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EXCLUSIVE: ‘If Not That You Are A Woman, I Would Have Shot You’: Ebonyi $119Million Recovery Consultant Alleges Abduction, Threats By Ex-Governor Umahi

Published

3 weeks ago

March 4, 2026

Ikeotuonye alleged that she was abducted by armed police officers from her Abuja residence and transported to Abakaliki after securing a court judgment over consultancy fees tied to the recovery of $119,419,427.59 for the state.

Dr. Jackie Ikeotuonye, Chief Executive Officer of Andrew Bishopton Limited, the consultancy firm that helped Ebonyi State identify and reconcile $119,419,427.59 in over-deductions from its foreign loan servicing account, has accused former Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, of alleged betrayal, intimidation, and abuse of state power.

Umahi is currently Nigeria’s Minister of Works.

In an exclusive interview with SaharaReporters on Tuesday, Ikeotuonye detailed how her firm was appointed in 2015 by the Ebonyi State Government to reconcile and recover excess deductions on foreign and local loan facilities, work that ultimately led to the identification of over $119 million in alleged wrongful deductions from the state’s foreign loan servicing account.

But what began as a celebrated recovery effort, she said, spiraled into hostility, contract termination, threats, arrest, and what she described as an attempt to coerce her into withdrawing a valid court judgment.

Appointment And Recovery Of $119.4 Million

According to Ikeotuonye, Andrew Bishopton Limited was formally appointed on October 6, 2015, as consultant to Ebonyi State Government. The letter of appointment was signed by then Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, Dr. Dennis Ude Ekumankama.

“On October 6, 2015, the company was formally appointed by the Ebonyi State Government as a consultant to recover excess deductions and charges on foreign and local loan facilities, as well as other outstanding funds due to the state,” she said.

A Consultancy Services Agreement was subsequently executed on November 17, 2015. Under the agreement, the company was entitled to 25 percent of all sums reconciled, recovered and paid into the state’s account by the Federal Government.

Umahi himself, in a letter dated December 11, 2015, obtained by SaharaReporters, addressed to the then Minister of Finance, acknowledged Andrew Bishopton Limited as consultants engaged to search, identify and recover any unknown sum of money accrued to the state and arising from transactions on foreign and local loans.

In that letter, Umahi wrote: “Pursuant to their appointment, the consultants have embarked on the exercise and have identified the sum of $119,419,427.28 being the amount wrongly deducted from the Ebonyi State foreign loan repayment schedule between June 1995 and March 2002.”

He added: “Consequent upon the foregoing, it is our prayer that the Honourable Minister would graciously intervene into this matter by facilitating the quick refund of the sum of $119,419,427.28 accrued to Ebonyi State from the wrong deductions made against her in the course of repaying foreign loans.”

Ikeotuonye told SaharaReporters that the assignment commenced without any mobilisation fee.

“The governor expressly stated that no mobilisation fee would be provided. We financed everything ourselves. We entered into a joint partnership with Dr. Marius Ibe of Mauritz Walton Nigeria Limited, who bore a substantial portion of the operational expenses,” she said.

The company wrote to the Debt Management Office on February 9, 2016, updating it on reconciliation carried out on behalf of Ebonyi State. By August 1, 2016, the DMO requested supporting documents, which the firm had already compiled and provided to the state.

Contract Termination And Dispute Over Fees

According to Ikeotuonye, trouble began after it became clear that funds would indeed be refunded.

“When the Governors’ Forum centralised the claims process under Governor Abdulaziz Yari, it was agreed that state consultants would not be forgotten,” she said.

The first tranche paid to Ebonyi State under the Governors’ Forum schedule reportedly amounted to ₦8,385,035,086.72. Based on the contractual 25 percent entitlement, Andrew Bishopton Limited demanded ₦2,096,258,771.68 on December 11, 2016.

She alleged that instead of paying, Umahi terminated the contract.

“He now saw that actually money was going to come. He terminated the contract. We tried talking to him from different sources. He was a very arrogant person,” she said.

