Crime
Lebanese Forfeits N100m, luxury SUV, iPhones To FG

Justice Tijjani Ringim of the Federal High Court, Lagos has sentenced a Lebanese cyber criminal, Hamza Koudeih, to one-year imprisonment or a fine of N1million in lieu of jail.
Justice Tijjani Ringim, who convicted him, also forfeited Koudeih’s N100million to the Federal Government
The N100m was hidden in the bank account of CHK Property Investment Ltd.
READ ALSO: Terrorism: EFCC Orders Nigerian, Foreign NGOs To Submit Lists Of IDPs Receiving Money
Also forfeited were the convict’s luxury Mercedes Benz GLE43 SUV with Chassis Number: HJGEDGEBXHA063213,
two iPhones and a HP Desktop computer.
The judge handed down the judgment after upholding a plea bargain agreement Koudeih entered with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The sentence was in accordance with the terms of the deal.
The EFCC arraigned 2nd defendant Koudeih in November last year alongside his Nigerian co-defendant Kayode Philip, alias ‘Voice of the King’.
They pleaded not guilty to a charge of engaging in cyber fraud and attempting to retain the sums of $6million and £1million in the Bank of China.
The EFCC said they also “knowingly engaged in computer phishing and spamming which resulted in acquiring sensitive information” from various emails.
Koudeih, who was out on bail, on August 24 sought and failed to obtain leave of the court to return to his country to see his psychiatrist.
He then approached the EFCC and indicated his intention to change his plea.
On Wednesday, September 9, he struck a deal to plead guilty to the offence of phishing in exchange for a less severe sentence.
EFCC counsel, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo presented the terms of the bargain before the judge on Thursday, pursuant to Section 270 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
As part of the deal, Koudeih entered into a bond with the EFCC “to be of good behaviour and never to be involved in any form of economic and financial crimes both within and outside the shores of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Upholding the application, Justice Ringim held: “I have listened to the submission of the prosecuting counsel Rotimi Oyedepo on the plea bargain agreement between the 2nd Defendant and the commission.
“The same agreement is hereby entered as the judgment of this court.
“The sum of one hundred million naira, a white coloured Mercedes Benz GLE43 and HP Laptop are hereby forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“That is the judgment of this court.”
According to the EFCC, Koudeih is an associate of Internet celebrity, Ismaila Mustapha, alias Mompha, but Mompha described the claim as false.
Following Koudeih’s conviction and sentencing, Voice of the King was re-arraigned on an amended 19-count charge.
Part of the counts includes that he “knowingly engaged in computer phishing and spamming which resulted in acquiring sensitive information” from various emails.
READ ALSO: EFCC Declares Lekki Cybercrime Hotbed, Arrests 402 Suspects In 3 Months
He was said to have been found in possession of electronic spamming tools such as MailListFetcher.exe;Tunnelier.exe; spamassassin.exe; Fast Email Extractor.exe; and AtomicMailSender.exe.
The defendant also had illegal possession of various credit cards issued by JP Morgan Chase; Chase Bank of the United States of America; American Express; and Wells Fargo.
The defendant, according to the EFCC, also procured Dakota Entertainment Ltd and Influx Computer and Hardware Ltd, for N11mllion and N19.25million, respectively.
The EFCC said the funds were proceeds of fraud.
The anti-graft agency said he acted contrary to the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2015; as well as Section 27(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act 2015.
(NATION)
Crime
EFCC Arrests CEO Over ₦2bn Ponzi Scheme

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have arrested the Chief Executive Officer of Gavice Logistics Limited, Ahamba Tochukwu, for allegedly defrauding several investors in his logistics investment schemes to the tune of ₦2 billion.
In a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja, the EFCC said Tochukwu, through Gavice Logistics Limited, rolled out elaborate investment plans covering haulage, courier, and e-commerce services, while promising investors a 50 per cent return on investment.
The statement, signed by the commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, added that investigations revealed Tochukwu collected more than ₦2 billion from 400 investors, who have since been unable to recover their capital.
READ ALSO:EFCC Orders Arrest Of Dismissed Officer On Lege Miami’s Show
It noted that the suspect went into hiding with the funds in November 2024 but has now been apprehended by the EFCC operatives and is currently being interrogated over the alleged Ponzi scheme.
The EFCC advised Nigerians to be wary of patronising unverified investment schemes.
“With his arrest, members of the public are advised to desist from patronising unverified pyramid schemes and fraudulent investment promoters in order to avoid being defrauded,” the EFCC warned.
READ ALSO:Things To Know About Procurement Fraud As A Nigerian – EFCC
The PUNCH reports the commission had, on May 12, warned Nigerians, particularly the youth, to steer clear of Ponzi schemes, which it described as destructive and a threat to national security and economic growth.
This was after it raised the alarm that 58 illegal Ponzi scheme operators defrauded Nigerians under the guise of investment opportunities.
Crime
Nigeria Police Go Tough On LGBT, Vow to Extradite Suspects From Abroad

