Police arraign Lebanese for stealing N64m

July 6, 2012 by Ade Adesomoju

The police on Thursday arraigned a 29-year-old Lebanese, Mr. Hamza Koudeih, for allegedly stealing $409,780 from two Nigerians.

Koudeih was arraigned before a Chief Magistrate’s Court, Tinubu Square, Lagos, on two separate charges, which he pleaded not guilty to.

One of the charges involves the stealing of $329,780 (N51.4m) from Alhaji Isa Hassan in January 2011 and the other involves the theft of $80,000 (N12. 5m) from Stanley Eze on March 23, 2012.

The magistrate, Mrs. A.O. Adedayo, granted bail to Koudeih but under different conditions in the two charges.

In the first charge, she granted the accused bail for N2m and two sureties in like sum. The magistrate said the sureties, whose addresses must be verified by the court’s registrar, must pay 10 per cent of the bond for the bail sum into the court’s account.

Among other conditions, she ordered that the accused must provide a letter of undertaking from Lebanese embassy in Nigeria to assure that the he would not jump bail.

In the other charge, he was granted bail in the sum N500,000 and two sureties in like sum.

The police prosecutor, Mr. Asuquo Effiong, had opposed the bail application, saying the accused had earlier jumped bail granted him by the police.

The Special Fraud Unit of the Police in Ikoyi, had alleged that Koudeih, “fraudulently converted to his use the sum of $329,780 only, which money you were to convey to one Alhaji Isa Hassan and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 285(9)(c) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria.”

The second charge read in part, “That you Hamza Koudeih on or about March 23, 2012 in Lagos, in the Lagos Magisterial District fraudulently converted to your own use the sum of $80,000 only, property of one Stanley Eze and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 285(9) (c) of the Criminal Code law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011.”

The matter was adjourned till August 8.

via Punch