The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had established a prima facie case requiring the defendants to enter their defense in an alleged ₦950 million foreign exchange fraud, according to a Special Offenses Court in Ikeja, Lagos, which rejected the no-case submissions submitted by Alhaji Usman Abubakar and Young Alhaji Foundation.
The prosecution provided adequate oral and written evidence connecting the defendants to the alleged offenses, according to Justice Mojisola Dada.
Abubakar and the Young Alhaji Foundation are accused on five counts of stealing ₦950 million from Ano Farms Limited and collecting money under false pretenses.
EFCC counsel Bilkisu Buhari-Bala opposed the defendants’ applications and asked the court to reject the no-case submissions, claiming that the prosecution had proven all the necessary elements of the offenses through the testimony of five witnesses and documentary exhibits submitted during the trial.
The prosecutor informed the court that the anti-graft agency started looking into the matter after Prag Attorneys and Consultants, on behalf of Ano Farms Limited, filed a petition on September 23, 2022.
He claims that the petition claimed that the defendants had deceitfully taken ₦950 million from the business while pretending to help with a foreign exchange transaction.
According to the EFCC, Ano Farms Limited was introduced to Dr. Abu Omer Fawzi, a Lebanese national, to buy $1.25 million at a predetermined exchange rate of ₦760 to one dollar in order to import agricultural supplies.
The prosecution claims that Dr. Fawzi gave the corporation instructions to deposit ₦950 million in naira into the Young Alhaji Foundation’s First Bank account.
The agreed-upon foreign exchange was purportedly never supplied, despite the transfer being performed correctly.
The prosecution also informed the court that bank records showed that the ₦950 million was credited to the Young Alhaji Foundation’s account despite the defendants’ denials, and WhatsApp conversations that were admitted into evidence verified communication between Ano Farms and Dr. Fawzi regarding the transaction.
Buhari-Bala contended that even after the account was placed under a court-ordered restriction, the defendants attempted to withdraw the cash rather than supplying the agreed-upon foreign exchange.
Additionally, he argued that the defendants’ claims about who owned the money were inconsistent.
He claims that the first defendant claimed entitlement to the cash as part payment of an alleged debt owed to him, even though he denied knowing about the transfer.
The prosecutor said that the conflicting justifications and the evidence in front of the court created a prima facie case that required the defendants to respond to the accusations.
Both defendants’ no-case submissions were rejected by Justice Dada, who concurred with the prosecution.
Alhaji Usman Abubakar and the Young Alhaji Foundation were then instructed by the court to present their defense.
The dispute started when Ano Farms Limited transferred ₦950 million into the Young Alhaji Foundation’s account in September 2022, expecting to receive $1.25 million for the importation of agricultural commodities.
Adeniyi Oyewole, the Managing Director of Ano Farms Limited, stated earlier in the trial that the promised foreign exchange was never provided even though the payment was made.
He further informed the court that the recipient first claimed the payment was for the purchase of property when attempts were made to retrieve the money, a claim he refuted.
Oyewole claims that although initially denying any knowledge of the transaction, Abubakar later claimed the money constituted a portion of a $12 million debt purportedly owed to him by another party.
Ano Farms petitioned the EFCC after fruitless attempts to retrieve the money, which resulted in an inquiry and the ensuing criminal charges.
