Cork programme gives Nigerian woman who fled after kidnapping ‘new hope'
Today at 03:00
A Nigerian woman who escaped kidnapping in her native country before fleeing to Ireland says a new migrant upskilling programme has given her confidence back.
Omolara Ayoka Osunkoya is one of 100 people in the International Protection programme, who were honoured for completing a SECAD-supported job skills programme, and the woman who described herself as a 'go-getter' in her youth, says she is finally feeling like a strong woman again, having felt oppressed for so long in her native country.
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Irish Independent
8 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Cork programme gives Nigerian woman who fled after kidnapping ‘new hope'
Today at 03:00 A Nigerian woman who escaped kidnapping in her native country before fleeing to Ireland says a new migrant upskilling programme has given her confidence back. Omolara Ayoka Osunkoya is one of 100 people in the International Protection programme, who were honoured for completing a SECAD-supported job skills programme, and the woman who described herself as a 'go-getter' in her youth, says she is finally feeling like a strong woman again, having felt oppressed for so long in her native country.
Sunday World
18-06-2025
- Sunday World
Victims handed over life savings to Nigerian fraudster at centre of €1.7m CAB case
Noel Patrick Ikponmwonba fled Dublin, leaving his family behind, when the fraud was discovered Ikkonmwomba left his family behind in Ireland and has a new wife in Benin City Victims of an international €1.7m email scam are tracking a Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) court bid to seize cash in a frozen bank account. Charity boss Noel Patrick Ikponmwonba managed to scam the money from victims around the world while living in Ireland, according to the bureau. Details of the case were first heard in court in 2017 as CAB sought to have €40,000 and an insurance policy declared the proceeds of crime. Now the bureau has applied to the High Court for an order that will allow the assets to be disposed of, after being frozen for the last seven years. At a recent hearing, a number of victims were represented in court and requested to be put on notice of the proceedings. CAB did not object to the application and the case is listed for hearing again later this month. Charity boss is back in Nigeria It was previously heard Ikponmwonba convinced three identified victims and others to part with hundreds of thousands of euro. He had claimed he was the beneficiary of a huge inheritance but needed help to pay taxes before it could be released to him. He fled Dublin, leaving his family behind, when the fraud was discovered and was living in his native Nigeria, where he has a second wife in Benin City. During one year in Ireland while he was engaged in the fraud, he and his wife Efe claimed €49,750 from the Department of Social Protection. The couple were linked to seven bank accounts and, despite having no legitimate source of income, funds worth €1,737,000 went through them. Ikponmwonba was born in 1983 in Benin in Nigeria and moved to Ireland before 2001, when he met his wife Efe and lived for a time in Ryevale Lawns in Leixlip, Co. Kildare. Over the course of his time in Ireland, Ikponmwonba regularly lost his passport, social security cards and other items. He claimed social welfare for more than 10 years, and in 2007 he was convicted of opening a fake bank account in AIB in Crumlin, Dublin. Standing in Nigerian election News in 90 Seconds - June 17 Details of the notorious email scam were heard during the 2017 High Court hearing, showing how fraudsters trick people into parting with their life savings. 'While most people ignore and delete such emails, some will send funds,' said counsel for CAB. In one fraud, Ikponmwonba posed as 'Lucy Morgan', a fictitious Irish woman who claimed to have been left millions by a relative. In unsolicited email exchanges, 'she' convinced a Californian man, named in court as Eric Johnson, to part with €463,000 for tax clearance certificates. The High Court heard that Mr Johnson believed that Ms Morgan was going to move to the US to live with him once she had freed up her legacy with the help of his funds. He had the money as the result of a large inheritance he himself had received, but when he realised he had been swindled he made a complaint to police. A Dutch citizen, Johannes Klaas, fell for a similar tale when he transferred Stg£418,000 to accounts in Ireland. He even flew to Dublin and was shown boxes of cash in a vault, the High Court was told. Klaas communicated with a 'Paul John Boylan' who had claimed he was due a €8.3m windfall after a close relative had died. The money was transferred through a series of accounts in Ireland and as far afield as China. UK national Susan Locke was the third victim named. She also transferred over Stg£400,000 to Ikonmwonba after falling for the email tale. After complaints were received in the US, the Netherlands and the UK, gardaí were contacted and began their own inquiries in this jurisdiction. In 2011 Ikponmwonba, who also goes by the name Noel Osareniye Patrick, was charged before the courts on 12 counts of theft. When he failed to appear a bench warrant was issued for his arrest a year later. Gardaí believe the charity boss and former businessman, who lived in Leixlip with his wife and children, settled down to a life in Benin City. Lawyers for CAB told the court that the 'Laveri Charity' had been directly linked to the Nigerian, which claims to donate funds to orphanages in Africa. Company documents here show that Efe and Noel Patrick registered the business name 'Laveri Enterprises' with the Companies Registration Office in 2008 and listed it as a hair and beauty salon operating from Leixlip. The couple registered the cessation of the business in 2010 – a year before he was charged with 12 counts of theft before the Irish courts. The High Court also heard that an article about Ikponmwonba and his charity work appeared in a Nigerian newspaper further linking him to the charity. Efe Patrick had agreed not to challenge the order to seize €40,000, including an insurance policy in Ireland, on the basis that she wasn't asked to pay costs, it was heard.
