Headline

Nigerian Jailed In US Over $6m Inheritance Fraud

Published

3 months ago

September 16, 2025

A United States court has sentenced a Nigerian, Ehis Lawrence Akhimie, to over eight years in prison for his role in a transnational inheritance fraud scheme that defrauded more than 400 elderly victims of over $6m.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, in a statement on Monday, said Akhimie, 41, was sentenced on September 11 to 97 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to conspiracy charges.

According to court filings as indicated in the statement, Akhimie and his accomplices sent personalised letters to victims in the U.S., posing as bank officials in Spain. The letters claimed the recipients were entitled to multimillion-dollar inheritances from relatives who had purportedly died overseas.

Victims were told that before they could access the inheritance, they had to pay various fees, including delivery charges, taxes, and other payments to avoid “government scrutiny”. The funds, however, were siphoned through a network of intermediaries, including former fraud victims in the U.S., who were manipulated into acting as conduits for the syndicate.

U.S. prosecutors said no victim received any inheritance. Instead, the fraudsters enriched themselves while targeting some of the most vulnerable members of society.

“Akhimie and his co-conspirators collected money victims sent in response to the fraudulent letters through a complex web of U.S.-based former victims, whom the defendants convinced to receive money and forward to the defendants or persons associated with them. Victims who sent money never received any purported inheritance funds. In pleading guilty, Akhimie admitted to defrauding over $6 million from more than 400 victims, many of whom were elderly or otherwise vulnerable,” the statement read.

U.S. Attorney Jason Quiñones described the offence as a betrayal of trust, “Schemes like this steal not only money but dignity from our seniors. Our Office stands with victims, ensures their voices are heard, and will relentlessly pursue those who prey on them,” he said.

Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division stressed the role of global collaboration in tackling cross-border fraud.

“The Justice Department will continue to pursue, prosecute, and bring to justice transnational criminals responsible for defrauding U.S. consumers, wherever they are located. This case is a testament to the critical role of international collaboration in tackling transnational crime.

“I want to thank our U.S. law enforcement partners, as well as those who assisted across the globe, including the National Crime Agency and Crown Prosecution Service of the United Kingdom, for their outstanding contributions to this case,” Shumate said.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which investigated the case alongside Homeland Security Investigations, also pledged to maintain its crackdown on financial fraud.

Acting Inspector in Charge, Bladismir Rojo, said, “We are committed to protecting American consumers from being defrauded by transnational criminal organisations. We will continue to work with the Department of Justice to deliver justice.”

Similarly, Acting Special Agent in Charge Ray Rede of HSI Arizona added: “Defrauding the elderly and other vulnerable populations is a betrayal of not just trust but of humanity. Justice will prevail, and those who exploit others for personal gain will be held accountable.”

Akhimie is the eighth defendant sentenced in the sprawling case. In April, another Nigerian, Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata, who was extradited from Portugal, was handed the same 97-month sentence by District Court Judge Roy Altman.

At the time, Judge Altman described the offence as “an incredibly serious crime” that demanded strong punishment to protect “the most vulnerable, the least protected members of our society.

Other defendants had previously received jail terms in related proceedings before U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams.

The Department of Justice said the probe benefited from assistance provided by Europol, and authorities in the UK, Spain and Portugal, alongside its Office of International Affairs.

The case has again spotlighted Nigeria’s recurring link with cross-border fraud. U.S. authorities have, in recent years, prosecuted several Nigerians in high-profile scams, ranging from internet fraud to romance scams.

Headline

Africa Coups: 10 In Five Years

Published

3 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Editor

A military coup attempt in Benin Sunday adds to a list of such incidents on the turbulent African continent.
A group of soldiers announced that they had ousted President Patrice Talon, although his entourage said he was safe and the army was regaining control.

Here is a recap of the 10 successful coups in Africa in the last five years:

Mali

Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita is overthrown by five army colonels in August 2020.

In May 2021, the Malian military takes over from the civilian leaders of an interim government.
Colonel Assimi Goita, who led both coups, is sworn in as transitional president.

After promising to hold elections in February 2024, the military puts them off indefinitely, pointing to the jihadist violence plaguing the country.

In July 2025, Goita approves a law granting himself a five-year presidential mandate, renewable without election.
In September jihadists launch a fuel blockade, weakening the ruling junta.

Guinea

On September 5, 2021, mutinous troops led by lieutenant-colonel Mamady Doumbouya take over in Guinea, arresting President Alpha Conde.

