$330,000 Scam: Court resumes trial of Maurice Ibekwe’s accomplice

Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye of the Lagos High Court, sitting in Ikeja, has commenced the trial of Augunos Okoro, an accomplice of late Morris Ibekwe, implicated in a $330,000 (Three Hundred And Thirty Thousand United States Dollars) and DM75,000 (Seventy Five Thousand Deutschmark) scam.

Mr. Okoro, owner of Yolk Hotel in Ire-Akari Estate, Isolo, Lagos, allegedly connived with the late Mr. Ibekwe to defraud a German, Klaus Munch, in 1992.

Pretending to be an official of the Central Bank of Nigeria , Federal Ministry of Finance, Transport and Aviation, he allegedly lured Munch into a fictitious contract of supply of hard and software equipment for a phony Abuja International Airport.

Mr. Okoro put the value of the contract at $300million and demanded a percentage of the contract amounting to $330,000, which was paid by Munch.

Trial in the case commenced in 2003 before Justice J.O Oyewole of the Lagos High Court, but suffered several adjournments till the recent elevation of Justice Oyewole to the Court of Appeal.

The case was thereafter reassigned to Justice Ipaye who has now resumed sitting over it.

At the resumed trial of the matter on Thursday, October 15, prosecution counsel, Adeniyi Adebisi, told the court that he was ready with his witnesses but Justice Ipaye adjourned proceedings to November 24 and 26.

Mr. Okoro is facing a 38- count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money by false presence and forgery.