Court Sentences ‘Nigerian Senator’ to 2 Years Imprisonment, Reason Emerges
- A Nigerian man will spend two years in prison for posing as a fake senator to steal money from a foreigner
- The EFCC dragged Tom Makwe to a court in Abuja after receiving credible intelligence concerning the suspect's “fraudulent internet activities”
- Justice Aliyu Shafa ordered the convict to return the stolen N30 million and $1,300 to the victim, Maria Del Rosario San Jose Garces, through the Spanish embassy in Nigeria
Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.
A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court in Gwagwalada, Abuja, on Wednesday, June 26, sentenced a fake senator, Tom Makwe, to two years imprisonment for swindling a Spanish of 47,082 euros.
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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned the convict on two counts of intent to defraud over the internet.
But delivering the judgment on Wednesday, Justice Aliyu Shafa gave the convict an option of a fine of N5 million, The Guardian reported.
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In a twist, the 'fake senator' pleaded guilty to the charge and begged the court for leniency, Vanguard reported.
Victim to get funds, cars other items from convict
As reported by Daily Trust, Justice Shafa, ordered that the N30 million and $1,300 recovered from the convict be forfeited to the victim, Maria Del Rosario San Jose Garces, through the Spanish embassy in Nigeria, and evidence of forfeiture be filed with the registrar of the court within two weeks.
He further ruled that the items recovered from the convict, which include one black Camry 2017 model car, Samsung S 23, Apple iPhone 13 cellphone, and HP EliteBook, would be forfeited to the government, and the proceeds of the sale would be remitted to the victim through the Spanish embassy in Nigeria.
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Following the court's judgement, the convict disclosed in his plea for mercy that he was sincerely sorry for his misconduct and bad character.
“I am a changed person and plead with the court to tamper justice with mercy. I will never have anything to do with internet fraud again,” he pleaded.
Fake EFCC agents bag 46 years for impersonation, fraud
In another development, Legit.ng reported that Ugwu Chijioke and Ibrahim Adekunle have been sentenced to a cumulative 46-year prison term for posing as operatives of the 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.
Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
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Source: Legit.ng
