Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Henry Owen
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Benin Zonal Directorate, is set to arraign 58-year-old Rita Izehia Iyoha over her alleged involvement in a ₦446 million property fraud scheme in Warri, Delta State.
Iyoha, alongside her sister, Fidelia Oghenetejiri, is accused of defrauding a couple, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Obruche Esemudje, under the pretext of selling them a property located in Effurun, Warri. According to the petition filed by the victims, the sisters presented themselves as the rightful owners of the property, claiming it was part of their late father’s inheritance.
After the victims made full payment, they discovered that a subsisting court order prevented the sale of the property. Subsequent attempts to recover their money proved futile as Iyoha reportedly fled to Ghana shortly after the transaction was completed.
Despite her escape, EFCC operatives continued to track her movements. Their efforts paid off when she was arrested at a popular motor park in Lagos during a recent visit to Nigeria. The anti-graft agency confirmed that she has provided useful information to investigators and will be charged in court soon.
Meanwhile, her sister and alleged accomplice, Fidelia Oghenetejiri, is already facing prosecution before Justice Hyeladzira Nganjiwa of the Federal High Court, Warri, on a three-count charge bordering on advance fee fraud and obtaining by false pretence.
One of the charges reads that Oghenetejiri, on May 22, 2025, fraudulently obtained ₦50 million from Mr. Esemudje through her First Bank account under the false representation that the money was for the purchase of a property at No. 54 Airport Road, Effurun. The offence contravenes Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, and is punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.
Oghenetejiri pleaded not guilty to the charges and has since been remanded in a Correctional Centre pending further court proceedings.
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