The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday arraigned a businessman, Wilson Opuwei, alongside his company, Dateline Energy Services Ltd., before Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, over an alleged $550,000 fraud.
Opuwei was docked on a four-count charge bordering on obtaining by false pretence and stealing.
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Count One reads: “Wilson E. A. Opuwei and Dateline Energy Services Ltd., sometime in April 2011 at Lagos, within the Ikeja Judicial Division, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of $500,000 (Five Hundred Thousand Dollars) through one Chimaobi Anyaso, from Prince Donatus Okonkwo, under the false pretence that the money represented payment for the allocation of 5,000 metric tonnes of Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK) to him from the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), which pretence you knew to be false.”
Count Two reads: “Wilson E. A. Opuwei and Dateline Energy Services Ltd., sometime in April 2011 at Lagos, within the Ikeja Judicial Division, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of $50,000 (Fifty Thousand Dollars) through one Chimaobi Anyaso, from Prince Donatus Okonkwo, under the false pretence that the money represented part payment for the allocation of 5,000 metric tonnes of Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK) to him from the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), which pretence you knew to be false.”
The defendant was previously arraigned on May 23, 2011, before Justice Habeeb Abiru of the Lagos State High Court.
However, the matter was later transferred to Justice Abike-Fadipe for trial de novo.
According to the prosecution, led by Nwandu Ukoha, who held brief for Fadeke Giwa, Opuwei allegedly obtained the sum of $550,000 in April 2011 in Lagos from Prince Donatus Okonkwo under the false pretence that he would supply 5,000 metric tonnes of kerosene from the Pipeline Products and Marketing Company (PPMC), a representation he allegedly knew to be false.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to all the charges when they were read to him.
The prosecution further informed the court that it had closed its case in 2015, but the defence failed to open its case, leading to the matter starting afresh.
The case, according to the prosecution, suffered repeated delays due to the elevation of successive judges and alleged deliberate delay by the defence.
The matter was initially handled by Justice Abiru, who was elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2012, and later by Justices Onigbanjo and Lawal Akapo, both of whom were also elevated to the Court of Appeal, before it was reassigned to Justice Abike-Fadipe.
Counsel to the defence reminded the court that Opuwei was admitted to bail on May 22, 2012, by Justice Abiru, and urged the court to allow the defendant to continue on the same bail conditions.
In his ruling, Justice Abike-Fadipe ordered that the first defendant should continue on the existing bail conditions and adjourned the matter to March 19, 30, and 31, as well as April 1 and 2, 2026, for trial
