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Alleged N52.9m fraud: Court gives EFCC go ahead to freeze 67 bank accounts belonging to Oluwajuwon and Heasy Enterprises.

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A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s application to freeze 67 banks accounts domiciled in different banks over alleged N52.9 million fraud.

Justice Emeka Nwite granted the application after the EFCC’s lawyer, Martha Babatunde, moved an ex-parte motion to the effect.

Newsthumb reports that the motion ex-parte, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1895/V/2024, was filed by Miracle Anameze.

The motion sought an order empowering the Executive Chairman of EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, or any other officer of the commission empowered by him to instruct the managing directors of the banks to stop all outward payment, operations, or transaction (including any bill of exchange) in respect of the bank accounts pending the conclusion of investigation.

When the matter was called, the anti-graft lawyer informed the court that the application was dated Dec. 16 and filed Dec. 17.

“Our motion prays for an order of this honourable court freezing the bank accounts as stated in the scheduled attached

“There are three grounds attached,” she said.

Babatunde urged the court to grant the application.

Justice Nwite then asked the lawyer for how long will the investigation take and she said 90 days.

The judge, who held that the application was meritorious, granted the prayer.

He adjourned the matter until March 24 for mention.

Our correspondence reports that in the three grounds of argument, the lawyer said the court was empowered to grant reliefs sought.

She said the bank accounts in respect of which the order was sought contained proceeds of crime and there is need to prevent the dissipation of the funds.

She said the accounts in respect of which the reliefs were sought were subject matter of investigation by the EFCC.

In the affidavit deposed to by Ikenna Chukwueze, an investigator attached to the EFCC’s Procurement Fraud Section, the officer said he was part of the team assigned to investigate the matter.

He said the commission received a criminal petition on Oct. 17, 2023, accompanied with the statement of account of Advance Development Services Engineering Limited (ADSEL) and signed by one Barr. Nnamdi Micheal Ogobuchi on behalf of ADSEL and Mr Dollah Kingsley Nnamdi against Taiwo Abubakar Oluwajuwon and Heasy Enterprises.

He said the petition alleged the offence of internet related fraud, conspiracy and unauthorised withdrawal involving the sum of N52,99 1,000.00 (fifty two million, nine hundred and ninety-one thousand naira.”

Chukwueze said the team commenced a discreet and thorough investigation into the matter to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of the petition.

According to him, the preliminary investigation conducted revealed that the petitioner operates a corporate naira account no 10277491959 with VFD Microfinance Bank.

He said on Oct. 16, 2023, the petitioner’s corporate account was compromised wherein the sum of N50 million was withdrawn from the account in fast succession to an account domiciled with Moniepoint Microfinance Bank with account name, Heasy Enterprises; 8220378843 owned by Oluwajuwon.

“Flowing from the details of investigation above, the applicant (EFCC) quickly wrote letter of investigation activities to Moniepoint Microfinance Bank requesting for the statement of account of Heasy Enterprises with account no 8220378843 belonging to one Abubakar Taiwo Oluwajuwon.

“The statement of account of Heasy Enterprises confirming the receipt of the said sum of N50, 000,000 (fifty million naira) is hereby attached and marked as exhibit EFCC 2.

“Upon analysis of exhibit EFCC 2, it was discovered that the suspect Taiwo Abubakar, the account holder of exhibit EFCC 2, transferred part of the money fraudulently received to different individuals whose names and accounts appears in the schedule attached to the face of this application,” he said.

He said investigation into exhibit EFCC 2 further revealed that Oluwajuwon on receipt of the proceeds of his unlawful act, transferred the sum of N19,990,000 from his business name account (Heasy Enterprises) to one Litano Pro Limited Resources with acct no 6355725703.

“The account statement of one Litano Pro Limited Resources confirming the receipt of the sum is hereby attached and marked as exhibit EFCC 3.

“Further investigation and analysis of exhibit EFCC 2 revealed that the suspect one Abubakar Taiwo, on receipt of the proceeds of his unlawful act transferred the sum of N11,000.00 (eleven million naira) to one Nwezeocha E-N Enterprises with acct no 6342170336.

“The statement of account of Nwezeocha E-N Enterprises is hereby attached and marked as exhibit EFCC 4.

“Further investigation and analysis of exhibit EFCC 2 revealed that the suspect, one Abubakar Taiwo, on receipt of the proceeds of his unlawful act transferred the sum of N11,440,000.00 (eleven million, four hundred and forty thousand naira and N10,000.000 (ten million naira) to one Chigozle Okpala with acct no 6395639693.

