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CONVERSATIONS WITH A NETWORK MARKETING "PROSTITUTE"

Posted by Dan WebNutritionist/Motivator on July 27, 2013 at 1:00am

I went visiting a downline yesterday and I met her in the company of a fast-talking network marketing "prostitute". Like her kind,she cleverly tried to prospect me by weaving fantastic tales of her achievement in her current company; told me of the cars she's won, oversea trips and the house incentive she's working towards, etc. If only she knew that my understanding of network marketing has made me so immune to MLM slick-talk.

I just let her rattle on till I felt it was the right moment to cut in. So I asked her,"if a new mlm company comes into Nigeria today and you think you can make some more money from it would you leave your current company?" She quickly fired back an answer," Sure!...afterall is it not money I am looking for?" Immediately the alarms went off on the inside screaming, "RED FLAG! RED FLAG!".Just as I suspected, she was just another opportunist looking for ways to make money without a care for the bad reputation she leaves behind or the helpless downlines she will abandon .

This lady went on revealing her crookedness when she mentioned getting people to register and invest hundreds of thousands to millions in purchasing products so that she could qualify for the car incentives. I was thrown aback. "What!" I exclaimed, "how will your recruits sell all those products?". She laughed and said to me, "that wan nor be problem, we know as we dey take do am". So I asked how out of curiosity. Then she revealed her evil strategy."We have this our diagnostic machine", she began, "infact ehn..hmm..you should see me wit my white coat testing people...I look like a reeeeal doctor". "I can recommend like to 10 to 15 drugs for only wan persin and they will buy". Did she just say 10 to 15 supplements per person? Was I hearing this lady correctly or was I imagining things? Won't that kill the patient! So that's what is responsible for the sudden craze for diagnostic equipment, I mused.My goodness!

I thought I had heard the worst from this butcher only for her to drop her final bombshell. "In fact there was this man from the Government house in Abia State, he invested 52 million Naira casshhhh and won two cars plus some millions and oversea trip. De man himself confesse dat eh dis eh bizness is a workin". I couldn't take it any more. I had heard enough corruption for one day. What psychiatric ward did this woman escape from! She must be raving mad! At this point I no longer actively engaged her in the conversation. I just sat mute in shock.

It's so disheartening to know that our industry is saturated with these sorts of robbers. I wish we could get rid of all the fraudsters so they wouldn't go around deceiving people and creating resistance in the minds of prospective recruits. But ironically I feel very little for most Nigerians who lose money to these pyramid schemes. "Why" you might ask. Well for one, they are victims of their own greed. Most of them were looking for ways to get rich quick without paying any price and their lust led them to seek the easy pathways a.k.a pyramid schemes. I see them everyday and some are so dumb that they never learn after getting burned. I tell them of a legitimate network marketing opportunity that they can start with just N15,000 max but oh no, they wouldn't hear of it; it didn't sound impressive. They would believe me more if I lied to them and asked them to invest a million Naira.

The human greed will always create a market potential for pyramid schemes, but whether you are a network-marketing predator or a gullible prey one thing is for sure, some day you'll meet your Waterloo. You can't escape it!

By Dan Abia

27th July 2013

EFCC detains U.S.-based Nigerian over alleged $1.6 million fraud

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on February 16, 2011 at 8:00pm

EFCC detains U.S.-based Nigerian over alleged $1.6 million fraud
By Seye Olumide

A UNITED States (U.S.)-based Nigerian lawyer, Mr. Ephraim Emeka Ugwuonye, was on Sunday arrested by the State Security Service (SSS) at the Murtala Muhammed Airport and handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The EFCC spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said Ugwuonye's arrest was in connection with a $20 million property he sold on behalf of the Federal Government in the U.S. last year and failed to remit the part of the proceeds to the government coffers.

According to Babafemi, "Ugwuonye sold a property worth $20 million in U.S. last year and he is supposed to remit $1.6 million to the government but he refused, claiming that the money was his based on the service he rendered to government. This is wrong. That was why he was arrested."

However, Ugwuonye's relations have called on President Goodluck Jonathan, the Inspector-General of Police and the chairman of the EFCC for his immediate release as no charge had been brought against him after 48 hours of his arrest.

His younger brother, Uchenna, said Ugwuonye has been denied access to communication while no charge was brought against him over 48 hours since his arrest and detention

Former minister of works in custody over N50b fraud and no it is not Anenih he has fixed that

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on February 10, 2011 at 10:48pm

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)

yesterday arrested the former minister of works and housing, Hassan Lawal, in his home in Asokoro, Abuja, in connection with fraudulent activities currently pegged at over N50 billion.

An operative of the anti-graft agency told NEXT that the commission is currently carrying out the second phase of investigation into the fraudulent activities of the former minister who served in two different offices between 2004 and 2010...

photos: Lawal and Fixit Anenih Two former Works Ministers with questionable wealth

“There are currently two different phases of investigations against this man. One has been on-going for some time now, the second one has just begun. Most of the investigations border on fraudulent award of contracts to unregistered companies. Most of the contracts had to do with road contracts and the sale of federal government houses,” a source in the EFCC, who pleaded anonymity said in Abuja.

The spokesman of the anti-graft agency , Femi Babafemi, says that Mr.Lawal is currently in the custody of the commission, however he declined to speak on what possible date the accused will be arraigned. Our source however revealed that the commission is currently working to uncover and arrest other persons who might have collaborated with the former minister. The charges against the former minister are high degree of massive fraud, abuse of office, abuse of government laid down policy on due process and award of contracts to unregistered companies’.Mr. Lawal served as the Minister of Labour and Productivity from 2004 to 2007. He then served as the Minister for Works and Housing from 2008 to 2010.

62year old Woman jailed over N17.5m fraud

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on February 9, 2010 at 7:40pm

62year old Woman jailed over N17.5m fraud

A 62-year-old woman, Grace Iroro, has been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment with hard labour for conspiring with others to dupe a banker, Wale Bolorunduro, to the tune of N17.5 million.

She was found guilty by Justice Morenike Obadina of Ikeja High Court on all three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery and attempt to obtain by false pretences preferred against her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

In 2006, the convict and her accomplices, Ayo Disu and Udoh Nnaji, who were still at large, approached Mr. Bolorunduro, who was then a manager with a new generation bank and offered to sell to him a plot of land at Lekki Phase Two for the sum of N17.5 million.

To make the deal appear genuine, they presented a forged Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) of the land bearing the name of the owner of the property, Mr. Samuel Sosanya.

