A United States-based Nigerian, Samson Omoniyi, who was arrested alongside eight others for alleged money laundering and fraud, may be sentenced to 20 years in prison if found guilty by US authorities.

This was contained in a press statement signed by the Office of Public Affairs of the US Department of Justice late Wednesday.

The statement noted that Omoniyi, alongside his accomplices, was indicted on Tuesday on allegations of conspiracy to engage in money laundering following their arrest across three jurisdictions in the US.

It further indicated that the defendants, who remain innocent until proven guilty by the court, operated a money laundering organisation to launder proceeds from fraud amounting to millions of US dollars, allegedly obtained from defrauding multiple citizens.

The statement read, “An indictment was unsealed yesterday (Tuesday) in Nashville, Tennessee. It charges nine members of a multi-state money laundering organisation with laundering millions of dollars derived from internet fraud, including business email compromise schemes. The nine defendants were arrested in a coordinated takedown across three jurisdictions.

“According to court documents, Samson A. Omoniyi, 43, of Houston; Misha L. Cooper, 50, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Robert A. Cooper, 66, of Murfreesboro; Carlesha L. Perry, 36, of Houston; Whitney D. Bardley, 30, of Florissant, Missouri; Lauren O. Guidry, 32, of Houston; Caira Y. Osby, 44, of Houston; Dazai S. Harris, 34, of Murfreesboro; and Edward D. Peebles, 35, of Murfreesboro, were charged with conspiracy to engage in money laundering.

“As alleged in the indictment, the defendants were members of a long-running money laundering organisation operating since approximately November 2016 in and around Tennessee, Texas, and across the country.”

The statement further stressed that the defendants used the structured organisation as a guise to launder the proceeds of their fraud and to enrich members of the syndicate.

“The conspirators allegedly structured the organisation so that recruiters or ‘herders’ recruited and directed participants or ‘money mules’ to launder money obtained from Internet frauds that targeted businesses and individuals in the United States and abroad.

“The defendants allegedly used sham and front companies to conceal the fraud proceeds and enrich the conspiracy members. The conspiracy allegedly agreed to launder more than $20 million in fraud proceeds,” it stated.

According to the statement, each of the defendants could be sentenced to 20 years in prison under the US Sentencing Guidelines as the maximum penalty for their offence.

“The defendants each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

“An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law,” the statement concluded.

Earlier reports had it that two Nigerians, Anthony Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu, were sentenced by a US federal jury to 30 years combined jail time for defrauding some US citizens of $3,500,000.

According to the US Justice Department, the duo had deceived their victims by telling them that they had received substantial inheritances that required some money to claim.

The duo was said to have requested their victims send money with a promise to refund them once the inheritances were claimed.

It was also noted that the duo carried out romance scams by establishing romantic relationships with their victims and demanding that they send money after building trust with them.

Australia’s parliament on Thursday passed a world-first law banning social media for children under 16, putting tech companies on notice to tighten security before a cut-off date that’s yet to be set.

The ban came following the passage of a groundbreaking law in parliament.

The new law was drafted in response to what the Labor Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, described as a “clear, causal link between the rise of social media and the harm [to] the mental health of young Australians.”

“We want our kids to have a childhood and parents to know we have their backs,” Albanese told reporters afterwards.

The new law, passed by the Senate with 34 votes to 19, prohibits platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, X, and Reddit from allowing users under 16.

Companies found in violation could face fines of up to AU$50 million (US$32 million). YouTube has been excluded from the ban due to its educational content.

While the law has been hailed by some as a bold move to protect children, it has drawn criticism from academics, advocacy groups, and tech experts.

Concerns have been raised that the legislation could drive teenagers to unsafe spaces like the dark web or lead to increased isolation.

Questions about enforcement have also surfaced, with critics warning that rushed implementation could create privacy risks if companies require extensive personal data for age verification.

