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Binance executive, Gambaryan, may die of malaria in Kuje Correctional Centre-Lawyer
Aluko & Oyebode, the law firm handling the case of Binance Holdings Limited, says Mr Tigran Gambaryan, the cryptocurrency firm’s executive, standing trial alongside the company in Nigeria, may die in Kuje Correctional Centre.
The law firm stated this in a letter addressed to the Deputy Chief Registrar of Federal High Court (FHC) and signed by a Partner, C.J. Caleb.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the letter, dated and filed on May 23, which was sighted on Sunday, was titled: “Re: Charge No: FHC/ABJ/CR/128/2024 – Application for the Provision of Medical Treatment to Mr. Tigran Gambrayan at Nizamiye Hospital.”
Caleb said: “We continue to act as counsel to Mr. Tigran Gambaryan, the 2nd defendant in the captioned suit pending before the Honourable Justice E. Nwite sitting at Court 9 of the Federal High Court, Abuja.”
He said Gambaryan, the Head of Financial Crimes Compliance of the cryptocurrency platform, broke down on Wednesday (May 22) in prison and was administered with “Intravenous (IV) treatment for malaria” by the medical personnel.
“Please be informed that the 2nd defendant, who is an American citizen and remanded at the Kuje Medium Correctional Facility is very ill and requires comprehensive medical attention at the best available hospital within the jurisdiction of this honourable court.
“The applicant broke down yesterday and the medical facility gave him Intravenous (IV) treatment for malaria,” he said
The lawyer, therefore, raised the alarm over Gambaryan’s continous remand in the correctional facility expressing fear for his life amidst his alleged deteriorating health.
“The Consul Officer at the United States Consul Office in Abuja, emphasised the need for the applicant to receive comprehensive treatment because malaria is a severe disease for American citizens which can result in death because they do not have the immunity that ordinary Nigerians have against the disease,” he said in the letter.
Caleb, who said the defendant equally suffered from throat infection, added that “the Kuje Medium Correctional Facility is currently undergoing renovation works.”
“It is therefore not best suited for the medical treatment of the applicant,” he said.
According to him, given the above, we humbly apply that the applicant be transferred to Nizayime Hospital, Abuja to receive comprehensive diagnoses and treatment for the preservation of his Ife.
“We kindly request that this application be drawn to the attention of the court.
“We look forward to a favourable consideration,” he said.
NAN observes that the letter came six days after Justice Emeka Nwite of a FHC declined to grant Gambaryan’s bail application moved by a lawyer in the defence team, Mark Mordi, SAN.
Justice Nwite had held that based on the affidavit evidence before him, Gambaryan would jump bail if the application was granted.
The judge held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had overwhelming evidence against the applicant that he was a flight risk.
Justice Nwite ordered him to remain in remand throughout the hearing and determination of the alleged money laundering and terrorist financing charges.
NAN reports that on Thursday when the matter came up, the ailing Gambaryan collapsed in the open court over alleged ill-health.
The development occurred shortly after the matter was called for trial continuation before Justice Nwite.
His lawyer, Mr Mordi, explained to the court why his client could not stand as soon as the matter was called.
Mordi said Gambaryan had been indisposed and a written application letter had been filed to notify the court of his failing health.
The lawyer, who sought an adjournment, also prayed for an order, directing the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) to release his client’s medical examination conducted some days ago.
Although the EFCC’s lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho, did not oppose giving Gambaryan proper medical attention, he opposed to a plea that the court should specifically directed the NCoS to take him to Nizayime Hospital.
The lawyer also said that the NCoS should also ensure that Gambaryan was well secured to guard against escaping from hospital.
In his ruling, the judge said: “An order of this honourable court is hereby made that the 2nd defendant be allowed to be treated in Nizayime Hospital or any other hospital within jurisdiction which the Correctional Service Centre deems fit provided the Correctional Service Authority shall provide adequate security for the 2nd defendant within the period the 2nd defendant stays in the hospital.”
He also ordered the NCoS to make available the result of the medical examination to parties in the charge.
Justice Nwite subsequently adjourned the matter until June 20 and June 21 for cross-examination of the 1st prosecution witness (PW1) and a Director with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Abdulkadir Abbas.
It would be recalled that Abbas had, on May 17, revealed how Binance breached the Nigerian law, operated naira peer-to-peer services in exchange of crypto assets to devalue the Nigerian currency.
The witness, who is a Director of Registration, Exchanges and Market Infrastructure Department at SEC, disclosed this while testifying before the judge.
