BIG STORY

Errand360NG Delivery Man Remanded Over Stolen Bike Dies In Prison

Published

3 years ago

May 26, 2022

A 19-year-old delivery man with a company, Errand360NG, Chidera (Ezekiel) Uzoma, has died in the Ikoyi Custodial Centre where he was remanded over the loss of a bike belonging to his employers.

It was gathered that after Chidera reported the loss to the company, he was arrested and charged to court.

A Twitter user, Oluchi @General_Oluchi, in a series of tweets on Monday, said the victim had been in remand since March 2022, adding that his elder brother, Samuel, had been calling for his release.

She tweeted, “Can we talk about this case? 20-year-old Chidera Uzoma started working for @errand360HQ as a delivery guy and one morning, he discovered that the work bike he parked in front of his apartment was missing. He informed the company and they arrested and charged him in court but promised to drop the case if he replaces the bike. Chidera replaced the bike, but @errand360HQ refused to drop the case. In March, he was remanded in Ikoyi prison and was found dead on April 24. Since then, his brother @justice4ezekiel has been tweeting about it.

“Ikoyi Prison said Chidera was sick for a while before he died. His family needs closure because the circumstances surrounding his death are mysterious.”

The victim’s brother, Samuel, said he went to the mortuary to retrieve his body on May 23.

He tweeted, “Yesterday, I was at the mortuary for the 2nd time. I was telling my brother, ‘bro bushman don comes Lag o, come teach me how to drag bus. He couldn’t even look at me. He laid there like a log of wood. Nigerians help me ask @errand360HQ. What happened to chidera, #justiceforchidera?

“He will be 20 by 12th October 2022. A dispatch company called @errand360HQ arrested him over a missing bicycle. Sue him without any of his family members knowing. He died in custody (ikoyi prison) the bicycle was even replaced, yet the complainant didn’t withdraw the case.”

The company, in a statement on Wednesday, said Chidera was treated with respect and fairness while he worked with them.

“He was also subject to the same contract terms, which included that he presented a surety before engagement. This surety was a certain Mr. Kenneth, who he introduced as his relative.

“On February 14, 2022, against company policy, Mr. Ezekiel (Chidera) took the company’s bicycle home and failed to return it the next day. He claimed that the bicycle had been stolen. Upon internal investigations and speaking to Ezekiel, the company did not find the story credible and so he was requested to return the missing bicycle.

“Some days later, specifically on February 19, some persons broke into the company’s maintenance building. The security personnel at the facility on the day identified Ezekiel as one of those who broke in. While investigating, we were informed that the police visited Ezekiel’s residence where some of the company’s bicycle parts were found.

“Based on this, the police arrested him and took him into custody for investigation and arraignment.”

Errand360NG stated that he was arraigned before a magistrate’s court and from then on, every due process was followed.

“On April 4, a replacement for the missing bicycle was provided. The company went to court and attempted an early withdrawal of the case, despite the next date of hearing being June 8. However, Ezekiel’s presence was required in court but authorities could not provide him before the court.

“We value the well-being of all our riders and employees and are deeply saddened by Mr. Ezekiel’s passing. The company followed due process by escalating the matter to the police for appropriate investigation and arraignment.”

The spokesperson for the Ikoyi Custodial Centre, Rotimi Oladokun, said records of the matter were not readily available.

“I am not in a position to deny or confirm this incident now, but I will go through the records and if there is any information regarding this matter, it will be made available to you.

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BIG STORY

Two US-Based Nigerians Bag 30-Year Jail For $3.5m Romance Scam

Published

2 hours ago

November 26, 2024

PorscheClassy News

Two Nigerians, Anthony Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu, have been sentenced by a United States federal jury to a combined 30 years in prison for defrauding US citizens of $3.5 million.

The sentencing was announced in a press release made available on the US Department of Justice website on Monday.

According to the statement, Ibekie and Aniukwu deceived their victims by claiming they had received substantial inheritances that required money to be claimed. The duo would then ask the victims to send money with the promise of reimbursement once the inheritances were secured.

The statement also highlighted that the pair carried out romance scams, building online relationships with their victims to gain their trust, only to later demand money.

It read, “An undercover law enforcement investigation has resulted in federal prison sentences for two Nigerian nationals residing in the Chicago suburbs who conducted online inheritance scams and other fraud schemes.

“Using aliases, Anthony Emeka Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu communicated with victims throughout the United States, convincing them they had received substantial inheritances and needed to send money to individuals associated with the defendants in order to claim it.

“In addition to the inheritance scam, the pair carried out an online romance scam that involved communicating with victims via social media and dating websites, building trust with the victims through a purported online romance, and convincing them to send money to a predetermined recipient. Aniukwu and Ibekie also orchestrated a ‘business email compromise’ scam that targeted corporate email accounts.

“The fraud schemes were uncovered by a covert law enforcement investigation. The scams resulted in losses to victims of at least $3.5 million.”

The statement further noted that after facing at least 14 charges, Ibekie and Aniukwu pleaded guilty to the accusations. As a result, Ibekie was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday, while Aniukwu received a 10-year sentence on November 8.

The statement continued, “A federal jury earlier this year convicted Ibekie, 59, of Oswego, Ill., on all 14 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, making false statements to a bank, and passport fraud. U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger on Thursday sentenced Ibekie to 20 years in federal prison.

“Aniukwu, 50, of Romeoville, Ill., pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud and money laundering charges. Judge Seeger on Nov. 8, 2024, sentenced Aniukwu to 10 years in prison.”

Meanwhile, an accomplice of Ibekie and Aniukwu, US citizen Jennifer Gosha, is set to be sentenced on December 18 following her guilty plea.

“A third defendant, Jennifer Gosha, 52, a U.S. citizen from Oak Park, Ill., pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of wire fraud and making false statements to a federal agent. Gosha is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Seeger on December 18, 2024,” the statement concluded.

Post Views: 38

BIG STORY

JUST IN: Ebonyi Governor Suspends Health, Housing Commissioners Over “Gross Misconduct, Negligence Of Duty”

Published

3 hours ago

November 26, 2024

PorscheClassy News

The Governor of Ebonyi State, Francis Nwifuru, has suspended the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Moses Ekuma, and his counterpart in Housing and Urban Development, Francis Ori.

The suspensions occurred on Monday during the State Executive Council meeting in Abakaliki, the state capital.

A statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Jude Okpor, on Tuesday morning, read, “Following cases of gross misconduct and dereliction of duties by some government officials and matters related thereto, the Chairman of Council directed the indefinite suspension of the Honourable Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development and three months suspension of the Honourable Commissioner for Health respectively.”

Reports suggest that the suspensions may be linked to the alleged theft of government property by officials in the Ministry of Health and the reported underperformance of the Housing and Urban Development commissioner, particularly regarding his poor management of the Amaeze Housing Scheme in the Ishielu Local Government Area.

It is also recalled that the governor visited the health ministry’s premises on Saturday night, where six officials were allegedly caught diverting government materials. He subsequently ordered their arrest and prosecution.

Post Views: 60