Six individuals, including a Nigerian, have been charged by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for alleged involvement in “insider trading and market manipulation on a massive scale”.

The individuals were identified as Izunna Okonkwo, a Nigerian, and four Pakistanis — Muhammad Saad Shoukat, Muhammad Arham Shoukat, Muhammad Shahwaiz Shoukat, and Daniyal Khan.

Gyunho Justin Kim was charged in a separate complaint.

In a statement published on the website of the US Department of Justice, the FBI said the suspects participated in “a years-long scheme to trade securities based on material non-public information (MNPI)”.

The FBI said the suspects were charged to court in a case that stemmed from “three overlapping securities fraud schemes that occurred at various points from June 2020 through February 2024”.

The FBI said Kim worked at an investment bank that was involved in multiple mergers and acquisitions of publicly traded healthcare and biopharmaceutical companies, adding that he allegedly obtained MNPI about many pending deals.

Kim was said to have illegally shared the MNPI with Muhammad Saad Shoukat, who traded with the information, and shared same with others.

“Saad Shoukat also tipped off others — including Arham Shoukat, Shahwaiz Shoukat, Khan, and Okonkwo — who similarly traded and profited from the MNPI,” the FBI said.

“Overall, Saad Shoukat and his co-conspirators received illicit profits from the insider trading scheme totalling at least $41 million.

“Saad Shoukat, Arham Shoukat, and others actively manipulated the stock price of Olema, a publicly traded company. Olema focused on developing breast cancer treatment through a drug called OP-1250.

“From the spring of 2021, Saad Shoukat and Arham Shoukat began investing in Olema stock and encouraged others to invest in it.

“After buying substantial stock in Olema, Saad Shoukat, Arham Shoukat, and others accessed confidential information showing that OP-1250 was less effective than Saad Shoukat and Arham Shoukat had hoped.

“Saad Shoukat, Arham Shoukat, and others then falsified the OP-1250 data the co-conspirators had illegally accessed, and publicly disseminated it in a manner that made it look like the data was real and came from Olema.

“The release of the false data — which inflated the drug’s efficacy — temporarily caused Olema’s stock price to increase, during which Saad Shoukat, Arham Shoukat, and others profited and avoided losses by selling large numbers of shares in Olema stock.

“Saad Shoukat, his brothers, and others also manipulated the stock price of Opiant, another publicly traded company. Opiant was developing an opioid overdose treatment.

“Kim provided MNPI to Saad Shoukat about a company seeking to acquire Opiant. Based on that MNPI, Saad Shoukat and others bought Opiant stock. But that potential acquisition stalled, and Saad Shoukat and others were stuck with their stock purchases.

“In response, in or around April 2022, Saad Shoukat, his brothers, and others — using a fake Opiant website and fake Opiant email addresses that appeared legitimate — caused the publication of a fake press release announcing a purported merger and acquisition involving Opiant and another company.

“The fake press release drove up Opiant’s stock approximately 29%. Saad Shoukat, his brothers, and others profited by selling off shares during that spike, causing substantial losses to victim investors.”

If convicted, the suspects risk more than 20 years’ imprisonment.

The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade I, has stated that he is the only traditional ruler with the authority to confer chieftaincy titles bearing the name “Yorubaland.”

The monarch made the assertion on Sunday at the Aganju Forecourt of the Oyo Palace during the installation of former Zamfara State Governor, Senator Abdul-Aziz Yari, as Obaloyin of Yorubaland, and Seyi Tinubu as Okanlomo of Yorubaland.

Owoade said chieftaincy in Yoruba tradition is neither ornamental nor granted as a favour, but a serious responsibility rooted in history, authority and service.

According to him, the Oyo throne has historically functioned as a central coordinating authority for the Yoruba people, a role that was recognised during the colonial era and sustained in post-independence governance.

He explained that titles carrying the name “Yorubaland” are collective in nature, representing the entire Yoruba nation rather than any single town or kingdom.

The monarch, therefore, stated that any ‘Yorubaland’ title must be conferred by an authority whose jurisdiction historically spans the whole region.

The Alaafin noted that this position has been validated by colonial records, post-independence councils, scholarly works and judicial pronouncements, including decisions of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

Describing the newly installed titles as positions of trust, Oba Owoade said they demand courage, loyalty and selfless service to the Yoruba people, adding that such honours are intended to strengthen unity and respect for tradition across Yorubaland.

