The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Port Harcourt Zonal Directorate in Rivers State, has arraigned a medical practitioner based in Port Harcourt, Doctor Nekabari Dambere Nathan, over an alleged visa scam involving N39,157,000.
Nathan was arraigned alongside his firm, Global Horizons Academy Ltd, before Justice P.I. Ajoku of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt on a one-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and advance fee fraud.
According to a statement issued by the EFCC on Thursday, the charge followed a petition received in February 2023, accusing Nathan of falsely presenting himself as a professional caregiver trainer and travel agent who could secure foreign jobs and visas for clients in Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
The petitioner, the Managing Director of Riskout Consults, alleged that Nathan approached his company and convinced several students that he could facilitate their travel and enrol them for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exams. Based on these representations, students reportedly paid Nathan a total of N39,157,000.
However, the EFCC said the visas and job placements were never delivered. Attempts to recover the money proved futile, as the defendant allegedly became unreachable.
The charge read in part, “That you, Dr. Nekabari Dambere Nathan and Global Horizons Academy Ltd, between 8th April and 12th December 2023, in Port Harcourt within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, did obtain the sum of Thirty-Nine Million, One Hundred and Fifty-Seven Thousand Naira (N39,157,000.00) from Justice Toojah Iyieagbu, Managing Director of Riskout Consults, under the pretence of processing visas for clients to Canada, Ireland, and the United States, a claim you knew to be false.”
At Thursday’s court session, Nathan pleaded “not guilty” to the charge.
Prosecution counsel, A. Abubakar, requested a trial date for the defendant to be remanded in custody. However, defence counsel, Friday Otanjah, informed the court of a pending bail application, urging that his client be granted bail on medical grounds to allow him to prepare for his defence properly.
Justice Ajoku adjourned the case to June 25, 2025, for hearing of the bail application and ordered that the defendant be remanded in EFCC custody. Trial is scheduled to commence on November 27, 2025.
