Five month after Jamiu Isiaka, a self-acclaimed herbalist,was arraigned by the Ilorin Zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, for allegedly defrauding a Korean National, Keun Sig Kim, the Commission has closed its case against the defendant.
Isiaka is facing a sick count charge of fraud and obtaining by false pretence before Justice Mahmood Abdulgafar of a Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin. He allegedly obtained the sum of thirty million naira from his victim on the pretext of helping him to secure a licence from the Federal Government of Nigeria to lift crude oil, through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC)
Count one of the charge reads, “That you, Jamiu Isiaka (a.k.a Femi Adeshina ) between the month of April and September 2018 in Ilorin, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, with intent to defraud, did obtain the total sum of Eighty eight thousand, five hundred and twenty one dollars, forty one cents from a Korean national named; Keun Sig Kim by false pretences that the monies was for the procurement of NNPC approval/marketing form and license certificate to buy crude oil in Nigeria, facts which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act”
At the resumed hearing of the matter on Wednesday, November 6, the EFCC presented its second prosecution witness, John George Itodo, counsel to the complainant in the matter.
Itodo in his evidence-in-chief told the court how his client, sometime in 2018, was lured to invest in phony crude oil lifting transaction by persons who variously paraded themselves as group managing director of NNPC; Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adeshina; the National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mrs Amina Zakari, among others. He said he confided in him after it became clear to him that he was dealing with some fraudsters.
“I advised him to forward the documents to me which he did; I then wrote a petition to the EFCC.
“My Lord, my client is act is actually in a bad situation now, he has spent all his monies on this project, ” the witness said.
Answering questions during cross examination, the witness said ” My Lord, the notification letter written by these fraudsters instructed my client to pay the fee into the account of the Treasurer, Jamiu Isiaka ”
After the testimonies of the witness, counsel to the EFCC, O.B Akinsola told the court that the prosecution has closed its case with testimonies of the witness.
Justice Abdulgafar however adjourned the matter to November 21, 2019 for the defendant to open his defence.
