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EFCC Commences Investigations of Suspect,   $73,000,  £15,957 & 827,800 SAR Intercepted at Kano Airport  

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The Kano Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has commenced investigation of a suspect, Haruna Yusuf  and multiple undeclared foreign currencies, ,   $73,000( Seventy Three United States Dollar)  £15,957 ( Fifteen Thousand, Nine Hundred and Fifty Seven Pound Sterling) & 827,800 Saudi Riyal  intercepted by the Nigeria Customs Service,  NCS,   at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport,  MAKIA.

The investigation commenced after  the handover  of the suspect and the undeclared currencies by the Acting Customs Area Comptroller of the Kano/Jigawa Command,  Deputy Comptroller U. U.  Adamu at the Customs Area Command in Kano.
The intercepted currencies, which exceeded the legally permitted threshold, were discovered during routine primary and secondary screenings of arriving passengers between August 8 and August 12, 2026.

The Acting Zonal Director of the EFCC,  Kano Directorate, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE1 Friday S. Ebelo, received the suspect and the recovered funds on behalf of the Commission.
According to Adamu,  the Customs made two separate interceptions.
On August 8,  2026,  “at approximately 14:20 hours, officers conducting passenger screening at the baggage seat of MAKIA intercepted an unaccompanied Saudi Air luggage  containing 827,800 Saudi Riyals and $53,300  The currencies were found concealed inside a footwear.” Adamu stated.
Similarly, on  August 12, 2026 “at approximately 13:50 hours, officers of the Nigerian Custom Service also flagged a luggage belonging to one Mr. Haruna Yusuf, who arrived at MAKIA on board Ethiopian Airlines flight ET941. During secondary screening using Non-Intrusive Inspection Technology, $20,000 USD and £15,957  were found concealed inside sportswear shoes”, he said.
Adamu thereafter formally handed over the suspect, Mr. Haruna Yusuf, alongside all recovered exhibits to Ebelo for further investigation and prosecution.   He noted that the handover was in accordance with Section 4(f) of the NCS Act 2023, which empowers the Service to collaborate with other border regulatory agencies.
Adamu further explained that,  “these interceptions demonstrate the readiness and vigilance of our officers in detecting cross-border movement of undeclared foreign currencies above the allowed threshold.  The Command will continue to deploy technology, professional expertise, and intelligence-driven measures, including inter-agency collaboration to strengthen border controls and protect the integrity of Nigeria’s financial systems.”

Receiving the suspect and exhibits on behalf of the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede,  Ebelo  expressed profound gratitude to the Customs Service for its  professionalism and cooperation with EFCC officers recently deployed to the airport.
“We must sustain this vigilance at all our entry points to counter the illegal movement of currency. The failure to declare large sums of currency and its equivalent is a violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022,” he said.
He  urged the public to comply with the law, emphasizing that declaring currency attracts no penalty, only the source of undeclared funds may raise legal concerns.
“Once more, we call on the general public: as much as we are Nigerians and we encourage trade in and out of the country, people must adhere to the laws of the land. You must declare the currency you are carrying. If you declare it, nobody will seize your currency,” he said.
Ebelo reaffirmed the EFCC’s commitment to  thorough investigations and prosecution, stating that the Commission would continue to follow the law diligently
Both Ebelo and Adamu applauded the longstanding synergy between  the EFCC and NCS which has been critical to combating financial crimes and illegal cash movement across Nigeria’s borders.

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Podcast host to sue MTN, other telcos over alleged disappearance of 150GB data

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Kel Armstrong Amobi, host of the KaaTruths Podcast, said he vowed to take MTN Nigeria and other telecommunications operators to court over an alleged disappearance of more than 150GB of his mobile data.

Mr Amobi, popularly known as KAA, disclosed this in a post on X on Saturday, accusing MTN of failing to provide a satisfactory explanation of the incident, despite holding two telephone conversations with the company’s customer service representatives.

Mr Amobi said he and other parties will meet MTN and other telecommunications operators at the Federal High Court in Abuja on 18 November over the mysterious data disappearance.

According to him, about three weeks ago, he complained to MTN that more than 150GB vanished from his line, including the depletion of 20GB from his data balance within eight minutes, even though his mobile data was switched off at the time.

“Within minutes of making that post, @MTNNG replied publicly. They said they had investigated and that I actually used the data. They said this without even knowing which number was affected,” Mr Amobi stated.

The podcast host said MTN subsequently contacted him privately through X and requested to have a telephone conversation with him.

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“On the call, a customer service agent apologised when I asked why they had lied publicly about an investigation that never happened. Then we got to the real issue. She admitted she had no answers. She said she would send the case to their technical team and call me back, he stated.

Mr Amobi said the representative later called back with the outcome of the investigation, claiming that he had used 30GB on Google services and another 19GB on YouTube on the day in question.

Mr Amobi, however, disputed the claim, particularly the assertion that he consumed the 19GB on YouTube while attending a meeting at Transcorp Hilton Abuja.
The customer care officer could not give a convincing response to what happened to the remaining data, he noted.

“But let’s take it even further, according to my phone records. The iPhone 17 Pro Max eSIM has a 5,088 mAh battery capacity, and at 95 per cent battery health, it would take about 25-30 per cent to stream a 4K Video on YouTube for three hours. Still, on that day, my battery usage records showed that YouTube used only 2% of Battery and spent about 20 minutes of screen time,” he remarked.