The victim was invited to the 'office' of the fraudsters on Lagos Island where Iroro posed as Mrs Sosanya, the wife of the owner of the land, while Disu assumed the identity of Mr Sosanya, the owner.

The convict had, since last Thursday, begun her jail term.

Debit-Card 'Skimming' Scams

Posted by Dan WebNutritionist/Motivator on January 15, 2010 at 9:02pm

Three steps to take to protect your account data from getting into the wrong handsWhether by choice or necessity, American consumers are increasingly relying on debit rather than credit cards. Debit card spending has risen steadily, growing from 47.7 percent of purchases made with plastic in 2003 to 58.9 percent in 2008 and it is expected to surpass 67 percent by 2013, according to the Nilson Report, a newsletter that tracks the consumer payment industry.When you use a debit card, the money is immediately taken from your checking account. While using debit guarantees that you pay as you go, these cards have downsides, including a growing appeal to thieves. "As economic conditions have worsened, there's been a noticeable increase in all types of card fraud," says Avivah Litan, an analyst specializing in fraud detection and prevention at Gartner Research in Stamford, Conn. "But ATM and debit-card fraud is the top area of concern we're hearing about from banks all over the world."Unlike credit-card thieves, who usually charge merchandise merchandise and then resell it to come up with money, people who create counterfeit ATM or debit cards by stealing your PIN and other account data can simply pull cold cash from your bank account. Using a technique known as skimming, they set up equipment that captures magnetic stripe and keypad information when you input your PIN at ATM machines, gas pumps, restaurants, or retailers.Here's how you can protect yourself:Don't Type in Your Pin at the PumpBe especially vigilant at gas stations, Litan says. "Gas pumps are notorious for skimming because they're produced by only a couple of different manufacturers, and if someone gets the key to one from a disgruntled employee, they can insert a skimming device inside the pump where it can't be seen," she says. She recommends using a credit card rather than a debit card when you fill your tank.If you must use a debit card at the gas pump, choose the screen prompt that identifies it as a credit card so that you do not have to type in your PIN. The purchase amount will still be deducted from your bank account, but it will be processed through a credit-card network, which will give you greater protection from liability if fraud does occur. This is because card issuers typically have "zero liability" policies for both debit and credit cards, but sometimes exclude PIN-based transactions from that protection.Stick With ATMs Located at BanksTo reduce your risk at ATMs, use machines at banks rather than in convenience stores, airports, or any isolated locations, advises Darrin Blackford, a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service, which investigates financial crimes involving interstate commerce. "A thief has to be able to attach and retrieve a skimming device to use the data it's gathered," he says. "And that's more likely to happen in nonbank settings where there's less traffic and no surveillance cameras."That doesn't mean that bank ATMs are immune, however. In August 2008, Wachovia Bank reported that several debit-card "identities" were stolen when a skimming device was placed on an ATM at a branch in Cape Coral, Fla."It's often hard to spot skimmers," Blackford says. "But if you notice a change at an ATM you use routinely, such as a color difference in the card reader or a gap where something appears to be glued onto the slot where you insert your card, that's a warning sign you'd want to report to the bank that owns the machine."Closely Monitor Your Bank AccountsCheck them regularly—preferably online rather than waiting for monthly statements to arrive in the mail. Federal law limits your liability for fraudulent debit-card charges to $50, but only if you report the theft or loss of your card or PIN within two business days of discovering the problem. If you fail to report unauthorized charges within 60 days of the date the statement listing those charges was mailed, you could be liable for any unauthorized withdrawals afterward, including the full value of credit lines or savings accounts linked to your account for overdraft protection.Visa and MasterCard have zero liability policies that go beyond federal law by exempting debit cardholders from liability in most circumstances when a bank investigation confirms that a transaction is fraudulent. But dealing with debit-card fraud can have a greater impact on your finances than credit-card fraud.When you're a victim of unauthorized charges on a credit card, you won't be out any money while the disputed charges are being investigated. But when a thief steals money from your bank account using a counterfeit debit or ATM card, that cash won't be restored to your account until the bank conducts its investigation and classifies it as a case of fraud. Some victims of debit-card skimming scams who have contacted the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, about their experiences report that while banks in most cases replenished the stolen funds, some of them had no access to the money for several weeks while bank investigations were conducted.Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on Yahoo!Copyrighted 2009, Consumers Union of U.S., Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Eavesdrop and identity fraud threat to three billion mobile phone users

Posted by Jane Okinedo on December 29, 2009 at 9:27pm

Billions could have their mobile phone calls intercepted and recorded after computer hackers cracked the secret code used to protect 80 per cent of the world’s users.

The code was posted on the internet by German scientist Karsten Nohl, who said he organised the breach to demonstrate the weakness of mobiles’ security measures.He claims an eavesdropper could be listening to calls within 15 minutes with just a laptop and two network cards.There are now fears that half the world’s population could be left vulnerable to crime including identity fraud.Nohl said: ‘We have given up hope that network operators will move to improve security on their own, but we are hoping that with this added attention, there will be increased demand from customers for them to do this.‘This vulnerability should have been fixed 15 years ago. People should now try it out at home and see how vulnerable their calls are.’The code, called A5/1, was devised by the GSM Association 22 years ago and is used by more than three billion people in 212 countries.It prevents calls being intercepted by forcing mobile phones and base stations to rapidly change frequencies. 3G phones are not affected as they are protected by a different code.Nohl and a team of experts took five months to unravel the complicated mathematical sequence – known as an algorithm – used to encrypt calls.Last night the GSM Association played down the risks to customers.Security director James Moran said: ‘We are concerned but we don’t believe it will result in widespread eavesdropping tomorrow, or next week or next month.'The reality is that a practical attack is beyond the capabilities of the vast majority of people.’But if he is wrong, mobile operators could be forced into expensive upgrades to base stations.

