The Enugu Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has formally arraigned Mr. Obinna Calistus Okoli, the Chairman of the Onitsha/Odekpe Plastic Market Association, before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court in Awka, Anambra State. Okoli stands accused of perpetrating fraudulent activities amounting to N6,700,000.00 (Six Million, Seven Hundred Thousand Naira).
Mr. Okoli appeared in court on Tuesday, February 13, 2024, alongside the Onitsha/Odekpe Plastic Market Association, facing a two-count charge related to fraudulent misrepresentation and obtaining funds under false pretenses. One of the charges specifies that Okoli, in his capacity as Chairman of the Onitsha/Odekpe Plastic Market Association, engaged in deceitful conduct between May 2018 and July 2020, inducing Mr. Joseph Okechukwu Enyiuche to remit the sum of N6,700,000.00 under the false promise of allocating four shops in a proposed commercial development at watermelon land, knowing such representation to be untrue.
Both defendants entered pleas of not guilty to the charges leveled against them. Following their pleas, counsel representing the EFCC, Mr. Nuradeen Shehu Ingawa, requested a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendant in custody pending trial. In response, defense counsel, Mr. E. O. Igowe, orally petitioned for bail, a request firmly opposed by Mr. Ingawa, emphasizing the court’s status as a recorder of proceedings.
Subsequently, Justice Dimgba scheduled the next hearing for Friday, February 16, 2024, to consider the bail application. In the interim, the defendants were remanded in EFCC custody.
The arrest of Mr. Okoli by operatives of the EFCC stemmed from allegations made by a petitioner, who accused him of fraudulently obtaining N6,700,000.00 under the guise of facilitating the acquisition of four lock-up shops within a proposed mall development on watermelon land in Anambra State. Despite efforts to reclaim the funds, the petitioner alleges that Mr. Okoli failed to deliver on his promise, leaving him empty-handed.
