The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, arraigned a businessman, Christopher Elendu Enyinnwa, before Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, for an alleged N30.14 million fraud.
Enyinnwa was arraigned on a four-count charge of fraudulent conversion and obtaining money under false pretences, linked to the proposed supply of slippers from China. The Commission alleges that he collected a total of N30,140,000 from the petitioner, Chidebere Love Okafor, for that supply.
Count one states that Christopher Elendu Enyinwa, sometime in August 2024 at Lagos, within the Ikeja Judicial Division, fraudulently converted for his own use the sum of two million naira, property of Chidebere Love Okafor.
Count two states that he, sometime in August 2024 at Lagos, within the Ikeja Judicial Division, fraudulently converted for his own use the sum of eleven million, nine hundred and twenty-three thousand naira, property of Chidebere Love Okafor.
The defendant pleaded not guilty.
Prosecution counsel Fanen Anum then told the court that the prosecution was ready for trial and had two witnesses available. Defence counsel K. C. Atuenyi sought an adjournment so that he could prepare for trial, saying he had prepared only for the arraignment. Justice Abike-Fadipe refused the request and directed the prosecution to call its first witness.
The first prosecution witness, Okafor Love Chidebere, who works with Gomac Industry Nigeria Limited and is the petitioner, told the court that she knew the defendant as a fellow church member. She said Enyinnwa had told her that he travelled to China for business and could help her buy slippers from China.
“He is my church member. I knew him in church. He told me he buys goods, and I approached him to buy slippers in China for me,” she said.
She explained that after they discussed the product she wanted, she gave him a sample of the slippers to take to China. He later gave a price which she first thought high, because she was also negotiating with another company offering a lower figure. She said she eventually trusted him because he was a church member and agreed to go ahead.
The defendant, she said, asked for an initial deposit of N2 million, which she paid into his Access Bank account in August 2024. After he returned from China, he showed them samples of the slippers. Amendments were made and the samples were returned to him. He later asked for N11,923,000 to begin production, which was also paid into his Access Bank account. He then demanded a further N15 million as the balance, which was paid to him.
“After that, he told us that he will go back to ship the goods in a very short while,” she said.
When he did not travel as expected, the witness said they contacted him and he claimed he was having problems with his travelling documents. After several calls, she said, he asked for another N2 million to sort out those documents. She and her husband agreed to provide the money because they wanted him to return to China and complete the transaction.
The witness said the defendant eventually travelled to China in February 2025 and later told them that he had shipped goods, including clothes, and would supply the relevant documents when the shipment arrived.
By A.Ikechukwu
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