Estate developer accused of defrauding church of N65m

The Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday remanded Kelly Nwogu, an estate developer, for allegedly defrauding a church of N65 million.

The Police Special Fraud Unit has filed three counts of conspiracy, obtaining by false pretense, and fraudulent conversion against the defendant.

Nwogu was charged before Justice Peter Lifu along with his business, Livelihood Homes Limited, and other suspects who are still at large.

According to the prosecutor, Emmanuel Jackson, the crimes were committed this year by the defendants and other people who are still at large.

Jackson testified in court that the real estate developer, his business, and other individuals who are still at large defrauded a church in Lagos State’s Ojodu neighborhood out of N65 million by making false claims that they had land for sale in Lagos’ Agbara-Badagry Expressway and the Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State.

The defendant, according to him, failed to distribute the land as promised and failed to pay the church back after receiving the money from the church.

He asserts that the offenses were in violation of Sections 8(a), 1(1)(8), and Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, No. 14 of 2006, as well as Section 15(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, as amended in 2012.

Nwogu, however, entered a not guilty plea to the accusation.

Following the defendant’s plea of not guilty, the prosecution requested a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendant in the care of the Nigerian Correctional Centre until the allegations against him were resolved.

However, the defendant’s attorney, Bernard Omang, asked the court to grant the most lenient conditions possible for the defendant’s admission to bail.

The court denied his request on the grounds that a proper application was not submitted to support it.

As a result, Justice Lifu mandated that the defendant be kept in custody at the Ikoyi Custodial Center and postponed the case’s start date for the trial until June 14.