Lagos Court Remands Freight Agents for N14.4m Fraud

A Magistrate’s Court sitting in Yaba, Lagos State, has ordered the remand of freight agents, Obinna Nwaokporo, Ayomide Olaiya, and Ejiro Omojevwe, for allegedly defrauding a company, Flem Viotad Nigeria Limited, owned by one Ayoade Mojeed, of N14.4m.

The defendants, who are facing three-count of conspiracy, stealing, and conversion of funds, were arraigned before Magistrate P.E Nwaka on Friday.

It was learnt that Nwaokporo and others presented themselves as fright agents who could provide logistics for clearing and shipping a naturally occurring mineral dust known as Mica, often used in makeup foundations, as filler in cement and asphalt, and as insulation material in electric cables, to China for processing and were paid N1m as part payment.

The defendants were said to have sent one Usman Sani with a Mack truck to the company to pack 56 metric tons of two 20-fits containers with Mica valued at N12m for shipment to China.

The shipment was to be done within three weeks but the driver had absconded with the goods till date.

The prosecutor, Thomas Nurudeen, told the court that the defendants and others still at large conspired to commit the offence.

He said they committed the offence between May 19 and 24, 2022, at the Apapa Wharf area of Lagos State.

The charges read in part, “That you, Obinna Nwaokporo, Ayomide Olaiya, Ejiro Omojevwe, and others still at large, between May 19 and 24, 2022, at Apapa Wharf, Lagos, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did commit felony to wit stealing, obtaining money by false pretences, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2015.”

However, the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

The Chief Magistrate, P. E. Nwaka, granted them bail in the sum of N1m each with two responsible sureties each in like sum.

He adjourned the case till May 3, 2023, for mention.