The Port Harcourt Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arraigned one Modupe Oriyomi Ativie before Justice A. T. Muhammed of the Federal High Court, sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, for alleged fraud.
She was arraigned on a five-count charge, bordering on visa fraud, advance fee fraud and obtaining money under false pretence.
One of the charges reads: “That you, Modupe Oriyomi Ativie and Eudora and Aegle Management Consulting Limited, sometime in July, 2024 at Port Harcourt, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did obtain the sum of Eight Million, Five Hundred and Eighty Thousand Naira (N8,580,000.00, only) from One Atamuotoru Dikiari Michael through his sister, Rita Chikeru Owhonda by false pretence under the guise of offering a visa sponsored employment to Canada for him, which pretext you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) & (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related offences Act 2006 and Punishable under same section of the same Act”.
Another reads: “That you Modupe Oriyomi Ativie and Eudora and Aegle Management Consulting Limited between 21st November, 2024 to 23rd January, 2025 at Port Harcourt, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did obtain the sum of Twenty-Two million, Four Hundred and Eighty-Two Thousand Naira (N22,482,000. 00, only) from one Augustine Olague by false pretence under the guise of offering a visa sponsored employment to Canada for him, which pretext you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1) (a) & (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act”.
She pleaded “not guilty” to the charges, prompting the prosecution counsel, I. Agwu to ask the court for a trial date and for the defendant to be remanded in Port Harcourt Correctional Centre, pending his trial, while the defence counsel, J. Kehind,e applied for his bail to enable her prepare for her trial.
Justice Muhammed thereafter ordered the remand of the defendant in EFCC’s custody and adjourned the matter till October 16, 2026 for ruling on her bail application.
The defendant’s way to the court was paved by a petition from Michael Aiamunotorudikari, in which he alleged that he lost money in various currencies, together with other victims, to the defendant. He disclosed that his sister, Rita Chikeru Owhonda, introduced Eudora and Aegle Management Consultant to the defendant’s company in June 2024, as an agency that was procuring Canadian visas and employment opportunities for travellers in the country.
He alleged that he initially paid the sum of $5,800 (Five Thousand, Eight Hundred United States Dollars) into the defendant’s Eudora and Aegle Travel Management Consultant account and an additional sum of N8,580,000 ( Eight Million, Five Hundred and Eighty Thousand Naira into another account of the defendant.
According to him, the defendant became incommunicado after the two payments and that all his efforts to recover his money proved abortive.
Investigation by the Commission revealed that the defendant received an aggregate sum of N31,062,000 (Thirty-one Million and Sixty-Two Thousand Naira) from the petitioner and $3,600 (Three Thousand, Six Hundred Dollars) and €1,815,00 (One Thousand, Eight Hundred and Fifteen Euros) from other victims.
