Court Remands Self-styled Estate Developer Over N65m Fraud

The Self-acclaimed Estate Developer

A Lagos Federal High Court has remand a self-acclaimed Estate Developer, Kelly Izuwa Nwogu, in prison custody, over alleged conspiracy, obtaining the sum of N65 million by false pretence and fraudulent conversion of the same sum.

Justice Peter Lifu who presided over the court remanded the Estate agent, on Friday, after he pleaded not guilty to the three counts charge made against him by the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU), Ikoyi, Lagos.

Nwogu, a native of Ngwa, in Abia State, was arraigned before the court alongside his company, Livelihood Homes Limited, on the three counts charge.

The prosecutors, Mr. Emmanuel Jackson, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) and Justine Enang, told the court that the defendants and others now at large, committed the offences early this year.

The prosecutors told the court that the self-acclaimed Estate Developer, his company and others now at large, fraudulently obtained the sum of N65 million from a popular church in Ojodu area of Lagos State, with false pretence of having plots of land to sell at Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State, and at Agbara, Badagry Expressway of Lagos.

The prosecutors also told the court that the defendant, upon receiving the money from his Ministry, failed and refused to give out the land as promised and also failed to reimburse the church the money, but converted it and to his personal use.

They told the court that the defendant’s actions, contravened sections 8(a), 1(1)(8) and punishable under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, No. 14 of 2006. 

He also told the court that the defendant offence, contravened section 15(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 as Amended in 2012

Meanwhile, the defendant pleaded not guilty to all the three counts charge.

Upon his not guilty plea, the prosecutors, asked the court for a trial date, and also urged the court to remand him in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS), pending the conclusion and determination of the allegations again him.

But lawyer to the defendant, Bernard Omang, orally applied to court to admit his client to bail in the most liberal terms.

His request was rejected by the court on the ground that there was no proper application to support his request.

Consequently, Justice Lifu ordered that the defendant be remanded at Ikoyi facility of the NCoS, while adjourned the matter to June 14, for commencement of trial.

The defendant, Nwogu, was sometimes in December 2019, arraigned by the Rivers State Police Command for allegedly defrauded over 400 land seekers of the sum of N800 million.

He was slammed with 494-count charge, in a charge marked FHC/PH/399c/2019.

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