The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has again arrested another famous Nigerian over massive fraud.
Patrick Nwaokwu, a Nigerian medical doctor, was nabbed by FBI for his involvement in multimillion-dollar healthcare fraud.
Nwaokwu, 50, was arrested on July 9, barely 24 hours after the U.S. issued a warrant of arrest on July 8, Peoples Gazette reports.
The medical doctor alongside his associates, Musa Bangura and Johanah Napoleon face charges for “conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud; conspiracy to commit false statements relating to health care matters, and false statements relating to health care matters,” court documents revealed.
The trio was accused of selling fraudulent transcripts and diplomas, listing courses which unqualified individuals purportedly took as well as their grades. The nurses were subsequently employed at various healthcare facilities in Maryland.
According to the document, the FBI in 2019 received information that Messrs Nwaokwu and Bangura created illegal transcripts and certificates through a privately-owned nursing school (Nursing School 1) in northern Virginia.
“From August 8, 2008 to June 30, 2013, Nursing School 1 was a nursing school in Virginia until it was shut down for violating certain state regulations by the Virginia Board.
“After that time, Nwaokwu and Bangura continued to illegitimately operate Nursing School 1 as a place where people could go to simply purchase illegitimate LPN transcripts and certifications that are backdated to June 30, 2013,” the 35-page document stated.
It said that “each transcript purports that the student completed 1,700 hours of nursing education before graduating from Nursing School 1.”
The document also detailed that the Nursing School 1 students paid between $6,000 and $18,000 for the transcripts and certificates.
In 2020, two separate FBI undercover operations obtained the fraudulent degrees and approximately 175 of Nwaokwu’s nursing graduates have applied to the Maryland Board of Nursing.
The arrest of Mr Nwaokwu and his cohort yet again swells the ranks of Nigerians currently in the net of FBI for various corruption cases.
Former Ogun governor’s aide Bidemi Rufai, Instagram sensation Abbas Rahmon a.k.a Hushpuppi and celebrated business executive Obinwanne Okeke are notable Nigerians currently indicted for massive Internet fraud in America.
THE Nasarawa State Police Command says it has arrested 15 suspected cultists, who are alleged students of the Isa Mustapha Agwai Polytechnic, Lafia.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the command, ASP Ramhan Nansel, made the disclosure in an exclusive interview with reporters in Lafia.
He explained that the suspected cultists, who are members of the Vikings/Arobaga and Black Axe confraternities, had been disturbing the peace of residents of Ombi 1, Lafia, until the police got information about their nefarious activities and arrested them.
Nansel stated, “The Nasarawa State Police Command, in its crime fighting efforts aimed at purging the city of Lafia and the state in general of cultists, while acting on credible intelligence, got information that some cult groups were planning to attack each other.
“The Commissioner of Police, Mr Adesina Soyemi, swiftly mobilised a formidable team comprising personnel of the command’s anti-cultism, anti-kidnapping and SWAT to the cultists’ hideouts at D.D World Street, Ombi 1, Lafia, opposite the state polytechnic and arrested 15 suspected cult members.”
He reiterated the command’s commitment to protecting lives and property of citizens of the state and urged parents and guardians to warn their children and wards to refrain from any unlawful gathering.
He also cautioned hoteliers, proprietors of lounges and other recreational facilities across the state against consenting to the use of their facilities or properties to harbour cultists.
Nansel said the CP had directed that all the suspects be charged upon the conclusion of investigation.
Bandits invade Sokoto community, kill nine, abduct six
Bandits on Saturday killed nine people and abducted six others in the Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
Reports from the area indicated that among those killed by the bandits were eight men and one woman.
The villages attacked by the suspected bandits were Bejingo, Dantudu and Tulutu, all in Birjin ward.
The bandits also carted away herds of cattle belonging to the villagers.
It was learnt that the deceased had been buried according to Islamic rites.
