General
Court Remands Whistleblower, Blogger in Prison
By Dipo Olowookere
An online publisher, Mr Tega Oghenedoro, otherwise known as Fejiro Oliver, was on Friday remanded in prison by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos.
Mr Oliver was arraigned by the police yesterday alongside a former employee of Sterling Bank, Mr Dennis Ukpabi, author of the book titled The Whistleblower, where he accused the few members of staff of the lender of involving in fraud and infidelity.
Mr Ukpabi said in his book that in November 2014, Sterling Bank Plc introduced a ‘Deposit Mobilization Scheme’ for its entire staff as an incentive to encourage them to source and mobilize deposits from members of the public, promising to reward the most outstanding staff who sourced the highest amount of deposit above the given target with a brand new Ford SUV and 1 percent of the total sum realized.
He narrated that four staff at the corporate headquarters of Sterling Bank Plc namely Adekanla Desalu, Eguru Nyenke, Janet Akpan and Kojusola Ajao colluded and conspired to defraud the bank by pulling together deposits into an account belonging to one of them, Kojusola Ajao, after monitoring funds from dormant accounts belonging to existing customers of the bank and paying it in Ajao’s name in other to win the prize.
He said Ms Ajao was announced by the bank as the winner of the Deposits Mobilization Scheme and on March 10, 2015, was awarded with the sum of N997,000 which was about 1 percent of the total amount mobilized and also given a brand new Ford SUV.
He alleged that immediately she received the money, she transferred and shared it among her three other colleagues with Desalu getting N269,250; Nyenke N240,000; and Akpan N238,500.
Following several emails sent to different management staffs of the bank by the whistleblower, the bank’s Audit Department was asked to investigate the alleged fraud, upon which the four staff were found culpable, leading to Ajao’s sack and the retrieval of the Ford Jeep from her.
Although the three others were placed on three-month suspension, Nyenke was promoted immediately after serving her suspension, a development linked to her alleged amorous affair with the bank’s Executive Director in charge of Operations and Services, Yemi Odubiyi, Mr Ukpabi alleged.
But when it was discovered that Mr Ukpabi was behind the anonymous emails that exposed the bank fraud, the authorities reportedly denied him his due promotion and prevented him from embarking on a Sick Leave for which he duly applied. The situation eventually led to his resignation and publishing of the “The Whistle Blower.”
The Nigerian blogger got involved in the matter when he reportedly used his medium, Secrets Reporters, to publish articles relating to the matter.
Those involved petitioned the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department in Abuja, alleging “threat to life, malicious publication and defamation of character.”
The police swung into action, arresting both Mr Ukpabi and Mr Oliver and charged them to court for cyber stalking.
At the court on Friday, the prosecuting counsel, a Superintendent of Police, Mr J. Oloruntoba, arraigned the men on a five-count charge bothering on alleged acts of “Cyber Stalking” punishable under the provisions of Section 24 of the Cyber Crimes (Prohibition and Prevention, etc.) Act 2015.
However, the defendants pleaded not guilty to all the charges, but their counsels could not secure the bail.
Consequently, the trial judge, Justice Mohammed Idris, ordered the suspects to be remanded at the Ikoyi Prisons and asked one of the defendants’ counsels, Mr Inibehe Effiong, to bring a formal application for bail and promised to hear it expeditiously.
Additional information from Sahara Reporters
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to vacate the court ordering the freezing of the bank account of the Osun Srate government.
In a statement today by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, the President said he’s “deeply embarrassed not by the EFCC’s exercise of its mandate backed by a court order” because of its timing, which is just a few days to the governorship election in the state next Saturday.
According to him, actions of an institution of State, especially at the Federal level, is always credited to me, as the President, even when I may not have had any prior knowledge of the action.
“Since assuming office, I have consistently maintained that anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies must be allowed to discharge their statutory responsibilities independently, professionally, without fear or favour, or political interference. I have therefore deliberately refrained from directing or interfering in the operational activities of the EFCC or any other investigative or prosecutorial agency because I firmly believe that strong democratic institutions, operating within the confines of the law, are indispensable to democratic good governance and the rule of law.
