A Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja has convicted and sentenced Minnis Uchenna Howard and his company, Howard Minnis Asset Management Limited, over the fraudulent conversion of N822,422,260 meant for the purchase of base oil.

The conviction followed the successful prosecution of the case by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice R. A. Oshodi on Friday.

The anti-graft agency said in a statement that the defendants were initially arraigned on November 30, 2023, on a two-count charge bordering on obtaining by false pretence and stealing. They, however, pleaded not guilty when the charges were first read to them.

During the trial, the prosecution, led by M. K. Bashir, called four witnesses and tendered several documents as exhibits, while the defence presented two witnesses.

The EFCC said the defendants were later re-arraigned on July 3, 2026, on an amended one-count charge.

The charge read: “That you, Minnis Uchenna Howard and Howard Minnis Asset Management Limited, sometime in 2023 at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, dishonestly converted to your own use the sum of N822,422,260.00, property of Krystal Lubes Limited, paid to you for the purchase of 900,000 litres of SN900 Base Oil and 500,000 litres of SN500 Base Oil, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 285(1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.”

The defendants pleaded guilty to the amended charge.

Following the guilty plea, prosecution counsel urged the court to convict the defendants as charged and rely on the evidence already presented before the court.

In his judgment, Justice Oshodi convicted the first defendant, Minnis Uchenna Howard, and sentenced him to two years and four months’ imprisonment.

The court also fined the second defendant, Howard Minnis Asset Management Limited, N10 million.

Justice Oshodi also ordered the defendants to refund the full sum of N822,422,260 to the victim, Krystal Lubes Limited, within one year, in line with the nomination agreement signed by the defendants, their guarantor and the petitioner.

The judge further directed that the N45 million recovered during the investigation be released to the petitioner within seven days.

The EFCC said Howard was convicted after he dishonestly converted N822,422,260 belonging to Krystal Lubes Limited, which had been entrusted to him for the purchase of 900,000 litres of SN900 Base Oil and 500,000 litres of SN500 Base Oil.

A Nepalese national, identified simply as Bista, has disclosed how some officers at the Nigeria Police Force headquarters in Abuja played a role in a fraudulent scheme that cost him about N1.6 billion.

Bista made the allegation in an interview with social media activist, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, or VDM.

He narrated how he and dozens of other foreign nationals were allegedly deceived with promises of relocating from Nigeria to Suriname for business.

He added that the scheme was orchestrated by a Cameroonian, Emmanuel Masa, resident in Nigeria.

According to him, Masa claimed to have secured a partnership involving Azman Airlines and another firm to facilitate visas, travel documents and chartered flights to the South American country.

The Nepalese citizen further noted that he first travelled to Abuja from Gambia in 2023 with six associates after being assured the arrangement was genuine.

Bista claimed that his confidence in the scheme increased after he was taken to the Force Headquarters, where, according to him, police officers attended a meeting with prospective travellers.

“One of the officers openly vouched for Masa, assuring those present that the arrangement was legitimate.

“After the involvement of the police, we had nothing to worry about. I subsequently paid an initial $20,000 for the trip after Masa promised the flight would depart within two weeks.

“When the departure failed to materialise, Masa blamed the delay on an insufficient number of passengers and persuaded us to recruit more people,” he said.

At least one person is feared trapped after a two-storey building under construction collapsed on Sultan Road in Kano metropolis at about 9 am on Friday.

Three people had been rescued from the rubble as of the time of filing this report, while rescue workers continued efforts to reach a fourth victim believed to be trapped beneath the debris.

Eyewitnesses said construction workers noticed signs that the building was about to collapse while they were working on the upper floor, prompting them to flee the site.

However, four people, including a security guard and a commercial tricycle (Keke Napep) driver, were reportedly trapped when the structure gave way.

One of the construction workers, Shu’aibu Yaro, confirmed the incident. 

“The engineer noticed signs that the building was about to collapse, so the workers immediately ran for safety,” Yaro said.

He added that three victims, including the security guard and one of his friends, were rescued and taken to Sir Muhammadu Sanusi Specialist Hospital in Kano for treatment after sustaining injuries.

Rescue officials were still searching for the fourth victim trapped beneath the rubble.