On 19 November 2018, a Lagos court heard that Julius Anyawu Uche had been charged over an alleged email fraud scheme said to have targeted victims worldwide for $20.5 million by posing as Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari.
The 48-year-old was arraigned at the Federal High Court in Lagos on 10 offences brought under cybercrimes legislation. Prosecutors said the scam emails were sent in the name of President Muhammadu Buhari’s wife.
Uche denied the allegations before the judge. The court ordered that he remain in custody until a further hearing set for January 18.
Two other men were also remanded in custody until the same date over related offences. One of them, Agu Ifeanyi George, 48, was accused of pretending to be a medical doctor seeking money to relocate from war-torn Syria with her family.
Police said Uche was also known as Musa Mohammed and that he acted with “others at large”. Nigeria has long been associated with online fraud cases in which scammers use current events and public figures to deceive victims into surrendering bank details or cash.
