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PHOTOS: Nigerian man sentenced to 90 months imprisonment in US for fraud and money laundering

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A Nigerian national, James Junior Aliyu, has been sentenced to 90 months in prison in the United States for his role in a large-scale wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.

Aliyu, who was arrested and extradited from South Africa to the United States, is the last of three defendants to plead guilty to his role in a business email compromise (BEC) scheme.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the sentence in a statement on Saturday, March 21, 2026.

In addition to his jail term, the court ordered him to forfeit $1.2 million and pay $2.4 million in restitution to victims affected by the fraud.

ICE further disclosed that Aliyu will be deported from the United State upon completion of his prison sentence.

“James Junior Aliyu, a Nigerian national, will serve a 90-month sentence for his role in a wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy after planning to hack business email servers,” the statement read.

“Aliyu was extradited from South Africa to face justice.

“He was slapped with a $1.2M forfeiture order and a $2.4M restitution order and will be removed from the United States when he completes his sentence.

“ICE Homeland Security Investigations special agents in Maryland and South Africa offices were proud to be part of the international team that investigated this case.”

It was reported that Aliyu, who was residing in South Africa at the time of his criminal conduct, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.

Eight other defendants previously pleaded guilty in the District of Maryland in separate cases related to the same conspiracy.

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On June 24, 2019, a federal grand jury returned an indictment, charging Aliyu, Kosi Goodness Simon-Ebo, 30, and Henry Onyedikachi Echefu, 31, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.

All three are Nigerian citizens who resided in South Africa at the time of the crimes.

Federal authorities unsealed the indictment on July 6, 2022, upon the defendants’ arrests outside of the U.S.

All three were extradited to the United States from outside the country to face their federal charges.

According to his plea agreement, from February 2017 until at least July 2017, Aliyu conspired with others to perpetrate a BEC scheme.

Specifically, Aliyu and his co-conspirators, including co-conspirators residing in Maryland, gained unauthorized access to email accounts associated with individuals and businesses that they targeted.

The co-conspirators sent false wiring instructions to the victims’ email accounts from “spoofed” emails — accounts associated with forged sender addresses — to deceive the victims into sending money to bank accounts controlled by the scheme’s perpetrators, which are called “drop accounts.”

Additionally, during the same timeframe, Aliyu and his co-conspirators plotted to commit money laundering.

They conspired to disburse the fraudulently obtained funds into the drop accounts and to other accounts by initiating account transfers, withdrawing cash, obtaining cashier’s checks, and writing checks to other individuals and entities to hide the true ownership and source of the assets.

As detailed in the plea agreement, the intended loss for transactions Aliyu was directly involved in was at least $4,162,211.65.

The actual loss resulting from these transactions was at least $1,570,475.

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Aliyu directly controlled at least $1,194,565 of the funds they obtained from victims.

According to the plea agreement, Aliyu is required to pay a money judgment of at least $1,194,565, and restitution in the full amount of the victims’ losses, which the parties agree is at least $2,389,130.

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Crime

EFCC busts Chinese-linked illegal refinery in Ogun

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has uncovered an illegal oil refinery allegedly operated by Chinese nationals in the Ogere area of Ogun State.

The commission said the facility was discovered on Saturday, October 31, 2026, by operatives of its Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 following intelligence and surveillance on the activities of illegal sludge oil refiners.

The EFCC disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday by its Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale.

Oyewale said the facility was deserted when operatives stormed the premises, following an earlier crackdown on four illegal lithium processing plants in the area.

However, he said operatives discovered waste products from the refining process and underground tanks suspected to have been used for heating and processing sludge oil.

The statement read, “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission uncovered an illegal oil refinery operated by Chinese in the Ogere area of Ogun State.

“The operation, conducted on Saturday, October 31, 2026, by operatives of the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the EFCC, followed credible intelligence and surveillance by the commission on the activities of the illegal sludge oil refiners.

“The refinery was found deserted when EFCC operatives stormed the premises, following the commission’s earlier clampdown on four illegal lithium processing plants in the area. However, waste products from the refining process were discovered at the location.”

Oyewale said during the raid, underground tanks believed to have been used for heating and processing the sludge oil were also discovered.

