Edu Oluwasesan and Adeyemi Abass were charged with five counts, including conspiracy, forgery, obtaining property by false pretences, and N25 million in fraud, by the Nigerian Police from the Special Fraud Unit in Ikoyi, Lagos, On Thursday.
According to the prosecutor, Mr. Justine Enang, the two guys plotted together and performed the crimes in 2022 alongside some other people who are still at large.
Enang testified before the court that the defendants received N25 million from a woman named Juliet Lyoha while engaging in the accused actions under the false pretence that they had a landed property up for sale.
The prosecutor testified before the court that the accused used a fake Lenuwa Royal Family land receipt 0015, dated September 14, 2022, to swindle their victim.
Enang told the court that the alleged illegal acts of the defendants were contrary to Sections 8(a) and 1(i)(a) and punishable under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006; Section 15(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act, 2011) as amended in 2012; and Section 22(b)(i)(ii) of the Cyber Crimes (Prohibition Prevention (ETC) Act, 2015.
The defendants entered a not-guilty plea to the charges despite not having legal representation.
Once they entered a plea of not guilty, the prosecution requested a trial date with the court while pleading with it to remand the defendants in detention until the outcome of the case.
The case has been postponed until the start of the trial on October 4 by Judge Osiagor.
The two defendants were also informed by the judge that they might come before the court after submitting their request to be bailed by the Nigerian Police.