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Ogun Gov, Dapo Abiodun’s Aide, Abidemi Rufai, Arrested In New York Over $650m Washington State’s COVID-19 Unemployment Fraud
…..Risks 30 Years Imprisonment*
One of the Senior Special Assistants (SSAs) to Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, Abidemi Rufai, suspected in Washington state’s $650 million unemployment fraud was arrested last week Friday, at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport by federal agents as he allegedly attempted to leave the country.
NEWSTHUMB learnt that Abidemi Rufai appeared in federal court Saturday on charges that he used the identities of more than 100 Washington residents to steal more than $350,000 in unemployment benefits from the Washington state Employment Security Department during the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
Wire fraud is punishable by up to thirty years in prison when it relates to benefits paid in connection with a presidentially-declared disaster or emergency, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is the first, but will not be the last, significant arrest in our ongoing investigation of ESD fraud,” said Tessa Gorman, acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, in a statement Monday.
According to the Seattle Times, Rufai is scheduled for a detention hearing Wednesday.
His arrest comes almost a year after officials announced they were temporarily suspending unemployment benefits payments after discovering that criminals had used stolen Social Security numbers and other personal information to file bogus claims for federal and state unemployment benefits.
Within days, officials disclosed that “hundreds of millions of dollars” had likely been stolen in a fraud scheme that law enforcement officials and cybercrime experts said was partly based in Nigeria.
“Since the first fraud reports to our office in April 2020, we have worked diligently with a federal law enforcement team to track down the criminals who stole funds designated for pandemic relief,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Gorman.
“This is the first, but will not be the last, significant arrest in our ongoing investigation of ESD fraud,” Gorman said further.
The criminal complaint alleged that Rufai used the stolen identities of more than 100 Washington residents to file fraudulent claims with ESD for pandemic-related unemployment benefits. Rufai also filed fraudulent unemployment claims with Hawaii, Wyoming, Massachusetts, Montana, New York, and Pennsylvania. Rufai used variations of a single e-mail address in a manner intended to evade automatic detection by fraud systems. By using this practice, Rufai made it appear that each claim was connected with a different email account.
Rufai caused the fraud proceeds to be paid out to online payment accounts such as ‘Green Dot’ accounts, or wired to bank accounts controlled by “money mules.” Some of the proceeds were then mailed to the Jamaica, New York address of Rufai’s relative. Law enforcement determined more than $288,000 was deposited into an American bank account controlled by Rufai between March and August 2020.
“Greed is a powerful motivator. Unfortunately, the greed alleged to this defendant affects all taxpayers,” said Donald Voiret, Special Agent in Charge FBI Seattle.
“The FBI and our partners will not stand idly by while individuals attempt to defraud programs meant to assist American workers and families suffering the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
The case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG). The fraud on ESD is being investigated cooperatively by the FBI, DOL-OIG, Social Security Office of Inspector General, U.S. Secret Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations. The Washington Employment Security Department is cooperating in the investigation.
The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Seth Wilkinson, Cindy Chang, and Benjamin Diggs of the Western District of Washington, and Trial Attorney Jane Lee of DOJ’s Cyber Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS)
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Update : FG, States, LGs Share N1.894trn February Revenue from Federation Account
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has shared a total of N1.894 trillion among the three tiers of government as federation allocation for February 2026.
According to a statement issued on Friday by the Federal Ministry of Finance, the distribution was made from a gross revenue of N2.230 trillion generated during the month.
From the amount shared, the Federal Government received N675.086 billion, the 36 states received N651.525 billion, while the 774 local government councils got N456.467 billion. Oil-producing states also received an additional N110.949 billion as derivation revenue, representing 13 per cent of mineral proceeds.
The statement further disclosed that N77.302 billion was paid to revenue-generating agencies as the cost of collection, while N259.078 billion was allocated for transfers, interventions and refunds.