FCMB staff nabbed over N12.5m fraud

Posted by 9jabook.com on November 11, 2009 at 8:54am

An official of First City Monument Bank, Mr. Olajide Ogundipe has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for defrauding the bank to the tune of N12.5 million, out of which the anti-graft agency has been able to recover N9 million from the suspect. The bank had on September 4, 2009, petitioned the EFCC, alleging fraudulent withdrawal of money from the bank’s ATM in excess of N12million by a staff of the Lokoja branch, Mr. Ogundipe. The bank had observed that some unexplainable entries were passed between one of its assets accounts and its ATM at its Lokoja branch. In the course of investigation, EFCC operatives discovered that sometimes in March, 2009, Olajide who works at the Lokoja branch of the bank, posted a debit entry of N450, 000.00 to the assets account and credited the ATM with same value, which was subsequently taken out in bulk cash from the ATM machine after close of business. Further investigation revealed that several other similar entries in excess of N12 million have been posted and subsequently withdrawn in the same manner. Olajide who confessed to the crime after his arrest said he spent the money to sponsor his wedding in 2008. He said he made the withdrawals, usually a minimum of N500, 000.00 each time he loads the three ATM machines in Lokoja. “Thereafter, I will manipulate the posting to balance the account”, he confessed. The Osun state born banker who said he joined FCMB in September 2008 after three years with a new generation bank in Abuja said he never kept the stolen money in the bank but in his brief case at his Lokoja home and unknown to his wife who is resident in Karu, Abuja. After the confessional statement, Olajide who promised to return the stolen money made good his promise when his lawyer, Barrister Ibrahim Muktari, brought to EFCC an FCMB draft of N9,000,000 dated 22 October, 2009. He had earlier paid N3, 500,000.00 of the stolen money. The suspect is expected to be arraigned in court soon.

Bianca Ojukwu’s brother in fraud scandal

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on September 27, 2009 at 7:10pm

Bianca Ojukwu’s brother in fraud scandal It’s no longer a big deal in Nigeria for men of seeming honour to get entangled in dishonourable behaviour. What is wrong with you walking on your head, when there is madness in the land? This is a funny country where a good name is just a homily. The son of the former governor of the old Anambra State, the late Chief Christian Onoh, and the brother of Bianca Ojukwu, the wife of Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu, Josef, has been arrested by the police following his alleged involvement in a land scam, financial fraud, and certificate forgery. Josef, also a former member of the Enugu State House of Assembly, the police alleged, got into trouble following many petitions over his supposed shady land deals among other various activities. He was also accused of refusing to pay a loan of N2.5 million obtained from Harvard Trust Mortgage Bank, Enugu in 2001. Josef, we heard illegally resold a plot of land earlier bought from his father, (Chief Onoh), in 2006 to three other persons despite being privy to the initial transaction. According to the petitioner, he purchased the plot situated at Onoh quarters, GRA from Josef‘s father for N12 million. But after the death of the former governor, Josef allegedly resold the land for N20 million to three gullible

will you defraud your brother abroad ?

Posted by 9jabook.com webmadam on July 19, 2009 at 7:25pm

FRAUD is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual. It is a crime and is also a civil law violation. Many fraud cases involve complicated financial transactions conducted mostly by business professionals with specialised knowledge and criminal intent. Fraud can be committed through many methods, including mail, wire, phone, and the internet. Many scams use telephone calls to convince the victim that the person on the other end of the deal is a real, truthful person. Many Nigerians have fallen victim of fraud one time or the other. Perhaps the version of the story differs from one victim to the other. The strange thing is that the victims are being defrauded by fellow Nigerians who take the advantage of the respect people have for their kith and kins living in foreign countries. In the past, the trend was that Nigerians living abroad would send money for a specific project back home. Such people had been swindled many times. They were taught hard lessons, but they became wiser. They now know the “safe hands” to put their money in for any investments back home. Sometime ago, a man was reported to be sending money home to his brother, who diverted the money, meant for a building construction for personal gain. Pictures of the ‘progress’ made on the work were continuously sent to the trusting fellow abroad until the lid was blown open. He was duped by his own brother! However, with Nigerians abroad now exercising caution in their dealings with those they are supposed to trust, even relatives, those at home are being duped by people living in their present surroundings, but who claim to be relatives living in faraway countries. According to a source, a middle-aged man recounted how he woke up on a fateful day to a call from abroad. The caller, using an international number, told him that his son, who was living abroad, had longed to speak with him. “Your son (names withheld) had been trying your number before he left for office. Since he could not reach you on phone, he asked me to deliver his message,” the man quoted the caller to have said. Asked how the caller got the details about his son, the man said, “the caller did not mention my son’s name. I gave him the details – his name, country and everything. I was so curious; has anything happened to my son?” And the message: The son wanted the father to help him acquire a property in a choice area. A friend was arranged to take the man to see the property. The parent was careless. He did not call the son to confirm the development. He took the bait. The next day, he parted with about N500,000 (he was rich and he would do anything for his son) to acquire the so-called property. On how he got to know he had been duped, the man said his son called later in the day. “I was expecting him to ask me about the latest development, but he did not say anything. I told him all that had happened, but my son said he had no knowledge of it,” the man said. He decided to check on the ‘property’ the next day, but the number with which he was contacted was no more available. Another reported case of such fraud involved a man who believed he was being contacted by a neighbour who had relocated abroad. The caller told him that he decided to partner with him based on his record of honesty and transparency and he would also transact a business on his behalf. The neighbour was so eloquent that the victim did not suspect any foul play. The ‘neighbour’ had left a message also that the man should contact his business associates who had just arrived in Nigeria. The offer was juicy. The man was ready to parter with his former neighbour, but he was entering into a trap. He got involved in the deal. He filled forms and made bookings for the ‘products.’ For certain ‘goods’ the man was to deliver for his ‘neighbour,’ he was to part with about N2 million and pay a non-refundable fee of N150,000 to register for the business. But before the deal could be concluded, he got a call from the real neighbour, who told him to ‘play along’ so the syndicate could be arrested. However, the fraudsters could read the writing on the wall and so they quickly backed out, but not until their victim had parted with about N200,000. With the latest Internet communication, fraudsters have updated their skills. Pictures of relatives and friends abroad are usually manipulated to perform their dastardly act. Chatting fora like Facebook and others also make their work much easier. NEWSBLOGSTODAY

