EFCC Docks Fake Contractor Over $5,000 BDC Scam in Enugu

​The Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned 38-year-old Raheem Abiodun Wasiu before Justice H. O. Eya of the Enugu State High Court, sitting in Independence Layout, over an alleged $5,000 fraud.

​Wasiu faces a two-count charge bordering on stealing by conversion and obtaining money by false pretenses. According to court documents, the defendant on July 6, 2026, allegedly swindled a Bureau de Change (BDC) operator, Stanley Chukwuamuanya Ezekulie, of $5,000 under the pretext of providing the Naira equivalent of N7,050,000. The anti-graft agency stated that the transaction was a sham, violating Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.

​Modus Operandi Uncovered

​Investigators revealed that the defendant operates as a serial scammer across the South-East region and Akwa Ibom State. Posing as a wealthy contractor, Wasiu reportedly rents various Toyota Hilux trucks, moves around with security escorts, and targets BDC operators. He tricks them into releasing foreign currency by presenting fabricated electronic payment alerts in Naira.

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​His criminal enterprise unraveled following a petition by Ezekulie, which initially triggered an intelligence sweep and subsequent arrest by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) before his handover to the EFCC.

​Court Proceedings and Remand

​During the court session, Wasiu pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.

​Following his plea, prosecution counsel CSE Chiekezie Raymond Edozie requested a trial date and asked that the defendant be remanded at the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) facility. Meanwhile, defense counsel A. J. Ebube made an oral application for bail. This was strongly opposed by the prosecution, who cited compelling evidence against granting provisional freedom.

​Justice Eya adjourned the matter to October 28, 2026, for the hearing of the bail application, and set November 3 and 10, 2026, for the commencement of trial. The defendant has been remanded in custody pending the next court dates.