The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Port Harcourt’s Zonal Office, on Thursday 11 October, 2018, arraigned a fake Rivers State Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.
The suspect: Akuneto Roland Chimezie, who impersonated Bro. Felix Obuah, Rivers State Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, was arraigned before Justice M. I Sani of the Federal High Court, sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on a 7-count charge bordering on stealing and obtaining money by false presence to the tune of N3, 980, 000. 00( Three Million, Nine Hundred and Eighty Thousand Naira).
Chimezie ran foul of the law when he allegedly impersonated Obuah and cloned his Facebook account page and fraudulently obtained the sum of N3, 260,000.00 and another N720,000 ( totalling N3,980,000.00) from one Suleiman Gali and Abraham Reason respectively, under the guise of granting them Rivers State Famers Empowerment Loan, which was never granted and their money un- returned to them.
Count one of the charge read: ‘’that you Akuneto Roland Chimezie and Stella Monday (now at large) on or about the 25th to 28th July at Port Harcourt, Rivers State, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria with intent to defraud obtained the aggregate sum of N1,440,000.00 through UBA Bank account number 209503505 belonging to Stella Monday from Suleman Gali when you represented yourselves as Bro. Felix Obuah to the same Suleiman Gali under the false pretence that same was processing fee for the procurement of Rivers State Agricultural Empowerment Loan, a pretence which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 1 (1) (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other fraud related offences Act No. 14 of 2006 and punishable under section 1 (3) of the same Act.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to him.
In view of his plea, prosecution counsel, Ifeanyi Agu asked the court to fix a date for the commencement of trial and that the defendant be remanded in prison custody. However, counsel to the defendant, E. B. Meabe, told the court that he had filed a bail application for his client and served same on the prosecution. He urged the court to grant his prayers. Agu acknowledged his application and sued for more time to respond to it.
Justice Sani adjourned the case to 18 October, 2018 for bail hearing, and commencement of trial. He also ordered that the defendant be remanded in prison custody pending the determination of his bail.