Court Sentences Fake EFCC Operatives to 46 Years Imprisonment for Impersonation, Fraud

• Two men, Ugwu Chijioke and Ibrahim Adekunle, have been sentenced to a cumulative 46 years in prison for impersonating EFCC operatives
• The duo were apprehended in May 2021 at New Horizon Estate, Lekki, Lagos, based on credible intelligence
• Following their guilty plea, the suspects were prosecuted under multiple charges including impersonation

Lagos state-Ugwu Chijioke and Ibrahim Adekunle have been sentenced to a cumulative 46-year prison term for posing as operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and carrying out a fraudulent court order.

The duo was arrested in May 2021 at New Horizon Estate, Lekki, Lagos, following credible intelligence received by the EFCC.

The EFCC who made this disclosure on Sunday, June 16, on its social media X handle, said they were caught in the act of conducting an illegal operation at the time of their arrest.

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Items recovered included fake EFCC identity cards, jackets, and a court order purportedly from Mushin Magistrate Court.

Charges and court proceedings

Subsequently, they were charged by the Lagos Zonal Command of the EFCC on October 12, 2021, with offences including impersonation, attempted property fraud, possession of forged documents, and unauthorized use of the EFCC uniform.

The suspects appeared before Justice O.O. Abike-Fadipe of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, where they pleaded guilty to the charges, as reported by The Punch.

Guilty plea and prosecution

After pleading guilty, the prosecution, represented by Abdulhamid Tukur, presented the case's facts, establishing their culpability.

As a result, Tukur urged the court to find them guilty and impose appropriate penalties.

Justice Abike-Fadipe subsequently pronounced them guilty on all charges.

Each received a seven-year sentence for counts one to three, one year for count four, and eight months for count five, all to be served concurrently.

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In another report, the Court of Appeal in Abuja quashed the contempt case initiated by the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, against the chairman of the EFCC, Olanipekun Olukoyede.

Bello had presented the contempt case before a High Court of Kogi State sitting in Lokoja on interim orders earlier granted by the court.

In a judgment on Thursday, June 13, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, among other things, held that the contempt case was premised on dead interim orders issued by the Kogi State High Court, sitting in Lokoja.

Source: Legit.ng