The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned Philip Ifejimalu Eze, Chief Executive Officer of Orimiri Oil and Gas Limited, on charges of fraud amounting to N63 million involving a failed petroleum transaction.
According to an official statement released on Tuesday, the EFCC’s Abuja Zonal Directorate brought Eze and his company before Justice A.H. Musa of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Apo, Abuja, on Monday, July 21, 2025. They are facing a one-count charge bordering on advanced fee fraud.
The commission alleged that Eze fraudulently induced Chief Amech Nduka of Amatex Oil and Gas to supply 45,000 litres of Automotive Gas Oil (diesel), worth N63 million, using a cheque from Mainstreet Bank Plc. The said bank, however, had long been liquidated, and the cheque was rejected when presented at Zenith Bank.
The charge reads in part:
“That you, Philip Ifejimalu Eze, while serving as Managing Director of Orimiri Oil and Gas, sometime in 2024, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, induced Chief Amech Nduka of Amatex Oil and Gas to deliver 45,000 litres of Automotive Gas Oil valued at N63,000,000. Payment was purportedly made via a Mainstreet Bank Plc cheque, knowing fully well that the bank had been liquidated and the cheque would be rejected, which it was at Zenith Bank. You thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(a) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”
Eze pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Following the plea, prosecuting counsel Mariya Ujudud Shariff requested a trial date. Justice Musa subsequently granted bail to the defendant under strict conditions.
The bail terms require Eze to provide two sureties:
- One must be a civil servant not below Grade Level 12, accompanied by a letter of introduction from their employer, which the court must verify.
- The other must own a verifiable property within the court’s jurisdiction, swear to an affidavit, and sign a N2 million bail bond.
The case was adjourned until November 11, 2025, for trial commencement.
