The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a lawyer, Benjamin Chukwuemeka Nwobodo, before Justice F. O. Giwa-Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court in Enugu on charges of forgery and obtaining money under false pretenses amounting to ₦12 million.
According to a statement by the EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, the defendant faced five charges, with counts three and four alleging fraudulent sales of land plots in Emene, Enugu State.
Count three detailed that on January 15, 2014, Nwobodo allegedly obtained ₦9 million from Wilson Ikeani Igwe under the false pretense of selling three plots of land, an act contrary to Section 1 of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act. Count four accused the lawyer of obtaining an additional ₦3 million in December 2014 under similar false pretenses.
Nwobodo pleaded not guilty to all charges. Following his plea, EFCC counsel Chief Superintendent Chikezie Raymond Edozie requested a trial date and for the defendant to be remanded in custody.
The defendant, representing himself, made an oral application for bail, which the court granted with stringent conditions. Bail was set at ₦25 million with two sureties. One must own landed property in Enugu metropolis, while the other must be a blood relative with three years of tax clearance. Both sureties must depose an affidavit of means, and the EFCC must verify their details within seven days.
Additionally, Nwobodo was required to surrender his international passport to the Deputy Court Registrar. The court allowed the defendant to leave on self-recognizance but mandated that bail conditions be met within ten days, failing which he would be remanded at the Enugu State Correctional Facility.
The court adjourned the case to May 13 and 14, 2025, for trial.
