By MIKE OSAROGIAGBON
An Egor Magistrate Court 3 on November 15, 2019 remanded one Uchenna Duru, 42, for allegedly defrauding a single lady in Benin City.
Uchenna Duru is facing five charges of obtaining under pretense, stealing, unlawful possession of legal practitioner’s attire/impersonation and forgery.
This was contained in a charge sheet number MEG/207c/2019 made available to our Crime Reporter in Benin City.
It reads: “That you Uchenna Duru ‘m’ on the 10th day of November, 2018 at Ogheghe, Upper Siluko Road, Benin City, within Egor Magistrate District, did unlawfully obtained the sum of one million (N1, 000, 000. 00) from one Adams Dora ‘f’ under the pretense that you were going to buy her a vehicle with the money to be used for wedding ceremony with her and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 419 of the Criminal Code Cap.48, Vol.11, Laws of the defunct Bendel State of Nigeria 1976, as applicable in Edo State’. Count one of the charges read.”
The defendant was also alleged to had, between November 2018 and 10th of November 2019 within the Benin Magistrate District, did impersonate a legal practitioner by repeatedly putting on the attire to defraud Dora Adams ‘f’ of N1million.
He was said to have thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 484 of the Criminal Code cap 48, Vol. 11, Laws of the defunct Bendel State of Nigeria 1976, as applicable in Edo State.
The defendant was further alleged to had sometime in the year 2015, within the Benin Magistrate District, unlawfully forged Ministry of Justice ID card with which he impersonated as a legal practitioner and staff of the Ministry of Justice, Abuja.
“And thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 467 of the Criminal Code, Cap 48, Vol 11, Laws of the defunct Bendel State of Nigeria 1976, as applicable in Edo State” the charge sheet stated.
The defendant however pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The court ordered that Uchenna Duru be kept in Nigeria Correctional facility, Oko, Benin City, and adjourned the case to December 17, 2019.
