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A Lagos based businessman Mr.
Rowland Okpoko and his company, Bits Travel and
Tours Ltd have been arraigned before an Ikeja High
Court for fraud. In a three count charge bordering
on fraudulent conversion and issuance of dud cheques,
the accused was alleged to have fraudulently
converted the sum of $345,000 property of Oil Serv
Limited in August 2007.
The accused was also alleged
to have fraudulently issued two Washington Mutual
Bank Houston Texas USA cheques dated February 15th
2008 for the sum of $150,000 each payable to Oil
Serv Limited which were dishonoured on presentation
for lack of sufficient funds in the account.
When the charges were read to
the accused Wednesday March 11,2009, he pleaded not
guilty. The trial Judge, Justice (Mrs.) Onyeador
ordered him remanded in EFCC custody and adjourned
the case to Friday 13th March, 2009 when
the bail application will be argued. He is however
yet to breathe the air of freedom as he has since
remained in the EFCC custody, according to a
statement by Femi Babafemi, the Commission`s
spokesman.
In the petition to EFCC, the
complainant, a senior Manager of oilserv limited had
sometime in 2007 contacted the accused, who operates
a travel agency, to arrange for his summer holiday
trip to Dallas, USA. He agreed and charged the
company $3,500 but $350,000 was mistakenly
transferred to Okpoko’s account.
When the mistake was
detected, according to the petitioner, the accused
refused to refund the money on the excuse that he
was being investigated by US authorities over the
money and since then, he had been playing hide and
seek.
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