ABUJA — The trial of Jesam Michael Ubi, founder and Chief Executive Officer of the defunct Afriq Arbitrage System Limited (AAS), took a dramatic turn on Wednesday at the Federal High Court, Abuja, as two more prosecution witnesses detailed how they lost hard-earned funds to the collapsed cryptocurrency scheme.
Appearing before Justice Obiora Egwuatu, the witnesses—Samson Egbu (testifying as PW25) and Abuja-based businessman Isaac Kwaghbee (PW26)—recounted before a packed courtroom how Ubi lured unsuspecting Nigerians into a massive, multi-billion-dollar investment trap.
The ongoing criminal proceedings form part of a high-profile prosecution brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) concerning an alleged monumental cryptocurrency fraud totaling roughly $87 billion.
Broken Promises and Inherited Land Lost
Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, Egbu narrated how he was persuaded to sink 8,190 USDT into the platform after being given ironclad guarantees regarding the safety of principal investments.
“He (Jesam) repeatedly told us that your money cannot be touched. He told us that the money would be secured in Binance platform and nobody except the investor can touch the money,” Egbu told the court.
In an even more poignant testimony, Kwaghbee revealed that he poured 7,000 USDT across two separate accounts into the scheme. He disclosed that the capital deployed was generated from the sale of family land left behind by his late father, liquidating ancestral property in pursuit of the high yields promised by the platform.
High-Profile Promotion and Sudden Collapse
Investigators have previously established that the platform heavily relied on aggressive marketing campaigns, deploying online video promotions, posters, and the backing of both local and international celebrities. AAS had dangled an enticing bait of 1.6 percent daily returns on investments within a 24-hour cycle, alongside elaborate claims that the company maintained a physical headquarters in the United States.
However, the bubble eventually burst when the platform abruptly shut down operations, cutting off thousands of investors from their funds. While victims have been left stranded, the defendant has sought to shift liability, laying the blame for the system’s failure on a third party, Oluwasesan Abayomi.
Legal Fireworks in Court
During Wednesday’s proceedings, the prosecution tendered various investment documents, dashboard screenshots, and official statements, which were formally admitted into evidence by the court.
The defence counsel, Uchena Njoku, SAN, raised objections regarding the admissibility of the documents, though he reserved his specific legal reasons for a later date. During cross-examination, Njoku challenged aspects of the testimony, suggesting that the second witness’s capital deployment occurred on a different website interface rather than the core AAS framework. He also probed the witnesses on whether initial investments had yielded expected returns prior to alleged outside manipulation.
Justice Egwuatu subsequently adjourned the matter to December 2, 2026, for the continuation of the trial.
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