Crime & Justice
‘Smear Campaign Against Tinubu, EFCC Boss Exposed’
A coalition under the aegis of the National Interest Coalition (NICO) has raised alarm over what it described as a grand conspiracy by some embattled top government office holders to derail President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s anti-corruption fight and destabilise the leadership of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The group alleged that the plot, backed by ₦5 billion, was designed to blackmail EFCC Chairman Olanipekun Olukoyede and smear the anti-corruption drive of the Tinubu administration.
Addressing journalists in Abuja during a solidarity march and world press conference on Monday, NICO leader, Comrade Bashir Abdu, said those behind the alleged conspiracy were desperate men already facing corruption-related cases, who were determined to escape justice at all costs.
According to Abdu, the conspirators have deployed stolen public funds to sponsor negative propaganda against the EFCC leadership and President Tinubu.
He claimed they had gone as far as holding secret meetings with dissident individuals and financing hostile media campaigns through offshore accounts in Dubai.
“They want to divert attention from ongoing investigations that have exposed their dirty dealings. Their intention is simple: to undermine the anti-corruption war and destabilise the government,” Abdu alleged.
He further disclosed that NICO was offered ₦100 million to join the plot but refused, insisting that the anti-graft war must not be derailed.
Thousands of Nigerians joined the coalition’s solidarity march in Abuja, chanting support for President Tinubu’s administration and passing a vote of confidence on the EFCC boss.
NICO listed some of the reforms and achievements under the Tinubu administration and the current EFCC leadership, including granting anti-graft agencies free hands to prosecute cases, blocking leakages through the Treasury Single Account (TSA), strengthening criminal justice processes, recovering billions in stolen assets, and securing hundreds of convictions.
“These desperate attacks are not just against Mr. Olukoyede or the EFCC, they are direct attacks on President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, on the future of Nigeria’s children, and on millions of citizens who want a government that works for them, not for corrupt elites,” the coalition said.
The group urged the President not to be distracted or intimidated, warning that corruption was “fighting back” through orchestrated media campaigns, propaganda, and attempts to paint the anti-corruption war as selective.
They called on civil society groups, labour unions, student associations, religious bodies, and patriotic Nigerians at home and abroad to resist what they described as a “sinister agenda” and defend the country’s anti-corruption institutions.
“This country belongs to over 200 million Nigerians, not to a handful of corrupt men hiding behind propaganda. Let the world hear us: We stand with President Tinubu. We stand with the EFCC. We stand with Olanipekun Olukoyede. And we stand with justice,” NICO declared.
The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, arraigned a businessman, Christopher Elendu Enyinnwa, before Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, over an alleged ₦30.14 million fraud.
Enyinnwa was arraigned on a four-count charge bordering on fraudulent conversion and obtaining money under false pretences in connection with the proposed supply of slippers from China.
The defendant was alleged to have collected a total of ₦30,140,000 from the petitioner, Chidebere Love Okafor, for the supply of slippers from China.
Count One reads: “Christopher Elendu Enyinwa sometime in August 2024, at Lagos within the Ikeja Judicial Division, fraudulently converted for your own use the sum of Two Million Naira (₦2,000,000.00), property of Chidebere Love Okafor.”
Count Two reads: “Christopher Elendu Enyinwa sometime in August 2024, at Lagos within the Ikeja Judicial Division, fraudulently converted for your own use the sum of Eleven Million, Nine Hundred and Twenty-Three Thousand Naira (₦11,923,000.00), property of Chidebere Love Okafor.”
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following his plea, prosecution counsel, Fanen Anum, informed the court that the prosecution was ready for trial and had two witnesses available in court.
Defence counsel, K.C. Atuenyi, however, sought an adjournment to enable him to prepare for trial, explaining that he had prepared only for the arraignment.
Justice Abike-Fadipe overruled the defence request and directed the prosecution to call its first witness.
