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Fraud: Primary school teacher, others forfeited N120m, cars to FG

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the forfeiture to the Federal Government of N120 million traced to a primary school teacher, Mrs. Roseline Egbuha, and her accomplices by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

The forfeited money and cars were part of the N540 million proceeds of crime traced to Egbuha, a teacher with Ozala Primary School, Abagana, Anambra State.

According to a statement issued and made available to The Star on Thursday by the ICPC spokesperson, Mrs. Azuka Ogugua, the teacher, who was on a monthly salary of N76,000 as of the time of her arrest in 2020 by ICPC operatives, had N540 million in her bank account with Guaranty Trust Bank.

Ogugua stated that further investigations by ICPC revealed the teacher’s alleged complicity in money laundering thereby prompting the commission to place a Post-No-Debit (PND) on the account.

She added that the PND was lifted by Egbuha and her accomplices with a court order from a Federal High Court, Abuja, while the money was promptly split and moved into multiple bank accounts owned by Bureau de Change operators, and private individuals.

The ICPC spokesperson said the accomplices – James Erebouye, Emon Okune, Chisom Iwueke, Alonge Ojo, Maureen Chidimma, Owoyemi Mayowa, and Ejeaka Ifeoma, including two private companies – were charged to court for involving in fraudulent activities and warehousing proceeds of crime by the commission.

Counsel to ICPC, Adesina Raheem, in a motion exparte filed in 2021 before Justice D. U. Okorowo, alleged that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activities stashed away in six new generation banks by Egbuha and her associates.

He prayed the court to order the final forfeiture of the money and cars to the Federal Government.

Justice Okorowo, after taking arguments from counsel to ICPC and the respondents, ruled that monies found in seven individual bank accounts and that of two private companies and the items, be forfeited to the Federal Government.

The forfeiture order included N30.8 million in a Polaris Bank account of Dorason Construction Ltd, N17.4 million traced to a Sterling Bank account of James Erebouye, and N16.4 million found in the Zenith Bank account of Dybako and Sons Nig Ltd.

Another accomplice, Ojo Alonge was also ordered to forfeit to the Federal Government, N14.1 million traced to two separate accounts with First Bank and Ecobank, while Owoyemi Mayowa was to forfeit N7.1 million in Zenith Bank.

The other forfeiture orders included the sum of N8.2 million, N9.7 million, N6.5 million, and N122,100 kept in different bank accounts, by Emon Okune, Chisom Iwueke, Maureen Chidimma, and Ejeaka Ifeoma, respectively.

Other items forfeited by the defendants were Toyota Lexus and Venza sport utility vehicles.

The Star