The vice Chancellor of the University of Buckingham in the United Kingdom, Professor James Tooley has been suspended from office.
His suspension follows his Nigerian wife’s allegation that he was involved in an overseas relationship, and now the suspension has placed his salary of £229,000 in a year in jeopardy, even as his credibility is now at stake.

The indicting report against the professor was incidented by his Nigerian wife, and entrepreneur,-mother of two, Cynthia Tooley, linking him to a romantic involvement with a 25-year-old Indian woman

She also submitted the young woman’s diaries, which detailed the alleged relationship, to university authorities.

The marriage which was consummated in February of 2022, suffered a hiccup last summer leading to the two separating.

Things took a turn for the worse when, last October, when Cynthia approached the University alleging the husband was involved in an illegal relationship.

She also raised issues about a supposed suspicious object at the professor’s residence, which prompted the police to visit the professor’s residence.

Though Tooley has described the allegations against him as baseless, he is already suspended, even as an independent enquiry is underway.

Cynthia, who once resided with Tooley at Ondaatje Hall, the Vice Chancellor’s official residence, has since moved out.

On the other hand, the Indian woman at the centre of the allegations has come up in defence of the professor’s person:

“He was kind and thoughtful and always treated me with respect. Anyone who reads my diaries can see I was in love with him.”

In the interim, the the University of Buckingham has appointed an interim leadership team, including Chief Financial Officer David Cole, Chief Administrative Officer Chris Payne, and Pro Vice-Chancellor Harriet Dunbar-Morris, to oversee operations during the investigation.

The Nevada state authorities have revoked the licence of African Shrine run by Wale Ogundana in Las Vegas after the FBI traced proceeds of stolen funds by suspected Nigerian fraudster Bobo Chicago to the entertainment hub.

The FBI arrested the notorious fraudster Oluyomi Omobolanle Bombata alias Bobo Chicago in Illinois, Chicago on November 20, but as the agents widened their investigation net and followed the money trail, they discovered that African Shrine had received part of the fraudulent funds.

The FBI found that Bobo Chicago, 25, wired $394,000 to the African Shrine in Sin City, roping Mr Ogundana into the mess as the agents opened a criminal investigation to determine the extent of his involvement with the suspect, if any at all.

The Nevada state government immediately moved against Mr Ogundana and pulled the plug on his licence to operate the nightclub business, a move that would significantly impact Mr Ogundana’s finances given that Las Vegas is a city predominantly known for nightlife entertainment that includes clubs, casinos, liquor stores, prostitution and so on.

Mr Ogundana has been banned from engaging in any entertainment business, nightclub, liquor sales and related activities.

Mr Ogundana did not return comments to clarify his involvement—or lack thereof — in Bobo Chicago’s multi-million dollar alleged fraud scheme.

The 25-year-old alleged scammer hacked into computers, particularly emails of individuals and corporate organisations, to steal their money. So far, the FBI has tracked $2.8 million stolen between June 2023 and October 2023.

The FBI was making efforts to fish out Bobo Chicago’s accomplices and was looking into Mr Ogundana’s activities in Vegas.

Bobo Chicago, on his part, said he had no money to hire an attorney to fight the case. Instead, he relied on the services of a public defender provided by Oklahoma state.

He was initially arrested in Illinois, Chicago, but got transferred to Oklahoma, where he allegedly committed the crimes and was now facing a five-count charge bordering on fraud.

Several Nigerians have been taken in by law enforcement agents for committing fraud in the U.S., including infamous Instagram influencer Ramon Ray ‘Hushpuppi’ Abbas and Mr Woodberry.

The duo are serving sentences in Fort Fix correctional facility in New Jersey.

Source: The Gazzette.

The Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced a couple, Harry Uyanwanne and Oluwakemi Odemuyiwa, also known as Kristein Uyanwanne, to 16 years in prison for defrauding individuals of N52 million.

Their church, the Temple International Church, was also ordered to be deregistered and closed for its role in the fraud.

Justice Mojisola Dada delivered the verdict on Wednesday, convicting the couple of charges including stealing, dishonest conversion, false presentation, and fraud.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had brought a seven-count charge against the duo and their church.
The EFCC alleged that the defendants used the guise of religious activities to defraud unsuspecting individuals.

The couple had pleaded not guilty when arraigned on February 25, 2020, prompting the prosecution to present its case.

The Prosecuting counsel, Mr Babatunde Sonoiki, called five witnesses to testify against the defendants, while the defence presented two witnesses.

Meanwhile, after reviewing the evidence, Justice Dada ruled that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Justice Dada has sentenced the duo of Harry Uyanwanne and Odemuyiwa to various terms of imprisonment on charges of fraud and false representation.

On count one, both were sentenced to three years imprisonment. For counts two to six, Uyanwanne received a seven-year prison term, while Odemuyiwa was sentenced to three years. However, the court acquitted them of count seven.
Meanwhile, Uyanwanne was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, and Odemuyiwa, also known as Kristein Uyanwanne, received six years. The sentences are to run concurrently.
Justice Dada further ordered the deregistration and closure of the third convict, Temple International Church, citing its misuse of the name of God and the church to defraud people.

“I order that the third convict should be deregistered and closed down,” the judge declared.

The court also directed the convicts to restitute the sum of N31million to the nominal complainant within 60 days.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had alleged that in March 2016, the convicts dishonestly converted N10 million belonging to the late Mrs Janet Adeola Odemuyiwa for personal use.
They also sold a property located at Plot 32, Block 9, Magodo Residential Scheme 1, Ikeja Local Government, for N42 million under the false pretense that the first convict was authorised to sell it on behalf of the late owner.
The EFCC argued that these acts violated Section 1(2) and (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act No. 14 of 2006, as well as Sections 278 and 285 (1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria No. 11, 2011.