
News
U.S. Court jails Osun Monarch over $4.2m fraud
Oba Joseph Oloyede, the Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, has been sentenced to four years and eight months in prison by a U.S. District Court.
Oloyede, 62, and his associate, Edward Oluwasanmi, also 62, were convicted for creating fake businesses to defraud the U.S. government of $4.2 million in coronavirus relief funds.
Both men, who owned legitimate businesses, were found guilty of setting up fictitious ones on paper, falsifying loan applications meant to support struggling small businesses during the pandemic, and recruiting others to fill out fraudulent forms.
“From about April 2020 to February 2022, Oloyede and his co-conspirator, Edward Oluwasanmi, conspired to submit fraudulent applications for loans that were made available through the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
“Investigators learned that the defendant used funds obtained from these loans to acquire land and build a home and purchase a luxury vehicle,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio said in a statement on Tuesday.
The duo had earlier pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and tax fraud in April this year.

Oluwasanmi was sentenced in July to 27 months in prison, ordered to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution, forfeit a commercial property, and surrender over $600,000.
In addition to his prison term, Oloyede, who holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Nigeria, was ordered to serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment and pay $4,408,543.38 in restitution.
“He also forfeited his Medina home on Foote Road, which he had acquired with proceeds of the scheme, and an additional $96,006.89 in fraud proceeds investigators had seized,” the statement added.

News
My govt cares – Tinubu reassures Nigerians amid worsening insecurity, hardship

President Bola Tinubu has restated that his government is committed to addressing the country’s main problems, including economic difficulties, power shortages and safety issues.
Speaking in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Tinubu stated that his government is still focused on policies aimed at helping the poorest and most at-risk Nigerians.
He said: “We won’t stop moving forward, and we’ll keep looking for ways to help those who are struggling.
“This is a government that really cares.”
He noted that having steady power supply is very important for development, stressing that industrial growth and learning new skills mostly rely on having dependable electricity.
“You can’t have industrial growth, learning new skills, or people gaining strength without having enough power.

“I promise Nigerians that we will provide electricity to support our country’s development,” he said.
The president also thanked Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, for the way he leads the state.
“Diri has shown the strength of leading with a clear purpose, and I am here today making a promise that the challenges we face, along with the legacy of those who led this country, including the battles and difficulties of ensuring security, will be met with hard work to properly equip and train our men and women in the Armed Forces. We will defeat terrorism and banditry.”

News
BREAKING: Ebonyi Catholic Bishop, Peter Chukwu is dead
The Catholic Bishop of Abakaliki Diocese, Dr Peter Chukwu is dead.
A source said the Bishop died where he was receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment.
Meanwhile, a social media influencer, Nwoba Chika Nwoba, in a post on his Facebook page, mourned the demise of the Bishop.
He wrote, “A very bad one for us in Ebonyi State. The loss of the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Abakaliki, Dr Peter Chukwu is a terrible loss.
“This loss is huge. God knows why, but it’s painful losing him in his 50s. A refined man and Associate Professor. This loss is beyond Ezza’s loss. It’s well. We can’t take war to God’s place. Kidney transplant issue. NCN.”
The authorities of the Catholic Church is expected to issue an official statement announcing the demise of the Bishop.


News
Terrorism: Ex-Borno senatorial candidate jailed 10 years
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday sentenced former senatorial candidate in Borno State, Babagana Habeeb, to 10 years’ imprisonment for aiding terrorism through the sale of petroleum products to insurgents.
The trial judge, Peter Lifu, convicted Habeeb on a one-count charge of aiding and abetting terrorism filed by the Federal Government.
Habeeb, a fuel dealer based in Maiduguri, had pleaded guilty to the charge upon arraignment, admitting that he sold fuel to members of the Boko Haram operating in the North-East.
The convict, however, claimed that the transactions might have been carried out by attendants at his filling station.
During the proceedings, Habeeb appealed for leniency, kneeling in the dock as he urged the court to temper justice with mercy.
He told the court that he had two wives and six children and had been in detention for over 10 years without contact with his family.

Counsel to the Federal Government, David Kaswe, opposed the plea, arguing that the support provided to the terrorist group had serious consequences.
Kaswe submitted that the supply of fuel enabled the insurgents to power motorcycles used in attacks, leading to loss of lives and displacement of communities.
He urged the court to impose a stiffer penalty, noting that although the defendant had spent over a decade in custody, a 20-year sentence would be appropriate.
In his judgment, Justice Lifu held that there was no evidence establishing that the defendant was a member of Boko Haram or had undergone weapons training.
He, however, ruled that the admission of selling fuel to the insurgents was sufficient to sustain the charge of aiding terrorism.
The judge also noted that the prosecution did not challenge the defendant’s claim of prolonged detention.
Justice Lifu consequently sentenced Habeeb to 10 years’ imprisonment.
He ordered that the sentence should take effect from the date of the convict’s arrest and detention.

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