🗞️ Fraud everywhere you look
Oil execs have been chopping all the refinery renovation money; CBEX scam update; Boko Haram back like they never left (they didn’t)
Hi!
On the lowkey real: I don’t think I’ve ever been this simultaneously stressed and unfulfilled in my life (and this includes my time in boarding school when I was in a constant state of i-don’t-want-to-be-here ). Anyway, I think you should listen to Pull Up by ABRA today, then give negotiate by Kilo Kish a go tomorrow.
This edition was written by Rosemary & Adetomiwa, and edited by Adetomiwa.
That New News is an independent self-funded project by me (Adetomiwa). Thank you for reading, sharing and donating. I love you like I birthed you 😘
In this edition
Oil execs have been chopping all the refinery renovation money
CBEX scam update
Boko Haram back like they never left (they didn’t)
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan is our strongest soldier
This edition is 1,800 words (approx. 5 min read)
Petrol
The pressure is rising for NNPCL
Nigeria’s owned refineries - the Warri refinery and Port Harcourt refinery are struggling, and for this, the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is under fire.
After spending $897.6 million to revive and revamp the Warri refinery, the NNPCL shut it down in April 2025, weeks after they announced that it was fully functional
The Warri refinery has been inactive for decades and finally started again on December 30, 2024
While still functional, the Port Harcourt refinery, since it launched has just not hit the numbers the NNPCL was confident it would - has been operating at just 38% of its capacity
This issue is making petrol experts question the NNPCL on their ability to manage the country’s refineries, and this act shows that the refineries were not even set to resume operations; it seems like it was a charade to have the citizens talking.
The pressure got to them, and after carrying out changes in the management teams across its refineries, Bayo Ojulari, the group chief executive officer of NNPCL, decided to remove the managing directors of the three refineries.
Fraud in the middle of chaos
The EFCC has arrested the recently sacked managing directors and some top officials of the refineries under NNPCL’s watch. Port Harcourt Refining Company ex-MD, Mr Ibrahim Onoja and Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company Ltd ex-MD Efifia Chu are in EFCC custody, while Kaduna Refinery MD (Mustapha Sugungun) is under investigation.
Allegedly, these officials have been in the habit of mismanaging funds that were given to them for the refinery's renovation (no wonder nothing is clicking 😭)
According to reports, $1,559,239,084.36 was allocated to the Port Harcourt Refinery, $740,669,600 to the Kaduna Refinery and $656,963,938 to the Warri Refinery. Meaning approximately N4,742,332,254,035.60 (4 trillion Naira) was allocated to refineries. So far, EFCC has traced about 80 billion Naira to MD and top management accounts.
Multiple energy experts said the much-celebrated renovations and refinery reveals were scams. They said the refineries the government shared with us were not built for what they claimed, so it was a sham from the start.
Dan Kunle, a writer at Premium Times who covers energy, said, “Kaduna refinery has no pipe to feed it. Even if you fix the Kaduna refinery with the $800m or $750m, how will crude get there?”, one expert said. As in all that “competition is coming”, “price of petrol will drop because Nigeria will soon be swimming in refined fuel” promise was all a coordinated scam.
More Fraud
CBEX scam saga continues
In our last newsletter, we reported that the EFCC promised to find the operators of CBEX, the financial investment scam company that recently unravelled. According to recent reports, they’re sticking to their word.
One of the suspected promoters of CBEX, Adefowora Abiodun Olanipekun, who the EFCC declared wanted, voluntarily surrendered himself to aid the investigation.
Just days before Abiodun's surrender, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja approved the EFCC’s request to arrest and detain Abiodun and other suspected promoters, including Seyi Oloyede, Emmanuel Uko, and Adefowora Oluwanisola.
Abiodun's attorney, Babatunde Busari, Esq., claims his client just wants to set the record straight and clear his name
Schools stealing from students part 2
Last newsletter, we reported that schools have been withholding NELFUND allowances from students, asking students to pay fees that their NELFUND allocations already covered. Well, there’s more
The Guardian NG, in an investigative article, found that about 51 Nigerian tertiary institutions are allegedly dipping into the student funds.
According to the report, some schools were quietly deducting N20,000 to N40,000 from students’ loan disbursements, an act the Presidency is calling both fraudulent and damaging to the credibility of the scheme.
Some of the schools accused include: Modibbo Adama University, Yola; Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH); Lagos State University of Education (LASUED); Niger Delta University; University of Port Harcourt; Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt; Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi; Kaduna State University; Federal University, Dutsinma; Ebonyi State University; Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa; University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN); Abia State University; Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA); Federal University, Lokoja (FUL); University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), University of Ilorin (UNILORIN). See the others here
But amid the accusations, some universities are distancing themselves. The University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), which is on the list, said it has never levied its students. It detailed how it’s already refunded one batch of funds and is processing the rest.
Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), which is also on the list, echoed a similar message, saying students in the first batch will receive their refunds within 72 hours.
Kano's Payroll Mystery
The Kano state government has uncovered about 247 ghost workers placed on constant salaries under the local government payroll system.
These ghosts were paid ₦27.8 million in March 2025 alone. Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf established a special committee to investigate and cleanse the payroll system.
The committee was formed following complaints about illegal salary deductions and non-payment issues.
The misallocated funds have been recovered and returned to the Local Government Treasury.
However, the Kano State chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress said the state is not being truthful.
They argue that many of these so-called "ghosts" are real employees - some on training, others ill, and missed the biometric data capture.
