Trader accused of cheating
40-YEAR-OLD Marshal Nwabueze yesterday appeared before an Abuja Magistrate Court for allegedly cheating one Okafor Chika by selling a faulty generating set to him.
One Fredrick Obuanya, a sales boy employed by the accused was said to have sold the 20 KVA generating set to the complainant at N950,000.
Two days after the purchase of the gadget, it stopped functioning and the complainant reported to the accused, but he was said to have refused to replace it or refund the money to the complainant.
The prosecutor, Bulus Samuel, an inspector, told the court that on May 13, one Okafor Chika reported to the police that on April 14, he bought a 20 KVA generating set from Nwabueze, owner of West Point, a division of Marshal Merchandise Global Limited, Neighbourhood Centre, Wuse, Abuja.
“Within two days of the purchase, the generating set stopped functioning and the accused person refused to replace it or refund the complainant’s money,” the prosecutor said.
He also stated that the sales boy who sold the gadget and issued a receipt to the complainant is now at large, adding that the offence the accused committed is punishable under Section 322 of the Penal Code.
When the charge was read to the accused, he denied the allegation and applied for bail, a request that was vehemently objected to by the prosecutor on the grounds that the accused might jump bail or interfere with investigations.
Magistrate Abdul Dogo granted the accused bail in the sum of N250,000 with a reliable surety in like sum, who must reside within the court’s jurisdiction and swear to an affidavit to produce the accused in court on the adjourned date.
The case was adjourned to November 11 for hearing.
Daily Trust Friday, October 15, 2010
Page 54
By Hussein Yahaya & Ibraheem A. Fatai