Doumbouya in early November 2025 submits his candidacy ahead of December 28 elections that are meant to restore constitutional order.

Sudan

After weeks of tension between the military and civilian leaders who had shared power since the ousting of dictator Omar al-Bashir, the armed forces led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan stage a new coup on October 25, 2021.

Since April 2023 war has raged between the regular armed forces led by Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by his former deputy Mohammed Hamdan Daglo.

The conflict has so far killed tens of thousands of people and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso underwent two military coups in 2022.

In January that year mutinous soldiers led by Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba arrest President Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

Then in September army officers announce they have dismissed Damiba. Captain Ibrahim Traore becomes transitional president, but elections he promised do not materialise. In May 2024 the junta authorises him to stay for another five years in a country wracked by Islamist violence.

Niger

On July 26, 2023, members of the presidential guard overthrow Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum, elected in 2021. General Abdourahamane Tiani, head of the presidential guard, takes over.

In March 2025, the junta extends by at least five years its transitional leadership of the country which is plagued by jihadist violence.

Gabon

In Gabon, ruled for 55 years by the Bongo family, army officers on August 30, 2023 overthrow President Ali Bongo Ondimba, less than an hour after he is declared winner of an election the opposition says was fraudulent.
General Brice Oligui Nguema is named transitional president.

In April 2025 he is elected president with 94.85 percent of the vote. He is sworn in on the basis of a new constitution approved by referendum during the transition.

Madagascar

In October 2025, the military ousts Madagascar’s president Andry Rajoelina and takes power following weeks of “Gen Z” anti-government protests.

Army colonel Michael Randrianirina is sworn in as Madagascar’s new president, promising elections within 18 to 24 months.

Guinea-Bissau

In November 2025, military officers in Guinea-Bissau declare they have “total control” of the coup-prone west African country, closing its borders and suspending its electoral process three days after general elections.

The military says a command “composed of all branches of the armed forces” is taking over the leadership of the country “until further notice”.

Headline

Benin Republic Presidency Breaks Silence On ‘Military Takeover’

Published

10 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Editor

Benin Republic military
Military personnel in Benin on Sunday said they had ousted President Patrice Talon, but the Presidency said he was safe and the army was regaining control.

Talon, 67, a former businessman known as the “cotton king of Cotonou,” is due to hand over power in April next year after 10 years in office marked by strong economic growth and rising jihadist violence.

West Africa has seen several coups in recent years, including in Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, and most recently Guinea-Bissau.

Early on Sunday, soldiers calling themselves the “Military Committee for Refoundation” (CMR) said on state television that they had met and decided that “Mr Patrice Talon is removed from office as president of the republic.”

The signal was cut later in the morning.

Shortly after the announcement, a source close to Talon told AFP the president was safe.

“This is a small group of people who only control the television. The regular army is regaining control. The city (Cotonou) and the country are completely secure,” they said.

“It’s just a matter of time before everything returns to normal. The clean-up is progressing well.”

A military source confirmed the situation was “under control” and said the coup plotters had not taken Talon’s residence or the presidential offices.

The French Embassy reported on X that “gunfire was reported at Camp Guezo” near the president’s official residence in the economic capital and urged French citizens to remain indoors.

Benin has a history of coups and attempted coups.

Talon, who came to power in 2016, is due to end his second term in 2026, the constitutional maximum.

The main opposition party has been excluded from the race to succeed him, leaving the ruling party to compete against a so-called “moderate” opposition.

Talon has been praised for driving economic development but is often accused of authoritarianism.

(AFP)

Headline

JUST IN: Soldiers Announce Military Takeover Of Govt In Benin Republic

Published

11 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Editor

A group of soldiers appeared on Benin’s state television on Sunday to announce the dissolution of the government in what is being described as an apparent coup, marking yet another power seizure in West Africa.

Identifying themselves as the Military Committee for Refoundation, the soldiers declared the removal of the president and all state institutions.

President Patrice Talon, who has been in office since 2016, was scheduled to leave office next April after the presidential election. His party’s preferred candidate, former Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, had been widely viewed as the frontrunner. Opposition candidate Renaud Agbodjo was disqualified by the electoral commission on the grounds that he did not have “sufficient sponsors.”

The takeover comes a month after Benin’s legislature extended the presidential term from five to seven years while retaining the two-term limit.

(AFP)