AYO ESAN
THE Makurdi Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, on Tuesday, arraigned one Patience Simon Robert before Justice Simon O. Aboki of the Nasarawa State High Court, Lafia for alleged impersonation and obtaining money by false pretences.
Robert ran into trouble following a petition from a victim who alleged that she collected N1.5million from him under the pretext of helping his children secure a job in the EFCC.
Investigations show that the defendant who was arrested while posing as an EFCC officer is deep into the business of defrauding unsuspecting members of the public with propositions for employment in the Commission and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
Over N11 million, made from victims was traced to her, with an Abuja-based victim paying her as much as N4.5 for an EFCC job, while she posed as the Commission’s non-existent “Director of Intelligence.”
The Commission’s investigations further revealed that she had on several occasions been arrested for impersonation and fraud by the police and other security agencies, and was once dragged before a Magistrate Court in Minna, Niger State for impersonation and obtaining money by false pretence.
One of the two count charge against her read, “That you, Patience Simon Robert, sometime between August and October 2020, in Akwanga, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N1,500,000 from one Hosea Emmanuel Kuje via your UBA Account number 3095378247, under the pretence that you were a staff of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and would secure jobs for his children and brother in the EFCC and the Nigeria Customs Service, which you knew was false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1) and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006.”
She pleaded “not guilty” to the charges, upon which prosecuting counsel, George Chia-Yakua, asked the court for a trial date, and for her to be remanded in a correctional centre pending trial, while defence counsel, Esson Agu Agah, asked for her bail on liberal terms.
Justice Aboki granted her bail in the sum of N2 million with one surety in like sum. The surety, the judge said, must have a landed property within the jurisdiction of the court with a Certificate of Occupancy and must deposit two recent passport photographs with the court.
He ordered for her remand in a correctional centre, pending the perfection of her bail condition, and adjourned the case till January 15, 2021 for trial.
