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Acquitted Lagos doctor, Olufemi Olaleye, remanded in UK for recording sexual acts

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A former medical director at the Optimal Cancer Care Foundation in Lagos, Dr Olufemi Olaleye, has been remanded in custody in the United Kingdom over allegations of sexual offences.

He was brought before the Medway Magistrates’ Court on Friday, which ordered his remand till January 2, 2026.

Saturday PUNCH gathered that the 57-year-old was arrested at the Gatwick Airport, London, on Thursday, November 27, upon arriving in the UK from Nigeria.

He was immediately taken into custody by the North Kent Police Station for questioning.

Olaleye, a British citizen, worked in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Darent Valley Hospital under the Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust from January 2005 to September 2008.

It was around this time that the alleged sexual incidents involving several women happened.

Kent Police, which confirmed his arrest to our correspondent on Tuesday, said three charges of voyeurism were filed against the suspect.

The Police Press Officer, Charles Harman, while responding to enquiries from Saturday PUNCH via email, said, “Kent Police was made aware of a man suspected of offences returning to the UK from Nigeria via Gatwick airport on Thursday, 27 November 2025. Officers attended the terminal and a man was arrested. Francis Olaleye, 57, from Plumstead Common Road, Plumstead, London, was later charged with three counts of voyeurism. He denied all charges at Medway Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, November 29, and has been remanded in custody until his next hearing on Friday, December 5.”

Francis Olaleye?

After the police identified the suspect with the name “Francis”, Saturday PUNCH dug into Olaleye’s social media profiles to avoid a case of mistaken identity.

Findings by our correspondent showed that the medical doctor may have changed his name a few times.

On Company House, he was identified as “Frank Olufemi Olaleye”.

But when he registered as a director at Wish for Africa, a charity organisation he formed in October 2007 and dissolved in 2010, he identified as “Frank Olaleye”.

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In his certificate of incorporation, he claimed “Olufemi” was his previous surname.

On LinkedIn and Instagram, however, he identified as “Dr Femi Olaleye”.

In cover photos of books he authored, which he shared on Instagram, he identified as “Olufemi Olaleye”.

It is not clear when he added “Francis” to his name.

However, Saturday PUNCH can confirm that Frank, Femi, Olufemi, Francis are all the same person who worked as a medical doctor in Dartford and was director at Wish for Africa.

There also appears to be a discrepancy in his age.

While his record with Company House showed he was born August 1968 (57), on Instagram, Olaleye in August  2025 told his followers he was ready to give 58 of his books out to mark his 58th birthday.

Voyeurism

A support officer from the Courts and Tribunals Service Centre, Matt J, while responding to Saturday PUNCH via email, gave more details of the charges against Olaleye — three counts of voyeurism—recording a private act—punishable under the Sexual Offences Act of 2003.

The charges state, “Between 01/05/2004 and 31/07/2007 at Dartford in the county of Kent recorded another person doing a private act with the intention that you would, for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification, look at an image of that other person doing the act, knowing that the other person did not consent to your recording the act with that intention.”

Voyeurism, according to the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, is the practice of getting pleasure by secretly watching people who are wearing no clothes or having sex.

In the UK, it is illegal to secretly watch, film, or photograph someone expecting privacy—such as when naked, using the toilet, or having sex—without their consent.

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Findings by our correspondent showed that while the defendant was in the UK at the time, he allegedly filmed sexual acts with some women.

Saturday PUNCH gathered that among them was a married woman whose explicit video was seen by her husband, leading to the dissolution of her marriage.

The victim is among the three police witnesses.

Morademu S.O., of the Courts and Tribunals Service Centre, said when the matter came up for hearing on Friday, Olaleye was ordered to be remanded till January 2, 2026 when the remand would be reviewed.

In an email exchange with Saturday PUNCH, she said the court heard that the defendant could re-offend, posed a flight risk and could abscond.

The matter was adjourned for hearing till January 21 at 10am in Courtroom 01, Maidstone Magistrates’ Court.

Olaleye’s legal troubles in Nigeria

Olaleye’s arrest in the UK in November 2025 follows a high-profile sexual offence case in Lagos.

He was arraigned on November 30, 2022, before the Lagos State Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on two counts of defilement of a child and sexual assault by penetration involving his wife’s niece.

The allegations spanned March 2020 to November 2021, when the survivor was reported to be 15 to 16.

His estranged wife, Aderemi Olaleye, testified as the first prosecution witness.

