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<h1>The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested one Azeez Afolayan, for impersonating the Comptroller-General, Nigeria Customs Service, Retired Col. Hammed Ali and using his name to allegedly scam job seekers.</h1>

EFCC spokesman Mr Tony Orilade made this known in a press statement in Abuja on Tuesday.

The commission said that Afolayan was arrested by EFCC operatives in Ilorin, Kwara, following complaints from one of his victims.

“Trouble started for him when a staff of the Customs Service, Hasaan Muhammed petitioned the EFCC, accusing him of defrauding innocent Nigerians seeking employment into the service.

“He had so far defrauded them of about N1 million.

“Under interrogation, he admitted to the crime,” it said.

According to the statement, Afolayan confessed that “I started duping people since 2017 up till date; I have duped about five people.

“I collected different amount of money from my victims and all of them used to transfer money to my bank accounts.

“I used to tell them that I will help them to secure employment with the Nigerian Custom Services, but I was just scamming.”

Some of the items recovered from him include, Nigerian Customs Service Application Forms, employment letters, passport photographs of some job seekers among others.

“He will soon be charged to court,” the statement said.

Comptroller-General, Nigeria Customs Service, Retired Col. Hammed Ali

EFCC spokesman Mr Tony Orilade made this known in a press statement in Abuja on Tuesday.

EFCC arrests impersonator of Hammed Ali, Customs’ boss

<h1>The Federal Government has ordered the closure of the nation’s borders for Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.</h1>

Comptroller-General, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mr Muhammad Babandede, said in a statement in Abuja on Thursday, that the order was announced by Minister of Interior, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd).

He said: “Further to the Presidential and National Assembly elections taking place on Feb. 23, 2019, the minister has directed the closure of all Nigeria’s Land Borders with effect from Friday, Feb. 22 to Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019.

“This is to restrict movements across the borders during the election days.

“The public is to take note and ensure compliance.”

President Muhammadu Buhari's announcement came just weeks away from presidential and parliamentary elections

The order was announced by Minister of Interior, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd).

FG orders closure of borders for elections 

<h1>The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it will appeal Tuesday’s judgement of a Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, restraining the commission from declaring the Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Mr Abudulrasheed Maina, wanted.</h1>

EFCC Acting Spokesman, Mr Tony Orilade, made this known in a press statement in Abuja on Tuesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the court also gave an order of perpetual injunction restraining the commission and its affiliates, from further declaring Maina wanted in relation to the issue of pension scam.

Orilade said “As a commission, we state that such a pronouncement amounts to a clog on the wheels of our operations in execution of our statutory duties.

“The judgment must not be allowed to stand because it is not only a miscarriage of justice but grossly inimical to the culture of corrupt-free society which the commission is striving so hard to enthrone.

“We will therefore, appeal the judgement.

“We further wish to state that we will not relent to do all that is required within the ambit of the law in our avowed commitment to bring every Nigerian with ill-gotten wealth to justice,” he said

NAN reports that the EFCC had in 2017, declared Maina wanted, following his refusal to honour the commission’s invitations.

Maina, however, on Sept. 5, 2018, in a suit no: FHC/ABJ/CS/957/2918, asked the court to decide whether the commission could lawfully exercise powers of declaring him wanted.

Abdulrasheed Maina seems powerful more than the anti-grafts agency had thought.

EFCC Acting Spokesman, Mr Tony Orilade, made this known in a press statement in Abuja on Tuesday.

EFCC vows to appeal court judgement stopping it from declaring Maina wanted

<h1>Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on Friday said Nigeria lost N39 billion to trailer/tanker crashes in 2018.</h1>

The Corps Marshal, Mr Boboye Oyeyemi, disclosed this at a meeting with Transport Stakeholders in Abuja.

Oyeyemi, who said that the meeting was aimed at addressing sundry issues affecting the transport sector, especially as it related to articulated vehicles, described the loss as ”unpleasant story.”

“This is not a pleasant story; it is a serious matter and loss to the economy; this gory tale is not the best for the country,” he said.

He decried that over 90 per cent of tankers and trailers were over 30 years old, saying that maintenance was a serious matter that needed to be addressed.

“It costs about N50 million to buy a new head for a tanker excluding the body, while registration and insurance would cost about N60 million to put a tanker or trailer on the highway,” he said.