He also claimed that his iPhone’s records showed total YouTube data consumption of 23.8GB over the 10 months he had used the device, making MTN’s insistence that he used 19GB on YouTube in one day questionable.

According to him, MTN’s explanation did not account for the remaining data or establish how the alleged consumption occurred while his mobile data was switched off.
The podcast host said he would not blame the customer service representative, describing her as an employee carrying out her duties, but insisted that the company’s management should account for its public claims and the unresolved complaint.

“My last words to her were: tell your people not to bother sending you again. Bring the explanation and the results of your so-called investigation to court. We meet MTN and the other telcos at the Federal High Court, Abuja, on the 18th of this month,” he said.

As of the time of filing this report, Mr Amobi has not responded to PREMIUM TIMES with the details of the legal steps he plans to take or other circumstances surrounding his experience with the mobile network operator. MTN is also yet to respond to this newspaper’s request for comment.

Similar encounters

Mr Amobi’s post triggered similar reactions from other social media users with similar past experiences with Nigerian telecommunicationsservice providers.

Akinrinlola Olamide, a software engineer, said she has had comparable incidents repeatedly, alleging that MTN’s data usage meter is no longer functioning on the telco’s app.

“This is ridiculous; it has been happening to mine too, and they keep doing it because I’m not talking; their data usage meter is no longer working on their app,” Mr Olamide said.

Also sharing his experience, an X user, Big Sam @_samueld_, expressed his displeasure with the disappearance of his 1.28 terabyte data subscriptions, adding that he reached out to the telco for a remedy to the situation but got no response.

“I wish I could go to court too. My 1.28TB data disappeared overnight! I have sent a detailed email to MTN and tagged necessary regulatory bodies; nothing has been done. More than a month has passed,” he said.
The complaints persist despite regulatory measures introduced by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to shield telecommunications subscribers from unexplained data depletion, billing errors, and poor network services.

In January 2021, the NCC announced that it had instituted a forensic audit to investigate complaints of unexplained data depletion and wrongful deductions from subscribers’ accounts, with the possibility of compensating affected consumers.

ALSO READ: MTN partners Omoni Oboli to unveil seven Christmas films on YouTube

However, complaints persisted, prompting the regulator in May 2024 to direct mobile network operators to audit their billing systems, following renewed reports of unexplained data depletion.

In July 2024, the commission also introduced the Nigerian Communications (Quality of Service) Regulations, which established minimum service-quality standards for telecommunications operators. It provided for the measurement, reporting and monitoring of network performance.

When complaints about rapid data depletion and inaccurate billing persisted, the NCC, in August 2025, directed telecommunications operators to engage independent audit firms to scrutinise their billing systems.

The regulator has also introduced additional consumer-protection measures, including a refund framework for failed airtime and data transactions in January 2026 and a compensation framework for subscribers affected by poor network services in March 2026.

That notwithstanding, complaints of unexplained data depletion remain commonplace, raising questions about the efficacy of existing regulatory measures and the transparency of operators’ billing systems.
The extent to which subscribers can accurately verify their data consumption also remains uncertain.


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FCCPC Seals Peachville Platinum Estate Offices Over N140m Undelivered Abuja Property

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The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has taken enforcement action against Peachville Platinum Estate Limited after the company failed to comply with a Compliance Notice issued in connection with a consumer complaint over the alleged non-delivery of a N140 million property in Abuja.

During the enforcement exercise conducted on Thursday, a team from the Commission, led by Marvin Nadah, sealed the company’s headquarters located along Airport Road, alongside its management office situated at Peachville Gardens, opposite Games Village.

The complaint concerns a four bedroom detached duplex with boys’ quarters at Peach Ville Estate, Phase II, Kukwaba District, Abuja. The complainant told the Commission that they paid the full purchase price in August 2025 after the company assured them that it would hand over the property upon completion of payment. According to the complainant, the property remained unfinished and was never handed over.

The Commission investigated the complaint and gave both parties an opportunity to present their accounts. The company said the parties had agreed, at a meeting at the Federal Capital Territory Administration, that it would hand over the property by August 2026. The company did not provide documents to support its account of the agreement.

The Commission convened further proceedings and summoned the company to provide additional information. The company’s responses failed to satisfactorily address the issues the Commission raised. Its representatives also declined to sign the witness statements required to conclude the hearing.

The Commission issued a Compliance Notice on 17 August 2026 under section 150 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018. The company received the notice on 19 August 2026. After confirming that the company had failed to comply within the stipulated period, the Commission took enforcement action under section 150(4)(a) of the Act.

Commenting on the action, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the FCCPC, Mr. Tunji Bello, said, “For many Nigerians, buying a home involves years of savings. When a developer accepts payment and commits to a handover date, the buyer is entitled to rely on that commitment. If delays arise, the developer should explain them promptly and give the buyer a realistic timetable.

“The Commission gave both parties an opportunity to be heard. Once the Commission issues a Compliance Notice, the business is required to take the steps set out in it within the specified period. Where a business fails to comply, the Commission will take the enforcement action provided for by law.”

The post FCCPC Seals Peachville Platinum Estate Offices Over N140m Undelivered Abuja Property appeared first on Business Today NG.

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