lagos..Port-Harcourt..Abuja..Kaduna.. Owerri..Edo.. AkwaIbom..Ibadan..Enugu For men who love ‘anything in skirt,’ pictures of beautiful girls are being used to get at them. ‘The girls’ surf the net for addresses of men and then send them mails expressing an interest to begin a relationship with them. How do the fraudsters get people’s phone numbers? How do they get accurate information about their victims before initiating any communication. Are ‘insiders’ (relatives or other people close to the victim) involved in their work? Like it was stated earlier in this writing, the fraudsters are mostly business professionals with specialised knowledge. A Nigerian living in London, Kunmi, said the trend was not a new thing.“I have alerted everyone closer to me. I have means of communicating with them and if the need be for anyone to take action on my behalf, they will get across to me first. I don’t know what the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is doing to check the situation,” he said. Another Nigerian living in the Netherlands said it was the crave for quick wealth that made Nigerians to fall victim of such tricks. When asked whether any of his relatives in Nigeria had fallen victim of such, he was quick to answer in the affirmative. He said he had warned members of his family to cross-check with him, any information supposedly coming from him before acting on it. As copied from the Western Austrialia Ministry of Fair Trade’s e-zine Fair Bytes, here is a story of a fraud: “When I received an unsolicited e-mail from a son of a prominent Nigerian, asking for my assistance in retrieving $500 million for a 25 per cent reward, excitement raced through me. I requested more information. A second e-mail provided me with a Nigerian phone number. A purported Nigerian attorney told me that I would receive 20 installments of $25 million deposited into my bank account bi-weekly. All I needed to do was pay $25,000 in expenses and up-front fees.” According to him, he believed he would soon be on the list of the richest people in the world! All he had to do was send money to these contacts, allowing them to pay for hotels, airfares, gifts, and processing fees. For the $1,200 sent, he received a faxed copy of a Certificate of Ownership to $25 million. All faxes proudly displayed official signatures, stamps and seals. A deposit of $32 million within 72 hours into his bank account would take place after he paid a membership fee of $75,000 to join the "Secret Bank." He could have an immediate release of up to $1 million within 24 hours after he had paid the fee and filed the application. According to the victim, “I asked them to take a cheque, telling them that it will mature in 10 days, but they insisted they preferred cash. So, I travelled to meet them in London. “There, they communicated by cell phones, and never provided a physical address for contact. We met in my hotel’s bar. They showed me 10 stacks of $100 bills. Each bill had a smudge on its face that I was told would prevent detection by a scanning device as it passed through customs. This money, plus two million more that was waiting in a security company's vault, would be mine within 24 hours if I would buy the special chemical needed to remove the smudges and pay the release fee for the other two million dollars. “I asked to cut open one of the plastic-wrapped stacks of money so I could fan through it. I believed I saw 10 stacks of copy paper with a $100 bill topping each stack. They did not allow me a hands-on inspection! “As I stalled for time, trying to find a suitable end to my investigation, a cellphone rang. The conversation was not for my ears, but due to the loud, panicky voice of the caller, I could not miss her words: ‘Where’s my money!” This was the voice of a woman who was recently duped and was threatening to have her money back from the contacts, and as such, the man knew it was a game and he sought ways of escape for himself. w The next time you get calls from abroad supposedly from families and friends, be sure you are talking with the right person, otherwise, you might be on the way to getting duped.

Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota: 11 Nigerians face federal charges for credit card scam

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on September 9, 2009 at 10:00pm

Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota: 11 Nigerians face federal charges for credit card scam By BOB VON STERNBERG leven people have been charged in federal court in the Twin Cities with fraud for a counterfeit credit card scam that allegedly netted them more than $650,000. The defendants were charged last week with using the bogus cards to withdraw the cash from more than 170 automatic teller machines in the metro area. According to the criminal complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court, the defendants obtained personal information about customers of Capital One Bank from an online source based in the Ukraine. With the stolen information in hand, the defendants allegedly manufactured the counterfeit cards with that information. They were then able to obtain new personal ID numbers from the bank which allowed them to withdraw $652,205 from the teller machines. According to the complaint, some of the stolen money was converted into cashier checks and used to purchase vehicle parts or vehicles with salvage titles; the vehicles were then shipped to Nigeria, and sold at inflated prices. Some of the defendants allegedly recruited Nigerian residents in Minneapolis to buy vehicles at auto auctions, giving them cash to make the purchases. According to a U.S. Secret Service affidavit, one of the defendants bragged about how he could not "get caught conducting his illegal activity" because he was "very good at covering his tracks." Charged with one count of bank fraud and one count of access device fraud are Adekunle Kayode Ayeni, 27, Yewande Mariam Sholebo, unknown age, Adewale Alba Alli, unknown age, Olayemi Lateef Banjoko, unknown age, Idowu Ayinla Sadiq, unknown age, Abiodun Banjoko, unknown age, and Oyetoyin Oseni Atobatele, unknown age, all of Fridley; along with Bashiru Adelumola Fowoshere, 36, and Titilayo Abidewi Fowoshere, unknown age, both of Ramsey; Oriyomi Enitan Olowosago, unknown age, Brooklyn Park; and Ajibola Alli Fowoshere, 34, address unknown. Eight of the 11 were arrested last Friday, when they also made their initial court appearance. Three remain at large.

Comptroller-General of Customs, Alhaji Abdullahi Inde Dikko, in Certificate Forgery, Threat to Life & Intimidation Scandal

