The Maiduguri Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned Catherine Ijeoma Ugwu before Justice Aisha Kumaliya of the Borno State High Court, Maiduguri, over allegations of fraud amounting to N6,815,300.00.
Ugwu was brought before the court on Monday, March 17, 2025, facing a four-count charge related to obtaining by false pretence, criminal misappropriation, and cheating by impersonation.
According to the EFCC, Ugwu allegedly defrauded Emmanuel Ani of N6,710,300.00 between June 2023 and August 2024 by falsely claiming the money was meant for the upkeep of his supposed fiancée, one Miss Chinansa. The funds were reportedly deposited into Ugwu’s Access Bank account (1778806195).
One of the charges reads: “That you, Catherine Ijeoma Ugwu, between the period of June 2023 to August 2024 in Maiduguri, Borno State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, obtained the aggregate sum of N6,710,300.00 (Six Million Seven Hundred and Ten Thousand Three Hundred Naira) from Emmanuel Ani under the pretence that same is meant for the upkeep of his purported fiancée, one Miss Chinansa, which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.”
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read in court.
Following her plea, prosecution counsel S.O. Saka and Faruku Muhammad requested a trial date and urged the court to remand Ugwu in a Correctional Centre pending the commencement of trial.
Justice Kumaliya adjourned the case to April 8, 2025, for trial and ordered that Ugwu be remanded in a Correctional Centre.
Ugwu’s legal troubles began when Ani discovered that she had been impersonating his alleged fiancée and could neither provide a reasonable explanation for the funds received nor return the money.
