2 businessmen in court over alleged N350,000 fraud

Two businessmen, Victor Iheanacho and Innocent Ugama, on Tuesday appeared before a Zuba Upper Area Court, Abuja, for allegedly defrauding their neighbour of N350,000.

Iheanaoch, 68, and Ugama, 53, who do their business at Dei-Dei Abuja, were arraigned on a two-count charge of criminal conspiracy and cheating.

Iheanacho of plot B82 Abacha Drive, Saburi Dei-Dei and Ugama of Plot B109 Ikesair Street, Saburi Dei-Dei, Abuja, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The prosecutor, Chinedu Ogada, had told the court that the complainant, Richard Chijioke, of No. 8 Smile Assembly Street, Kubwa, Abuja, reported the matter at the Kubwa Police Station on October 3, 2020.

Ogada said the complainant claimed that he met the defendants sometime in December 2019, when he was looking for a source of electricity to his new factory at Saburi Area, Abuja.

He said that the defendants deceitfully introduced themselves to the complainant as Chairman and Secretary in charge of the Unity Transformer at Saburi.

He alleged that the defendants collected N350,000 from the complainant and promised to connect light to the factory from the transformer.

Ogada said that when the light was connected, it was disconnected by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).

He said that AEDC officials disconnected the complainant’s light after residents of Ojukwu Street, Saburi complained that the defendants had no right to connect the factory to the transformer.

According to him, the offence contravened the provisions of Sections 97 and 322 of the Penal Code.

The judge, Justice Gambo Garba, granted the defendants bail in the sum of N200,000 each, with one surety each in like sum.

Garba said that the sureties must reside within the court’s jurisdiction with genuine property in Abuja.

He adjourned the case to May 6 for further hearing.