EFCC to arraign 58-year-old woman for alleged N446m property scam in Benin
The Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has gone after a 58-year-old woman, Rita Izehia Iyoha, for allegedly defrauding a couple of N446 million in a property deal gone wrong.
Iyoha, in collaboration with her sister, Fidelia Oghenetejiri, is accused of swindling Frank Obruche Esemudje and his wife under the pretence of selling a property located in Effurun, Warri, Delta State to them.
According to the petition, the sisters falsely presented themselves as the rightful owners of the property, claiming it was part of their inheritance. After the victims paid the full amount, they were unable to take possession of the property due to a subsisting court judgment restraining the sale.
Efforts to recover the money proved futile as Iyoha reportedly fled to Ghana shortly after the transaction. However, EFCC operatives tracked her down and arrested her at a popular motor park in Lagos upon her return to Nigeria.
She has since made useful statements and will be arraigned in court soon.
Meanwhile, her sister, Fidelia Oghenetejiri, is already facing trial before Justice Hyeladzira Nganjiwa of the Federal High Court in Warri, Delta State, on a three-count charge bordering on advance fee fraud and obtaining money by false pretence.
One of the charges reads: “That you, Fidelia Oghenetega Jemu, on or about the 22nd of May, 2025, in Warri, Delta State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, by false pretence and with intent to defraud, did obtain the sum of N50 million via your First Bank account number 3217460863 from Frank Obruche Esemudje under the pretence that the money was for the purchase of a property situated at No. 54 Airport Road, Effurun, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”
Oghenetejiri pleaded not guilty to the charges and has been remanded in a correctional centre.