The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned Eugene Okpala, a retired colonel, before the Federal High Court, Enugu on a seven-count charge of forgery and obtaining money under false pretences.
Okpala and others still at large had in August 2008 allegedly conspired and sold a parcel of land at Independence Layout, Enugu owned by Chief Philip Asiodu to Dominion City Church for N34m.
The church which petitioned the EFCC claimed it bought the land after inquiries at the Ministry of Lands indicated that the proprietary rights to the land originally leased to Asiodu by the government in 1977 had in fact been transferred to Col. Okpala (rtd).
Based on this information, the church negotiated and bought the property from Col. Okpala for N34m with a five per cent agency fee.
The transaction was allegedly funded on behalf of the church by Bank PHB Plc, now Keystone Bank Limited.
The money, according to the EFCC, was to be paid in three installments but Col. Okpala claimed that he was owing a certain chief who had the original document to the land the sum of N14m and that the chief would only release the document if he was paid.
An agreement was allegedly reached to pay the money and Col. Okpala invited the chief to Bank PHB where N14m was paid to him. He was said to have asked for an additional N1m, which was also given to him. Thereafter, Col. Okpala allegedly disappeared.
In 2010, the church reportedly tried to develop the property but it was stopped by Asiodu’s attorney, who informed them that the property was never sold to anyone.
Investigations later revealed that the documents that Col. Okpala claimed were given to him by Chief Asiodu were forged.
One of the charges against the accused reads: “that you, Eugene Okpala and Christ Onu, Emeka, Dr Maduabuchi and others (all still at large), sometime in August 2008 at Enugu conspired to commit offence by obtaining money under false pretense and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 8(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act 2006 and punishable under section 1(3) of the same Act.”
When he was arraigned, Okpala pleaded not guilty to all seven charges.
The prosecuting counsel, M. H. Ibekwute then asked the court to remand the accused in prison and fix a date for the commencement of trial. An oral bail application by the defence counsel, J. E. Orji was rejected by the trial judge, Justice M. Shuaibu, who ordered that the accused be remanded in EFCC custody.
