A 40-year-old man, Clement Vincent, was on Tuesday arraigned before a Kaduna Magistrates’ Court for allegedly defrauding his business partner of ₦7 million.
Vincent, who resides in Narayi, Kaduna, is facing a one-count charge of fraud, to which he pleaded not guilty.
The prosecutor, Insp. Chidi Leo, told the court that the defendant allegedly committed the offence in March at Nasarawa Road, along Ahmadu Bello Way, Kaduna.
Leo said the complainant, Gabriel Julius, gave Vincent ₦7 million to invest in their farm business, but he allegedly converted the money to personal use.
He said efforts by the complainant to recover the money were unsuccessful, adding that the offence contravened the Kaduna State Penal Code, 2017.
The defence counsel, James Haruna, urged the court to grant his client bail to enable him to prepare adequately for trial. He assured the court that Vincent would not jump bail or interfere with the proceedings.
In his ruling, the Magistrate, Ibrahim Emmanuel, admitted Vincent to bail in the sum of ₦500,000, with two sureties in like sum.
He ordered the sureties to provide evidence of two years’ tax payment to the Kaduna State Government, two passport photographs, valid means of identification and bank verification number (BVN) printouts from their banks.
The magistrate adjourned the case until Nov. 24 for hearing.
