The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on November 19, 2018 arraigned Abdulsalam Saleh Abdulkareem, a governorship candidate of the Green Party of Nigeria, GPN, and Ebere Nzekwe, before Justice Lewis Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Kano on a nine-count charge of criminal conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretence to the tune of $1,320,000 (One Million, Three Hundred and Twenty Thousand Dollars) only.
The petitioner alleged that sometimes in 2014, the defendants connived to fraudulently obtained the said sum from him in the belief that it would be used for business investment which eventually turned out to be false. .
Abdulsalam also allegedly met with his Personal Assistant, one Muhannat in a hotel in Republic of Kuwait for a talk on the said dealings. The meeting led to his (Abdulsalam’s) invitation to Nigeria via a company, Seit Nigeria Limited. It was during this meeting that the total sum of One Million Five hundred USD (1,500, 000USD) was displayed to him as the sum belonging to the alleged partner in the acclaimed investment.
One of the counts reads: ”That you Abdulkareem Saleh Abdulsalam, Ebere Nzechukwu (aka General Aria), Michael Edosa (at Large), sometime in August 2014, at Kano within the Kano Judicial Division of the High Court, with intent to defraud, conspired to obtain the total sum of one million, three hundred and twenty thousand dollars ($1,320,000.00) from Dr. Jamman Al-Azmi when you represented that you have the capacity to partner with him for joint venture business, which representation you knew to be false, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”
Both defendants pleaded “not guilty” when the charges were read to them.
Prosecuting Counsel, Johnson Ojogbane, asked the court for a date for hearing sequel to the plea of the accused persons.