Married man promises lover marriage, dupes her of N2.9mn

The judge denied the accused, Godwin Ochapa, bail.

A Karu Upper Area Court, Abuja, on Thursday denied a 40-year-old married man, Godwin Ochapa, bail for allegedly collecting N2.9 million from his lover with a promise to marry her.

The prosecutor, Bulus Samuel, said the case was reported at the State Criminal Investigation Department by one Nebo Ogochukwu.

The accused was arraigned before the presiding judge, Umar Kagarko, on a four-count-charge, which Samuel said were committed in 2010.

The prosecutor told the court that the accused approached the complainant and indicated his interest to marry her, and that based on the promise, Miss Ogochukwu believed that the accused was seriously in love with her.

He said the accused went ahead to introduce the complainant to his elder sister as his wife to be, and fixed a date to enable them travel to the complainant’s home town in the east for introduction.

“The accused also told the complainant to take him to her parents with a view to making his intention known and pick a date for marriage.

“Based on the relationship and trust, the complainant became convinced by Ochapa’s proposal and entrusted the sum of N2.9 million to him to buy her a RAV 4 car.

“The car was to make their wedding preparations easy but the accused collected the said money and disappeared to an unknown destination.

“When the complainant discovered that the accused was happily married with two kids, she reported the case to the police in 2012’’, the prosecutor said.

The prosecutor, a police sergeant, told the court that the offences are punishable under sections 388, 385, 312, 322 and 309 of Penal Code, but the accused pleaded not guilty.

The presiding judge, Umar Kagarko, denied the accused bail and adjourned the case to May 6 for consideration of his bail application.