The ministry explained that gross revenue from Value Added Tax (VAT) for February stood at N668.450 billion, compared to N1.083 trillion distributed in the preceding month, indicating a decline of N414.710 billion.
From the VAT revenue, N26.738 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N22.593 billion was set aside for transfers, interventions and refunds.
The remaining N619.119 billion was shared among the three tiers of government, with the Federal Government receiving N61.912 billion, the states N340.515 billion and local government councils N216.692 billion.
Similarly, the gross statutory revenue of N1.561 trillion recorded in February was lower than the N1.957 trillion received in the previous month, representing a decrease of N395.138 billion.
From the statutory revenue, N50.564 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N236.485 billion was allocated for transfers, interventions and refunds.
The balance of N1.274 trillion was distributed as follows: the Federal Government received N613.174 billion, states got N311.010 billion, and local governments received N239.776 billion, while N110.949 billion was allocated as derivation revenue to oil-producing states.
New tax regime designed to boost growth, ease burden on Nigerians — Experts
The ministry noted that revenue from oil and gas royalty as well as excise duty recorded significant increases during the period.
However, it added that collections from Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Hydrocarbon Tax (HT), Companies Income Tax (CIT), Capital Gains Tax (CGT), Stamp Duties (SDT) and Value Added Tax (VAT) declined substantially during the month under review.
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Contempt of Court: How Onwukwem and Associates Ended Up in Jail in Lagos
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In what looked like a syndicate, a Lagos Lanlord, Mr. Lawrence Onwukwem and his gang, who specialise in swindling innocent Nigerians through properties in their care, have run into trouble and earned jail terms for fraud and illegal eviction of a couple, Mr. Olusola Alabi and his wife, Mrs. Olufunmilola Alabi, who rented an apartment from them and were summarily frustrated.
Like a thief whose time of reckoning has come, Onwukwem, alongside his accomplice; Mr. Davies Ijele, Mr. Sodiq Kazeem, and Ms. Peace Igbo, who operates under Green Birch Tech Ltd, was recently jailed for six months each by a Lagos Chief Magistrates’ Court, sitting in Eti-Osa for contempt of court.
The imprisonment of the defendants is due to the contemptuous order of the court. The court held them in contempt, which they displayed all through the court proceedings.
In the charges, marked MISC/MCE/07/2023, the court invoked Section 44(1)(a) of the Tenancy Law of Lagos State 2011 as amended against the Defendants by convicting the Directors of the 1st Defendant (including the 2nd Defendant, Mr. Lawrence Onwukwem (Managing Director) and Mr. Isaiah Davies ljele) and one Sodiq Kazeem, the Estate Manager and one Ms. Chidinmma Igbo, all of the 1st Defendant, for forceful ejection of the Claimant/Applicant for the three (3) Bedroom flat and one (1) Room Boys Quarters with appurtenances situate, lying and being at Block A, Flat 3, No. 96B, Ladipo Omotosho Cole Street, Lekki I, Eti-Osa, Lagos State held by the Claimant/Applicant as a yearly tenant of the 1st Defendant/Respondent by unlawfully trespassing into the said Apartment, forcing the door open, and removing the Claimant’s furniture and electronics, beddings, refrigerator, air conditioners and gas cooker with gas cylinder, etc. and changing the keys to the entrance door, without any Lawful authority of any Order of any Court of competent jurisdiction, whilst the Claimant’s Suit No: MISC/MCE/07/2023: and the 1st Defendant/Respondent’s Suit No: MCE165/CIV/2024 were pending before the Court.
Delivering the judgement, the Chief Magistrate, Kikelomo Olaiya Doja-Ojo, on June 5, 2025, said that Lawrence Onwukwem, Hon. Davies Ijele, Mr Sodiq Kazeem and Ms Peace Chidinma Igbo, were to be sentenced to six months in correctional centre for continuously flaunting the order of the court while also mandated to pay the sum of N250,000 each to the court.
“The claimant is to be restored back to possession. All her belongings removed are to be returned to her immediately,” the CTC read.
