bags (2)

419er bags 120-yr jail term

A 48-year-old-man, Olusoji Abiodun Ilori, was yesterday sentenced to 120 years imprisonment by an Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan, for offences bordering on fraud, forgery and obtaining money by false pretence.
Photo:Yahoo Yahoo boarding House Location: Unknown Students:unknown

The suspect who was arraigned by the Economics and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 40-count charge, bagged three years jail term for each of the 40 counts..

He is however to spend only three years in prison as the jail terms is to run concurrently.

According to Justice M. Abimbola of the High Court of Oyo State, Ibadan, who delivered the judgement, the jail sentence was to serve as a deterrent to the convict and others who may be nursing the idea of engaging in fraudulent activities. He said he hoped the three years the convict would be in prison would serve as a reformatory period for him.

The suspect who was earlier arraigned on September 17, 2009 by the anti-graft agency has been in jail since as he was refused bail by the court because of the enormity of the offence..

He was arrested in March 2009 at the Dugbe Post Office, Ibadan while posting over 200 scam letters containing forged United Kingdom documents meant to be delivered to unsuspecting victims.

He also had 213 letters purportedly signed by one Mr. Benson Nwosu of Fidelity Registrar, which Fidelity Bank Plc has since confirmed to be fake as the bank stated that it has no subsidiary company with the name Fidelity Registrar. “The 213 letters purportedly signed by Mr. Benson Nwosu of Fidelity Registrar, were forged as we do not have any employee by such name..

The blank letter headed paper was also forged,. the logo and lettering imitated our regular letter heads while they listed our Board of Directors underneath it, but we disown the document as it was forged and did not originate from us”, Fidelity Bank Plc had stated.

Ilori in his advance fee fraud venture also had 212 letters purportedly signed by one Neil Freeman, Centre Manager, Inland Revenue Centre for Non-Residents, Fitzroy House, Nottingham , United Kingdom .

However EFCC through its collaboration with Serious Organised Crime Agency, SOCA , UK , discovered that though the address is correct, the content was false. “Whilst the address is correct, the Inland Revenue was replaced by HMRC several years ago and therefore the forms are false as they are dated March 2009.

The return envelope is addressed to a mail box with no connection to HMRC”, a letter from SOCA had stated. All the disowned documents were forged by Ilori with a view to extract information and dupe unsuspecting members of the public.

All of them were however used as evidence and exhibits against the accused person before Justice Abimbola who condemned the attitude of some Nigerians who are desperate to make money at all cost and by any means possible, thereby bastardising the image of Nigeria . He said the misadventure of Ilori and other scammers was capable of scaring away foreign investors and businessmen from the country.

Count one of the charges reads: Forgery contrary to section 467 of the Criminal Code, Cap 38 Laws of Oyo State of Nigeria , 2000. Olusoji Abiodun Ilori on or about the 25 day of March 2009 at Dugbe Post Office, Ibadan within the Ibadan judicial division with intent to defraud, forged a letter dated 18th March 2009 purportedly written by Neil Freeman, Centre manager, Inland Revenue Centre for Non-Residents, Fitzroy House, P. O. Box 46 Nottingham NG21BD to Mr. Samuel H. Mokwunyer and Mrs Bridget A. Cinwuzor of Suite 3A, Princess Court, 27 Ahmed Onibudo, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. Count two of the charges reads: Forgery contrary to section 467 of the Criminal Code, Cap 38 Laws of Oyo State of Nigeria , 2000.

Olusoji Abiodun Ilori on or about the 25 day of March 2009 at Dugbe Post Office, Ibadan within the Ibadan judicial division with intent to defraud, forged a letter dated 18th March 2009 purportedly written by Neil Freeman, Centre manager, Inland Revenue Centre for Non-Residents, Fitzroy House, P. O. Box 46 Nottingham NG21BD to Professor A. G. Falade, P. O. Box 29840 Secretariat Post Office, Ibadan, Nigeria.

The convict has since Monday October 11 when the judgement was delivered, been taken back to Agodi prisons Ibadan
Read more…

NDLEA boss, bags 16 years imprisonment

A Lagos High Court, on Monday, sentenced a former boss of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Bello Lafiaji, to 16 years imprisonment for abuse of office and conspiracy. His erstwhile special assistant, Usman Amali, also bagged a seven-year jail term.

The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and other related matters (ICPC) had arraigned both Mr. Lafiaji and Mr. Amali in 2008, on a seven-count charge of abuse of office and conspiracy. The Anti-graft body said the duo had in November 2005 conspired and unlawfully received 164,300 euros from a drug suspect identified as Ikenna Onochie, to secure Mr. Onochie’s release from NDLEA’s custody. The two defendants had severally pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The money, which was also alleged to ensure the release of the suspect’s impounded cars, was part of the exhibits seized from the suspect’s house while he was arrested for being in possession of 3.2kg of cocaine and heroin.

Mr. Onochie is currently facing trial for drug trafficking at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi.

Ruling on the judgment, Olusola Williams, (a Justice of the Federal High Court) held that the prosecution had successfully proved that the release of Mr. Onochie from custody was irregular.

“The court finds the two defendants guilty for receiving money for personal benefits. The prosecution has proved its case and they are as guilty as charged. The court holds that there was an agreement between the defendants to do what they did,” she declared.

Mrs. Williams, while commending the former NDLEA boss for his role in uplifting the standard of the anti-drug agency, said he allowed his reputation to be tarnished because of personal gains.

As for the second defendant, the special assistant to Mr. Lafiaji, the judge said, “he appeared to have followed his master blindly,” she said.

Mrs. Williams said she found the defendants guilty in six of the seven-count-charge and ruled that “Lafiaji is sentenced on counts one to four for four years each, while for counts six and seven, he is sentenced to two years each.”

Also, according to her ruling, “Amali is sentenced to two years each on counts one and two, while on counts three, four and six, he is sentenced to one year each”, Williams concluded. The sentences are to run concurrently.”

Read more…

Blog Topics by Tags

  • in (506)
  • to (479)
  • of (339)
  • ! (213)
  • as (166)
  • is (157)
  • a (156)

Monthly Archives