A 35-year-old man, Henry Nnakwe, was arraigned before a Badagry Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos on Monday, December 22, 2025, facing charges of allegedly obtaining petroleum products valued at N3.7 million under fraudulent pretenses. The case offers a window into the legal mechanisms for prosecuting financial crimes in Nigeria’s commercial capital.
The charges, presented by Police Prosecutor ASP Edet Ekpo, stem from an incident on October 14, 2025. According to the prosecution, Nnakwe obtained the fuel—a significant quantity given the amount—from a filing station along the Seme-Badagry Expressway. He allegedly dealt with the station’s supervisor, Olarewaju Olajire, under the false pretense that he would pay for the consignment later. The prosecution asserts that after receiving the product, the defendant failed to make any payment, prompting the station’s management to track him down, apprehend him, and hand him over to the police.
Nnakwe pleaded not guilty to the charges, which are brought under Section 314 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. This section deals specifically with the offense of obtaining property by false pretenses, a common charge in fraud cases. Conviction under this section can carry a significant prison sentence, highlighting the seriousness with which the state views such alleged breaches of commercial trust.
In his ruling, Chief Magistrate Mr. Nurudeen Layeni granted the defendant bail set at one million naira, with two sureties required to provide the same amount. Notably, the court imposed a specific condition: one of the sureties must be a director of a registered company. This requirement is a common judicial tactic in financial crime cases, intended to ensure the defendant has ties to the community and assets that can be leveraged to guarantee his appearance in court. The case was adjourned until February 5, 2026, for mention, which is a procedural hearing to track the case’s progress before a full trial potentially begins.
This case underscores several practical realities of Nigeria’s legal and business environment. First, it illustrates the direct action sometimes taken by businesses—apprehending an alleged debtor—before police involvement, a practice that carries its own legal risks. Second, the specific mention of “petroleum” as the commodity involved ties into broader national issues of fuel supply, subsidy, and the high-stakes economics of the downstream oil sector, where large-scale “fuel lifting” frauds are not uncommon. The alleged N3.7m fraud, while a single incident, reflects a pattern of financial crimes that can impact essential commodity distribution. The adjournment to 2026 also highlights the often-lengthy timeline of the judicial process, where cases can span months or years before resolution.
Source: NAN News. Edited by Sandra Umeh.
