EFCC arraigns couple for N197m fraud, impersonating Katsina first lady – Newstrends
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EFCC arraigns couple for N197m fraud, impersonating Katsina first lady

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Hafsat Kabir Lawal, Abdullahi Bala and Ladani Akindele

EFCC arraigns couple for N197m fraud, impersonating Katsina first lady

husband and wife, Baba Sadiq and Hafsat, alongside two accomplices, Abdullahi Bala and Ladani Akindele, have been remanded in prison custody after their arraignment before Justice Amina Bello of the Kaduna State High Court on charges of fraud, money laundering, and theft amounting to ₦197,750,000.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) brought the six-count charges against the defendants on Monday, March 10, 2025.

According to a statement by EFCC, the suspects allegedly conspired to defraud victims by posing as high-profile individuals, including impersonating the wife of Katsina State Governor, Fatima Dikko Radda.

“The defendants were initially arrested by officers of the Department of State Services, DSS, and subsequently transferred to the EFCC when it was clear that their offences were financial crimes in nature,” the EFCC stated.

One of the charges reads: “That you Hafsat Kabir Lawal, Babasule Abubakar Sadiq, Abdullahi Bala, Ladani Akindele Ayodele sometimes in December 2024 at Kaduna within the jurisdiction of this honorable court with intent to defraud did obtain the sum of N89,000,000.00… under the false pretense that you had the sum of $53,300… to exchange for the Naira equivalent which pretense you knew to be false…”

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The defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges. In response, EFCC counsel Bright C. Ogbonna requested a trial date and asked the court to remand the defendants in custody. Defense lawyers, including M.S. Katu, SAN, and Jazuli Mustapha, applied for bail but were met with opposition from the prosecution. Justice Bello ruled in favor of the EFCC, ordering the defendants’ remand and adjourning the case to March 17, 2025, for a bail hearing.

According to the EFCC, investigations revealed that Hafsat allegedly posed as the Katsina First Lady to obtain ₦89 million and ₦108 million from victims seeking currency exchange services. The statement further alleged that her husband, Sadiq, provided her with SIM cards registered on Truecaller as “Fatima Dikko Radda.”

The EFCC claimed Sadiq also enlisted the help of Ladani Akindele, a former bank colleague, to obtain the contact number of Unity Bank Chairman Hafiz Bashir. Through this connection, the defendants allegedly reached out to bureau de change operator Aminu Usman, from whom they collected a total of ₦197,750,000 under the guise of providing the dollar equivalent.

“The money was said to have been deposited into the bank account of the 3rd defendant, Abdullahi Bala, provided by the first defendant, and the money was allegedly distributed among the four defendants and laundered through various means,” the statement alleged.

The case is set to resume on March 17 for the hearing of the defendants’ bail applications.

EFCC arraigns couple for N197m fraud, impersonating Katsina first lady

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Truck falls from Lagos bridge on two buses

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Truck falls from Lagos bridge on two buses

A fully loaded truck, with registration number GGE 624 YJ, fell off the Pen Cinema Bridge in Lagos on Saturday, landing on two commercial buses.

Officers of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority rescued the severely-injured driver of the truck and rushed him to the hospital.

General Manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, confirmed this in a statement on Saturday.

The statement was signed by Taofiq Adebayo, Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, LASTMA.

According to Bakare-Oki, the accident occurred on Old Abeokuta Road, Agege, and involved the truck and two painted commercial Volkswagen buses.

He said that LASTMA officers responded swiftly and successfully extricated the severely-injured driver and immediately entrusted him to officers of the Elere Police Division.

He added that the driver was subsequently conveyed to the General Hospital at Ile-Epo for urgent medical attention.

He said, “Preliminary inquiries suggest that the truck driver, who suffered grievous fractures to both hands, lost control of the vehicle while navigating the Pen Cinema Bridge.

“Consequently, the truck plunged from the bridge, landing on the two commercial buses stationed beneath.”

The LASTMA boss said that in a bid to safeguard other road users and forestall secondary incidents, the authority’s personnel swiftly secured the accident site by cordoning off the area and diverting vehicular traffic.

Bakare-Oki added, “Thereafter, operatives of the Lagos State Emergency Management Authority Response Unit expeditiously cleared the wreckage, thereby restoring unimpeded traffic flow along the axis.”

He advised motorists, particularly truck operators, to exhibit high level of vigilance and circumspection, especially as the rainy season sets in.

He also urged strict compliance with road safety protocols, and that drivers should use the newly-installed speed-limiting devices, a measure deployed to curb accidents and promote collective road safety.

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Police recover bodies of father, son after mysterious death

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Police recover bodies of father, son after mysterious death

Authorities in Ebonyi State have recovered the remains of a man and his son who were found dead under unclear circumstances in the Ebebe Junction area of Abakaliki.

State Police Command spokesperson, SP Joshua Ukandu, confirmed the evacuation to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday.

Ukandu said the deceased, identified as Mr. Light Nwodor and his son Miracle, were found lifeless, prompting swift action by officers in the area.

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“When I was called by an individual about the incident, I quickly called the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in the area,” he said.”They swung into action and the dead bodies have been evacuated.“The police have launched investigation into the matter.”The command will definitely inform the general public on completion of investigation.“Right now, nobody knows what caused their deaths,” he added.

He also noted that no updates had been received from the DPO regarding any arrests linked to the case.

Initial unconfirmed reports circulating online suggested that the deaths may have resulted from eating food prepared by a woman who is allegedly now at large.

Police recover bodies of father, son after mysterious death

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Many missing, one killed in Ebonyi community clash

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Ebonyi State Police Spokesperson, DSP Joshua Ukandu

Many missing, one killed in Ebonyi community clash

One person has been shot dead, two injured and many people missing in Ndiagu Amagu, Ikwo in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State following a leadership tussle. The deceased, Nwoyika Ugbaloke and Thomas Ngaragu were reportedly attacked by some gunmen, but Ugbaloke couldn’t survive the attack.

Many people are said to be missing in the attack.

It was gathered that trouble started when a faction in the community imposed N40, 000 level on all the adults in Nduche Umuomara in the community, which did not go down well with another faction in the area.

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It was also gathered that the faction that imposed the N40,000 levy on the adults was also selling lands belonging to the faction that opposed the levy.

A son of the deceased, Nwoyika Kingsley Emeka, lamented the killing of his father and called for arrest of his killers. He said the killers were moving freely in the community, sealing people’s farmlands with palm fronds and warning them never to set their feet on the farms until the fines were paid.

He alleged that the perpetrators were being protected by some highly placed persons in the community.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Joshua Ukandu said he had not received any report on the incident.

Many missing, one killed in Ebonyi community clash

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