In Nigeria, numerous stakeholders perceive women’s political participation as an essential prerequisite for achieving gender equality and fostering a genuine democratic environment.

This involvement enables women to engage directly in public decision-making processes and enhances accountability to the female population.

Nevertheless, despite their efforts to attain positions within political office, some women face challenges related to public scandals, ThePapers reports…

Here are some of the top Nigerian female politicians with scandals. …Continue Reading

Diezani Alison-Madueke
On Tuesday 22 August 2023, Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria’s former oil minister, who also served as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries president, was charged by the UK National Crime Agency (NCA) with bribery. The offences follow an investigation by the NCA, which alleges that she accepted bribes in exchange for oil and gas contracts worth millions of pounds while in government.

Alison-Madueke served as Nigeria’s Minister for Petroleum Resources during Goodluck Jonathan’s administration from 2010-2015. During this period, she allegedly received bribes amounting to £100,000 in cash and much more. According to the NCA, ‘She is alleged to have benefitted from at least £100,000 in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.’

In March 2023, the NCA presented proof of her corrupt activities to the US Department of Justice which aided them in reclaiming assets valued at $53.1 million. The amount recovered is of record-breaking feat according to Andy Kelly, the Head of the NCA’s International Corruption Unit. Kelly said: ‘We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts. These charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation.’

Patricia Etteh
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mrs Patricia Olubunmi Etteh, in September 2007, faced a committee of MPs over accusations that she had authorised the spending of 628 million Naira (about US$5 million) on renovations of her official residence and that of her deputy, and the purchase of 12 official cars meant for the House of Representatives. Accusations of theft were chanted at her as she tried to speak in the House, and she was escorted out by the security men as the situation degenerated into a commotion.

The former lawmaker was arrested by EFCC and interrogated for allegedly receiving a suspicious N130 million payment from a contractor the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) awarded a solar-powered electrification project in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria’s South-South.

Etteh was elected Speaker in 2007 but resigned only after a few months amid allegations of financial misappropriation.

She is the only woman in the country’s history to have been elected Speaker.

Stella Oduah
After over two and half years of failed attempts, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) finally arraigned a former Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, and a Chinese construction giant, CCECC, on N5 billion fraud charges that have been filed against them since December 2020.

Alongside Ms Oduah, CCECC Nigeria Ltd, the Nigerian subsidiary of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) established by the Chinese government to execute international contracts and economic cooperation, is one of the leading defendants fingered in the case.

Another of the co-defendants is Gloria Odita (2nd defendant), who is said to be an aide to Ms Oduah when she was Minister of Aviation and company secretary of Sea Petroleum & Gas Company (SPGC) Limited, a firm founded by the former minister.

The rest include an employee of SPCG and aide to Ms Oduah, Nwobu Nnamdi (3rd defendant), Chukwuma Chinyere, Global Offshore and Marine Ltd, Tip Top Global Resources Ltd, Crystal Television Limited, and Sobora International Limited.

Kemi Adeosun
Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, admitted using a forged exemption certificate of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), which she presented for her appointment in 2015.

Mrs Adeosun tendered her resignation letter to President Muhammadu Buhari on September 14, 2018, admitting that she realised that the NYSC certificate she had presented to be appointed as minister “was not genuine”.

She admitted presenting the same fraudulent certificate for her earlier appointment as Commissioner for Finance of Ogun State in 2011.

Prof. Adenike Grange
The Abuja division of the Court of Appeal quashed the charge preferred against the former Minister of Health, Professor Adenike Grange over her alleged complicity in the criminal diversion of N300 million unspent budget of the health ministry for 2007. Professor Grange lost her job as health minister.
But the judgment of the appellate court cleared her name and integrity.

Betta Edu
Nigeria’s suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, has been in the eye of the storm since her appointment in August, 2023.
Edu, one of the youngest politicians who served as the National Women Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was accused of allegations of fraud, corruption and abuse of power in her ministry.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu suspended Dr Edu from office and ordered a thorough investigation into her indictment in the alleged transfer of N585.189m meant for vulnerable groups in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ogun and Lagos states into a private account.

Sadiya Umar Farouq
Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered a former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disasters Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, to account for payments of N729 billion to 24.3 million poor Nigerians for six months.