“Two of the underground tanks inspected contained substances suspected to be Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), otherwise known as diesel.

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“Preliminary investigations revealed that the operators sourced sludge oil, also known as black sludge, from Warri, Delta State, and Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and transported it to the illegal facility in Ogere for processing,” Oyewale added.

He said the operators subjected the sludge oil to intense heat, allowing lighter petroleum components to pass through chambers and filters in a process believed to produce diesel for sale in the Nigerian market.

“Personnel at the facility told EFCC operatives that the Chinese operators never disclosed their identities nor the name of the company behind the facility.

“Consequently, operatives of the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the EFCC have since taken over the premises as investigations continue to establish the identities of the operators, the ownership of the facility and the full extent of the suspected illegal activities and economic sabotage,” he added.

Source: punchng.com

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Crime

Oyo boxer, KBlaq stabbed to death during street fight

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An amateur boxer identified simply as Kehinde and popularly known as KBlaq has been stabbed to death during a street fight at Olodo Garage in Ibadan, Oyo State.

PUNCH Metro learnt on Monday that the incident occurred on Sunday, sparking outrage among social media users, who called for justice for the deceased.

According to accounts circulating online, the deceased was not initially involved in the fight, while the suspect allegedly appeared after the confrontation had ended and stabbed him in the neck with a broken bottle.

Kehinde, who was described by acquaintances as a boxer, reportedly succumbed to his injuries.

Several social media users expressed shock over the killing, with some claiming that the suspect was not among those involved in the initial fight.

An X user, @MVKAY2, wrote, “The person who stabbed him was not even involved in the fight, and they had stopped fighting already. Just one of those vile men wey the matter no concern came from nowhere and stabbed him.

“Before una start dropping different narratives, I wish he was with Z second. I wish he was never there.”

Another user, @omononaolapo, wrote, “Funny enough, this guy that stabbed him was not even among those that they were fighting.”

Similarly, @Tunde, who described the deceased as his brother, wrote, “Na my brother o. Ajeh. Olodo bike men can be very mean sometimes, and they were all there watching them fight.”

Another user, @Fela, added, “This was why I made this tweet earlier today. This boxer is my younger brother’s friend. I got to church yesterday and my brother told me someone killed his friend. I was shocked when he told me.”

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Also, @Pelumifundz, who described Kehinde as the younger brother of a friend, wrote, “This guy is a twin and my friend’s junior brother. He’s so gentle and doesn’t cause trouble. I would really love to know what happened that made the bikeman stab him in the neck. Anyways, rest in peace, Kenny. I know you won’t go without having justice. We will definitely get it for you.”

Confirming the incident on Monday, the spokesperson for the Oyo State Police Command, Olayinka Ayanlade, told our correspondent during a telephone interview that an investigation was ongoing.

Source: punchng.com

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Crime

Terrorists abduct 14 Islamic school students in Niger

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Suspected terrorists have abducted 14 students in a Niger State Islamic school.

The incident reportedly happened on Saturday in Pandogari in Rafi Local Government Area.

The PUNCH learnt that the students were abducted while harvesting maize in their teacher’s farm when the terrorists invaded the farm.

The teacher was also reportedly kidnapped during the incident.

The spokesman of the Niger State police command, Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the incident on Monday, saying that the number of abducted students was 14 and not 50 as reported.

He also said a joint security mission was on a rescue mission, assuring that the abducted students would be rescued.

“On 31/10/2026 at about 12.30 pm, suspected bandits invaded Tungan-Bako village via Rafi LGA and abducted some persons working on the farm.

“The report further indicated that the abducted victims were about 14 students of an Islamiya helping their Mallam to harvest maize on the farm before the incident.

“However, joint security rescue efforts are ongoing; further developments will be communicated,” he said.

Meanwhile, the spokesman of the Social Democratic Party governorship candidate, Jonathan Vatsa, speaking on the incident, condemned Governor Mohammed Bago over his handling of the security situation in the state.

He lamented that the governor was busy with electioneering and had failed to protect lives and property.

“The security agencies in the state lack operational vehicles and other necessary equipment to confront the situation.

“The government is only there to issue statements either condemning every attack or condole with the people over the death of their loved ones without any cogent step to address the situation,” Vatsa said.

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Source: punchng.com

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