Posted by Politics X on September 2, 2009 at 6:56am

Comptroller-General of Customs, Alhaji Abdullahi Inde Dikko, in Certificate Forgery, Threat to Life & Intimidation ScandalWednesday, September 2, 2009.The President and Commander-in-Chief,Federal Republic of Nigeria ,State House,Abuja.Mr. President,FORGERY OF CERTIFICATES BY THE NEW COMPTROLLER-GENERAL OF CUSTOMS, ALHAJI ABDULLAHI INDE DIKKO, THREAT TO LIFE AND INTIMIDATION:A CALL FOR A FULL-SCALE INVESTIGATION.I have decided to write directly to you on this matter because I believe you will not tolerate and condone the criminal behavior of any public officer, even if your security agencies are reputed for that and especially since they are indicted on this issue. It is also necessary that you are personally aware of such an important matter involving a highly-placed public officer whom you just appointed.I make no judgment at this point. All I call for is a thorough investigation of the grave allegations contained in the affidavit accompanying this letter and for you to take appropriate action(s).With best regards.I remain yours most trusted,FESTUS KEYAMO, ESQ.IN THE HIGH COURT OF LAGOS STATEIN THE IKEJA JUDICIAL DIVISIONHOLDEN AT IKEJAAFFIDAVIT REGARDING MY RELATINSHIP WITH ALHAJI ABDULLAHI DIKKOI, OLAJIDE OYEWOLE IBRAHIM, male, Muslim, Nigerian citizen, resident of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, do hereby make oath and state as follows:1. That my name is Olajide Oyewole Ibrahim and the following facts have already been written and submitted to my lawyer, Barrister Festus Keyamo. I now thought it fit to also make an affidavit.2. That I knew Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko, the present Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service since 1995, while undergoing the compulsory National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) scheme with the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) at Plot 22, Idowu Taylor Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.3. That during that time, i.e 1995, Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko was serving as a Superintendent of Customs (CS) and resided in his official quarters at Block 18, Flat ‘F’, Eric Moore Towers, Surulere, Lagos.4. That sometime in 1995, Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko approached me as the officer in charge of Training and Courses Department of the Nigerian Institute Management, to sneak out blank programme certificates on Finance and Accounts for him, which he intended to fill himself and present as authentic certificates. He explained to me that he needed these certificates and many others to get rapid promotion.5. That I obliged Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko of this request and secured on his behalf two (2) course participant certificates covering the years 1995 and 1996. (Copies of the certificates are hereby attached as Exhibits ‘A and B’). He thereafter filled them himself and forged the signatures on them.6. That on the completion of my National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) programme in 1996, the Institute discovered these missing certificates from the booklet of certificates in my custody and when I could not account for them for fear of implicating Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko, my name was withdrawn from the list of corpers to be considered for employment.7. That as I could not be retained, I told Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko of my predicament, but he promised me he would get me into Dangote Group at that time through one of his friends Alhaji Idris Shuaib Mikati. But in the meantime, I became an errand boy for him. This situation of running errands for him continued for years and I later forgot about getting a regular employment.8. That sometime in 1999, Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko confessed to me because of my closeness to him, that his West African Examination Certificate (WAEC) result was defective and implored me to assist him get another result.9. That in that same year i.e. 1999, I assisted Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko through the help of a staff of WAEC, to get him a fake WAEC result bearing the name of Government College, Kaduna and with the date of issuance as 1980. (Copy of the WAEC result is attached as Exhibit ‘C’).10. That in the year 2000 when Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko wanted to become a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), they discovered that the WAEC result was not genuine.11. That prior to their discovery, Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko had already submitted the said WAEC certificate to the customs authorities as his and could not withdraw same.12. Following that discovery, Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko abandoned his ambition of becoming a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accounts of Nigeria and opted for membership of the Association of National Accountants (ANAN) situate at Herbert Macaulay Way, Yaba, Lagos.13. That with the assistance of two (2) members of staff of ANAN, one Mr. Bello who was then in charge of examination and one Mr. Ojelade in charge of registration at the Institute, Alhaji Dikko was admitted as a fellow of ANAN.14. That it was the said Mr. Bello who suggested that we got somebody to write the ANAN examination of behalf of Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko.15. That suggestion warranted my contracting one Mr. Ganiu Memudu to write the ANAN examination on behalf of Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko.16. That initially, Mr. Ganiu Memudu was reluctant to write the examination for Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko but after much pressure from me and Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko, Mr. Memudu yielded and wrote the ANAN examination conducted sometime in March 2000 at the Auditorium of the University of Lagos. (Copy of the ANAN Certificate is attached as Exhibit ‘D’).17. That sometime in 2005 when Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko was promoted to the rank of Comptroller of Customs in charge of investigations, I approached him through his wife Hajia Shadiat Abdullahi for assistance in securing a job.18. That Hajia Shadiat Abdullahi response to my request was that I was trying to reveal the confidentialities between myself and her husband, Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko adding that Yoruba men could not be trusted. That response made me to leave their residence on the said date.19. That sometime in February 2006, on arriving from a religious vigil with my wife, I was informed by my landlady that some persons came in a Toyota Corolla Car looking for me with the aim of offering me a job as a clearing agent at the Ports.20. That my landlady further added that she suspected foul play since only two persons alighted from the said Toyota Corolla car while the others sat back.21. That my landlady’s intimations got me worried and scared leading me to relocate my wife and kids. Besides, the persons who came looking for me did not leave any contact address nor phone numbers behind, thereby raising my suspicion.22.. That I thereafter met one retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr. E.O. Abai who promised to plead with Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko.23. That when Mr. Abai got through to Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko via his phone, Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko promised to deal with me and added that I may be killed any moment from then.24. That thereafter, Mr. Abai advised me to enforce my rights in a law court.25. That on April 24, 2006, a Lagos High Court sitting in Igbosere granted my prayers that I should not be intimidated or harassed by Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko nor any of his agents. (Copy of the Enrolment of Order is attached as Exhibit ‘E’).26. That on November 21, 2006, I was arrested by Police Officers from Panti Police Station based on a petition written by one Superintendent of Customs, Mohammed Lawal alleging that I collected the sum of Two Million, One Hundred Thousand Naira (N2,100,000.00) from him to settle the case between me and Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko.27. That after being detained for two (2) weeks in Panti, I was arraigned before an Ebute Metta Magistrates Court for stealing. The charge was later struck out because the complainant, Alhaji Dikko could not summon the courage to come to court to testify. (Copy of the charge sheet and the proceedings are attached as Exhibits ‘F’ and ‘F1’).28.. That meanwhile, during one of the days of the hearing of the criminal matter, that is on January 12, 2007, I was picked up at the premises of the Magistrates Court by Police Officers from the Abuja Police Command based on a petition written again by Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko alleging that some documents, money and computers belonging to him were stolen from his Abuja residence on November 4, 2004 and that I may be responsible for their theft.29. That thereafter I was detained for forty (40) days at Apo Legislative Quarters and the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Ladan (who was in charge of the matter) thereafter told me that the only condition for my release was for me to withdraw the Fundamental Rights suit I filed against Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko.30. That on February 20, 2007, retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, E.O. Abai came to Abuja to see the then I.G, Mr. Sunday Ehindero to secure my release. I was further asked to see Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Ladan on the 22nd of February, 2007.31. That on that day, i.e. February 22, 2007, I was taken to the High Court, Abuja by the same Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Ladan but incidentally the court did not sit on that day which stalled my arraignment.32. That my wife and I later went straight to the I.G’s office and the then I.G., Mr. Sunday Ehindero instructed his Principal Staff Officer (PSO) Mr. Solomon Arase to look into the matter.. That led to the invitation of all the Police Officers involved in the matter.33. That after asking some pertinent questions, like whether Alhaji Dikko originally reported any case of robbery to any Police Station, (the answer being negative) and having satisfied himself that the allegation was frivolous, he ordered my release.34. He further advised me not to go about threatening Alhaji Dikko about his past, and that he was sure that Alhaji Dikko would leave me alone on that note.35. That thereafter I returned to Lagos where, to my surprise, one Inspector Habilla, a family friend of Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko and two (2) other Customs Officers, Messrs Enemoh and Mohammed Lawal continued to trail me. I reported this incident to Mr. Arase, the PSO to the then Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ehindero, who promised that all would be settled.36. That sometime in August 2008, I was informed by a friend of mine that I had been declared wanted by the Abuja Police Command in connection with robbery.37. That I made frantic efforts and discovered that the Punch and Tribune Newspapers of April 28, 2008 carried the advertorials which declared me wanted in connection with robbery. (Copy of the Punch Newspaper advert is attached as Exhibit ‘G’)..38. That it was at that point I realized that the plan was to arrest me as an armed robber and either shoot me like the Boko Haram leader or keep me perpetually remanded in prison custody as a robber awaiting trial.39. That since I had no godfather, I immediately went into hiding, and I have been running from pillar to post all these months, because of the almighty power of Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko.40. That on the 4th of August, 2009, retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr.. E.O. Abai advised that I summon courage and find out details about the advertorial from the Abuja Police Command.41. That on the 7th of August, 2009, in the company of Mr. E.O. Abai, retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, I met with the Commissioner of Police, Abuja, Mr. John Haruna. We went with the newspaper publication and the attached affidavit.42. That the said Commissioner of Police, Abuja, Mr. Haruna said that he knew nothing about the publication and immediately summoned the command’s spokesman, Superintendent of Police, Mr. Jimoh for explanation.43. That the Abuja Police Command’s spokesman further contacted the I..P.O supposedly handling the matter, one Mr. Danjuma Attah who confirmed that the case has no case file and that I should go in peace.44. That the following week, Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko was named as the Comptroller-General of Customs and the Abuja Police Command’s spokesman, Mr. Jimoh called the retired Commissioner of Police, Mr. E.O Abai to notify me that I should come to the Abuja Police Command that there is now a case file against me which has been sent to court in respect of a charge of armed robbery.45. That since the genesis of my travails life has been unbearable for me and my family. My mother collapsed and died later when she heard that I was arrested at the premises of a Magistrates Court in Lagos and taken to Abuja in handcuffs. Similarly, owing to lack of adequate parental care, I lost my four (4) year old son to an illness.46. That at present, due to the newspaper publications I cannot walk freely nor seek employment cum business opportunities for fear of being identified as an armed robber. This has left my wife as the only bread winner of the family.47. That before I met Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko, I never had any criminal record. All that I did for Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko was done in ignorance and immaturity and to help his career to where he is now that he so desperately wants to protect at the expense of my life and freedom.48. That the real intention of Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko, the new Comptroller-General of Customs, is to silence me, either by indefinite remand as an armed robber in a prison yard, or to kill me like the Boko Haram leader.49. That it was at this point everyone I met recommended Barrister Festus Keyamo to defend me. I then came out and contacted him.50. That I depose this affidavit in good faith and in accordance with the Oaths Act._________________DEPONENTSworn to at the High Court Registry, Ikejathis ………. day of …………………….. 2009BEFORE MECOMMISSIONER FOR OATHS

