The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has intensified its crackdown on currency-related fraud, arraigning four defendants over an alleged ₦247.5 million and $160,300 cash-for-dollars scam.
The suspects, Uchenna Ejindu, who trades under the name Autonel Automotive Enterprises, Musa Abdulhamid, Salami Eneojo Stephen, and Titilayo Funmilayo Eboh, were docked before Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos.
They are facing an amended four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money under false pretenses, stealing, and money laundering.
According to the EFCC, the defendants allegedly conspired in July 2024 to defraud Mr. Jude Nyemike Atoh of ₦247,500,000 and $160,300, which they collected in cash under the guise of supplying the dollar equivalent.
The Commission alleged that the representation was false and deliberately designed to conceal the illicit origin of the funds.
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One of the charges states that the defendants knowingly obtained the naira sum from the complainant on the false assurance that they would provide its dollar equivalent, an act said to contravene provisions of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.
Another count accused Musa Abdulhamid (trading as Rizqan Dayyiban Global Concept), Salami Eneojo Stephen, and Titilayo Funmilayo Eboh of collaborating to conceal $160,300 by giving and receiving the funds in cash, with the intent of disguising their illegal source.
Upon arraignment, the first, second, and third defendants pleaded not guilty to counts one, two, and three, while the second and third defendants also denied count four.
Prosecuting counsel, T. J. Banjo, told the court that the matter had already been fixed for trial on February 27, 2026, and urged the court to retain the date.
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He also requested that the third defendant be remanded in custody, citing difficulties previously encountered by the EFCC in effecting her arrest, and opposed her bail application.
Counsel to the first defendant, Victor Okpara, SAN, argued that his client had been on bail since May 15, 2025, and had consistently attended court sessions, urging the court to allow him to continue on the existing bail terms. Counsel to the second defendant, Dehinde Dipeolu, aligned with the submission.
However, counsel to the third defendant, Mike Umonnan, informed the court that a bail application had been filed and appealed for an accelerated hearing, citing his client’s health challenges.
Justice Oshodi adjourned the case to February 12, 2026, for the hearing of the third defendant’s bail application and ordered her remand in a correctional centre.
The matter was further adjourned to February 27, 2026, for the commencement of trial.
