General
N3.7bn Case: EFCC Begs Court for Ex-NDDC Project Director’s Arrest
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is seeking the arrest of a former Executive Director on Projects for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr Tuoyo Omatsuli, to attend his trial over an alleged N3.6 billion fraud.
The anti-graft body asked the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to issue a warrant of arrest to compel Mr Omatsuli, who was facing the trial alongside his acquaintances, Mr Francis Momoh, Don Parker Properties Limited, and Building Associates Limited.
The respondents were initially standing trial on an alleged case of conspiracy and money laundering to the tune of N3.645 billion before retired Justice Saliu Saidu of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos.
“That you, Engr Tuoyo Omatsuli, Don Parker Properties Limited, Francis Momoh, and Building Associates Limited, between August 2014 and September 2015 at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired to disguise the illegal origin of N3,645,000,000 being proceeds of unlawful activity to wit: corruption and gratification; and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18 of the Money Laundering Act 2011 as amended by Act No 1 of 2012 and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act,” one of the counts read.
“That you, Engr Tuoyo Omatsuli, between August 2014 and September 2015 at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did procure Francis Momoh and Building Associates Limited to use the total sum of N3,645,000,000 paid by Starline Consultancy Services into the Diamond Bank Plc Account No. 0023785116 operated by Building Associate Ltd, when you reasonably ought to have known that the said sum formed part of the proceeds of your unlawful activity to wit: Corruption and Gratification; and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18 of the Money Laundering Act 2011 as amended by Act No 1 of 2012 and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act,” another count read.
They pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against them.
The EFCC, after calling 16 prosecution witnesses, subsequently closed its case against the defendants. However, rather than open their defence, the defendants filed a no-case submission, which was heard on October 12, 2020.
In his ruling on November 11, 2020, Justice Saidu discharged the first defendant, Omatsuli, saying, “I have gone through the charge preferred against the defendants as well as the evidence of all the 16 prosecution witnesses and I found no reason for the first defendant to enter the defence.”
Consequently, the EFCC vowed to appeal the discharge of the former NDCC boss.
On April 13, 2022, a three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, upheld the appeal of the EFCC and dismissed the ruling of the trial court.
The judgment delivered by Justice Festus Obande Ogbuinya held that the ruling of the lower court dated November 11, 2020, discharging the respondent, Omatsuli, of the money laundering charges “is hereby set aside and he shall enter into his defence accordingly on the same counts.”
The Appellate Court, however, discharged Omatsuli on counts 27, 28, and 29 of the charge. In the course of the trial, Justice Saidu retired, and the matter was subsequently re-assigned to Justice Osiagor.
However, at the resumed sitting yesterday, Counsel to the 2nd defendant, Mr Norrison Quakers, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, informed the court that Mr Omatsuli was absent in court because he had an appeal pending before the Supreme Court.
“The first defendant is on appeal at the Supreme Court. A no-case submission filed by the 1st defendant before the Federal High Court was upheld and EFCC appealed the decision. This decision was, however, reversed at the Appellate court and the no-case submission was dismissed. The defendants were ordered to enter into their defence. Dissatisfied with the ruling of the Appeal Court, the 1st defendant appealed to the Supreme Court and the matter is yet to be determined”, he said.
He also told the court that the 1st defendant was not aware of the hearing because he was not represented by a counsel at the last proceedings.
Responding, prosecution counsel, Mr Ekele Iheanacho, said: “At the previous sitting, sometime in November 2023, the matter came up for arraignment, and a counsel appeared on behalf of the 1st defendant. The court then asked us to choose a date for arraignment. On that basis, I didn’t ask for a bench warrant against the defendant.”
He further told the court that “There is no stay of proceedings in the law, according to the Administration of the Criminal Justice Act, ACJA. The pendency of the appeal does not prevent the proceedings at the Federal High Court from going on.” While referring to S352 of the ACJA, Iheanacho, therefore, applied for a bench warrant against Omatsuli.
Justice Daniel Osiagor disagreed with Iheanacho that the 1st defendant was aware of today’s hearing and, therefore, ordered that he be put on notice.
The case was adjourned to March 22, 2024, for re-arraignment and trial.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Governor of Kwara State, Mr AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has removed his Deputy Chief of Staff and the Principal Private Secretary.
In a statement on Monday by his Deputy Chief Press Secretary, Mr Mashood AbdulRafiu Agboola, it was disclosed that the Governor also removed all Special Advisers, Advisers, Senior Special Assistants, and Special Assistants in the “minor cabinet shake-up.
It was explained that the action was to extend opportunities to more party members and inject fresh energy into the administration.
Mr AbdulRazaq directed them to hand over all government properties in their custody to the Office of the Secretary to the State Government.
He thanked the affected appointees for selfless service to the state and his administration, wishing them well in their future endeavours.
“His Excellency expresses his gratitude to all the appointees for their priceless service to the state. He wishes them the best in their future endeavours,” the statement noted.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has announced that another batch of Nigerians will be evacuated from South Africa on Tuesday as part of ongoing efforts to safeguard citizens ahead of planned anti-immigrant protests in the country.
