Foreign
NOT GUILTY: Parents Seek Review as UK Court Convicts Nigerian Student of Robbery
The parents of a Nigerian student convicted of robbery and blackmail in the United Kingdom have appealed to the authorities to review the verdict, insisting that their son was wrongly convicted and is innocent of all the charges against him.
Mr Aderinkola Akinrinola and Mrs Olayinka Akinrinola made the appeal in a statement released in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Thursday, following the conviction of their son, Oluwatobiloba Akinrinola, by a UK court on June 19, 2026.
He is currently being held in a prison in Nottingham pending his sentencing, scheduled for July 27.
The distraught parents alleged that the conviction was based largely on circumstantial evidence and their son’s association with the principal suspect in the case.
They explained that their son met Richile Vagnu shortly after resuming his studies as a first-year student at Leicester University in September 2025, describing their relationship as that of acquaintances rather than close associates.
“Our son was present at the party where the incident took place, but he was never involved in the robbery,” the parents said.
They claimed that some of the victims testified in court that Oluwatobiloba was not among those who robbed them and that he only briefly entered the room where the incident occurred, asked what was happening and left after making it clear that he did not want to be involved.
The parents further stated that investigators found evidence of money transfers made by victims to accounts linked to other suspects, but found no such transactions in their son’s bank records.
They also alleged that CCTV footage presented during the trial did not place their son at the scene of the alleged robbery, apart from showing him arriving at the party.
According to them, the police were unable to produce some of the suspects in court because they allegedly failed to honour police invitations.
The family further claimed that one of the victims testified that Oluwatobiloba appeared to be trying to assist those affected rather than participating in the crime.
They disclosed that shortly after the incident, their son came across a social media video that allegedly linked him to the attack.
Concerned by the allegations, he reportedly contacted the police voluntarily and offered to present himself for questioning.
According to the parents, officers informed him at the time that he was not considered a suspect.
Describing their son as a calm and sociable young man with no previous criminal record, the couple appealed to the UK authorities to re-examine the case.
They also called on relevant authorities, legal institutions and human rights organisations to look into the circumstances surrounding the conviction and ensure that justice is served.
The statement read in part, “Our son, Oluwatobiloba Akinrinola, was wrongfully convicted of robbery and blackmail. We are Mr Aderinkola Akinrinola and Mrs Olayinka Akinrinola, parents of Oluwatobiloba Akinrinola, who was wrongfully convicted of robbery and blackmail by the UK government on June 19, 2026. He has been remanded in Nottingham Prison pending sentencing on July 27, 2026.
“Our son is innocent of the charges against him. The police argument against him is that he is guilty by association with the prime suspect. The only evidence presented in court against our son is a picture he took with Richile Vagnu, the prime suspect, and CCTV footage showing him entering the venue of the party where the robbery took place on November 21, 2025. Oluwatobiloba Akinrinola met Richile Vagnu in October after resuming school in September as a fresher at Leicester University. They were, at best, acquaintances.
The parents’ statement added, “While our son was present at the party where the robbery took place, he was never part of the robbery. Some of the victims also confirmed this in court. As recorded in his statement, he briefly entered the room where the robbery was taking place, questioned the prime suspect about what was happening and then left, insisting that he did not want to be part of it.
“The robbery victims said they were robbed of their jackets and footwear, and none of the items was found in our son’s possession after police searched his apartment. The police said they found evidence that money was transferred by the victims to the accounts of the other suspects, Vagnu and Ayomide Ibraheem, but no such evidence was found in our son’s bank records.
“The court insists our son is guilty but allowed other suspects to go scot-free, including Ayomide Ibraheem, whom victims identified as the person preventing them from leaving the room during the robbery. In all the CCTV footage played by the police in court, our son did not appear at the scene of the crime. He was only seen entering the party. The police also failed to produce the other suspects in court, despite allegations that they received money from the victims. The police said they did not honour invitations.
“Victims testified that our son was not involved. In fact, one of the victims said he was trying to help them. A few days after the robbery incident, our son saw a misleading video online posted by a TikTok influencer linking him to the attack. He immediately contacted the police and told them he was willing to come in for questioning because he was not involved in the robbery. The police told him not to bother because he was not a suspect.
“Our son is a calm and sociable young man who has never been linked to any criminal activity before now. Please help us. We are devastated. We simply want the world to hear our side of the story. Our son is about to suffer for a crime he did not commit. His life is about to be destroyed for something he did not do. We want the UK government to review the case and ensure that justice is done.”
Foreign
UK: 11 Drug Couriers Convicted Over £13.8m Cannabis Smuggling Plot Through Birmingham Airport
Eleven drug couriers have been convicted for their roles in a plot to smuggle cannabis worth an estimated £13.8 million into the United Kingdom through Birmingham Airport.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) investigated the group after Border Force officers arrested them in August 2024 and seized 460kg of cannabis concealed in 22 suitcases.