She claimed that after intervention from political figures, Umahi initially agreed to pay ₦400 million, later reduced it to ₦200 million, then ₦100 million, but no payment was made.

Eventually, she said, they were invited to Abakaliki.

“When we got there, he called a meeting of reverend fathers, traditional rulers and others. He started abusing us. He said, ‘How can you come from Anambra State to take Ebonyi people’s money? Are you okay?’”

According to her, Umahi eventually offered ₦50 million on a “take it or leave it” basis.

“He said we should sign that after collecting ₦50 million, we would not ask for any more money again,” she recounted.

Under pressure, she signed the document and received ₦46 million.

Court Judgment And Arrest

Unwilling to forfeit the remainder, the firm went to court. On July 21, 2022, the trial court delivered judgment in favour of the company.

Rather than comply, Ikeotuonye alleged, events took a “disturbing turn.”

On August 31, 2022, armed police officers from Ebonyi State Command and Garki Police Station stormed her residence in Brains and Hammers Estate, Apo, Abuja.

“I saw my daughter arguing with heavily armed men. One of them said, ‘Yes, she’s the one.’ They brought out a paper alleging that I duped Ebonyi State Government of ₦50 million,” she said.

She was arrested and detained overnight in Garki before being flown to Abakaliki the next day, at her own expense.

“They said if I wanted to fly, I must pay for it. I said I don’t have a problem with that,” she said.

‘If Not That You Are A Woman, I Would Have Shot You’

Upon arrival in Abakaliki, she was taken directly to Umahi’s office.

“He said, ‘Were you the one that took me to court?’ I said I work with a team and we had tried to reach him several times,” she recounted.

According to her, Umahi then issued a chilling statement.

“He said, ‘If not that you are a woman, I would have just shot you here now. I was expecting a man,’” she alleged.

She also claimed he warned her not to let the matter “end like that of the NELAN engineers.”

“I didn’t even know who NELAN engineers were,” she said. “But when he mentioned it, everybody’s antenna went up.”

Umahi allegedly demanded that she sign documents withdrawing the judgment and waiving her rights.

“He said the only thing that would save me was to withdraw the case and apologise,” she said.

Presidential Lodge Dispute And Fear For Safety

In a bizarre twist, Ikeotuonye alleged that Umahi instructed police to take her to the Presidential Lodge in Abakaliki.

“The policeman refused. He said, ‘Your Excellency, you told me this woman duped the state. I cannot arrest someone from Abuja and instead of detention take her to Presidential Lodge,’” she said.

According to her, an official later warned her privately: “‘Madam, if you go and sleep in that Presidential Lodge, people have slept there and didn’t wake up.’”

She said her daughter was hurriedly evacuated from Abakaliki overnight after an insider warned that the young woman “must not sleep in Abakaliki that night.”

While she was reviewing a prepared apology letter in Government House, her daughter allegedly photographed the document and sent it to activist lawyer Deji Adeyanju, who began posting about the incident online.

“Umahi went bonkers. He started shouting that I would be dealt with,” she said.

Under mounting public pressure, she eventually signed a revised document on legal advice and was escorted to the airport under security watch.

Continuing Threats

Ikeotuonye said the trauma of the arrest conducted in front of her children left them deeply shaken.

“The manner of my arrest has left my children traumatised. Defamatory publications branding me a fraudster followed,” she said.

She added that threats of prosecution for alleged “advance fee fraud” persist.

“In this place, they told me you have two options: either you’re dead or you’re in prison. Maybe you have chosen the prison option,” she recounted an official telling her.

Meanwhile, a judgment of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, delivered on July 21, 2022 and obtained by SaharaReporters, was handed down by Justice Stephen Dalyop Pam.

In Suit No. FHC/PH/CS/35/2022, the case was between Andrew Bishopton Limited and Mauritz Walton Nigeria Limited, the Applicants/Judgment Creditors and the Government of Ebonyi State, the Attorney General of Ebonyi State, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and United Bank for Africa Plc (listed as the 2nd Garnishee Bank).

