Man allegedly defrauds uncle of N44m to find missing wife

A middle-aged man, Mr Onyenankeya Uzoma, has accused his nephew
of fraud running into N43.7m and $1,000 (about N400,000).

He said the nephew, one Okoro, exploited the involvement of his
wife in fatal road accident to swindle him out of the sums of money
under the guise that she was safe.

It was learnt that the woman was not found at the scene of the
crash, raising doubts about whether she was alive or dead.

Uzoma claimed his nephew hypnotised him to perpetrate the
alleged fraud.

He stated that Okoro told him that his beloved wife “is alive in
the spirit” and assured him that she would be found if he (Uzoma)
could spend money.

Uzoma, who lives in Garki, Abuja, said he had run into debts as
a result of the fraud, adding that he borrowed money from his
employer and sold his house to raise the funds.

In a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,
dated January 14, 2019, Uzoma said his wife died in a crash
involving a bus she was travelling in and a truck along Okene-Auchi
Road, on May 25, 2016,

He said he learnt that the bus caught fire after the collision
and that all the passengers, except a woman and two men, were burnt
to death.

Uzoma said when he got to the scene, he was told by policemen
that the survivors had been taken to an unknown hospital, which he
could not locate.

He said he did not know if the female survivor was his wife or
not, adding that four months after the incident, Okoro came from
Imo State to live with the family in Abuja.

Uzoma said, “I thought his purpose of coming was to console us,
unknown to me he had hatched evil plans to completely destroy my
family in our moment of sorrow and agony. His criminal activities
started when I could not find the $1,000 I kept in my room to
complete my daughter’s tuition.

“The following day, I returned from work and saw my wedding
picture on my bed with a note suggesting that the writer was my
wife. She said in the note that she was alive and around me and
that I should go to my car to see another message by the driver’s
door. I rushed to the car and saw the note which warned me not to
inform my children and my brother who lives nearby.”

The petitioner said he was further cautioned in the note to stop
complaining about the missing $1,000.

“She said I should stop embarrassing the children over the
missing $1,000 which she said was missing for a purpose. I was very
confused and could not reconcile how she could be operating in the
spirit,” Uzoma added.

He explained further that his “living-in-spirit wife”
purportedly sent other notes, saying she initiated Okoro’s visit to
the house and had prepared him for the major role he would play in
the processes that would lead to her return.

He said, “I called my nephew and told him my experience and that
I didn’t understand the mystery behind what was going on. I took
him to my room and showed him the notes and the photos which were
originally hung in the living room, but were now on my bed.

“Then I asked him if he ever had an encounter with my wife and
he said she had been talking to him in dreams and sending messages.
I never thought that he was the mastermind as the door to my house
was locked and not broken into.”

Uzoma said he subsequently received a typed message in which his
wife purportedly asked him to send his nephew to Owerri, “where
most of the activities leading to her reunion would take
place”.

He explained that Okoro relocated to Owerri and informed him
that he had established physical contact with the wife.

Uzoma said, “He continued demanding money from me. He said my
wife had to undergo surgeries so she could be treated of burns she
suffered in the crash. I borrowed N3.5m from the bank. I told him
that I wanted to see her, but he said it was not the right
time.

“I also borrowed money from my employer and sold my house in
Owerri for N15m to meet up with the demands for my so-called wife’s
treatment. He also collected my wife’s N6.7m pension and gratuity
and I cannot count the number of times I transferred money to
him.”

The acting EFCC spokesman, Tony Orilade, said he was not
familiar with the details of the petition. He, however, said the
petition would be investigated if it had merit.

He said, “I am not familiar with the details of the petition but
we investigate every petition we get if there is merit in it. It
would surely be investigated.”