Foreign
Nigerian cries out from California prison, alleges inhuman treatment
On March 4, 2022, Abegunde narrated to Encounter, his unfortunate journey from being a young businessman in the US to ending up in jail and insisted that he was a victim of racism and unfair justice system. In a passionate appeal for a review of his case, Abegunde accused some FBI agents of masterminding his ordeal.
How it started
Speaking, Abegunde said: “I came to the United States in 2014. I studied in a top rated university in Texas. I eventually earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration in 2016. I worked with a firm called Cock Automotive in Atlanta, Georgia. I worked there as an interim marketing manager.
After graduation, I founded an international money remittances, currencies exchange and remittances broking firm called LJ Williams. Our business was registered with the Central Bank of Nigeria, though it was a tedious process. We were also licensed and registered by the Chartered Department of Banking and Finance and also the Central Bank of Canada. Getting these licences also required a rigorous process.
Fulfilling the requirement was tedious, rigorous and requires FBI background check. I was running this legitimate company until problem started.
“In August 2016, I offered assistance to a longtime friend who was in the US for holidays with his family. My home address and telephone line was used for a bank account they opened with Wells Fargo Bank. Months after they had concluded their bank transaction and returned to Nigeria, the FBI tracked me down and charged me for money laundering. The court relied on fabricated evidence by the FBI to convict me.”
Ordeal in Prison
Five months after his ordeal was published by Encounter, Abegunde is now crying out for urgent help saying that rather than review his case, the US Government has further subjected him to more inhumane treatment in prison. Abegunde told Encounter that since his public outcry, the Nigerian Government has not reached out to him or offered him any assistance for review of his case.
Lamenting his deteriorating health condition, Abegunde said that he was recently moved from a Low Security Prison to Medium Security Prison in California where he shares a cell with an alleged mentally deranged paranoid schizophrenic and kept mostly in solitary confinement. He claimed that the terrible condition in the Medium Security Prison has adversely affected his health and mental state and pleaded for immediate intervention by the Nigerian Government.
Abegunde further claimed that his movement to the Medium Security facility in Mendota, California is against the US Federal Bureau of Prisons, BOP, rules for foreign nationals and all his efforts to seek explanation for his prison transfer has not yielded any result.
“While I had grievances at my prior places of incarceration, all low security facilities, these locations are paradise compared to the hell-like conditions of FCI Mendota. I cannot rule out the possibility that my transfer to a medium security facility is related to my speaking out against the injustices meted to me by the US Criminal Justice System.
Solitary confinement
“The draconian measures that have been meted on me since my unexplained transfer to FCI Mendota include, but not limited to; deprivation from access to prescribed medication and unavailable medical care, arbitrary 25-Day lockdown where I suffered draconian, and highly unusual treatment without committing any offence, poor quality and substantially insufficient food, no provision of inmate hygiene supplies upon arriving at FCI Mendota and there is unprofessional, contemptuous, condescending, and general indifference to inmates by FCI Mendota personnel.”
He also stated in a message he sent to Encounter through his contact in the US that he is placed in the cell with a mentally deranged paranoid schizophrenic and arbitrarily placing him in the Special Housing Unit (SHU) under solitary confinement for no justifiable reason, all because he spoke out and raised his voice for being unjustly imprisoned and psychologically tortured.
Appeal
“I am using this medium to appeal especially to the Nigerian Government, President Buhari; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Godfrey Onyeema; the Head of the Nigeria Diaspora Commission; senators and elected members of the Nigerian House of Representatives, to intervene on my behalf regarding the current draconian and ruthlessly inhumane conditions of my incarceration in particular, and my wrongful conviction and unjust incarceration in general.
“My appeal mainly is for the Nigerian Government to use all its resources and capabilities to diplomatically demand answers from the U.S authorities regarding my situation. As we have seen with the case of Brittney Grinner, a U.S WNBA basketball star, who allegedly possessed illegal substances on a trip to Russia, and was arrested by Russian authorities, when U.S. citizens are detained abroad, the U.S Government usually steps in to seek relief for its citizens. As a matter of fact, the U.S. State Department recently declared that Brittney Grinner was wrongfully detained.
“In my case, according to all the existing evidence in the public domain, there is absolutely no doubt that I was wrongfully convicted and subsequently incarcerated. As such, there is no reason why I should have to suffer this draconian treatment. As a matter of fact, no one should have to suffer what I am currently suffering in particular, and what I have suffered since February 7, 2018, the date of my wrongful arrest and detention.
“I am also calling on the good people of Nigeria, Civil Society groups, and the media in Nigeria to put pressure on the Nigerian Government to do something. I also urge you to demand answers from the U.S Ambassador to Nigeria.
