Court remands company director in EFCC custody for alleged N157m fraud

A Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has remanded the Director of a Nigerian Gas Company, Charles Rudolf Epelle in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, pending the determination of his bail application. Epelle was arraigned on a six counts bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence and issuance of dud cheques by the Port Harcourt Zonal Command of the EFCC, an offence is contrary to section 1(1) (a) and (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006. One of the counts reads, “That you, Charles Rudolf Epelle, Enene Esther Irabor (at large), on or about the 2nd of August, 2021 at Port Harcourt, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did obtain the sum of Twenty-two Million, Eighty Thousand Naira (N22,080,000.00) from one Jeremiah Jumbo by false pretence under the guise of rendering catering services to International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Abuja, which pretext you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) & (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act”.

Another count read: “That you, Charles Rudolf Epelle, Enene Esther Irabor (at large), on or about the 26th August, 2021 at Port Harcourt, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did obtain the sum of One Hundred Million Naira (N100,000,000.00) from one Jeremiah Jumbo by false pretence under the guise of rendering catering services to International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and execution of contract awarded by the Nigerian Military in Abuja, which pretext you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence Contrary to Section 1(1)(a) & (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other fraud related offences Act 2006 and punishable under section 1(3) of the same Act”. Although, the defendant pleaded not guilty to all the charges preferred against him by the EFCC, the prosecution counsel, K. W. Chukwuma-Eneh prayed the court to remand the suspect in a Correctional Facility and fix a date for commencement of trial.

But, counsel for the defendant, I. A. Imabibo informed the court of the bail application of his client, which was opposed by the prosecution on the ground that he was only just served and needed time to respond. However, the trial judge, Justice P. I. Ajoku, ordered that the defendant be remanded in the prosecution’s custody pending hearing and determination of his bail application and adjourned till February 6, 2023 for hearing of bail application and April 26, 2023 for trial.