Alleged N81.7m Fraud: Banker Knows Fate Sept. 7
Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Special Offence Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Friday, July 16, 2021, adjourned to September 7, 2021 judgment in the alleged N81,720,000 fraud trial of a banker, Oladimeji Balogun.
The defendant was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Lagos Zonal Office, on March 4, 2019 on a four-count charge bordering on stealing to the tune of N81,720,000.00 (Eighty-one Million, Seven Hundred and Twenty Thousand Naira).
One of the counts reads: “That you, Oladimeji Balogun, sometime between May 30 and June 2018 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, dishonestly converted to the use of Balogun Zainab Omohomo, the sum of N35,000,000.00 (Thirty-five Million Naira) only, being the property of Finni Oluwakemi and committed an offence contrary to Sections 278 and 285 (1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State No. 11, 2015.”
He pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.
At today’s proceedings, both the prosecution and the defence adopted their final written addresses.
Justice Taiwo adjourned to September 7, 2021 for judgement in the matter.
Alleged €40,000 Fraud: EFCC Presents Witnesses, Closes Case Against Defendant
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Friday, July 16, 2021, presented two more prosecution witnesses, Ademola Agbetuyi and Haruna Bamaiyi, against Abiodun Sodiq, who is facing trial for a seven-count charge bordering on forgery and conspiracy to the tune of €40,000, before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja Lagos.
The defendant allegedly defrauded a businessman, Babatunde Emmanuel, of €40,000 under the guise that the funds would be used for the Malta Government Citizenship Investment Programme as well as procurement of Malta international passport.
He is also accused of forging two other Maltese international passports in the names of Oyinlola Vincent and Ashinedun Vincent.
At today’s proceedings, the fourth prosecution witness, Agbetuyi , who was involved in the investigation of the case, informed the Court that the passports were scanned and sent to the Embassy that issues Maltese passports.
Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, S.O. Daji, he added that “ The Embassy responded that the passports were forged.”
In his testimony, the fifth prosecution witness, Bamaiyi, a forensic expert at the Commission’s Forensics Laboratory in Abuja, told the Court that the Forensic Laboratory received a request for the analysis of two Maltese international passports sometime in August 2019.
Bamaiyi, who specializes in security documents identification and analysis, enlightened the Court on the various uniquely coded security features of a valid international passport.
He further testified that in analysing the passports, he used one of the EFCC’s sophisticated forensic equipment, the VSC 8000.
“The VSC 8000 was used for comparative analysis to view and know whether the passports in question contained necessary coded features.
He further explained that the equipment comes with the database of all international passports in the world.
Identifying the two passports alleged by the prosecution to have been forged, he confirmed to the Court that the two passports “failed ICAO standard test and were counterfeits.
“They merely bear simulated features of Maltese passports,” he said, adding that “the documents sent to the Forensics Laboratory did not come with the name of the suspect and we only examined the documents sent for forensic analysis”.
Thereafter, Daji informed the Court that the prosecution was closing its case.
Justice Taiwo adjourned till September 21, 2021 for the defence to open its case.
Serial Fraudster Bags 15 Years for N4m Fraud
Justice Umaru Fadawu of the Borno State High Court sitting in Maiduguri, on July 16, 2021 sentenced a serial fraudster, Alen Abel to fifteen years imprisonment for obtaining N4, 065, 000.00 (Four Million, Sixty-five Thousand Naira), under false pretence.
The offence is contrary to Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.
The convict was arraigned on July 14, 2021 by the EFCC on two separate one count charge.
One of the charge reads: ‘‘That you Alen Abel, sometimes in May 2020 at Maiduguri, within the Jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud did obtained One Hundred (100) bags of rice worth N900, 000.00 (Nine Hundred Thousand Naira) only from Saaqndo Orseer Emmanuel under the pretense of executing a contract of supply of food items, purportedly awarded by Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management (Federal Government School Feeding Programme), under the Special Intervention Programme (SIP), which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence, contrary to Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.’’
The other charge reads: ‘‘That you Alen Abel, sometimes in May 2020 at Maiduguri within the Jurisdiction of this Honourable Court with intent to defraud did obtained 25kg of Spaghetti at N2,900 (Two Thousand, Nine Hundred Naira) only per carton and Twenty bags of rice at N16,000 (Sixteen Thousand Naira) only per bag worth N3, 165, 000.00 (Three Million, One Hundred and Sixty-five Thousand Naira) from Sontanimen Orison Nyigngo under the pretence of executing a contract of supply of food items, purportedly awarded by Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management And Social Development (Federal Government School Feeding Programme), under the Special Intervention Programme (SIP), which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence, contrary to Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.’’
The convict pleaded ‘‘guilty’’ to the separate charges preferred against him by the EFCC.
Upon his plea, the prosecution counsel, Mukhtar Ali Ahmed, through Buba Abdul, an operative of the EFCC, reviewed the facts of the case and prayed the court to convict and sentence Abel as charged.
Justice Fadawu, after listening to the prayer of the prosecution, convicted the defendant and sentenced him to eight and seven years imprisonment on the respective charge.
He however ordered that the jail term will be served consecutively.
Justice Fadawu also ordered the convict to pay N4, 065, 000.00 (Four Million, Sixty-five Thousand Naira), in restitution; and in the event of failure to obey the restitution order, the convict shall serve five years jail term on the two separate charges.
Source: Media & Publicity Department