Anti-immigrant groups in South Africa have set a June 30 deadline for immigrants to leave the country, planning widespread demonstrations on that date and threatening a national shutdown if the country’s government does not take significant action on immigration.
According to the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Kimiebi Ebienfa, an Air Peace aircraft departed Nigeria on Monday and is expected to return to Lagos on Tuesday morning with another group of Nigerians who opted for voluntary evacuation.
The latest operation comes as anti-immigration groups prepare to stage demonstrations from June 30. The government has continued its evacuation programme for Nigerians who have indicated a willingness to return home.
Providing details of the latest flight, Mr Ebienfa said, “Nigeria will resume the evacuation of our nationals from South Africa today.
“Air Peace aircraft will depart Nigeria today, Monday, June 29, 2026, at 3:00 pm and is expected to arrive in South Africa at approximately 9:00 pm local time.
“The return flight is scheduled to depart South Africa at 12:00 midnight and is expected to arrive at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, on Tuesday morning.”
He added that 271 Nigerians are expected to arrive on the evacuation flight.
President Tinubu approved the voluntary evacuation programme earlier this month to enable Nigerians willing to leave South Africa to return home safely.
Earlier in June, the federal government disclosed that five Air Peace evacuation flights had been approved after more than 500 Nigerians were screened for repatriation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the flights were intended to ensure that all registered Nigerians who wished to return would be evacuated safely.
Before the latest operation, 328 Nigerians had already been repatriated in two batches. The first flight, which landed on June 11, brought back 262 returnees, while a second batch of 66 arrived in Lagos on June 25.
The evacuation exercise is being coordinated by the Federal Government in partnership with Air Peace and other relevant agencies.
General
Why Ad Platform Policy Changes Are a Hidden Risk in Every Outsourced Paid Media Relationship
The rules governing digital advertising landscapes are never set in stone. Major platforms like Google, Meta, and TikTok frequently update their privacy frameworks, compliance requirements, and algorithmic bidding logic without giving agencies much time to prepare. When a marketing team decides to delegate its active campaigns to an external production partner, these sudden policy shifts can introduce a major element of vulnerability into the relationship. Integrating a professional white label ppc management structure allows your business to scale production and tap into high-level optimization talent without building a massive internal department. However, if your fulfillment partner is not built to monitor, interpret, and rapidly deploy adjustments in response to changing platform guidelines, your clients risk facing sudden account suspensions or massive spikes in customer acquisition costs.
Decoupling Technical Adaptability from Account Ownership
When an advertising platform changes its rules, the changes need to be made away in the live ad accounts. This is so the ads do not stop working. Sometimes there is a problem when one team thinks another team is taking care of making sure the ads follow the rules. The team that is supposed to make sure everything is working thinks the other team is doing this job. This can cause problems like missing information and ads that do not work. To keep your clients happy, you need a plan that says who is in charge of checking for rule changes, who updates the ad information, and who updates the ad text rules when the advertising platform changes its rules. You need to know who does what so everything runs smoothly. Advertising platforms and ad accounts are important for your clients.
Managing the Financial Fallouts of Compliance Delays
The real-world financial cost of failing to adapt to sudden policy changes can ruin an agency’s reputation and cause high client turnover. If an automated ad platform updates its rules for a specific industry—such as healthcare, real estate, or finance—and your campaign structure fails to adjust within the grace period, entire accounts can be paused overnight. While your backend team works to fix the errors, your client loses valuable inbound leads while their fixed overhead costs remain. Agencies must make sure their fulfillment partners don’t just focus on basic optimization but also maintain a proactive stance toward platform compliance to prevent budget waste and operational downtime.
Maintaining Strategic Alignment Through Platform Shifts
Relying on a partner to manage the daily execution of your paid media means you must remain highly aligned on how macro-level platform changes alter your broader strategy. When networks restrict traditional targeting methods, your backend white label ppc management team must quickly pivot to alternative solutions, such as first-party data loops or contextual targeting systems. If your vendor operates on autopilot without adjusting to these shifts, your campaigns will slowly lose efficiency as the old targeting methods become obsolete. Regular strategy sessions are essential to confirm that your optimization partners are actively adjusting their setups to remain effective beneath the latest network rules.
Building a Resilient Operations Partnership
To do well with ad networks, you need to work together with your partners and be able to change quickly. You also need to be open with each other. Ad agencies can not just set up their paid media. Forget about it. They need to keep an eye on it and make changes when needed. If you work closely with the company that provides your white-label service, you can protect your business from losing money. You should expect this company to tell you about changes to the network rules and to take action. The best partnerships are the ones where people work together all the time and make changes fast. This helps your clients make money consistently from their investments even when the rules of the ad networks change. Modern ad networks are always changing, so you need to be able to change with them to do well. Modern ad networks require a lot of work to navigate successfully.
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