The Force Criminal Investigation Department, FCID, arrested a 26-year-old lady, Miss Oyebimpe Rukiat Bello, at Alagbon Close, Ikoyi, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, for allegedly obtaining N113,341,501 from two businesswomen under false pretense.
Police claimed that the defendant took N33,341,501 from Miss Fiponmileoluwa Ogundele and N80,000,000 from Susan Abimbola Bakare with the promise of assisting them in investing the money in a water production and petroleum business, which the defendant knew was false.
Police also claimed that after the defendant collected the money from the complainant, she failed to invest it in the agreed-upon business and instead converted it to her own use before fleeing.
Police alleged that following the development, the complainants petitioned the Inspector General of Police, IGP about the matter who referred the case to the Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG in charge of FCID, Alagbon Close, Ikoyi, Lagos for a thorough investigation.
The AIG FCID Lagos swiftly deployed his crack team to fish out the defendant anywhere she might be hiding and the Police team tracked and arrested the defendant at a hideout in Lagos.
Bello was charged before the Ikoyi Magistrate’s Court, beside the Ikoyi Correctional facility, Lagos, Nigeria on a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence, forgery and stealing.
Police Prosecuting Counsel, Amedu Adoga told the Court in the charge Marked V/3/2023 that the defendant committed the offence in September 2022 in Lagos, Nigeria.
Adoga informed the Court that the defendant connived with others still at large and collected the sum of N113,341,501 from the two complaints with the promise to help them invest the money in a water production and petroleum business knowing full well that there was no such business.
Adoga further told the Court that the defendant forged the documents bearing KRS Investment Limited receipts and fake bank alert transaction receipts to perpetrate the alleged fraud.
Adoga added that after the defendant collected the money from the complainants, she converted it to her use and went into hiding before she was arrested at a hideout through intelligence gathering and tracking.
He said the offences, the defendant committed were punishable under sessions 411,314(1)(a)(b)(3),363 and 287(7) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges in the open Court and the presiding Magistrate, Mr Chinje Agbonor, granted her N2m bail with two sureties in like sum.
Magistrate Agbonor adjourned the case till 30 January 2023 for mention and ordered that the defendant be detained at the Kirikiri correctional facility till she perfected the bail conditions.