The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has issued an Exposure Draft of the Risk-based Cyber Cyber-security Framework and Guidelines for Deposit Money Banks, DMBs and Payment Service Banks, PSBs, in a bid to manage technology platforms and infrastructure used in running financial operations in banks and other financial institutions.

The apex bank disclosed this in a letter to all DMBs and PSBs attached to the guidelines and framework signed by the Acting Director of Banking Supervision, CBN, Dr. Adetona Adedeji.

CBN said: “The Nigerian financial system has grown remarkably in recent years with increases in products, services, institutions and stakeholders.

“Financial Institutions have increasingly leveraged Information Technology to serve their customers and this has led to rapid evolution in the threat landscape.

“It is necessary that the technology infrastructure and platforms that support financial institutions operations should be managed effectively to promote a sound financial system.

“Consequently, the CBN has revised the Risk-Based Cyber-security Framework and Guidelines for DMBs and Payment Service Banks (PSBs) to provide guidance in the implementation of cyber-security programmes and enhance resilience.

“The revised framework addresses the gaps that have arisen due to the passage of time and outlines the minimum cyber-security controls to be put in place”.

Nigerian TV personality in the 90 Day Fiancé, Michael Ilesanmi has been declared missing, two months after moving to the United States with his wife, Angela Deem, arriving from Nigeria.

Ilesanmi’s wife, Deem said all her efforts to contact his family in Nigeria have been in futility, as a reward of $10,000 has been placed for his return.

“Michael’s been missing since the 23rd. The police are involved, we can’t find him,” the 58-year-old Angela Deem revealed in a TikTok video on Monday.

The woman also added that her home security cameras failed to pick up his departure, saying he did not go with his belongings.

“Michael left everything here. I know that there’s people (who) probably think, ‘Oh, maybe he just left.’ But like, nothing, not any ID, nothing to show his name on it, no clothing, not a toothbrush. Zero point zero zero,” she said.

“No wallet, nothing. Clothes on his back is what he left with on Friday,” she continued, telling 90 Day Fiancé blogger John Yates and viewers that he “only had like $40 on him.”

“Michael had just gotten here [during] Christmas time,” his exact date of arrival being December 22, 2023.

“If he left on his own, he should have called me. Everybody in this town, I’m gonna tell you, they say, ‘Angela, he’s f–king walked out because he’s got no reason to stay here.’ I don’t want to believe that,” the reality star stated in her video.

She then seemingly questioned their relationship and if she got played once he got to America and disappeared from her rural home in South Georgia.

“But it’s looking like he’s planned this the whole f–king time. This is not funny. This is real s–t. I am not Chantel [Everett]. I am not Daniele [Gates]. I am not Molly [Hopkins]. You’ve got the wrong goddamn American,” Angela continued ​while naming other popular 90 Day Fiancé franchise stars, adding,” I’m telling you now. I’m not gonna let you f–king come here if you didn’t love me.”

“He’s my husband and I love him and I don’t know where he’s at. As long as he’s safe, just call us. The police are involved. This is beyond what the f–k is going on. You got my four grandkids crying that something’s wrong with you. This is not Karine and Paul [Staehle],” she continued.

“What do I say to these people, because I don’t have no answers? We know he’s deceitful, but I don’t think he would go this far and not call at least my daughter,” Angela added.

Angela turned her attention to fan questions about contacting immigration, telling viewers of her TikTok that she and John are “not allowed” to answer any of their concerns.

You’ll just have to use your common sense, she noted of the immigration inquiries. “If Michael is really missing and doesn’t contact us, immigration can take over. That’s all I can tell you.”

The couple had been looking forward to reuniting in America. Michael said, “We’ve waited three years for the spousal visa interview,” during a confessional in a 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After trailer that dropped on February 14.

Angela agreed, stating, “This is the most important day of our lives. I need to get my man home to America. If that visa’s denied, it’s over.”

The couple’s romance began in 2018 on season 2 of 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days after meeting online. They started dating long-distance shortly afterward and shared their first in-person meeting that season.

Angela and Michael continued to share their journey on season 3 and season 7 of 90 Day Fiancé and seasons 5, 6 and 7 of 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? The pair wed in Michael’s native Nigeria in January 2020.

Seeks To Recover Home Bought With Bribe Money

A senior Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has been slammed with bribery and tax-related charges in the United States, court filings.

A jury recently returned a three-count indictment against Paulinus Iheanacho Okoronkwo after the Federal Bureau of Investigation found that he used his position as a general manager in NNPC’s upstream department to obtain at least $2.1 million in bribes.

The alleged bribe was to assist Addax Petroleum escape its $2.4 billion liability to Nigeria as part of an oil-lifting contract that began in 2001, the January 10, 2024, the grand jury indictment said before the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Mr Okoronkwo, 67, a dual citizen of Nigeria and the U.S., has practised immigration and personal injury law in California for nearly 30 years. On May 25, 2015, just days before President Goodluck Jonathan was due to exit office on May 29, Mr Okoronkwo and other NNPC officials hurriedly entered into an agreement that would see Addax Petroleum return to developing Nigeria’s crude and gas reserves after a protracted pause due to a yearslong dispute over the 2001 deal between Nigeria and the Chinese firm.

Addax Petroleum, based in Switzerland but owned by Sinopec, bribed Mr Okoronkwo with $5,263,157.89, including an immediate payment of $2,105,263.16, in October 2015 after the new administration of Muhammadu Buhari threatened the May 2015 contract, court documents said. Prosecutors did not immediately say whether or not Mr Okoronkwo received the balance from Addax, which might have been paid through other channels that may or may not pass through the U.S. financial system.

The $2.1 million payment was made via a wire transfer to Mr Okoronkwo’s law firm bank account in the U.S. It was purportedly billed for “Consultants for the negotiation and completion of a Settlement Agreement with NNPC” with respect to Addax’s dispute over drilling rights, prosecutors said in the indictment first alleged before a grand jury in June 2023.

Mr Okoronkwo helped Addax navigate the challenges from the Buhari administration that initially tried to impose a $2.37 billion liability on the Chinese firm, filings said.

“Addax had calculated that the failure to apply the side letter prospectively would cost Addax approximately $2.37 billion,” the indictment said. Mr Okoronkwo was using his U.S. law firm to purportedly represent Nigeria against NNPC, where he was also working as a general manager in charge of crude oil transactions.

Both Mr Okoronkwo and Addax made several efforts to conceal the bribe payment as legitimate, and a senior vice-president of the company was fired on July 13, 2016, for questioning the $2.1 million illicit transaction.

Authorities also filed obstruction and tax-evasion charges against Mr Okoronkwo for lying to investigators about the nature of the deal while also failing to pay taxes on it in his 2016 returns.

Mr Okoronkwo knew the $2,105,263 payment represented a bribe from Addax in exchange for his influencing the NNPC, that the payment did not represent client funds but rather illicit income and the $45,000 in gross income represented in his individual tax return did not include the multimillion-dollar bribe payment he had received, the filings said.

Mr Okoronkwo will be arraigned in the coming weeks and faces up to 10 years in prison upon conviction. A separate forfeiture proceeding was underway to recover Mr Okoronkwo’s ill-gotten yields, including a home he bought in cash for $983,200 in 2017 from the proceeds.

A spokesman for the NNPC did not immediately return a request seeking comments over Mr Okoronkwo’s case, which marked only the latest in a long trail of prosecutions instituted over illegal transactions from Nigeria by U.S. officials in California. The same district had recently confiscated over $6 million from Ara Dolarian, an unlicensed arms dealer who bilked Nigeria to the tune of $12 million in 2014.