According to an NCA statement published on Wednesday, the couriers had travelled to the UK from Thailand via Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport on the same flights.
The convicted couriers were identified as Carsten Kyei, 21, from Newham, East London; Bradley Lloyd, 27, and Claire McCullough, 36, both from Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester; Lewis Ross, 35, from Bolton, Lancashire; Nathan Vitorino, 26, from Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire; Ryan Boachie, 32, from Edmonton, North London; Gideon Oluwasetemi Olumoyegun, 26, from Dagenham; Tasia Nelson, 22, from Newquay, Cornwall; Jaden Ramen, 23, from Colliers Wood, South London; Paige Crisp, 24, from Broomhall, Worcester; and Jamal Clarke, 22, from Walthamstow, London.
Birmingham Crown Court heard that each courier had two suitcases, with each suitcase containing about 20kg of cannabis.
The suitcases were reportedly so heavy that the couriers had to pay excess baggage charges at Bangkok Airport to have them placed in the aircraft hold.
The cannabis had been vacuum-packed and concealed beneath a thin layer of clothing. Eight of the suitcases also contained Apple AirTag trackers, which NCA investigators established were connected to the same Apple ID account.
Suspicion was raised after Border Force established that four passengers had travelled from Birmingham to Charles de Gaulle Airport earlier on August 9, 2024, each carrying two large suitcases.
Border Force officers subsequently fully staffed the Nothing to Declare channel and intercepted the group.
One of the couriers had also been instructed by an associate: “my man gonna be on the other side – don’t leave the airport until you see him leave.”
Kyei and Vitorino were convicted on May 26, 2026, following a three-week trial, while Ross and Lloyd changed their pleas to guilty during the trial.
Crisp, Nelson and Ramen were convicted on Wednesday, August 19, following a four-week trial.
McCullough, Boachie, Olumoyegun and Clarke had previously pleaded guilty.
Those convicted on August 19 will be sentenced on October 22, while the others will be sentenced on September 3.
NCA Senior Investigating Officer Paul Boniface said the operation involved extensive planning.
“A huge amount of planning went into this sophisticated attempt to bring hundreds of kilos of cannabis into the UK,” Boniface said.
He said the coordination of flights and luggage demonstrated “the lengths criminals will go to in order to hide their offending.”
“With thanks to Border Force, we were able confiscate these drugs and stop criminals from benefitting financially from the damage they cause,” he added.
Boniface warned people against agreeing to smuggle drugs into the UK, saying anyone who attempted to do so would face justice.
Adam Chatfield, Head of Border Force Midlands Command, said the convictions should serve as a warning to anyone considering transporting cannabis into the UK.
He said the young people involved now faced serious consequences, including criminal records that could affect their employment opportunities and future prospects.
Victoria Norman of the Crown Prosecution Service said prosecutors and investigators had pieced together evidence of a coordinated attempt to smuggle large quantities of drugs into the country.
She said the evidence resulted in six members of the group pleading guilty, while the others were convicted following trial.
An Australia-based Nigerian, Foluso Omole, is facing trial over his alleged role in a $5m fraud involving the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Omole was arrested by operatives of the Australian Federal Police at Adelaide Airport last Friday while allegedly attempting to flee Australia.
According to the report, Omole had allegedly “cut ties” in Adelaide and was preparing to travel to Nigeria before his arrest, a court heard.
The 38-year-old appeared before the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday, where his bail application was refused following allegations that he had attempted to leave Australia for Nigeria.
The court heard that Omole, a dual Australian and Nigerian citizen, had “purchased a one-way ticket to Nigeria” before his arrest.
A prosecutor also told the court that Omole appeared to have “sent, over the course of his offending, significant funds back to Nigeria”, where his wife resides.
The report stated that Omole was working as an NDIS coordinator and operating two businesses that employed several staff at the time of the alleged offences.
The prosecutor reportedly told the court that Omole allegedly received information “improperly” from a woman employed by the National Disability Insurance Agency over a period of six years and “used that information to obtain benefit fraudulently”.
The woman, who has also been charged in connection with the alleged fraud, was expected to appear in court on Thursday.
However, disputing the allegation that Omole intended to flee Australia, his lawyer, Mark Twiggs, told the court that his client had informed him that he planned to travel to London on a “return ticket” purchased before any raid on the woman’s home.
“The charges are denied. He has no record at all.
“My client has good reason why he should be given bail,” Twiggs said.
Omole is yet to enter pleas to one count of dealing with proceeds of an indictable crime worth more than $1m and one count of dealing with money or property valued at more than $1m that is allegedly the proceeds of crime.
Magistrate Patrick Hill, however, refused bail, citing concerns that Omole posed a flight risk.
“Whether it was a one-way ticket to Nigeria or a return ticket to London does make a difference as to the court’s assessment of whether or not Mr Omole is a flight risk.
“For the other reasons put forward by the prosecution, in any event, I remain concerned that he is a risk of flight and the bail application is refused,” Hill said.
