Economy
Ovaioza’s Trial for Alleged N2bn Scam Continues July 12
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The trial of an agric entrepreneur, Ovaioza Yunusa, at the federal high court in Abuja over her involvement in an alleged N2 billion investment scam will continue on Wednesday, July 12, 2023.
Ovaioza was taken to court by the federal government through the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for taking money from the investing public without authorisation from the agency.
She is in court with her organisation, Ovaioza Farm Produce Storage Business (OFPSB), on charges bordering on advanced fee fraud.
Her case was brought before Justice Gladys Olotu on Tuesday, but due to the failure of the defence parties to appear, the presiding judge adjourned the matter to next week.
Ovaioza, Imu Yunusa and Goodness Omeiza, who were also joined in the suit, were accused of operating as fund managers.
In March 2022, SEC sealed their office located at 27 Abeokuta Street, Garki, Abuja, on suspicions of illegally collecting money from the investing public.
In the five-count charge brought against the company and its promoters, they were said to have, on or between 2020 and 2022, within the jurisdiction of the court, committed a felony to wit: with common intent conspired among themselves together with their staff to do an illegal act.
They were alleged to lure and offer for subscription an unregistered collective investment scheme valued over N2 billion to the unsuspecting general public, including Umejiaku Chikodili Crystal, Omolabake Ale, Dr Obi Sandra P., Nnaemeka Franklin Ugwoke, Fonon Ismaila Malum, Kelechi Anayo, Nkiru Onyima, and others.
“That you, Imu Yunusa, Goodness Omeiza and Ovaioza Farm Produce Storage Business, all of house No. 27 Abeokuta Street, Area 8 Garki, on or between the year 2020 and 2022 within the jurisdiction of this court did commit a felony to wit: lured and offered for subscription an unregistered collective investment scheme valued over N2 billion to the unsuspecting general public including Umejiaku Chikodili Crystal, Omolabake Ale, Dr Obi Sandra P., Nnaemeka Franklin Ugwoke, Fonon Ismaila Malum, Kelechi Anayo, Nkiru Onyima, and others. You thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 54 of the Investments and Securities Act, 2007.
“That you, Imu Yunusa, Goodness Omeiza and Ovaioza Farm Produce Storage Business, all of house No. 27 Abeokuta Street, Area 8 Garki, on or between the year 2020 and 2022 within the jurisdiction of this court did commit a felony to wit: conspiracy of forming a common intention amongst yourselves together with your staff to do an illegal act – diversion of investment funds valued over N2 billion belonging to the investing public including, Umejiaku Chikodili Crystal, Omolabake Ale, Dr Obi Sandra P., Nnaemeka Franklin Ugwoke, Fonon Ismaila Malum, Kelechi Anayo, Nkiru Onyima, and others. You thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 516 of the Criminal Code Act, laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004,” two of the charges read.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of MRS Oil and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.68 per cent on Friday, June 5.
MRS Plc lost N19.00 during the session to sell at N171.00 per share compared with Thursday’s value of N190.00 per share, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N8.70 to finish at N181.68 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N190.38 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation further lost N22.59 billion to close at N2.607 trillion versus the N2.630 trillion it ended a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropped 37.76 points to settle at 4,358.32 points, in contrast to the previous day’s 4,396.08 points.
The alternative stock market closed the last trading day of this week with a price gainer, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gained 6 Kobo to quote at N78.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N78.34 per share. However, it could not prevent the market from going down at the close of business.
Yesterday, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors went down by 50.0 per cent to 140,345 units from the preceding day’s 280,714 units, the value of stocks decreased by 16.5 per cent to N17.9 million from the previous session’s N21.5 million, and the number of deals carried out by market participants fell by 35.7 per cent to 27 deals from the 42 deals recorded on Thursday.
When trading activities closed for the day, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.7 million units traded for N4.4 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
Renewed interest in financial stocks and others lifted the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 0.15 per cent on Friday.
Customs Street closed higher yesterday despite the 1.37 per cent loss recorded by the consumer goods sector as a result of profit-taking.
This was offset by gains in the other key sectors of the local bourse, as the insurance counter chalked up 1,14 per cent. The banking space appreciated by 0.90 per cent, the industrial goods segment grew by 0.46 per cent, and the energy sector expanded by 0.01 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 366.00 points to 242,593.31 points from 242,227.31 points, and the market capitalisation gained N235 billion to close at N155.594 trillion compared with the previous day’s N155.359 trillion.
The trio of International Energy Insurance, Abbey Mortgage Bank, and DAAR Communications improved by 10.00 per cent each yesterday to N7.26, N9.35, and N1.98, respectively, while Zichis advanced by 9.39 per cent to N32.38, with Sovereign Trust Insurance up by 8.70 per cent to N2.50.
On the flip side, Academy Press lost 9.84 per cent to quote at N8.25, University Press depreciated by 9.73 per cent to N5.10, Africa Prudential dipped by 2.63 per cent to N12.95, Chams crumbled by 2.44 per cent to N4.00, and International Breweries slipped by 1.59 per cent to N12.35.
Business Post reports that the market breadth index was positive during the session after recording 37 appreciating equities and 14 depreciating equities, implying strong investor sentiment.
Abbey Mortgage Bank led the activity chart with a turnover of 164.1 million units worth N1.5 billion, Ellah Lakes sold 76.7 million units for N767.2 million, Access Holdings transacted 44.8 million units valued at N1.1 billion, Linkage Assurance exchanged 23.0 million units worth N41.2 million, and The Initiates traded 20.2 million units for N562.1 million.
At the close of trades, market participants transacted 608.5 million units worth N32.0 billion in 53,826 deals versus the 588.5 million units valued at N27.9 billion executed in 57,352 deals in the previous session. This showed that the number of deals eased by 6.15 per cent, the volume of transactions rose by 3.40 per cent, and the value of transactions soared by 14.70 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further depreciated against the United States Dollar by N3.46 or 0.25 per cent to N1,362.21/$1 from N1,358.75/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 5.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window during the session by N4.47 to trade at N1,823.59/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,828.06/£1, and gained N7.00 against the Euro to sell at N1,574.58/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,581.58/€1.
For another trading session, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the Dollar in the parallel market and the GTBank forex counter on Friday at N1,375/$1 and N1,372/$1, respectively.
The Naira is expected to remain strong in the near term, backed by a rise in external reserves, which are nearing $50 billion, enhancing analysts’ confidence about its outlook in the second half of 2026.
Heightened global uncertainty has reduced the incentive for importers and corporates to demand FX, as cautious trade weighs on import needs. Analysts estimate a $40 billion net FX position for the year, a projection anchored in oil windfall gains.
As for the cryptocurrency market, prices remained depressed following a strong US jobs report that spurred markets to price in higher-for-longer interest rates, sending Treasury yields and the dollar up while hammering stocks, especially AI-related names. Crypto markets saw heavy leverage washouts with about $1.6 billion in positions liquidated over 24 hours.
Ethereum (ETH) gave up 4.9 per cent to trade at $1,584.68, Solana (SOL) fell by 3.3 per cent to $63.22, Bitcoin (BTC) crashed by 1.9 per cent to $61,333.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped by 1.8 per cent to $0.0821, and Ripple (XRP) moderated by 1.8 per cent to $1.09.
Further, TRON (TRX) dropped 1.6 per cent to sell at $0.3197, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 1.0 per cent to $581.18, and Cardano (ADA) declined by 0.4 per cent to $0.1589, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) gained 0.07 to sell at $0.9997, and US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $0.9998.
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