She told the court that the survivor lived with them from November 2019 and confessed in November 2021 that Olaleye had been sexually abusing her.

Aderemi recounted that the abuse began with introducing the girl to pornography, progressing to fingering, oral sex, and penetration, often in areas of the home without CCTV cameras, typically around 2am.

She alleged Olaleye drugged her with substances like junior aspirin and Phenergan on nights he wanted to abuse the niece, and that the family driver once saw the girl vomiting sperm.

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Aderemi reported the matter to the police in March 2022 after the survivor confided in a relative.

Medical evidence from the Mirabel Centre showed the girl had bruises and cuts in her private parts.

On October 24, 2023, Justice Rahman Oshodi convicted Olaleye on both counts and sentenced him to life imprisonment, describing him as a “dangerous offender” with no remorse.

However, Olaleye appealed the conviction.

On November 29, 2024, the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal nullified the conviction, discharged, and acquitted him.

The appellate court, led by Justice Olukayode Bada, overturned Oshodi’s judgement, citing tainted testimony, lack of credible evidence, and critical errors in the trial court’s proceedings.

It ruled that the prosecution evidence was unreliable, particularly describing Aderemi as a “tainted witness” motivated by greed to seize Olaleye’s assets.

The court cited instances where she allegedly changed car ownership, manipulated bank signatures, and pressured him to transfer house ownership while he was in custody.

It also noted inconsistencies in testimonies and that the trial judge improperly interfered by descending into the arena.

The Lagos State Government appealed to the Supreme Court on December 27, 2024, seeking to reverse the acquittal and restore the conviction.

But after the appeal court ruling, Olaleye left Nigeria.

Posts on his social media showed he visited different countries, including the United States, United Arab Emirates, Italy and authored four books on his trial, where he claimed to be a survivor.

He also granted press interviews published in many national newspapers, which he posted on his Instagram.

He was going to London when he was arrested at the Gatwick Airport.

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Crime

Court affirms final forfeiture of $13m traced to Aisha Achimugu to Nigerian Govt

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Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed the final forfeiture to the Federal Government, the sum of $13 million linked to a Lagos socialite, Ms Aisha Achimugu and her Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd.

In a judgment on Wednesday, Justice Nwite held that the foreign currency has been well established by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to be proceeds of fraud and unlawful activities.

Delivering judgment in a suit instituted by
Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd to claim the fund, the judge held that the company failed woefully to establish how it came about the money.

On the contrary, Justice Nwite said the EFCC satisfied all requirements for the fund to be classified as proceeds of fraud and to be forfeited to the appropriate authority.

The judge dismissed the claims that the
$13 million was gifts received by Oceangate Engineering Company through Aisha Achimugu, adding that the said Aisha Achimugu never came to the court to show cause on why the huge fund should not be forfeited to the Federal Government.

Justice Nwite also noted that no single person who gave the monetary gift to Aisha Achimugu to the tune of $13 million was called to testify.

The judge held that the burden to establish genuine ownership of the money was not established by the applicant to counter the claims of the anti- graft agency that the money was proceeds of fraud based on its investigation.

According to the judge, Oceangate Engineering Company did not show the business it undertook that fetched it the money and did not also show whether any payment was made to it by any of its customers.

Justice Nwite had on 22 August 2025, granted the anti-graft agency’s ex-parte motion for an interim order forfeiting the sum of $13 million linked to Oceangate Ltd to the Federal Government over allegations that the fund was a proceed of unlawful activity.

The judge had then directed the Commission to publish the order in a national daily for interested person(s) to show cause within 14 days why the fund should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

EFCC investigator, Usman Aliyu, swore to an affidavit filed in support of the application, stating that the Commission received a credible intelligence report alleging that a company known as Oceangate Engineering Limited, without following due process, used funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity to acquire oil blocks from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC.

Aliyu said investigations revealed that Oceangate, a limited liability company, was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, on 25 February 2005 with number: RC 617736.

He said in 2024, Oceangate participated in an oil block licensing bid for deep offshore PPL302 and shallow water- PPL 3007.

He said upon completion of technical and commercial bid, NUPRC notified the company of its winning bidder status and the condition precedent to be fulfilled before issuance of a licence to the company.

Aliyu said it was discovered that the total financial obligations of Oceangate Ltd to the government before the issuance of the Petroleum Prospecting License (PPL) to the company was $37.2 million ($37, 223,144).

