Obituaries
Head of Ford Foundation West Africa, Innocent Chukwuma, reported dead
Innocent Chukwuma, head of Ford Foundation West Africa has passed on.

Published
2 weeks agoon

The head of Ford Foundation West Africa and one of Nigeria’s civil society leaders, Innocent Chukwuma, has been reported dead.
This news is coming as the civil society and human rights community is still grappling with the death of Yinka Odumakin.
Chukwuma, who was 55 years old, passed away late on Saturday, April 3, 2021, after being diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, an aggressive cancer of the blood.
His friend, Edetaen Ojo in a message said, “With profound shock and sadness, I regret to inform you that Innocent Chukwuma passed away a few hours ago, in the evening of April 3. May his soul rest in peace.”
READ: Ford Foundation raises record $1 billion through debt finance for grants
A longtime associate, Professor Chidi Odinkalu said that he stood no chance by the time diagnosis came through, noting that the acute myeloid leukaemia, aggressive destroyer of blood and bone marrow, that claimed Mr Chukwuma’s life was diagnosed at end-stage.
Chukwuma, who died in a Lagos hospital was survived by his activist wife, Josephine and 3 children.
In a reaction to his death, the Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi said, ‘’Still distraught from Yinka Odumakin’s demise, Bisi and I woke up to the most devastating shock of Innocent Chukwuma’s death. Inno was an outstanding colleague and friend from our days at the barricades. Our thoughts are with Josephine and the children. May he rest in peace.’’
Mr Chukwuma left a broad mark of selflessness around the West African civic space after spending decades advancing the cause of a better society for the long-suffering population of the region.
READ: The Innoson vs EFCC Battle has Taken a New Turn
After playing active roles as a political activist and community organiser against the brutal dictatorships of the 1980s and 90s, Mr Chukwuma later established the CLEEN Foundation in 1998, with the mission of promoting public safety, security, and accessible justice through the strategies of empirical research, legislative advocacy, demonstration programmes, and publications, in partnership with government, civil society, and the private sector.
In 2012, Ford Foundation announced him as its lead in West Africa, resuming in 2013 and, over the period, he established a workable, decent and productive relationship with leading civic groups and government agencies across the region.
The Ford Foundation described Mr Chukwuma as the recipient of numerous honours, including the Reebok International Human Rights Award. He was also cited as having served as visiting lecturer at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where he designed and taught a course on the management of nonprofits in the Global South.
He held a master’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Leicester and a bachelor’s degree in religion from the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN).
Still distraught from Yinka Odumakin's demise, Bisi and I woke up to the most devastating shock of Innocent Chukwuma's death. Inno was an outstanding colleague and friend from our days at the barricades. Our thoughts are with Josephine and the children. May he rest in peace. JKF
— Kayode Fayemi (@kfayemi) April 4, 2021
Chike Olisah is a graduate of accountancy with over 15 years working experience in the financial service sector. He has worked in research and marketing departments of three top commercial banks. Chike is a senior member of the Nairametrics Editorial Team. You may contact him via his email- [email protected]


Billionaire Watch
Bernie Madoff, mastermind of the historic $65bn investment fraud dies at 82
Bernie Madoff passed away today at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina.

Published
4 days agoon
April 14, 2021
The man behind what has been described by many as the biggest fraud attempt in US history has passed away in government custody.
Bernie Madoff was the architect of the biggest Ponzi scheme attempt in the United States. He was a famous Wall Street fellow who at a certain time was the Chairman of Nasdaq and CEO/Founder of the Wall Street firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.
Bernie Madoff defrauded about 37,000 people in 136 countries over 4 decades according to US investigators. Included in his victim list are prominent Americans like movie director Stephen Spielberg and former New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon.
READ: Anti-virus creator, John David McAfee charged for U.S tax evasion
Bernie Madoff and the US Govt
Bernie Madoff was arrested on December 11, 2008, following tip-offs. He pleaded guilty to 11 federal crimes and admitted to operating the largest private Ponzi scheme in history. He was sentenced to 150 years in prison with restitution of $170bn.
Death
Bernie Madoff passed away today at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina. His death was confirmed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Madoff died apparently from natural causes, the AP reported, citing an unidentified person familiar with the matter. He would have turned 83 on April 29.
What you should know
- Restitution is a payment made to compensate a victim for financial losses related to a crime.
- Bernie Madoff’s family was badly affected by his fraud case. His older son Mark committed suicide according to CNBC.
- JP Morgan Chase, the primary bank of Bernie Madoff was forced to pay $2.6bn to the US government in settlements.
Business
Burial date for late Prince Philips announced
The Duke of Edinburgh will be laid to rest on Saturday, April 17, 2021, in a colourful but lowkey ceremony.

Published
1 week agoon
April 10, 2021
Prince Philip, the late husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, and the Duke of Edinburgh will be laid to rest on Saturday, April 17, 2021, in a colourful but lowkey ceremony by royal standards.
The Buckingham palace in making the announcement stressed that the funeral service will be held according to the Covid-19 restrictions guideline with the number of mourners to be limited to 30. This means that members of the royal family including the Queen would be expected to put on face masks.
The College of Arms, which handles most of the ceremonial aspects of the royal family’s work, had earlier confirmed that the late Prince Philip would not lie in state anywhere accessible to the public, which could have seen thousands of people lining up to view his coffin.
The funeral service for Philip, who died aged 99 on Friday, will be held at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, and a national minute’s silence would be observed ahead of the ceremony. There will be no public access nor public procession beforehand with the royal family and UK government asking the public not to gather or leave flowers at the royal residences due to Covid-19 restrictions.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman also confirmed that Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, who had moved to Los Angeles after giving up royal duties, was planning to attend his grandfather’s funeral, but his pregnant wife Meghan won’t be present as she had been advised not to travel by her physician.
In case you missed it
- It can be recalled that the death of Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II and the longest-serving consort of any British monarch before retiring from his public duties in 2017, was announced on Friday, April 9, 2021.
- He died peacefully in Windsor Castle on Friday morning and had been married to the Queen for 73 years.
- Since his death, tributes have been flooding in from the UK and all around the world for the duke, who had recently spent a month in two London hospitals, undergoing heart surgery and treatment for an infection, before returning in mid-March to Windsor Castle.
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