The Federal Capital Territory High Court, Apo, Abuja, has remanded one Eno Ekapong Ofem in prison custody after he was arraigned by the the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for allegedly defrauding several persons of over N100 million.

According to a statement by Rasheedat Okoduwa, ICPC’s spokesperson, Ofem, who contested for a seat in the federal House of Representatives during the 2015 general election, was arrested after a petition was written against him.

Ofem was said to have posed as a Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff to the President, while asking people to pay millions into his account in order to help them get juicy appointments from the federal government.

“Investigations by the Commission revealed that Mr. Ofem allegedly claimed to be a Special Adviser to the Chief of Staff to the President, a claim that he used to defraud citizens to the tune of One Hundred Million naira, on the pretext that he would get them ministerial, board and other appointments. The monies had been deposited into his bank account on various dates from June 2016,” the ICPC statement read.

“The charges brought against the defendant indicated that his actions contravened Sections 324 and 322 of the Penal Code Act and Cap 352 Vol. 4 LFN 2004.”

When Ofem was arraigned before Justice Valentine Ashi, he  pleaded not guilty to the six-count charge brought against him, following which Edidion Osungurua, his lawyer, filed a bill application.

The bail application was not opposed by the ICPC prosecution team, led by Elijah Akaakohol, who only asked for stringent conditions to be attached to the bail.

Justice Ashi, however, denied the accused person bail, ordering instead that he be remanded in prison custody until January 16 when the hearing was scheduled to commence.