“As President, I am committed to allowing institutions of State to function and take any action they consider necessary in the interest of proper governance without the need for any prior approval. Indeed, that is why institutions are set up by law with clearly defined powers. While I am yet to be fully apprised of the facts which informed the action of EFCC in approaching the court to obtain the said order freezing the Osun State Government account, I am not in the slightest doubt that the timing of the action of EFCC is inauspicious, and therefore I feel compelled to intervene.
“Osun State is only a few days away from its gubernatorial election. Therefore, nothing ought to be done to give an impression that the EFCC or indeed any other agency of the federal government is being used to interfere with the election.
“Based on the foregoing premise, I am duty-bound to issue a directive on this issue in consonance with the overriding public interest in preserving public confidence and the integrity, credibility, and fairness of our democratic process.
“Accordingly, I have directed the EFCC to immediately proceed to the court to vacate the order and discontinue whatever action it has instituted against the Osun State Government in this regard,” the statement stated.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has explained why it initiated a move to freeze the bank account of the Osun State government.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Governor of Osun State, Mr Ademola Adeleke, claimed that the anti-money laundering agency asked one of its bankers, First Bank, not to release funds to the state government.
According to the Governor, this was part of the strategies to frustrate his administration ahead of the August 15, 2026, governorship election in the state.
Reacting to the issue on Wednesday night, the EFCC, in a statement, said it has been investigating the state government since March 2026 over an alleged “fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) account to the tune of N11.0 billion.
The organisation noted that some officials of the state government, especially the Accountant General of the State, have had interview sessions with investigators of the EFCC.
“These ongoing investigations of the state government would not have warranted any placement of Post No Debit order on its account but for the precipitate and unwarranted movement of funds from the accounts to different suspicious accounts since August 2, 2026.
“The commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved,” parts of the statement said.
In the disclosure, the agency noted that its preventive mandate is a public-inclined framework of safeguarding public funds, assets and resources, stressing that it cannot “watch idly while a state government’s account is being pillaged.”
“While the commission is fully aware of the impending governorship election in Osun State, it has a responsibility to act in defence of the sanctity of the funds of the state. It will be uncharitable for the commission to allow an excuse of an upcoming election to fold its arms to perform its legally-assigned functions,” it pointed out.
The EFCC disclosed that it is “keeping watch over the finances of other states like Osun State. Many of these states are on the investigative radar of the commission to ensure accountability and probity. The commission has always pointed out that it is non-partisan and non-sectarian but always working in the overall interests of Nigerians. The Osun State government account was frozen to save public funds from being looted.”
The organisation urged the public “to ignore false narratives and deliberate demonisation of the works of the EFCC. The interests of all Nigerians are greater and will always be protected by the commission.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has launched a mobile application designed to monitor fuel consumption patterns in real time across retail outlets nationwide.
The NMDPRA, established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, is responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum operations. The deployment of the mobile application aligns with the authority’s broader efforts to leverage technology to improve regulatory compliance and strengthen accountability.
The pilot phase of the project began on August 1 in Abuja and its six Area Councils, the authority said in a statement published on X.
As part of the rollout, the Executive Director for Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure (DSSRI), Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, led a team alongside officials from the Abuja Regional Office to assess the readiness and operational performance of the digital platform at participating retail outlets.
According to the NMDPRA, the application captures inventory and compliance data in real time, enabling regulators to monitor fuel distribution more effectively while improving operational efficiency across the sector.
The authority said the platform would generate reliable, data-driven insights to support evidence-based decision-making, strengthen national energy security planning and enhance transparency in the downstream petroleum industry.
It added that the initiative is expected to provide significant value to government, investors, operators and other stakeholders by improving access to accurate fuel consumption and compliance data.
Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector has undergone significant changes since the deregulation of the petrol market and the removal of fuel subsidies, with regulators placing greater emphasis on data-driven supervision to ensure product availability, prevent supply disruptions and discourage sharp regional disparities in distribution.