“To the Nigerian people, I plead with you to utilise their social media handles to pressure Nigerian elected and non-elected officials, as well as the U.S Ambassador to Nigeria to intervene.“
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.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of a US deal with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, while calling on Tehran to surrender.
Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News journalist Trey Yingst, amid ongoing talks between Oman and Iran over future maritime navigation arrangements through the strategic waterway.
“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Trump said, referring to the discussions between Oman and Iran as Washington pursues its own negotiations.
Iranian and Omani officials have been holding talks for weeks, with Iran’s Foreign Ministry saying Monday that both sides were working towards a joint declaration on the strait.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the Strait of Hormuz is under US control, despite Iran maintaining an effective blockade that has severely restricted maritime traffic.
On Friday, Trump said he could even declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory, prompting Iran to insist that the strategic waterway “will remain Iranian.”
Trump also called on Iran to “put up the white flag of surrender,” according to Yingst.
The Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran to the north and Oman to the south, was previously regarded as an open international waterway and carries a significant share of global energy shipments.
AFP
There has been no known deployment of US ground forces in Iran during the Middle East war, with the exception of a rescue mission in April for a downed American pilot.
Hatami did not provide any details on where or when the killing or capturing of US soldiers was expected to take place.
“Anyone who kills or captures and hands over an invading American military personnel will receive a reward equivalent to $30,000 or 5 billion tomans from the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Army,” Hatami said, using an informal unit equivalent to 10,000 Iranian rials.
The war between Tehran and Washington began on February 28 after the United States, joined by Israel, attacked Iran. It was followed by an April ceasefire after nearly 40 days of fighting, and a June framework for peace talks that later collapsed.
Iran and the United States have since traded fire sporadically, with fighting mainly centred in southern Iran and around the Strait of Hormuz.
AFP
The family of Philip Ifeanyi Elobuike, an indigene of Eziama Village, Ebe, in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, has appealed to the public for assistance in locating him after his photograph surfaced on social media following nearly two years without contact.
Elobuike first travelled to the United States around 2004 and initially settled in the Los Angeles area of California. He later moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, before relocating to Dallas, Texas.
According to his family, Elobuike remained in contact with his relatives in Nigeria until around 2024, when communication with him suddenly stopped. Before losing contact, he was active on social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.
His family had continued searching for him, and on August 11, 2026, they were relieved when his photograph surfaced on social media. The picture provided them with at least some reassurance that he was alive.
Elobuike Philip
However, contrary to reports circulating in some media outlets and on social media, Elobuike has not been reunited with his family or located by his kinsmen in the United States.
His relatives and members of the Nigerian community reportedly spent the entire day on August 12 searching for him in different parts of Dallas but were unable to locate him.
The family is therefore appealing to members of the public, particularly Nigerians and other individuals in the Dallas area, to assist in locating Elobuike and ensuring that he is safely reunited with his family.
The family also urged people to disregard reports claiming that he has already been found and reunited with his relatives, describing such reports as inaccurate.
Anyone who has information about Elobuike’s whereabouts or comes across him is urged to contact any of the following:
Dr. Fred Ngwu: (214) 418-8145
Moses Onyejekwe: (213) 479-2340
Law Okolo: (646) 302-2597
The family expressed appreciation to everyone who has shared his photograph and appealed for continued circulation of the information until he is successfully located.
No fewer than 205 Nigerians were deported from Canada in June 2026 as Canadian authorities intensified enforcement of the country’s immigration laws, according to official figures released by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
Immigration removal statistics published by the CBSA showed that 10,607 individuals were removed from Canada during the month, with Nigerians ranking among the top 10 nationalities affected by the exercise.
The figures indicate that Nigerians accounted for nearly two per cent of all removals carried out in June.
India recorded the highest number of deportations, with 3,323 nationals removed, followed by Mexico with 1,573. The United States accounted for 372 deportees, while Colombia and Romania recorded 354 and 293 removals respectively.
Other countries with significant numbers of nationals deported included Bangladesh, with 227, and Pakistan, with 207.
Explaining the rationale behind the removals, the CBSA said enforcing immigration laws was critical to protecting the integrity of Canada’s immigration system.
“Removing individuals who do not have the right to enter or stay in Canada is essential to maintaining the integrity of Canada’s immigration program and to ensuring fairness for those who come to this country lawfully,” the agency stated.
The latest figures underscore Canada’s continued enforcement against individuals found to have no legal right to remain in the country, as authorities seek to ensure compliance with the nation’s immigration laws.
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