The Enugu directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has arraigned one Nweke Izuchukwu Jude before Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court sitting in Independence Layout, Enugu State for allegedly impersonating officers of the EFCC.
Jude was arraigned on charges bordering on impersonation and obtaining by false pretence to the tune of N1, 100, 000. 00 (One Million, One Hundred Thousand Naira).
One of the counts reads: “That you, Nweke Izuchukwu Jude, sometime in April 2024, at Enugu, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N1, 100, 000. 00 from one Justin Chidozie Chukwukere when you fraudulently presented yourself as an officer of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, a pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act”.
The defendant pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to him. In view of his plea, EFCC counsel, Ajobiewe Rotimi Enitan, prayed the court for a trial date and for the defendant to be remanded at Enugu State Correctional facility.
However, the defence counsel E. S. Umeojiakor informed the court about a pending bail application before it and prayed that his client be admitted to bail on liberal terms. Enitan opposed the application.
After listening to both sides, the court granted the defendant bail on the following conditions: bail in the sum of N2 million with two sureties in like sum. The sureties must be resident within jurisdiction of the court. One of the sureties must have a landed property within the jurisdiction and they must be verified by the court registrar.
The matter was adjourned to October 9, 2024 for trial while the defendant was remanded at Enugu State Correctional facility pending the perfection of the bail conditions.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
