The Port Harcourt Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, arraigned Ugochukwu Joseph Nwaemere, Executive Director of Pennhydro-Pell Oil and Gas Limited, before Justice E.A. Obile of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Nwaemere is facing a 10-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery, and obtaining money under false pretence amounting to N750 million.
One of the charges states that Ugochukwu Joseph Nwaemere, Managing Director/CEO of Pennhydro-Pell Oil & Gas Limited, along with Osaogba Christian Izuchukwu (currently at large), the company’s Executive Director, allegedly defrauded Polaris Bank Limited of N750 million on or about April 17, 2023, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
They reportedly claimed the funds were to execute a contract involving the dredging and stockpiling of 100,000 metric tonnes of sharp sand for the Bodo-Bonny Road Project—an assertion the EFCC says was false and intended to deceive.
The alleged offence violates Section 1(1)(b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, and is punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.
He pleaded “not guilty” to all the charges when they were read to him, prompting the prosecution counsel, C. Okorie, to ask the court for a trial date.
Counsel for the defendant, U.C. Ngeleoka, informed the court of his pending bail application and urged the court to grant his client bail to enable him to stand trial.
Justice E.A. Obile ordered that the defendant be remanded at the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre and adjourned the matter to June 21, 2025, for ruling on the bail request.
Nwaemere’s arrest followed a petition alleging his involvement in fraudulent financial dealings, including conspiracy and obtaining money under false pretence amounting to millions of naira.
According to the petitioner, in April 2023, Nwaemere—Executive Director of Pennhydro-Pell Oil & Gas Limited—along with a co-conspirator now at large, approached Polaris Bank Limited at its Garrison Junction Branch on Aba Road in Port Harcourt to request a loan.
They claimed the loan was needed to execute a contract for dredging and stockpiling 100,000 tonnes of sharp sand for the ongoing Bodo-Bonny Road Project.
To secure the loan, the defendant allegedly forged an invoice—labelled “Pennhydro-Pell Oil & Gas Invoice with No: 142 dated November 29, 2022”—falsely presenting it as a document cleared by Julius Berger Nigeria Plc for payment for a completed project milestone.
EFCC investigations revealed that based on the “forged document,” the defendant was able to convince the bank and secure a total of N750 million.
However, it was later discovered that the loan proposal was fraudulent, and all efforts by the bank to recover the funds have so far been unsuccessful.