“The account statement of Chigozie Okpala is hereby attached and marked as exhibit EFCC 50.

“Further investigation and analysis of exhibit EFCC 2 revealed that the suspect, one Abubakar Talwo transferred the sum of N10,000,000.00 (Ten million naira) to one Chukwudalu Jude Owulu,” he said.

The Investigator said based on the foregoing, a BVN search was conducted on them, which revealed the multiple accounts they maintained as seen in the schedule attached to the application, hence the need for the order to enable the commission conclude investigation.

The officer said the order was necessary to preserve the monies that had been paid into the accounts as contained In the schedule to the application pending the conclusion of investigation.

The 67 accounts are domiciled in Union Bank, Stanbic Bank, GTBank, Wema Bank, OPAY, Zenith Bank, KUDA, UBA, FCMB, Moniepoint, Keystone Bank, Access Bank, Providus Bank, Globus Bank, Polaris Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, TAJ Bank, First Bank, PALMPAY, VFD Microfinance Bank, etc.

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Breaking : TInubu appoints Bashir Ojulari as new CEO group of NNPC and GMD mele kyari get sacked, Says Onanuga

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President Bola Tinubu has sacked the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) including its Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari and board chairman Pius Akinyelure.

The decision, effective April 2, 2025, was announced in a statement by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga.

President Tinubu cited the need for enhanced operational efficiency, restored investor confidence, and a more commercially viable NNPC as the driving forces behind the decision.

Invoking his powers under Section 59(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, he reconstituted the board with new leadership aimed at repositioning NNPC Limited for greater productivity and alignment with global best practices.

Kyari was first appointed NNPC chief by former President Muhammadu Buhari but was reappointed in 2023 by President Tinubu.

As part of the overhaul, Bayo Ojulari takes over from Kyari as the new group CEO, while Ahmadu Musa Kida has been appointed as NNPC’s new non-executive chairman, replacing Pius Akinyelure. Also, Adedapo Segun has been confirmed as the company’s chief financial officer (CFO).

In line with the PIA, the president also appointed six non-executive directors from each geopolitical zone.

They include Bello Rabiu representing the north-west, Yusuf Usman from the north-east, and Babs Omotowa, a former managing director of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), for the north-central.

Others are Austin Avuru for the south-south, David Ige for the south-west, and Henry Obih for the south-east.

Meanwhile, Lydia Shehu Jafiya, the permanent secretary of the federal ministry of finance, and Aminu Said Ahmed of the ministry of petroleum resources will represent their respective ministries on the new board.

“This restructuring is aimed at repositioning NNPC Limited for greater productivity and efficiency in line with global best practices. We are taking bold steps to transform the company into a more commercially driven and transparent entity,” the statement reads.

The changes take effect immediately, and the new board has been handed a strategic action plan, which includes a “review of NNPC-operated and Joint Venture Assets to ensure alignment with value maximisation objectives”.

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Tinubu commended Nandap for her leadership, extends Comptroller-General tenure till 2026, says Onanuga

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President Bola Tinubu has approved the extension of the tenure of the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Kemi Nandap, until December 31, 2026.

Nandap, who joined the NIS on October 9, 1989, was appointed as Comptroller-General on March 1, 2024, with an initial tenure set to end on August 31, 2025.

A statement by the president’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Monday, said for her leadership, noting improvements in border management, immigration modernisation, and national security under her watch.

“Under her leadership, the Nigeria Immigration Service has witnessed significant advancements in its core mandate, with notable improvements in border management, modernisation of immigration processes and national security measures.

“President Tinubu commended the Comptroller-General for her exemplary leadership and urged her to continue dedicating herself to the Service’s strategic priorities, which align with his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda,” the statement read.

He also reaffirmed his commitment to supporting the NIS in safeguarding Nigeria’s borders and ensuring safe and legal migration.

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Update : Fubara ordered bombing of Rivers Assembly, I am not under duress I resigned, Says ex-Rivers HoS Nwaeke

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• Says suspended gov plotted Tinubu’s downfall through pipeline bombings

• ‘Fubara ordered Ehie to pull down Assembly to avert impeachment’

• Nwaeke links Bala Mohammed to sinister plot against President

• Says emergency saved Rivers, Nigeria from major disaster

The immediate past Rivers State Head of Service, Dr. George Nwaeke, yesterday gave what appears to be yet the most revealing insider’s account of some of the events that culminated in the March 18 suspension of Governor Siminilayi Fubara and the state Assembly for six months.

Nwaeke, who claimed to have been an eyewitness to some of the actions taken by Fubara, spoke of how the suspended governor allegedly plotted the destruction of the State House of Assembly and economic sabotage to ensure the downfall of President Bola Tinubu.

