Hushpuppi's lawyer says FBI 'kidnapped' Nigerian Instagrammer from Dubai

A Nigerian man accused of multimillion-dollar fraud and money laundering by the United States was kidnapped by the FBI from Dubai, his lawyer says.

Ramon Olorunwa Abbas - known to his 2.5 million Instagram followers as Ray Hushpuppi - and another cyber-heist suspect Olalekan Jacob Ponle (aka Mr Woodberry) were arrested in Dubai, where they lived, in June.

They then appeared in a Chicago court on 3 July.

The United Arab Emirates has no extradition treaty with the United States but Dubai police said they had been extradited to the US.

A spokesman for the US Department of Justice told the BBC that Hushpuppi was expelled from Dubai and was not extradited. He did not answer how he ended up in US custody.

What does Hushpuppi's lawyer say?

Mr Abbas' lawyer Gal Pissetzky told the BBC that his client, who posts on Instagram about his extravagant lifestyle, was not a criminal and had made his money legitimately.

"He is a social media influencer with millions of followers, with millions of people that respect and loved him, and he loved them, and that's what he did. In today's society, that's a business," he said.

Mr Pissetzky admits that he is not "100% familiar" with social media and his children consider him too old but he knows "that's how people make money today.The Chicago defence lawyer's argument that Hushpuppi was paid by designer brands for promotion has set the stage for what promises to be a long trial in American courts.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) accuses Mr Abbas, 37, of conspiring to launder hundreds of millions of dollars from frauds known as Business Email Compromise (BEC) and other scams.

Did the US act legally?

It is the latest high-profile fraud case involving a Nigerian national in the United States but his lawyer says the US had no authority to transport him from Dubai.

"In my opinion, the FBI and the government here acted illegally when they kidnapped him from Dubai without any legal process to do so," Mr Pissetzky told the BBC.

"There was no extradition, there were no legal steps taken, there were no court documents filed, it was simply a call to the FBI. He is not a citizen of the United States, the US had absolutely no authority to take him," his lawyer says.

But the Dubai police said in a Facebook post that the FBI director had thanked them for extraditing the two men.

"You'll have to ask them about why they called it an extradition," the US Department of Justice (DoJ) spokesman responded in an email.

 The DoJ said "FBI special agents earlier this week obtained custody of Abbas and brought him to the United States" without giving any further details.

Mr Pissetzky is not convinced.

"If Dubai wanted to expel him, they should have expelled him back to Nigeria. I've never heard of anything like that. That is the real story here."A complaint against him filed in court accuses Mr Abbas of leading a transnational network of cybercriminals whose targets included a US law firm, a foreign bank and an English Premier League football club.

Email scams typically try to steal an individual's personal information, or to defraud them by impersonating a legitimate business contact and tricking the target into sending money into a wrong account.

They're sometimes called 419 scams, after the relevant article in the Nigerian Criminal Code.

BBC

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has Covid-19

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan says he has tested positive for coronavirus.

Writing on Twitter, the 77-year-old veteran actor, who has appeared in more than 200 films, confirmed his diagnosis and encouraged anyone who had been in contact with him in the past 10 days to get tested.

He was transferred to Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai, according to local media.

BBC

NAF recruitment is free, “Beware of fraudsters”, says Daramola

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), has reiterated that its recruitment process is completely “Free of Charge” and is being executed in an equitable and transparent manner.

Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, NAF’s Director of Public Relations and Information, made this known in a statement in Abuja.

Daramola said that information reaching the NAF indicated that some unscrupulous individuals have established fraudulent Facebook and WhatsApp groups

.He said this was with the objective of extorting money from unsuspecting applicants/candidates, under the false impression that they could guarantee them eventual recruitment into the Service in the 2020 NAF Trades/Non-Trades Men and Women Recruitment Exercise.

“The NAF wishes to reiterate that the entire NAF Recruitment process is completely FREE OF CHARGE and executed in an equitable and transparent manner.

“Interested applicants, who meet the requirements published in the July 10, 2020 editions of the Nation and Daily Trust Newspapers as well as on all NAF official social media handles, are to apply online at the NAF official website, www.airforce.mil.ng, from July 24, to Aug.21.

20 feared killed in fresh Kaduna bandit attacks

No fewer than 20 people have been reportedly killed by gunmen following an attack on Chibuak and Kigudu II communities in Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna state.

The two villages were said to have been attacked consecutively on Thursday and Friday at midnight while some of the villagers were said to be missing.

The Nation gathered the bandits launched another attack on Saturday on Kigudu II where the villagers were preparing for a mass burial for some of the victims who are Catholics.

The Nation

More troubles for Magu as new facts on re-looting of recovered funds emerge

The suspended acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, may be facing fresh cases of alleged re-looting of funds recovered by the commission as well as bribery.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Magu is currently being interrogated by a presidential probe panel headed by retired Justice Ayo Salami over allegations of mismanagement and lack of transparency in managing recovered assets by the EFCC.

A final Report of the Presidential Investigation Committee on the EFCC Federal Government Recovered Assets and Finances from May, 2015, to May 2020, obtained by NAN had seriously indicted and implicated Magu on various allegations leveled against him.he 

investigative committee terms of reference were to:

1. investigate, verify and review the recommendations of the Presidential Committee on Audit of Recovered Assets as it relates to the EFCC, with a view to ascertaining the complicity or otherwise of the Ag. Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, in the mismanagement of the assets recovered by the Commission;

2. Identify Avenues through which the recovered assets are dissipated and seized, recovered, forfeited (Interim and Final) assets are valued, managed, disposed and/or mismanaged with a view to ascertain compliance or otherwise with extant laws, regulations, processes and procedures.

3. Review the existing procedures on the Management of the seized, recovered and Forfeited assets (interim and final) and proffer Standard Operational Procedures for the management of seized, recovered and forfeited assets.

4. Determine whether assets recovered during his tenure, whether locally in Nigeria or abroad, are being kept safely in a manner as to preserve their original value....

The Nation

South African church attack: Five dead after 'hostage situation'

Five people have been killed after attackers stormed a South African church, reportedly amid an argument over its leadership.

South African police said they had rescued men, women and children from a "hostage situation" on the outskirts of Johannesburg on Saturday morning.

They have also arrested at least 40 people, and seized dozens of weapons.

Eyewitnesses say the men who stormed the International Pentecostal Holiness Church were part of a splinter group.

The church's leadership has reportedly been the subject of infighting since its former leader died in 2016. Police had previously been called to the church following a shoot out between members in 2018. 

The year before, the church's finances had come under the spotlight, amid  allegations some 110m Rand had gone missing. 

BBC News

NAFDAC considers 21 herbal products for usage

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says 21 herbal medicinal products are currently being processed by the agency for “Safe use” or Listing status.

Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the Director General of the agency, disclosed this in a statement she signed and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday.

According to Adeyeye, manufacturers of these products who have applied to the agency claimed that their products are only immune boosters and anti-infectives useful for relief of symptoms that could be associated with COVID-19.

The director-general said in the statement that no clinical study has been done yet on any of the products to prove their claim of efficacy.

“Listing status involves the review of the composition of the formulation, the labelling of the product, the process of manufature and ‘Safe to use’ testing.

“Once the product is able to meet all requirements, a listing status is granted with a clear disclaimer that states clearly that the claims have not been evaluated by NAFDAC.