A crash that happened on Friday along the Akungba-Ikare Road in the Akoko South-West Local Government Area of Ondo State claimed the lives of at least three people.

It was learned that two commercial buses and a Toyota Camry with the license plate LND 592 GX were involved in the collision.

According to an eyewitness, the victims fell to the ground as the other vehicle approaching from the opposite direction ran over them when the driver of the automobile abruptly opened the door and struck the motorcycle carrying them.

The victims reportedly passed away instantly, and the car’s driver fled the scene right away out of fear of being lynched while nearby young people set the car on fire.

Ezekiel Son’Allah, the Ondo Sector Commander of the Road Safety Commission, acknowledged the collision and stated that the vehicles involved had violated the route and overtaken improperly.

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“Three persons were killed while the accident was caused by wrongful overtaking and route violation. The victims were taken to Aduloju Hospital Akungba by the policemen,” Son’Allah said.

34 alleged currency speculators have been arrested by agents of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in connection with allegations of foreign exchange fraud. The EFCC personnel are part of the Taskforce on Currency mutilation, Dollarization of the Economy, and Forex Malpractice.

They were detained on Friday in a sting operation after receiving reliable information regarding illicit dollar sales in the Wuse Zone 4 neighborhood of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja, according to a statement released by EFCC spokesman Dele Oyewale.

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Usman Mohammed, Abdullahi Nasir, Abubakar Saleh, Mohammed Kabir Ibrahim, Abubakar Ghadafi, Muktar Usman, Umar Abubakar Abba, Yakubu Sani, Aminu Abubakar, Muhammad Suleman Abara, Yusuf Tahir, Usman Lawal, Usman Umar, and Amina Garba Rola are the names of the suspects, according to the statement.

The others are: Bello Musa, Saleh Mohammed Naseer, Abdulaziz Abubakar Abba, Adamu Garba, Mohammed Usman, Bello Aliyu, Murtala Haruna, Sani Mohammed, Umar Farouk, Muhammad Sagiuru, Aminu Salisu, Lawal Bello, Munzali Hashim, Jamilu Suleiman, Mustapha Umar, Mubarak Tanimu.

According to a spokesman for the anti-graft agency, the arrests followed the EFCC’s continuous efforts to stabilize and sanitize the foreign currency market.

He said the investigations would soon be finished and the culprits would be put on trial.

According to a letter the school provided to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the American International School Abuja promised to reimburse Yahaya Bello, the former governor of Kogi State, $760,910.84 that he had paid for the children’s tuition in advance.

In December 2023, SaharaReporters exclusively revealed that the EFCC had confiscated $760,910.84 related to alleged money laundering from Bello’s payments to American International School, Abuja, which were intended to cover the tuition for four pupils until graduation.

The institution had received a request from the anti-graft agency for a repayment of funds that were allegedly obtained through wrongdoing.

The school asked the EFCC to provide it with a formal written request to that effect and to submit the commission’s bank information for a refund in a reply letter that was marked as exhibit H.

Part of the response letter that SaharaReporters saw said, 

“Please forward to us an official written request, with the authentic banking details of the EFCC for the refund of the above-mentioned funds as previously dictated as part of your alleged money laundering activities by the Bello family.

“Since the 7th September 2021 to date $845,852.84 in tuition and other fees has been deposited into our bank account.

“We have calculated the net amount to be transferred and refunded to the state, after deducting the educational services rendered as $760,910.84.”

The EFCC had requested that the school reimburse Bello for the $845,000 he had paid toward his children’s tuition.

According to records that SaharaReporters was able to collect in December of last year, Governor Bello made a deal with the school through his nephew, Mr. Ali Bello, to pay his four children’s tuition up front until graduation in order to insure their future.

August 23, 2021, saw the signing and execution of the agreement. After the agreement was signed, different installments totaling $845.852.84 were deposited into the school account.

But after roughly a year, the anti-corruption organization, in the course of its monitoring duties, sent a letter dated September 7, 2023, inviting the school administration to a series of interviews related to the funds.

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According to sources who spoke with SaharaReporters, the EFCC mentioned that the advanced school fees were the proceeds of crime while questioning school authorities.

It ordered that the school return the funds to the agency through a special account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), claiming that it was being used as an unintentional money laundering instrument.

“During the interviews, the EFCC further informed the school authorities that the commission was empowered to seize the total funds or any portion thereof.

“Following a review of the academic history of Governor Bello’s children with the school, the EFCC accepted that fees paid in relation to ongoing school sessions at the time did not amount to proceeds of crime and exempted the sum of $84.942.00.

“Subsequently, the commission made a demand for transfer of the of $760.910.84, representing advance tuition payment to its nominated account with the Central Bank of Nigeria,” documents obtained by SaharaReporters show.

Following the events, the administration of the school sent a letter to the EFCC on October 27, 2022, demanding an official written demand for the money’s return. However, the anti-graft agency supplied an account to which the funds were to be deposited.

The remaining $759,91084 was later paid to the account by the school after an initial $1,000 payment.

In the meantime, the EFCC is pursuing legal action against Ali Bello for a N3 billion scam.

Along with other defendants, Ali Bello was charged with eighteen charges of money laundering and misappropriation totaling around N3 billion in February before the Federal High Court.

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Iyada Sadat, Yakubu Adabenege, and Abba Adauda are the other co-defendants. Rashida Bello, another defendant, is not in custody.

Additionally, SaharaReporters exclusively revealed in December 2023 that Ali Bello had sued the American International School for allegedly breaching a contract requiring payment of tuition in advance until the graduation ceremony, which was scheduled to take place in 2021.

According to reports, he was suing the school administration for N100 million in damages, among other things, for returning $760,910.84 that had been placed into the school account for the education of Governor Bello’s children to the EFCC without a judge’s approval or his own consent.