Photo: EFCC arraigns man over N57.7m fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) on Thursday, February 11, arraigned one
Robert Daniel Onyeani before Justice E. N.
Anyadike of the Federal High Court of Umuahia,
Abia State on a four-count charge of obtaining
money by false pretence and issuance of dud
cheque to the tune of N57, 704,000.00 (Fifty-
Seven Million, Seven Hundred and Four Thousand
Naira).
Onyeani, Chief Executive of Imagine Roco
Limited, sometime in November, 2013, allegedly
presented himself to the complainant as a
member of a seven-man Presidential Committee
on Import Duties Concession and Waiver of the
Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and
investment, Abuja.
The 53-year-old accused person also allegedly
demanded the sum of N178, 000,000 (one
hundred and seventy-eight million naira) from
the complainant, promising that he could procure
import duties waiver/concession certificate for
importation of stock fish.
However, the accused person, after collecting the
sum of N57,704,000.000 (fifty-seven million,
seven hundred and four thousand naira) from the
complainant, became elusive.
When the petitioner requested for refund, the
accused person was said to have issued some
cheques, which were not honoured due to
insufficient fund in his account.
One of the counts reads:
‘‘That you, Robert Daniel Onyeani, CEO of
Imagine Roco Ltd, on or about the 26th
day of November, 2013 at Aba within the
jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of
Nigeria obtained the sum of
N20,000,000.00 (twenty million naira)
from one Chinemeya Iheaku of G.N.
Iheaku & Co. Ltd under the false pretence
that you can procure a certificate of
concession/waiver on the importation of
stockfish/fish head, a representation you
knew to be false and thereby committed
an offence contrary to Section 1(1) of
Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related
Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under
Section 1(3) of the same Act.’’
The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to all
the charges when they were read to him. In view
of his plea, the prosecuting counsel, Joshua
Saidu, asked for a trial date and prayed the court
to remand the accused person in prison custody.
The defence counsel, O. Emole, however, moved
an application for bail on behalf of his client.
Consequently, Justice Anyadike adjourned the
matter to February 16 for hearing on the bail
application and ordered the accused person to
be remanded in prison custody.