NAN reports that the EFCC had sued Binance Holdings Limited and Gambaryan as 1st and 2nd defendants.
In the five-count charge, Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan Regional Manager for Africa of the company, was listed as being at large.
They were accused to have allegedly conspired amongst themselves to conceal the origin of the financial proceeds of their alleged unlawful activities in Nigeria including 35,400, 000 dollars.
They were alleged to have committed the offence contrary to Section 21 (a) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, among others.
However, Anjarwalla escaped from lawful custody on March 22 and fled Nigeria to Kenya.
NAN equally reported that the alleged tax evasion four-count charge filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) against Binance Holdings Limited and Gambaryan could not proceed on Wednesday due to his absence in court.(,NAN)
The Association of Senior Civil Servants in Nigeria has accused the leadership of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) of alleged favoritism and unjust placement of pool officers over the commission workers.
They said that if not addressed urgently, these problems may undermine the morale of dedicated NAHCON staff and hinder the commission’s efficiency in fulfilling its mandate.
The union revealed this in a letter titled, “Urgent concerns regarding the placement of pool officers and administrative lapses”, dated March 3, 2025, and addressed to the NAHCON executive council and board members.
This is the first time in the history of the commission and Hajj industry in the country that staff are officially groaning over alleged misconduct and irregularities by the commission’s leadership.
The letter obtained by this newspaper was signed by the union’s executive officers in NAHCON.
The workers’ petition came weeks after the media reported the chairman’s leadership deficiencies and alleged nepotism, and how he is being influenced by some inexperienced family members including his biological brother Surajo, who is one of the chairman’s special assistants.
Mr Surajo is accused of misleading the chairman —who is reported to have a gross deficiency in reading and writing in the English Language — to minute on official memos, a development irking the commission staff members, state pilgrims boards and tour operators.
The chairman also reportedly appointed his biological son Aliyu as his assistant.
There is also the case of Abdulmalik Diggi, the chairman’s nephew, who was brought by the chairman as SA and deployed to the department of account as a deputy director. The DD is being accused of circumventing financial regulations – in cahoots with some aides of the chairman— to approve funds without due process
Findings by this newspaper have shown that another challenge facing the commission is how one state in the Northeast cornered all the critical leadership positions in NAHCON.
Borno state currently corners most of the juicy positions in the commission — in glaring disregard to federal character principles, an insider said.
Five critical positions are all occupied by Borno state indigenes namely — the secretary to the commission, the Director of Admin and Human Resources, the Deputy Director of Audit, the Director of Protocol, the Deputy Director of Procurement, and a Board member representing Northeast.
The workers also raised the cases of civil servants who retired from their parent organizations but only to be posted to NAHCON.
Another alleged impunity is the case of Mr Usman Mamza, from Borno State, who served as legal adviser in NAHCON after he retired from the Federal Ministry of Justice in April 2024. The Director of Admin, who hails from the same state as Mamza is allegedly blocking the investigation of the case.
The commission’s Director of Protocol Bulama is reportedly still at NAHCON even though he has reached retirement age.
Insiders said there are plans to recall a staff identified as Tawfiq Tayo Akinwale, who contested the governorship election in Oyo State under the Labour Party (LP) in 2023.
Mr Akinwale contested the elections and lost while still staff at NAHCON in violation of the Electoral Act 2022 and the Public Service Rules. The Zikirullah Kunle Hassan-led leadership had to sack him after mounting pressure from the commission workers.
It was learned that a former minister from the Southwest had given a note to the incumbent NAHCON leadership to facilitate his return to the commission.
Also, many staff members of the commission, this newspaper reliably gathered, are grumbling over the alleged overbearing influence of some DSS personnel attached to the chairman. One of the DSS details, Ibrahim Abubakar, was accused of abandoning his protective detail role and dabbling into the operational and administrative affairs of the commission. An insider said the DSS detail, allegedly in cahoots with some of his colleagues outside, is deeply interfering in the administrative activities of the commission.
“There have been several administrative lapses, particularly with regards to the actions of the Chairman/CEO’s Special Assistant (SA) who has been involved in matters of payment and approvals without adhering to proper protocols,” the union said in its petition.
The union also lamented the case of a special assistant to NAHCON Chairman and CEO, Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman, “who has been involved in matters of payment and approvals without adhering to proper protocols.”
One of his SA’s scandals was detected, and the cabal allegedly destroyed the evidence— by shredding the official documents. Some staff members who spoke to this newspaper have called on EFCC to probe this case diligently.
