By Promise Eze
21-year-old Nigerian model, Cynthia Chioma Atuonah, has been remanded in a Nigerian Correctional Centre by Justice Yelim Bogoro of a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos state.
Atuonah was arrested in April by the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU), Ikoyi, Lagos, for allegedly defrauding a 50-year-old German national of $220,000, after promising to marry him.
Atuonah was arraigned before the court on five counts of charges bordering on obtaining by false pretences, fraud and unlawful conversation.
The prosecutor, Henry Obiazi, informed the court that the defendant committed the offences between January and February 2022.
The offences contravened Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and Section 18 (3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
During the court proceedings, Atuonah pleaded not guilty to the charges. Her lawyer, N Ugo, informed the court of his client’s bail application, urging the court to grant her bail in the most liberal terms. However, the prosecutor urged the court to discountenance the bail application.
Justice Bogoro ordered that the defendant be remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Services till May 19 when a ruling will be delivered on the bail application. The case continues, and further updates will be provided as it unfolds.
