Singaporean loses $285,000 in alleged crude oil scam, EFCC arraigns suspect
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has brought charges against Amechi James Oduofor in the Federal High Court in Benin City, Edo State, in relation to a $285,000 alleged crude oil scam linked to a Singaporean businessman, Jimmy Kee.
Oduofor was arraigned on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, facing eight counts that include forgery, impersonation, and fraud. According to a statement from the EFCC, he allegedly misled Kee by posing as a Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) official and solicited a fictitious cargo reassignment fee for light crude oil.
The EFCC contends that Oduofor assumed the identity of Bright Wilcox, who is described as an engineer and Desk Manager of NNPC Operations for Offshore Loading Petroleum, to establish the legitimacy of the scheme to Kee.
Additionally, the commission asserts that Oduofor created a fraudulent email account to dispatch counterfeit NNPC documents to Kee, with the intent to collect the $285,000.
One specific charge alleges that Oduofor knowingly fabricated a false identity card for the NNPC, using the name Wilcox Bright to induce Kee into believing its authenticity. The charge states: “That you Amechi James Oduofor, sometime in 2020 within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did knowingly make a false document to wit: a false identity card of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation with the name Wilcox Bright as a Desk Manager – Operations Offshore Loading Petroleum, with intent that one Jimmy Kee, a Singaporean, may, in the belief that it is genuine, be induced to pay the aggregate sum of $285,000 (Two Hundred and Eighty-Five Thousand USD) to you.”
Another charge details Oduofor’s alleged alteration of a document described as a “Proforma Invoice for Marine (ATB),” which he allegedly sent to Kee through the previously mentioned fraudulent email account.
The charge reads: “That you Amechi James Oduofor, sometime in 2020 within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did knowingly alter a false document captioned ‘Proforma Invoice for Marine (ATB)’ by sending the said document via your email [email protected] to one Jimmy Kee, with intent that the said Jimmy Kee may, in the belief that it is genuine, be induced to pay the aggregate sum of $285,000 (Two Hundred and Eighty-Five Thousand USD) to you.”
Oduofor pleaded “not guilty” to the charges presented. Following his plea, prosecution counsel I. M. Elodi requested that the court schedule a trial date and order Oduofor to be remanded in custody. Justice C. A. Obiozor adjourned the case until November 19, 2026, for further proceedings and ordered Oduofor to be held in a correctional facility during that time.
