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EFCC arrests 38 internet fraudsters in Lagos raid

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Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 have arrested 38 individuals suspected of internet fraud.

According to a Facebook post by EFCC and cited by PUNCH Online on Friday, the arrests took place at Mambillah Hotel on Omodisu Street, Ikorodu, Lagos, based on reliable intelligence and extensive surveillance targeting alleged cybercrime activities in the area.

Authorities recovered various items from the suspects, including vehicles, mobile phones, and a combination of psychoactive and controlled substances.

The suspects are set to face court proceedings once investigations are finalised.

In another development, two brothers, Teddy Ovbokhan Hart and Rooney Odion Hart, and 10 others were on Thursday, convicted and sentenced to jail by Justice M. Itsueli of Edo State High Court, sitting in Benin City, for fraud.

The 10 other convicts are: Thompson Ogbeide, Iria Saturday Blessed, Igbinomwania Lucky Godspower, Ojiezele Felix, Akhigbe Gideon, Osazuwa Oghomwen, Agbonifo Iziegbe, Lucky Osagie, Osemwegie Efosa Michael, and Victor Ojeisemi.

They were prosecuted by the Benin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC on separate one-count charge, bordering on advance fee fraud, obtaining by false pretence, retention of proceeds of crime, and possession of fraudulent documents.

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Crime

EFCC arraigns woman over ₦240.5m fraud in Abuja

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arraigned Ene Queen Bamaiyi before Justice A.A. Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Apo, Abuja, for allegedly diverting ₦124 million out of ₦240.5 million entrusted to her for foreign exchange conversion.

In a statement shared on its official X handle on Thursday, the Commission said Bamaiyi was arraigned on October 2, 2025, on a one-count charge of criminal breach of trust.

According to the EFCC, Bamaiyi was entrusted with ₦240.5 million by one Bright Okubo for dollar exchange but allegedly “dishonestly converted ₦124,000,000 to her personal use, in violation of the purpose for which the money was entrusted to her.”

The charge reads in part, “That you, Ene Queen Bamayi (female), sometime in May 2024, in Abuja, while being entrusted with the sum of ₦240,500,000 by one Bright Okubo for conversion at dollar equivalent, did dishonestly convert ₦124,000,000 out of the said sum to your personal use, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 311 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 312 of the same Code.”

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Prosecution counsel, Joshua Saidi, informed the court of plans to call five witnesses to prove the case and requested a trial date. Defence counsel, M.A. Attah, SAN, applied for bail on liberal terms, citing Bamaiyi’s status as a single mother of a two-year-old child.

Justice Halilu granted the defendant bail for ₦30 million with two sureties in like sum, who must not be below Grade Level 14 in the civil service. He also ordered the deposit of her passport with the EFCC and remanded her at the Suleja Correctional Centre pending the fulfilment of bail conditions.

The case was adjourned to December 2 and 3, 2025, for trial.

Meanwhile, the EFCC had arrested 92 suspected internet fraudsters in Edo State.

In a statement posted on Wednesday via its X handle, the Commission said operatives of its Benin Zonal Directorate carried out a sting operation on Monday, September 29, 2025, at various locations within Benin City, following credible intelligence linking the suspects to computer-related crimes.

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Stray bullet kills Osun graduate after NYSC call-up

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A fresh graduate of the Osun State College of Technology, Esa-Oke, simply identified as Taoreed, has been confirmed dead after he was struck by a stray bullet during a clash between rival cult groups in the community.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the incident occurred on Tuesday, September 23, shortly after he had collected his National Youth Service Corps call-up letter from the institution.

It was gathered that pandemonium first broke out around the school premises on Monday, September 22, when gunshots rang out while some final-year students were holding their signing-out celebrations.

A student of the school, who spoke with our correspondent on Thursday but preferred not to be mentioned, said a final-year student was killed in the process by suspected cultists.

He said, “We were signing out after our exams in the afternoon when we suddenly started hearing gunshots outside the school premises. Everyone ran for cover. It was later that we discovered that a final-year student had been killed by cultists. It was a terrible situation.”

In a video sighted by our correspondent on Thursday, students could be seen scampering for safety at the school gate.

The student recalled that a similar incident happened early last year, adding that gunshots were heard around the school premises during one of their sign-out celebrations.

A police source, however, disclosed that Taoreed’s death occurred the following day, during a reprisal along the Ilesa–Esa-Oke Road.

According to the source, Taoreed had visited the school on Tuesday to collect his NYSC call-up letter and was waiting at the roadside to board a bus home when gunmen suddenly opened fire.

“What happened was a reprisal after the final-year student was killed on Monday. The cultists had targeted their rivals in the area where Taoreed was trying to board a bus. They started shooting, and one of the stray bullets hit him. When he heard the gunshots, he ran for safety without realising he had been hit. He was later found in a nearby bush, where he crawled to but was unresponsive.”

It was further gathered that his call-up letter was found inside a black cross bag he was carrying at the time of the incident.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abiodun Abiodun Ojelabi, confirmed the incident.

He described the incident as a cult clash while noting that two people were killed.

“It was a cult clash. Two students were killed. One died on the spot, and the other died in the hospital. Efforts are ongoing to arrest the perpetrators,” he disclosed.

Over the years, rivalry between confraternities has left several students dead, especially in communities where tertiary institutions are situated. The killings are often linked to supremacy battles, reprisals, or attempts to recruit undergraduates into their groups.

PUNCH Metro reported in June that a yet-to-be-identified male adult was feared dead in a violent clash involving some people believed to be members of rival cult groups in Osun State Polytechnic, Iree.

Multiple reliable sources among students of the polytechnic, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said the clash involved members of Eiye and Aye confraternities.

They also said four other people were injured in the clash that occurred just outside the main gate of the institution.

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Crime

PHOTOS: EFCC recovers multi-million Naira properties from manager accused of N500m criminal diversion

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Operatives of the Kaduna Zonal directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested one Abdulazeez Gbadebo, the station manager of Emadeb Energy Service Limited for alleged criminal breach of trust and diversion of funds to the tune of N500 million.

According to a statement posted on its social media handle, the EFCC said Gbadebo’s arrest followed a petition alleging that it discovered through external audit that the suspect illegally diverted and sold bulk petrol to customers by manipulating the pump meters and diverting N500 million that accrued from the fraud to his personal bank account.

The EFCC said the investigations carried out by the Commission revealed that the suspect sold bulk petrol and diesel to different individuals and received payments through his private bank accounts.

Items recovered from him include an ash-coloured Mercedes Benz, an ash-coloured mini cooper, a green-coloured mini cooper, an ash-coloured mini cooper and a white Mercedes Benz GLK. Others were one original authorisation letter from Kaduna Geographical Information System (KADGIS), a certificate of occupancy with file number, KDL 328159, one three bedroom fully detached bungalow and three landed properties.

The EFCC added that the suspect will be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded.

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