Foreign
UK-Based Nigerian Taxi Driver Jailed Six Years After Falling Asleep at Wheel, Killing Man
A UK-based Nigerian taxi driver, Kolawole Erunkulu, 45, has been sentenced to six years in prison after falling asleep at the wheel and fatally hitting a 59-year-old man.
Erunkulu, from Bexleyheath, was driving an Audi on August 17, 2025, when he suffered a “microsleep”, causing the vehicle to leave the road and collide with Philip Dray, who had stopped in a lay-by.
Dray was getting into his Volkswagen after taking a break from driving when he was struck.
According to reports, Erunkulu had worked for about 12 hours on the day of the crash, taking only short breaks. In the three days before the fatal collision, he had driven for 53 hours, with his longest rest period being seven hours.
Footage from inside his vehicle showed Erunkulu falling asleep briefly before the Audi swerved off the road and hit Dray. The vehicle continued moving for about 10 seconds after the collision.
A microsleep is a brief episode of sleep that can last only a few seconds, during which the brain fails to properly process information.
Erunkulu pleaded guilty in June 2026 to causing death by dangerous driving.
He was sentenced to six years in prison and disqualified from driving for eight years. He will also be required to pass an extended driving test if he seeks to regain his licence.
Sentencing him, Her Honour Judge Lees said the footage demonstrated that Erunkulu was extremely tired and should have known that he was not fit to drive.
“The footage shows the defendant was extremely tired and, in my view, has continued to drive when he must have known that. He was driving commercially,” the judge said.
She added that the incident could have been prevented if Erunkulu had stopped driving and slept.
Acting Detective Inspector Rob Baldwin of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit said the case highlighted the potentially devastating consequences of driving while fatigued.
He said Erunkulu had worked long hours with insufficient rest, resulting in a “sleep debt”.
“Fatigue can seriously impair a driver’s ability to remain alert and react safely, particularly during the early hours of the morning when the natural drive to sleep is at its strongest,” Baldwin said.
He urged motorists who feel tired not to continue driving.
Dray’s family described him as “an amazing partner and man” who was dependable, caring and respectful.
His sister said Philip was a quiet man who cared deeply about others and had spent his life as a careful and conscientious driver.
“The fact that he, someone who worked every day to keep others safe, had his life taken in such a way makes this loss even more incomprehensible and tragic,” she said.
Dray’s partner described him as “a sweet, gentle, and caring man” and her “soulmate”.
She said his death had left an “enormous emotional and physical void” in her life.
“He would ring me several times a day whenever he was waiting for a client or at lunch, just to see how my day was going. I miss those calls very much,” she said.
A 68-year-old British woman, Dawn Ottewell, has claimed that her 31-year-old Nigerian husband, Bright Emokpae, disappeared from their home months after moving to the United Kingdom on a spouse visa.
Ottewell, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, told The Sun UK that she met Emokpae, an Edo State native, on dating platforms Tinder and Plenty of Fish in 2021 while she was experiencing loneliness and depression.
According to her account, Emokpae initially introduced himself as “Brian Thomas” before later revealing that he was a fashion student from Benin City.
The relationship reportedly developed through regular video calls, after which Ottewell travelled to northern Cyprus, where Emokpae was studying on a student visa.
The couple married at a registry office in Nicosia on March 22, 2022, with two Turkish friends acting as their best man and maid of honour.
Following the wedding, Emokpae returned to Nigeria to process his UK spouse visa. About a year later, after the visa was granted, Ottewell travelled to Heathrow Airport to welcome him to Britain.
However, Ottewell said their relationship deteriorated after his arrival in the UK.
She alleged that Emokpae became increasingly distant, regularly asked her for money and refused to contribute to household expenses, while allegedly sending money to Nigeria.
Her 72-year-old brother, Rory, reportedly helped Emokpae secure a job with a local door manufacturing company.
The couple separated briefly in October 2023 but later reconciled, about six months after the separation. Ottewell said the reconciliation occurred after she received a £63,000 settlement following what she described as a botched NHS prolapse operation.
She now says she regrets taking him back.
Ottewell recalled that shortly before Christmas 2024, she went on a £2,000 Caribbean cruise with her brother. When she returned home, she allegedly discovered that Emokpae had left.
She said he has not returned since and has blocked her on social media, leaving her unable to contact him.
Ottewell believes her estranged husband may now be living in Scotland, where she suspects he runs an online clothing business.
“He’s done a runner and is refusing to sign the divorce papers because I believe he wants to cling on to his spouse visa,” she said.
The woman also expressed concern about what could happen to her estate if she dies before their marriage is legally dissolved.
“My biggest fear is that I’ll die before this is sorted out and he’ll run off with the money my three children should inherit,” she said.
Ottewell said she does not currently have a will and fears Emokpae could potentially make claims against some of her assets, including jewellery, cash and furniture.
She is now seeking assistance from Citizens Advice to help locate her estranged husband and serve him with divorce papers.
“I feel I’m being used,” Ottewell said.
She also advised people to exercise caution when entering relationships that involve international partners, saying she believed her husband had married her primarily to obtain a UK visa.
However, her claims about Emokpae’s motives have not been independently established.
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.
-
Crime5 days agoAnambra JTF Arrests Nine Suspects, Recovers Two Vehicles, Three Rifles
-
News4 days agoFirst Niger Bridge: Don Warns Against Fresh Vandalism After Repairs
-
News5 days agoFirst Niger Bridge May Be Closed For One Week As FG Begins Repairs On Vandalised Sections
-
News4 days ago
Powell Homes Launches ROME Initiative, Offers 10% Discount on Property
-
Crime2 days agoAwka Under Attack: Suspected Cultists Kill Three, Injure Several Others
-
Crime2 days agoEFCC Sacks Over 40 Officers For Corruption, Financial Misconduct
-
News1 day ago
Ebonyi 2027; The Reality Points To Anyichuks Odii Receiving A Record Vote Count
-
News2 days agoOil Prices Jump as US-Iran Tensions Rise