Kingibe addressed newsmen in Abuja where she reportedly said her defection was a deliberate move and would be formalised with “fanfare”.

She was quoted to have said, “I’m totally and completely committed to ADC.

“But obviously, as the senator representing the federal capital territory, don’t expect me to just take a lunch break and go and collect card. I want to do so with noise and fanfare.”

When asked if she was satisfied with the leadership of ADC and the coalition she was joining, she answered, “It’s something that is evolving. So you cannot say while your child is still crawling that you are not happy with how he’s going to run. You wait. We are growing.”

Responding to concerns that her defection might cost her the senate seat based on constitutional provisions, Kingibe said the Labour Party was split into two factions, a situation which, she argued, legally allowed her to move.

The lawmaker stated, “I ask you to please read the constitution. There are two factions clearly of Labour Party. The perfect definition that the constitution gives for somebody to decamp without penalty.

“So you say I should stay in Labour Party. Which faction of Labour Party do you want me to stay in?

“There are two clear distinct ones. Even INEC got two sets of results and candidates, though they didn’t accept any. There’s no question of that.

“Even the time when we didn’t have two clear factions, did you see anybody implementing it?

“But I do follow the law. And if there were not two distinct factions of Labour Party, I would not presume to decamp, because that is unconstitutional. But they are.

“And this is the definition that the constitution gave why it would be okay to decamp to anywhere I wanted to go to. I just chose ADC.”

Kingibe was one of the several prominent Nigerian political figures spotted at the unveiling of ADC as the platform of the opposition coalition in Abuja on July 2.

A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of assets, luxury vehicles, and cash linked to a massive fraud scheme involving the illegal diversion of funds from Union Bank customers.

Justice Daniel Osaigor granted
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) application for the forfeiture, citing a detailed investigation that uncovered a fraudulent withdrawal of over ₦2 billion from 575 unsuspecting customers’ accounts.

EFCC’s counsel, Hanatu Kofar-Naisa argued the application urging
the court to permanently forfeit the identified assets as proceeds of unlawful activity, pursuant to Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and Section 44(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

She emphasised In her submissions
that the suit was not against any individual but properties acquired through unlawful means, noting that failure to forfeit the assets would amount to rewarding criminal conduct.

Items forfeited are: A 3-bedroom bungalow at Macedonia Street, Queens Estate, Karsana Gwarimpa, FCT, Abuja, a house at No. 8 Grace Crescent, Efab Queens Estate, Gwarimpa, Abuja, and multiple high-end vehicles including a Mercedes Benz C300, BMW SUVs, Range Rovers, and three Toyota Hilux pickups.

Also forfeited is the sum of ₦326.4 million and $480,000 in cash recovered during the course of investigation.

Report says the application was supported by a detailed affidavit deposed to by Sulaiman Aminu Muhammad, an investigating officer of the anti-graft agency, who described the scale of the fraud as “monumental,” and said the operation targeted dormant or “no-debit” accounts within Union Bank.

According to the affidavit, the EFCC launched its investigation after receiving a formal petition from Union Bank on October 24, 2022, detailing how its systems had been fraudulently manipulated to facilitate unauthorised debits on customer accounts.

By July 2023, a follow-up petition revealed that the total stolen funds had increased to ₦2,007,000,000, prompting a deeper forensic investigation.

The probe uncovered that the bank’s audit unit had identified suspicious transactions involving 575 accounts placed on a “no debit” status, which were nonetheless debited using methods inconsistent with normal banking procedures.

The EFCC’s investigation revealed that two companies, Actus Homes Limited and Fav Oil and Gas Limited, were central to the scheme, receiving funds from compromised accounts without any legitimate commercial relationship with the customers.

Funds from the compromised accounts were funneled into these entities without any legitimate commercial relationship with the customers.

Actus Homes Limited was said to have received N681.2 million from 126 customer accounts, while Fav Oil and Gas Limited was said to have received a cumulative ₦1.388 billion from 429 accounts.

Further investigations showed that neither company had applied for or received loans from the bank, nor did they render any service that would justify the inflow of such large sums.

The funds were subsequently used to acquire real estate and luxury automobiles, all now forfeited by the court.

The EFCC said it was able to trace ₦887.4 million that had been transferred into various bank accounts, and also recovered large cash sums, including those discovered in a black Escalade vehicle — now forfeited.

Union Bank managed to salvage ₦519.1 million, which remained untouched in some of the accounts flagged during the audit.

In line with legal requirements for non-conviction-based forfeiture, Justice Osiagor had earlier granted an interim forfeiture order on May 16, 2025, and directed the EFCC to publish the court order in a national newspaper.

The publication on June 5, 2025, invited interested parties to show cause within 14 days why the properties should not be permanently forfeited. No objections were received.

Having complied with due process and satisfied the court of the connection between the assets and proceeds of fraud, Justice Osiagor granted the EFCC’s final forfeiture request.

Report says the main suspects in the fraudulent scheme are already facing trial in a separate criminal proceeding.

BACKGROUND OF THE REPORT

KEY PLAYERS INVOLVED
– *Union Bank*: The bank where the fraud occurred, with the incident happening on March 23, 2025.
– *EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission)*: The agency investigating the fraud.
– *Suspects*: Several individuals, including former Union Bank staff member Abdulmalik Salau, Ismaila Yousuf Atumeyi, and Ngene Joshua Dominic, were arraigned for alleged cybercrime and money laundering.

HOW THE FRAUD UNFOLDED

The fraudsters exploited a critical system glitch in Union Bank’s database, siphoning funds in small, deliberate transactions to avoid detection. They funneled the stolen money into 54 different financial institutions.

INVESTIGATION AND LEGAL ACTION

The EFCC launched an investigation after receiving a formal petition from Union Bank. They froze accounts linked to the fraud and recovered some of the stolen funds. The court granted a Post No Debit (PND) order, preventing further withdrawals from the implicated accounts.

PREVIOUS SIMILAR CASES

In 2020, the EFCC secured the conviction of Abass Mohammed and a Bureau De Change (BDC) operator, Ibrahim Saidu Jogal, who connived to hack into Union Bank’s database and defrauded the bank of ₦2.55 billion. channels online

The Executive Chairman of the Gombe State Urban Planning and Development Authority (GOSUPDA), Bappayo Samanja Maudo, has reaffirmed the state’s commitment to eradicating immoral activities, particularly in gala houses and brothels.

Speaking with journalists on Thursday, July 10, 2025, Maudo stated that any defaulting establishments would face demolition.

He said the authority’s decision to intensify the ban followed the recent alarming discovery of an 11-year-old girl at a brothel during a routine operation in the state.

According to him, having little children in lodges is immoral and unacceptable, vowing that the authority would sanitise the city.

The state government had previously banned ‘gala houses’ where dancing shows are performed at night, as well as brothels, due to concerns over immorality and security issues.

Maudo commended the state governor, Inuwa Yahaya, for his “massive urban renewal projects through infrastructure development”.

According to the Guardian, several gala houses and brothels have already been demolished, including Evergreen Hotel, Moon Shine, Fina Hotel, Runko Hotel, and Zuma Royal Hotel, among others.