Alleged ₦110.4bn Kogi Fraud: Witness Says ₦1.425bn Was Used for Forex Transactions

A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello has told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, that ₦1.425 billion was used for foreign exchange transactions between December 2021 and February 2022.

The witness, a bureau de change operator, Jamilu Abdullahi, who testified as Prosecution Witness 19 (PW19), said the foreign currencies purchased through the transactions were delivered to Abba Adaudu.

Abdullahi gave the testimony on Thursday, October 15, 2026, before Justice Maryanne Anineh while being led in evidence by prosecution counsel Kemi Pinheiro, SAN.

During proceedings, the witness examined Exhibit AR, which contained transactions recorded between July 2021 and April 2022. He confirmed receiving cash lodgments of ₦10 million each made by Adaudu through the Lokoja branch, explaining that the payments were for foreign exchange transactions rather than gifts.

“My lord, I confirm the cash lodgments of Ten, Ten million Naira by Abba Adaudu from the Lokoja branch. My lord, I confirm I received the cash lodgments. It wasn’t for gift but for a forex transaction,” he told the court.

He said the transactions were intended for the purchase of United States dollars.

The witness also identified a transfer dated January 18, 2022, from Keyless Limited, which he said belonged to Adaudu. He maintained that the transfer was also meant for foreign exchange transactions.

Regarding cash lodgments of ₦9 million, ₦8 million and another ₦8 million recorded on February 22, 2022, in his name through the Lokoja branch, Abdullahi denied personally making the deposits, saying he had never visited the branch.

“In fact, I have never been to that branch in my life, but my name has been used as a beneficiary as any other person’s name can be used as the receiver, and it was a dollar transaction for Abba Adaudu,” he said.

He gave a similar explanation for multiple cash lodgments recorded against his name on March 10 and 11, 2022, insisting that the transactions were carried out on Adaudu’s behalf and that the names used in the transaction descriptions depended on Adaudu’s instructions.

Abdullahi told the court that he consistently handed the converted foreign currencies to Adaudu, sometimes at his own office and on other occasions at Adaudu’s office in Area 8, Garki, Abuja.

“My lord, I always send the converted forex to Abba Adaudu. All the transactions at the Lokoja were from Abba Adaudu,” he said.

The witness also identified Exhibit AK as his personal Access Bank account at the Aminu Kano branch in Abuja. He confirmed entries showing cash lodgments of ₦10 million each on December 29 and 30, 2021, and January 1 and 31, 2022, but maintained that the deposits were made by Adaudu for foreign exchange transactions.

On transfers involving Kunfayakun Global Limited, which he identified as his company, Abdullahi confirmed receiving ₦100 million from Keyless Nature Limited through FCMB, Zone 4, in 2021. He attributed the transfer to Adaudu.

He also identified a ₦400 million transfer through Keyless Nature Limited, which he said was made by Adaudu, as well as multiple transfers of ₦100 million each, totalling ₦600 million, from Ejadams Essence Limited on February 18, 2022. He told the court that Ejadams Essence Limited also belonged to Adaudu.

The testimony forms part of the prosecution’s ongoing case in the alleged ₦110.4 billion fraud trial involving Bello. Abdullahi’s evidence focused on the movement of funds and foreign exchange transactions he said were carried out on Adaudu’s behalf.

The allegations remain before the court, and the witness’s testimony does not, by itself, establish the guilt of the former governor or any other defendant.

EFCC Warns Lawyers Against Charging Clients in Foreign Currencies

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has warned legal practitioners across Nigeria against charging clients in foreign currencies, describing the practice as illegal and unethical.

The warning was issued on Friday, September 11, 2026, in Lagos by the Acting Zonal Director of the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, Ikoyi, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE I Bawa Usman Kaltungo.

Kaltungo spoke when he received a delegation from the Nigerian Bar Association’s Lagos Task Force on Illegal Practice of Law, led by its Head, Moshood Abiola, during a courtesy visit to his office.

He expressed concern over what he described as illegal and unethical practices involving some legal practitioners and said the Commission would prosecute lawyers found culpable.

According to Kaltungo, the Directorate is currently handling two cases involving lawyers who allegedly charged their clients in foreign currencies.

“We have two cases of lawyers who were found to have charged fees in dollars. This is unethical and illegal, as the Naira is the country’s legal tender,” he said.

