The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday arraigned a man, Opeoluwa Sennaike, before an Ikeja Special Offences Court, for alleged $5 million and N800 million cyber security fraud.
Sennaike was arraigned alongside his firm, Sennaike Consulting Ltd. on a six-count bordering on obtaining money by false pretenses, forgery, stealing, and possession of false documents.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
EFCC alleges that the defendant fraudulently obtained the sums from unsuspecting members of the society.
After the arraignment, counsel to EFCC, Mr. Ahmed Yerima, prayed the court for a trial date, adding that it should remand the defendant.
Defense counsel, Mr. Akeem Akinroye, however, made an oral application for the bail of the defendant.
Akinroye said that the defendant would not run away.
Justice Olubusola Okunuga held that the court needed a formal bail application.
Okunuga ordered that the defendant should be kept at the Ikoyi custodial facility pending his formal bail application.
The judge adjourned the case until June 28 for the commencement of trial.
The EFCC alleges that the defendant deceitfully obtained an aggregate sum of $5 million from unsuspecting members of the public, who thought that the sum was an investment for the protection of developed cyber security software for onward delivery to the US.
The commission also alleges that the defendant fraudulently collected an aggregate sum of N800 million from Olugbenga Ojo and Benson Ogungbamiwa as well as other unsuspecting members of the public, who understood the sum to be an investment for the protection of a developed cyber security software for onward delivery to the US.
It also claims that the defendant forged a document printed from his laptop entitled, “Executive Office of the President of The United States,” dated November 2, 2021.
The commission alleges that the defendant also printed other documents containing forged conversations made between Kamala Harris, a representative of the Government of the US, and Mr Olugbemiga Ojo, President of Langberg Inc. in order to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.
The alleged offenses contravene Sections 6, 8 (b) 1 (3), 363 (3) (d) and (e) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act of 2006, and Section 278 (2) (a) and (b) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
Credit: NAN
