Assistant Commissioner of Police Ngozi Braide has testified before the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja in the trial of lawyer Chinwe Onuoha.
Onuoha is facing a 12-count charge involving allegations of conspiracy, forgery and uttering false documents.
Other persons connected with the allegations are reportedly at large.
Giving evidence before Justice Hakeem Oshodi, Braide said she had allowed Onuoha to occupy her residential property in Ikorodu.
According to the prosecution’s case, a lease agreement purportedly dated February 12, 2018, was later created and allegedly used in documentation submitted to the Bank of Industry.
Braide told the court that she had not authorised the alleged arrangement and later discovered that the residential property had been altered and was being used as a factory.
Prosecutors allege that the documentation was used in obtaining a loan facility.
The allegations have not yet been proved.
Onuoha remains entitled to challenge the prosecution’s evidence through cross-examination, defence testimony and legal submissions before the court reaches any conclusion.
The case illustrates why documentary evidence plays a central role in modern property and commercial fraud prosecutions.
Where an alleged fraud involves a bank facility secured with property, investigators may need to establish the authenticity of title documents, signatures, lease agreements and communications exchanged among the parties.
The court will ultimately have to determine whether the disputed documents were forged, whether the defendant was responsible for creating or knowingly using them and whether the prosecution has established each count beyond reasonable doubt.
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News Source: The Guardian Nigeria
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