The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,
on Wednesday, February 3, 2015 arraigned the trio of Solomon Uchendu, Ndubisi
Agu and Uchendo Chikwadu before Justice D. V.Agishir of the Federal High
Court sitting in Enugu, Enugu State for offences bordering on obtaining by
false pretence and Advanced Fee Fraud.
The suspects, who were living at 4, Coal City University
Close, Independence Layout, Enugu, were arrested by operatives of the EFCC
following intelligence report over their alleged involvement in Internet crime.
One of the suspects, Solomon, who is currently
undergoing the mandatory National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, in Akoko, Ondo
State, confessed that he had about seven different email accounts registered
with different names. Solomon, who is
facing a seven-count charge, further disclosed that most of his victims were
from the U.S., Canada and Germany.
According to him, “One Patricia from Canada gave me
$1200USD; Larisa from Germany gave him $300USD; Ethel from the U.S. also gave
me $300USD. All of them know me as Lincoln, but they don’t know that I live in
Nigeria.”
One of the charges read: “That you Solomon
Uchendu on or about 3rd day of May 2014 in Enugu, Enugu State within the
jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria was found in possession of a
document containing a false pretence titled “Hello. I am Mark; sorry for
stumbling into your profile” and thereby committed an offence, contrary to
section 6 and section 8 sub-section( b ) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other
Related Offence Act 2006 and punishable under section 1 (3) of the same Act.”
The second suspect, Agu, who hails from Umuelem in
Ihitte Uboma LGA of Imo State, also told the court that he had numerous email
accounts.
Agu, a final year student of the Enugu State
University of Science and Technology, Enugu further told the court that he
realized $13000USD between 2013 and February, 2014 from some of his victims
across the world.
The third suspect, 22-year-old Chikwadu, a native
of Imezi LGA Enugu State, confessed that he had three fake drivers’ licences,
which were procured in the names of John Omoaroijake, Gary Harry and Chikwadu
Uchendu at a cyber cafe on Airport Road and at the licensing office at Jakpa
Road in Warri, Delta State.
Chikwadu, who is currently seeking admission into
the Delta State University, said he met one 32 year-old nurse, Grace Talves of
Blackpool, United Kingdom on a dating site named “Tagged”..
The suspect, who claimed to be Harry Phillp, 42,
thereafter, began to send love scam mails and pictures to Talves, a British
divorcee and mother of one, who is currently in Nigeria for an engineering job. He stated that he duped her £500, an Ipad and
a Mac Air laptop.
One of the charges read: “That you Uchendu Chinonso
on or about 3rd day of May 2014 in Enugu, Enugu State within the
jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria was found in possession of a
document containing a picture in which you presented yourself as a white man by
name Gary Harry Philip a pretence you knew to be false and thereby
committed an offence contrary to section 6 and section 8 (b) of the Advance Fee
Fraud and Other Related Offences Act 2006 and punishable under section 1 (3) of
the same Act.”
The prosecuting counsel, Barrister Innocent,
applied orally for a trial date and pleaded that the suspects be remanded in
prison custody.
But the defence counsel, Barrister Aneke, prayed
the court to grant the suspects bail, which the prosecuting counsel kicked
against.
Justice Agishir adjourned the case to February
10, 2015, while ordering that the suspects be remanded in prison custody.
Culled: EFCC website
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