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How people fall victim to fake Customs car auction by internet fraudsters

Published

5 years ago

April 3, 2022

A victim of Internet fraud pastor Shed Okwu almost in tears, narrated how he was lured by internet fraudsters to participate in buying of non existing cars #1.5million in a fake customs car auction.

Narrating his ugly experience in the hands of Internet fraudsters pastor Shed said, “ The idiots first called me on phone thus, ‘ Hello my man of God. This is senior controller Osemobor Omoh’ and I responded God bless you. Please we have cars which customs want to auction but you happen to be one of the important people in Lagos favoured to get the few we brought out to sell directly to and deliver to their houses. He later requested my full names, mobile phone numbers, residential and office address , email address, age, state and my local government which I provided.

Despite telling him I was in a meeting he continued to worry me saying, ‘ When is he leaving the meeting. I just want to know because we work with time. We will talk privately.’

The same day he called again and said, good evening man of God, please if you don’t want to buy again you should let us know. We will not kill you or start fighting you, no way.

My bishop, I have sent it to you. The Nigeria customs authorized financial secretary account details. Account name Alfa Abdullahi Jibrin. Account number 2285898826 Zenith bank PLC.

Make the payment now and drop the proof of payment to me here on WhatsApp so that we can proceed on the document registration .

He continued his bla bla bla. ‘For how long will the receipt take you to send, man of God . Send me your photo passport.

Pay to Subair Saheed Kayode 0250660414 WEMA bank the sum of #51,000. ‘

When I told him that I have paid he said, ‘ yes I saw it. They are working on the custom duty . I have not received the recharge card I ask of.

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Quickly make deposit of #305,000 for custom duty of your vehicle to this account. ‘ I told him I have made the payment.

He said , ‘everything has been put in order now. If you know that you are not ready again let me know but I promise you that if I wait few hours tomorrow morning I will carry my family and go home till they announce the car auction by next year November.

My pastor please call the state controller before morning, we are with the two drivers so that if you people can know what to do tomorrow morning the driver will bring the vehicle to you. Everything depends on you now. Give the driver the balance when he comes around. ‘

Unfortunately, the said driver came without the expected car rather he was busy asking me where he would park the car when he drives into my compound stressing, ‘just give me the balance. I will surely drive the car in within 30 minutes. ‘ He left and never came back that fateful day .

The bubble bust when I told my friend what I was passing through and he blamed me for making transactions and payments to people I have not seen their office nor their faces anyhow.

He advised me that the best step is to go to that their Seme border custom office and see them face to face and know physically the people I was dealing with.

On the date I had with my friend we boarded a bus to Seme border and, to our greatest surprise, when I called him that I was coming and almost halfway to the border he shouted, ‘ You want to die. If you come here we will kill you. You want to put us in trouble. Don’t try it unless you want to die. If you try it you will be killed and nothing will happen. Coming to Seme border custom office is not in our arrangement. Please don’t come for your interest . You will still get your car. ‘

With this development my friend advised that we should go back seeing that it is clear that it is a scam, a fraud.

When we got back to my house my friend advised me to write petition to the then commissioner of police Cp. Hakeem Odumosu to effect the investigation of the case.

The case was referred to a unit in Ikeja division who started the investigation.

The very unit in Ikeja identified as disaster management unit, a strike force of the Cp. but with office at Ikeja police division building later sought the assistance of a police officer in another unit in the command headquarters Ikeja who did the tracking and said the suspect he tracked is at Ipoba hill Edo state. He gave the picture and farm address of the tracked suspect.

The victim told the NATION that all efforts to locate the tracked suspect or his farm at Ipoba hill was unsuccessful hence he postponed it till the clearer location of the tracked suspect is known.

Despite the efforts the victim is making to get them arrested they are still calling him to collect the money he told them he had on hand but wanted to complete it to the amount they requested before he would send it.

Contacted for comment the Edo police command public relations officer said the case was not reported to them.

Efforts to get the reaction or comment of the Lagos police public relations officer, a superintendent of police SP Benjamin Hundeyin had not been successful as he would pick call but at the end nothing would be discussed and even the text sent in respect of the case had not been replied till date though he is new and had just taken over and had to be briefed by the unit handling the case before reacting or making his comment which is forgivable at the time of filing this report.

However, the victim, pastor Shedrack Okwu called on the inspector general of police IGP Usman Alkali Baba to empower police tracking department to checkmate the menace of the internet fraudsters who impersonate custom officers or any uniformed law enforcement agents to defraud innocent and hard working citizens of this great country, Nigeria.

THE NATION

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Nigeria Climbs Africa Investment Ladder, Overtakes Four Nations

Published

40 minutes ago

October 6, 2026

Trends Admin

Nigeria Climbs Africa Investment Ladder, Overtakes Four Nations

Nigeria has climbed four places to eighth position in Africa’s latest investment risk ranking, overtaking Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya and Namibia in the 2026 assessment.

The improvement makes Nigeria the biggest climber among the 19 African economies assessed in the ranking, which measures relative investment attractiveness using five key indicators.

Nigeria’s stronger position was driven by improvements in economic strength, fiscal strength and external vulnerability, according to the assessment.

The latest ranking puts Nigeria ahead of Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya and Namibia, while Mauritius emerged as the highest-ranked African economy. South Africa, which occupied the top position in the previous edition, dropped one place amid a weaker economic-growth outlook.

Nigeria’s rise comes against the backdrop of a series of economic reforms introduced since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office in 2023. The reforms include the removal of the petrol subsidy, changes to the foreign-exchange market and electricity tariff reforms.

The Federal Government has maintained that the measures were necessary to address long-standing fiscal and economic challenges, improve public finances and create a more attractive environment for investors.