He added that the Commission would not hesitate to prosecute any lawyer found culpable of charging clients in foreign currencies.

Kaltungo also cautioned lawyers against invoking the name of the EFCC to impose excessive charges on their clients.

He acknowledged that lawyers have the right to determine their professional fees but said they should not falsely claim that fees demanded from clients were required by the EFCC.

Earlier, Abiola commended the EFCC over the recent prosecution and conviction of a person described as a fake lawyer, describing the process as swift and reassuring.

He said the NBA Task Force was handling several cases involving alleged malpractice by legal practitioners and called for stronger collaboration with the EFCC to ensure that lawyers found culpable of criminal conduct face prosecution.

Also speaking during the meeting, ACE I Orhieoghene Adewunmi of the EFCC’s Department of Legal and Prosecution urged the NBA to make appropriate publications concerning lawyers found culpable of unethical practices.

She said such publicity would help members of the public identify practitioners who had been sanctioned for professional misconduct and avoid engaging their services.

ACE II Henry Anasoh, also of the Department of Legal and Prosecution, raised concerns about alleged instances where some lawyers assist suspects in obstructing investigations or frustrating the administration of justice.

He cited alleged cases involving the presentation of forged documents for bail applications, including purported medical records.

The EFCC and the NBA Task Force said stronger cooperation between both organisations would help address illegal legal practice and criminal conduct within the profession.

Two Nigerians Extradited to US Over Sextortion Cases Linked to Deaths of Teenage Boys

Two Nigerian men have been extradited from Nigeria to the United States to face federal charges over alleged financially motivated sextortion schemes involving teenage boys, with U.S. authorities linking the separate cases to the deaths of two minors.

The suspects, identified as 24-year-old Mudasiru Afeez Olawale and 26-year-old Adebola Festus Adekunle, were extradited to the United States on Thursday, August 27, 2026, following investigations involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Nigerian authorities.

The U.S. Department of Justice said both men had been arrested in Nigeria in August 2023 as part of a wider FBI operation targeting financially motivated sextortion networks operating from Nigeria and targeting minors in the United States.

Adekunle, a Lagos resident, was arrested on August 14, 2023, and has been charged in Mississippi over an alleged sextortion scheme involving a teenage victim whose death prosecutors say resulted from the abuse.

According to the U.S. Justice Department, Adekunle faces charges including sexual exploitation of a minor resulting in death, production of child sexual abuse material, coercion and enticement of a minor, and interstate threats with intent to extort.

He appeared before a federal court in Oxford, Mississippi, on August 28.

Prosecutors said Adekunle faces a possible life sentence if convicted, while the charge involving sexual exploitation of a minor resulting in death carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years.

Olawale, who was arrested in Nigeria on August 9, 2023, was extradited to the United States to face charges in North Carolina.

The U.S. Department of Justice said he had been indicted in August 2023 on offences relating to the alleged sexual exploitation of minors, coercion and enticement, distribution of child sexual abuse material and interstate threatening communications.

Olawale appeared before a federal magistrate judge in Greensboro, North Carolina, on August 28. The U.S. authorities said the case involves the alleged sextortion of two victims and the death of one teenage victim.

The FBI said the alleged schemes involved financially motivated sextortion, in which victims were allegedly threatened with the release of intimate images unless they provided money or other forms of payment.

The U.S. Justice Department said the two cases form part of a broader international effort to dismantle criminal networks behind financially motivated sextortion, which American authorities say has been linked to the deaths by suicide of dozens of teenagers in the United State.

The extraditions were carried out with the assistance of the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI Legal Attaché in Abuja and FBI personnel who travelled to Nigeria to take the suspects into U.S. custody.

Nigerian authorities, including the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Federal Ministry of Justice’s International Criminal Justice Cooperation Department and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, also assisted in the operation.

U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the extraditions demonstrated the U.S. government’s determination to pursue individuals accused of exploiting vulnerable children regardless of where they operate.

FBI Director Kash Patel described the two men as high-value targets who had been in Nigeria for about three years after their arrests before being returned to the United States to face prosecution.

The U.S. authorities stressed that the allegations remain accusations and that both men are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.

The cases also highlight growing international cooperation between Nigerian and U.S. law enforcement agencies in tackling online sexual exploitation and financially motivated sextortion, particularly crimes targeting minors.

