The trial of Wahab Amoo and Star Confidence Industries Limited for an alleged N85million fraud before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos continued on February 21, 2022, with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, presenting its first witness.
Amoo is facing three counts bordering on obtaining under false pretence contrary to Section 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act 2006, and making a false document contrary to Section 361 (1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
Count one reads: “Wahab Amoo sometime in 2013 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court knowingly forged a document titled “Deed of Assignment between Chief Wilfred Aku Belonwu and Alhaji Wahab Olawale Amoo” dated 25th November, 2009 which document you purported to have been registered by the Lagos State land Registry.”
Another counts reads: “Wahab Amoo and Star Confidence Industries Limited sometime in 2013 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court and with intent to defraud obtained the sum of N35, 000,000 from United Bank for Africa Plc under the pretence that the Deed of Assignment between Chief Wilfred Aku Belonwu and Alhaji Wahab Olawale Amoo presented as security for an overdraft was genuine Deed of Assignment which pretence you knew to be false.”
He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Led in evidence by A.O. Mohammed, the witness, Abubakar Gabdo, an operative of the EFCC, narrated how the alleged fraud was uncovered following a petition to the EFCC from UBA Plc.
He said, “Sometime in September 2019, the EFCC Lagos Command received a written petition from UBA against Star Confidence Industries Limited and Amoo, its alter ego, alleging diversion of funds obtained by false pretence and issuance of fake documents.
“The document used as collateral to obtain the fund from the bank was not genuine.
“Upon receipt of the petition the Commission swung into action and we recovered the Deed of Assignment.”
He told the Court that in the course of investigation, the EFCC wrote letters of investigation activities to the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, BUS, Fidelity Bank, and the Lagos State Land Registry.
He identified the letters of investigation activities sent out by the EFCC and the responses received.
The prosecution thereafter tendered the documents in evidence against the defendant and they were admitted as Exhibit A to H.
The witness said: “The response from the Lagos Land Registry confirmed that the Deed of Assignment recovered in the course of investigation and used by the defendant to obtain the loans from the bank in 2012 and 2013 were forged.”
The case has been adjourned till February 22, 2022 for cross-examination.