One Captain Nuhu Haruna has been brought before Justice Darius Khobo of the Kaduna State High Court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for an alleged foreign exchange (FX) fraud.
The suspect was accused of duping his victim of about N1.02 billion under a false pretence sometime in December 2023 in Kaduna.
At his arraignment on Wednesday, the EFCC informed Justice Khobo that Mr Haruna, while being the Managing Director of Maphutha Oil and Gas Limited, obtained about N782.3 million from one Mr Sheriff Zailani Shanono, promising to provide him an equivalent in United States Dollars but failed to deliver as promised.
According to the anti-money laundering agency, his action contravenes Section 1(1)(b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”
He was also accused of getting another N125.0 million from the same victim.
When the two-count charge bordering on advance fee fraud and obtaining money under false pretence were read to him, Mr Haruna pleaded “not guilty,” following which the prosecution counsel, M.E. Eimonye urged the court for a trial date, while the defence counsel, M.T Mohammed informed the court of the defendant’s bail application, already before the court.
Justice Khobo, after listening to both counsels adjourned the case till November 19, 2025, for the hearing of the bail application and ordered that the defendant be remanded in a Correctional Centre.
The EFCC revealed that Mr Haruna was arrested following a petition from Mr Shanono in which he alleged that he was introduced to the defendant sometime in December 2023, having claimed that he could provide him with a dollar equivalent of a sum of N1.02 billion in two instalments of $600,000 and $400,000.
Following the agreement, he alleged that he then provided the defendant with a foreign bank account into which he would pay the dollar sums and proceeded to transfer the funds into accounts provided by the defendant.
The petitioner further claimed that shortly after his transfer of the sum, the defendant provided him with evidence of payment of the dollar equivalent he claimed to have made into his foreign bank account, only for him to discover that the payment evidence was not real as the money never dropped.