Sowore Accuses EFCC of “Hunting Down” Citizens Over Alleged Cyberbullying

AAC presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has criticised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the detention and arraignment of two people accused of cyberbullying the agency.

Sowore said he attended two separate court proceedings involving the defendants before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, where he alleged that both individuals had spent close to 30 days in detention before being brought before the court.

According to him, rather than being allowed to return home while their cases continue, both defendants were remanded in prison custody.

Sowore identified one of the defendants as Maryam Isa Shehu, a final-year student of Bayero University Kano (BUK). He said she was remanded at Suleja Prison, while the other defendant was sent to Kuje Prison.

He said both defendants are expected to remain in custody until August 31.

Sowore described Maryam’s situation as particularly concerning because she is expected to begin her final university examinations on Saturday.

“What makes Maryam’s situation even more disturbing is that she is a final-year university student who is due to begin her final examinations this Saturday,” Sowore said.

“None of that appeared to matter.”

The AAC candidate accused the EFCC, under its Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, of going beyond its anti-corruption mandate by pursuing citizens over criticism and alleged cyberbullying.

“The @officialEFCC under Ola Olukoyede is inherently evil,” Sowore said.

He questioned why an agency established to fight financial crimes would be involved in the detention and prosecution of citizens over alleged cyberbullying.

“An anti-corruption agency should be fighting corruption, not turning itself into an institution for hunting down, detaining and prosecuting citizens over criticism or alleged ‘cyberbullying,’” he said.

Sowore further questioned the decision to keep the defendants in prison after they had already spent nearly a month in detention before their arraignment.

“What kind of institution detains a university student for nearly a month, arraigns her for allegedly cyberbullying the agency, and then seeks to keep her behind bars while her final examinations are about to begin?” he asked.

The comments come as the EFCC continues to pursue cases involving alleged online offences, while concerns over the use of criminal proceedings in response to criticism and social media activity continue to generate public debate.

Sowore’s comments are his account of the court proceedings and the circumstances surrounding the defendants’ detention. The allegations against the defendants remain before the court.

EFCC Explains Why It Froze Osun Government Account, Cites Probe Into Alleged ₦11 Billion Fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has defended its decision to freeze the bank account of the Osun State Government, saying the action was taken to prevent what it described as suspicious movement of public funds amid an ongoing investigation into the state’s finances.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the anti-graft agency said it had been investigating the Osun State Government since March 2026 over the alleged handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

According to the EFCC, investigators are probing alleged financial transactions amounting to about ₦11 billion, with several state officials, including the Accountant General, already questioned as part of the investigation.

The commission stated that it did not initially consider freezing the state’s account but changed its position after allegedly detecting large transfers from the account beginning on August 2.

It claimed that funds were being moved into several corporate accounts considered suspicious, prompting the agency to issue a Post No Debit (PND) order to halt further transactions.

“The Commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved,” the statement read.

The EFCC maintained that the action was taken under its preventive powers to safeguard public resources and insisted it could not ignore what it believed was an attempt to divert state funds.

Responding to criticism linking the account freeze to the forthcoming Osun governorship election, the commission denied any political motive.

It said the timing of the election could not prevent it from carrying out its statutory responsibilities.

“The Commission is fully aware of the impending governorship election in Osun State, but it has a responsibility to act in defence of the sanctity of public funds,” it stated.

The anti-corruption agency also disclosed that Osun is not the only state currently under financial scrutiny, noting that investigations involving several other state governments are ongoing as part of efforts to promote accountability in the management of public resources.

The EFCC further rejected allegations that its actions were politically motivated, insisting that it remains non-partisan and acts solely in the interest of protecting public funds.

“The Osun State Government account was frozen to save public funds from being looted,” the commission added.

The latest statement comes hours after Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke accused the EFCC of freezing the state’s account without a court order, describing the move as unconstitutional and a threat to democracy.

The governor had challenged the commission to publicly explain the legal basis for its action, warning that federal agencies must not undermine the constitutional rights of state governments.

The disagreement has intensified political tensions in Osun State ahead of the August 15 governorship election, with both the state government and the EFCC defending their respective positions.

As of the time of filing this report, neither party has indicated whether the dispute will be resolved through the courts.