A fake crude oil merchant, Adesanya Olufemi, has been sentenced to twenty-one year imprisonment by the Special Offences Court, Ikeja, Lagos, for defrauding a lady, Oluwatoyin Akinwole, of N33.6m.
The convict was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission alongside one Awojobi Ganiu on December 11, 2018, on four-count charges bordering on stealing and obtaining money by false pretence.
The petitioner, Akinwole, alleged that the defendants, who claimed to be into crude oil business, had approached her to join them in the business sometime in 2017. However, after receiving money from her, they reneged on the agreement.
One of the counts read: “ That you, Adesanya Olufemi and Awojobi Ganiu sometime in 2017 at Lagos, within the Ikeja Judicial Division, with intent to defraud, fraudulently obtained the sum of N33, 617.000 (Thirty-Three Million, Six Hundred and Seventeen Thousand Naira) by false pretence, property of Mrs. Oluwatoyin Akinwole, on the representation that you are into crude oil business, which representation you knew was false.”
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges, leading to a full trial. However, the trial eventually involved Olufemi alone, as the second defendant, Ganiu, opted for a plea bargain by pleading guilty.
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During the course of the trial of Olufemi, prosecution counsel, Daji Samuel, presented five witnesses, including Akinwole, also known as Toyin Texas, and tendered several documents that were admitted in evidence by the court.
Delivering judgment on the matter, Justice Mojisola Dada sentenced Olufemi to 14 years imprisonment on count one and another 14 years on count two. He was also convicted and sentenced to seven years imprisonment on count four. He was, however, discharged on count three.
The sentences run concurrently from the date of his arraignment.