Meanwhile, since the court judgement, the couple claimed that only Kazeem is already serving the jail term at Ikoyi Correctional Centre, while the other three have since gone into hiding.
Reacting to the judgement, the couple said that disputes arose following an alleged breach of the tenancy agreement by the landlord, prompting Mrs. Alabi to seek legal redress in court.
The couple said that while the tenancy matter was still pending in court, Mr. Onwukwem and his partners unlawfully broke into the apartment, removed their properties valued at N25million, and subsequently rented out the flat to another tenant.
When this reporter reached out to Mr Lawrence and Ijele for comments, their telephone lines were unreachable.
However, Igbo denied allegations that she was arrested and charged to court for failing to produce Mr Kazeem.
She refuted claims that she stood as surety for Kaeem , insisting that she never signed any legal documents in that capacity.
“They have spoilt my name and career. I don’t know how to reach them. They have issue with a particular person and why involving me instead of meeting those concerned directly. I know nothing about it,” she said.
“For the record, I didn’t sign in as a surety…I was working as a secretary and HR for the firm. I was not a lawyer in that instance. I was in law school in 2021”
She, however, acknowledged that steps have been taken to address the matter, including efforts to obtain a remand order.
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Breaking : UK Tightens Security With Road Closures, No-Fly Zones for Tinubu’s Visit
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Britain will impose airspace restrictions and deploy armed police officers in Windsor next week as President Bola Tinubu arrives for a state visit hosted by King Charles III.
Tinubu is expected to begin the visit in the company of his wife Oluremi Tinubu on Wednesday, March 18, with a reception at Windsor Castle.
Thames Valley Police in a statement on its website on Wednesday, said it is working with the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, the Royal Household and other security partners.
The force said airspace restrictions over Windsor Castle, which are in place permanently throughout the year, would be extended on Wednesday, March 18, to cover the period from 7am to 11.59pm.
Chief Superintendent Adrian Hall of Thames Valley Police’s Joint Operations Unit said the air restrictions formed part of a broader security operation for the visit.
“The air restrictions are just one part of our robust security operation for the state visit of Nigerian President Tinubu next week, with many measures you will see and others you will not..
“As a force, we have a vast amount of experience in policing Royal events in Windsor and significant planning, and preparation has gone into this event,” Hall said.
He said the force would take a strong stance in enforcing the restrictions, warning that any breach would constitute a criminal offence under the Air Navigation Order and could lead to arrest.
“We will be taking a strong stance in enforcing the restrictions; anyone who breaches them will be committing a criminal offence under the Air Navigation Order and could be arrested.”
The police chief said officers with specialist capabilities, including search teams, the Mounted Section, road policing, and armed units, would be deployed across Windsor, alongside neighbourhood policing and Project Servator resources.
“We will also be deploying numerous police officers to Windsor with specialist capabilities, including our search teams, Mounted Section, Roads Policing and armed units, while our neighbourhood and Project Servator resources will also be on the ground engaging with the public,” he said.
The authorities will also deploy an extensive closed-circuit television network, hostile vehicle mitigation barriers, and other undisclosed security measures for the event.
Hall said, “We will also be using the extensive CCTV network in Windsor, Hostile Vehicle Mitigation barriers, and many other security measures that you may not be able to see to make sure the event runs safely.”
He urged members of the public to support the security operation by remaining vigilant.
“The public plays a critical role to support us so we encourage them to report any suspicious activity or anything that does not seem quite right by calling 101 or speaking to one of our officers. If there is an immediate threat or emergency, then call 999,” Hall added.
Road closures and parking restrictions will take effect from Tuesday, March 17, with possible temporary disruption to roads in and around Windsor during the visit.
Thames Valley Police said it was being supported by the Civil Aviation Authority and National Air Traffic Services to enforce the flight restrictions. Persons with legitimate reasons for drone flying were directed to email [email protected].
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