A 42-year-old Lebanese, Rami El Masri, has been charged to court for allegedly forging a letter of Nigerian citizenship confirmation and also parading himself as a Nigerian.
Masri, who owns two construction companies along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, was on Thursday arraigned before a Lagos State Magistrate’s Court in Igbosere.
The three counts filed against him by the police bordered on conspiracy, forgery and uttering of documents.
He is alleged to have forged a Nigerian citizenship confirmation letter with reference number MIA/NAT 382/1.
He was also accused of falsely and fraudulently feigning to be a Nigerian citizen by birth, an act which is punishable under Sections 363 (3)(4)(O), 409 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011.
According to the police prosecutor, Susan Ezema, the accused and others, who were still at large, committed the offences between December 15, 2008 and November 19, 2014.
She said Masri “knowingly and fraudulently uttered the aforesaid false letter of confirmation as if it was genuine by presenting same to CSP Martin Nwogoh, a police officer attached to the Police Special Fraud Unit, Lagos office.”
After reading the charges to him, Masri pleaded not guilty to all the counts and he was subsequently admitted to a N200,000 bail with two sureties in like sum.
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