Nwaeke, in a video press conference and a statement, claimed that Fubara masterminded the bombing of the state House of Assembly, using his Chief of Staff, Edison Ehie.

Nwaeke was appointed as head of service by Fubara.

He said he was prompted to set the records straight following “the loads of misinformation on print and electronic media.”

He said he was not sacked neither or pressured to resign but resigned “willingly from the depth of my heart.”

He said: ”However, as an insider and a key player in this administration by my position, who worked closely with Siminilayi Fubara, it will be unfair for me to keep silent or not to address some key factors that has affected or will affect our state if we continue on this trajectory.”

He thanked the President for “a swift intervention in Rivers State crisis, especially on the state of emergency that was declared and assented to by the National Assembly.”

He added: “You will recall that when the governor was suspended, as the head of service, I was the next in command. So I am not speaking from outside, I am speaking as an insider.

“If not for the intervention of Mr. President, Nigeria would have faced the worst economic sabotage and Rivers State would have been up in flames.

“First, it all started with the Rivers State House of Assembly where the Governor, Siminilayi Fubara, directed his Chief of Staff (Edison Ehie) to burn down the assembly in a way to avert his impeachment.

“That evening, Edison was in Government House with two other boys, including the former Chairman of Obio/Akpor LGA, one Chijioke. I was there with them when a bag of money was handed over to Edison for that operation, though I do not know the amount inside.

“I want to tell Rivers people today that the House of Assembly complex in Moscow Road was clearly brought down by Edison Ehie under the instructions of Governor Siminilayi Fubara, I challenge him to an open confrontation and I will throw more light on it.

“A day after that incident, I almost resigned, but I was very scared because I know the power of a sitting governor and he knew that I am aware of the whole plan and that I am discomforted with the unconscionable act and deliberate posture of innocence and mien of a sheep.”

He also alleged that another attempt was made to “destroy the residential quarters of the House of Assembly members.”

Continuing, he said: “If not for the press conference that was held there by Rivers youths, Rivers elders and National Assembly members, that would have been another barbaric demolition in Rivers State.

“I came to realise that they actually wanted to demolish that second building, because after some weeks, he personally told me that if he knew early, he would have gone to pull down their hall before visiting the residential quarters of the assembly, and that he didn’t actually know that they had such a beautiful hall where they are using now for their sitting.

“I was shocked and I asked myself how could a man that wants to lead his people be destroying his state assets and wasting public funds on a needless ego fight.”

Nwaeke appealed to critics of the declaration of emergency rule by President Tinubu to retract their statements, saying without the urgent intervention, a lot of things would have gone wrong in the state.

Such critics, according to him, ”are only seeing the surface. If the President did not take proactive step, no one knows who would have been affected by the sinister plans that were cooking.”

He asked the President “not to give up on Rivers State affairs because a lot is going on there with Governor Fubara.”

He said one of the factors that “got me removed was when Governor Fubara told me that they would use the Ijaw to decide who would become the next president of Nigeria, and I asked him how will that work? Is it by votes or by what means?”

On alleged plan to shoot down the second term of President Tinubu, Nwaeke said: “He clearly told me that he is the chief security officer of Rivers State and his brother is in charge of Bayelsa State, and all the pipelines are under their care; that at the appropriate time, they would tell the boys what to do, and fund was not an issue.

“That was why when he made that statement in his public function that “I will tell the boys what to do at the appropriate time” I knew something was up and perhaps the time was near.

“He boasted to be the ‘David that will bring down the Goliath of Rivers State.’ That he has the backing of the cream-de-la cream in the state.

“The plan was to start from non-Ijaw speaking areas to destroy oil facilities to remove attention from the Ijaw and make it have a statewide look. The Ogoni, Oyibo, Ahoda areas were to be bombed first before the Ijaw zones. This would have brought down the government of President Tinubu and usher in a new President from the coalition of political parties with a Vice President from the Ijaw.

“The media was to be captured by paying heavily for airtime and retaining the social media influencers and known social critics on their payroll.

“I am not unaware of what this revelation means, but I am doing this to free my conscience and warn those innocent persons that are used to sway public sentiment that there is more than meets the eye in the Rivers matter.

“Sometimes I slept over in Government House. But I started being uncomfortable when Governor Bala Mohammed and some other stakeholders started nocturnal visits to Rivers State.

“I recall after one of such visits he told me that he would support Bala Mohammed or any other northerner for president; that discussions were ongoing.

