Headlines
Court jails fake oil magnate 175years for duping American $629,287
Owolola Adebola
He was jailed on Wednesday, December 8, 2021.
Ayigor was arraigned, alongside his company, Vanyigor Concepts Limited, before Justice M. A. Liman of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt by the Port Harcourt Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC,)on December 7, 2016, on 25-count charges bordering on conspiracy, altering, forgery and obtaining money by false pretences
One of the counts reads: “That you Dr. Vincent Anyigor, Vanyigor Concepts Limited and others at large on or about the 15th day of October 2010 at Port Harcourt, Rivers State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court with intent to defraud obtained a sum of Two Hundred and Forty-Three Thousand United States of America Dollars ($243,000.00 USD) only from one Joseph I. Crews, an American citizen and his company Aumenta Holdings Inc DBA AHI Commercial Finding Group, as part payment of the cost price for the logistics to supply them Six (6) million barrels of Bonny Light Crude Oil, which you claimed to have the capability to deliver to them, which pretext you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 1(1)(b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act”.
He pleaded “not guilty” to all the 25-count charges brought against him by the EFCC, leading a full trial that lasted five years. EFCC’s counsel, I. Agu called eight (8) witnesses in the course of the trial and tendered documents that eventually nailed the convict.
In his judgment, Justice Mohammed found Anyigor guilty of all the 25 charges, convicted and sentenced him to seven (7) years imprisonment on each of the counts, totaling one hundred and seventy-five years (175) which are to run concurrently from the date of arrest.
in addition, the court ordered the convict and his company to pay the sum of $629,267.00 as restitution to the victim, Joseph Crews and Aumenta Holdings Inc of the United States of America (USA). He also ordered that Vanyigor Concepts Limited be wound up.
Anyigor commenced his journey to the Correctional Center when Joseph. I. Crews, an American, petitioned the EFCC, that the convict collected the sum of $629,287.00 from him for the supply of six million barrels of Bonny Light Crude Oil, without delivering the product or returning his money to him.
Investigations by the EFCC showed that Anyigor is a leader of the syndicate scamming foreigners by parading itself as an international operator in the oil and gas sector.
Customs
Apapa Customs leads intelligence – based operation to intercept 1.8tonnes of Cannabis Sativa, N12.8b worth of expired pharmaceuticals products
Headlines
Nigerian ports gain global recognition as World Bank ranks Apapa, Tin Can among world’s most improved ports.
Gloria Odion, Maritime reporter
Nigeria’s ongoing port modernisation and infrastructure upgrade programme has earned international recognition, with two of the country’s busiest seaports—Apapa and Tin Can Island Ports—listed among the world’s top 20 most improved ports by the World Bank.
The recognition came in the World Bank’s 2025 Container Port Performance Index (CPPI), released in June 2026, which highlighted both Lagos ports in its global ranking of ports that recorded the most significant improvements in operational efficiency.
The CPPI provides a consistent, data-driven assessment of port performance worldwide by measuring the time vessels spend in port.
The index enables stakeholders to compare port efficiency across different countries and over time, while identifying areas of progress and operational challenges.
The latest ranking is a major endorsement of the Federal Government’s efforts to modernise Nigeria’s port infrastructure and enhance trade facilitation through reforms spearheaded by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
According to the Authority, the achievement further reinforces its contribution to sustaining Nigeria’s trade surplus by providing efficient port services that support growing import and export activities.
Nigeria has recorded consecutive annual trade surpluses since 2024, with the most recent figure standing at N7.54 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Reacting to the development, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Abubakar Dantsoho, attributed the achievement to the Federal Government’s investor-friendly policies and the ongoing port modernisation drive.
“With the investor-friendliness of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu providing the gravitas needed for increased investment to implement our port infrastructure and equipment modernisation drive, coupled with the unflinching support of the Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, we have all it takes to advance the fortunes of trade and boost the national economy,” Dantsoho stated.
The World Bank recognition is expected to further strengthen investor confidence in Nigeria’s maritime sector and support ongoing efforts to position the country’s ports as competitive gateways for regional and international trade.
Customs
Customs Zone ‘C’ Intercepts Smuggled Vegetable Oil Worth N403.5 Million
Funso OLOJO, Editor
The Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone ‘C’, Owerri, of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has recorded a major anti-smuggling success with the interception of a large consignment of smuggled foreign vegetable oil valued at over N403.5 million.
The seizure followed strategic intelligence gathering and coordinated operations by officers of the Unit, leading to the interception of two trailers conveying the prohibited products.
Items seized include:
3,310 jerry cans (25-litre kegs) of Super Delicious vegetable oil;
10 jerry cans (10-litre kegs) of Super Delicious vegetable oil;
20 cartons of 5-litre sunflower vegetable oil; and
20 cartons of 3-litre sunflower vegetable oil.
According to the Unit, operatives intercepted one of the trucks carrying the consignment at about 10:00 p.m. on May 9, 2026, along the Ninth Mile axis of Enugu State, while the second truck was intercepted on June 7, 2026, along the Onitsha–Agbor Highway, following credible intelligence.
The Command disclosed that the seized goods have a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N403,491,000.
Speaking on the seizure, the Controller of FOU Zone ‘C’, Bashir Balogun, described the operation as a significant blow to economic saboteurs whose activities undermine local industries and the nation’s economy.
He noted that the illegal importation of foreign vegetable oil negatively affects domestic production, technology transfer, job creation, and foreign exchange earnings.
Balogun emphasized that the operation demonstrates the Service’s unwavering commitment to enforcing the provisions of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2022 and the Federal Government’s fiscal and protective policies prohibiting the importation of foreign vegetable oil.
He warned individuals and syndicates involved in smuggling to desist from such activities, stressing that the Nigeria Customs Service would continue to deploy intelligence-driven enforcement strategies to safeguard public health, national security, and the domestic economy.
The seized vegetable oil remains in the custody of the Service while investigations into the smuggling network continue.
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