The court also ordered the former minister to provide the list and details of the beneficiaries who received the payments, the number of states covered, and the payments per state.
The judgment was delivered in June by Justice Deinde Isaac Dipeolu following a Freedom of Information suit number: FHC/L/CS/853/2021, brought by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project.

Citing health challenges, Umar-Farouq has officially written to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission seeking an extension of the deadline to meet with EFCC interrogators over probe into the N37,170,855,753.44 allegedly laundered during her tenure in office, through a contractor, James Okwete. She faces arrest by operatives of the EFCC after failing to appear before interrogators at the EFCC Headquarters.

Saadiya Umar Farouq resigned from the National Assembly Commission to officially join politics as a member of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), where she rose to become the national treasurer of the CPC, which dissolved into a new party.

Farouq became the interim national treasurer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from 2013 to 2014. She was appointed as a member of the APC’s presidential campaign council, where she served as the director of election planning and monitoring, field operations, and fundraising, in preparation for the 2015 general election which Buhari, as the presidential candidate of the APC, won.

Uju Ohanenye
Former Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Ohanenye, has been questioned by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over alleged involvement in the misappropriation, violation of procurement processes, and diversion of public funds amounting to ₦138m.

The funds were allegedly misappropriated during the disbursement of the 2023 budgeted allocation for the ministry.

Kennedy-Ohanenye, who served under President Bola Tinubu’s administration until a recent cabinet reshuffle, now faces a deepening probe into financial irregularities.

The Government of Osun State has officially submitted a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, requesting an investigation into Gboyega Oyetola, the former governor and current Minister of Blue Economy.

This petition pertains to allegations of the misappropriation of a $20 million grant provided by the World Bank for health initiatives.

The government also accused Oyetola of money laundering, financial misconduct and violations of the Public Procurement Act in the disbursement of the grant meant for health sector improvements in the state.

According to an acknowledged copy of the petition dated March 7, 2025, and obtained by our correspondent on Friday, Oyetola, during his tenure as governor, chaired a special Health Intervention Committee tasked with allocating and applying the grant funds.

The committee, whose members included former government officials such as Remi Omowaye, Dr. Rafiu Isamatu, and Bola Oyebamiji, decided to use the entire $20m for renovating 320 primary health care centres across the state.

According to the petition written by the government’s lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, “This so-called renovation of primary health care centres involved building, renovation and adjustments/restructuring of some of these centres in order to attain the position of modern health centres. Having made these decisions, the Oyetola-led committee decided to award the contracts for the renovation.

“In flagrant violations of the above clear provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007, Oyetola did not call for bidding as mandatorily required under the PPA, let alone allowing competition which would have afforded the state the best qualified contractors to handle the projects.

“Rather, the former governor in observing the provisions of the Act in breach, awarded the contracts to individuals who were either his cabinet members, head of one agency of government or the other, his proxies and cronies who claimed to have incorporated business names/inactive companies.”

The government noted that the beneficiaries of the contract allegedly included businesses with no construction experience, such as food vendors, salon operators, supermarket owners, and web designers.

Among the companies named in the petition are Poshpreneurs Nig., owned by the children of the former Head of Service, Olowogboyega Oyebade; Dotfam Multiventures Ltd, linked to the siblings of the former APC State Chairman; The Ice Firms Nig. Ltd, allegedly owned by Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Adebayo Adeleke; and Afamoks Web International, linked to former Amotekun Field Commander, Amitolu Shittu.

The state government alleges that the companies, lacking the expertise for construction, executed substandard renovation works while receiving full contract payments, thereby leading to the misappropriation of the $20n grant.

On the allegations of money laundering, the state government alleged that over ₦1.5 bn, was funneled through the Osun chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria between January and October 2022.

The petition named former ALGON Chairman, Abiodun Idowu, Secretary, Olubisi Oladosu; 28 former local government caretaker chairmen; and the former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Yekeen Adebayo Adeleke, as key actors in the alleged scheme.

“In a similar vein, the government equally laid its hands on some financial records which clearly show a clear case of money laundering of huge magnitude by the past administration of Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola.

