Court Remands Man Arraigned For Swindling Two Persons In N33m Forex Scam

One Okoro Chukwudi Goodluck, accused of swindling two persons to the tune of N33,560,000 (Thirty-three Million, Five Hundred and Sixty Thousand Naira), is currently in detention by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

This followed his arraignment on Wednesday by the Uyo Zonal Office of the EFCC, before Justice Charles Ikpe of the State High Court, sitting in Akwa Ibom State, on a seven-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence and stealing.

An EFCC statement issued on Wednesday by Dele Oyewale, said
trouble started for the defendant “when Peter Udo Peter and John Udo Peter in a petition to the commission alleged that he swindled them of the mentioned sum in 2019, by luring them to invest the sum in his foreign exchange trading firm with a promise that they were going to earn a 100 per cent interest on their investment, within two weeks.”

According to the statement, the defendant did not only disappear, but didn’t carry through with the transaction.

The statement said one of the charges read: “That you Okoro Chukwudi Goodluck ‘M’ and Collins Uche Success (standing trial in information No: HU/185C/2019), sometime between June and July 2019 in Uyo, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, with intent to defraud, did obtain the total sum of N16,780,000.00 (Sixteen Million, Seven Hundred and Eighty Thousand Naira) from John Udo Peter, Iniobong Okon Eyo and Peter Udo Peter through Collins Uche Success which said sum was paid into Guaranty Trust Bank(GTB) Account No. 0129865411 with Account Name: Okoro Goodluck Chukwudi under the pretence that it would be invested into your Forex Trading/Bitcoin packages and 100 per cent of the principal sum shall be paid to the investors within two weeks as return/interest on their investment, the pretence which you knew to be false.”

The prosecution counsel, Joshua Abolarin, according to the statement, prayed the court to fix a trial date, because the accused pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Abolarin also prayed the court to remand the suspect in the custody of Nigerian Correctional Service.

“The defence counsel, Barrister Obumneme Okezie, however, informed the court that the defence had filed a bail application, which he said has not been heard due to delay by the prosecution in serving its counter-application and prayed the court to rather remand the defendant in the custody of the EFCC, citing the need to safeguard him from Covid-19 infection.

“Justice Ikpe adjourned the matter till June 2, 2020, for hearing of the bail application and ordered that the defendant be remanded in EFCC’s detention facility in Uyo,” it concluded.