A trio consisting of Odoh Eric Ocheme, Adamu Abubakar, and Imam Abubakar stands accused of orchestrating a scheme to forge the signature of former President Muhammadu Buhari, aiming to siphon over six million US Dollars from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
A team of specialized investigators probing the extensive fraud case within the CBN has formally petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to place the three individuals on the Interpol Red Notice.
The letter, penned by DCP Eloho Okpoziakpo, Head of Operations at the Office of the Special Investigator, underscores the involvement of Ocheme, a CBN employee currently evading authorities. Adamu Abubakar and Imam Abubakar, identified as accomplices, are also on the run.
Authorities suspect the trio of fabricating documents utilizing the former Nigerian leader’s name to embezzle an estimated US$6,230,000 from the CBN’s coffers.
The letter read: “The Special Investigator, appointed by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to investigate the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Related Entities, and other Key Government Business Entities kindly requests you to place the above-named individuals on INTERPOL RED NOTICE.
“In the course of the Special Investigator’s assignment, Mr Odoh Eric Ocheme, (staff of the CBN), now at large and the other two accomplices, also now at large, were discovered to have conspired and forged documents in the name of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria with which they stole about US$6,230,000 (Six Million, Two Hundred and Thirty Thousand Dollars, in cash, from the coffers of the CBN.
“Consequent upon the above, a charge was filed, and warrants of arrest have been issued by the Federal High Court of Nigeria, Abuja Division, presided over by Hon. Justice ILE. Ekwo in Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/19/2024 B/w: Federal Republic of Nigeria v. Adamu Abubakar & 2 Ors for the arrest and production of the Defendants named above for their arraignment.
“The data page of Odoh Eric Ocheme’s Nigerian International Passport No. B50082800, duly certified true copies of the warrants and the Order of the Court to that effect are hereby attached,” a copy of the letter seen on Vanguards reads.
The trio had been slammed with six count charges at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Count six of the charges read: “That Adamu Abubakar (now at large), Imam Abubakar (now at large), Odoh Eric Ocheme (now at large), Bashirudeen Maishanu and others also now at large, on or about the 23rd day of January 2023, at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Abuja Branch, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, by false pretence that one man who held out himself as Jibril Abubakar is a Staff from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and had the approval of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to source money from the Central Bank of Nigeria for foreign Election Observers, and with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of six million, two hundred and thirty thousand United States Dollars ($ 6,230,000.00) from the Central Bank of Nigeria, Abuja Branch and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)[a] and punishable under Section 1(3) & Section 10 of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, Cap. A6 laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2010.”
