Crime & Court
Oyo: Family of slain LAUTECH final year student, Adediran plead for justice
Family of James Adesoji Adediran, a slain final year student of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, who was reported to have hanged himself two years ago have called the Nigerian Police to provide the result of their findings of his death.
A member of the family, Pastor Anthony Jaiyeade Adediran made the call while speaking with journalists in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital during their follow up investigation on the slain final year student of the Urban and Regional planning Department of LAUTECH, who was allegedly killed two years ago.
According to Pastor Adediran, the police have not been able to come out with anything substantial on the matter despite all the promises and this have left the whole family to live in fear.
He recalled that prior to the death of Adesoji, the father who is a clergy man and one of the leaders of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria PFN, a major block under the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN in his local government have received series of threats and warning from different quarters to desist from talking against the government and its policies, especially in the area of safety of lives of the citizens who were constantly being killed and many churches set ablaze by herdsmen and other criminally minded people in various parts of the country.
Pastor Adediran explained further that Adesoji’s mother, Mrs. Funmi Adediran as a political activist and a member of the Accord Party (AP) had also been invited several times to join the All Progressive Congress (APC) or the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), an invitation she had vehemently resisted each time it comes up and this according to him didn’t boil down well with them.
The matter which the police said they have been investigating had not yielded any positive result as no one have been arrested nor invited for questioning by the police. However, this development has shattered the family of Adesoji apart as they now live in perpetual fear as they don’t know who is next on the list of the killers among the family members.
Speaking on the insinuation that he took his life, many of the students of the school who were his colleagues debunked this, saying Adesoji was a jovial easy going gentle fellow who showed no sign of depression or any pressure whatsoever either academically, socially or otherwise.
He was almost done with his final year project and he never complained of anything. We are a clique and we eat together; it was all fun, until we found his corpse”, said his friends.
It was gathered that the corpse was deposited in a mortuary for autopsy but the family of the deceased revealed that Adediran’s body was released for burial without conducting any autopsy on him.
SP Olugbenga Fadeyi, the Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), said though investigation is on going on the matter, but he knows little or nothing about it as the incident happened long before he assumed office.
He, however assured that investigation is ongoing on it as the case must have been transfered to the Criminal Investigation Department CID, Iyaganku Ibadan.
Also, officers at the Homicide department of the CID, Iyaganku Ibadan, informed that they can neither talk on the matter nor readily trace the file as they were newly transfered to the section.
But, the command’s spokesman, SP Fadeyi advised that should the family have any new clue to the matter, they should just come up with it as it will go a long way to assist the police in their investigation.
Adesoji who was described as a jovial, funny and easy going promising young man was murdered in his hostel room on March 18 2017.
The family however concluded by expressing hope that the case of the gruesome murder of the young Adesoji Adediran will not go the way of other high profile killings in the country, such as that of late Pa Alfred Rewane, Chief Bola Ige, Dele Giwa, Marshal Harry, Funsho Williams Dipo Dina among others which had been on for years now without any conclusive investigation or notable prosecution, so that other family members can live in peace.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has rearrested Friday Audu, the alleged mastermind of a massive cryptocurrency investment fraud and romance scam, just moments after he was granted bail by a Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos.
In a dramatic turn of events, EFCC operatives intercepted Audu as he stepped out of the court premises on Thursday. The anti-graft officers swiftly bundled him into a waiting white van and whisked him away, while his co-defendants were led off by correctional officers.
Audu, alongside two Chinese nationals, Huang Haoyu and An Hongxu, as well as their company, Genting International Ltd, is facing a 12-count charge bordering on cybercrime. The trio was arraigned before Justice Daniel Osiagor on Monday, March 17, and returned to court on March 20 for their bail hearing.
Despite being granted bail, Audu’s troubles deepened as EFCC officials moved in swiftly. The court had granted him bail in the sum of N50 million, with two sureties—one being a serving director in Nigeria, and the other a Lagos-based property owner willing to surrender title documents to the court. Until these conditions are met, Audu was to remain in correctional custody.
However, his alleged accomplice, Huang Haoyu, was not as fortunate. The court denied his bail application, ruling that his residence status in Nigeria was unclear and that he posed a flight risk. The third defendant, An Hongxu, did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody.
