On Monday, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) brought businessman Muhammad Lamido before the Lagos Special Offences Court in Ikeja over an alleged N105 million fraud.
Lamido and his company, Aliqea Group UAE, faced four charges by the EFCC, including conspiracy, obtaining by pretense, and money laundering. According to the prosecution, the accused committed these offenses on July 19, 2023.
The prosecution alleged that Lamido schemed to defraud First Right Enterprises of N105 million by falsely claiming to possess the equivalent amount in dollars for business exchange.
Further charges by the anti-graft agency implicated Lamido and his company in attempts to conceal N130,200,000 and N173 million, respectively, through money laundering.
However, Lamido pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. Subsequently, his counsel, Emmanuel Ogbeche, appealed to the court not to detain Lamido in EFCC custody.
In response, the prosecution, represented by R. A. Abdulrasheed, urged the court to reject the bail application.
He said, “The defendant may not appear in court again regardless of the subject of the health of the defendant as stated by the prosecution.”
