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Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Uyo Zonal Directorate, has arrested two members of staff of Ubotex Limited for allegedly defrauding the company of N275 million.
In a statement on Thursday, the commission spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, identified the two staff members as Sylvanus Edet Akpan, the company’s auditor, and Akaninyene Achibong, the cashier.
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Founded in 2002, Ubotex Limited, an Uyo-based indigenous company, began as a cement distribution and building materials supply enterprise.
The company has, over the years, grown into a diversified enterprise, spanning construction, transportation, hospitality and luxury retail.
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The anti-graft agency said the two staff members were arrested separately on 25 April and 12 May in Uyo “for alleged criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, forgery and stealing by conversion to the tune of N275 million.
“Their arrest was based on the claims of a petitioner who alleged that the duo manipulated the accounts of Ubotex Limited and fraudulently stole N275 million from the company.
“The petitioner allegedly employed the services of an external Auditor to review and audit the financial activities of the company between 2021 and 2025 and discovered that the suspects conspired and falsified account books and defrauded the company of N275m by generating fictitious payment vouchers,” the commission said.
According to the commission, the auditors discovered that the suspects also forged the signatures of other staff members and used them to steal funds from the company.
“The petitioner suspected that N200m was allegedly stolen by the suspects, but when the external auditors completed their reviews, they discovered that N275m was actually stolen by the suspects,” the anti-graft agency said.
“Both suspects admitted to the crimes and will be charged to court soon,” Mr Oyewale said.
This came about 48 hours after the police arraigned a Canadian for defrauding an Akwa Ibom-based Nigerian company, Tepison Enterprise.
The Canadian, Robert Hams, was arraigned in a Federal High Court in Uyo on Friday and was remanded at the Uyo Custodial Centre, the Force Spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said in a statement posted on Facebook on Tuesday.
Offence and Arrest
Mr Hams was arrested by the operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, Interpol National Central Bureau (NCB), Abuja, on 7 February at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, while attempting to flee to Canada, Mr Adejobi, an assistant commissioner of police, said.
The police said they acted on a petition from Tepison Enterprises, a company based in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom, that accused the Canadian of using a fraudulent investment scheme to defraud it.
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“The complainant alleged that Mr Harms, introduced through a Polaris Bank account officer in June 2023, fraudulently induced them to invest in a fictitious Waste-to-Energy Project in Canada. Under this pretence, Tepison Enterprises transferred $210,000 to secure a fabricated “capital project bond,” with promises of a $30,000 return within four weeks, returns which never materialised.
“Investigations revealed that Mr Harms fabricated a fraudulent Project Bridge Loan Agreement and orchestrated the transfer of funds to an account in Dubai through Allah Mai Girma Bureau de Change in Abuja,” the police said.