The NLC suggests that the biometric exercise might have had its own hiccups, leading to genuine workers being mislabeled..
Politics
Last week, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan left an “apology” for Senate President Godswill Akpabio
To recap: Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan accused Akpabio of sexually harassing her and the Senate Ethics committee found a corner corner way to get her suspended even though Akpoti-Uduaghan was not the first woman in a position of power to accuse Akpabio of sexual assault.
In her ‘apology, Akpoti-Uduaghan wrote, “It is with the deepest sarcasm and utmost theatrical regret that I tender this apology for the grievous crime of possessing dignity and self-respect in your most exalted presence.”
Ridiculing what she implied was a culture of coercion and entitlement within the Senate, she said: “How remiss of me not to understand that my refusal to indulge your… 'requests' was not merely a personal choice, but a constitutional violation of the unwritten laws of certain men’s entitlement.”
Taking direct aim at Akpabio, she described herself as a “stubborn woman who mistakenly believed that her seat in the Senate was earned through elections, not erections”
She signed it off with: “Unafraid, Unbought, and Unbroken”.
Keep showing them, my president
Delta decamps
Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, former governor Ifeanyi Okowa, and most of the state’s PDP leadership have left the party and joined the APC. They say the move is about aligning with President Tinubu, who they claim has shown “real love” to the state (barf)
With local lawmakers, council chairmen, and other key players following suit, the PDP’s decades-long reign in Delta might not make it into the 2027 elections.
Medicine
No access to children's immunisation in Bauchi
Parents of infants in Bauchi State are worried about the ongoing shortage of essential life-saving vaccines for immunisation to prevent newborn babies from diseases.
The executive chair of the Primary Health Care development board confirmed the shortage, and said the vaccines are not available to buy.
The Chair said the state has reachout to the federal government and is awaiting the next supply.
FG shielding under-fives from Malaria
The Nigerian government is rolling out a comprehensive plan to protect 30 million children under five from malaria.
The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Adekunle Salako said the federal government wants to implement Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) across 21 states to “outsmart malaria” before it strikes.
The FG has allocated funds for essential malaria needs for this project.
Current stats: 27% of global malaria cases and 31% of deaths occur in Nigeria.
Insecurity
Herdsmen Chaos
A Magistrate Court sitting in Akure, Ondo State capital, has sentenced a herdsman to ten years’ imprisonment for destroying farm crops worth N50 million.
A herdsman named Dan-Bello in Ondo State decided to let his cows have an all-you-can-eat buffet on someone else's farm.
The cows ate through young palm trees and watermelons on a two-hectare farm, causing N50 million in damages. Dan-Bello didn't have a permit and violated the state's anti-open-grazing law.
As if crop destruction wasn't enough, he and six buddies allegedly returned the next day to set the farm ablaze.
Dan-Bello faced charges of conspiracy, unlawful grazing, malicious damage, breach of peace, and illegal entry.
He received 10 years in prison, with some counts allowing for fines. However, if he pays N2 million in compensation to the victim, he might get an early release.
Boko Haram’s return to Borno
Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, recently alerted the country that Nigeria is losing ground to Boko Haram terrorists.
For about 10 years, governments have been trying to gaslight us into believing that Boko Haram has been “technically defeated”
Foreign institutions even praised Zulum and said they were using Borno’s plan as a blueprint for how to deal with insurgency.
However, Boko Haram is still ruining lives in Borno and across the region.
Governor Zulum is calling for high-tech gear—MRAPs, drones, and surveillance tech—to outsmart the insurgents.
The situation is further complicated by the withdrawal of Niger from the regional military coalition, raising concerns about the effectiveness of current counterterrorism efforts.
President Tinubu says he intends to fix the terrorist problem with tech
Nigeria tries tech
Meta is not with it
Meta says they might shut down WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram in Nigeria because the FG is trying to impose a heavy fine on the company - The Cable
The fine, according to Nigeria's Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), is for data privacy violations.
The FCCPC, after a 38-month investigation alongside the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), accused Meta of unauthorised data sharing, denying Nigerians control over their personal data, and treating Nigerian users differently compared to other regions.
Meta is appealing the fine, arguing that the demands are "unrealistic" and that the NDPC misinterpreted Nigeria's data protection laws.
The FCCPC isn't budging. They view Meta's exit threats as a strategic means to sway public opinion and are ready to defend their decision in court.
Nigeria's New E-Visa System
Nigeria has introduced a fully digital e-Visa regime and an automated landing and exit card system as part of major reforms under the country’s 2025 Visa Policy.
Starting May 1, 2025, this system will replace the old visa-on-arrival system for eligible countries/passports.
Travellers from countries that which Nigeria allows visa on arrival for can now apply online and receive their e-Visas within 48 hours.
Other news
Peter Nwachukwu, who killed his wife, gospel musician Osinachi, after years of abusing her, has been sentenced to death by hanging - Vanguard.
The Lagos State Government has disclosed that out of 58,188 public school students who took the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination, 26,592 failed. Meaning only about 53% passed. What is going on in secondary schools? - Punch
The Ghanaian government has handed over 231 Nigerians rescued from an alleged human trafficking and cybercrime ring to Nigerian authorities. - The Nation
That New News is an independent, self-funded project by me (Adetomiwa). Thank you for reading, sharing and donating. I love you like I birthed you 😘
Abia state uni no go dey there ke ? I’m also very sure the students there are oblivious to this. Kai