Tag: efcc

The EFCC has arraigned Modupe Oriyomi Ativie over alleged visa fraud.

The charges involve N31.06 million, $3,600 and €1,815.

Ativie appeared before Justice A.T. Muhammed of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

She faces five counts of visa fraud, advance fee fraud and obtaining money under false pretences.

The charges say she and her company, Eudora and Aegle Management Consulting Limited, collected money from victims by promising Canadian visa sponsored jobs.

Another says they took N22.48 million from Augustine Olague between November 21, 2024 and January 23, 2025.

She has pleaded not guilty.

The prosecution asked for a trial date and for her to be held at the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre.

Her lawyer, J. Kehinde, asked for bail so she could prepare for trial.

The case began with a petition from Michael. He says Owhonda introduced him to the company in June 2024.

He paid $5,800 into the company account and then N8.58 million into another account linked to Ativie.

He says she stopped answering calls after the payments.

The EFCC says it found she received N31.06 million from him, plus $3,600 and €1,815 from other alleged victims.

The Akwa Ibom State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has announced plans to file a ₦1 billion lawsuit against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following what it described as a violent and unprovoked assault on one of its members during a raid at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH).

The association said the decision to pursue legal action was reached at an emergency meeting convened in response to the incident, which allegedly caused physical, emotional, professional, and institutional harm to those involved.

The EFCC had visited the hospital in connection with a fraud investigation, stating that its operatives went to verify a medical report submitted by a suspect and later approached the Chief Medical Director for further enquiries after facing resistance.

The commission maintained that its team eventually left without disrupting hospital operations.

However, the NMA told a different story. Speaking at a press conference in Uyo, state NMA Chairman Professor Aniekan Peter alleged that masked EFCC operatives physically attacked Professor Eyo Ekpe, a cardiothoracic surgeon, within the hospital premises beating him to the point of bleeding and handcuffing him along with other doctors and staff who tried to intervene.

Professor Peter himself was allegedly shoved and exposed to tear gas when he approached the scene to seek clarification from the operatives.

The association condemned the operation in the strongest terms, describing it as barbaric, degrading, and a gross violation of the sanctity of the hospital environment.

It noted that neither Professor Ekpe nor the NMA leadership had received any prior formal invitation before the raid took place.

Beyond the lawsuit, the NMA issued a set of demands, including a formal apology to the affected doctors and the identification and prosecution of those responsible for the assault.

The association also declared that its members would not return to work until these demands were met, and went further to announce that medical services would be withheld from EFCC officials and their family members until the matter is resolved.

The public has been warned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) about the growing number of criminal individuals posing as Commission personnel under various false pretenses.

According to a statement made by the Commission’s head of media and publicity, Dele Oyewale, intelligence that the Commission has access to shows that criminals are using a number of dishonest tactics to damage the EFCC’s reputation.

It also warns the public about a group of scammers that are currently operating near well-known restaurants or entertainment venues in large cities. Their strategy is to ambush young people leaving these establishments, harass them based on false suspicions that they are online scammers, and take their valuables.

By donning phony clothes and transporting their victims to places that seem to resemble EFCC offices, these imposters typically assume the identities of real EFCC personnel.

While other online impersonators and fraudulent content creators dramatize fictitious EFCC sting operations with evidence of broken doors, windows, and forced entry into their premises, the statement also warns of a gang of criminals harassing innocent drivers based on the identities of their license plates and using dangerous weapons to force their victims to offer them money on false accusations.

As a result, the Commission advised the public to exercise caution when assessing the claims made by these imposters because it follows regular operating protocols for all of its operations.

Even if the commission is working to eradicate financial and economic crimes from the country, well-intentioned Nigerians shouldn’t let these impersonators’ actions cloud their perception of the Commission’s efforts.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared a 40-year-old Chinese national, Peiyuan Niu, wanted for his alleged role in a fraud case.

The commission made this known in a notice shared on its official X handle on Tuesday, stating that Niu is being sought in connection with an alleged case of obtaining money by false pretense.

According to the EFCC, the suspect’s last known address is 111, Kudirat Abiola Way, Oregun, Lagos State.

In the notice signed by EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, the commission called on members of the public to assist with useful information that could lead to the suspect’s arrest.

“The public is hereby notified that Peiyuan Niu, whose photograph appears above, is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in an alleged case of obtaining money by false pretence,” the notice read.

The commission urged anyone with information about the suspect’s whereabouts to contact its offices across the country, including those in Ibadan, Uyo, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Benin, Makurdi, Kaduna, Ilorin, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Gombe, Port Harcourt, or Abuja.

The EFCC also asked the public to reach the agency through 08093322644, or report to the nearest police station or other security agencies.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned two officials of FSDH Merchant Bank Limited over an alleged fraud totaling $306,667.81 and €50,250.

This was disclosed in a statement posted on the official page of the Commission.

In the statement, the defendants, Bakare Oladimeji Surajudeen and James Olukayode Imokwede, were on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, brought before Justice Ismaila Ijelu of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja.

According to the EFCC, the defendants were arraigned on a 10-count charge bordering on alleged stealing and retention of stolen property belonging to FSDH Merchant Bank Limited.

The anti-graft agency stated that, “the petitioner, FSDH Merchant Bank Limited, alleged that an internal audit uncovered unauthorized debits totaling $306,667.81 and €50,250, equivalent to N527,406,916.66 five hundred and twenty-seven Million, four hundred and six thousand, nine hundred and sixteen naira, sixty six kobo.”

Investigations, the Commission said, showed that the transfers were allegedly processed through the SWIFT platform to third parties.

One of the charges read in court alleged that the defendants “dishonestly took the sum of N527,406,916.66, property of FSDH Merchant Bank Limited.”

The defendants pleaded not guilty to all the charges; following their plea, prosecution counsel, H. U. Kofarnaisa, asked the court for a trial date and requested that the defendants be remanded in a correctional facility pending trial.

Counsel to the defendants, Oluwaseun Akintunde and Olajide S. Onasanya, informed the court that bail applications had been filed and urged the court to grant bail on liberal terms.

The statement further noted that after listening to both parties, Justice Ijelu granted each defendant bail in the sum of N2 million with two sureties in like sum.

The court directed that one surety must be a gainfully employed relative and must provide evidence of tax payment for the last three years alongside proof of livelihood.

The defendants were ordered to deposit their international passports with the court and were barred from travelling outside the country without the court’s permission.

They were subsequently remanded in a correctional facility pending the perfection of their bail conditions.

The matter was adjourned till March 25, 2026, for the commencement of trial.