A man and his wife have been arraigned at the Auchi Chief Magistrate Court for an alleged visa scam.

Abdulazeez Umar, 50 and Hajiya Fatima Umar, 48, faces a 13-count charge for allegedly collecting N1 million from a woman, Princess Zainab Alamah, to get a Saudi Arabian visa for her. They were charged with conspiracy, felony, obtaining money under pretence, stealing and fraud amongst others.

When the suit was read to their hearings, the couple pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The prosecutor, Cpl. Andrew Edmond, told the court that the accused persons allegedly collected the money from one Princess Zainab Alamah between June and October 2011.

“My lord, this couple collected the money at different times to assist Alamah to procure document for her to attend the 2011 Muslim pilgrimage.

“The accused persons fraudulently and unlawfully converted the money to their personal use, without processing the visa as promised,’’ He said.

Meanwhile, both were granted bail by Magistrate Mrs I.A Osayande, each for N100,000 with two sureties in like sum.

The case was adjourned to Oct. 16 for further hearing.