Financial records cited in the petition indicate that funds “were repeatedly transferred from the ALGON account at Zenith Bank (Account Number: 1016607858) into the private account of one Akeem Ibitoye, a local government employee and Director of Finance at Ejigbo Local Government.”

The state government alleged that withdrawals ranging from N30m to over N10m per day were made in cash, with no records of the funds being used for any official projects.

However, Adebayo dismissed the allegations, describing them as frivolous.

The former commissioner who requested for more details on the petition, said, “EFCC has not invited me and I have not seen a copy of the petition for me to know what it is all about.

“If there is no proof, then the allegations are frivolous and of no stance.

“I have bec6ome a torn in the flesh of Gov Adeleke and PDP and I won’t be surprised if some baseless allegations are levied against me.

“Anyway, they think trying to dirty my white garment will make me keep mute about their fraudulent ways of governance.”

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday admitted in evidence receipts of school fees paid to the American International School, Abuja (AISA) in favour of the children of the former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.

The receipts were among other documents tendered by the prosecution at the resumed hearing in the trial of the ex-governor on an N80.2billion money laundering charge.

Prosecuting lawyer, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN) tendered the documents through the third prosecution witness, Nicholas Ohehomon, who told the court that the receipts were issued in the names of four of the defendant’s children.

Ohehomon, who started his testimony on Thursday, had identified himself as an Internal Auditor with the AISA.

The witness was, during Friday’s proceedings, handed a document marked Exhibit 13P1, which he identified as a telex from the United Bank for Africa (UBA), sent by a relative of the defendant, Ali Bello to the AISA.

He also identified another documents, marked as Exhibits 13P2 to 13P4 as evidence of transfers made by Forza Oil and Gas in favour of the defendant’s children.

Ohehomon equally identified another document marked Exhibit 13P5 as a telex sent from Whales Oil and Gas to the AISA.

When asked to confirm if the defendant’s name was reflected on the documents, the witness said Bello’s name was cont contained in the documents.

Under cross-examination, defence lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN) sought to tender a bundle of documents he claimed was a judgment of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in relation to a suit between Ali Bello and the AISA over the school fees payment.

Pinheiro objected, thereby igniting a session of arguments that lasted a while.

The prosecuting lawyer argued that the defendant could not tender documents while the prosecution was yet to close its case.

He cited Section 232 of the Evidence Act and contended that the only kind of documents that the prosecution could tender during cross examination are previous statements in writing of a witness for the purpose of contracting or challenging his/her current testimony.

Pinheiro urged the court to reject the document, arguing that the defence failed demonstrate that it (document) was admissible under Section 232 of the Evidence Act.

Responding, Daudu said the admissibility of documents in criminal or civil cases is governed strictly by the principles of relevance to the proceedings at hand.

Daudu added that once the court finds that the document is relevant, it becomes automatically admissible.

“That is what is contained in Sections 4, 5 and 6 of the Evidence Act, 2011.

“The question for your lordship is, is this document relevant and admissible in line with the provision of the Evidence Act.

“The answer has been provided by my learned brother silk for the prosecution when he referred to the content of the judgment and read out a portion which says that a particular relief was refused and that the fee agreement was upheld in the same judgment,” Daudu said.

The defence lawyer said the copy of the judgment of the HIgh Court of the FCT are public documents, which reflected AISA as a party in the case.

He added that as far as the defendant was concerned, the witness was the sole witness of AISA in the case that led to the judgment.

Daudu argued that the objection raised by the prosecution was speculative because it (the prosecution) did not know what the defence wants to do with the documents.

He contended that because the prosecution was not comfortable with the document cannot stop its admissibility.

After taking arguments on whether or not the judgment could be admitted, Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned till May 8 for ruling and continuation of trial.

Nigeria has received a new ranking in the Global Terrorism Index, reflecting the significant influence of groups such as Boko Haram and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on the country’s security landscape.

Afghanistan remains one of the world’s most terrorism-affected countries, ranking ninth in the 2025 Global Terrorism Index (GTI)—its lowest position since the index was first published in 2012, when it ranked third.