The burial was reportedly witnessed by political stalwarts from the area, including the council chairman, Alhaji Abdulwahab Goronyo; the state Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development, Bashir Gorau; a member of the state House of Assembly, Alhaji Ahmed Rimawa; and the District Head of Durumbi, Alhaji Durumbi Abdullahi.
The Sokoto State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Sanusi Abubakar, said the command had yet to receive a full briefing on the attacks. Punch
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has arrested a woman bound for Italy with 100 wraps of heroin at the departure hall of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, (MMIA) Ikeja, Lagos.
The NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi disclosed this in a statement made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday, in Abuja.
Babafemi said that the operatives, who had sustained their nationwide offensive action against drug traffickers with strings of arrests and seizures, also intercepted two parcels of the same substance.
He said that the suspect, Mrs Nnadi Chinyere, was arrested on Tuesday, Aug. 3, during an outward clearance of passengers on Qatar Airways flight to Florentine, Italy.
He added that the drugs found on her were concealed in five containers of a hair relaxer cream.
Similarly, Babafemi also said that operatives of the MMIA Command of the agency intercepted a UK-bound consignment of illicit drugs at the NAHCO export shed of the airport on Thursday, Aug. 12.
He said that further investigation revealed the consignment contained 66.600kg of cannabis sativa, in addition to 1.600kg heroin and 1.450kg of cocaine with a combined weight of 69.65kilograms, all concealed inside cosmetics.
“Earlier, precisely Thursday, August 5, narcotic officers on routine patrol at the NAHCO export warehouse, intercepted another consignment of 25.8 kgs of cocaine and cannabis concealed inside foodstuffs going to London, UK.
“When the export package was opened and examined, 2.3kg of cocaine and 23.5kg of compressed cannabis were discovered inside, ” he said.
In the same vein, during a patrol operation along Akure-Owo road, a team of operatives from the Owo Area command of the agency equally intercepted a bus from Lagos enroute Owo to Ibilo, Kogi state, on Aug.7 packed with six parcels of skunk weighing 3.6kg.
“Also recovered from the vehicle were 30 pinches of Crack Cocaine weighing 87grams and six sachets of Arizona weighing 265grams.
“Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the trafficked illicit items,” he said.
Meanwhile, on Friday, Aug.13, the Benue state command of the agency arrested an interstate trafficker, Eze Victor Ezenwanne along Apir- Aliade road, Makurdi, with 65.436kgs of diazepam tablets.
Also on the same day in Maiduguri, Borno state, Babafemi said a suspected fake soldier, Adeyemi Segun Olamide was arrested with 650gm of skunk.
He added also that an ex-staff sergeant in the Nigerian Army, Muffat Ekong and one Frank Iredia Obamwonyi, were arrested on Wednesday, Aug. 11, with 286.3kgs of cannabis at Ogwashi Uku, Delta state, enroute Enugu State.
The spokesman quoted the Chairman, NDLEA, retired, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa as commending the officers and men of the MMIA command, Ondo, Borno, Benue and Delta states for the huge seizures and arrests.
He charged them and other commands to sustain the current momentum, assuring them that Federal Government recognised their efforts and would continue to motivate them to do more. (NAN)
Following renewed killings in Jos on Saturday, Plateau State government has imposed a 12-hour curfew on Jos, from 6pm to 6am.
A statement signed by Governor Simon Lalong reads: “Sequel to the unfortunate breach of peace along Rukuba road, Jos North LGA on 14th August 2021, where a convoy of commuters was attacked leading to killing of innocent persons, I have received briefings on the situation from the relevant heads of security agencies.
“The reports indicate that 23 of those attacked lost their lives while 23 persons sustained injury and are currently receiving treatment. 26 others were rescued unhurt. So far, 20 suspects have been arrested and the security agencies are conducting investigations to get to the bottom of the matter.
“Having reviewed the reports and monitored the unfolding scenario, Government is concerned about the persisting tensions and reported attempts by some persons to take the laws into their hands by threatening to attack individuals and private facilities, as well as public property.
