Justice W.I. Aziegbemhin of the Edo State High Court sitting in Benin City on Friday, March 6, 2026 sentenced a business woman, Ifeoma Joy Bogamhe to nine months imprisonment for property fraud.
The defendant now convicted was arraigned on a two count amended charge of fraudulent disposition of mortgage property in June 2025 by the Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Upon arraignment, she pleaded not guilty to the charge, setting the stage for trial.
Count one of the charge read “That you IFEOMA JOY BOGAMHE (F) being the proprietor of ZEMEHSE GLOBAL ENTERPRISE on or about the 16th day of March, 2023, in Edo State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court with intent to defraud, knowingly and willfully, without the consent of the Mortgagee (Standard Life Organization) and without disclosing the existence of a prior mortgage agreement with Standard Life Organization, re-mortgaged the same property to Wema Bank and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 299 of the Criminal Law of Edo State Law, 2022.
Count two read “That you IFEOMA JOY BOGAME (F) being the proprietor of ZEMEHSE GLOBAL ENTERPRISE on or about the 16th day of March, 2023, in Edo State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court and with intent to defraud, did obtain a loan in the sum of N10, 000,000. (Ten million naira) from WEMA BANK under the pretence that the repayment of the said sum was secured by a property which you claimed belonged to you and was free from all encumbrances, a pretence you knew was false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1) (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other fraud related offences Act 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.
During the course of the trial, prosecution counsel, Salihu Ahmed presented three witnesses, including two investigating officers of the Commission, Muhammed Abubakar and Sani Adamu and also tendered nine documents which were admitted by the court. Justice Aziegbemhin had on Friday February 27, 2026 convicted the defendant but reserved the sentence till Friday March 6.
At Friday’s sitting the judge sentenced Bogamhe to nine months imprisonment and also ordered the convict to restitute the complainant of the money unlawfully obtained.
However, the defendant was discharged on count two of the charge. Bogamhe bagged her imprisonment when she used her property as collateral to obtain a loan of N20 million from Standard Life Organization and later used the same property as collateral to secure N10 million loan from Wema Bank.
When she defaulted in the payment of the loan to Standard Life Organisation, the organisation sought to take over the property only to be confronted by Wema Bank which also had the property as collateral for its loan to the same Bogamhe.
