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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday February 25, 2014 arraigned one Pastor David Ayoade before Justice H.A.Nganjiwa of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt on an 8-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence.
The accused allegedly obtained the sum of N5, 200, 00.00 (Five Million, Two Hundred Thousand Naira) at different times from one Mrs. Odimba Chinenye Darlington on the pretext that he was going to invest the money in forex trading with promise of attractive interests on the invested sum within three months. But the victim neither got the promised interest nor was she able to retrieve the principal from the accused.
One of the charges preferred against the accused reads, “that you David Ayoade between August 2008 at Port Harcourt within the jurisdiction of this court did operate Stardom Financial Services as a financial institution without license thereby committed an offence contrary to section 58(1) of the Banks and Other Financial institutions Act 1991 CAPB3 laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and punishable under section 59(6) (a) & (b) of the same Act”.
Another count reads, “that you David Ayoade operating in the name of Stardom Financial Services sometime in 2009 at Port Harcourt within the jurisdiction of this court without lawful authority collected the sum of One Million Naira(N1,000,000.00) only from Mrs. Odimba Chinenye Darlington for the purpose of buying and selling foreign exchange (forex trading) and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 29(1) (c) of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act No.17 of 1995 as amended by Acts Nos.20,62 of 1999”.
The accused pleaded not guilty.
In view of his plea, the prosecution counsel J.N.Dongoyaro applied for a date for the commencement of trial. The defence counsel G.B. Sanusi urged the court to grant his client bail, assuring that he will be available for trial.
The matter was adjourned to April 1, 2014 for hearing of the bail application while the accused person was remanded in prison custody.
