The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned Precious Williams, director of Glossolalia Nigeria Ltd and Pelenged Nigeria Ltd, before Justice S.I. Mark of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, over an alleged ₦13.8 billion fraud linked to a suspected Ponzi scheme.
Williams faces a 14-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money under false pretence, advance fee fraud, and money laundering. She is accused of collaborating with fugitive Maxwell Chizi Odum and the defunct MBA Trading and Capital Investment Limited to defraud over 3,000 investors under the guise of a high-yield investment scheme promising monthly returns of 10 to 15 percent.
According to one of the charges, Williams allegedly took possession of ₦10 billion through her company’s bank account between August 2019 and February 2020—funds EFCC claims were proceeds of unlawful activity. Another charge alleges that between December 2019 and November 2020, she received ₦1 billion through a different account, also suspected to be proceeds of the scheme.
Williams pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Prosecuting counsel E.K. Bakam requested her remand and a date for trial, while her defence counsel, Tochukwu Maduka, SAN, applied for bail, arguing it was necessary for the defendant to adequately prepare her defence.
The prosecution opposed the bail application, stating it was filed prematurely—prior to the amendment of the charges and formal arraignment. Justice Mark ordered that Williams be remanded in the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre and adjourned the matter to June 17, 2025, for hearing on the bail application.
Williams was arrested following petitions from victims who claimed she played a key role in the failed investment scheme, which collapsed without fulfilling promised returns or refunding investors’ capital. The EFCC said the scheme was widely promoted across social media and involved luring unsuspecting members of the public to invest vast sums of money under false pretence.
