“Where was Wike in 2003 when a national honour was given to me as a result of developing Abuja? Where was he? Is it because of these fake opportunities that they have in the country that lead them to come on television and start harassing the citizens? When you talk of integrity we never go into shady deals.”

These were the exact words of Linus Ukachukwu, Abuja based billionaire businessman, as he fired back at Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), over the issue of demolition of a large piece of land in Abuja, belonging to him and his brother, Nicholas Ukachukwu.

Wike had described them as landgrabbers, who acquired the property through the back channels, using corrupt officials of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), a move which he vowed not to condone under his administration of the capital city.

Ukachukwu, who appeared visibly angry at being so tagged, stated that the Minister was far behind in rating considering what he and his brother had contributed in the development of the FCT for decades now, for which they had won individual awards from the government.

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Ukachukwu, while appearing on African Independent Television (AIT), accused Wike and Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, a former FCT Minister, and later Governor of Kaduna State of colluding with Lebanese developers to seize his land.

Hear him: “As far back as 2003, I had a national honour as a result of what I had been doing in the housing sector in Abuja. In 2005 my brother had a similar honour. How can you call Linus Ukachukwu and Nichoas Ukachukwu land grabbers? We need a serious apology from Wike.

“Where was Wike in 2003 when a national honour was given to me as a result of developing Abuja? Where was he? Is it because of these fake opportunities that they have in the country that lead them to come on television and start harassing the citizens? When you talk of integrity we never go into shady deals.

“This land was given in the nineties. I gave the documents showing the ministerial approval to AIT. Along the way because of the size of the land, El-Rufai came in and intimidated the first person (allotee) that they gave that land and did all manners of things to try to take that land from him. At the end of the day, they went to EFCC, went to court and the court discharged the guy and said that there is no forgery on the document.

“They went to court of Appeal, EFCC lost and they gave up and gave the Certificate of Clearance to the initial person that the land was allocated to. That was when we now came in and acquired some of the property and discovered that while the matter was still in the court, that El-Rufai went and gave part of the plot to Sunrise without even revoking our rights.

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“So, you can see the impunity. Some of these leaders you need to stop listening to them because they are just bunches of liars. He took part of the land and gave it to Sunrise, (Lebanese) without revoking our title.”

Ukachukwu, who revealed how Mohammed Musa Bello, Wike’s immediate predecessor, set up a committee to address the dispute, he which he said, discovered that the original title held by him and his brother remained legitimate, he stated that the former Minister then suggested they should surrender the portion of land already developed by Sunrise and focus on developing the remaining area.

Stressing that contrary to Wike’s claim, the land dispute had been settled in his favour approximately seven months prior to the end of the last administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, under which Bello served, he said the latest action was instigated by the same Lebanese, who met the Minister and pushed him into the matter.

Hear him: “Along the way, these Lebanese went to Wike and called for a meeting. My brother went for the meeting and in that meeting, Wike started intimidation, he didn’t even want my brother to talk, but Ukachukwus cannot be intimidated because Wike does not have address even to intimidate anybody.

“If he can intimidate, it is not me because I made my money through the grace of God and sweat. I never stole and I never worked for any government. In that meeting, he didn’t even want my brother to talk until my brother raised his voice and said you cannot bring me for a meeting and tell me that I cannot talk and that only my lawyer can talk.”

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Idris Olanrewaju Okuneye, Nigerian crossdresser, popularly known as Bobrisky, promptly admitted guilt in the case of Naira abuse slammed on him at the Federal High Court, in Lagos on Friday, rather than wasting the courts time, in apparent move to secure some leniency Justice Abimbola Awogboro, presiding over the matter.

The controversial mummy of Lagos, who was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), was brought to the court to answer charges on a six-count bothering on abuse of the Naira – four counts and two counts bothering on money laundering, wasted no time in pleading guilty.

Before the charges were read to him Suleiman Suleiman, asked the court to strike out counts five and six bordering on money laundering allegations, which Awogboro acceded to and subsequently struck the said counts out, leaving the controversial figure, who has since adopted a female gender as his preference to promptly plead guilty.

“Yes, I am guilty,” he told the court after the charges were read to him, but pleaded that his matter be treated with mercy, since he was not aware that the said act was an offence under the Nigerian law.

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Addressing himself as a media influencer, he told the court that he was ready to make amends and to particularly do a video to enlighten Nigerians, who like him, might not know about the law on the implication of the act.

“I know, My Lord. My Lord, I wish that you could give me a second chance to use my platform to inform and educate my followers about spraying money. I would do a video on my page and I will educate people about spraying money. I will not repeat it again. I regret my actions,” he said.

A manhunt to track down Nadeem Anjarwalla, Executive Manager of Binance for the African region, who escaped from detention in Nigeria, has been launched by the Federal Government, with other international security operatives combing the streets across the globe in collaborative aide to help bring him back to the country.

News of the escape of the fugitive, who was on a 14-day detention order by a Nigerian court, was broken on Monday morning, with reports saying that he bolted away from the facility where he was being detained before fleeing the country, on the eve of his appearance in court on criminal charges.

The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), from which he was said to have fled, while indicating in a statement on Monday that a worldwide manhunt had begun to bring him back to the country to answer to the crime of money laundering and tax evasion, called on the public and the international community to provide vital information that could help law enforcement agencies in apprehending him.

Zakari Mijinyawa, Head of Strategic Communication, said in the statement: “The Federal Government, like other governments around the world, has been investigating money laundering and terrorism financing transactions perpetrated on the Binance currency exchange platform.

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“Until his escape, Nadeem Anjarwalla, who holds British and Kenyan nationalities and serves as Binance’s Africa regional manager, was being tried by Nigerian courts. The suspect escaped while under a 14-day remand order by a court in Nigeria, and was scheduled to appear before the court again on April 4, 2024.

“The Office of the National Security Adviser confirms that Nadeem Anjarwalla, a suspect in the ongoing criminal probe into the activities of Binance in Nigeria escaped from lawful custody on Friday, March 22, 2024. Upon receiving this report, this office took immediate steps, in conjunction with relevant security agencies, MDAs, as well as the international community, to apprehend the suspect.”

Mijinyawa, who said the federal government had reached out to the international police (Interpol) to help in arresting Anjarwalla, confirmed that the fugitive used a smuggled passport, to leave the country, adding that officers charged with ensuring the suspect did not flee had been arrested.

“Security agencies are working with Interpol for an international arrest warrant on Nadeem Anjarwalla. Preliminary investigation shows that Anjarwalla fled Nigeria using a smuggled passport. The personnel responsible for the custody of the suspect have been arrested, and a thorough investigation is ongoing to unravel the circumstances that led to his escape from lawful detention,” the statement added.

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