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How I collected $3m cash for Emefiele -CBN dispatch rider

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An employee of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mr Monday Osazuwa, on Friday, told an Ikeja Special Offences Court how the former apex bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, on different occasions, directed him to collect three million dollars cash in tranches.

 

Osasuwa, while being led in evidence by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) counsel, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), said he was a dispatch rider in Zenith Bank in 2001 before he joined the CBN in 2014.

 

Osasuwa said he joined the apex bank as a senior supervisor in 2014.

 

He said Emefiele was the Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc while he was working as a dispatch rider in the bank.

 

The witness said he knew Emefiele, who was his boss, while in Zenith Bank and that he later joined him at the CBN.

 

The witness said he was later appointed as a senior supervisor (full-time) in recording and filing documents while working in the CBN governor’s office in Lagos.

 

The witness said he was later appointed as a senior supervisor (full-time) in recording and filing documents while working in the CBN governor’s office in Lagos.

“I was still working in the CBN governor’s office while I was appointed as a full staff member and we usually communicated through WhatsApp and email. I function as a senior supervisor, recording and filing with other official roles.”

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“I recall that in 2020 when he was outside Lagos, he called me that he would give me a number that a man had something I should collect from him and that the man would give me the number of another person.

 

“When I got to the man’s office, I was given an envelope. I counted the money and the man said I should give it to my boss,” he said.

 

The witness further told the court that the first defendant used to collect money by himself anytime he was in Lagos but anytime the defendant was not around, he would tell him to give the money to the second defendant.

 

Osazuwa added that Emefiele sent him to MINL Ltd when he was with Zenith Bank.

 

“This company is situated at Isolo, the first defendant did send me to collect cheques from the company from Mr Monday and when I collected the cheque from Mr Monday, I would give it back to Emefiele and he would lodge the money into Dumies Oil and Gas.

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According to him, Emefiele’s co-defendant, Henry Isioma-Omoile, lived in the residence of the former CBN governor.

 

He stated that when he collected money for his boss, he would take it to his residence at Iru Close, Ikoyi.

 

“Whenever I received the money and take it to my boss’s residence, Mr Emefiele would tell me to give it to the second defendant whenever he was not at home.

 

“I did not keep a record of transactions because the instruction he gave me was that I should collect the money and bring the money to his house.

 

“The highest amount I collected was one million dollars all in cash and some weeks later, the businessman also called me to collect $850,000, $750,000 and $400,000 cash in tranches.

 

“I have never been reward-ed, paid or given anything because I am doing it out of faithfulness and he knows it but he has never for once said, ‘take this’,” he said.

 

Under cross-examination by the defence counsel, Mr Abdulakeem Labi-Lawal, the witness confirmed to the court that he had been working with the defendant since 2002.

 

According to the witness, Emefiele passed instructions to him through the second defendant and that he had been collecting cheques for Dumies Oil and Gas.

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He, however, told the court when he was made to confront the second defendant during an investigation but the second defendant failed to admit it.

 

“I started collecting cheques for Dumies Oil and Gas when I was in Zenith Bank.

 

“I cannot calculate the exact year I have been collecting the cheques but it all started when the first defendant was the Managing Director at Zenith Bank and I was working at Zenith Bank,” he said.

 

It will be recalled that the EFCC, on April 8 arraigned Emefiele on 23 counts bordering on abuse of office, accepting gratifications, corrupt demand, receiving property fraudulently obtained and conferring corrupt advantage.

 

Emefiele’s co-defendant was arraigned on three counts bordering on acceptance of gift by agents.

 

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

 

Earlier, Oshodi had declined the oral application for adjournment moved twice by the defence counsel.

 

The judge adjourned the case until April 29 for trial and hearing of application for a closed session.

 

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Two killed as fuel-laden tanker collides with truck in Lagos

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Two people were confirmed dead following an early morning collision between a fuel-laden tanker and a tipper truck on the Lekki–Epe Expressway, Sangotedo area of Lagos state.

In a statement on Saturday, Margaret Adeseye, controller-general of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, said the accident occurred in the early hours of the day, prompting officers to rush to the scene.

“It was reported that a speeding 20-tonne tipper truck from the Epe end rammed into a stationary 30-tonne gas tanker that failed to pull over from the highway,” the statement reads.

Adeseye said the collision sparked a fire that spread to three warehouses and 10 roadside shops, including a gym and a generator house, before it was eventually brought under control.

