EFCC arraigns two over alleged N8.9m investment fraud in Awka

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arraigned two men, Samuel Inalegwu Okpala and Ezelibe Emmanuel Nzube, before the Federal High Court sitting in Awka over an alleged N8.9 million fraud.

The defendants were brought before Justice Bala Khalifa-Mohammed Usman by the Enugu Zonal Directorate of the anti-graft agency on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, fraudulent impersonation, and obtaining money under false pretence.

According to the EFCC, the alleged offences were committed in 2025 in Onitsha, where the defendants were said to have defrauded victims under the guise of investment opportunities.

One of the charges reads: “That you, Samuel Inalegwu Okpala, sometime in 2025, at Onitsha, Anambra State, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, with the intent to defraud, induced one Clara Uwakonye to deliver to you the sum of Five million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N5,500,000.00) under the pretence that she would receive return on investment, a representation which 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, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act”.

Another count states: “That you, Ezelibe Emmanuel Nzube, sometime in 2025, at Onitsha, Anambra State, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, fraudulently impersonated one Michael Michael by means of your Samsung A05 mobile phone via a fake Facebook account created by you with the intent to gain advantage for yourself from Lisbeth Hojiund and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 22(2)(b)(i) & (ii) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024 and punishable under Section 22(2)(b)(iv) of the same Act”.

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

Following their pleas, counsel to the EFCC, Assistant Superintendent of the EFCC, Somtochukwu C. Anyanwu, asked the court to fix a date for trial and to remand the defendants at the facility of the Nigerian Correctional Service in Awka.

The court subsequently adjourned the case to April 29, 2026, for the hearing of their bail application and ordered that the defendants be remanded in custody.

The EFCC alleged that Okpala lured victims into a fake investment scheme with promises of returns. After receiving the money, he reportedly became unreachable, while efforts by victims to recover their funds failed.

Nzube was said to have worked with Okpala in carrying out the scheme, specialising in identity theft and the use of fake social media accounts to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.

EFCC arraigns two over alleged N8.9m investment fraud in Awka