An Ikeja Special Offences Court has arraigned one Emilia Anthony and her company, Savannah Crest Investment Limited over alleged N110 million fraud.
Justice Justice Abike Fadipe on Tuesday granted Anthony bail alongside her company in the sum of N10 million, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
She was arraigned on a six-count charge bordering on conspiracy, fraud and stealing. However, upon arraignment, she pleaded not guilty to the charges against her.
What happened in court
Ms Emilia and her company allegedly collected the N110 million from three individuals who are the complainants named Mrs Racheal Akintola, Mrs Ruth Atte and Mrs Wendy Daniel.
She collected the money promising to invest it in a business, which she never did but converted the money to her personal use.
Mr Innocent Akanno, the police prosecutor argued before the court that the offences contravened Sections 411 and 287 of the Criminal law of Lagos State, 2015 of which the defendants committed the offences in Lagos in 2018.
Ruling on the bail application, Justice Fadipe granted Anthony bail and ordered her to provide one surety who is related to her as one of the conditions for bail.
The judge also added that the surety must have a landed property within the court’s jurisdiction.
She then adjourned the case until September 23 for trial.
What you should know
- There has been a rise in the number of persons that have fallen victim to investment fraud in Nigeria.
- The impact of Ponzi schemes has increased thereby inflicting financial damages on most of their investors who see the scheme as a poverty alleviation strategy as they seek ways to have better returns on their money.
- Recently, there have been various arrests followed by arraignment of the perpetrators in court owing to complaints and allegations arising from the victims.
- While some of the schemes have been busted, others are still out there and regulators do not get to know about them until most of the funds are gone.
- The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is currently investigating various cases of investment fraud.
It surprises me that things like this still happens in Nigeria, people should’ve learned their lessons before now. I’m sure people will still invest in a new investment scheme if another one springs up tomorrow. “Nobody wan kpai but dem wan go heaven.” _2baba