In April, a Nigerian couple, Luciana and Femi Akanbi, were jailed in the United Kingdom for their involvement in a similar fraud scheme.
The couple reportedly used personal data belonging to Transport for London employees to carry out a tax rebate fraud scheme that cost the public purse more than £433,000.
The fraud, which was carried out between September 2021 and January 2022, was reportedly based on sensitive information belonging to at least 40 TfL workers, including passport details, National Insurance numbers and bank records. The information was used to submit 139 fraudulent tax refund claims.
Court proceedings at Woolwich Crown Court revealed that Luciana Akanbi, 38, who worked in TfL’s human resources department, had access to the personal records of about 107 employees, which were later exploited for the scheme.
A United States federal court has set August 21, 2026, as the deadline for the release of records linked to longstanding allegations concerning Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and U.S. financial accounts associated with him in the 1990s.
The records are being sought in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by Aaron Greenspan, which has reportedly been before the federal courts for more than three years.
The documents are understood to be held by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The development followed a reported request by the DOJ for an additional 10 days to comply with an earlier court order requiring the release of the records.
According to Von Batten, a Washington, D.C.-based Republican lobbying firm, Tinubu also joined the DOJ’s request for the extension.
The firm said it obtained a copy of a recent court filing submitted on Tinubu’s behalf and claimed that the Nigerian president formally joined the request just two business days before it became public.
However, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell rejected the request for additional time and directed that the records be released by August 21.
Von Batten said Tinubu’s reported decision to participate in the extension request raised questions about his reasons for seeking more time before the records are made public.
The firm alleged that the delay could potentially be used to lobby U.S. officials over concerns that releasing the documents might affect U.S.-Nigeria relations.
It further speculated that Tinubu could argue that disclosure of the records might affect his cooperation with Washington on counterterrorism and security matters.
The records relate to allegations dating back to the early 1990s, including the 1993 forfeiture of approximately $460,000 connected to accounts associated with Tinubu in a U.S. proceeding involving suspected proceeds of narcotics trafficking.
Tinubu has consistently denied wrongdoing and has rejected allegations linking him personally to drug trafficking.
Von Batten also warned against any attempt by U.S. officials to interfere with the FOIA or judicial process to prevent the records from being released.
The lobbying firm referenced U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated opposition to shielding individuals accused of serious criminal conduct, arguing that the legal process should be allowed to proceed without political interference.
With Judge Howell’s ruling in place, the records are expected to be released on or before August 21, unless further legal action changes the deadline.
The contents of the documents remain unknown, and their release could provide further information about the 1990s forfeiture proceedings and U.S. law-enforcement investigations involving accounts linked to Tinubu.
South Africa’s anti-immigration group, March and March, has announced September 30 as a fresh deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country, as it staged a protest outside the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Durban on Monday.
The group marched through central Durban under the theme, “It’s time to fetch your people,” calling on African leaders attending the 46th SADC Summit to take back their citizens living in South Africa without legal documentation.
March and March had earlier led nationwide protests on June 30, demanding tougher government action against undocumented immigration and warning that its campaign would continue until its demands were addressed.
Announcing its latest action, the group said the September 30 deadline would mark the beginning of what it described as the “mother of all protests”, while urging South Africans to assist the police in identifying undocumented foreigners.
The protest took place as the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government got underway in Durban, with leaders from the regional bloc’s 16 member states in attendance.
The demonstration has renewed debate over South Africa’s treatment of foreign nationals, particularly citizens of other African countries.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently condemned discrimination and violence against foreigners, saying South Africa could not advocate regional integration at the SADC summit while practising exclusion within the country.
The June 30 protests were accompanied by security operations and reports of attacks and looting in some areas, according to police reports cited in the original report.
March and March has continued to demand tougher action against undocumented immigration, while tensions over the treatment of foreign nationals have prompted some African countries to evacuate their citizens from South Africa.
The latest protest has brought the immigration dispute directly to the doorstep of the SADC summit, placing the issue before regional leaders whose citizens are among those affected.
-
Crime5 days agoAPC Chairman Dies After Collapsing at Reconciliation Meeting
-
Crime5 days agoBREAKING: ADC Chairman in Enugu Dies in Suspected Murder, Two Arrested
-
Politics5 days agoUmahi’s New APC Campaign Role: A Strategic Asset For Tinubu’s 2027 Victory
-
Politics4 days ago2027: Mbah’s Second Term: A Smooth Ride or Tough Battle?
-
Politics4 days ago2027: Wike Explains Why He Rejected Tinubu’s Campaign DG Role, Says ‘I Don’t Want to Lose My States’
-
News4 days agoNwabueze Denies Running ‘Fake Agency’, Says Made-in-Nigeria Project Has Operated Under OSGF for 16 Years
-
Crime4 days agoOver 60 Worshippers Abducted as Terrorists Attack Niger Mosque During Prayer
-
Crime4 days agoEnd of the Road: Man Dies While Attempting to Steal Transformer Cables