Woman Charged with N31m and Foreign Currency Visa Fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has charged a woman named Modupe Oriyomi Ativie in the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. She faces allegations of visa fraud involving N31.06 million, $3,600, and €1,815.

Ativie was brought to court by the EFCC’s Port Harcourt Zonal Directorate before Justice A.T. Muhammed. She faces five charges related to visa fraud, advance fee fraud, and obtaining money under false pretenses.

This information was shared in a statement on Tuesday via the EFCC’s X account.

One of the charges says, “That you, Modupe Oriyomi Ativie and Eudora and Aegle Management Consulting Limited, sometime in July, 2024 at Port Harcourt, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did obtain the sum of Eight Million, Five Hundred and Eighty Thousand Naira (N8,580,000.00, only) from One Atamuotoru Dikiari Michael through his sister, Rita Chikeru Owhonda by false pretence under the guise of offering a visa sponsored employment to Canada for him, which pretext you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) & (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related offences Act 2006 and Punishable under same section of the same Act,” the charge stated.

Another count states, “That you Modupe Oriyomi Ativie and Eudora and Aegle Management Consulting Limited between 21st November, 2024 to 23rd January, 2025 at Port Harcourt, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did obtain the sum of Twenty-Two million, Four Hundred and Eighty-Two Thousand Naira (N22,482,000.00, only) from one Augustine Olague by false pretence under the guise of offering a visa sponsored employment to Canada for him, which pretext you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) & (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act,” the charge stated.

Ativie pleaded “not guilty” to the charges. This led the prosecution lawyer, I. Agwu, to request the court to set a trial date and keep the defendant at the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre until the trial.

The defence lawyer, J. Kehinde, asked for bail so that Ativie could prepare for the trial. Justice Muhammed then ordered that Ativie be held in EFCC custody and postponed the case until October 16, 2026, for a decision on her bail request.

The EFCC explained that this case started after Michael Aiamunotorudikari submitted a complaint. He claimed he and other victims lost money in various currencies to Ativie.

According to the statement, “He disclosed that his sister Rita Chikeru Owhonda introduced Eudora and Aegle Management Consultant to the defendant’s company in June 2024, as an agency that was procuring Canadian visa and employment opportunities for travellers in the country.”

The petitioner claimed that he first paid $5,800 into the defendant’s Eudora and Aegle Travel Management Consultant account and later transferred N8.58 million into another account linked to Ativie.

“According to him, the defendant became incommunicado after the two payments and that all his efforts to recover his money proved abortive,” the statement said.

The EFCC added, “Investigation by the Commission revealed that the defendant received an aggregate sum of N31,062,000 (Thirty-one Million and Sixty Two Thousand Naira) from the petitioner and $3,600 (Three Thousand, Six Hundred Dollars) and €1,815 (One Thousand, Eight Hundred and Fifteen Euros) from other victims.