By Lizzy Chirkpi
Two prosecution witnesses have testified against Jesam Michael Ubi, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Afriq Arbitrage System Limited (AAS), over allegations that the cryptocurrency investment platform defrauded investors of their funds.
The witnesses, Samson Egbu, an investor based in Nasarawa State, and Isaac Kwaghbee, an Abuja businessman, testified on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Identified as the 25th and 26th prosecution witnesses, respectively, they told the court how they allegedly lost a combined 15,190 USDT through the platform in a case involving an alleged $87 billion cryptocurrency investment fraud.
USDT, also known as Tether, is a stablecoin designed to maintain a value equivalent to the United States dollar.
Testifying before the court, Egbu told prosecution counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, that he invested 8,190 USDT after being persuaded by assurances about the platform’s credibility and the security of investors’ funds.
According to him, Ubi repeatedly assured investors that their funds would be kept securely on the Binance platform and could not be accessed by anyone other than the account holders.
“He (Jesam) repeatedly told us that your money cannot be touched. He told us that the money would be secured in Binance platform and nobody except the investor can touch the money,” Egbu said.
The second witness, Kwaghbee, told the court that he invested 7,000 USDT through two separate registration accounts.
He said the money was realised from the sale of family land inherited from his late father, which he had hoped to invest to generate returns for himself and his siblings.
“The money I invested into the platform was proceeds of the land my late father died and left behind for our family. I sold it to make more money for myself and my siblings when the investment promised high yields,” he said.
The prosecution alleged that AAS attracted investors with promises of unusually high returns and assurances that their funds were secure.
Promotional videos and posters reportedly showed Ubi promising prospective investors a return of 1.6 per cent on their investments within 24 hours.
He was also accused of using videos and photographs of what he presented as the company’s United States headquarters to project an image of credibility, as well as engaging local and foreign celebrities to promote the platform.
The platform eventually collapsed and was shut down, leaving investors unable to recover their funds, according to the prosecution’s account.
Ubi has reportedly blamed one Oluwasesan Abayomi for the platform’s failure.
At Wednesday’s proceedings, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) tendered statements, investment documents and other materials obtained from the witnesses.
Defence counsel, Uchena Njoku, SAN, objected to the admission of the documents but reserved his reasons for the objection.
During cross-examination, Njoku questioned Kwaghbee’s use of two accounts, arguing that the investment made through the second account was registered on a different website rather than the AAS platform.
He also challenged the witnesses to acknowledge that their initial investments had yielded the promised returns before the platform was allegedly manipulated by someone other than the defendant.
Justice Egwuatu adjourned the case until December 2, 2026, for continuation of the trial.