A 40-year-old business woman, Okechi Pachela, was on Wednesday arraigned at an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court for allegedly defrauding a man of N2 million.
Pachela, a resident of Agege area of Lagos, is facing a two-count charge of fraud and stealing, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
According to the prosecutor, Sgt. Micheal Unah, the accused committed the offences on May 9, 2016 at Agege.
Unah said the accused obtained a loan of N2 million from the complainant, Mr. Temidayo Akinleye, on the pretext of using the funds to execute a contract.
“The accused approached the complainant to seek a N2 million loan to execute a contract which she claimed was awarded to her in Abuja.
“The complainant agreed to give her the loan with N200,000 interest which the accused agreed to,” the prosecutor told the court.
Unah said when it was time for repayment she issued a dud cheque to the complainant.
“The accused issued a cheque to the complainant but when the complainant got to the bank, the cheque was dishonored due to insufficient funds in the accused’s account,’’ he added.
The offences contravened sections 285, and 312 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
Pachela, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Magistrate, Mrs. A. O. Gbajumo, admitted the accused bail in the sum of N300,000 with two sureties in like sum and adjourned the case to February 6 for mention.
