By Emma Ella
An Enugu-based Pentecostal cleric and Founder of
City of Liberation Church, Bishop Ginika Obi, has been remanded in prison over
alleged nefarious activities ranging from conspiracy and advance fee fraud.
Obi was recently arrested by the Enugu State Command of the Nigeria Police.
He was remanded at the Enugu Maximum Prison after his arraignment before Justice A. Liman of the Federal High Court.
A statement by the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Ebere Amaraizu, stated that the suspect was remanded on October 12, 2017, to enable further hearing of his case, which has been adjourned to
November 1 and 2, 2017 respectively.
Amaraizu said the bishop was charged for offences ranging from conspiracy to advance fee fraud.
He was alleged to have, along with other suspects now at large,
defrauded some victims with a view to helping them to reap bumper financial
dividends in return (Ponzi scheme), after allegedly tricking them to pay various
sums of money in his church/office located at kilometre 111 Enugu/Port-
Harcourt expressway in Enugu South Local Government Area of state.
The suspect pleaded not guilty after his 82 count-charge of conspiracy and advance fee fraud was read to him.
He was later remanded in prison custody as he could not meet his bail condition of two sureties of one director in government ministry and a traditional ruler from his community and the sum of N50 million bonds if
he jumps bail.
The PPRO said Obi’s arraignment came as a result of discreet investigations carried out by the operatives of the Commissioner of Police monitoring unit in Enugu anchored on several petitions against the suspect and
others now at large over their alleged nefarious activities of swindling unsuspecting
members of the public with a promise to making them reap huge bumper financial
dividends.
“They allegedly swindled them and disappeared without traces until the operatives, through intelligence information, closed him up in a hotel around Amechi road axis of the state and was nabbed,” he
stated.
It was further gathered that following his arrest, “victims in their numbers have been trooping in and out of the office of the commissioner of police monitoring unit in Enugu where the case is being handled
with complaints/petitions bothering on what they said the bishop and his
cohorts have done to them.”
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