Musings From Abroad

US court sentences Nigerian to 366 days in prison for stealing $398,000

Published

3 years ago

March 8, 2022

A Nigerian national, Augustine Amechi, 24, has been sentenced to one year and a day in the United States of America federal prison for the receipt of over $398,601.92, stolen funds.

He was sentenced by United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers.

The crime was investigated by the US Secret Service, the Postal Inspection Service, among other agencies.

Amechi, who is residing in Huntington, West Virginia, USA and attended Marshall University, according to a court document, pleaded guilty to the charge in November 2021.

As part of his plea agreement, the Nigerian national would pay at least $192,762.19, in restitution.

Amechi was involved, from at least 2018 to March 11, 2021, with others, in a fraud scheme that took place in Huntington and elsewhere.

He admitted that his victims were convinced to send money for a variety of false and fraudulent reasons to bank accounts controlled by him in Cabell County through bank wire transfers, Western Union, Moneygram, money orders and cashier’s checks.

Amechi, according to the court, received approximately $108,601.92 directly deposited into his bank accounts from victims, over $150,000 in cash mailed in packages to his Huntington residence and over $140,000 in deposits from Zelle, while he transferred more than $15,000 to bank accounts in Nigeria.

Musings From Abroad

China’s Xi meets with Morocco’s Crown Prince

Published

2 minutes ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Morocco’s official media reports that Chinese President, Xi Jinping, visited Morocco briefly on Thursday.

According to Morocco’s MAP, Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan welcomed Xi in Casablanca. The visit demonstrated the close ties of camaraderie, collaboration, and solidarity between the Moroccan and Chinese peoples, it said.

China’s official broadcaster, CCTV, said that Xi and Hassan had a “cordial conversation” at the airport after being received by the Crown Prince and Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch.

After attending the G20 Summit in Brazil, Xi paid the visit.

In recent years, China has increased its investments in Morocco’s rail and infrastructure. Morocco is desirable for Chinese electric car battery manufacturers because of its proximity to Europe, free trade agreements with important EU and US markets, and an established automotive sector.

Morocco was chosen by Chinese EV battery company Gotion High Tech in June to establish Africa’s first gigafactory, which will cost $1.3 billion in total.

Musings From Abroad

Finnish court imprisons Nigeria’s Simon Ekpa for aiding terrorism

Published

21 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Simon Ekpa, a Nigerian separatist leader based abroad, has been placed under detention by the Päijät Häme District Court in Finland on suspicion of inciting others to commit acts of terrorism.

According to the local daily, Helsingin Sanomat, the court rendered the ruling on Thursday following his arraignment by the Central Criminal Police for his involvement in the terror attacks that have afflicted the southeast area of Nigeria.

“The police suspect that the man has promoted his efforts from Finland with means that have led to violence against civilians in the region of South-Eastern Nigeria,” stated Otto Hiltunen, the crime commissioner and investigation head.

“The man has carried out his activity, among other things, on his social media channels.”

Hiltunen also informed the court that the police suspected four additional individuals in Finland of funding Ekpa’s activities.

According to the story, Ekpa is of Nigerian descent and was born in the Finnish city of Lahti.

His offence occurred between August 23, 2021, and November 18, 2024, according to court documents cited in the publication.

Ekpa is not the only person the police have arrested. In February 2023, they caught him at a private Lahtian flat, but he was freed the same day.

Through the Eastern Security Network (ESN) and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement, Ekpa has continued to be outspoken on social media, raising money and agitating for a Biafran nation to secede. In the southeast part of Nigeria, both factions have been involved in acts of violence, murders, and maimings.

Since gaining formal independence in 1960, Nigeria has seen the emergence of several separatist organisations. The latest surge of calls for self-determination among different ethnic groups has been louder under its immediate previous President Muhammadu Buhari.