Tag: Efcc

Two men accused of laundering proceeds from an alleged £110,000 and ₦500 million fraud scheme appeared before a Lagos High Court on Friday, as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission pressed ahead with prosecution. Ali Bala, also known as Barrister Ahmed, and Yusuf Umar Anka were arraigned before Justice Olukayode Ogunjobi in Ikeja on a ten count charge bordering on money laundering, stealing and retention of stolen property. One of the counts accuses the pair of conducting financial transactions in 2025 involving proceeds of unlawful activity in order to disguise the source of the stolen £110,000, an offence under the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act of 2006. Both defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges read against them. Prosecution counsel H.U. Kofarnaisa asked the court to fix a trial date and requested that the defendants be remanded in a correctional facility pending trial. Defence counsel informed the court of a pending bail application on behalf of the accused. Justice Ogunjobi adjourned the matter to September 8, 2026 for hearing of the bail application and ordered that both men remain in EFCC custody until then. By Asiwaju Adekunle Saheed

The African Students Union Parliament has honoured EFCC Executive Chairman Ola Olukoyede with the Pan African Leadership Hall of Fame Award as Africa’s Patriotic Icon of Integrity and Leadership, presented during a courtesy visit to the Commission’s headquarters. Speaking for the delegation, Nigerian representative Comrade James Uneze, a student of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, said the honour recognises Olukoyede’s contributions to nation building and his fight against economic and cybercrimes, describing him as a role model who has given hope to Nigerians affected by financial crime. Uneze linked the award to the union’s wider campaigns against cyber fraud, drug abuse and the spread of small arms among African youth, framing the recognition as part of a broader push to reintroduce Pan Africanism as development led by Africans for Africa. Receiving the award on Olukoyede’s behalf, Head of the Commission’s Enlightenment and Reorientation Unit, ACE II Aisha Mohammed, said the recognition shows the EFCC’s efforts are being noticed by young Africans, stressing that collaboration remains central to the Commission’s work and that no single agency can fight corruption alone. Mohammed noted that Olukoyede also chairs the Network of Anti Corruption Institutions in West Africa, calling the timing of the award fitting given the Commission’s continental and international partnerships. The delegation included students from Nigeria, Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire. By Asiwaju Adekunle Saheed

The Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arraigned Emmanuel Serah Motunrayo, Awotunde Olugbenga and Idowu Olugbemi Sunday before the Oyo State High Court over an alleged Canadian visa scam that swindled victims of tens of millions of naira. Motunrayo and Olugbenga face a forty-seven-count charge covering forgery, uttering false documents and obtaining money by false pretense, tied to N23,404,600 taken from their victims. Prosecutors allege the pair posed as Abuja based travel and immigration agents, promising to secure Canadian visas and flight arrangements, then collected N12,368,100 from one victim, Oluwatobi Adeoluwa Iyanda, and N11,036,500 from another, Oyewale Tunji Bello, before reneging on the deal. Investigators say the duo went as far as forging a Canadian visa in Iyanda’s name and uttering a second forged visa in Bello’s name to keep the scheme convincing. Both defendants pleaded not guilty, prompting prosecuting counsel Mohammed Abideen to ask for a trial date and their remand, while defense counsel Jimoh Wasiu told the court bail applications had already been filed. Justice Adetujoye adjourned the matter to August 26, 2026, for the bail hearing and ordered both men held at Agodi Correctional Centre in the meantime. In a related case, the same EFCC directorate had earlier arraigned Idowu Olugbemi Sunday before the same court on August 17 for defrauding victim Okanlawon Tunji Ajao of N6,650,000 under a similar promise of securing Canadian visas for him and his family. The cases add to a growing list of visa scam prosecutions out of Ibadan, as fraudsters continue to exploit Nigerians’ desperation to travel abroad. By Asiwaju Adekunle Saheed