He said the company, through its Zenith Bank account number – 5074678281 – at different installments, transferred millions of dollars to the Federal Government, in tranches of $1.1 million, $1.1 million, $3.8 million, $1.2 million, $3.05 million, $2.1 million, and $500, 000.

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The investigator said that on 27 and 28 March 2025, Providus Bank Limited, acting for and on behalf of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited, transferred the total sum of $7 million to the Federal Government.

He said his team recovered the evidence of these transactions through Providus Bank Limited from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, through a letter dated June 24,02025.

He said the company between 20 March 2025 and 3 April 2025, paid the total sum of $20 million to the Federal Government for the acquisition of the PPL 302 and PPL 3007.

The officer alleged that to fulfil the requirements for payments of the signature bonuses for PPL 302 and PPL 3007, Oceangate conspired with some unlicensed Bureau de Change operators and bank officials to retain and transfer funds totalling $13 million which funds are reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.

The affidavit stated, “That one Suleiman Muhammed Chiroma was procured and aided by Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited to collect through his associates in cash and without going through a financial institution, both in Abuja and Lagos the total sum of $13,000,000.00.

“That whilst acting in concert with Oceangate Limited, Muhammed Chiroma engaged one Dantani Abubakar Hassan of Ashrab Energy and Oil Services Limited and one Tirmizi Muhammed Usman of Tripple A & Tee Oil Nigeria Limited, to collect the said $9 million in cash and without going through a financial Institution for the sole purpose of using same to pay for the signature bonuses of the two oil blocks allocated to Oceangate Oil and Gas Limited.”

Aliyu alleged that the company equally procured Chiroma, Tirmizi Usman and Dantani Hassan to receive funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities from different contractors with the Lagos State Government.

He said to receive and retain funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity from different contractors with Lagos State, Dantani Abubakar used his company, Ashrab Energy and Oil Services Limited, with account number 1229255048 domiciled in Zenith Bank Plc.

“That whilst still working in concert with Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited and Suleiman Chiroma, Dantani Abubakar used his company, Ashrab Energy and Oil Services Limited with account Number 1907084038 domiciled in Access Bank Plc to receive and retain the total sum of N855, 057, 560.00 from different contractors executing contracts for and on behalf of the Lagos State Government which sum reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity,” the investigator added.

He said the combined sum of N2, 455, 651, 560.00 received in both Zenith and Access Bank accounts of Ashrab Energy were converted to US dollars and subsequently transferred same to Oceangate’s Zenith Bank account for onward payment for the signature bonus of the two oil blocks – PPL 302 and PPL 3007 allocated to the company, among other averments.

Aliyu insisted that the $13 million used by Oceangate to pay for the Signature Bonuses in respect of PPL302 and PPL3007 were not proceeds of any lawful and legitimate business but rather represent funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.

According to him, part of the funds used by Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited to pay for the Signature bonuses in respect of PPL 302 & PPL 3007 was derived from the huge sum of money transferred by the Lagos State Government to the contractors for the execution of contracts for the benefit of the state.

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The investigator alleged that there were never any contractual or business relationships between Oceangate and the contractors who transferred the aforementioned public funds to the account of the company.

He said the contractors, who transferred the aforementioned public funds to Oceangate, were neither investors, directors, nor shareholders in Oceangate.

But Oceangate, in its affidavit to show cause sworn by one of the company’s directors, Iliya Wakil, said it came to his knowledge that the court made an order of interim forfeiture of the company’s $13 million used to pay for the signature bonuses of Deep Offshore PPL 302 and Shallow Water PPL 3007 between 20 March 2025 and 3 April 2025.

The company official prayed the court not to make the order of final forfeiture of the funds because all the funds were derived partly from legitimate earnings of the company and partly gifts given to the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Aisha Achimugu.

He maintained that the company did not conspire with any unregistered BDC operators and bank officials to retain and transfer the sum or any sum of money whatsoever which had anything to do with unlawful activity.

He argued that Suleiman Chiroma referred to by the EFCC in its application for interim forfeiture is a licensed BDC agent engaged lawfully by the company to help it source the US dollars needed by the company to settle the signature bonuses of PPL 302 and PPL 3007 oil blocks respectively as same was required to be paid in dollars by the Nigerian government.

He stated that Chiroma acted fully independently and without any form of control by Oceangate Limited.

The director said the company did not know Dantani Hassan or the company known as Ashrab Energy and Oil Services Limited.