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The improved ranking also comes as Nigeria records stronger economic growth. The economy expanded by 3.89 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, while average quarterly growth between the third quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2026 stood at about 3.46 per cent.

Nigeria’s improved position, however, does not mean the country has overtaken the four nations in terms of actual foreign investment inflows. The ranking measures relative investment risk and investability, rather than the total amount of foreign direct investment received.

Separate investment data showed that Nigeria attracted about $4.01 billion in foreign direct investment in 2025, representing a substantial increase from the previous year.

Nigeria also recorded a sharp rise in overall capital inflows in 2025, although a significant portion of the increase came from foreign portfolio investment rather than long-term direct investment.

The distinction is important because portfolio investors can respond more quickly to interest rates, exchange-rate movements and financial-market conditions, while foreign direct investment generally involves longer-term commitments to businesses, infrastructure and productive assets.

Despite the improvement in the investment ranking, Nigeria continues to face significant economic challenges, including high living costs, inflationary pressures, infrastructure deficits, foreign-exchange concerns and rising public debt.

The latest assessment therefore presents a mixed picture, with Nigeria’s relative position on key investment-risk indicators improving even as significant fiscal and structural challenges remain.

The country’s four-place rise nevertheless places Nigeria among the African economies that recorded the most significant improvement in relative investment attractiveness in the latest assessment.

Nigeria Climbs Africa Investment Ladder, Overtakes Four Nations

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Ogun Crash: Nine Die As Bus Collides With Truck On Ijebu-Ode-Ore Road

Published

50 minutes ago

October 6, 2026

Trends Admin

Ogun Crash: Nine Die As Bus Collides With Truck On Ijebu-Ode-Ore Road

Nine people have been killed in a fatal road crash in Ogun State after a commercial bus collided with a truck along the Ijebu-Ode–Ore Expressway.

The crash occurred at about 4:55 p.m. on Monday around the Bethel area of the Ijebu-Ode Unit Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).

The accident involved a white Toyota Hiace commercial bus belonging to Delta Line, with registration number 14B-299DT, and a white Sino Truck operated by Bill Gas Solution Ltd, with registration number AAB162XD.

The FRSC Ogun State Sector Command confirmed that nine people were involved in the crash and that all nine died.

The victims comprised three males and six females, according to the road safety agency.

The crash occurred during rainfall, leaving the road surface wet at the time of the incident. A preliminary investigation by the FRSC identified speed violation as the probable cause of the collision.

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The agency’s rescue team reportedly arrived at the scene at about 4:58 p.m., just three minutes after the crash was reported, and immediately commenced rescue and recovery operations.

The bodies of the victims were evacuated and deposited at the General Hospital morgue in Ijebu-Ode, while the two vehicles were towed to the Ilese Police Station by the Nigeria Police Force Motor Traffic Division for further investigation.

The Ogun State Sector Commander of the FRSC, Corps Commander Oludare Ogunjobi, expressed concern over the continued dangers posed by speeding, particularly during rainfall.

Ogunjobi urged motorists, especially commercial vehicle operators, to obey speed limits, maintain safe following distances and exercise greater caution on wet roads.

He warned that speeding on wet roads increases the risk of losing control because reduced tyre grip and visibility can make it more difficult for drivers to stop or manoeuvre safely.

The latest Ogun road crash adds to a series of fatal accidents recorded on major highways in the state, with the FRSC repeatedly urging motorists to comply with traffic regulations and avoid dangerous driving practices.

The road safety agency condoled with the families of the nine victims and urged motorists to make safety a priority, particularly during periods of rainfall.

Ogun Crash: Nine Die As Bus Collides With Truck On Ijebu-Ode-Ore Road

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Gunmen Open Fire At Lagos Bus Stop, Kill NURTW Member, Injure Three

Published

1 hour ago

October 6, 2026

Trends Admin

Kamoru Omokoye

Gunmen Open Fire At Lagos Bus Stop, Kill NURTW Member, Injure Three

A member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), identified as Kamoru Omokoye, popularly known as Zobo, has been shot dead at Abijo Bus Stop in the Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State.

Omokoye was reportedly attacked around 9am on Sunday by two men who arrived at the bus stop in an unregistered Lexus RX 350 before opening fire on him.

A police source who confirmed the incident said the victim was shot in the head during the attack. The assailants reportedly sped away immediately after the shooting.

Omokoye was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Epe, for treatment but was pronounced dead by a doctor on duty.

Following the incident, detectives visited the scene and combed the area as part of efforts to identify and arrest those responsible for the Lagos bus stop shooting.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Adebisi, also confirmed the incident, saying the command had commenced an investigation.

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While the police source described the attackers as suspected cultists, the exact motive for the killing has not been officially established.

An anti-cultism advocacy platform, Naija Confra, reported that Omokoye was sitting at a drinking spot near the bus stop when the attackers arrived and opened fire. The report said other people at the location fled as the gunmen shot at the gathering.

At least three other people were reportedly wounded in the shooting.

Omokoye was said to have previously worked around Awoyaya Bus Stop before moving to GRA Bus Stop. He was also reportedly the father of an eight-month-old child.

The latest incident has heightened concerns about violent attacks around transport corridors and public gathering points in parts of Lagos State, particularly where criminal or cult-related activities have previously been reported.

Police authorities have yet to announce any arrest in connection with the killing.

The investigation is expected to focus on identifying the attackers, establishing their motive and determining whether the killing was linked to a cult-related dispute, a transport-union conflict or another criminal motive.

Residents have also been urged to provide useful information to the police that could assist in identifying those responsible for the killing of the NURTW member.