A forensic investigator with the Department of State Services (DSS), Segun Kayode, has told the Kaduna State High Court that former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai and some of his associates allegedly earmarked $600,000 to pay officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and intermediaries. Kayode, the first prosecution witness in the ongoing trial, made the allegation on Tuesday while testifying before Justice Darius Khobo at the Kaduna State High Court sitting in Kawo, Kaduna. The witness told the court that $500,000 and $100,000 were allegedly set aside for the payments, adding that forensic audio recordings captured conversations…
Author: Ini Sam
The Federal High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has dismissed a suit filed by the state government challenging the statutory powers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the financial activities of the state government. Justice M. A. Onyetenu delivered the ruling on Thursday, October 8, 2026, upholding a preliminary objection filed by the EFCC’s legal team. The suit was instituted in 2017 by the then Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Akwa Ibom State, Uwemedimo Nwoko, challenging the Commission’s authority to investigate the state government’s financial activities. The dispute originated in 2016 after some…
A prosecution witness has told the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, how he allegedly paid ₦69.15 million for a five-year lease of a property represented to him as belonging to social media influencer Blessing Nkiruka, popularly known as Blessing CEO. The witness, Dr Onuoha Okeigwe, who testified as PW1, gave the account on Monday, October 12, 2026, during the continuation of the trial before Justice R. A. Oshodi. Blessing CEO was arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on June 9, 2026, on a two-count charge bordering on obtaining money by…
…as Prof. Nnamdi Onyeka Obiaraeri emerges as the sole academic among 68 new SANs. The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has sworn in 68 legal practitioners as Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) at a ceremony marking the commencement of the 2026/2027 legal year. The ceremony took place on Monday, October 12, 2026, at the Supreme Court complex in Abuja, formally admitting the recipients into one of the highest professional ranks in Nigeria’s legal profession. The newly elevated recipients comprise 67 advocates and one academic, Professor Nnamdi Onyeka Obiaraeri, who was recognised for his contributions to legal scholarship.…
By Unwana Assam Mon. Oct. 12 On Saturday, June 6, 2025, Governor Umo Eno defected to the APC. He announced his defection at a ceremony held at Government House, Uyo, in the presence of some of his fellow governors from Imo, Ogun, Cross River, Edo, Delta, and other states, as well as his chosen political stakeholders in Akwa Ibom State. According to the governor, his defection to the APC was to “align Akwa Ibom State with the centre” to attract more federal presence and development. Those were his exact words. Not mine. Let me make one thing clear: the issue…
Several members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Benue State have sustained serious injuries after a bus conveying them to a party rally in Lafia, Nasarawa State, was involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle. The accident occurred on Saturday morning, October 10, 2026, a few kilometres from the rally venue in Lafia. The injured party members were reportedly evacuated to hospitals in Lafia for medical attention. The number of those injured had not been confirmed as of the time of reporting. The incident was confirmed by Dan-Morgan Ihomun, Publicity Secretary of the Austin Agada-led faction of the…
The Federal High Court sitting in Lafia, Nasarawa State, has convicted 21 companies for operating financial investment schemes without valid licences from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Justice Anyalewa Onoja-Alapa, who presided over the court, sentenced each company to a fine of ₦30 million and further ordered them to pay ₦200,000 for each day the offence was committed. The companies were prosecuted by the Abuja Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after investigations allegedly linked them to investment fraud and unlicensed financial operations. The companies are Ngwuoke Daniels Technologies; Credio Banco Ltd; Digital Company Ltd;…
A director in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Ali Mohammed, has told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja that the ministry was unaware of the withdrawal of N124.86 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Mohammed, who testified as the prosecution’s 10th witness (PW10) on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, made the disclosure during the ongoing trial of former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele before Justice Maryanne Anineh at the Maitama division of the court. Led in evidence by prosecution counsel Abbas Mohammed, the witness said he appeared in court following a letter received by his ministry from the…
The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has urged corps members across the country to shun the get-rich-quick syndrome, warning that the pursuit of wealth through dishonest means undermines personal integrity and national development. Olukoyede gave the charge while addressing members of the 2026 Batch C, Stream 1, of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) at the orientation camp in Iyana Ipaja, Lagos, where he urged them to embrace integrity, hard work and transparency. Speaking through Superintendent of the EFCC, Amaka Fingesi, of the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, the EFCC chairman described the get-rich-quick…
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered and returned $104,950 to an American-based Nigerian businesswoman, Mrs Adeshola Oshilaja, following an investigation into a suspected procurement fraud involving funds for the purchase of 10 dump trucks from China. The commission handed over the outstanding $56,000 to Oshilaja on Friday, October 9, 2026, at its Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 in Ikoyi, bringing the total amount returned to her to $104,950. The latest recovery represents the balance of the funds after the defendant, Babatunde Samuel Akinsanmi, had earlier paid $48,950 directly to Oshilaja. The investigation followed a petition by Oshilaja, who…