In a significant development, the Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) brought charges against Mr. Abdulhamid Isah on Wednesday, December 6, 2023. Isah was arraigned before Justice I.O. Ijelu of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja on three counts related to obtaining money by false pretense, stealing, and the retention of proceeds from criminal conduct.
According to the charges presented in court, one of the counts alleges that Abdulhamid Isah, in October 2022, within the jurisdiction of the court, deceived Mr. Chinedu Ugokwe into transferring a total sum of $63,590 (Sixty-three Thousand Five Hundred and Ninety United States Dollars). Isah purportedly misrepresented that the funds were meant for the supply of the equivalent amount in US dollars, a pretense he was fully aware of being false.
Another count states that Isah not only obtained the mentioned sum from Ugokwe but also unlawfully retained it, constituting the proceeds of criminal conduct, specifically, theft.
When the charges were read to Abdulhamid Isah, he entered a plea of “not guilty.”
Following this, the EFCC’s counsel, N.K. Ukoha, requested the court to schedule a trial date to allow the prosecution to present its case. Ukoha further urged the court to remand the defendant at the Correctional Centre.
In response, the defense counsel, E.A. Ogbeche, informed the court about the pending bail application on behalf of his client. Ogbeche stated, “We have an application pending before the Honourable Court. It is a summons for bail, and the prosecution has been served.” Subsequently, he proceeded to move the bail application.
Upon considering the bail application, Justice Ijelu emphasized that bail serves the purpose of ensuring the defendant’s future attendance in court. Consequently, the judge granted bail to Abdulhamid Isah in the amount of N5 million, with two sureties required to provide the same sum. One of the sureties must be a blood relation to the defendant.
The court adjourned the case until February 1, 2024, for trial, and ordered that Abdulhamid Isah be remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre pending the conclusion of legal proceedings.