Amnesty International has recommended that the bill be reconsidered, arguing “ban that isolates young people will not meet the government’s objective of improving young people’s lives.”

The bill received over 15,000 public submissions in a single day, many opposing the measure, after tech billionaire Elon Musk drew attention to the proposal on X.

The law will take effect in 12 months, allowing time for the government to trial age-verification technologies.

The remaining states yet to implement the “N70,000” minimum wage for workers are making last-minute efforts to prevent the Nigeria Labour Congress from going on strike on Monday, December 1.

The states yet to approve the monthly wage are Katsina, Cross River, and Zamfara, after the Imo State Government authorized the implementation of the “N70,000” wage on Tuesday.

This means 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory have now complied with the 2024 National Minimum Wage Act.

Several states have agreed to pay above the “N70,000” starting point, with Lagos and Rivers offering the highest pay at “N85,000.”

Lagos also announced that its workers could expect up to “N100,000” monthly starting from the first quarter of 2025.

Workers in Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Oyo, and Niger will earn “N80,000,” while Delta and Ogun states approved “N77,000.”

Ebonyi, Osun, Benue and Kebbi states approved N75,000; Ondo, N73,000; Kogi and Kaduna, N72,000; Kano and Gombe, N71,000.

Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Jigawa, Borno, Edo, Kwara, Nasarawa, Taraba, Ekiti, Bauchi, Yobe, Imo and Plateau states, as well as the Federal Capital Territory, all settled for N70,000.

But despite the NLC’s warnings, trio Katsina, Zamfara and Cross River have yet to implement the new wage, which could lead to a shutdown of activities in the affected states from Monday.

On Monday, labour unions in Cross River, who are demanding a new wage of N70,000 from the state government, directed state civil servants to embark on a two-day warning strike over the non-implementation of the new minimum wage.

The warning strike was signed by the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress.

This followed a staged walkout from a scheduled meeting held on November 18 with state government officials, who formed members of the wage implementation committee at the office of the state’s Head of Service, Innocent Eteng, in Calabar, the state capital.

According to the labour leaders, last week, when the committee sat for the first time, the meeting ended in a stalemate when they perceived delayed tactics by the government to postpone the meeting to January.

The state’s civil servants said they were utterly disappointed when Governor Bassey Otu announced a new minimum wage of N40,000 on May 1, during the International Workers Day celebration at the U.J Essueine Stadium in Calabar.

Otu said that due to the state’s lean resources, caused by the statutory federal allocation aggravated by the unfavourable state Gross Domestic Product, the new minimum wage of N40,000 would be in line with realities rather than sentiments.

While giving instances of Edo, Lagos, Rivers and other governors, the workers said they were of high hope before the unexpected announcement of N40,000.

The strike action, which was signed by the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, was set to commence from November 24 midnight to 26, 2024.

• ‘No Going Back’

The Cross River State Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress, Gregory Ulayi, toild said that the union would embark on an indefinite strike if the state government failed to implement the new minimum wage for the workers.

He noted that the two-day warning strike was embarked upon by workers in the state between Monday and Tuesday, which he described as a call to action to the government.

Ulayi said that after the two-day warning strike, all workers were mandated to return to work as they waited to hear from the state government.

“If the government does not negotiate and do the needful, we will embark on a total strike because it is a directive across the country,” Ulayi said.

However, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Otu, Nsa Gill, said that the state government had set up a committee to negotiate with the labour leaders, as part of last-ditch efforts to prevent the looming strike on Monday.

He said that despite the nationwide deadline for the implementation of the minimum wage, the Otu-led government was working to ensure payment of a minimum wage of N70,000 or even above.

“The state government has a negotiating team and they are at work. Though, they are yet to reach an agreement as at today (Thursday). The government is ready to pay the N70,000 new minimum wage, if not beyond,” he stated.

“We recognise the fact that there is a national deadline from the labour union, which is slated for December 1, 2024, for all the states to pay the new minimum wage.

