(Blessing CEO arraigned in Lagos. Photo Credit: Punch News)
Popular social media influencer and self-styled relationship therapist known as Blessing CEO has been arraigned before a Federal High Court in Lagos over an alleged ₦36 million fraud.
Blessing CEO, whose real name is Okoro Blessing Nkiruka, appeared before Justice D.I. Dipeolu at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi on Friday, following charges brought against her by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
She faces a two-count charge involving obtaining money under false pretences and stealing the sum of ₦36 million.
During proceedings, her defence counsel P.I. Nwafor informed the court that the defendant had already refunded ₦24 million of the total amount to the complainant and requested a brief adjournment to resolve the outstanding balance, noting that the complainant had indicated willingness to prevail on the EFCC to drop the case if the remainder was paid.
The prosecution, however, pushed back against any suggestion of a private settlement, clarifying that the complainant in the matter is the Federal Government of Nigeria and that the EFCC was not party to any out-of-court arrangement.
The court sided with the prosecution, with Justice Dipeolu ruling that private discussions between the defendant and the nominal complainant would have no bearing on the criminal proceedings, and ordered that Blessing CEO take her plea.
According to the charges, Blessing CEO allegedly collected ₦36 million from a Mrs. Ifeyinwa Nonye Okoye between July 14 and 17, 2024, under the false claim of leasing a six-bedroom detached duplex on Tunbosun Osobu Street, off Kuboye Road, in Lekki, Lagos.
The EFCC alleged that the representation was entirely fraudulent, constituting an offence under the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006. A second charge accused her of converting the funds to personal use in violation of the Criminal Code Act.
Blessing CEO pleaded not guilty to both charges. Following her plea, the prosecution sought to have her remanded in a correctional facility pending trial. Her counsel, noting that the defence had only received the charges the previous day, requested more time to prepare a bail application and asked that she be kept in EFCC custody in the interim.
Justice Dipeolu granted the request and ordered her remanded in EFCC custody, adjourning the matter to June 5, 2026, for the commencement of trial.
