Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe of the ikeja Special Offences Court has sentenced two men, Ugwu Pascal Chijioke and Ibrahim Sadiq Adekunle, to 22 years and eight months in prison for impersonating an official of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The duo were convicted of using fake court order to impersonate EFCC officials and extort people.
The EFCC had arraigned the duo on an amended five-count charge bordering on obtaining property by false pretence, unlawfully wearing EFCC uniforms and possessing documents containing false pretence.
Chijioke and Adekunle committed the offence on May 12, 2021 with intent to defraud, obtain property from an individual, Oriyomi Johnson, under the pretext that the “Chief Magistrate Court, Lagos State Judiciary, Mushin, Lagos” issued an order to the effect that the property located at New Horizon Estate, Lekki-Ikate, Lagos be seized and sealed.
They pleaded not guilty when they were first arraigned but later pleaded guilty to the charge.
Following their guilty plea, the prosecuting counsel, Abdulhamid Lamido Tukur, therefore review 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 Court were collected from the defendants.
Justice Abike-Fadipe, therefore, found them guilty as charged and sentenced them to seven years’ imprisonment on counts one, two and three. One year on counts four while they were sentenced to eight months on counts five.
The judge said the sentences would run concurrently. Before the sentence was read, the convicted pleaded for mercy.
The first defendant begged court saying, “I am very sorry for the crime. I pleaded guilty for having been in correctional facility for over a year now and have learnt a lot. I am very sorry and I beg EFCC to forgive me. I will never go back to any crime I plead court to temper justice with mercy.”
