The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arraigned one Usie Otukpa Osang before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, over an alleged multi-million dollar fraud scheme.

According to the anti-graft agency, Osang was arraigned on Monday, June 29, 2026, on an eight-count charge bordering on impersonation and obtaining money under false pretences involving AUD$8,427,330.83 and US$3,639,462.00.

The EFCC alleged that the defendant, who reportedly operated under the aliases “Oscar Tyler” and “Ford Thompson,” defrauded victims through a fake cryptocurrency investment platform known as Liquid Assets Group.

Part of the charge read: “That you, Usie Otukpa Osang (alias Oscar Tyler and Ford Thompson) and others at large, sometime between May, 2021 and May, 2022, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, with the intent to defraud, conspired with others at large to obtain the aggregate sum of AUD $8,427,330.83 (Eight Million, Four Hundred and Twenty-Seven Thousand, Three Hundred and Thirty Australian Dollars, Eighty-Three cents) from Brian Jacques Creigh, an Australian citizen and the CEO of an investment firm, Panacea Capital, under the false pretence that Liquid Assets Group is a licensed online cryptocurrency trading and investment platform and offered significant return on investments, which you knew to be false.”

The commission stated that the alleged offence contravenes Section 8(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and is punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.

In another count, the EFCC accused the defendant of fraudulently obtaining 19.806 Bitcoin, valued at $1,079,313.00, through a Binance wallet address between August 14 and November 23, 2021.

The charge alleged that the cryptocurrency was obtained from Brian Jacques Creigh under the guise of investments in the purported cryptocurrency trading platform.

Osang pleaded not guilty to all the charges when they were read before the court.

Following his plea, prosecution counsel Christopher Mshelia requested a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendant at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja pending trial.

Defence counsel K.I. Shuaibu, however, applied for bail on behalf of the defendant.

Justice Egwuatu subsequently adjourned the matter until July 14, 2026, for the hearing of the bail application and ordered that the defendant be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre.

At least 18 people from Sokoto State have died in a road accident along the Sokoto–Yauri highway in Kebbi State while travelling home from Lagos, where they had gone in search of work.

The victims were among 20 passengers travelling in an 18-seater commercial bus. The bus reportedly collided head-on with a trailer at about 11 pm on Monday, killing 18 people at the scene. Two others survived with injuries.

Reports said the passengers were returning to Sokoto after spending time in Lagos in search of a better means of livelihood.

A member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Bello Muhammad, said he joined others in evacuating the victims after learning about the accident.

“We were informed that our colleague had been involved in a road accident shortly after Yauri town. By the time we arrived, 18 people had already died and the vehicle was completely wrecked,” he said.

Muhammad said the bodies were taken to the General Hospital in Yauri, where relatives identified them before they were released for burial.

He said he personally transported the bodies of victims from Kajiji Ward back to their communities.

According to him, those who died included the driver, Manniru Sabo, Basiru Shehu and another resident of Kajiji Ward. He added that seven victims were from Bingaje and Gudirriga villages in Yabo Local Government Area, while two others were from Gada Local Government Area. The remaining victims came from different parts of Sokoto State.

“Passengers travelling to Sokoto from Lagos are usually picked from any location they belong in Sokoto before the journey begins, which is why the victims came from different communities across the state,” he explained.

Muhammad said several of the victims would be buried in Yauri because their bodies were badly damaged, while those taken to Kajiji had already been buried according to Islamic rites. He added that one of the two survivors was the bus conductor.

Another resident, Alhaji Shehu Jabo, who helped transport the bodies and attended the funeral prayers, described the incident as heartbreaking.

“We were overwhelmed with grief because many of the bodies were badly mangled. It was difficult to recognise some of them,” he said.

Jabo alleged that the trailer veered into the lane of the commercial bus, causing the fatal crash. He added that only one passenger was from Kebbi State, while the other 19 were from Sokoto.

The Chairman of Shagari Local Government Area, Barrister Maidawa Kajiji, confirmed the accident and expressed condolences to the bereaved families.

The Nigeria Police have raided the hideout of a notorious kidnapping syndicate responsible for a series of abductions and killings along the Federal Capital Territory, FCT–Nasarawa border communities.

This is contained in a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Anietie Iniedu, on Tuesday.

Iniedu disclosed that in a coordinated intelligence-led operations conducted between 24th and 26th June 2026, operatives of the Force Intelligence Department–Special Tactical Squad arrested two suspected members of the notorious kidnapping syndicate during operations in Gbagalape (FCT) and Mararaba (Nasarawa State).

He identified the suspects as Buhari Adamu (25) and Abubakar Saidu (28), suspects believed to have played active roles in several violent attacks, kidnappings, and murders within the FCT–Nasarawa axis.

According to him, preliminary investigations linked the syndicate to the deadly attack carried out on 16th May 2026 at Gbagalape Community, a border settlement between the FCT and Nasarawa State, during which several residents were abducted, while others were killed or sustained gunshot injuries.

The Force spokesman further noted that the attack also led to the murder of multiple victims after ransom demands were made.

“Following the arrests, operatives stormed the gang’s hideout at Gbagalape Hills, where one AK-47 rifle, twenty-two (22) rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition, fourteen (14) cows, and three (3) sheep suspected to be proceeds of criminal activities were recovered.

“The suspects have made statements aiding ongoing investigations, while efforts are ongoing to apprehend other fleeing members of the criminal gang,” he said.