He also said the number of crashes which involved trailers in 2017 was 522 as against 425 in 2018.

“The number of fatal crashes involving trailers in 2017 was 253 as against 169 in 2018. For tankers.

“The number of crashes was 226 in 2017 as against 225 in 2018. The number of fatal crashes in 2017 was 73 as against 90 in 2018.”

The Corps Marshal also said that the damages caused by the articulated vehicles affected roads and the environment and was a major loss.

”As of today, 90 per cent of mobility is on the road because of the vandalisation of pipelines.

”The petroleum products and other products are moved from the seaports to the hitherlands,” he said.

While calling for decisive actions to tackle the problem, Oyeyemi appreciated the effort of the Federal Government for rail transportation.

Mr Kassim Bataiya, President National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), said that accidents involving tankers was disheartening and was a great loss to the economy.

He said Nigeria has had no transport policy for the past 30 years to guide the conduct and behaviour of drivers.

Bataiya urged the corps to involve the legislature and Judiciary in such stakeholders’ meeting to ensure that drivers who caused road crashes were punished.

“We need the Judiciary. Why there are crashes is because there is no punishment. We need offenders to be punished to serve as deterrence to others,” he said.

He also called for Private-Public Partnership for construction of roads across the country.

Mr Salimon Oladiti, National Chairman, Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), said the union had embarked on the n training of tanker drivers with a view to reducing road carnage.

He decried that 75 per cent of tanker crashes occurred at night, saying that the union would do its best to check the trend.

President, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Alhaji Najeem Yasim, called on FRSC to ensure more enforcement of driver’s licence to check untrained drivers from plying the roads.

Similarly, President Road Transport Employees Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Comrade Osakpanwan Eriyo, represented by Mr Edi Nwabeze, appealed to FRSC to strictly enforce acquisition of licence by drivers.

Salgaa accident between a bus and a petrol tanker

The Corps Marshal, Mr Boboye Oyeyemi, disclosed this at a meeting with Transport Stakeholders in Abuja.

Nigeria loses N39bn to trailer/tanker crashes in 2018 – FRSC

<h1>Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibadan Zonal Office, have arrested seven suspected internet fraudsters.</h1>

A statement by EFCC’s Spokesman Mr Tony Orilade in Abuja on Tuesday listed the suspects as Ola Sam, Demeji Abiola, Segun Isaac, Oyinloye Jubril, Bamidele Adeboyega, Hassan Afeez and Sanni Muyideen.

They were rounded up at Poly Road and Sanyo area of Ibadan, Oyo.

According to him, their arrest followed action on a series of intelligence report linking them with various forms of internet fraud.

“They were alleged to be involved in love scam on different dating sites, through which they fraudulently obtained money from unsuspecting victims.

“At the point of arrest, EFCC operatives recovered two different models of exotic cars, laptops, telephones and several documents containing false pretences, including international passports, and ATM cards.

“They will be charged to court as soon as investigation is completed,” Orilade said.

They were rounded up at Poly Road and Sanyo area of Ibadan, Oyo.

EFCC arrests 7 suspected internet fraudsters in Ibadan

<h1>Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye has been sworn in as the new Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC).</h1>

A statement by the commission’s Spokesperson , Mrs Rasheedat Okoduwa, in Abuja on Monday, said the ceremony was performed by President Muhammadu Buhari in the State House.

Also sworn in were eight other new Board Members for the Commission.

The Members included, Grace Chinda (Delta), Titus Okolo (Enugu), Obiora Igwedebia (Anambra), Justice Adamu Bello (Katsina).

Others are Olubukola Balogun (Lagos), Hannatu Muhammed (Jigawa), Abdulahi Saidu (Niger) and Yahaya Dauda (Nasarawa).

“President Buhari noted that he was particularly delighted that the ICPC law under which the ICPC will operate is robust enough to assist government to sanitise the public sector in service delivery, public procurement, diversion of public revenue, deliberate misuse of public funds, and so on.”

The new chairman pledged to eschew, expose and fight corruption.

He also said that he was encouraged by the unquestionable, unshakeable and unequivocal stand of the President against corruption, which indicated a very strong political will to fight corruption.

Owasanoye, therefore, promised on behalf of the new members not to disappoint the nation in their assignment.

