‘Reps member fingered’ Sinister plans to malign Somolu Local Govt chairman exposed

Sinister plans to malign the executive chairman of Somolu Local Government, Hon. Abdul Hamed Salawu, popularly called Salawu Dullar, has been exposed after the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) recently released timetable for election in the 20 Local Governments and 35 Local Council Development Areas, LCDAs.

It is no gainsaying that Salawu Dullar, who has been the local government boss since 2017, has been diligent in his stewardship and his achievements in changing the face of his local government could be traced to his tutelage under his mentor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The latter held community development in high esteem when he was the governor of the state.

Hon. Salawu’s giant strides in changing the political landscape in the local government could be seen in the area of massive road constructions, ease of doing business for residents, reduction in crime rates through youths empowerment programmes, pro-activeness in safeguarding the citizens’ lives and properties, and monthly welfare package for the elderly citizen.

Other area Dullar has ensured that the people of his local government felt the impact of government at the grassroots also included creative schools initiative through presentations of chairs and desks to over 18 government owned primary schools in the local government area.

It then came as a shock and at the same time ridiculous to the residents of the local government when a malicious report recently surfaced linking the honourable chairman with a suspected fraudster in far away Canada.

According to the report, it was alleged that a Nigerian resident in country, Yusuf Owolabi Abdul, popularly called Saheed Sador, who was extradited from Germany to the United States, was presented in New York before a magistrate ‘over crimes committed by Somolu LGA boss in Lagos State’.

On close investigation by Freelanews, there was nowhere in the charge sheet that the accused ever mentioned any link with the local government chairman. Infact, it was stated that Abdul was charged with participation in a fraud scheme from at least in or about 2013 until at least April 2019 involving the theft and laundering of victim funds.

“From at least 2013 through in or about 2018, Abdul and various other conspirators, located in countries including the United States, Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates (collectively, the “Conspirators”), were involved in a scheme to fraudulently access individuals’ and corporations’ bank accounts and to conduct financial transactions using those bank accounts without the knowledge or authority of the accounts’ legitimate owners (the “Bank Scheme”).

“Other defendants charged in this case include Alade Kazeem Sodiq, a/k/a “Eluku,” a citizen of the United Arab Emirates and Abdulai Kennedy Saaka, a/k/a “Kenny,” of Atlanta, Georgia, who each pled guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy and were sentenced to 50 months in prison and 32 months in prison, respectively; Habeeb Audu, a/k/a “Dickson” whose case remains pending; and Dominic Francis Labiran, a citizen of the United Kingdom, who remains at large,” the indictment read.

Not only did the accused not mention Dullar, the allegation of indictment neither mention the local government chairman among the defendants nor included Nigeria as the location where the crimes were committed. Hence, political pundits wondered why the malicious report threw caution into the air, abdicating all ethics of journalism and flatly accused an innocent person in a trial that is only not in its jurisdiction but still ongoing in helping some faceless ‘clients’ score political points.

Also, according to an anonymous source close to the chairman, it was believed that the ‘malicious’ report was a handiwork of his political rivals.

“I’m not really surprised to read such an unprofessional report from a paid journalist, who is expected to hold his profession in high esteem but sold out to destroy another person through the use of his or her pen.

“Long before LASIEC announced the election dates, there has been several attempts by a certain member of House of Representatives and his cohorts to tarnish the image of Abdul Salawu, the council chairman of Somolu. Hence, this wicked publication catches no one by surprise since we have for a while noticed the fact that this certain MHR has vested interests in who emerges the next chairman of the council for his ulterior and mundane reasons and he is ready to go to any length to achieve his aim instead of going through ballot,” the source stated.

Our source also revealed that the said lawmaker had once been a beneficiary of the council chairman’s goodwill in past. Hon. Salawu once stood up for him when the party turned its back to the former’s nomination.

“The irony of this shenanigan is that the MHR has been a great benefactor of Dullar magnanimity, when he was randomly rejected by party members during the party primaries and was also completely rejected by the electorates of his constituency. It was Abdul Salawu, through dialogue persuasion with the party members and electorates, that rescued him.

