Crime & Punishment of Friday, 30 July 2004

Source: GNA

Nigerian before Ho Circuit Court for fraud

Ho, July 30 GNA- Johnson Ibikule Adeleke, a 56-year-old Nigerian, has appeared before Ho Circuit Court "A" for allegedly defrauding a contractor. Johnson, whose plea was not taken, was remanded to reappear on August 12.

Prosecuting, Police Chief Inspector Comfort Yeboah told the Court that on May 12 Jonhson, who claimed to be a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Nigerian Army, approached Mr Cosby J.K. Addo and discussed the possibility of establishing a heavy earth moving equipment garage in Ho.

The accused produced a photocopy of a document that indicated that he had transferred 20 million cedis from the Lome branch of ECOBANK into Mr Addo's account as part of his contribution towards the partnership. Chief Inspector Yeboah said Mr Addo checked his account but noticed that the transfer was fictitious.

The complainant became suspicious when the accused person demanded an additional 1.5 million cedis from him.

The prosecutor said Mr Addo had earlier given 2.3 million cedis to Johnson to buy spare parts for the complainant's defective bulldozer. Chief Inspector Yeboah said on May 18, the accused told the complainant that the spare parts were out of stock in Lome. The complainant reported Johnson to the Police, leading to his arrest.