“Many of these fraudulent narratives involved claims that an individual was travelling to SA for work and needed money or other items of value after a series of unfortunate and unforeseen events, often involving a construction site or problems with a crane,” said the statement. The US DOJ said that from at least 2011 through 2021 the alleged Black Axe members and other conspirators worked together from Cape Town to engage in widespread internet fraud involving romance scams and advance-fee schemes involving intricate narratives to lure and manipulate victims. The Black Axe defendants and other members of Black Axe took part in, and openly discussed, fraud schemes among their membership,” read the statement. “Perry Osagiede founded the Cape Town Zone of Black Axe and worked as its zonal head, along with Izevbigie. The US DOJ said the Black Axe is organised into regional chapters known as “zones” and that the accused were all leaders in the Cape Town, SA, Zone. “Perry Osagiede, Izevbigie, Franklyn Osagiede, Clement, Iyamu, Otughwor, and Mudashiru (the “Black Axe defendants”) were all leaders of the Neo Black Movement of Africa, also known as “Black Axe,” an organisation headquartered in Benin City, Nigeria, that operates in various countries,” read the statement. Otubu conspired with an individual identified in the criminal complaint as Co-conspirator 1, who was a founding member and leader of the Cape Town Zone of Black Axe,” the statement read. “Otubu also engaged in romance scams and used the victims of those scams to obtain money and to launder the proceeds of business email compromises back to SA. “Toritseju Gabriel Otubu, aka “Andy Richards,” aka “Ann Petersen,” 41, also originally from Nigeria, is charged by separate indictment with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering conspiracy, spanning from 2016 to 2021,” the statement read. An eighth person who is not part of the leadership structure was also arrested in connection with the case. Perry Osagiede, Franklyn Osagiede, Iyamu, and Otughwor are charged with aggravated identity theft,” read the statement. “Perry Osagiede, Franklyn Osagiede, Clement, Izevbigie, and Iyamu are also charged with wire fraud. It said the men were all originally from Nigeria and “are charged by superseding indictment with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, spanning from 2011 to 2021”. “Seven leaders of the Cape Town Zone of the Neo Black Movement of Africa, also known as “Black Axe,” and an eighth man who conspired with a Black Axe leader, were charged with multiple federal crimes relating to internet scams they perpetrated from SA,” read the US DOJ statement. The other five leaders arrested were 37-year-old Franklyn Edosa Osagiede known as “Lord Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela” to the Black Axe, 35-year-old Osariemen Eric Clement or “Lord Adekunle Ajasi”, 35-year-old Egbe Tony Iyamu or “Lord Aminu Kano”, 37-year-old Collins Owhofasa Otughwor or “Lord Jesse Makoko”, and 33-year-old Musa Mudashiru or “Lord Oba Akenzua”. Osagiede and 45-year-old Enorense Izevbigie, or “Lord Samuel S Nujoma” as he was known in the Black Axe, allegedly headed the seven-man leadership core of a much larger crime network.Īccording to the US DOJ the group has been running a sophisticated online dating scam and business email compromise scam operation from SA since at least 2011, raking in hundreds of millions of rand from victims across the globe. In Italy it has managed to push the Italian mafia out of former strongholds and is allegedly associated with drug smuggling and human trafficking. Sources have described the Black Axe as a highly organised global organisation which operates across borders.
Authorities around the world have cracked down on the group’s illicit activities. The 52-year-old Osagiede, or “Lord Sutan Abubakar de 1st”, as he was known in the group, allegedly founded the notorious group’s Cape Town chapter.Īccording to a BBC investigation the Black Axe has been banned as a cult in Nigeria where it started in the 1970s as an anti-colonial student organisation. Extradition and the possibility of 42 years in a US federal prison loom for alleged Nigerian mafia members arrested in Cape Town on Tuesday morning.Ī huge task force consisting of Hawks and US law-enforcement members simultaneously raided several addresses in Cape Town.Īccording to a press statement by the US department of justice (US DOJ), Perry Osagiede, the founder of Black Axe in Cape Town, otherwise known as the Neo Black Movement of Africa Cape Town Zone, was among those arrested in the raids on Tuesday.