EFCC Arraigns Oil Executive Over Alleged N750m Contract Fraud

The Port Harcourt Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, arraigned Ugochukwu Joseph Nwaemere, Executive Director of Pennhydro-Pell Oil and Gas Limited, before Justice E.A. Obile of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Nwaemere was arraigned on a 10-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery, and obtaining money under false pretence to the tune of N750 million.

One of the charges reads:
“That you, Ugochukwu Joseph Nwaemere, being the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Pennhydro-Pell Oil & Gas Limited, and Osaogba Christian Izuchukwu (now at large), being the Executive Director of Pennhydro-Pell Oil & Gas Limited, on or about the 17th of April, 2023, at Port Harcourt, Rivers State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, obtained a total sum of Seven Hundred and Fifty Million Naira (N750,000,000.00k) from Polaris Bank Limited, Garrison Junction Branch, Aba Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State via said Bank with Account Number: 4091160890 under the false pretence that you were awarded a contract for the execution of dredging and stock-piling of 100,000 tonnes of sharp sand on the on-going Bodo-Bonny Road Project, a pretext you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”

The defendant pleaded “not guilty” to all charges.

Following his plea, the prosecuting counsel, C. Okorie, requested a date for trial, while the defence counsel, U.C. Ngeleoka, informed the court of his client’s bail application and urged the court to grant bail to enable the defendant stand trial.

Justice Obile ordered the remand of Nwaemere at the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre and adjourned the matter to June 21, 2025, for ruling on the bail application.

Nwaemere’s arrest followed a petition alleging illicit financial dealings, including conspiracy and fraud. According to the petitioner, the defendant and his alleged accomplice, currently at large, approached Polaris Bank in April 2023 to obtain a loan to finance a dredging and stock-piling project supposedly tied to the Bodo-Bonny Road Project.

To support the loan application, the defendant allegedly forged a document titled “Pennhydro-Pell Oil & Gas Invoice No: 142 dated 29th November, 2022”, purporting it to have been cleared by Julius Berger Nigeria Plc as proof of completed milestones and pending payment.

Investigations revealed that the loan proposal was false and that the bank disbursed N750 million based on fraudulent representations. Subsequent attempts by the bank to recover the loan proved unsuccessful.