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Nigerian woman sentenced to prison in US
A Nigerian-born man, Dr. Nkechy Ezeh, 61, of Kent County, Michigan, has been sentenced to 70 months in federal prison for orchestrating a fraud scheme that stole $1.4 million in taxpayer and donor money intended for vulnerable preschool children.
According to a statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Michigan, Dr Ezeh was also sentenced to a concurrent prison term of 60 months for evading income taxes.
Chief U.S. District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou, who imposed the sentence, characterized Ezeh as “a fraud and a thief,” described the scheme as “brazen and widespread,” and noted that Ezeh stole money intended for some of West Michigan’s most vulnerable children. Judge Jarbou ordered Ezeh to pay $1.4 million in restitution to the victims of the fraud and $390,174 to the IRS. Judge Jarbou also remanded Ezeh directly to prison to begin serving her sentence immediately.
“Nkechy Ezeh’s greed is beyond reprehensible,” VerHey said. “She stole taxpayer and private-donor dollars meant for low-income children in our community. Instead of helping kids, she spent that money on herself. The stolen money could have supported hundreds of West Michigan children and their families. Judge Jarbou’s sentence was perfectly appropriate.”
Ezeh – the 2018 West Michigan Woman of the Year, a two-time appointee to the State of Michigan’s Early Childhood Investment Corporation’s Executive Committee, and a tenured professor of education – founded Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative (ELNC), a West Michigan nonprofit funded by the Department of Health and Human Service’s Early Head Start program, the U.S. Department of Education, and private donors. It provided meals, transportation, funding, advocacy, and other services to children in preschools located in underserved communities.
As a result of the fraud, ELNC had to close its doors in 2023, many West Michigan preschools lost funding, and needy children lost valuable resources. ELNC also had to lay off its 35 employees without any notice. Sharon Killebrew, ELNC’s former bookkeeper and Ezeh’s co-conspirator, was sentenced in November 2025 to 54 months in federal prison for her role in the scheme.
In a sentencing memorandum, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said that Ezeh used the stolen money to fund her lifestyle, pay for a family member’s wedding, and to travel to Hawaii, Europe, and Africa. She placed her family members on a ghost payroll that caused ELNC to pay them hundreds of thousands of dollars for little or no work, and she used money mules to wire hundreds of thousands of dollars of stolen money to her family in Nigeria.
The Enugu State Government has suspended His Royal Majesty, Igwe Eze William Ezugwu, the traditional ruler of Ibagwa Ogbozalla Opi Autonomous Community, in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu state.
The state government accused Igwe Ezugwu of violating provisions of the state’s Traditional Rulers Law.
In a letter of suspension dated September 24, the Enugu State Government cited his alleged failure to constitute his cabinet, failure to establish a Town Union governing body, and persistent conduct deemed inconsistent with the laws governing traditional rulers in the state.
The suspension comes barely three weeks after Igwe William Ezugwu received NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi at his palace in Opi, Nsukka LGA, where he reportedly blessed Obi’s presidential ambition.
The Deputy Commander of Operation Rainbow, CSP (Chief Superintendent of Police) Dennis David Babale, has been killed after gunmen suspected to be Fulani Bandits ambushed personnel of the security outfit along the Bokkos-Barkin Ladi road in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Operation Rainbow is a State-backed community security and intelligence-gathering outfit in Plateau State, Nigeria, originally established in 2010 under former Governor Jonah Jang and recently revamped by Governor Caleb Mutfwang to combat rural violence and beef up grassroots security.
The incident reportedly occurred at about 4:06 p.m. on Tuesday, September 22, 2026 when the personnel, travelling in a Toyota Hilux vehicle, came under attack by unidentified gunmen.
Troops of Sector 4, Operation ENDURING PEACE (OPEP), responded to a distress report and moved to the location of the attack.
Sources told reporters that Babale sustained gunshot wounds during the ambush and was evacuated to the General Hospital, Barkin Ladi, for medical attention.
Following the attack, troops, working alongside personnel of other security agencies, launched offensive operations and a manhunt for the assailants within the general area.
Security forces have intensified efforts to track the attackers and prevent further attacks along the route.
Director General/CEO of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative at the World Meteorological Organization, Prof. Charles Anosike and other Chief Executive Officers of similar agencies across the world, have concluded a one week high level dialogue on Climate Science Information for Climate Finance and the 53rd Senior Official Field Exchange (SOFE) in Beijing, China.
The event which was hosted by World Meteorological Organization (WMO), took place from September 14 to 18, 2026 and featured discussions on: strengthening the role and leadership development of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) in mobilizing climate finance; aligning scientific and technical capabilities with risk-informed, people-centred early warning systems; shifting from technical assistance to sustainable investments by expanding practical cooperation between meteorological frameworks and multilateral financing entities; and support to NMHSs leadership on strengthening strategic thinking and fostering productive partnerships.
Held back-to-back with the High-level dialogue was the 53rd Senior Official Field Exchange to Fujian Province for first-hand exposure to the implementation of Multi-hazard, Alert, Zero-gap and Universal (MAZU) platform – China’s AI-driven meteorological early warning solution in support of the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative and disaster risk reduction practices through technical exchanges, field visits and peer learning.
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