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COVID-19: Abuja Hospital Rejects Governor Ikpeazu

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A private hospital in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, has rejected the Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu (Ph.D), who sought treatment there for Coronavirus (COVID-19), News Express is reporting.

The hospital, located in the Gudu area of the FCT, turned him down on the excuse “that they are into kidney transplant and cannot afford an iota of infection”, a source close to the elitist medical facility told journalists on Tuesday.

“Ikpeazu has been in Abuja for four days. After being diagnosed positive for COVID-19, he sought treatment at Zenith Hospital, Gudu, but they refused. They are into kidney transplant and cannot afford an iota of infection,” the source said.

Asked where Ikpeazu was eventually admitted for treatment, the source said: “They moved him to a private facility.”

News Express had last night broke the news of Governor Ikpeazu being flown out of Abia State in search of treatment for COVID-19. Sources close to the Government House, Umuahia, had disclosed that he was “flown to Abuja for treatment and was not in Abia State as at last week Saturday.”

Ikpeazu’s positive test result was announced on Monday by Abia State Commissioner for Information, Chief John Okiyi Kalu. This is contrary to the practice of governors who contract COVID-19 personally announcing it on camera and assuring their subjects as they proceed for treatment.

Confirming the status of the Governor, Okiyi had said: “The Governor confirmed that the second test carried out on his sample by the NCDC laboratory returned a positive result.

“I wish to assure the good people of Abia State that their governor is fighting the virus. We spoke even up to 2 a.m. this morning but he decided that it is important to let the people of Abia State know and that we also strongly advise our people to take personal responsibility for their own safety because COVID-19 is real and that the state has the resources to nurse individuals who might come down with this virus back to good health.”

Continuing, Okiyi said: “The governor is being taken care of by a team of competent medics and, in the interim, the Deputy Governor will continue to perform the duties of the Office of the Governor and we do not expect that there will be any lacuna in government.”

The Commissioner was silent on the whereabouts of the Governor.

Contacted on Tuesday morning and confronted with the information reaching News Express that Governor Ikpeazu has been flown out of Abia State for treatment, Okiyi replied: “Governor Ikpeazu is much better and in medical isolation. He is receiving good care and will soon return to work.”

Once more, he played mute on the whereabouts of his principal.

Before Ikpeazu’s positive test, four other state governors previously contracted COVID-19 but have since been successfully treated and returned to work. They are Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), and Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna.

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“Twin Warrior”: Paul Okoye Accuses Peter Of Song Theft, Vows To Release ‘Original Version’

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Paul ‘Rudeboy’ Okoye, the Nigerian singer, has accused Peter ‘Mr P’ Okoye, his twin brother, of alleged intellectual property theft.

Mr P recently released the single ‘Winning’ — just a few months after the brothers confirmed that Psquare, their shared music group, was no longer active.

However, in a recent Instagram post, Rudeboy claimed that the song was his, stating that it was meant to feature on his upcoming album. He further alleged that the producer hijacked the track.

“Written and sang by Rudeboy. Produced by same producer. Now how come? Now am I supposed to release another version? Mr Producer, your case is for another day,” he wrote.

“Just a simple thing, bring 6 songs, let me bring 6 songs. I submitted 6 songs to the so-called management. Why re-singing my own song? word for word. Song that was supposed to be in my album next year June.”

In another post, the singer vowed to release “original versions of any copied songs,” adding that “the days of manipulation are over.”

“The days of manipulation are over. And to the management, make I hear any song wey na only me sing, I go release the original version. Oloriburuku! Music is not that hard,” he wrote.

Psquare split in 2017 following a feud between Peter Okoye and Paul. Though they reunited in November 2021, their reconciliation was short-lived.

Paul recently revealed another fallout, accusing Peter of orchestrating his arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Peter, however, denied the allegations and accused Jude Okoye, their older brother, of diverting millions of dollars from their joint account into a secret company.

Paul also expressed frustration over his past role in the music group. He claimed to have done most of the work while others benefited.

Mr P has yet to respond to his brother’s recent allegations.

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US Court Sends British-Nigerian To Seven Years In Jail Over $5m Cyber Fraud

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Oludayo Adeagbo, a British-Nigerian, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in a multimillion-dollar business email compromise (BEC) scheme.

According to the US Department of Justice, Adeagbo, who also goes by John Edwards and John Dayo, conspired with others to steal over $3 million from various entities in Texas, including local government bodies, construction companies, and a Houston-area college.

Adeagbo and his co-conspirators also defrauded a North Carolina university of more than $1.9 million.

The case began in August 2022 when Adeagbo and two other Nigerian citizens, Donald Echeazu, 42, and Olabanji Egbinola, 44, were extradited from the United Kingdom (UK), where they had been residing, to face charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering.

The US Department of Justice stated that the offences were committed in North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.

On April 8, Adeagbo pleaded guilty in two cases against him in North Carolina and Texas for participating in a business email compromise scheme, which is also referred to as a “cyber-enabled financial fraud” scheme.

A business email compromise scheme can be initiated by scammers creating fake accounts that mimic companies a business regularly deals with.

Court records revealed that Adeagbo and his co-conspirators gathered information about significant construction projects across the United States, including a multi-million-dollar project at a university in North Carolina.

“To execute the scheme, Adeagbo, Echeazu, and others registered a domain name similar to that of the legitimate construction company in charge of the university’s project and created an email address that closely resembled that of an employee of the construction company,” the Department of Justice said.

“Using the fake email address, the fraudsters deceived and directed the university to wire a payment of more than $1.9 million to a bank account controlled by an individual working under the direction of Adeagbo and his co-conspirators.”

Adeagbo and his co-conspirators employed the same tactics in Texas, targeting local government entities and universities by impersonating construction companies. They stole over $3 million from the scheme, bringing their total haul to $5 million.

Adeagbo has been ordered to pay $942,655.03 in restitution and will serve seven years in prison.

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Nigerian-American Oye Owolewa Re-Elected To US Congress

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Oye Owolewa, a Nigerian-American Democrat, has been re-elected as the shadow representative for the District of Columbia (DC).

Owolewa, a PhD graduate from Northeastern University in Boston, made history in November 2020 when he became the first Nigerian-American elected to Congress.

He secured 164,026 votes, or 82.84 percent of the total votes cast in DC.

His role, while not officially recognized by the US government as a full member of Congress, is to advocate for the district’s interests, particularly its bid for statehood.

On Thursday, Owolewa expressed his gratitude to DC voters via a post on X, thanking them for their continued support.

“Thank you DC again for giving me chance to serve. I also want to thank the organizations that have supported, partnered with and endorsed me,” he wrote.

While shadow representatives like Owolewa do not have voting power in the US House of Representatives, they play a key role in pushing for recognition and state-level advocacy for DC residents, who are otherwise disenfranchised at the federal level.

Owolewa has consistently championed the cause of DC statehood, which has become a central focus of his work.

The re-election took place on November 5, the same day as the US presidential election.

In that election, former President Donald Trump defeated Vice-President Kamala Harris, securing over 270 electoral votes to win a second term.

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