Court sentences vessel engineer to three years in prison for illegal operation
- A vessel engineer, John Patani, has been sentenced to three years imprisonment
- According to the EFCC, Pantani was convicted for operating a vessel on the Nigerian territorial waters without due registration and licence
- Pantani who pleaded guilty to the offence was, however, given an option of a fine of N2 million
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John Patani, a vessel engineer, has been sentenced to three years imprisonment for operating a vessel, M.T De Praise, on the Nigerian territorial waters without due registration and licence from the appropriate authority.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) made this known in a statement posted on its Facebook page on Wednesday, September 16.
Legit.ng gathers that Justice H.I.O Oshomah of the Federal High Court sitting in Port-Harcourt, Rivers state, has convicted Pantani with an option of a fine of N2 million.
Source: Facebook
Patani was arrested in February by men of the Nigerian Navy Ship Delta, at Off Shore, Escravos and handed over to the EFCC, for further investigation and prosecution.
The convict was arraigned on one count-charge of operating a vessel on the Nigerian territorial waters, without due registration and licence, contrary to Section 22 of the Coastal and Inland Shipping Cabotage Act No 5 2003 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria and punishable under same Act.
The convict pleaded guilty to the charge when it was read to him. In view of his plea, prosecution counsel, Austin Ozigbo, prayed the court to convict and sentence the defendant accordingly.
However, defence counsel, Joshua Solomon, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, as he said his client has become remorseful and has promised never to return to the crime.
Justice Oshomah, thereafter, convicted and sentenced the defendant to three years imprisonment or an option of N2 million.
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the fight against cybercrime and advanced fraud hit a big breakthrough as the operatives of the EFCC arrested 32 cyber fraudsters.
The disclosure was contained in a statement issued by the anti-graft agency on Tuesday, August 11, via a tweet on its official Twitter page.
The EFCC said among the arrested fraudsters, three of them are serving corps members while 19 are undergraduates in Nigerian institutions.
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Source: Legit.ng
