An Aba-based lawyer, Mr. Peter Asagwaram, has been remanded in custody by a Magistrate Court sitting in Umuahia, Abia State, over an alleged N84 million fraud involving a property transaction.
Mr. Asagwaram was arraigned before Magistrate Court 2 on charges bordering on obtaining money under false pretence and related offences.
According to the complainant, an Aba-based businessman, Mr. Chibuike Akusiobi; he handed over the sum of N84 million to the lawyer to facilitate the purchase of a property located along the Enugu–Port Harcourt Expressway, close to Ariaria International Market in Aba.
The businessman alleged that upon requesting a receipt or acknowledgement for the payment, the lawyer provided him with what later turned out to be a forged document presented as a Power of Attorney for the property.
He further claimed that he later discovered that only N15 million out of the N84 million he provided was allegedly paid to the land owner. The land owner was also said to have refunded the amount after the lawyer failed to pay the balance required to secure the property.
The complainant stated that efforts to recover the money proved unsuccessful, alleging that the lawyer subsequently fled his base in Aba.
Information gathered revealed that operatives of the Nigeria Police Force from Zone 9 Headquarters in Umuahia reportedly tracked and arrested the suspect last week at Omuma Road in Aba, Abia State.
When approached for comments by journalists regarding the allegations, the defendant declined to speak, stating, “No comment.”
Mr. Asagwaram, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to him in court.
Following his plea, the presiding magistrate ordered that he be remanded in custody, while the case was adjourned to April 8, 2026, for further hearing.