The Senate, had last December, screened and confirmed Owasanoye and other board nominees whose nominations had been pending for over a year.

The Chairman would be in office for a tenure of five years, which is renewable only once, while the board members have a four-year tenure that was also renewable only once.

Owasanoye would be the fourth substantive Chairman of ICPC since its inception and had by the swearing-in taken over the reins of office from the acting Chairman, Mr Musa Abubakar, who is the Commission’s Secretary.

Owasanoye takes oath of office as ICPC’s new boss

A statement by the commission’s Spokesperson , Mrs Rasheedat Okoduwa, in Abuja on Monday, said the ceremony was performed by President Muhammadu Buhari in the State House.

<h1>Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Port Harcourt Zonal Office have arrested six suspected internet fraudsters at their hotel hideout in Rumuigbo, Port Harcourt, Rivers.</h1>

A Press Statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by the commission’s spokesman, Mr Tony Orilade said they were arrested in a sting operation.

According to the statement, the suspects comprises four men and two women; Oghenekewe Akinnawo, Kemka Amadi, Revelation Macaulay, Damilola Oyinloye, Mary Ndubuisi and Jennifer Vandi.

Orilade said that their arrest followed series of intelligence report linking them to alleged fraudulent activities ranging from love scam on numerous dating sites, obtaining money by false pretences and other fraud still being investigated.

“Several items were recovered from them at the point of arrest which includes three exotic cars, four iPhones, four laptops; one iPad, one iron sealed stamp; cheque books, car number plates and two un-used bullets.”

In a related development, the Enugu Zonal Office of the commission has arrested 13 suspects for allegedly engaging in cyber crime and internet fraud.

“Three of the suspects were arrested at Awka, Anambra State, following intelligence reports and surveillance carried out on them.

“Six were arrested at Ngwo in Enugu State, while four were arrested at an estate in Abakpa area of Enugu State.

“Items recovered from them include nine exotic cars, laptops, printers, cameras, phones, expensive drinks and other personal effects.”

The Zonal Head of the South East Zone of the commission, Ahmed Usman said: “we have resolved as part of carrying out the commission’s mandate to stamp out internet scams among others to help in rebuilding the image of the country.”

“Apart from public corruption which affects us locally, and denies us access to basic social amenities, Nigerians are treated badly because of the activities of cyber criminals and this gives us a bad name internationally.

“We are determined to stamp that out,” he said.

White man tries to shoot Yahoo boys through the phone

A Press Statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by the commission’s spokesman, Mr Tony Orilade said they were arrested in a sting operation.

EFCC arrests 19 suspected Yahoo Boys in Port Harcourt

<h1>Mr Tony Orilade, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) spokesman, says the commission recorded 40 convictions in January.</h1>

He made this known in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, adding that the number was cumulative convictions secured across the commission’s zonal offices.

Orilade said a breakdown of the figure showed that the commission`s Lagos office secured 20 of the convictions, followed by Abuja office which recorded nine.

“Six of the convictions were recorded by Port Harcourt and Kaduna offices with three convictions each, Kano recorded two, while Benin, Ibadan and Gombe offices had one conviction each,“ he said.

Orilade said that the convictions included that of two former officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, adding that they were sentenced to 91 year jail term and forfeiture of their properties to the Federal Government.

“The duo were found guilty of laundering N264.8 million in the build up to the 2015 general elections.

“The sum was believed to be their share of the 115 million dollars illicitly dispensed by the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke.

“Another conviction of interest is that of a fraudster, named Ibrahim Suleiman, who defrauded the former First Inland Bank, now FCMB Plc of the sum of N400,700,000.

“The money was fraudulently diverted from an account domiciled in First Inland Bank to the convict’s account from where he transferred various sums to different accounts. He bagged 32 year jail term,“ Orilade said.

The spokesman added that also of interest, was the case of Adewale Dalmeida, a staff of Dangote Cement Group who was sentenced to five year jail term.

He said that Dalmeida was sentenced for the diversion of nine trucks loaded with 800 bags of cement each valued at N15 million each, which belonged to his employer.

Orilade said that the enhanced counter-fraud strategies of the commission have also yielded good dividends following new trends in internet fraud.

He made this known in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, adding that the number was cumulative convictions secured across the commission’s zonal offices.

