Woman Defrauds Victims of N179M, Uses 139M For Sport Betting And Pays Tithe With N1M

A woman, Nkechi Mercy Ikogwe alongside two companies, Elites Finance Investment Limited and Efinc Global Investment Limited, were on Monday arraigned before Justice E.A. Obile of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State over alleged N179 million fraud.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Port Harcourt’s Zonal office arraigned them on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretence contrary to Section 1(1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No. 14, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.

The woman was said to have used the sum of N139,704,097 she allegedly defrauded subscribers to play sport betting and also paid tithe of N1 million to a church in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

One of the counts against the defendants read: “That you Nkechi Mercy Ikogwe, Elites Finance Investment Limited and Efinc Global Investment Limited sometime in 2019 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State within the jurisdiction of this honorable court with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of One Hundred and Seventy Nine Million, Three Hundred and Twenty Six Thousand, Three Hundred and Eighty Six Naira,Sixty Two Kobo (179,326,386.62) by inducing unsuspecting members of the public to invest with your companies: Elites Finance Investment Limited and Efinc Global Investment Limited, assuring them under a false pretence of making 15% interest on all investment made, a representation you knew to be false, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No. 14, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act”.

The defendants pleaded “not guilty” when the charges were read to them.

In view of the plea by the defendants, prosecuting counsel, K.W. Chukwuma-Eneh prayed the court to fix a date for commencement of trial.

But counsel to the defendants, G.N. Godwins moved an oral application for the bail of the defendants which was opposed by the prosecution on the ground that the application must be in writing, and properly addressed to the court.

Justice Obile ordered that the 1st defendant, Ikogwe be remanded in prosecution’s custody and adjourned the matter till October 19,2020 for determination of the bail application.

Mercy ran into trouble when the commission received a report about the defendant and two others, accusing them of inducing their victims into participating in a fraudulent investment scheme with a fake promise of 15 per cent return on investment.

Over Fifteen Million Naira (N15,000,000.00) was paid by the unsuspecting ‘investors’ into the defendant’s accounts, Nkechi Mercy Ikogwe with account numbers 2087478165 domiciled in Zenith Bank and Miss Joy Okari Ibiala 2099253758 domiciled in UBA

Further investigation revealed that the defendant spent a total sum of N139,704,097 collected from subscribers to play sport betting and also paid tithe of N1m to a leading Pentecostal church in Port Harcourt.

Yes You Really Have Sir!!

Sorry For Not Knocking But I think You're Fired

This is Hilarious

Governor Sanwo Olu Approves Bus Fare Increase By 46 Per Cent

LAGOS State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has approved an average of 46 per cent increase on bus services on the routes operated by the Lagos Bus Services Limited (LBSL).

A statement by the Assistant Director, Corporate Communication, at the Lagos Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LAMATA), Mr. Kolawole Ojelabi, said the increase takes effect from August 1.

He said Governor Sanwo-Olu assented to the bus fare review following a plea by the bus operating company on the need to sustain its operation because of the negative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on public bus transportation.

The governor also approved LBSL’s request to increase the number of passengers per bus from 20 to 42 in observance of updated COVID-19 protocol, as directed by the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in the operation of public transport, while ensuring other measures are in place.

Sanwo-Olu granted LBSL buses permission to access dedicated bus lanes in Lagos State, thus making their journey times predictable on corridors with bus dedicated lanes.

LBSL had argued that conveying not more than 20 passengers per bus, per trip, had resulted in only 14 per cent utilisation of the bus load factor, leading to 72 per cent drop in revenue, while the running costs remained fairly the same.

It said the fare increase would improve LBSL’s operational efficiency and place the bus operating company on the path to sustainability in the mediu

m to long term.

29 Yr Old Woman Shoots Her Boyfriend For Refusing To Argue With Her

Jenalisha Lawrence, 29, has been charged with attempted second-degree murder in the shooting that left her boyfriend in a critical situation.

Police say that the suspect was the man’s ‘estranged’ girlfriend.

The shooting occurred early Saturday morning July 18, in the Caddo Heights neighborhood of Shreveport at around 7.30am in the 1400 block of Grigsby Street.

Authorities at Shreveport Police Department said they were called to the home over report of a shooting and when they arrived they found a 34-year-old man on the sidewalk suffering a gunshot wound to the body.

He was taken to Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport with life-threatening injuries and he is still listed as in critical condition, according to KXAN.

Witnesses told investigators that Lawrence shot the victim following an interaction in which the man refused to argue with her.

She fled the scene in a green Honda Accord with a primer on the left passenger’s side front door.