RTÉ News
17-06-2025
- RTÉ News
Deportation of 35 Nigerian asylum seekers cost €500,000
New figures show the cost of deporting 35 Nigerian asylum seekers earlier this month was half-a-million euro, when prison detention costs are added. When 35 Nigerian asylum seekers - 21 adult men, 9 adult women and 5 children - were deported on 4 June last the Ministers at the Department of Justice said the operation cost €324,714. That figure was for the provision of the operation's flights. When prison costs are taken into account, the bill rises to over half-a-million euro. The Department confirmed to RTÉ's News at One that the figure of €325,000 was for flights and it did not include prison costs associated with holding 28 of the Nigerian deportees for an average of 27 days each. This means 756 prison days were used to accommodate the 28 detainees - 21 adult men and 7 adult women. Calculations based on Department of Justice figures show those costs could have amounted to €205,201. The Department confirmed to Morning Ireland the average cost of holding a prison in jail is nearly €99,072 each year. When that amount is divided by 365 days, the average cost amounts to €271.43 per day to house a prisoner. A more conservative estimate from Irish Penal Reform Trust figures would put the amount to hold the 28 Nigerians for an average of 27 days each at just over €173,000. Irish Penal Reform Trust figures from 2023 estimated the average cost to house a prison is €230 per day. The Department of Justice told RTÉ's News at One that "the cost of detention of the cohort in question" is not available. It said: "The cost of detention for the cohort in question is not available. The Irish Prison Service advise that the average annual cost of an available, staffed prison space for all prisoners during the calendar year 2024 was €99,072. This includes net expenditure incurred within the year (such as salaries, utilities/ maintenance, ICT, prison services, etc.) excluding capital expenditure on buildings, ICT and vehicle purchases." 'Prisons are not appropriate' The Irish Penal Reform Trust said prisons are not appropriate places for failed asylum seekers being deported from Ireland. "Prisons are not the appropriate place for them to be detained - especially if they are sharing spaces with people who have been convicted when they are not convicted themselves," said the Saoirse Brady, executive director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust. Ms Brady also said sending refugee detainees in Irish prisons was putting pressure on a service where prisoners sleep on mattresses beside toilets. Gabriel Keaveney, Deputy General Secretary of the Prison Officers Association said having additional people sent to Irish prisons adds to the existing overcrowding crisis. Prison service figures showed 5,415 prisoners were in custody on Monday. The bed capacity is 4,665 - that means its operating at 117% capacity - in all of the prisons. 422 prisoners were on mattresses on floors. 585 were on temporary release. The Department of Justice said in a statement: "The majority of those detained were held in Cloverhill Remand Prison or Mountjoy Female Prison (Dóchas Centre) as appropriate. Other places of detention have been Cork Prison, Limerick Prison and Midlands Prison." It added: "The Minister is committed to ensuring that Ireland's immigration system is robust and rules based. The enforcement aspects of our laws, including deportation orders, are an essential requirement for the system to work effectively and to ensure that the public has confidence in the application of our legislation in this area." Charter flight contract Charter flight services to deport people from Ireland are provided by Air Partner Ltd under a contract entered into in November 2024. This contract, the Department said, was signed following a competitive and open procurement process and the costs for the provision of the aircraft for these operations has been: €102,476 for a one-way flight to Georgia in February; €103,751 for a one-way flight to Georgia in May and €324,714 for a return flight to Nigeria in June. Costs for the provision of supporting charter services such as ground handling services, on-board paramedics and flight manager have been €46,352 so far in 2025. The department added: "The potential value of this contract is €5m over the lifespan of the contract. The term of the contract is 3 years with a possibility to extend it twice by one year, a potential lifespan of 5 years in total. The total expenditure under the contract with Air Partner will be based on the number of Charter Flights provided, the frequency of which will be determined by the operational needs of the State." "So far in 2025, 106 people have been removed on charter deportation flights and 54 deportation orders have been enforced on commercial flights. The majority of these cases have involved periods of detention prior to departure. Any children removed were part of family groups and were not detained. Additionally, 23 people subject to deportation orders are confirmed to have left Ireland unescorted so far in 2025," the statement added. A person who is the subject of a deportation order may be held in detention for up to 56 days for the purpose of ensuring their deportation from the State. An application to extend this period of detention must be made to the District Court.