“In order to avoid further deterioration of the situation and to protect lives and properties of citizens, I have directed the imposition of curfew on Jos North, Bassa and Jos South Local Governments commencing 6pm to 6am from today, 14th August 2021.
“The curfew shall remain in place subject to further review by the State Security Council.
“All citizens are therefore directed to abide by the directive to enable security personnel maintain law and order in the affected areas and deal with those attempting to foment trouble by taking advantage of the situation to perpetrate crime.”
The statement added that Government will continue to monitor the unfolding situation and take further necessary measures to ensure the safety of lives and properties.
While calling for calm, the governor sympathised with the families of those that lost their loved ones, and those injured in the violence.
He reiterated that the violence was purely a criminal conduct and should not be given any ethnic or religious colouration.
The Taliban have moved closer to retaking full control of Afghanistan, with the capital Kabul now the only major city left in government hands.
On Sunday the militants took control of Jalalabad, a key eastern city, without a fight.
It followed the seizure of the government’s northern bastion of Mazar-i-Sharif just a day earlier.
The rapid collapse of government forces has left President Ashraf Ghani under growing pressure to resign.
He appears to face a stark choice between surrender or a fight to hold the capital.
Meanwhile, the US has begun evacuating members of staff from its embassy in Kabul. On Sunday morning they were being taken to the airport where they have been seen boarding six large military transport planes. The US has deployed 5,000 troops to help with the operation.
President Joe Biden has defended his decision to escalate the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying he could not justify an “endless American presence in the middle of another country’s civil conflict”.
What happened in Jalalabad? Reports on Sunday morning said the Taliban overran the city, the capital of Nangarhar province, without a shot being fired.
“There are no clashes taking place right now in Jalalabad because the governor has surrendered to the Taliban,” a local Afghan official told Reuters news agency.
“Allowing passage to the Taliban was the only way to save civilian lives.”
Journalist Tariq Ghazniwal tweeted images purportedly showing the provincial governor handing over control to the Taliban.
The capture of Jalalabad means the Taliban have secured the roads connecting the country with Pakistan.
It came hours after Mazar-i-Sharif – the capital of Balkh province and fourth-largest city in Afghanistan – also fell largely without a fight.
Abas Ebrahimzada, a lawmaker from Balkh, told the Associated Press news agency that the national army were the first to surrender, which then prompted pro-government forces and other militia to give up.
The insurgents now control 23 of 34 provincial capitals.
More than a quarter of a million people have been displaced by the fighting and many have sought refuge in Kabul.
Some who had fled areas controlled by the Taliban said militants there were demanding families hand over unmarried girls and women to become wives for their fighters.
Muzhda, 35, a single woman who fled from Parwan to Kabul with her two sisters, said she would take her own life rather than let the Taliban force her to marry.
“I am crying day and night,” she told AFP news agency.
Women from Taliban-held areas have also described being forced to wear burkas – one-piece veils that cover the face and body – and militants are reported to have beaten people for breaking social rules.
“God forbid we will see war in Kabul,” city resident Sayed Akbar, 53, told the New York Times. “People here have gone through 40 years of sorrows. The roads on which we are walking are built on people’s bones.”
One 17-year-old, named only as Abdullah, told AFP news agency that he and his family had fled the northern city of Kunduz after it was seized by the Taliban and were now sleeping under a tent in a Kabul park.
He said he and other youths in Kunduz had been forced into carrying rocket-propelled grenades and other munitions for the militants.
Afghan police are manning checkpoints in Kabul
Kabul residents have formed long queues at banks trying to withdraw their savings. Some branches have reportedly already run out of money.
There were also reports of a riot at Pul-e-Charkhi prison on the outskirts of the capital, with local residents saying gunfire was heard from the facility.
In a pre-recorded TV address on Saturday, President Ashraf Ghani said a top priority was the remobilisation of the Afghan armed forces to prevent further destruction and displacement of people.
The speech came amid speculation by some that Mr Ghani might have been about to announce his resignation.