EFCC secures 40 convictions in January

<h1>The Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, has called on financial institutions to avoid laundering illicit funds for corrupt politicians and criminals.</h1>

In a statement, the Commission’s Acting Head, Media and Publicity, Mr Tony Orilade in Abuja on Thursday, said Magu gave the charge during the general meeting of the Association of Chief Compliance Officers of Banks In Nigeria (ACCOBIN) held in Lagos.

Magu said many politicians, who stole the commonwealth had begun to repatriate their loot to the country for the purpose of influencing the elections through vote buying and compromising of election officers.

The EFCC boss urged members of the group to join hands with the Commission to ensure that the coming elections were not compromised to avert the negative impacts that might follow.

Magu said, “we are all under a civic duty to comply with our various responsibilities and ensure that we do the needful to obey the laws and regulations governing the elections.”

He said political inducement had taken other forms under different names such as “stomach Infrastructure”, “empowerment schemes”, “non-interest yielding loans” and “outright cash hand-outs”.

Magu described members of the group as stakeholders in the fight against corruption and said, “your obligations are not different from your usual filing of suspicious transactions reports to the relevant authorities.”

The Vice-President of ACCOBIN, Mr Wumi Adeniyi, expressed gratitude to Magu for honouring the invitation to the event.

Adeniyi, who is also the Chief Compliance Officer, (CCO) Heritage Bank Plc, commended Magu for his “boldness to fight corruption and economic and financial crimes in the country”.

He highlighted some of the challenges facing bank compliance officers and sought the assistance of EFCC to tackle them.

“We encounter a lot of legal burdens, particularly as it concerns the arrest and detention of compliance officers, among others,” Adeniyi said.

Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu

Magu said many politicians, who stole the commonwealth had begun to repatriate their loot to the country for the purpose of influencing the elections through vote buying and compromising of election officers.

Corrupt politicians using loans, empowerment schemes to buy votes - EFCC

<h1>The Nigerian Navy has handed over 19 suspects and two fiber boats laden with petroleum products to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation and prosecution. </h1>

A statement issued on Tuesday by Mr Tony Orilade, the commission s spokesman, said that the suspects were arrested on Aug. 30, 2018, in Lagos and some parts of Ondo State.

According to the statement, the suspects were involved in illegal dealing in petroleum products stolen from an hijacked vessel, MT MAMA ELIZABETH.

"The sum of N3,500,000.00 only suspected to be proceeds from the sale of the illegally acquired products was found on the suspects at the point of arrest," he said.

Idris Abubakar, an investigator with the EFCC, who received the suspects and the boats on behalf of the commission, assured the Nigerian Navy of diligent investigation and prosecution of the suspects.

He said that the suspects would be arraigned in court as soon as investigation was concluded.

Oil theft: Navy hands over 19 suspects, 21 Boats to EFCC/Illustration

A statement issued on Tuesday by Mr Tony Orilade, the commission s spokesman, said that the suspects were arrested on Aug. 30, 2018, in Lagos and some parts of Ondo State.

Oil theft: Navy hands over 19 suspects, 21 Boats to EFCC

<h1>Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, has called on Nigerians in the Diaspora to join hands with the commission in order to form a united front against corruption.</h1>

He said that this was the only way to move Nigeria forward in its quest for economic development, political stability and social justice.

In a statement by the acting Head, Media and Publicity of the commission, Mr Tony Orilade, in Abuja on Monday, Magu spoke at the Nigerian American Business Forum in Tampa, Florida, United States.

Magu was represented by EFCCs Director of Planning, Policy and Statistics, Dr Ibrahim Gusau.

Considering that Nigeria has one of the most resilient, hardworking, intelligent and resourceful people in the Diaspora, it would be very tragic if we failed to tap into this immense potential, he said.

Magu commended Nigerians in the Diaspora for giving back to their country, noting that it is on record that Nigerians in the Diaspora have remitted an average 22 billion dollars annually in the last two years.

"This represents one of the highest remittals in the world, by the Diaspora to their home country, and so undoubtedly, you have a vital role to play in helping in this great fight against corruption," he said.

He said that this was the only way to move Nigeria forward in its quest for economic development, political stability and social justice.

Magu tasks Nigerians in Diaspora on fight against corruption

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