“Not only is the report untrue, but it is also full of wide and laughable allegations because there was no where the chairman’s name was mentioned!” he reasoned.

The chairman,being a member of the All Progressives Congress, several party members from the local government whose opinions were sort regarding Dullar and the accusation disregarded the claims as frivolous and reinstated their supports for the chairman.

“Eni Oluwa yan fun wa ni Dullar, ko s’eni to le ba ise Oluwa je,” an elder party member said in Yoruba, which meant that Dullar is Godsent and no one can curse a man God has blessed.

Kindly find below the original press release by the United State Justice Department, where no mention of the council chairman was made.

====

U.S. Attorney Announces Extradition Of Canadian Citizen For His Role In An International Fraud And Money Laundering Network
Canada-Based Yusuf Abdul and Others in the United States, Europe, and Middle East Conspired to Use Phone “Spoofing Service” to Fraudulently Access and Launder Victims’ Funds

Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that YUSUF OWOLABI ABDUL, a/k/a “Saheed Sador,” a citizen of Nigeria and a resident of Canada, was extradited today from Germany. ABDUL was charged with participation in a fraud scheme from at least in or about 2013 until at least April 2019 involving the theft and laundering of victim funds. ABDUL was arrested in Germany on December 11, 2020, on an Interpol Red Notice, and is the fifth defendant charged in this case. ABDUL is expected to be presented on Monday, April 12, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang. ABDUL’s case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla.

U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “As alleged, Yusuf Owolabi Abdul and his codefendants used a widely available telephone ‘spoofing’ service and other deceitful means to steal and conceal millions of dollars in victim funds. Thanks to the FBI and international cooperation, Abdul is in U.S. custody and facing charges in this District.”

According to the allegations in the Indictment[1]:

From at least 2013 through in or about 2018, ABDUL and various other conspirators, located in countries including the United States, Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates (collectively, the “Conspirators”), were involved in a scheme to fraudulently access individuals’ and corporations’ bank accounts and to conduct financial transactions using those bank accounts without the knowledge or authority of the accounts’ legitimate owners (the “Bank Scheme”). As part of the Bank Scheme, the Conspirators placed thousands of calls to various United States banks, holding themselves out as legitimate accountholders of particular targeted bank accounts and using the stolen personal identifying information belonging to those accountholders. Using a particular telephone number “spoofing” service, and voice-altering technology, the Conspirators would deceive bank representatives into believing that the Conspirators were actual accountholders. In so doing, they convinced multiple U.S. banks to, among other things: move money from a victim’s savings account to the victim’s checking account (so that the Conspirators could more easily access the funds and conduct unauthorized transactions); falsely note on the account that the accountholder was traveling abroad (making the bank less likely to void suspicious international transactions made by the Conspirators); have “replacement” credit cards mailed to international addresses controlled by the Conspirators (whereupon the Conspirators could use them to make unauthorized purchases); and authorize foreign purchases made by the Conspirators.

* * *

ABDUL, 45­, a citizen of Nigeria and resident of Canada, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum of 20 years in prison; and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory sentence of two years in prison, to be served consecutively to the other charges. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Other defendants charged in this case include Alade Kazeem Sodiq, a/k/a “Eluku,” a citizen of the United Arab Emirates and Abdulai Kennedy Saaka, a/k/a “Kenny,” of Atlanta, Georgia, who each pled guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy and were sentenced to 50 months in prison and 32 months in prison, respectively; Habeeb Audu, a/k/a “Dickson” whose case remains pending; and Dominic Francis Labiran, a citizen of the United Kingdom, who remains at large.

Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs of the Department’s Criminal Division provided significant assistance in securing the defendant’s extradition from Germany.

The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Kiersten A. Fletcher, Jonathan E. Rebold, and Andrew A. Rohrbach are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges against ABDUL, Audu, and Labiran contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/us-attorney-announces-extradition-canadian-citizen-his-role-international-fraud-and

Victor Ojelabi