ALARM ! Interswitch AT.M fr.a.u.d rises: Lagosians groan as Interswitch email Sc.a.m.s increase

Posted by 9jabook.com on June 21, 2009 at 11:00pm

It will be noted that the continous email interswitch sc.am is still going around and it is until recently that the company put up an alert on its website after many people had been sca..mmed by these emails. Interswitch should go a step further and carry out a mass campaign to encourage Electronic money and deter these fraudSTARS.Their refusal to do this is based on avoiding mass hysteria over the safety of ATM usage. Apart from the scourge of armed robbers at Remote ATMS other issues still abound .Many banks have refused to refund customers whose Bank Cards have been cloned by criminals and used .These deposits abraod are usually covered by insurance companies and this is essential for ATM usage to continue . Our Advice is Avoid The ATM during this period if you can do without it . The Article below is Adapted fron Sunday Tribune by Akin Osunlaja 9jabook IT Correspondent . The current upsurge and nefarious activities of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) fraudsters is threatening electronic payment system in the nation’s banking sector with users threatening massive dumping of the cards if the unwholesome act is not checked. advertisement Watch Nollywood Movies Online Now ! A comprehensive investigations carried out by Sunday Tribune across the country revealed that two of every five ATM card users lately, have become victims of one form of fraud or the other and ironically the sector’s regulator, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), service provider, Interswitch, law enforcement agents and banks are helpless as they have not been able to proffer any solution. Only recently, the CBN admitted that hundreds of millions of naira was lost to ATM-related theft last year alone. Every week, hundreds of bank customers across major cities are finding their deposits or a substantial part of it stolen by faceless crooks. The Special Fraud Unit (SFU) also confirmed recently that ATM fraud is on the increase in Nigeria. Findings by Sunday Tribune showed that the activities of the fraudsters cut across all the banks having ATM facilities. Consequently, a cross section of the users told Sunday Tribune that the technology should be scrapped if the activities of the scammers cannot be curtailed. In most of the banks visited, security men that were supposed to watch out for criminals coming into the banking halls now take affected ATM victims through complaints procedures. The queues seen in banks nowadays are that of ATM complainants and in most cases, the issues are never resolved. The list of affected victims is endless. Mr. Christian Obed, a media practitioner was cash trapped in midst of an assignment and had to rushed to a nearby branch of the bank where his account is domiciled to make withdrawal via the Automated Teller Machine (ATM). To his consternation, his account read zero balance. Further enquiries from the counter did not prove otherwise. He was faced with reality that his hard earned life savings of N154, 000 had gone with the wind courtesy yet to be identified fraudsters. On her part, a woman who simply gave her name as Mrs Ngozi was caught weeping profusely in front of a bank on Allen Avenue, Ikeja told Sunday Tribune that she had come to make withdrawal at the ATM to send to her daughter in the university who had sent a distress call, but to her surprise, her account had been emptied. Efforts to get the bank officials to answer her had proved abortive. It is not all about duping, the issues ranged from cards trapped inside the machine to PIN rejection. It is all tales of woes from duped Nigerians. Many had lost their entire savings to hackers. These fraudulent activities which started like a play has assumed a dangerous dimension, threatening the entire e-payment system in the banking industry and the attendant benefits to the economy. The ATM technology which was introduced barely three years ago has been beneficial to users until the latest developments. Customers now have access to their accounts at all times. It was indeed one of the key benefits of consolidation in the banking sector. Ironically, it has been a game of buck passing and blame shifting. The customers are saying the act cannot be perpetrated without the connivance of bank officials, while bankers are maintaining that until a customer mortgages his or her Personal Identification Number (PIN), the act cannot be perpetrated. Apart from siphoning money from accounts, Sunday Tribune discovered that the criminals in some cases alter the normal transaction processes such as crediting the wrong figure and making do with the balance from the difference between the original payment and the exaggerated one. This is said to be common among bank staff. Another way is through stolen ATM card. The pin would then be changed to siphon the money in it long before the victim could notice and alert his bank. The fraudsters have also taken the war to internet. They open websites where they tell unsuspecting card users to disclose their PIN cards. In one e-mail, the fraudsters wrote: “”Currently INTERSWITCH is updating our ATM/CASH CARD machine database for all the cards to be in a more secured web so that if it is mistakenly stolen, the criminals will not be able to use it to make purchases in the websites which have been the major way of utilizing the cards they steal. According to the Group Managing Director of Skye Bank, Mr. Akinsola Akinfemiwa, the only way fraudster could defraud a customer is when the Personal Identification Number (PIN) is compromised. According to him, a customer ought to protect the PIN from easy access, stressing that the advantages of the card was quite enormous. “My advice is that users of ATM should protect their PIN from easy access. The Nigerian rich man syndrome of sending drivers or house helps to withdraw money from the ATM is not the best. Once, the PIN is disclosed, it provides for easy access for fraudsters to perpetrate their acts,” he said. Speaking in the same light, the Group Managing Director, Wema Bank, Mr. Segun Oloketuyi, noted that the first major step is for the users to take precaution on who has access to their PIN, stressing that once the PIN is disclosed, fraud is inevitable. Mr. Mitchelle Elegbe, Managing Director of Interswitch refused to comment on the latest developments. But a source close to the company told Sunday Tribune that they were doing all that is possible to forestall the activities of fraudsters. A school teacher, Mr. Sumbo Adefarasin noted that the genesis should be traced to Nigerians abroad, stating that those who were involved in credit scam abroad are the ones plying their trade in the country presently. An ex-banker also attributed the proliferation of the cards responsible, stating that some banks made it compulsory for customers withdrawing less than N60, 000 to use the ATM channel. On his part, Mr. Roland Obe, Intercontinental Bank’s Group Executive (Card Services), said it is important to view ATM fraud cases from several perspectives, adding that prior to April this year what Nigerian banks were issuing were magnetic stripe cards, called magstripe card which could easily be cloned. He noted that the card is susceptible to cloning because all information are copied on a black stripe at the back of the card and this loophole is what fraudsters have capitalize to defraud innocent, greedy, ignorant Nigerians, stressing that no fraudster can use the cloned card without the PIN of the authentic cardholder. “So, what they do now is to on a daily basis send different types of text messages informing the cardholder that he or she has won one prize from one MTN or Glo Promo and before you can claim your prize you need to provide your ATM card number and PIN number, the gullible will supply this information the fraudster quickly use it to clone a new card with which he takes control of the account and being to make withdrawals from the account linked to that PIN and card,” he said. Obe further explained that the new card that is called Verve card, is compliant with a set of standards and compliances that a typical financial institution that is issuing and acquiring electronic payment transactions must adapt its operating system, for the financial institution to be able to secure its cardholders and payment systems. He called on the Economic and Financial Crimes’ Commission (EFCC) to set up a department that takes care of cyber financial crimes, adding that it is important to have a regulation that guides registration of websites in the country. “There is no absolute solution to ATM fraud but it can be minimised, the reason is simply because both work with PIN number, once you compromise your PIN in anyway knowingly or unknowingly the account has lost its security component. It’s like your normal cheque book once somebody else can sign your signature your account has lost a very important aspect of its security. What do you do? You change it, at the slightest evidence of compromise of your PIN just change it or else the fraudster may change it before you have the opportunity to report and change it, that is why it is very important that you guard you PIN number like your life. Never use your birth date as your PIN number it’s very easy to hack your account when you use your birth date as your PIN,” he advised. Other dos and donts : NEVER GET AN ATM CARD IF YOU DONT NEED IT AND IF YOU NEED IT MAKE SURE YOU GET IT FROM THE RIGHT BANK !

EFCC Farida Waziri Treading where Angels Fear 49 9gerians in N143bn fraud ,Bola Tinubu,Peter Odili

Posted by 9jabook.com on June 9, 2009 at 8:28pm

Put one in the middle equals 4-1-9 !

