Alleged N500m fraud: Ex-governor Ohakim denies fraud allegation, accuses Amuchinwa of blackmail

A former Governor of Imo State, Mr. Ikedi Ohakim, last night denied in its entirety, the allegations levelled against him by a businesswoman, Mrs. Chinyere Amuchinwa.

Amuchinwa in a petition dated July 20, 2020 and addressed to the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu and the Department of State Services (DSS), had accused the former governor of defrauding her of N500 million.

But in statement issued last night by his Political Adviser, Mr. Emmanuel Chukwu, the former Imo State governor described the allegations as most ludicrous and laughable.

Ohakim also described the allegations as an elaborate and audacious scheme by Amuchinwa to blackmail, extort and otherwise defame his person.

Accusing the businesswoman of concealing the facts, the former governor dared her to reveal the nature of her enterprise and business address, if she has any.

He said the businesswoman had filed a counter-petition against him as an after-thought to an ongoing investigation of her conducts towards him, based on a petition he had filed against her upon which she was arrested on January 20, 2020, seven months before her petition.

Revealing that he was aware of her sponsors, the former governor faulted her claims that she supplied luxury goods worth N110million to him, wondering why she did not state the exact nature of the goods, evidence of request for the goods, acknowledgment receipt and the address of transaction.

Threatening that in the coming days, the world and Amuchinwa would be hearing more from him on the matter, the former governor noted that her petition constituted a disingenuous lie concocted from hell.

The statement read: “The allegations are, to say the least, most ludicrous and laughable. They all together constitute an elaborate and audacious scheme by Ms Amuchinwa to blackmail, extort and otherwise defame the person of Dr. Ohakim. In the story, Ms Amuchinwa presented herself as ‘businesswoman’, but did not state the nature of her enterprise and her business address, if any. And to be sure, Ms Amuchinwa had filed this counter-petition as an afterthought to an ongoing investigation of her criminal conducts towards Dr Ohakim, based on a petition Dr. Ohakim had filed against her and upon which she was arrested as far back as 20th January, 2020, seven clear months before she was recruited to file her false petition. We are fully aware of her nefarious sponsors.

“In purporting to have supplied luxury goods worth N110million to Dr. Ohakim, she did not state the exact nature of these goods, evidence of request for the goods, acknowledgment receipt and the address of transaction. And why would her fake invoices be in foreign currency, especially in Euros when she does not have any shop in Europe?

“Third, in claiming to have made N500million payment to Dr Ohakim for purchase of land, she dishonestly left out whether such was made through the banking system. As of a fact, if such payment ever existed, it is very easy to track money trail through the banking system. Did she make the payment in cash, foreign currency or how really? Even at that, N500million is certainly a huge sum; so, she certainly would require a large bullion van making multiple trips to convey such quantum cash.”

Ohakim boasted that he would go to any length to prove his innocence and ensure that Amuchinwa is brought to justice alongside her enablers and co-conspirators.

“If she had gotten away with blackmail in the past, now she has met her waterloo. As the sages say: ‘To be toss is nothing but to be safely toss,’” he concluded.  (ThisDay)