The duo of Afiadiegwu Chijioke Joseph and Onovo Okeke have been arraigned before Honorable Justice A.M Liman of the Federal High Court, Enugu, Enugu State by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), today 5th of April 2017 on a two-count charge bothering on conspiracy and obtaining by false pretence the sum of N 3,400,000.00 (Three Million Four Hundred Thousand Naira only)
They were alleged to have misrepresented themselves as genuine members of Ugwuaji General Assembly and custodians of six plots of land bothering two communities, Ugwuafor Akpugo and Obeagu Ugwuaji both in Enugu State which they sold to the complainants even when they knew that the said lands were in dispute and encumbered.
When the case was called up, prosecution counsel Barr. F.A.I Asemebo applied that charges be read to the accused persons who thereafter pleaded “Not Guilty” to the charges preferred against them prompting the prosecution counsel to further apply for commencement of trial, adding that his witnesses are in court and are ready to testify.
However, Counsels to the accused persons, E.C Odo Esq. and A.J Nweke Esq in their respective assertions prayed that more time be given to them before commencement of trial, they equally made oral bail applications for their clients.
Justice Liman after hearing both applications, granted the duo bail in the sum of N5, 000,000.00 (Five Million Naira only ) each and two sureties in like some. He further ruled that the sureties must be civil servants of not less than salary grade level 14, who must own a landed property within the jurisdiction of the court to be confirmed by the court.
The matter has been adjourned to 7th June 2017 for commencement of trial. The two accused persons were however remanded in prison custody pending the fulfillment of their bail conditions.
One of the counts reads:
“That you Afiadigwe Chijioke Joseph and Okeke Onovo sometime in the month of June 2016 at Enugu within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, with intent to defraud obtained the sum of N3,600,000.00 (Three Million, Six Hundred Thousand Naira only) from Ngwu Joseph acting as an agent for Ngwu Obonnia Festus and Five Others, When you represented yourself as Owners of land situate at Ugwuaji, which pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offence Act No. 14 of 2006 and punishable under section 1 (3) of the same Act”.