Justice Osiagor adjourned the trial to May 2, 2025.
How It All Started
The EFCC’s case against Audu and his co-defendants stems from a December 2024 sting operation that led to the arrest of 193 foreigners and several Nigerians linked to a sophisticated cyber-fraud network.
According to the prosecution, Audu allegedly spearheaded the recruitment of young Nigerians into the syndicate, which engaged in cyber fraud, cryptocurrency scams, and illicit financial dealings. The EFCC further alleged that the group conspired with one Dualiang Pan (still at large) to access computer systems designed to destabilize Nigeria’s economic and social structure.
The defendants were accused of using young Nigerians to impersonate foreign nationals in online scams, defrauding unsuspecting victims of millions of dollars. Investigators also linked them to a staggering ₦3.4 billion fraud, with proceeds traced to the Union Bank account of Genting International Ltd.
Other fraudulent transactions flagged in the case include:
- The illegal retention of $1.2 million in a crypto wallet by one Chukwuemeka Okeke.
- A similar retention of $1.3 million by Alhassan Garba and Ifesinachi Jacobs.
- Suspicious transfers of ₦106 million and ₦913 million to an account controlled by Dualiang Pan.
- Unofficial foreign exchange dealings worth over ₦2 billion, allegedly conducted outside the Central Bank of Nigeria’s approved system.
The EFCC maintained that these activities violated multiple provisions of the Cybercrime (Prohibition) Act 2015, the Money Laundering Act 2021, and the Foreign Exchange Monitoring Act 2004.
Battle for Bail
During Thursday’s proceedings, EFCC prosecutor Bilikisu Buhari-Bala opposed bail for the defendants, arguing that they were flight risks and key players in an extensive cybercrime syndicate. She pressed for an accelerated trial instead.
Defense counsels, however, pleaded for leniency. Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Emeka Okpoko, representing the first defendant, urged the court to grant his client bail on “liberal terms.” Similarly, Clement Onwuenwunor (SAN), who represented Audu, pushed for his client’s release under favorable conditions.
Despite the court’s decision to grant Audu bail, his freedom was short-lived as EFCC officials quickly stepped in to rearrest him, a move that hints at fresh charges or an ongoing investigation.
With the case now set for trial on May 2, all eyes remain on the EFCC and the fate of the alleged crypto fraud syndicate.
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested the Accountant General of Bauchi State, Sirajo Jaja, over an alleged ₦70 billion fraud.
Jaja was apprehended in Abuja on Wednesday, 19 March 2025, alongside Aliyu Abubakar, an operator of Jasfad Resources Enterprise—an unlicensed bureau de change (BDC)—and Sunusi Ibrahim Sambo, a Point of Sale (PoS) operator.
Their arrests form part of an ongoing EFCC investigation into allegations of money laundering, diversion of public funds, and misappropriation involving the staggering sum.
The Commission is also probing the Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, in connection with the matter.
According to the EFCC, preliminary findings indicate that a total of ₦59 billion was withdrawn in cash through various bank accounts managed by the Accountant General on behalf of the state government. The funds were allegedly transferred to Abubakar and Sambo, who then made cash payments to political party agents and associates of the governor.
Notably, Abubakar, the BDC operator, had previously absconded while on bail but has now been rearrested.
EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, confirmed the arrests, stating that investigations are ongoing to unravel the full extent of the financial misconduct.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a shipment of cocaine ingeniously concealed within prayer beads and locally made shoes, foiling an attempt to traffic the illicit substance.
NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, revealing that some suspects have been arrested in connection with the smuggling attempt.
Babafemi, who shared images of the seized contraband on X (formerly Twitter), condemned the act, especially in the holy month when religious devotion takes precedence.
“In this holy month, when people are consecrating themselves and making supplications to their God, some persons were preoccupied with concealing cocaine in prayer beads and locally made shoes to desecrate the precincts of the holy land in the holy month,” he stated.
He further noted that vigilant NDLEA operatives intercepted the illicit shipment, preventing the traffickers from executing their plan.
The anti-narcotics agency has intensified its crackdown on drug trafficking, especially methods that exploit religious items and sacred periods to evade detection.
As investigations continue, the NDLEA reaffirmed its commitment to curbing drug-related crimes and ensuring that traffickers face the full weight of the law.
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