“We are trying to see how to build a stronger economic foundation that can make us pay a living wage to our civil servants. Until the team finishes the negotiation, the amount will not be announced. Right now, they are still on the negotiation table for an amicable resolution.”

Katsina State is also likely to face labour’s wrath after its failure to implement the compulsory new wage bill for the state workers.

Multiple sources in the NLC secretariat in Katsina, the state capital, on Thursday, said that the state was yet to approve the payment.

Earlier report had it that the Katsina State Government inaugurated a 15-member committee to guide the implementation of a new minimum wage of N70,000.

Deputy Governor Faruk Lawal, while inaugurating the committee, said the government was aware of the hardship being faced by civil servants in the state.

“You are all aware that His Excellency, the Governor, Mallam Dikko Umar Radda, has set up a committee to implement the N70,000 minimum wage consequential adjustment to all categories of workers in the state.

“This includes the state civil servants, the Local Government employees and other categories of workers. The government is aware of the hardship being encountered by the civil servants,” he stated.

Led by Secretary to the State Government, Abdullahi Faskari, the committee was given three weeks to present strategies and recommendations, including the consequential adjustments for all categories of workers.

The committee includes prominent state officials such as the Head of Civil Service, Falalu Bawale; the state Commissioners for Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, and Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.

Others are the Special Adviser to the Governor on Labor Matters; as well as representatives from the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, among others.

However, the latest reports suggest the committee has not been able to approve the wage.

“Katsina State is yet to implement the new minimum wage though the state has set up a committee in that regard,” a top NLC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity said.

“Negotiation between the labour unions and the government committee members are still ongoing. Anything can happen between now and in four days to come (as at Thursday), which is the December 1 deadline.”

Meanwhile, the Zamfara state Government says it has concluded arrangements for the implementation of the new minimum wage adding that it had been talking with the labour leaders in the state.

Speaking (to The Punch), the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Dauda Lawal on Media and Communications, Mustafa Jafaru Kaura, said the state government would implement the new wage as soon as possible.

He said, “The state government has already set up a committee to work out modalities for the implementation of the new minimum wage of N70,000.”

He stated that the state government wanted to know the exact number of its civil servants and the amount involved before settling the new wage.

Kaura added, “The committee has gone far in its assignment and I am telling you that as soon as the committee finishes its assignment, Governor Lawal will surely implement the new wage.”

Kaura stated that members of the committee included labour leaders and other stakeholders who were given the responsibility to work out the modalities on how best to implement the new wage.

He stressed that the state government would never fail the civil servants, adding that “Governor Dauda Lawal is one of the civil servants’ friendly governors in the country.”

“Zamfara workers will never be left out in terms of the new minimum wage,” he added.

“I want you to remember that when he assumed office as the Governor of the state, he met the state’s civil servants collecting N18,000 as minimum wage.”

“He quickly directed the state’s ministry of finance to start implementing the N30,000 minimum wage which was done.’’

“So, I am assuring you that, the Governor will soon implement the new minimum wage for N70,000,” Kaura said.

Earlier in November, Governor Lawal reiterated his government’s resolve to pay the minimum wage after working out all necessary modalities.

He said, “We have to know what comes in, the number of our workforce, and what we will pay as minimum wage,” adding, “The welfare of my workforce has been my priority since I assumed office.”

“When we came on board, for four months workers of the state had not been paid their salaries, and the first thing I did was to pay the workers.

“Today, as from the 25th of every month, I make sure that workers are paid. So, in other words, I spend about N5bn on wages every month. I paid my workers. I improved the salaries of local government staff as well as paid pensioners.

“So every month, I boost the state’s economy. If you go around, you will see how small traders are making brisk business from the goods they display in markets and streets.”

Commenting on the backlog of pension arrears he inherited from previous administrations, he said that out of the N13bn pension liabilities, he was able to settle over N11bn.

Credit: The Punch