By Raphael Ede
Enugu
A 30-year-old man, Nwakanma C. Chukwudi, has been arraigned before Justice D.V Agishir of the Federal High Court sitting in Enugu on a 12-count charge bordering on cyber crime, obtaining money by false pretence and impersonation.
The suspect who claimed to be a “British national” named Barry Bernard, is being prosecuted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for duping one Donnalynn, a Canadian, whom he met on a dating site.
Blueprint gathered that in the course of their romantic affair, Chukwudi, who also claimed to be resident in Manchester, United Kingdom, had sent several love mails and pictures to Donnalynn who did not doubt him when he requested for $26,520 Canadian Dollars from her, having been communicating with him over a period of time.
She, however, petitioned the EFCC when she realized she had been defrauded.
One of the charges reads: ‘‘That you Nwakanma C. Chukwudi (alias Barry Bernard) on or about the 10th day of June, 2014 in Enugu, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria with intent to defraud had in your possession (email box-
[email protected]), a document containing a picture in which you represented yourself as a white man by name Barry Bernard, a pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Sections 6 and 8 (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.’’
The accused person pleaded not guilty to the 12-count charge.
Justice Agishir adjourned the matter to April 7, 2015, for consideration of the bail application and ordered the accused to be remanded in prison custody.
