Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe of the Special Offences Court, Ikeja, yesterday,sentenced two middle-age men, Ugwu Pascal Chijioke and Ibrahim Sadiq Adekunle, to 22 years and eight months imprisonment for impersonating an official of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The duo were convicted for using fake court orders to impersonate the official and extort unsuspecting members of the public. The EFCC had arraigned the duo on an amended five-count charge bordering on obtaining property by false pretence, unlawfully wearing the EFCC uniform, and possession of documents containing false pretence.
The convicts committed the offence on May 12, 2021, with intent to defraud and obtain property from one Oriyomi Johnson under the pretext that the Chief Magistrate’s Court, Lagos State Judiciary, Mushin, issued an order to the effect that the property located at New Horizon Estate, Lekki-Ikate, Lagos, be seized and sealed.
Their offences were contrary to Sections 8(b) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 11(3) of the same Act.
Also, their offence contradicted Section 79(1) (b) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. They pleaded not guilty when they were fist arraigned but later changed their plea.
Following their guilty plea, the prosecuting counsel, Abdulhamid Lamido Tukur, reviewed the facts of the case before the court. He told court that at the point of arrest, fake EFCC identity cards, jackets, and a court order purported to have emanated from the Mushin Magistrate’s Court were collected from the defendants
“In view of the review of the fact of the case, the prosecution prayed the court to convict the defendants as charged and sentence them accordingly.”
Justice Abike-Fadipe, who found them guilty as charged, therefore, sentenced them to seven years imprisonment on count 1, 2 and 3; one year on count 4; while they were sentenced to eight months on count 5.
The judge said the prison term would run concurrently. Before sentencing the convicts, they pleaded for mercy.
