EFCC docks 3 for N3.7m fraud

Chizoba Ogbeche
Abuja

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), yesterday, arraigned the trio of Patience Owerema, Nwakoba N.Francisca and Okafor Kingsley, before Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, abuse of office, forgery, impersonation and diversion of funds to the tune of N3, 766, 160.00.
A press statement by the commission’s spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren in Abuja, said the accused persons allegedly conspired among themselves to divert the sum of N3, 766, 160.00, which was the terminal benefit of the late Udemba Clement, a former employee of NITEL/MTEL.

He said the victim’s son, Udemba Emmanuel, following the death of his father, had made efforts to collect the final entitlement\terminal benefits of his father to no avail.
“The petitioner, however, found out that the money had been paid into a certain account opened by the accused persons in the name of his deceased father,” the spokesperson said.

One of the charges reads: “That you, Patience Owerema, Nwokobia N. Francisca, Okafor Kingsley and Adegoke Adeniyi (now at large), on or about April 8, 2011, at Abuja ,within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did convert the sum of N 3,766,160.00, which sum you knew represented the proceeds of crime transferred from Zenith Bank Plc account into the account of one purported “Udemba Clement” domiciled at Oceanic Bank Plc (now Ecobank) with  account No.3120001011636 with the aim of disguising the origin of the money and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15 (2) of Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 as amended and punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act.
The spokesperson said the accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to them and in view of their pleas, the prosecution counsel, Sadiq Hussaini, asked the court for a trial date.
He said, counsels to the defendants, however, prayed the court to grant their clients bail.
Justice Nyako refused the other accused person bail but granted Francisca, a nursing mother on compassionate grounds.