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N10m Fraud: EFCC arraigns fake NNPC contractors
The Port Harcourt Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arraigned two fake contractors of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC: Honest Sunday and Dressman Samuel before Justice E. A. Obile of the Federal High Court, sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on six- count charges bordering on alleged impersonation, forgery, conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretences to the tune of N10million.
They both pleaded “not guilty” to the charges filed against them.
Some of the charges against them read: “That you, Honest Sunday sometimes in 2017, in Port Harcourt, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did knowingly have in your possession fraudulent document containing false pretence in your email account with title ”Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Cargo Manifest” and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 6 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud- Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.
“That you, Dressman Samuel sometimes in 2017, in Port Harcourt, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did knowingly have in your possession fraudulent document containing false pretence in your email account with title: “Contract for Procurement of Business Fund Between Oral Corporate and Lake Aircraft and Dr. Willie Deegbara Nwiido” and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 6 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under section 1(3) of the same Act”.
In view of their “not guilty” pleas, prosecuting counsel, Ramiah Ikhanaede, applied for a trial date and prayed the court to remand the 2nd defendant: Dressman Samuel in the custody of the Correctional Service, owing to difficulties suffered in getting him to court.
However, counsel for the 1st defendant, K.C Onyekbor informed the court of a pending application for bail of his client while counsel for the 2nd defendant, C.E Ogbuji orally applied for a short date to enable him file a bail application for his client.
Justice Obile granted the first defendant bail in the sum of five million naira (N5,000,000.00) and one surety in like sum. The surety must have a landed property within the jurisdiction of the court and must swear to an affidavit of means, with 4 passport -size photographs deposited with the court’s Registry.
The judge adjourned the matter to February 16, 2021 for trial and ordered that both defendants be remanded in the custody of the Correctional Service pending the perfection of the bail conditions of the 1st defendant and the filing of the bail application of the 2nd defendant.
The two defendants got into trouble, when their victims petitioned the EFCC alleging that they claimed to be contractors with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and that they have the capacity and authority source, facilitate concessional lifting and sale of Bonny Light Crude. They allegedly collected a sum of N10million as a collateral for the facilitation of the crude oil purchase and delivery.