The Osun Police Command on Friday announced the dismissal of the police officer who shot and killed a man on a motorcycle in Osogbo.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the Sgt. Adamu Garba shot and killed Saheed Olabomi on July 27.
In a statement by the Osun Police Spokesperson, SP Yemisi Opalola, the officer was dismissed after an orderly room trial.
“The general public will recall that on July 27, the Osun Commissioner of Police, Olawale Olokode, immediately arrested and detained the Police officer that shot one Saheed Olabomi in Osogbo, for disciplinary action.
“As the CP promised, in the best tradition of transparency and accountability, that the outcome of the trial will be brought to the public.
“The Policeman, F/NO.467549 Sergeant Adamu Garba, has been tried in Orderly room in line with the laid down Rules and Regulations of the Nigeria Police Disciplinary procedure.
“The erring officer has been found guilty of the offence and subsequently dismissed from the Force.
“The orderly room procedure has been forwarded to Police Force Headquarters, Abuja, for necessary action towards prosecution.
“This, the CP believes will serve as a deterrent to other Police officers.
“The Commissioner wishes to apprise the general public, most especially the good people of the State that he will never condone any act of indiscipline and unprofessional conduct exhibited by any member(s) of the Nigeria Police under his watch”.
He, however, appeals to the members of the public to be law-abiding and be rest assured that justice will prevail.
Ndiaga Amechi Awkunanaw community members in Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State have raised the alarm of living in fear over a disputed portion of land.
They have subsequently petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Baba Alkali over incessant harassments by officers of the SWAT, Force CID, Abuja.
In a petition to the IGP, the community said the SWAT operatives had laid siege on the community and had been on a prowl, hounding every member of the community.
The petition was signed by the legal representative of the community, Barr. V.C. Nwadike.
Enquiries showed that the issue bordered on land dispute between two parties in the community.
In the petition, the community said, “we have, however, now become aware that this unfortunate vendetta was orchestrated against the community by Mr. Kingsley Eze, in order to forcefully take over our communal/ancestral land.
“We are equally aware that the law permits us to defend our property, just like any other owner of a property, against any forceful or unlawful takeover of same, and we cannot therefore be annihilated, completely wiped off or jailed because we resisted abusive use of a few compromised mobile police officers on illegal duty, who were hired and gave themselves out as hirelings and whose presence on the land is clearly to support the greedy, acquisitive tendencies of a land grabber who has selfishly instigated and unleashed them (SWAT, FCID, Nigeria Police Force, Abuja) against the community.”
They disclosed that in the morning of August 4, 2021, “a contingent of SWAT invaded the land in question and chased our members away from their land, apparently for the purpose of putting the land grabber in possession of our land. We are raising this alarm to appeal to the Inspector-General of Police, who is known for professionalism and respect for the rule of law and respect for human rights, to call these officers to order, bearing in mind that it doesn’t fall within the purview of the Police Force to dabble and decide issues bordering on land.
“We consulted with our lawyers and they had written to the Inspector-General of Police, against the use of various police units by the landgrabbers to harass and intimidate members of the community, including the use of some mobile police officers assigned as personal guards to the land grabber, and it appears that the more we complain the more emboldened and reckless they have become, in their invasion of the community with force and arms.
“We don’t want any disruption of peace, law and order or bloodshed in our community, hence this clarion call on the IGP to stop this abusive use of members of the SWAT, Abuja and ensure an impartial and unbiased policing that can inspire confidence in, and respect for the Police.”
Meanwhile, one of the counsels to the community, Barr. Ike Ozo further told journalists that he was surprised the police could wade into a purely civil matter and was using the same to harass the villagers.
He noted that, “it is very strange to some us to hear that the police are intervening in a very civil matter that is devoid of any cloak of criminality; what is in contention between the parties is that some dissident group is not comfortable that my clients were appointed by the villagers to be the land committee.”
He said the party instigating the case had earlier gone to the media to make spurious claims, stressing that all their claims were punctured.
