The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Lagos Zonal office, on Friday, May 17, 2019, arraigned one Ebenezer Joel, for internet fraud. He was arraigned before Justice Sherifat Solebo of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos on a two-count charge bordering on possession of a fraudulent document containing false pretence, an offence contrary to Section 6, 8( b) and 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, No. 14 of 2016.
One of the counts reads: “That you, Ebenezer Joel (aka Wilson James), on or about the 13th day of March, 2019 in Lagos, within the Ikeja judicial division, with intent to defraud, had in your possession a document titled “No Subject”, where you represented yourself as Harry Smith, which representation you knew or ought to have known to be false.”
The suspect Ebenezer Joel was arrested on March 13, 2019 during a raid conducted by operatives of the Commission at the Igbo-Efon and Lekki County Home area of Lagos.
At the point of arrest, a laptop computer was recovered from the suspect.
The defendant Ebenezer Joel pleaded “not guilty” to the charge preferred against him.
In view of his plea, the prosecuting counsel, S.O. Daji, asked for a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendant in prison.
Justice Solebo adjourned the case to June 17, 2019 for hearing of the bail application and remanded the defendant in Kirikiri Prison.