In a significant legal development, Justice K.N. Ogbonnaya of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Zuba has set in motion the trial proceedings for a purported N201,000,000 (Two Hundred and One Million Naira) fraud case involving four executives of an Abuja-based company and their corporate entity. The trial is slated to commence on May 6, 2024.
The accused individuals, namely Harry Ositadinma Samuel, Ayodele Raymond, Gowon Usman Egbunu, Alhaji Nuhu Amanabo, along with Beligetto Holding Company Limited, were formally charged on February 29, 2024, with two counts related to obtaining property under false pretenses.
The first count alleges a conspiracy among the defendants to commit fraud, stating, “that you Harry Ositadinma Samuel, Group Chairman of Beligetto Holding Company Limited, Ayodele Raymond, Managing Director of Beligetto Holding Company Limited, Gowon Usman Egbunu, Alhaji Nuhu Amanabo, Beligetto Holding Company Limited, and others (At Large), sometime in the year 2020 at Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court conspired to obtain properties by false pretense, thereby committing an offense contrary to Section 8 (a) and punishable under Section 3 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.”
The second count accuses the defendants of obtaining five units of SUV Toyota vehicles worth N201,000,000 (Two Hundred and One Million Naira) from a certain Adeniran Oluwaseun Tope Jeremiah through false pretenses. It states, “that you Harry Ositadinma Samuel, Group Chairman of Beligetto Holding Company Limited, Ayodele Raymond, Managing Director of Beligetto Holding Company Limited, Gowon Usman Egbunu, Alhaji Nuhu Amanabo, Beligetto Holding Company Limited, and others (At Large), sometime in the year 2020 at Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, by false pretense and with intent to defraud, obtained 5 units of SUV Toyota Vehicles from one Adeniran Oluwaseun Tope Jeremiah valued at N201,000,000,000.00 (Two Hundred and One Million Naira) only when you presented your company as having secured a contract with Nigeria Correctional Service for the supply of said vehicles, which fact you knew to be false, thereby committing an offense contrary to Section 1(1) and punishable under Section 1(3) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.”
All defendants entered pleas of not guilty, prompting the prosecution counsel, Khalid Sanusi, to request a trial commencement date and the remand of the defendants in a Correctional Center.
Justice Ogbonnaya granted bail to the defendants based on self-recognition and age, with strict instructions to appear in court on trial days. A bond was executed by the defendants, stipulating that noncompliance would result in the revocation of the bond and their detention in a Correctional Facility until the trial’s conclusion.
Furthermore, a bond of N50,000,000.00 (Fifty Million Naira) was imposed on Beligetto Holding Company Limited. The judge ordered an expedited hearing of the case and adjourned proceedings until May 6th, 7th, 8th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th, 2024.
The defendants stand accused of fraudulently obtaining five units of Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) Toyota products valued at N201,000,000 (Two Hundred and One Million Naira) under the guise of fulfilling a contract with the Nigeria Correctional Service. They purportedly neither remitted payment for the vehicles nor returned them to the petitioner, thereby exacerbating the gravity of the charges leveled against them.