The order read, “An Order Nisi of this Honourable Court is hereby made attaching the sum of US$29,854,856.9 (Twenty-Nine Million, Eight Hundred and Fifty Four Thousand, Eight Hundred and Fifty-Six US Dollars, Nine Cents) only and the sum of N30,100,000,000.00 (Thirty Billion, One Hundred Million Naira) only Respectively from the monthly federation allocation accounts of the Judgment Debtor/Respondent known Government of Ebonyi State or ‘Ebonyl State’ or howsoever called, maintained with the Respondent/1st Garnishee Bank (Central Bank of Nigeria) for the purpose of paying same into the designated Account of 2nd Judgment Creditor/Applicant, Mauritz Walton Nigeria Limited, on behalf of the Judgment Creditors/Applicants with Account Name: Mauritz Walton Nigeria Limited, Bank Name: Wema Bank Pic, Account No.: 0122765584 as a means of liquidating the judgment sum.”

-Sahara

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Tinubu Government Approves Rollout Of Electric Vehicles In Nigeria Amid Fuel Crisis, Power Failure

Published

6 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Olumide Ojo

Earlier, the country’s Minister of Power, Adelabu Adebayo, apologised about the state of electricity, stating that some of the issues that led to the blackout were beyond government control.

Despite Nigerians lamenting constant electricity blackout, the Bola Tinubu-led administration has announced introduction of “electric vehicles in the country.”

Earlier, the country’s Minister of Power, Adelabu Adebayo, apologised about the state of electricity, stating that some of the issues that led to the blackout were beyond government control.

Nigeria has also experienced serial grid collapses that has consistently thrown Nigeria into endless blackouts.

Amid these challenges and issues facing decent electricity available, President Bola Tinubu has approved the expansion of the mandate of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (PiCNG); the initiative will now be known as the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles (PiCNG & EV), reflecting its broadened scope to include both gas-powered and electric mobility solutions.

The directive was conveyed in a statement issued on Thursday , March 26, 2026, by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.

With the approval, PiCNG & EV is expected to “lead and coordinate Nigeria’s clean mobility strategy, covering gas-driven vehicles and Electric Vehicles nationwide.”

According to the statement, the initiative will continue to drive the deployment of compressed natural gas (CNG) infrastructure, including “Mother and Daughter Stations, Integrated Refuelling Units, CNG vehicles and equipment, and nationwide conversion programmes.”

It will also “anchor the development and rollout of electric vehicles, EV charging infrastructure, and related investments nationwide.”

The presidency noted that gas remains “a competitive and strategic fuel for transportation,” leveraging Nigeria’s abundant natural resources to reduce costs, enhance energy security, and conserve foreign exchange.

It added that “the inclusion of electric vehicles further strengthens the government’s agenda for affordable, efficient, and environmentally responsible mobility.”

President Tinubu has also directed the Executive Chairman of PiCNG & EV to “immediately establish a coordinated process for the rapid deployment of vehicle conversion kits across the country” and ensure that the kits are accessible to Nigerians “at a cost that is not burdensome.”

To achieve this, the initiative will collaborate with CreditCorp Nigeria, financial institutions, and other relevant partners to design cost-effective financing structures that will make vehicle conversions widely accessible.

The President further directed “the accelerated deployment of Mobile Refuelling Units (MRUs) to expand access to CNG while permanent infrastructure continues to scale.”

-Sahara

Business

Sterling Bank Charts Way Forward for Nigeria’s Transport, Logistics Sector

Published

8 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Olumide Ojo

Lagos, Nigeria, Industry leaders, policymakers, financiers, and innovators convened in Lagos today for the inaugural Nigeria Transport & Logistics Summit (NTLS) 2026, hosted by Sterling Bank at Eko Hotel & Suites, to forge actionable strategies for building a faster, more connected Nigeria through transport, mobility, and logistics.

Held under the theme “Funding the Engine of Growth,” the summit positioned Nigeria’s transport and logistics sector as a critical but under-leveraged driver of productivity, regional integration, and economic growth. Transport, mobility, and logistics collectively form the backbone of the Nigerian economy, yet chronic underinvestment, infrastructure deficits, and limited access to financing have long constrained its potential.

