The Second Prosecution Witness, PW2, Akeem Lasisi in the trial of Ojobo Joshua and Aliyu Hashim before Justice J.O Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court, Apo, Abuja, on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, narrated how his team arrested the defendants who allegedly impersonated officers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, with Joshua, the first defendant, claiming to be the Personal Assistant of the Commission’s Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede in a bid to defraud the former Managing Director of the Nigeria Port Authority, NPA, Mohammed Bello Koko of $USD700 million.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is prosecuting Joshua alongside Hashim on an amended four-count charge, bordering on impersonation, conspiracy and obtaining by false pretence the sum of $700,000 (Seven Hundred Thousand United States Dollars).
At Wednesday`s proceeding, the witness, an EFCC operative, while being led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Elizabeth Alabi told the court that he was the leader of Team A of the Cybercrime Unit at the Commission’s headquarters in 2024, and was directed to investigate an intelligence hich showed that some individuals were impersonating officers of the Commission, with one claiming to be Olukoyede’s personal assistant.
According to him, “Under the guise of false identity, the defendants approached the former managing director of Nigerian Ports Authority, Mohammed Bello Koko, claiming that his tenure as the M.D of NPA was being investigated by the EFCC, and claimed further that the EFCC Chairman and the Director of Operations have requested one million dollars to stop the investigation”.
“Upon the receipt of this petition, we contacted Mr Koko. At that time, he was not in the country, but he confirmed the content of the intelligence report and that one million dollars was requested from him, which he said he negotiated down to $700,000 dollars. He said that he told them that his brother would contact them for the handing over of the cash. At that point, an undercover operative was detailed to keepin communication with the impersonators.”
Testifying further, he disclosed that “On 28 of August 2024, following the communication with the undercover operative with the defendants, the location was agreed for the exchange of the cash. The team proceeded to AA Rano Filling Station, Airport Road, Abuja, for the arrest, but a new location was again agreed with the undercover operative named Abubakar Tanko. So, the team proceeded to the new location at Gimbya Street, where our undercover operative took position. And shortly after, the second defendant arrived at the location in a black coloured Toyota jeep with plate number GWA666PA. The operative then approached the second defendant to hand over an already prepared bag containing dummy notes in US dollars. At the point of exchange, my team went ahead to effect the arrest of the second defendant.”
The witness further disclosed that the second defendant eventually led his team to the residence of the first defendant,t where he was also arrested, adding that a search was conducted in his house,se with two phones recovered from him aa nd Prado SUV recovered from the second defendant.
Following their arrest, he disclosed that both defendants were conveyed to the EFCC’s headquarters, where they made their statements under caution and were captured on video in the presence of their lawyers.
Upon the conclusion of his testimony, the prosecution counsel sought an adjournment to enable her to complete the administrative process of towing the recovered Prado SUV to the court and to be tendered as an exhibit. She also sought the leave of the court to play the video recordings of the defendants making their extrajudicial statements in the EFCC.
Justice Onwuegbuzie granted her prayers and adjourned the matter till July 15, 16, 2026.
