The United States Federal Bureau of Investigations, FBI, is investigating alleged wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy by seven Nigerian men who acted as middlemen to receive $8 million proceeds of romance scams from victims of internet fraudsters, known as Yahoo Boys.

The accused are 39-year-old Bolanle Christina Odeyale; Oghenemine Jeffrey Agbroko, 34; Charles Owhonigho Emurotu, 40; Jimmy Iwezu, 44, Lori Tsoritse, 38; Rukevwe Solomon Ologban, 44 and Christopher Onyedikachi Okereke, 38.

According to US prosecutors, between March 2018 and June 2019, the suspects collaborated with fraudsters based in Nigeria to execute romance scams across America, targeting lonely citizens who were vulnerable to falling for the schemes.

Using fake attractive personas online, the scammers lured vulnerable women into romantic relationships and began extorting them under the pretext of various financial needs like unprecedented medical illnesses and so on, the indictment sheet said.

“The defendants either helped the Utah Money Transmitters source opportunities to work with Yahoo boys or helped them to transmit the fraud proceeds from the District of Utah to other places within the United States or abroad,” stated the U.S. attorney’s office.

The accused opened new U.S. bank accounts to receive the proceeds of fraud from victims, took a cut of the fraud and sent the balance to the Yahoo Boys in Nigeria.

“By operating in the District of Utah, they opened accounts at United States financial institutions to be used to collect money from victims and to distribute money to the coconspirators, to conceal the ultimate destination of the funds and the Yahoo boys’ location and identities,” stated the attorney’s office.

The Federal Government has declared Wednesday, May 1, 2024, a public holiday to commemorate this year’s Workers’ Day celebration.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government, re-iterated the need for excellence, efficiency and equity in all spheres of labour.

Ojo reaffirmed the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration’s commitment to fostering a culture of innovation, productivity, and inclusivity in the workplace.

He said: “In alignment with this year’s theme, which focuses on ensuring safety and health at work in a changing climate, I wish to state that the Federal Government remains steadfast in its resolve to prioritise the safety and well-being of all citizens.

“Let me reaffirm Mr President’s commitment to providing a conducive environment for work, where every worker can thrive and contribute meaningfully to national development..

While acknowledging the contribution of workers, he called for proactive measures to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change through synergy in the implementation of sustainable practices and policies that promote well-being in the workplace and in building a nation guided by the principles of integrity, diligence and compassion.

The Minister also urged Nigerians to remain committed to the present administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda as he wishes workers a happy celebration.

Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji has advocated for a solution- driven researches that are targeted at solving contemporary development challenges, particularly the living standard of Nigerians.

Governor Oyebanji, who stated this at the first African-Asia Inter- Continental Universities’ Conference, held at the Afe Babalola University in Ado Ekiti noted that Ekiti is well known for leading in producing scholars across discipline in the country, urging African intellectuals to understudy their Asian counterparts on the strategies that helped Asians shift from techno-economy dependent nation to prosperous techno-economic competitive nation.

Acknowledging that many Asian countries have recorded success in critical areas of human development, the Governor stressed the need for African scholars and policy makers to imitate Asians in their area of successes and identify possible areas of adaptation that would bring improvements to the country.

He said there is a need to learn technology transfer tricks from Asians as this would bring about socio-economic development, alleviate poverty, and make citizens economically productive.

The Governor added that there is also need to carry out researches on the critical success factors in the implementation of millennium development goals across different jurisdictions. He urged African scholars to begin a longitudinal study of the current sustainable development goals that can help policy makers to take informed decisions on policy direction.

While commending the Afe Babalola University for hosting the first African-Asian inter-continental universities conference and for bringing the best of the world’s academics and researchers to Ekiti, Governor Oyebanji said the University is, no doubt, living to its aspiration of being a world-class university with local and global relevance.

He pledged the support of his government for credible researches efforts that would enhance the standard of living of the people and solve contemporary development challenges.

“There is no doubt that many Asian countries have recorded progress in the critical areas of human development indices and that African scholars and policy makers should learn from their successes and identify area of possible adaptation, for the good of our people. We need to learn technology transfer tricks from the Asians, especially China.

“I therefore want to challenge African intellectuals to understudy their Asian counterparts on the strategies that shifted Asian tigers from being techno-economic dependent nations to prosperous and techno-economic competitive nations that they have become.

“As a state that is well known to lead in the production of academic scholars across disciplines, our government will be willing to support credible research efforts that can enhance the standard of living of our people. We will be very delighted to benefit from research outcomes that can be adapted to solve our contemporary development challenges”. the Governor stated.

In his remarks, the Founder of the Afe Babalola University, Are Afe Babalola, who acknowledged China as leading in production industry, urged African leaders to leverage China’s expertise and resources particularly industry and science to drive growth and development across various sectors.

The foremost educationist expressed the readiness of his university to further collaborate with China and continued promotion of international scholarship that transcends immediate contiguities.

Present at the conference were Nigerian scholars, researchers from different fields and their Asian counterparts.