Court remands Rancco Water boss, partner in prison over alleged fraud

Mrs. Obiageli Anachebe alias Odiuko and her alleged fraudster partner and fake spiritualist, Innocent Chukwu, alias Ohamadike, were recently re-arraigned at an Ikeja High Court for defrauding a business woman, Chief Vivian Amadife of the sum of N97 million and a property worth N35 million.

Odiuko and Ohamadike were first arraigned before Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye of the Ikeja High Court, Lagos, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly defrauding their victim of the huge sum of money and property under the guise of performing spiritual cleansing on her and her entire family.

Both suspects were arraigned on five-count charge.

Odiuko, whom the prosecution counsel accused of jumping bail, forgery and obtaining another international passport, after the EFCC confiscated her first travel document, was granted bail with the sum of N2.5million.

As at Monday, Anachebe was still remanded at the female wing of Kirikiri Prisons, for failing to meet her bail conditions.

The court also told the suspect, who is the producer of Rancco Water, Enugu, to provide two sureties in like sum, who are also resident in Lagos. They must show evidence of tax payments in the last three years, before she would be allowed to go home.

Anachebe, who wore a POP on her neck, was brought to the court in a mini prison bus looking distraught and embattled.

When the matter came up again for second hearing on October 14, Justice Ipaye refused to grant the bail application of Ohamadike, the first accused.

Ohamadike, the founder of Esoteric World Discovery Limited, was remanded at the same Kirikiri Prisons, pending when the case comes up again for full trial on October 28.

Meanwhile, a mild drama ensued in the court premises when the female and another armed male prison staff attached to Obiageli Anachebe aka Odiuko, disallowed journalists covering the case from taking photographs of the suspect.

According to the anti-graft agency, Chukwu and Anachebe first collected N50 million from the businesswoman, Mrs. Amadife, with the promise that the money would be used to solve all her problems spiritually, a claim the prosecution said the accused knew was false.

The prosecution said the accused committed the offence between October and December 2013, in Lagos.

According to the charge suit number ID/1332c/2015, it was stated that the accused conspired to ‘obtain money by false pretences, stealing by fraudulent conversion and concealment of deed.

The offences, according to the Commission, contravened Section 8(a) and 1(3) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act No. 14 of 2006 and Sections 285(9)(c) and 288 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The charge further alleged that Chukwu, on ‘or about February 14, 2014, dishonestly converted another sum of N16.9 million property of Amadife and Pamela Ihediwa of Bluebeam Capital Ltd, Lagos.

He was accused to have obtained the sum by claiming to have for sale, a United States dollar equivalent of the N16.9m which representation he knew to be false and dishonest.

It added that between October and December 2013, Chukwu also fraudulently and dishonestly obtained and concealed the title documents to a building valued at N35 million at No. 4, Nteje Street, New Haven, Enugu, property of Amadife.

Spokesman of the EFCC in Lagos, Sammin Amadin confirmed the suspects have been remanded in prison for alleged fraud.

According to Amadin, “Yes, we are investigating the two suspects. We have charged them to court they have been remanded in prison custody.”

The matter was adjourned till October 28, for full trial of the accused.