Besides, he said Oceangate did not know one Tirmizi Usman and Tripple A & Tee Oil Nigeria Limited, adding that the company had never met, dealt with or transacted with any of the persons mentioned in paragraphs 15 and 16 of the EFCC’s affidavit in any manner and for any reason whatsoever.

He said Oceangate only relied fully and depended on the avowed expertise of
Mr Chiroma, a licensed BDC agent and believed that he followed the due process to source all the funds remitted to the company for the purpose of settling the signature bonuses as stated.

He said the entire naira swapped for the dollars came from legitimate sources, attaching the audited accounts of the company as exhibits.

Oceangate, in its motion on notice filed with the affidavit to show cause, sought an order setting aside the order of interim forfeiture of the $13 million which it claimed belong to it.

The company argued that the order was made by the court without requisite jurisdiction and against the principle of fair hearing.

But EFCC, in its reply to the affidavit to show cause filed by Oceangate, prayed the court to dismiss the application.

Aliyu, who also swore the affidavit on behalf of the commission, said the commission found that Iliya Wakil, who swore Oceangate’s affidavit to show cause, was a mere nominal director with no shareholding status of the company.

Besides, the investigator said Wakil was an employee of Felak Concept Group Limited, also owned by Achimugu, and incorporated on May 5, 2000.

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He said Wakil admitted, in his extrajudicial statement to his team on 15 April 2025 that he had worked with Felak Concept from 2000 to date.

He said Wakil also admitted that he held so many positions, “among which are Manager Admin, General Manager Admin and Finance and presently Group General Manager Admin and Finance.’

He said Wakil also stated that he had consistently drawn his monthly salary from his known employer Felak Concept and WishWhich Koncept Limited.

He argued that there was no record of Wakil drawing a salary from Oceangate.

Besides, the officer said Wakil admitted in his extra-judicial statement that he got all his instructions from Achimugu, the GCEO, and he, in turn, gave the same instructions to Chiroma via telephone conversation.

Aliyu described Oceangate as “a briefcase/shell company created as a vehicle for the purpose of holding petroleum related assets procured with funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.”

“Hence, describing the company as ‘a professional oil and gas consortium, operating in diverse sectors of the oil and gas sectors of the Nigerian economy,’ is nothing but describing the devil as an angel of light,” Aliyu wrote.

He alleged that the modus operandi of Oceangate is to acquire “petroleum-related assets with tainted funds.”

The officer said the $13 million forfeited in the interim by the court to the federal government was not proceeds of any lawful, legitimate, provable, known and justifiable income of the company.

Aliyu also stated that Oceangate equally procured an auditor, Godwin Ukah, to prepare an audit report which was attached to its affidavit to show cause as exhibit.

He said Ukah was invited to the EFCC’s office after which he volunteered his extra-judicial statement and admitted that he did not see the various account statements of Oceangate when he prepared the audit report.

Besides, he said Ukah admitted that Oceangate had not actively earned from oil and gas exploration.

He said Ukah, who prepared the audit report attached as exhibit relied solely on a memorandum of understanding and not the financial books of Oceangate.

Aliyu said his team also invited Aisha Achimugu, the GCEO of Oceangate and she volunteered her extra-judicial statement.

According to him, Achimugu admitted in her extra-judicial statement that she has the most significant control of Oceangate Oil and Gas Limited.

He said the businesswoman equally admitted that “Oceangate Oil & Gas Limited does not do contract for now nor has it carried out any contract either in private or public sector”.

The investigator told the court that it would be in the interest of justice to forfeit the $13 million to the Federal Government, same having been reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.

The judge had, on 15 September 2025, ordered the final forfeiture of $7 million lodged in Providus Bank branch in Ikoyi, Lagos State, and recovered by the EFCC after nobody came forward to claim it.

A company, Felak Concept Group Limited, later issued a statement to dismiss reports linking its GCEO, Achimugu, and its subsidiary, Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Ltd, to the controversial $7 million cash transaction allegedly tied to Providus Bank.

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Crime

Driver arrested over death of US-based Nigerian graduate, Oluwalayomi Fadero

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The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department in the United States has arrested a driver linked to a fatal hit-and-run incident that claimed the life of a Nigerian graduate, Oluwalayomi Fadero.

According to a report by a local US media outlet, WSMV4, obtained on Tuesday, the incident occurred on Friday after the suspect, Ray Eugene Padgett, allegedly stole a vehicle and fled.