“Although I was not bothered about whom he supports, I was more concerned about the quantum of state resources that he releases to these visitors at each visit.”

Nwaeke asked the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to call their Rivers labour leaders to order to avoid politicising labour in the state.

He said he was privy to several private meetings between the governor and labour leaders in the state and the largesse that accompanied each meeting to compromise the Labour Union.

“More worrisome is several meetings between the governor, his chief of staff and some militant leaders. The details of which meetings I was not privy to since I was not allowed into the meetings.

“However, each meeting ended with huge sums of money paid to attendees.”

He said Rivers people and the generality of Nigerians are “the beneficiary of the declaration of state of emergency rule in Rivers State and not Governor Fubara or Minister Wike.”

He stressed the need for the state’s Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), to “step up his guards and be very vigilant, because I am aware of the sinister arrangement and dastardly plans to continue to hatch their plans if not put in check.”

He said: “This accounts for the organised media condemnations and seeming public outcry against Mr. President and National Assembly.

“Those who love democracy and humanity will always protect humanity and democracy. Mr. President, you have just protected democracy and humanity in Rivers State. I can now sleep with my conscience clear.”

Wike slams NBA for ‘hypocrisy’ on state of emergency

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike yesterday faulted the Nigeria Bar Association’s (NBA) stance that the declaration of state of emergency in Rivers by President Bola Tinubu was unconstitutional and illegal.

Wike alleged that the NBA discredited Tinubu’s decision because the Rivers Government had promised to host its annual general conference.

The minister stated this when officials of the Body of Benchers, led by its Chairman, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), visited him in Abuja.

He added that the association did not support the declaration of the state of emergency because there would be no money to give to the NBA for the conference.

“What kind of hypocrisy is this?” he queried.

The minister called on the Body of Benchers to call the NBA to order over the association’s unnecessary criticism of the judiciary.

He said that the body should not sit and watch, while the NBA and its members destroy the legal profession.

He said that some of the members of NBA, often without reading a judgement, go on national television to condemn the judgment and criticise the judges.

He said that such actions have continued with no sanction.

“If you don’t discipline somebody, nobody will learn any lesson.

“We shall no longer allow our profession to be pulled down. I cannot believe, as a lawyer, that you make a contribution to help the legal profession, and you will be criticised by your fellow lawyers.

“Sir, time has come that we need to say look, enough is enough. We cannot continue to discourage our judges and justices. It is not done anywhere.

“I have never seen where members of a profession are the ones that are bent on bringing the profession down,” he said.

The minister also accused the NBA of describing any support rendered by the executive arm of government to the judicial arm as a bribe.

Wike recalled that when NBA was building its National Secretariat, the leadership wrote to the executive for support, adding that nobody saw that as a bribe.

“I was the only one who contributed to the NBA to build the National Secretariat. The NBA didn’t see it as a bribe.

“When you contribute to the Body of Benchers, it is a bribe, but when you contribute to NBA, it is not a bribe, they will take it.

“The same NBA will rely on state governments to sponsor their activities, but when the state government supports the judiciary it is bribery,” he added.

Wike said that the constant taunting of judges and justices had made them to avoid attending social gatherings or going to church or mosque for fear of molestation.

He added that judges could no longer shake people’s hands freely because lawyers would accuse them of collecting bribes.

“It has gotten to the stage that our Judges are so scared of going to a mosque or church or even greeting somebody they know because of fear of bribery.

“They run away from shaking people’s hands because they will start accusing them of collecting bride. This must stop,” he said

The immediate past Rivers Head of Service, George Nwaeke, has denied claims by his wife, Florence, that he was kidnapped and under duress.

Nwaeke, who recently released chilling allegations against suspended Governor Siminalayi, said contrary to his wife’s emotional outbursts, he was safe in Abuja.

He disclosed that he went to Abuja to voluntarily report himself to security agencies over the ongoing crisis in Rivers State.

The former HoS spoke in a trending video released early hours of Saturday.

He insisted thatwife’s claim was false and suggested that she had been misled and given a script to read.

He said: “I am in Transcorp Abuja. I arrived this morning from Port Harcourt to meet security agencies and report myself, as well as the troubling events happening in Rivers State. I resigned as Head of Service on Monday because of these developments”.

Addressing his wife, he said: “I just saw a video of my wife trending. She was told I had been kidnapped and given a script to read. I want to make it clear—I am not kidnapped. I am in Abuja, working.

“When I was Head of Service, my wife was not involved in my official duties. That script she read is null and void. I am safe and sound. I will report myself to the appropriate security agencies because Abuja houses their headquarters, and I feel safer making my report here.”

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