Two men were on Thursday arraigned in an Upper Area Court, Gwagwalada, FCT, for allegedly hypnotising and cheating a housewife of N747,000.

The police charged Okwudili Joseph and Emeka Okafor with criminal conspiracy, fraudulently obtaining money and cheating.

The prosecution counsel, Abdullahi Tanko, told the court that the complainant, Helen Okezie, of Angwan dodo Gwagwalada, Abuja, reported the matter at the police station on January 17.

Tanko said that sometime in November 2021 while the complainant was in Gwagwalada market the first defendant (Joseph) and one Jude, now late, approached her separately and in the process hypnotised her.

He said that the complainant was taken to a place on the Kuje road, Gwagwalada Abuja where the second defendant (Okafor) and one John, now at large, committed the act.

He said that the offence contravened the provisions of sections 197, 176 and 320 of the Penal Code.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The defence counsel, Hussein Isah, prayed the court to grant his clients bail citing the provisions of sections 158 and 162 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) to buttress his claims for bail.

Isah said that the defendants, if granted bail would not jump bail and would always be in court until the determination of the matter.

He prayed the court to grant his clients bail in the most liberal terms.

The Judge Sani Umar, admitted the defendants to bail in the sum of N400,000 each with one surety each in like sum which must reside within the court’s jurisdiction.

Umar said that the address of the sureties must be verified by a staff of the court and that they must provide valid means of identification.

He said that the sureties must provide two recent passport photograph.

The judge said that if the defendants failed to meet the bail conditions, they would be remanded in Nigerian Correctional Centre in Suleja.

He adjourned the case until May 18 for hearing.

-NAN