By Abimbola Akosile, 09.27.2005

Asnani, crown witness in the newly resumed trial (after being stalled for11 months) revealed that Nwude's Switzerland-based counsel sent him (witness) an e-mail which contained an affidavit to be signed by accused person, wherein Nwude was to acknowledge that he never met the prosecution witness, or ever knew him. "He informed me that I should inform my lawyer or anyone else that I did not know Chief Emmanuel Nwude and that I only know Chief I.K. Anajemba since he was no longer alive. Chief Emmanuel said, "dead men do not speak".
Accused persons include Chief Emmanuel Nwude (a.k.a Paul Ogwuma Odinigwe) 1st accused, Mr. Nzeribe Edeh Okoli (3rd accused), Emrus (Nig.) Ltd., Ocean Marketing Co. (Nig.) Ltd. and African Shelter Bureau (Nig.) Ltd. (5th-7th accused). However, both Amaka Anajemba (Mrs.) and Fynbaz (Nig.) Limited (2nd & 4th accused respectively), initially charged alongside above suspects, pleaded guilty to a fresh 4-count charge on July 15, and were subsequently sentenced to prison terms and fines, with their names deleted from an amended information filed by the prosecutor, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In an emotion-laden voice, Asnani, who concluded his evidence-in-chief yesterday (after 13 hours marathon testimony in 3 days), told court that Nwude frequently used his (Asnani's) phone at his home in Victoria Island to make calls to Brazil, a process which spanned June 1996 to May 1997. He added that though he only had one involvement with late Chief Ikechukwu Anajemba (Nwude's alleged previous partner in the fraud) when he paid him N47million out of the converted first $1million paid into his account at Uco Bank, Hong Kong in 1995, he never met or heard of Edeh-Okoli, 3rd (now 2nd) accused person in the matter.

"The only time I knew Chief I.K. Anajemba was when I wrote cheque in his favour, and the other time was when I saw his obituary in the newspaper (Anajemba, 36 years old husband of Amaka, died in 1998 while returning from his village Achi in Oji Local Government Area of Enugu State, after he was waylaid and shot by assassins). I have never met or heard about Mr. Edeh-Okoli".
On his reaction after learning about the fraud, he said, "I contacted Chief Emmanuel (Nwude) when I learnt my account has been used for fraud. He told me that he could not understand what was happening and that he was not aware of anything. A few months later, I received an e-mail from his lawyer in Switzerland and it was in form of an affidavit with a clause that he (Nwude) did not know Naresh Asnani. I printed the e-mail and rushed to his house at Osborne Road and asked him, how could he swear an affidavit denying me". He went on to relate the above incident.
The witness, who concluded his evidence-in-chief around 3.00pm, was scheduled to be cross-examined by defence counsel in the matter, led by Chief Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, and Mr. Adeshina Ogunlana. However, continuation of trial was adjourned by trial judge, Justice Oyewole, till Friday, September 30, for cross-examination of Asnani.
First arraigned in Abuja on February 4th, 2004, accused persons, were alleged to have defrauded a Brazilian banker, Mr. Nelson Sakaguchi of a sum of $242million over a three-year period, from April 2, 1995 to January 20, 1998 at Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos State, contrary to Sections 1(1)(a) and (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud Act of 1995 as amended by Act 62 of 1998.
Obtained amount was said to represent payment due to the Federal Government on the alleged contract No. FMA/132/019/82 for the construction of Abuja International Airport, Nigeria. Penalties for each of the counts range between seven and ten years. The accused persons are facing an amended 91 count charge.