Transport, mobility, and logistics collectively form the backbone of Nigeria’s economy. While the logistics sub-sector alone contributes approximately ₦1 trillion to national GDP, experts estimate that the broader transport and logistics market exceeds ₦15 trillion in potential value. Yet persistent infrastructure gaps, inefficiencies, financing constraints, and policy fragmentation continue to limit the sector’s full impact.

NTLS 2026 brought together senior government officials, regulators, infrastructure operators, investors, development partners, and private sector leaders to address critical priorities including multimodal connectivity, airport and road modernization, energy-efficient mobility, digital trade facilitation, and innovative financing frameworks.

Speaking at the summit, Sterling Bank’s Managing Director and CEO, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman, represented by Sterling One Foundation CEO, Mrs. Olapeju Ibekwe, called for urgent, coordinated action to fix the systems that move Nigeria’s economy forward.

He emphasized that while Nigeria’s transport and logistics challenges, ranging from port congestion to inefficient corridors and high operating costs, are well documented the real opportunity lies in effective execution.

“We must move beyond diagnosing the problem to building integrated, modern logistics systems that can power productivity at scale. This means fixing our ports, strengthening logistics corridors, improving road and rail connectivity, and embedding efficiency across the value chain.”

“Nigeria’s competitiveness, both regionally and globally will increasingly depend on how effectively we move goods, people, and services. The time for incremental change has passed; what is required now is bold, coordinated execution across public and private sectors,” Abubakar concluded.

Also speaking at the event, the Divisional Head, Renewable Energy, Mobility and Tourism at Sterling Bank, Mr. Darlington Nwankwo, described logistics as the backbone of trade, industry, and national competitiveness.

He noted that while the sector contributes just under four percent to Nigeria’s GDP, estimated at approximately ₦15trillion, its true economic impact is significantly larger when viewed as an enabler of productivity across agriculture, manufacturing, and trade.

“We must be deliberate about fixing the logistics backbone of the economy if we are to unlock the growth we need. Nigeria’s trade competitiveness is directly linked to the efficiency of its logistics corridors, from ports to inland distribution networks.”

“At Sterling, we see our role as connecting capital to execution, designing financing solutions that do not just fund infrastructure but unlock entire value chains. This includes supporting multimodal transport systems, enabling cleaner mobility solutions, and partnering with both government and private sector players to reduce investment risk. The opportunity before us is not just to fix what is broken, but to build a logistics ecosystem that is faster, more efficient, and globally competitive.”

Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Oluwaseun Osiyemi, echoed the call for bold ideas, strategic investments, and forward-looking policies, describing the summit as a vital platform to shape the future of movement, trade, and connectivity in Nigeria. He urged policymakers to move swiftly from planning to implementation, called on investors to support infrastructure and innovation, and encouraged industry leaders to champion efficiency, sustainability, and accountability.

In his keynote address, Professor Biodun Adedipe grounded these ambitions in hard realities, noting that with nearly 90 percent of Nigeria’s logistics dependent on road transport, the country faces mounting congestion and maintenance costs that demand diversification into rail and more durable infrastructure. He cautioned that economic transformation requires patience, with meaningful results unlikely to materialise in under 18 months.

Panel discussions throughout the day focused on reducing logistics costs, strengthening aviation and road integration, modernizing downstream energy distribution, and accelerating the adoption of cleaner and more sustainable mobility solutions.

The summit concluded with a call for sustained public-private collaboration, stronger regulatory coordination, and the creation of structured financing vehicles to de-risk infrastructure investments.

As Nigeria seeks to strengthen its regional trade position and unlock non-oil export growth, NTLS 2026 marks a decisive step toward building a more integrated, resilient, and globally competitive transport and logistics ecosystem.

About Sterling Bank

Sterling Bank Limited is a full-service national commercial bank in Nigeria and a member of Sterling Financial Holdings Group. With a heritage of more than 60 years, the bank has evolved from Nigeria’s pre-eminent investment banking institution to a trusted provider of retail, commercial, and corporate banking services.