49 Nigerians stole N143.6bn public funds - EFCC that is roughly 20million USD each ABUJA — FORTY-NINE Nigerians looted the nation’s treasury to the tune of N143.6 billion (One hundred and forty-three billion, six hundred million naira), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission revealed yesterday. Also, Chairman of the Commission, Mrs Farida Waziri, at an interactive session with journalists, in Abuja, to mark her first year in office yesterday said the court cases of some former governors were ongoing and that there was no letting up on efforts to prosecute former Governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili and Senator Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State. It has also come to light that 49 Nigerians are presently being prosecuted by the EFCC for fraud, totaling N143.6 billion. This was contained in a list of “On-going High Profile Cases” made available by the anti-graft body yesterday. The high profile cases include that of some ex-governors. 11 of the fraud cases were commenced by former chairman of the anti-graft agency, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, while the incumbent boss of the EFCC, Mrs Farida Waziri has filed 20 fraud-related charges against suspects. Most of the suspects have been granted bail by the court. The suspects in the UBEC case where high profile public servants connived with an American, Alexander Cozman, to defraud the government are however still in the custody of the EFCC. Some of the cases listed include the case against former Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State at the Federal High Court, Lagos over N1.2 billion. Another case is against former Governor Joshua Dariye of Plateau State at the Federal High Court, Gudu. Also listed is the case of former Governor Saminu Turaki of Jigawa State at the Federal High Court, Maitama, over N36 billion. Also ongoing is the trial of former Governor Jolly Nyame of Taraba state over N180 million; the case against former Governor Michael Botmang of Plateau State over N1.5 billion. The ongoing trial of Mr Roland Iyayi, former Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) over N5.6 billion is also listed. The trial of Mr Eider George, an Ustalian Business man at the FCT High Court, Maitama over N5.6 billion and that of Mr Patrick Fernandez, an Indian Businessman whose trial is ongoing at the Federal High Court, Lagos over N32 billion fraud is also listed. The trial of four Senior Managers of a bank over N3.6 billion at the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt is also one the cases listed by the EFCC. Also, the Rural Electrification Agency fraud case to the tune of N6.2 billion involving a serving Senator, three serving members of the House of Representatives, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Power and other top public officers was listed. The suspects in the case include Senator Nicholas Ugbane, Mr Ndudi Elumelu, Mr Mohammed Jibo, Mr Paulinus Igwe, Mr Samuel Ibi, Dr Aliyu Abdullahi, Mr Simon Nanle, Mr Lawrence Orekoya, Mr Kayode Oyedeji and Mr Garba Jahun. According to the EFCC, charges have been filed against the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, but he is yet to put in an appearance. No letting up on ex-govs Peter Odili, Bola Tinubu On former Governors Odili and Tinubu, Mrs Waziri said: “I inherited most of these case files and no file was at any time involving the governors was declared missing as reported by the press. Instead, we have been investigating and building on the files.” Answering specific questions on Dr Peter Odili and Senator Bola Tinubu both former governors of Rivers and Lagos states respectively, the EFCC boss said the Commission was working hard to drag them before the law court. According to her, “there was no time the case against Odili was dropped. There was this obnoxious court order of perpetual injunction restraining us from prosecuting him but we have appealed against it. We have been contesting the obnoxious court order restraining us from prosecuting him. We have assigned the case to a SAN to try to vacate it.” On Tinubu, she said that the Commission was working on gathering evidence with which to establish a case against the former governor but admitted that certain words of her predecessor did not make that effort easy. Mrs. Waziri said she has been very sincere in handling her responsibilities in the last one year, adding, “I don’t have any basis to lie as posterity will judge me because in the last one year, what I have done is to build case files, analysing them and working day and night to ensure that suspects are arrested once a prima facie case is established.” Cases of ex-govs stalled in courts She, however, expressed frustrations at the delays corruption cases were suffering at the courts. Her words: “The cases of past governors are ongoing. They are in court. I have been crying hoarse that cases are stalled. This is the area that I expect you, the media, to assist me; to cry out with me. Cases that were filed by my predecessor are still there in the courts. They are stalled, one way or the other. “I have told you many times why I feel the cases are stalled. If you have a bad case and you engage a lawyer whom you pay everything that you can pay and even from the charges drafted, he knows that if this case gets to its logical conclusion, he will end up in jail, they will do everything they can to forestall the trial and this is what is happening. The cases are not moving. “I told you that what some of these lawyers do is to first of all challenge the jurisdiction of the court. Even when it is clear that the high court has jurisdiction, then they go to the court of appeal to ask for a stay of execution, so the case is not moving at all. And the delay of trial has its own repercussions: witness fatigue, witnesses may die or move. “My job is to compile the case file, charge them to court and the next thing is to monitor the trials, to see whether on grounds of technicality, the investigation was thorough or something was missing; secondly to ensure that witnesses attend court and to ensure that exhibits are tendered. And that is where my job stops. I don’t go to the bench; I can’t do anything else. “This is what is frustrating us and I leave that to you. You are Nigerians. If one arm of government is trying to solve this problem, you should highlight it; you should ask questions.” The EFCC boss stressed the need for all Nigerians to buy into the anti-corruption crusade, insisting, “all Nigerians are stakeholders in this crusade.” Reacting to the claims of civil right groups that the Commission had performed below expectations under her watch, Mrs. Waziri said: “I hate armchair critics who sit on the fence and criticise everybody’s efforts. This country belongs to us all, if they are given opportunity, they will steal this country silly because they suffer from the Pull Him Down Syndrome (PHD).” On the role of the banks, Waziri said “some of the banks report (suspected transactions) while others don’t, that is why we re-organised the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit to make it more proactive and responsive to strategic intelligence.” Estates built with stolen money to be confiscated On the allegation that politicians were building estates and the Commission is not beaming its searchlight on the property industry with a view to confiscating those built with looted public funds, she said that once the Non-Conviction Based Assets Forfeiture Bill was passed, she would move against ill-gotten estates. Her words, “A lot of estates are springing up in Abuja. We are waiting for our Non-conviction Asset Forfeiture Bill to be passed then we will really go into that. Find out the owner of this estate, find out how he got the money to develop the estate. If you can’t, we investigate you, we take the property to court. It has nothing to do with the person. And we will take the property which will be forfeited to the government if you are unable to satisfactorily tell us how you came by that money. “If you say you got a loan from the bank, we will investigate that claim. If you say you inherited anything, we will investigate. We are waiting for this law. It is going to make a great difference because the incentive to steal will be lost. The incentive to acquire properties in the country or outside the country and acquire luxury cars will be lost. “Even the fact that some are developing the estates through proxies, companies or those that are developing properties using prominent individuals as partners notwithstanding, we are taking note of all of them.” The Chairman said the Commission secured 65 convictions and has recovered over N50 billion looted money. It has also developed the EagleClaw, a software designed to combat cybercrime and advance fee fraud (419) scam.

Two Nigerian Men indicted in marriage fraud in Houston

Posted by 9jabook.com on March 25, 2009 at 9:30pm

Two Nigerian Men indicted in marriage fraud in Houston A federal grand jury indicted Ibraheem Adegoke Buraimoh, a citizen of Nig.eria, and Ibraheem Adeneye, a naturalized U.S. citizen and Houston resident, Tuesday for conspiring to commit marriage fraud, according to a U.S. Attorney?s Office release..

The prosecution of these two men began with the filing of a criminal complaint that alleged that agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement began an investigation earlier this year into the possibility that an alien was attempting to arrange a fraudulent marriage with an American citizen in order to obtain a favorable change of immigration status from Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adeneye, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Nigeri.a, allegedly acted as a broker to arrange a fraudulent marriage between Buraimoh and an undercover ICE agent posing as a U.S. citizen willing to enter into the fraudulent marriage with Buraimoh. In January, meetings were held with and phone calls were made by the agent with Adeneye and Buraimoh, during which the arrangement of the fraudulent marriage allegedly was discussed, including a total of $3,500 to be paid in installments to the agent (?wife?) for her role in the conspiracy and to Adeneye for arranging the marriage. In addition, the process for obtaining a change in immigration status as a result of the ?marriage? allegedly was discussed. On Feb. 2, according to the complaint, after ICE took steps to notify the Harris County Clerk?s Office of the impending fraudulent marriage, the agent and Buraimoh were married in a state court in downtown Houston by a judge. Thereafter, Buraimoh allegedly made a partial payment to the agent for going through with the marriage. Both men were arrested Feb. 17. If convicted of conspiring to commit marriage fraud, Adeneye and Buraimoh face a maximum of five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Buraimoh has been ordered held in federal custody without bond pending trial. Adeneye has been ordered released on bond.

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Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.