Two men arrested by the Department of State Services, DSS, have been sentenced to death by an Ekiti State High Court following their conviction for the kidnap of a staff member of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC.The convicts, Ibrahim Abubakar and Abdullahi Abubakar, were convicted by the Ekiti State High Court I, Fajuyi, Ado-Ekiti, in suit number HAD/124C/2022, and are to die by hanging.A third defendant, Usman Abubakar, was however discharged after the Court held that there was insufficient evidence linking him to the crime.The case stemmed from the abduction of Omoboade Adesina, a female staff member of the National Youth Service Corps in Ekiti State, on 22nd April 2022.Following the abduction, the two convicts were arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services and subsequently prosecuted.Delivering judgment, the Chief Judge of Ekiti State, Justice Lekan Ogunmoye, found Ibrahim Abubakar and Abdullahi Abubakar guilty of kidnapping and sentenced both men to death by hanging.The Court, however, discharged and acquitted the third defendant, Usman Abubakar.Justice Ogunmoye commended the diligence and professionalism of the DSS prosecutors for successfully proving the case beyond reasonable doubt.He specifically highlighted the identification parade conducted by the Service, as well as the analysis of Call Data Records during investigation, as critical pieces of evidence that strengthened the prosecution’s case and ultimately secured the conviction.The judgment marks another major courtroom success for the Department of State Services in its sustained efforts to combat violent crimes across the country.The conviction comes on the heels of a death sentence recently handed down by a Sokoto State High Court against three men convicted of terrorism and cross-border arms proliferation.It also follows the successful conviction of a kidnap suspect in Kogi State earlier secured by the Service, among other prosecutions.The secret Police notes that the string of successful prosecutions underscores the increasing reliance on intelligence-led investigations in tackling kidnapping, terrorism, and other violent crimes.It also reinforces the commitment of the Department of State Services to ensuring that perpetrators of kidnapping, terrorism, and related criminal offences are brought to justice and made to face the full weight of the law.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, 23 and Wednesday, 24 June, 2026 presented two prosecution witnesses, PW1, Babatunde Adebayo, and PW2, Paul Olufemi, in the trial of Ifoma Immanuel, who is facing charges an alleged $1.5 million fraud before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja.Investigations revealed that the defendant allegedly induced Adebisi Adebutu of R28 Holdings Limited to invest $1.5 million under the guise of financing projects linked to Chappal Petroleum Development Company Limited, Intermediate Investment Holdings Limited, and Chappal Energies Mauritius Limited.According to investigations , the investment was accompanied by assurances of reimbursement, a development capital fee of $2.25 million, and a 22.4 per cent equity stake in Intermediate Investment Holdings Limited.Following the conclusion of investigations, the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 arraigned Immanuel and his company, Intermediate Investment Holdings Limited, on March 11, 2026, on a two-count charge bordering on obtaining by false pretence and forgery involving $1.5 million.The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, PW1, led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Babatunde Sonoiki, told the court how he facilitated the transfer of $500,000 into accounts nominated by the defendant in the United States and Mauritius.Adebayo, a financial adviser, testified that in 2022, Immanuel approached him seeking financial assistance, claiming that he had secured an investor interested in funding a business venture.“The defendant informed me that he had an investor willing to invest in a business. At that time, the exchange rate was about N600 to one US dollar,” he told the court.He further stated that the defendant later sent payment instructions via WhatsApp, including details relating to a total sum of $500,000.According to him, Immanuel provided his personal bank account details in Jersey Island, where $400,000 was to be credited, and directed him to confirm from Sheriff Oluwo and Chikezie Evuluchkwu where the remaining $100,000 should be sent.“He forwarded his personal bank details in Jersey Island, where the sum of $400,000 was to be credited. He also directed me to confirm from Sheriff Oluwo and Chikezie Evuluchkwu where the balance of $100,000 should be sent,” he said.Adebayo added that although the defendant initially requested that the funds be transferred into his personal account, he declined and insisted on a corporate account.“We requested a corporate account, and the defendant nominated Intermediate Investment Holdings Limited. All proof of payment was sent to Ifoma Immanuel. He gave instructions regarding the $400,000 transfer and directed me to contact Sheriff Oluwo and Chikezie Evuluchkwu concerning the balance of $100,000,” he testified.The prosecution also called PW2, Paul Olufemi, a compliance officer with Providus Bank, who testified on Wednesday, June 24, 2026.Olufemi, led in evidence by another prosecuting counsel E. E. Iheanacho, SAN, told the court that he had worked in the bank’s compliance department for about four years and regularly interfaced with law enforcement agencies, including the EFCC.He stated that Providus Bank received a letter from the EFCC on May 30, 2025, requesting account-opening documents and statements of accounts relating to the first defendant.“We received the request and, after scrutinising it, retrieved and printed the account-opening documents and statements of account from our records. We also attached a certificate of identification duly certified by the bank,” he said.The witness identified the EFCC request letter, the bank’s covering letter, the certificate of identification, account-opening documents, and statements of account, and sought to tender them as exhibits.Counsel to the first defendant, Awah Kalu, SAN, raised no objection to the documents being admitted in evidence.However, counsel to the second defendant, C. E. Wilson Okereke, objected to the admissibility of some of the documents, arguing that they were photocopies that had not been duly certified by the EFCC.He further contended that the Certificate of Incorporation of 107 Global Ventures, being a public document, ought to have been properly certified before being tendered.In response, prosecution counsel Iheanacho, SAN, argued that the documents originated from Providus Bank, which had custody of them, and that the witness, being a bank official, was competent to tender them. He further submitted that the documents were original bank records accompanied by the bank’s certification and covering letter.Following the objections, the prosecution opted to withdraw the disputed documents to regularise their status.Justice Dada subsequently granted the application, striking out the EFCC request letter and the Providus Bank response letter from the list of exhibits.The matter was adjourned until June 29, 2026, for the continuation of trial.

The Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court in Freetown has sentenced the Head of Operations at the United Bank of Africa (UBA), Fredrick Caulker, to a total of forty (40) years’ imprisonment for corruption-related offences involving the misappropriation of public funds.

Delivering judgment at the Main Law Courts Building, Court of Appeal Judge, Honourable Justice Aiah Simeon Allieu, found Caulker guilty on four counts of misappropriation of public funds, contrary to Section 36(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act No. 12 of 2008, as amended by the Anti-Corruption Act No. 9 of 2019.

The offences related to PAYE and withholding tax payments made by the Small Holder Commercialization Agri-Business Development Project (SCADeP) to the National Revenue Authority

According to the prosecution, the accused, of No. 38A Taylor Street, Wellington, Freetown, abused his position as Head of Operations at UBA by diverting tax payments intended for the NRA into accounts other than the designated NRA accounts, on various dates and in various sums.

During the trial, the prosecution called eight witnesses, including a banker from Commerce Mortgage Bank.

Prosecution Witness Two (PW2), a former subordinate of the accused at UBA, testified that in November 2023 he processed several financial transactions on the instruction of Caulker. He told the court that some of the funds, including amounts of Le. 293,749.80, Le. 169,134.29, Le. 1,291,623.50, and Le. 255,725.81, were originally meant to be paid into NRA accounts but were instead redirected to other accounts following instructions from the accused.

Prosecuting Witness 2 further stated that in one instance, Caulker claimed to have received a call indicating that an initial transfer was a mistake and subsequently instructed that the funds be paid into a different account, providing specific account details.

On count five, which alleged conspiracy to commit a corruption offence, Justice Allieu held that the prosecution failed to establish the essential elements of conspiracy. The accused was therefore acquitted and discharged on that count.

However, on counts one to four, the court found Caulker guilty and sentenced him to ten (10) years’ imprisonment on each count. The judge ordered that the sentences run consecutively, resulting in a cumulative sentence of forty (40) years.

In addition to the custodial sentence, the court ordered the convict to pay Le. 1,980,233.40 into the Consolidated Revenue Fund. The amount is to be paid within ninety (90) days from the date of the judgmen

Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court in Freetown has sentenced the Head of Operations at the United Bank of Africa (UBA), Fredrick Caulker, to a total of forty (40) years’ imprisonment for corruption-related offences involving the misappropriation of public funds.

Source: SierraLeone loaded