The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned Precious Williams, the director of Glossolalia Nigeria Ltd and Pelenged Nigeria Ltd, before Justice S.I. Mark of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, over alleged involvement in a N13.8 billion Ponzi scheme.
Williams is facing a 14-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money under false pretence, advance fee fraud, and money laundering.
The EFCC alleges that she acted in concert with MBA Trading and Capital Investment Limited (MBA TCIL), its fugitive promoter Maxwell Chizi Odum, and other agents, to defraud over 3,000 unsuspecting investors under the guise of offering monthly investment returns of 10 to 15 percent.
One of the charges reads: “That you, Precious Williams of Glossolalia Nigeria Limited; Pelegend Nigeria Limited, Phenom 413 Events Limited (company representative at large) and Doxasterz Oil and Gas Limited, sometime between the 24th day of August, 2019 and 15th day of February, 2020, at Port Harcourt… took possession of the sum of Ten Billion Naira (N10,000,000,000.00) from Maxwell Chizi Odum (still at large) and MBA Trading and Capital Investment Limited (at large)… when you reasonably ought to have known that the said funds formed part of the proceeds of unlawful activities…”
Another charge accuses her of taking N1.005 billion between December 2019 and November 2020 through a Polaris Bank account belonging to Pelegend Nigeria Ltd, also allegedly tied to proceeds from the fraudulent scheme.
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Williams pleaded not guilty to all the charges. Prosecution counsel, E.K. Bakam, requested the court to fix a trial date and applied for her remand in a correctional facility. Meanwhile, her counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Tochukwu Maduka, informed the court of a pending bail application and pleaded for her release to prepare her defense.
However, Bakam opposed the bail motion, arguing it was filed prematurely—prior to the amendment of the charge and before the arraignment. He urged the court to reject the application and advised the defence to submit a new one.
In his ruling, Justice Mark ordered that the defendant be remanded at the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre and adjourned the matter to June 17, 2025 for hearing on the bail application.
According to the EFCC, the defendant was arrested following multiple petitions alleging that she and her companies received billions of naira under false pretences, promoting an investment scheme that failed to deliver promised returns or refund investors’ capital.
The fraudulent scheme was widely advertised between 2019 and 2020 through social media and marketing agents, assuring investors of consistent high-yield returns within a fixed tenure. Investigations revealed that neither the returns nor the capital investments were repaid, amounting to one of the largest financial fraud cases currently prosecuted in the region.
