They appeared before Justice Christopher Boyko at the US District Court of Ohio.

A Nigerian pastor, Edward Oluwasanmi, has been sentenced by a United States District Court to 27 months in prison for defrauding the COVID-19 relief fund.

His associate, the Apetu of Ipetumodu, Oba Joseph Oloyede, forfeited his property to the US government while awaiting a court ruling set for August 1.

Oluwasanmi and Oba Oloyede were arrested in early 2024 for fraudulently obtaining $4.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds.

They were charged with 13 counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, and engaging in monetary transactions involving criminal proceeds.

They were brought before Justice Christopher Boyko at the US District Court of Ohio.

Reports indicated both men pleaded guilty to some of the charges under a plea agreement.

According to court documents, Judge Boyko sentenced Oluwasanmi on Wednesday, July 2, to 27 months on counts one, 11, and 12 of the indictment.

The sentences will run concurrently.

The court also ordered Oluwasanmi to pay a $15,000 fine and report to the U.S. Marshal Service.

The court stated, “Supervised release three years on each of counts 1 and 11-12, all such terms to run concurrently, with standard and special conditions.”

It also declared, “As a result of the foregoing offenses, defendants Joseph Oloyede and Edward Oluwasanmi shall forfeit to the United States: all property, real and personal, which constitutes – or is derived from – proceeds traceable to the commission of the wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy offenses; all property constituting, or derived from, proceeds the defendants obtained, directly or indirectly, as the result of the wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy offenses and any and all property, real and personal involved in the money laundering offenses, and any property traceable to such property.”

Oluwasanmi will forfeit a commercial property located at 422 South Green Road, South Euclid, Ohio. Meanwhile, the court scheduled Friday, August 1, for the sentencing of Oloyede after the monarch pleaded guilty to counts one and 13 of his indictment.

On Monday, April 21, Oba Oloyede, a US-based accountant and information systems professional crowned Apetu in July 2019, entered his guilty plea before the court.

Oba Oloyede and Oluwasanmi were accused of submitting fake applications for the Paycheck Protection Programme and Economic Injury Disaster Loans under the US Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act between April 2020 and February 2022.

They allegedly used falsified tax and wage documents to obtain funds intended to help struggling businesses during the pandemic.

The Act was meant to offer emergency financial relief to Americans facing the economic consequences of COVID-19 by providing loans to small businesses and nonprofits.

Oba Oloyede was alleged to have used some of his companies, including Available Tax Services Incorporated, Available Financial Corporation, and Available Transportation Company, to commit the fraud.

Following the monarch’s disappearance, the Osun State Government said it would wait for the conclusion of his trial before deciding on any action.

The state Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, said, “A person is innocent until a court convicts them. So, we don’t want to jump the gun; let us wait for the court’s pronouncement on the matter.”

The United Kingdom has revealed that more than 3,000 Nigerian products, such as cocoa and cashew, are now eligible to enter the UK market either duty-free or at reduced tariffs. The Country Director for the UK Department for Business and Trade, Mark Smithson, announced this development as part of the UK’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) in a recent video released by the UK in Nigeria.

“Up to 3,000 products from Nigeria qualify for low tariff or no tariff access to the UK through the Developing Countries Scheme, one of the most generous trading schemes in the world,” Smithson stated.

He added that the UK has streamlined the process for Nigerian exporters, making it simpler to trade a wide range of goods, including cocoa and textiles.

Smithson urged Nigerian exporters to take advantage of this opportunity.

“The UK is open and looking to do business with Nigeria. So why don’t you go to the website and find out more about the Developing Countries Trading Scheme and begin to trade with us?”

The DCTS, launched in 2023, replaced the UK’s former Generalised Scheme of Preferences. It aims to lower tariffs and simplify trading regulations for over 60 developing countries, Nigeria included.

The Abosede Tomori Foundation (ATF) made a debut in Lagos on Saturday with its flagship health outreach programme and cash grants for the unemployed, small, and micro businesses.

Speaking during the launching of the foundation in Ejigbo, Oshodi-Isolo constituency II, its Chairman and Special Assistant to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development on Media, Segun Tomori revealed that ATF was conceptualized to immortalize his late mother, Abosede Adebisi Tomori, and honour her legacy of generosity by providing succor to the less privileged and lifting the downtrodden.

“I lost her when I was still finding my feet, when I couldn’t repay her unparalleled kindness and love, when I couldn’t give her the life she deserves. So, I made a solemn vow to do what I could to ensure that her name never fades. To ensure it is etched in our hearts, in the hearts of the downtrodden, not only in this constituency, but across the length and breadth of the country, “Tomori asserted

According to him, “Our mission at ATF is to honour her legacy of generosity by transforming lives and building communities for the emancipation of the less privileged. It is our vision to shape communities, where dignity of lives matter, ensuring support, not struggle, defines the human experience.”

The intervention areas of the foundation is encapsulated in five thematic areas including health outreach to the less privileged; Skill development & scholarship targeting disadvantaged Youth; Schools Intervention Programme (SIP) to assist indigent children access basic education; Food packs support for disadvantaged families and cash grants to boost Micro Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs).

The foundation kickstarted its interventions with a health outreach programme that provided free medical care for about 250 residents of Oshodi-Isolo constituency II comprising Ejigbo and Isolo LCDAs while owners of 50 micro and small businesses received cash grants of N50,000 each. Additionally, over 130 bags of 5kg rice were distributed to indigent beneficiaries.

” This is only the beginning – we intend to scale up these interventions and extend it beyond this constituency to other parts of Lagos state and across the length and breadth of the country,” Tomori added

Delivering the keynote address, chairman of the occasion, and Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, ably represented by his Special Adviser, Hon. Kehinde Bamigbetan applauded Tomori on the laudable initiative, noting his unwavering dedication as a public servant and expressing confidence that the same passion would drive the success of the foundation.

Describing the intervention areas of the foundation as brilliant, compassionate and timely, the minister urged Nigerians to emulate Tomori by finding ways to support people in their communities, stressing that such grassroots interventions complement government efforts as encapsulated in the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.

In his goodwill message, Director-General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Dr. Muhammed Bulama lauded Tomori for launching the foundation at a young age, describing him as a “rare breed with great potential.”

He emphasised that the initiative aligns with FRCN’s motto of “Uplifting the people and Uniting the Nation”, assuring the foundation of the unalloyed support of the corporation to ensure it impacts more communities across the country.

Dignitaries that graced the occasion include Minister of Solid Minerals Development represented by Special Adviser, Kehinde Bamigbetan; Director-General, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Dr. Muhammed Bulama; Representative of DG of National Orientation Agency (NOA) and Lagos State Director of the agency, Mustafa Adedeji Tukur; representive of the Executive Secretary of Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), Bola Atanda; Deputy Managing Director of Rapidlink Resources, Samson Enema, political and community leaders of Ejigbo and Isolo LCDAs, market association leaders amongst others.