On Monday June 30, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed a criminal charge against three men before an Ikeja High Court for allegedly stealing over N74 million asset belong to two dead men, Shande Ako Dzungwe and Alhaji Isa Koto. The three men Mohammed Rabiu Lawan, (alias Shande Dzungwe Ako), Raphael Olorunfemi Okomoda, Adegbesan Theophilus and others still at large were alleged to have fraudulently posed as the late Shande Ako Dzungwe and Alhaji Isa Koto and obtained over N74 million from their separate share investments with various companies.

The EFCC alleged that the late Shande Ako Dzungwe died in 1992 while Isa Koto died in 1970 but that the  defendants presented themselves as the late men and gave instruction to various companies to release the monetary value of their shares to them.

The EFCC specifically alleged that on 16 May, 2013, the three men fraudulently obtained about N22 million from the shares investment of the late Shande Dzungwe with Royal Crest Ltd through Fidelity Bank Plc.

The commission alleged that the defendants opened an account with the name of the deceased in Fidelity Bank Plc and instructed the investment companies to pay the monetary value of the share into the account.

The defendants were also alleged to have fraudulently instructed  the Nigerian Stock Exchange Brokers Ltd to sell 8,332 units of Mobil Oil Plc shares at N981,921 belonging to the deceased and to transfer the proceed into the fictitious account.

They were also alleged to have converted the dividend warranty of the deceased with Union Bank Plc, Nestle Food Plc, Mobil Plc, NCR Plc and Unilever Plc and used the proceed to buy the 5,000 units of Nigerian Breweries shares, 46,000 units of First Bank Plc shares and 50,000 units of GTB shares. The proceeds of the shares according to the EFCC was later deposited in the fictitious bank account opened on behalf of the deceased by the defendants.

The EFCC also alleged that the defendants later instructed Fidelity Bank Plc to transfer the fund into another fictitious account in the bank through which they eventually withdrew the money. The EFCC further alleged that the defendants between 13 March and 16 May, 2013, with the intention to defraud, posed as Alhaji Isa Koto and fraudulently instructed Fidelity Securities Ltd to sell 116,625 units of Guinness Plc shares valued at N44 million and transfer the proceeds into the Fidelity Bank Account.

The offences allegedly  committed by the defendants  are contrary to sections 8(a) and 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, No. 14 of 2006 and sections 285, 378 of the Criminal Laws No.11 Vol. 44 of Lagos State, 2011. The charge was not fully read to the defendants as the EFCC counsel in court detected some errors in the charge and asked for an adjournment to correct the errors.

The case has been adjourned till 7 July for arraignment.