A woman in Nigeria who claimed a mystery snake swallowed nearly $100,000 of state funds under her care was charged with fraud on Friday, the anti-graft agency said.

Philomina Chieshe, an accounts officer in the education department of Nigeria's central Benue state, appeared alongside five others co-accused in high court in Abuja, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said.

The group was arrested after a probe last year into missing millions at their work place at the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), which oversees university admissions.

The suspects were slapped with eight-count charges of stealing 35 million naira ($97,500), remittances from sales of forms.

"Chieshe became notorious when she made an outlandish claim that a mysterious snake swallowed about 35 million naira," said EFCC.

Nigeria's biggest banknote is 1,000 naira, and the total amount of missing cash would fill several sacks. Investigators did not find a snake.

AFP