A prosecution witness has told the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, how a businessman, Christopher Elendu Enyinnwa, allegedly collected N30.14 million from her for the supply of slippers from China.
Enyinnwa was arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe on a four-count charge bordering on alleged fraudulent conversion and obtaining money under false pretences.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The prosecution alleged that Enyinnwa received the money from the petitioner, Chidebere Love Okafor, in connection with a proposed business transaction involving the importation of slippers from China.
At the proceedings, prosecution counsel, Fanen Anum, told the court that the prosecution was ready to commence trial and had two witnesses available.
Defence counsel, K.C. Atuenyi, requested an adjournment, saying he had prepared only for the arraignment. The judge, however, directed the prosecution to proceed with its first witness.
Testifying as PW1, Okafor said she knew the defendant as a fellow church member and approached him after he told her he travelled to China for business and could assist her with sourcing goods.
She said she gave Enyinnwa a sample of the slippers she wanted to purchase, after which he provided a quotation for the goods.
According to the witness, she initially considered the price high because she was also negotiating with another company, but eventually proceeded with Enyinnwa because of the trust she had in him as a fellow church member.
She told the court that she first transferred N2 million into the defendant’s Access Bank account in August 2024 as a deposit.
After Enyinnwa returned from China and presented samples, she said some changes were made before the defendant requested another N11.923 million to commence production.
The witness said the amount was paid, while a further N15 million was subsequently transferred to the defendant as the balance.
Okafor said Enyinnwa later promised to return to China to arrange the shipment but failed to travel as expected, attributing the delay to problems with his travel documents.
She alleged that he subsequently requested another N2 million to resolve the issue, which she and her husband provided because they wanted him to return to China and complete the transaction.
According to her, the defendant eventually travelled to China in February 2025 and later claimed that the goods had been shipped.
However, she said the consignment did not arrive as promised and the relevant shipping documents were also not provided.
The witness further told the court that the matter was eventually brought before their pastor, who allegedly informed her that some of the defendant’s claims were untrue.
She said members of the church later intervened and Enyinnwa promised to refund the money, but had yet to do so.
“The total amount is N30,140,000. Up till now, I have not seen the goods and the money,” she told the court.
The defence counsel sought another date for the cross-examination of the witness.
Following the proceedings, the prosecution asked the court to remand the defendant in a correctional facility.
Justice Abike-Fadipe ordered that Enyinnwa be remanded in a correctional facility and adjourned the case to November 26, December 16 and 17, 2026, for continuation of trial.
