Two men, Ugwu Chijioke and Ibrahim Adekunle, have been sentenced to a combined 46 years in prison for impersonating officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and executing a fraudulent court order.
According to a statement on X.com on Sunday, the pair were arrested in May 2021 at New Horizon Estate, Lekki, Lagos, following credible intelligence received by the EFCC.
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They were caught in the act of conducting an illegal operation.
Upon their arrest, authorities recovered fake EFCC identity cards, jackets, and a court order purportedly from the Mushin Magistrate Court.
The Lagos Zonal Command of the EFCC arraigned Chijioke and Adekunle on October 12, 2021, on a five-count charge that included impersonation, attempted property fraud, possession of false documents, and unlawful wearing of the EFCC uniform.
The case was heard before Justice O.O. Abike-Fadipe of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja.
Both defendants pleaded guilty to all charges.
Prosecution counsel, Abdulhamid Tukur presented the facts of the case, demonstrating their guilt and requesting the court to issue a guilty verdict and appropriate sentences.
Justice Abike-Fadipe found the defendants guilty on all five counts.
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Each defendant was sentenced to seven years in prison for counts one to three, one year for count four, and eight months for count five. The sentences are to run concurrently.
One of the charges stated:
“That you, Ugwu Pascal Chijioke and Ibrahim Sadiq Adekunle, on or about the 12th day of May, 2021, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, by false pretence and with intent to defraud, attempted to obtain property from one Oriyomi Johnson under the pretext that the ‘Chief Magistrate Court, Lagos State Judiciary, Mushin, Lagos’ issued an order to seize and seal the property located at New Horizon Estate, Lekki-Ikate, Lagos, pending the arrival of Oriyomi Johnson, which representation you knew to be false and committed an offence of attempt to obtain property by false pretence contrary to Section 8(b) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 11(3) of the same Act.”
Another charge stated:
“That you, Ugwu Pascal Chijioke and Ibrahim Sadiq Adekunle, on or about the 12th day of May, 2021, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, not being persons holding any office in or authority of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, wore jackets bearing the official mark of the Commission, which was calculated to convey the impression that you held such authority and committed an offence of unlawfully wearing the uniform of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission contrary to Section 79(1)(b) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.”
During the sentencing, the defendants pleaded for mercy.
However, Justice Abike-Fadipe emphasized the severity of their crimes before delivering the verdict.
