The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday, re-arraigned two executives of the Covenant Fadama Multi-purpose Cooperative Society, its Secretary, Okewole Dayo, and Chairman, Katung Jonas, over charges bordering on alleged N178,885,000 fraud.
They were re-arraigned before Justice Sharon T. Ishaya of the Federal High Court sitting in Jos, Plateau State, according to a statement by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The duo were sued on a 23-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money under false pretence, and money laundering to the tune of N178,885,000.
EFCC Investigation
According to the statement, investigations by the EFCC revealed that the defendants allegedly formed the cooperative society to fraudulently induce unsuspecting members of the public into investing substantial sums of money.
The funds, according to the Commission, were then laundered through multiple bank accounts and allegedly withdrawn using proxies.
The EFCC accused the defendants of using the proceeds to allegedly acquire properties in Jos and Kaduna states.
The charge partly reads:
“That you, OKEWOLE DAYO (Alias OKEWOLE DAVID DAYO) and BISHOP KATUNG JONAS, being Secretary and Chairman of Covenant Fadama Cooperative Society, sometime in 2012 within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did knowingly transfer the sum of N50,000,000 (Fifty Million Naira) from Covenant Fadama Cooperative Society’s First Bank Account number 2003050001625 into Dadin Kowa Micro Finance Account, First Bank Account number 2016452671, which sum represents proceeds of unlawful act and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2012 and punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act.”
“That you, OKEWOLE DAYO (Alias OKEWOLE DAVID DAYO) and BISHOP KATUNG JONAS, being Secretary and Chairman of Covenant Fadama Cooperative Society, sometime in 2012 within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did, with intent to defraud, obtain the sum of N10,000,000 (Ten Million Naira) from Reke Vida Ltd under the false pretence that you were going to invest the money in Covenant Fadama Cooperative Society as members and pay a monthly 10% dividend as return on investment, which you knew to be false, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”
What transpired in Court
At the Court session, both defendants pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them, following their re-arraignment.
- Prosecution counsel, Ibrahim Buba, then informed the court that the EFCC was ready for trial.
“In view of the defendants’ not guilty pleas, we are ready to open our case and bring in our witnesses. We already have a date fixed for tomorrow, my Lord,” he said.
- However, defence counsels raised concerns over the likelihood of conducting proceedings same day.
- Counsel to the second defendant, J.J. Achi, told the court that he would not be available due to a personal emergency.
- The defendants’ counsel, including C.I. Nwogbo, expressed an inability to proceed with the trial.
“I just recently joined the case and applied for the Certified True Copies of documents attached to the proof of evidence on April 2. I’ve not received them yet, and there are logistical issues with my client who does not reside in Jos,” Nwogbo stated, as quoted in the EFCC statement.
Justice Ishaya asked the prosecution how many witnesses they intended to present in the course of the trial.
“We initially had 18 witnesses on our list, but due to the passage of time, some are now inaccessible, and two are deceased. There may be a need to add new witnesses, ” Buba responded.
After listening to the lawyers, Justice Ishaya adjourned the case to July 22 and 23, 2025, for the continuation of trial.