The workers are miffed that at a time the commission’s chairman is busy trying to deploy the majority of the staff to the office of the Head of Service of the Federation for posting over alleged redundancy, he is at the same time appointing personal aides and deploying them to many critical departments.
Insiders told this newspaper that the chairman has already penciled down the names of 70 staff to be sent to the head of service for posting.
The union’s executives were reportedly summoned by a member of the NAHCON board representing the NIA. They were accused of “blowing up the cover of the NIA officer in NAHCON” in their petition.
However, the workers argued that the presence of NIA in the commission is illegal because it has no statutory role to play. They also said, after all, they didn’t mention the name of the affected “officer” in their petition. The workers also raised the membership of the security agency on the NAHCON board.
“This is new to us. The NAHCON Act doesn’t make provision for membership of the security agency on its board. This is another flagrant violation of the commission law,” a senior staff who spoke to our reporter anonymously said.
Another development that drew the ire of the commission’s workers is the plans by Professor Usman-led leadership to spend N640 million to sponsor 50 staff to “travel to Saudi Arabia for Umrah monitoring.”
Many of the staff described this as a jamboree, particularly at a time when the commission is always cup at hand begging for operational funds from the government.
Part of the union’s letter reads: “It has come to our notice that pool officers recently posted to NAHCON have been placed in critical leadership positions ahead of seasoned NAHCON staff, who have dedicated years of service to the Hajj industry.
“A recent instance is the replacement of the Head of Policy and Research, a NAHCON staff, with an officer from the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), despite the absence of a vacancy.
To address this anomaly, the union has urged the executive council and board members to immediately withdraw all pool officers in major divisions.
The union said, “Pool officers who have been placed in strategic positions ahead of NAHCON staff should be withdrawn to ensure fairness and recognition of institutional experience.
The union also said, “Pool officers should also not be allowed to participate in the pre-hajj visit or the 2025 hajj operations at the expense of NAHCON staff.”
Veteran federal civil servants said populating the commission with seconded staff would degrade the institutional memory of the Hajj organization. “NAHCON staff should be trained to rise from bottom to top, to preserve the institutional memory of the commission. But when you adopt a revolving door policy — where staff are deployed and redeployed after some years – the founding father’s idea of establishing the Hajj commission is defeated,” one of the founding fathers of NAHCON told this newspaper.
Other staff members who spoke anonymously for fear of a backlash expressed concern over the ongoing face-off between the NAHCON chairman and his board members and commissioners. “This is unprecedented and it dampens the morale of the workforce,” one of them said. The officials said the earlier the commission gets a competent and experienced person to bring back the staff confidence, the better.
The chairman, it was impeccably gathered, is allowing all these problems to fester, including watching his aides threatening the commission staff, because of his alleged closed relationship with the office of the Head of Service of the Federation and the Vice President’s office.
Some commission officials have called for the sacking of the chairman and the board, saying, “It is glaring that the Vice President can’t properly supervise the commission as expected because his office has been compromised.”
They urged EFCC to investigate the commission leadership over the alleged financial recklessness and indiscipline.
The House of Representatives has resolved to investigate the conditional cash transfer programme of the Federal Government.
Honourable Abass Adigun who moved the motion reminded the House that in order to ensure effective and efficient delivery of the programme in August 2024, nominees for the programme were informed that they will be paid the sum of N50,000 each for three months.
However, some nominees received payment months after information was completed and submitted to the portal, while other nominees have not, and the National Cash Transfer Office has not responded to the payment of other nominees to date.
President Bola Tinubu suspended the scheme – initiated by his predecessor Muhammadu Buhari and administered by the National Social Investment Programme – in January owing to alleged corruption in programme.
But in February, the Federal Government said it was restarting the scheme and is targeting an extra 12 million households that could qualify for these direct payments.
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested Sirajo Jaja, the Accountant General of Bauchi State for alleged N70 billion fraud.
He was arrested in Abuja on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 alongside Aliyu Abubakar of Jasfad Resources Enterprise, an unlicensed bureau de change (BDC) operator and Sunusi Ibrahim Sambo, a Point of Sale (PoS) operator.
They were arrested in connection with investigations of money laundering, diversion of public funds and missapropriation to the tune of N70 billion.
The Commission is investigating the Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, regarding the matter.
The EFCC said investigations showed that cash withdrawal of N59billion had been made through various bank accounts opened and operated by the Accountant General on behalf of the state government.
The money was allegedly moved to Abubakar and Sambo, who in turn made cash payments to party agents and associates of the governor.
The BDC operator, Abubakar, earlier jumped bail and has now been rearrested.