Sterling is a forward-thinking financial institution committed to transforming lives through innovative solutions, exceptional service, unwavering integrity, and a steadfast focus on its HEART strategy, which centers on Health, Education, Agriculture, Renewable Energy, and Transportation. As pioneers in digital banking and financial inclusion, Sterling continues to lead by example, showing how purpose-driven leadership can deliver transformative outcomes for individuals, businesses, and society at large.

Guided by a culture of innovation and a passion for excellence, Sterling Bank remains dedicated to redefining the banking experience for millions of customers across Nigeria.

Business

Polaris Bank Positions Gender Equity as Growth Strategy at IWD 2026

Published

2 days ago

March 25, 2026

Olumide Ojo

Polaris Bank has reinforced its commitment to deepen gender equity as a business and growth imperative during its 2026 International Women’s Day (IWD) event, spotlighting sustained investments in women’s empowerment, financial inclusion, and leadership development. In line with this year’s theme, “Give to Gain,” highlighting a call to action for accelerating gender equality through generosity, collaboration,and investment in women. The speakers emphasized intentional contribution as a catalyst for collective progress.

Speaking at the event, the Managing Director/CEO, Kayode Lawal, underscored the strategic value of the theme, “Gender Equity as a Business Imperative: The Give to Gain Advantage.” He noted that investing in women delivers measurable returns for institutions and economies alike.

According to Lawal, empowering women remains a core pillar of Polaris Bank’s long-term strategy, reflected in its support for women-led businesses through targeted financing, enterprise advisory and capacity-building initiatives.

The Polaris CEO also highlighted the Bank’s sustained advocacy in breast cancer advocacy and screening and early detection, as well as its contributions to girl-child education and inclusive workplace policies.

He added that the Bank’s flagship proposition, *Polaris Pearl*, continues to provide tailored financial solutions and growth platforms for women professionals and entrepreneurs. He called for more deliberate action across sectors, stressing that inclusive systems ultimately drive stronger institutions and societies.

Delivering keynote insights, Tomi Somefun, the immediate past MD/CEO of Unity Bank described gender equity as a critical lever for organizational performance, urging institutions to move beyond rhetoric to structured action.

She emphasized that enabling women to contribute fully is not a social obligation but a pathway to better decision-making, innovation, and long-term resilience.

Also speaking, Belinda Nkechi Indinmachi, a social entrepreneur challenged the GenZs to adopt a more strategic approach to value creation, noting that purposeful contribution and long-term thinking are essential for sustainable career and business growth. She encouraged professionals to view “giving” as an investment that yields tangible returns over time.

In her remarks, Polaris Bank’s Executive Director, Corporate & Investment Banking, Abimbola Ozomah, reiterated that the Bank’s focus on women empowerment extends beyond symbolic observance. She noted that initiatives such as the Polaris Women Connect platform are deliberately designed to prepare female professionals for leadership through mentorship, knowledge-sharing, and exposure to industry leaders.

Earlier, Bukola Oluyadi, Group Head, Customer Experience & Value Management, set the tone for the engagement, highlighting the importance of collaboration and intentional support systems in driving collective success.

The event also showcased Polaris Bank’s measurable impact in advancing women’s economic participation, including the disbursement of over ₦1 billion in funding to female entrepreneurs, alongside continued investments in financial literacy and enterprise development.

Polaris Bank reaffirmed that its commitment to empowering women remains anchored on deliberate action and inclusive growth strategies that position women as key drivers of economic transformation.

Photo caption:

L-R; Belinda Nkechi Idinmachi, Entrepreneurship Specialist, ALX Founder Academy; Subulade Giwa-Amu, Non- Executive Director, Polaris Bank; Kayode Lawal, Managing Director/CEO, Polaris Bank; Tomi Somefun, Former Managing Director /CEO for Unity Bank Plc, & Abimbola Ozomah, Executive Director, Corporate & Investment Banking during the International Women’s Day celebration in Lagos recently.