By Udiele Mercy
Men of the Nigeria Police Force have arrested two men in a hotel in Benin City for alleged involvement in homosexual activities in contravention of the laws of the State.
The men whose identities were given as Dele Thompson and Steve Omobeke were reportedly nabbed during a routine raid on suspected black spots of gay activities in the state.
This particular arrest the police authorities say has got some international dimensions as investigations have revealed that the duo has links with some LGBT exponents in Canada and the United States of America.
Although the police gave no details beyond mentioning one Osamudiamen Monday Aimiuwuriamwen said to be mutual sex partner with Dele Thompson and a funding source for their nefarious activities in Nigeria, they however vowed to do everything humanly possible to arrest every member of the illicit sex gang from wherever they are presently.
READ ALSO: Police Declare Man Wanted Over Homos*xual Act
The police said they have material evidence in the form of pictures and videos obtained from the suspect’s phone, implicating enough for them to prosecute the suspects.
According to the police, “we have photographs and videos extracted from the suspect’s showing where the outlaws in very compromising positions indicative of their involvement.
“We are surprised that despite efforts by the force and other security agencies to stamp out LGBT practices in the state, many are still indulging in the unholy behavior.”
The command has communicated with the Force Headquarters to activate its extradition agreement with the Interpol to extradite members of the syndicate outside the shores of Nigeria,” said Chidi Nwabuzor, PPRO Edo State Police Command.
Besides the Nigerian State prohibiting same sex relationship through the enactment of the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act 2013, the Nigerian society frowns seriously at it to the extent of mobbing suspected LGBT exponents to death when caught in the act.
The law that prescribed 14 years for convicts is considered too lenient by citizens who often prefer to take the laws into their hands.
Crime
Suspected Gay Men In Trouble As Tradition, Police Hunt Them

A young man identified as Festus Igbineweka is in serious trouble over his alleged participation in a gay party that went sour at his father’s house on 14 Oguola Road, off Siluko Road Benin City, resulting in his being beatien up along side his partners in crime, causing bodily injuries.
Festus and Osarugue it were allegedly caught in the act kissing and expressing love towards each other, with others including Vincent Obi, Frank Okoli, John Opakunle and Felix Obasuyi who were also having similar fun in their separate room in the same apartment, doing the same thing and later began to have sex on June 30, 2023.
Eye witness account said that Festus Igbineweka reportedly got entangled with an old gay lover Osarugue Austine Edobor,now at large in an after party sex rump in Oguola, the traditional puritan enclave of the legendary Benin tradition which forbids same sex relationship.
The abominable secret meeting came to the open when Festus’ next-door neighbor Benard Akpata was knocking at the door because he was to drive out of the compound and Festus’s car was blocking the drive way. It was learnt that the renegades behaving to type had put on some loud music in the house to mask the pleasurable sounds from within.
Having knocked severally with no response, the said neighbour Bernard reportedly walked in and saw what was happening and promptly raised an alarm that drew the attention of distraught neighbours who descended on them with clubs and other dangerous weapons and repeatedly shouting, abomination!!!.
The alarm caused confusion and rage as more persons got attracted to the crime scene and joined in the beating.
The suspects Festus Igbineweka, Vincent Obi, Frank Okoli,Felix Obasuyi and John Opakunle, after the mob attack were handed over to the police by the vigilante group in the area while the rest suspects Osarugue Austine Edobor and Darlington Itoya managed to escape.
The duo of Osarugue and Darlington who
managed to escape the mob attack, took advantage of the power outage that left the house in total darkness.
Festus and his co travellers including Osarugue,Vincent Obi, Frank Okoli and John Opakunle are also wanted by the Edions (elders) of the area to perform some rituals meant to cleanse the land of the abominable act which can have dire consequences on innocent people if not exorcised.
The gay love birds including those on the run and those arrested are expected to present the atonement items which include, a live spotless white cow, 1000 cowrie shells, seven bottles of red palm oil, 100 pieces of kolanuts, 14 cloves of alligator pepper etc, while the host Fedtus Igbineweka and others arrested are also in the battle of Police prosecution.
Meanwhile, the gay exponents are unable to report the gang beating they suffered in the hand of the natives to the police because their involvement in same sex relationship, is a practice that has been criminalized in Nigeria under the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act 2013.
According to our crime reporter who visited the Ogida Divisional Police Headquarters,the suspects denied involvement in the alleged same-sex practice.
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