Justice
Adebunkola Banjoko of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, on
November 21, 2012, convicted Femi Maurice who was arraigned by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to four years
imprisonment
Maurice was arraigned on July 1, 2007, on a four
count charge of obtaining under false pretence, contrary to Section 1
(1)(a) and punishable under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and
other Fraud Related Offences Act.
His road to prison followed a
petition to the EFCC, where the complainant alleged that sometime in
February, 2007 on his way to Lagos via C.N. Okoli luxurious bus from
Abuja, he met the convict who introduced himself as a visa agent and
protocol officer with the National Assembly, Abuja.
The
complainant wrote that the convict claimed he processes visas for people
and buttressed his claim by showing him six Nigerian International
Passports with visas which he said could be procured at the cost of
N350, 000.00 apiece and also told him that there are slots for four
people but that he only succeeded in presenting three people including
himself, his brother, Bello Kabir and his landlord’s son.
The
court was told that the accused person, after succeeding in convincing
the complainant, collected the sum of one million, one hundred and
twenty six thousand Naira (N1, 126, 000.00) under the false pretence of
procuring a U.K visa for him, his brother and his landlord’s son but
that the visas which the convict procured were fake.
He however
pleaded not guilty to the four count charge. Prosecution counsel, Gift
Odibo, in proving her case, called three witnesses and tendered about
sixteen exhibits. At the close of the prosecution’s case, the defence
called just one witness and tendered no document.
On the 21st of
November, 2012, the accused was convicted on all four counts and
sentenced to four years imprisonment on each count which adds up to
sixteen years. The sentence is to run concurrently from the date of
judgment.
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