Two Nigerian have been charged with defrauding a city businessman Ksh60.4 million in a shoddy deal.
Ali Ohio and Victor Nyekazi Wagwu were charged before Milimani Magistrate Ben Mark Enhubi With cheating and being unlawfully in the country.
They are accused that between January 20 and May 19, 2023, in Nairobi county jointly with others who are yet to be arrested defrauded Noor Omar Ahmed USD 420,000 through fraudulent tricks.
The court heard that the money was for the purchase of a reagent to clear stamps on the foreign currency funds that Ahmed was to receive as a consideration for the sale of the Lisbon Hotel.
Enhubi also heard that Lisbon Hotel is a family property that the two Nigerians intended to buy.
The two Nigerians also face immigration offences for being in the country illegally.
Ojo and Wagwu were arrested at Rubis Petrol station near Bellevue Estate in Nairobi County without valid passports and visas.
Applying to be released on bond, the accused said they are Ugandan citizens and were in the country for business.
Ojo told the court that he is married to a Kenyan and they have been blessed with five children.
“I am married to a Kenyan and my wife and her parents are in court to prove that l am not a flight risk,” Ojo told the magistrate.
He further asked the court to free him on bond because being a Nigerian is not a tangible reason to deny him bond.
The two told the court that they were arrested on August 8 and have been in custody while police were conducting investigations into the business deal.
Prosecutor Virginia Kariuki opposed the release of the duo on bail saying they are a flight risk as they are foreigners who reside in Uganda and are Nigerian citizens.
She told the court that police have since established that the two accused persons have no visas and once released they will definitely abscond.
The magistrate ordered the two to be remanded in custody until August 18 when he will decide whether to free them on bond or not.