The report stated that the owner of the truck tracked it to a location, and upon realising he was being followed, the suspect reversed and rammed into a vehicle behind him.

The police subsequently deployed a helicopter to monitor the situation. However, as the suspect attempted to escape, he reportedly rammed into an unmarked police vehicle, triggering a high-speed chase.

“The intention at that point is to keep an eye on the truck until it finally stops, have ground units move in, and take the man into custody,” the MNPD Public Information Officer, Don Aaron, was quoted as saying.

The pursuit, which lasted about five minutes, reached speeds of up to 80 miles per hour along Murfreesboro Pike toward the county line.

It ended around 2:30 p.m. when the suspect drove into oncoming traffic near the intersection of Murfreesboro Pike and Hickory Woods Drive.

Police said he crashed into a white sedan driven by Fadero, pushing the vehicle approximately 100 yards into a ditch. The 23-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

The suspect was subsequently arrested and taken to hospital. He has been charged with criminal homicide.

Authorities said Padgett was on parole at the time of the incident.

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“We believe that he was on parole when he stole the truck and set off the chain of events that claimed the life of an innocent Nashville woman who was returning home,” the police said.

Meanwhile, alumni and members of Fisk University, where Fadero graduated, have mourned her death.

“It’s heartbreaking to know she was near her home and close to where she lived,” a Fisk alumna, Jessica Williams, was quoted as saying.

Fadero’s former professor, Janet Walsh, described her as kind and compassionate, noting her commitment to volunteer work.

“These small acts of kindness and consideration truly make the world a better place. I’m honoured to have known her and witnessed her sense of global citizenship,” Walsh said.

A makeshift memorial has since been set up at the crash site along Murfreesboro Pike.

In addition, a GoFundMe account created to support her family with burial expenses had raised over $15,000 as of the time of filing this report.

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Crime

Two Nigerians jailed 16 years in Ireland over €6m fraud

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Two Nigerian nationals based in Ireland, Francis Ogbuefi, 42, and Steven Silvester, 32, have been sentenced to a combined jail term of over 16 years for their roles in what was described as a “highly sophisticated, global money laundering scheme”.

According to Raidió Teilifís Éireann on Friday, the duo were arrested and prosecuted following a lengthy investigation by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau of Ireland.

Ogbuefi, of Clonard Road, Crumlin, Dublin, was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment, while Silvester, of The Paddocks, Morristown, Newbridge, Co. Kildare, received a seven-and-a-half-year sentence.

The pair had allegedly travelled from Nigeria to Ireland to engage in organised fraud.

The total value of the scams linked to the case was put at €6.17m, according to the report.

Both men were said to have denied the charges but were found guilty by a jury after a trial last month.

Court proceedings, according to the RTE, revealed that more than €6m was stolen and laundered through various schemes, including romance fraud and smishing, with funds moved across multiple bank accounts.

The reports disclosed that investigators found that the two men coordinated the provision and monitoring of accounts used to receive illicit funds.

Evidence was said to have shown that they received requests from across the world—many linked to Nigerian phone numbers—seeking accounts for fraudulent transactions.

The report added that data recovered from Ogbuefi’s phone detailed job specifications, transaction volumes, and account requirements.

He was said to have also been found to have instructed that accounts be opened under Irish names to avoid suspicion.

The report quoted prosecutors as saying Ogbuefi acted as a key contact for collaborators outside Ireland.

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A nine-minute instructional video on how to carry out the fraud was also discovered on his device, alongside images showing him overseeing transactions and directing the group’s activities.

He reportedly took a 20 per cent cut of the proceeds and claimed to have extensive experience in the scheme.

Further evidence indicated that Ogbuefi entered Ireland as a student, while Silvester had initially lived in direct provision before becoming transient.

The presiding judge, Martin Nolan, reportedly described the operation as complex, noting that money laundering networks rely heavily on access to bank accounts.

The judge said both men demonstrated a strong understanding of banking systems, regularly testing their vulnerabilities.

While the crimes were difficult to detect, the report noted that the judge commended investigators for pursuing leads and presenting compelling evidence.

The judge also noted that the convicts had no prior criminal records and were regarded positively by their families, describing them as intelligent and capable of reform.

The case adds to a growing number of fraud-related convictions involving Nigerians abroad.

This year alone, over 100 Nigerians have been arrested in Ghana over alleged fraud and other offences.

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