While the drop from sixth place in 2024 suggests a reduced impact of terrorism, the report attributes it partly to the exclusion of Taliban-related violence following their takeover in 2021. ..Continue Reading

EFCC gets 72-hour ultimatum to arrest El-Rufai over alleged ₦423bn fraud

At the same time, the report says that terrorist attacks surged by nearly 20%, underscoring persistent security threats, particularly from ISIS-K, which remains the deadliest militant group in the country.

The GTI ranked Burkina Faso as the most terrorism-affected country, followed by Pakistan, Mali, Syria, and Niger. Also included in the top 10 were Nigeria, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Cameroon.

The Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) was responsible for 57% of terrorism-related deaths in Afghanistan, making it the most lethal terrorist group in the country. The deadliest attack in 2024 occurred in Kandahar Province, where an ISIS-K suicide bomber targeted a bank branch, killing 21 people.

The report noted that terrorist activity remained concentrated in northern Afghanistan, with Kabul and Takhar experiencing the highest number of attacks. Kabul, which has been the most terrorism-affected province for 11 consecutive years, recorded 41 attacks resulting in 27 deaths. Despite a 78% increase in the number of attacks, terrorism-related fatalities in Kabul declined by 48%.

The Taliban, now in their fourth year of rule, continue to face resistance from armed opposition groups, including the Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) and the National Resistance Front (NRF).

These groups have challenged the Taliban’s security control, particularly in northern provinces.

The report also highlighted worsening relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, exacerbated by Pakistani airstrikes targeting suspected Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) hideouts inside Afghan territory.

The GTI reiterated that Afghanistan remains the most repressive country for women, with strict restrictions on their rights, including bans on education and employment. The report emphasized that while terrorism-related deaths have declined, the Taliban’s suppression of civil liberties and political opposition is not accounted for in the index.

Despite the drop in terrorism ranking, the report concluded that Afghanistan continues to face severe security and governance challenges, making long-term stability uncertain.

EFCC gets 72-hour ultimatum to arrest El-Rufai over alleged ₦423bn fraud

Special agent Katrina Caulfield of United States of America’s Secret Service has uncovered the operations of an internet fraud syndicate, running fraudulent trading investment platforms to lure unsuspecting victims.

The U.S. Secret Service special agent said the demand for more money for investors to access their funds was typical of many scammers, as they often tried to squeeze every penny out of victims.

According to it website, the Special agents focus on protecting top U.S. and visiting foreign officials, and investigating financial crimes. …Continue Reading.

The agency has seized $1.5 million from the Binance wallet of Nigerian serial fraudster Avwerosuo Omokri after numerous complaints from victims triggered a detailed investigation into the suspect’s activities and bank records. She was seeking a forfeiture in rem of the seized funds, documents seen by Peoples Gazette showed.

Victim 1, a resident of Newton in Massachusetts, March 2024, filed an internet crime complaint form to seek help after she fell for a cryptocurrency scam where she lost 1.33272285 BTC.

She told Ms Caulfield that she joined a group on Facebook in February 2024 named ‘Financial Independence Forum’, where members were promised “financial independence and early retirement through reliable investment.”

Victim 1, who was not named, said she soon began to connect with the members of the Facebook group, including Tom Sheldon Haley. They began to exchange messages on Facebook Messenger.

Mr Haley, an administrator of the group, portrayed himself as an investment expert versed in online trading. Their chats became frequent, and she was asked to invest in Trade Propel, an investment platform that promised high returns.
Mr Haley sent her detailed steps on how to create a new account on Trade Propel.

On March 13, 2024, Victim 1 transferred 1.3 BTC from Coinbase to a destination wallet provided by the Facebook group administrator.

After some time, she observed her deposit had increased on the website and tried to withdraw the funds, only to be told by Trade Propel customer support that she must pay “tax on earnings” before initiating withdrawal.
The U.S. Secret Service special agent said the demand for more money for investors to access their funds was typical of many scammers, as they often tried to squeeze every penny out of victims.

“Based on my training and experience, I know that scammers often attempt to extract additional funds from victims by instructing victims to pay ‘taxes’ to the scammers before the victims can withdraw funds,” said Ms Caulfield in her submission.
Checks on the Trade Propel website ticked all the fraud boxes as the Secret Service special agent said she could not find any relevant company information, policies and company contact details.
Instead, the website had bios of hedge fund billionaires George Soros, Paul Tudor, and Ray Dialo, claiming that the trio co-signed Trade Propel.