She added that a Total petrol filling station, fully loaded with a 33,000-litre PMS tanker, narrowly escaped a major explosion.

“After the blaze was extinguished, three Sienna buses, one Toyota Corolla, and a forklift parked within the affected area were recovered. Tragically, the tipper truck driver and his assistant, both adult males, were burnt beyond recognition, while the gas tanker driver escaped unhurt,” Adeseye said.

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The agency said that efforts are ongoing to remove the remains of both trucks from the highway, though normal traffic has largely resumed at the scene.

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Cocaine trafficking: Court convicts, fines 10 Filipinos $6m

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The federal high court in Lagos has convicted 10 Filipino sailors and their merchant vessel of trafficking 20 kilogrammes of cocaine at the Apapa seaport.

The sailors were arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in November 2025 at Apapa seaport.

The vessel, MV Nord Bosporus, with registration number 9760110, arrived in Nigeria from Santos in Brazil.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said the defendants pleaded guilty to the charges and entered a plea bargain agreement.

The anti-drug agency had disclosed that its officers discovered the “Class A drug” buried under the ship’s cargo on Sunday, November 16, 2025.

The NDLEA arraigned the sailors and the vessel on a four-count charge.

The defendants are Eugene Quinos Corpuz; Mark Joseph Jardiniano; Alexis Navidad Evarrola; Francis Gerard Niones Carpio; Franz Jude Mayran; Mahinay Junniel Lagura; Mario Ganiban Malvar; Hormachuelos Lordito Guivencan; Joshua Emmanuel Hufanda; and Edwin Baltazar Reyes.

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In his judgment, Ayokunle Faji, the trial judge, found the vessel guilty for an offence under section 25 of the NDLEA Act.

The judge ordered the vessel to pay the sum of N100,000 penalty for the offence and a restitution in the sum of N5.3 million to the federal government.

The judge convicted three principal officers of the vessel who are the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th defendants. They were asked to pay N100,000 each and a restitution of $100,000 each to the federal government.

After conviction, the judge ordered the 5th to 11th defendants to pay N100,000 each in addition to a restitution of $50,000 each.

According to the NDLEA, the total money to be paid to the federal government by the vessel and the 10 sailors is $6 million and N1.1million as restitution and penalty.

Reacting to the judgment, Mohammed Buba Marwa, NDLEA chairman, said the conviction of the vessel and its crew members is a “lesson to international drug cartels and their local collaborators that Nigeria’s territorial waters are no longer a playground for the illicit narcotics trade”.

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“Let this judgment be an unambiguous signal to every shipping line, vessel owner, and sailor worldwide that if you turn your ships into floating warehouses for illicit drugs, you will not only lose your freedom but also your assets,” Marwa said.

“We have moved beyond mere seizures; we are now hitting the syndicates where it hurts most, their pockets and their operational assets.”

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VIDEO: Man caught trying to lure child hawker for sex with ₦1,000

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A man has been caught on video while allegedly attempting to lure a young girl hawking avocados with ₦1,000 for sexual purposes.

The unfortunate incident, which surfaced in a viral video, was shared by content creator LordZeus in a post shared on IG on Monday, who confronted the suspect.

When questioned, the man denied the allegation and claimed he was the girl’s father.

But the child contradicted him, stating that he approached her and asked her to follow him to a secluded place so they could “touch body,” promising to give her ₦1,000. She added that when she refused, the man brought out the cash in an attempt to persuade her.

During the confrontation, some bystanders pleaded on behalf of the suspect, claiming he was mentally unstable and alleging that the girl was not the first child he had approached.

Reacting, LordZeus challenged the defence, questioning why alleged mental illness should excuse such behaviour toward a minor.

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He also used the moment to caution parents against sending young girls out to hawk, noting that female child hawkers are often

He wrote, “Parents please, no matter how hard life gets, do not allow your girl child especially underage to hawk on the streets alone. Even If they must hawk, hawk alongside them.

“They are constantly at risk of se*xual harassment, and many of them will never speak up. I’ve hawked before, so I know exactly what life on the street is like.

“Imagine if this man was able to manipulate the little girl with just 1,000 naira , this will be unimaginable.

“Ihe na-eme nu o. Let’s do everything possible to protect our girl children. Their safety and dignity must come first before any other thing. It can only get better ”

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