An Assistant Commissioner of Police, Ngozi Braide, on Tuesday, narrated before the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja how her lawyer friend, Chinwe Onuoha, allegedly forged documents to convert her residential property in Ikorodu into an industrial factory and fraudulently secure a loan from the Bank of Industry.
Braide, who appeared as a prosecution witness, gave evidence before Justice Hakeem Oshodi while being led in testimony by the prosecutor, Emmanuel Jackson.
The defendant, Onuoha, alongside others said to be at large, is facing a 12-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery, and uttering of false documents.
According to the prosecution, the defendant allegedly forged a lease agreement dated February 12, 2018, and submitted it to the Bank of Industry to secure a loan facility using Braide’s property without her consent.
Testifying in court, the police chief said her decade-long relationship with the lawyer soured after an act of goodwill.
She said, “I met the defendant in 2011, and we became very close friends. She was like a family member, visited my house, stayed for days, and even travelled abroad with my family.
“In 2019, she called me early in the morning that she was detained at a police station in Ogun State following a dispute with her landlord over eviction. I went there, paid for her bail, and saw that her landlord had thrown her belongings out on the street.”
Braide told the court that out of compassion, she offered Onuoha temporary accommodation at her four-bedroom residential property with two sitting rooms in Ikorodu, which she built after returning from a peacekeeping mission in Liberia in 2008.
“I allowed her to stay for three months so she could find another place. I introduced her to the family I bought the land from as my sister and gave them money to clean the house before she moved in,” the witness added.
The witness stated that the three-month agreement stretched into over a year, but she did not press the defendant to leave until 2021 when insecurity in her home state forced her to request the property for her brother’s family.
Braide revealed that though the defendant eventually packed out, communication between them completely broke down.
“In January 2022, after the New Year celebrations, I went to inspect the property with my driver and some elders. To my utter shock, I met about five workers and their manager, named David.
“The property had been converted into ‘Shearwater Factory.’ The internal walls and partitions were knocked down, and heavy-duty industrial machines, wires, and pipes were installed inside my house, with workers living inside,” she testified.
Justice Oshodi subsequently adjourned the matter till November 10, 2026, for the cross-examination of the witness by the defense counsel.
Source: punchng.com
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