“Also, the website falsely claims to be part of FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) and SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation),” wrote the U.S. Secret Service special agent.
Ms Caulfield said the platform owner went to great lengths to make the website look legitimate for the purpose of defrauding people.
A money trail by the Secret Service showed how the syndicate immediately transferred the victim’s 1.3 BTC to an intermediary wallet before sending it to another wallet ending in –HKbIS.

Fraudsters often use intermediary wallets to disguise and clean up illicit money trails on the Blockchain in order to throw security agencies off their scent.

“Intermediary wallets support the movement of illicitly obtained funds as they help to conceal and disguise the source of the BTC by layering and severing straight line coordinates of transaction activity on the Blockchain to cash out exchangers,” Ms Caulfied stated in her motion seeking forfeiture.

However, the Secret Service special agent bypassed all the layering and cover-ups to track the bitcoin to its final destination wallet.

Account records for user ID ending in XXXXX3280 obtained from Binance showed that the wallet was registered to Nigerian passport holder Avwerosuo Omokri with the registered email address johnrichie513@gmail.com.

Coinbase provided information that showed additional victims had paid into the same intermediary wallet of the fraud syndicate. Victim 2 paid $ 29,000, while Victim 3 paid $35,000. The fourth victim was instructed to pay into a different intermediary wallet.

Further investigations revealed that the Tom Sheldon Haley’s Facebook account was not operated by one person but by a fraud syndicate that often deployed the rank and files to approach victims on social media platforms, including Facebook and LinkedIn.

The higher-level fraudsters were the ones on the wallet backends receiving and trying to cover up illicit money flows. Binance records showed that Mr Omokri’s syndicate used four different devices to access the wallets.

Ms Caulfield, on February 16, 2025, sought a forfeiture in rem of the seized $1.5 million, having established that they were proceeds of wire fraud and money laundering.

The seized funds include 7.23918814 BTC1, 105.75351403 ETH2, 636.11899592 AVAX3, 14120.995091 USDT4; 2380467906.17 SHIB and 319008151.01 PEPE.

Bukola Saraki, former senate president, has called for a transparent investigation into allegations at the heart of the clash between Godswill Akpabio and Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

The fray between Akpabio, the senate president, and Akpoti-Uduaghan, senator representing Kogi central, started over a recent seat re-arrangement in the red chamber.

Akpoti-Uduaghan fought fiercely against her new seat position following the re-arrangement, alleging that the move was an attempt to silence her.

The clash reached a crescendo on Friday after Akpoti-Uduaghan accused the senate president of making sexual advances towards her in his office and residence in Akwa Ibom.

“Mine is the case of a student being punished by a lecturer for refusing to sleep with him,” she said.

The allegation spurred reactions from notable Nigerians, including a lawsuit against Akpoti-Uduaghan by Ekaette Akpabio, the senate president’s wife.

Others have called for an investigation into the claims made by the Kogi senator.

Adding his voice to the debate, Saraki, in a post on social media, said the senate committee on ethics, privileges, and public petitions must probe the allegation tabled by Akpoti-Uduaghan.

He added that “both parties must submit to the investigation, fully cooperate with the committee, and stake their claims before it”.

‘This is not the first time a Senate President would appear before the Committee to aid it in the conduct of a transparent and open investigation,” the post reads.

“I remember during the 8th Senate when a Senator claimed that I imported an official car for my use as Senate President and that customs duty was not paid on the vehicle. Since I knew the claim was false, the matter was referred to the Ethics Committee and I appeared before the committee to testify, in the full glare of the media.

“From my testimony, it was clear the Senator who made the allegation got his facts wrong and was only being mischievous.

“Also, on the day the committee submitted its report for debate on the floor, I stepped down and allowed my deputy to preside. The transparent manner in which the investigation and the debate on the report were handled assured everybody that there was no case. This is a precedent that the leadership of the 10th Senate should follow.”

“The due process should be followed in this case, such that where anybody is found to have committed any wrong, the wrong should be pointed out and corrected. Also, the right remedy should be made.”

TheCable