He added that rather than follow the law to press their claims, they had now resorted to the crude use of the police to harass and intimidate innocent villagers.
“Recently, they went to court and brought a civil suit before an Enugu State High Court where they are seeking for declarative reliefs and injunctions against claims. We are yet to join issues with them because our time is still running, when we heard that they have invited the police from Abuja to intervene in a land dispute that has nothing to do with any criminal issue.
“So, we are really shocked to hear that the people from Abuja have been here for days harassing the people.
They came down to Enugu and are harassing innocent, decent citizens of Enugu State, just because they are managing their ancestral lands, and which they have authority to manage.
The much they can do is go to court, which they have done in suit No. E399/2021, where they are challenging the authority of our claims,” the lawyer said.
He recalled that the other party earlier went to court and lost, leading to a fresh election which brought his clients in as the managers of the said communal land.
“So, we have every authority both legally, judgement wise and by the authority of the community to really be in charge of the management of this ancestral land.
“I have not seen anything our client has done to warrant police intervention, rather this is one of the areas of police rascality in operations,” he declared.
In the meantime, a community leader, Mr. Nnaji Sunday, and wife of one of the detainees, called on the police and the Enugu State Government to stop a reign of terror on their community.
At the moment, it was gathered that a detachment of police mobile force 76 from Nsukka were guarding the land, a development described by the community and their lawyers as unlawful.
They urged the IGP to order that they vacate the land immediately.
The Southwestern Nigeria Security Network, popular as Amotekun, in Osun State, has been engulfed in crisis as local hunters pulled out of the security outfit, alleging financial impropriety.
Nurein Hammed, the state Coordinator of the hunters, on the platform of Hunters Group of Nigeria, addressed newsmen in Osogbo on Thursday.
Hammed said its members jointly agreed they were short-changed to the tune of N29 million by Osun Amotekun leadership during and after last year’s lockdown in the state.
While demanding for the outstanding balance, he said the group is committed to ensuring adequate security of lives and property of the state, but cannot operate under the present leadership of Amotekun in the state.
“We are unequivocally committed to working with other security agencies to protect the state against criminals.
“We swore on oath to do that but we cannot work with Amotekun to achieve those objectives.
Trafficking: NAPTIP receives 80 rescued victims in Kano
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), says it has received 80 rescued victims of human trafficking in Kano State.
The NAPTIP North-West Zonal Commander, Mr Abdullahi Babale, made the disclosure while briefing newsmen in Kano on Wednesday.
Babale said that the rescued victims were between the age of 16 and 35, comprising 59 females and 21 males.
According to him, the victims were rescued on Aug.9, by the Police in Niger Republic when the NAPTIP Joint Border Task Force alerted the Nigerienne Police Directorate of Technical Surveillance(DST).
“On receiving the information, a special operation was coordinated in Niger Republic and 80 victims of human trafficking were rescued after crossing through illegal routes and bush via Mai’adua Control Post enroute to Europe.
“Out of the 80 victims, 16 are from Ondo State, Lagos 16, Ekiti one, Ogun 9, Oyo eight, Kogi two, Edo 9, Delta four, Osun 9, Benue one, Kwara two, Anambra one, Akwa Ibom one and Rivers one,” Babale said.
He said that investigation was ongoing to arrest the main traffickers.
The zonal commander appreciated the DST and Katsina command of the Nigeria Immigration Service for cooperating with NAPTIP in rescuing the victims.
“It shows the collective efforts of both countries in providing better operational strategies to fight against human trafficking and migrants smuggling, which is now assuming alarming dimension globally, with higher prevalence among developing countries such as Nigeria and Niger.”
He said that the NAPTIP Director General, Mr Bashir Garba-Mohammed, reiterated the agency’s commitments to intensify investigation and prosecution of traffickers, offer counselling, reunite and reintegrate the victims back to the society.
NAN recalls that the agency had on July 28, rescued 13 victims and arrested one suspected human trafficker heading to Libya through Kano and Niger Republic. (NAN)
