Court Remands Ghanaian Bizman In Prison Over N18.5m Fraud

Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Lagos has remanded a Ghanaian businessman, Kofi Ketocha, accused of an alleged N18.5 million fraud at the Ikoyi centre of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS).

Justice Oweibo sent the foreigner to prison after he pleaded not guilty to a three count-charge of obtaining money by false pretence, fraud and fraudulent conversation of N18.5 million brought against him by the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU).

The prosecutor, Justin Enang, while arraigning the defendant, told the court that sometime between September and November 2020, he fraudulently obtained the alleged sum from the one Kunle Awotorebo, with the pretence of delivering a 2017 Toyota Land Cruiser jeep to him.

Enang also claimed that after fraudulently obtaining the money from his alleged victim and failing to deliver the jeep as promised, the defendant refused to refund the money.

He further informed the court that the alleged fraudulent acts violated sections 8(a) and 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and it is punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.

Enang also maintained that the offence is contrary to and punishable under Section 15(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act, 2011) as amended in 2012.

Following his not-guilty plea, Justice Oweibo ordered his remand at the Ikoyi-Lagos centre of the NCoS till March 16, when his bail application would be entertained.

The charge against the defendant read: “That you, Kofi Ketocha ‘m’, sometime between September and November 2020 in Lagos State, within the jurisdiction of the judicial division of the Federal High Court, with intent to defraud, did conspire to commit felony to wit: obtaining money by false pretence and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8(a) and punishable under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.