Author: Staff Editor
A Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna State has adjourned proceedings in the trial of a former governor of the state, Nasir El-Rufai, until June 24, 2026. The case, brought by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), involves allegations of abuse of office, fraud, and financial misconduct during his tenure as governor. El-Rufai, through his lawyers, has consistently denied all allegations against him. At the resumed trial on Monday, the former governor was brought to the court at about 9:30am, accompanied by ICPC officials and operatives of the Department of State Services and the police. Previous…
The Fifth Prosecution Witness (PW5) in the trial of former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, clarified issues surrounding the certification of the extract of the minutes of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting of May 21, 2003, before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Apo, Abuja, following a formal request by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for certified extracts of the meeting. The former minister is facing prosecution on an amended seven-count charge bordering on alleged official corruption and the fraudulent award of the Mambilla Power Project contract…
The 12th Prosecution Witness (PW12), Christopher Odofin, in the trial of former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Abubakar Sirika, on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, told Justice S.C. Oriji of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Abuja, how Sirika allegedly passed off an aircraft belonging to Ethiopian Airlines as the promised Nigeria Air by the government of the late President Muhammadu Buhari. The decoy aircraft, adorned with the livery of the proposed Nigeria Air, landed on the tarmac of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on May 27, 2023, three days before the expiration of the Buhari administration, and was flown…
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned three men and another suspect currently at large before the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja over an alleged ₦10 billion fraud involving Fidelity Bank Plc. The defendants, identified as Ibeh Emmanuel, Chidiebere Ihekoronye, Akubuo Chimuanya, and Austen Peaks Aniekan, who is currently at large, were brought before Justice Olubusola A. Okunuga on Wednesday on a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence, possession of fraudulent documents, and forgery. According to the EFCC, the defendants allegedly conspired to fraudulently obtain ₦10 billion from Fidelity Bank Plc through forged…
The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, arraigned a social media influencer, Okoro Blessing Nkiruka (a.k.a. Blessing CEO), before Justice R.A. Oshodi of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, over an alleged ₦69,150,000 fraud. Nkiruka was arraigned on a two-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and stealing to the tune of ₦69,150,000. At the commencement of proceedings, prosecution counsel, C.C. Okezie, urged the court to proceed with the arraignment, arguing that the defendant had been duly served with the charge. However, defence counsel, Nkama…
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Monday, June 8, 2026, sought to re-arraign the trio of Aishatu Bappa El-Nafaty, Mamud Alhaji Abubakar, and Igba Ityoakura Joseph before Justice Muhammed Zubairu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Jikwoyi, Abuja, over alleged fraud. The first defendant, El-Nafaty, is the Director of the Public Affairs Department in the Directorate of Special Duties and Parliamentary Security, National Assembly. Abubakar, the second defendant, is a former Permanent Secretary in the services of the National Assembly, while the third defendant, Joseph, is a Deputy Director of Procurement in the National Assembly. They were…
Vice President Kashim Shettima on Tuesday credited the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with playing a key role in Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, saying the agency’s anti-corruption and anti-money laundering efforts have strengthened investor confidence and supported the country’s economic reforms. Shettima made the remarks during the official commissioning of the EFCC’s new zonal office in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, where he also reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to strengthening anti-corruption institutions through improved infrastructure, welfare, operational independence, and training. According to the Vice President, the EFCC has become a critical institution in…
The Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a self-styled native doctor, Olorunbukunmi Taiwo, and his wife, Awolegan Omolola Omotola, over an alleged contract scam amounting to ₦1,098,961,500 (One Billion, Ninety-Eight Million, Nine Hundred and Sixty-One Thousand, Five Hundred Naira only). The couple were arraigned before Justice Abubakar Usman of the Federal High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti on a six-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and retention of proceeds of crime, contrary to Section 17(a) of the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004. Taiwo and Omotola were arrested following a petition to the…
A former Ogun Central senator, former Commissioner for Health, and daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo, has resigned her membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), citing persistent disrespect, rejection, and unfair treatment by the party’s leadership in Ogun State. Obasanjo, who recently contested for the party’s governorship ticket in the state, announced her resignation in a letter dated May 31 and addressed to the Ogun APC Chairman, Chief Yemi Sanusi. A copy of the letter was made available to journalists in the state capital. The former lawmaker criticised the consensus process that produced Senator Adeola Solomon…
Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court, Ikeja, Lagos, on Friday, June 5, 2026, convicted and sentenced one Chukwuemeka Udezuka to 12 years’ imprisonment for stealing a total sum of ₦64,060,000 (Sixty-Four Million, Sixty Thousand Naira). The judgment followed the court’s finding that the defendant was guilty of a four-count charge of stealing filed against him by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Udezuka, alongside his company, Mezu Connection Investment Limited, was accused of collecting funds from four victims under the pretext of helping them convert naira to United States dollars at…