the residence of Alasoro. Passersby described the incident as a very terrible one as it is highly unusual for traditionalists to invade a house in the city. Members of the group were dressed in all-white robes with their leader, possibly the head priest, holding a sort of sceptre which was believed to possess some kind of metaphysical powers.

Our correspondent interviewed an eyewitness, Mr. Tayo Akinsanya, who narrated that he watched the event unfold from a considerable distance out of fear.

According to Akinsanya, “The gate seemed to open by itself, which was strange. I can’t explain how the gate opened for these people to gain entrance. All l saw was that they got inside the house, leaving three men burning incense to man the gate. At this point, I could not see anything more. All I heard were various incantations of different kinds and so, I had to run as everyone fled for their lives.”

Further investigation by our reporter showed that the house was thoroughly ransacked, while the gateman sustained extensive injuries when he attempted to stop the traditionalists from gaining entry into the main house.

The question in the mind of everyone was why those traditionalists would invade the house in question? However, Mrs. Bukola Oni, the wife of the late owner of the residence, revealed that attackers were after the lives of her children because of their refusal to have their deceased father buried according to traditional rites.

The wife who broke down in tears while speaking with our reporter, said: “My life and my children’s lives have been miserable because of these people.”

“We have been running helter skelter in fear of these dreaded traditionalists. They want my children to surrender their father’s corpse for rituals. They also want my children to perform some traditional and occultic rites which they totally refused to do due to their Christian faith. We have been battling with this for a while and it is not a good experience at all, I must confess.”

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Crime

Delta Princess on the run alleges threat to life

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The story has emerged of a Delta princess Mrs Timi Josephine Princess who has since run for dear life following several life threatening messages and calls to her and her husband.

Mrs Timi Josephine princess, 50, a native of Ugbomoya kingdom in Delta, Delta state and the only daughter of the late king Of Ugbomoya kingdom, king Efetobo Hope, came out of her hiding place to narrate why she disappeared to seek refuge at her friends place somewhere in Abeokuta.

With over seventeen years together as a couple, Mrs Timi Josephine and hubby, Mr. Timi had relocated to Abeokuta the Ogun state capital shortly after their marriage when the husband was transferred at work to their Abeokuta office branch.

Being the apple of her father’s eyes and the only daughter, the late king had kept and entrusted all the documents of all his properties in her custody because she was believed to be the most trusted and honest of all his children. But that will be the cause and beginning of her many travails.

Trouble started for Mrs Timi Josephine sometimes around November 2023 immediately after the demise of her father. She disclosed that her father’s siblings had been after her life and that of her brothers over the property documents in her custody.

During a short interview with this reporter, while showing a copy of the affidavit deposed to by her and also a police report to that effect, Mrs Timi, revealed that his two brothers had since got missing with their whereabouts still unknown and allegedly in connection with this matter.

She disclosed that she was forced to move away from their apartment to live with a friend when they begin to notice that some people believed to be assassins have been stalking them for weeks.

According to her, her husband with whom she has enjoyed matrimony for close to two decades has just deserted her and the kids when he could no longer cope with the incessant threats and the perceived stalking.

When pressed further about the reason why she has held on to the documents in question in spite of the perceived threats, she disclosed that her father the late king had begun the process of transferring the ownership of the properties to her and her elder brothers but couldn’t finish the process before death came knocking.

She also revealed that her father warned her sternly to not relinquish the possession of the properties to any of his siblings or extended family but make sure that the properties be shared equally between herself and her elder brothers.

When contacted on phone to hear their side of the story, two of the father’s- the late king Efetobo- siblings declined comments and when contacted again as at the time of filing this report, none of them responded to the calls nor returned the calls.

Mrs Timi Josephine is however, appealing to all security agencies in the country to come to her aid and guarantee her safety and that of her husband and kids.

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Crime

NDLEA smashes int’l drug syndicate, arrests 5

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Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA), have smashed an international drug syndicate with networks in parts of Nigeria, South Africa and Thailand.
The  Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi, said this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.
Babafemi said the unravelling of the drug cartel started on April 20, when their cargo containing four suitcases arrived the Nigeria Aviation Handling Company Plc (NACHO) shed on an Airpeace flight from Johannesburg, South Africa.
According to him, after days of close monitoring and investigation, the first suspect, Peter Umeh was arrested on April 24.
“This was after he showed up to pick two of the suitcases containing loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis owned by a Thailand based member of the syndicate, Obum Michael.
“The consignment of four parcels was concealed in false bottoms of the two suitcases, while the four suitcases contained a total of 17.6 kilograms of loud and drug candies.
“Another member of the syndicate, Mrs Chiwendu Ugbe, whose South Africa based husband, Aloytus Ugbe, sent some of the consignments, was traced to Anambra.
“This was where NDLEA officers arrested her on April 27, while attempting to collect the drug parcels sent to her by her husband,“ he said.
Meanwhile, no fewer than five members of the cartel were arrested in a two-week intelligence led operations in Lagos, Abia and Anambra.
Babafemi said the arrest followed the seizure of their illicit drug consignments at the NAHCO import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, (MMIA) Ikeja, Lagos.
Also, two other suspects: Onyejakor Chimezie and Naaji Chukwukere, with links to the cartel were arrested in parts of Lagos on April 29.
“Their arrest led to another operation in Abia, where Mrs Chinazo Osigwe was arrested when she was to pick up some of the parcels.
“They were containing loud and drug candies sent by her husband, Osigwe Chidiebere Anthony, who is equally operating from South Africa,“ he said.
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