July 22, (THEWILL) — The Abuja Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned Philip Ifejimalu Eze and his company, Orimiri Oil and Gas, before an FCT High Court in Apo-Abuja.
Eze, alongside his company, was arraigned before Justice A.H. Musa on Monday on a one-count charge of fraud totalling N63m.
The charge reads, “That you, Philip Ifejimalu Eze, while being the Managing Director of Orimiri Oil and Gas sometime in 2024 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, induced one Chief Amechi Nduka of Amatex Oil and Gas to deliver 45,000 litres of Automatic Gas Oil valued at N63,000,000 (Sixty Three Million Naira only), which payment was made via a bank cheque of Mainstreet Bank Plc, which you knew had already been liquidated as same was rejected at Zenith Bank Plc when presented for payment which pretence you knew to be false and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(a) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty, a move that prompted prosecution counsel, Mariya Ujudud Shariff, to request a date to commence trial.
Justice Musa granted the suspect bail with two sureties, one of whom must be a civil servant not below GL12. The surety must bring a letter of introduction from his place of work to be verified by the Court Registrar, while the other must have a house within the jurisdiction of the court and depose to an affidavit and sign a N2,000,000 (Two Million Naira) bail bond.
Justice Musa, however, adjourned the matter till November 11, 2025, for the commencement of trial.
Meanwhile, Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Monday, ordered the final forfeiture of digital assets to the tune of $222,729. 86 USDT ( Two Hundred and Twenty Two Thousand, Seven Hundred and Twenty Nine Dollars, Eighty Six cents) recovered from the Chinese involved in cyber-terrorism and internet fraud.
The assets form part of the recoveries made from members of a syndicate of 792 alleged cryptocurrency investment and romance fraud suspects arrested on December 10, 2024, in Lagos during an operation tagged “Eagle Flush Operation” by operatives of the EFCC.
Justice Owoeye’s order follows an ex parte motion filed on July 18, 2025, by the EFCC, through its counsel, Zeenat Atiku.
Moving the application for the final forfeiture on Monday, Atiku told the court that the application was supported by an affidavit deposed to by Muazu Abdulrahman, an investigating officer of the EFCC.
In the affidavit, Abdulrahman told the court that the syndicate financed its operations through a Nigerian-registered company known as Genting International Co. Limited (GICL).
According to him, “Over the course of its activities, this company’s Union Bank account 0225100403 received a staggering sum of over N2.268,839,161 (Two Billion, Two Hundred and Sixty-Eight Million, Eight Hundred Thirty-Nine Thousand, One Hundred Sixty-One Naira) from April 12, 2024, to December 23, 2024.
“An analysis of the company’s bank statement revealed that the primary inflows into the account originated from two cryptocurrency vendors: Chukwuemeka Okeke and Alhassan Aminu Garba.
“Furthermore, Okeke and Garba were invited for questioning, and they willingly provided their statements under caution. They reported that they received a total USDT valued at $2,386,642 from the syndicates, resulting from USDT purchased through peer-to-peer trading. They also identified the wallet addresses utilised by the group for transferring funds (USDTs).”
Praying the court to forfeit the assets to the Federal Government of Nigeria, Atiku told the court that they are reasonably suspected to be instruments of computer-related fraud and money laundering.
In his ruling, Justice Owoeye said: “I have read the motion and attachments and found sufficient merit in the application. Consequently, the motion succeeds and is hereby granted.”
Felix Ifijeh is a journalist with years of professional reporting experience. Known for his keen news sense, compelling storytelling and commitment to accurate, impactful reporting, he has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, engaging, and well-structured reports that resonate with readers. His work reflects deep newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate, impactful journalism.
