Two businessmen, Clement Eze, 65, and Celestine Eze, 35, on Wednesday appeared in a Gwagwalada Chief Magistrates’ Court for allegedly defrauding a woman of N500,000.
The defendants who reside opposite timber shade, Kuje, Abuja, were charged for criminal conspiracy, fraudulently obtaining “a decree for sum not due”, cheating and theft.
The Prosecution Counsel, Sunday Iyakwo, told the court that the complainant, Ogene Tega of New Waston Door Company, Kwali, Abuja, reported the matter at the Police on Oct. 21.
Iyakwo said that the complainant, on her way back from the bank where she has gone to withdraw the sum of N500,000, was deceived by one Eugene that he is a foreigner and took her to Kuje road, Abuja.
“The defendants and two others, now at large, fraudulently obtained the said N500,000 from her and collected her ATM card and withdrew N360,000 from her Zenith Bank account through POS,” he said.
According to the prosecutor, during police investigation, the sum of N360,000 was recovered from the defendants.
He said the offence contravened the provisions of sections 96, 176, 320 and 286 of the Penal Code.
Iyakwo, who objected to the bail of the defendants, said that two persons are still at large and that are tendencies the defendants would interfere with the case if granted bail.
The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty.
The Defence Counsel, Fatima Sanni, prayed the court to grant his clients bail in the most liberal terms, citing sections 158, 161 and 162 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA).
Sanni said that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven contrary by a competent court of law.
The Chief Magistrate, Aliyu Shafa, admitted the defendants to bail in the sum of N500,000 each with two sureties each in like sum, who must reside within the court’s jurisdiction.
Shafa ordered that the sureties must present their driver’s licenses or national identification cards.
He said the sureties must also swear an affidavit of means in the same amount, and adjourned the case until Dec. 15 for hearing.
2 businessmen in court for allegedly defrauding woman of N500,000