The first prosecution witness, PW1, Okafor Love Chidebere, who works at Gomac Industry Nigeria Limited and is the petitioner, told the court that she knew the defendant as a fellow church member.
According to her, Enyinnwa had told her that he travelled to China for business and could assist her in purchasing slippers from China.
She said, “He is my church member. I knew him in church. He told me he buys goods, and I approached him to buy slippers in China for me.”
The witness explained that, after discussing the product she wanted to purchase, she gave the defendant a sample of the slippers to take to China.
She said the defendant subsequently provided a price for the goods, which she initially considered high because she was negotiating with another company offering a lower price.
According to her, she eventually trusted Enyinnwa because he was her church member and agreed to proceed with the transaction.
She told the court that the defendant requested an initial deposit of ₦2 million, which she paid into his Access Bank account in August 2024.
The witness further stated that, after the defendant returned from China, he showed them samples of the slippers, following which some amendments were made and the samples were returned to him.
She said the defendant later requested ₦11,923,000 to commence production, which was also paid into his Access Bank account.
According to her, the defendant subsequently demanded another ₦15 million as the balance, which was paid to him.
She said, “After that, he told us that he will go back to ship the goods in a very short while.”
However, when the defendant did not travel as expected, the witness said they contacted him, and he claimed that he was having issues with his travel documents.
She further told the court that, after several calls, the defendant requested another ₦2 million to facilitate his travel documents.
According to her, she and her husband agreed to provide the money because they wanted him to travel back to China and complete the transaction.
The witness said the defendant eventually travelled to China in February 2025 and later informed them that he had shipped goods, including clothes, and would provide the relevant documents when the shipment arrived.
She said the goods, however, did not arrive as promised.
The witness further narrated that her pastor subsequently summoned her to his office and informed her that some of the defendant’s claims were allegedly untrue.
She said members of the church intervened in the matter and the defendant promised to refund the money, but had yet to do so.
According to PW1, “The total amount is ₦30,140,000. Up till now, I have not seen the goods and the money.”
During cross-examination, defence counsel, K.C. Atuenyi, requested another date to cross-examine the witness.
The prosecution thereafter urged the court to remand the defendant in a correctional facility.
Justice Abike-Fadipe adjourned the matter to November 26, December 16 and 17, 2026, for continuation of trial and ordered that the defendant be remanded in a correctional facility.
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has intercepted two persons in Adamawa State with ₦34 million in cash, with the suspects allegedly linked to a kidnapping syndicate.
The suspects were intercepted with the cash during an operation in the state.
The Comptroller of Immigration Service, Sani Sule-Jega, disclosed this at a media briefing in Yola, the Adamawa State capital.
According to him, preliminary investigations showed that the suspects claimed the money was intended to pay ransom for their abducted brother.
In a separate operation, the Adamawa State Command of the NIS also intercepted 17 irregular migrants at Rumde Baruw in Yola North Local Government Area of the state.
The undocumented migrants were intercepted at a private three-bedroom residence during an operation by officers of the command.
Sule-Jega said preliminary profiling showed that 13 of the migrants were Cameroonian nationals, comprising eight males and five females, while the remaining four were Chadian nationals, all males.
The Comptroller noted a shift in the accommodation pattern of undocumented migrants, particularly their increasing use of private and unregistered apartments instead of conventional lodging facilities such as hotels.
He said the service was intensifying surveillance and intelligence-led operations to identify and address emerging patterns of irregular migration in the state.
Sule-Jega reiterated the command’s commitment to safeguarding Nigeria’s territorial integrity, improving migration management and strengthening border security.
He urged members of the public to remain vigilant and provide credible information that could assist security agencies in maintaining peace and security across the state.
The suspects and recovered cash have been taken into custody for further investigation and necessary action in accordance with established procedures and applicable laws.
The Comptroller General of Immigration has directed that the suspects and exhibits be handed over to the Nigeria Police Force for further investigation.
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