He urged the new titleholders to discharge their duties with humility and ensure that their roles promote dignity, cohesion and the collective good of the Yoruba people.

He said, “We are gathered here today for a purpose that goes beyond celebration. We are here to witness history and to place responsibility where tradition has long placed it. Chieftaincy, in our culture, is not an act of favour. It is not decoration. It is a duty, conferred only when history, authority, and responsibility align.

“From the earliest organisation of the Yoruba people, authority was never vague. Our forebears understood structure. This understanding gave Yorubaland stability long before modern governance arrived.

“The throne of Oyo emerged in that history as a coordinating authority, by responsibility. When colonial administration came, it did not invent this reality; it encountered it and recorded it. By 1914, Oyo Province had become the largest province in Southern Nigeria, covering 14,381 square miles. It was bounded in the north by Ilorin and Kontagora, in the east by Ondo and Ijebu, in the south by Ijebu and Abeokuta, and in the west by French Dahomey. This reflected recognised leadership over a wide and diverse space.

“This history explains why certain chieftaincy titles are different in nature. Titles that bear the name ‘Yorubaland’ are not local titles. They are collective titles. They speak not for one town or one kingdom, but for the Yoruba people as a whole. Such titles must therefore proceed from an authority whose reach, by history and by law, extends across Yorubaland.

“Today, I do not speak to provoke debate. I speak to state order. Among the Yoruba, authority has never been a matter of assumption or convenience. It has always been a matter of history, structure, and law. Thrones were not created equal in function, even though all are sacred in dignity.

“From the earliest organisation of Yorubaland, the Alaafin of Oyo occupied a central and coordinating authority—an authority that extended beyond the walls of Oyo and into the collective political life of the Yoruba people. This was not self-declared. It was recognised, enforced, and sustained across generations. Colonial records acknowledged it. Post-independence councils preserved it. Scholars documented it.

“And finally, the Supreme Court of Nigeria affirmed it. The law is clear. History is settled. Chieftaincy titles that bear the name Yorubaland—titles whose meaning, influence, and obligation are not confined to a single town or kingdom—fall under a singular, established authority. That authority is the throne of Oyo.”

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 26-year-old housewife and her 30-year-old accomplice for allegedly staging her own kidnapping and extorting N2.5 million from her husband.

The command’s spokesperson, Abimbola Adebisi, confirmed the arrest in a statement issued on Saturday in Lagos.

Adebisi said the command received a distress call on November 24 from the husband of the suspect through one of its emergency lines, reporting that his wife had been kidnapped by armed men.

She said the caller disclosed that the alleged kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of N10 million, which was later reduced to N3 million, adding that after he paid N2.5 million, the woman was still not released.

“Upon receipt of the complaint, the Command Special Squad immediately deployed human and technical assets to track the alleged kidnappers.

“The supposed victim was eventually released and reunited with her family,” Adebisi said.

Adebisi said that during police debriefing, the woman claimed she was abducted by six armed men in a silver Toyota Venza, taken to their hideout and dispossessed of her iPhone 12 Pro Max.

“She further claimed that the ransom paid by her husband was first credited into her bank account before being handed over to the kidnappers,” she said.

Adebisi, however, said police investigations revealed several inconsistencies in her narrative.

She said that on December 3, operatives apprehended the accomplice in the Ede area of Osun State, adding that a SIM card used to register the WhatsApp account through which ransom negotiations were conducted was recovered from him.

“During interrogation, the accomplice confessed that the suspect requested the use of his SIM card to create the WhatsApp account used for the ransom negotiations.

“He admitted providing the one-time password (OTP) sent to his line, which enabled her to operate the account,” Adebisi said.

According to her, following the confession, the suspect was confronted and admitted to faking her own kidnapping to extort money from her husband, who resides in South Africa.

She added that further investigation led to the recovery of the iPhone 12 Pro Max, which the suspect had earlier claimed was with the kidnappers.

“The phone was recovered from a 34-year-old man, who told investigators that he bought it from the suspect for N380,000 after being warned not to insert any SIM card into it,” she said.

Adebisi said investigations were ongoing and that the suspect and her accomplice would be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigation.

She added that the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Olohundare Jimoh, reiterated the command’s commitment to protecting lives and property, while warning the public against false reporting, criminal deception, and acts capable of diverting critical security resources.

The spokesperson urged residents to remain law-abiding and to promptly report suspicious activities through the command’s emergency numbers: 07061019374, 08065154338, 08063299264, and 08039344870.

(NAN)