Kemisola Oye
JUSTICE I.O. Ijelu of a Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja, earlier today (12 December 2024) convicted and sentenced a businesswoman, Oluremi Ebun Phillips, to seventeen (17) years imprisonment for Fifty-Seven Million, Six Hundred and Ninety Thousand Naira (N57, 690,000) fraud.
Philips was previously standing trial before Justice S.O. Solebo of Lagos Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, following her arraignment on 27 January 2022. However, the trial could not be concluded before the retirement of Justice Solebo in November 2022, a development that resulted in the re-assignment of the case file to Justice Ijelu.
Philips was re-arraigned alongside her company, Omritas Energy Limited, on 22 May 2023 before Justice Ijelu on a five-count charge bordering on stealing contrary to Section 285 (1) of the Criminal Code Law of Lagos State 2011 and issuance of a dud cheque contrary to Section 2 of Dishonored Cheques Act, to the tune of N57, 690,000.
Count one reads: “Oluremi Ebun Philips and Omritas Energy Limited, sometime in 2016, at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, fraudulently converted and stole the sum of Fifty-Seven Million, Six Hundred and Ninety Thousand Naira (N57, 690,000.00), property of AYM Shafa Limited meant for the supply of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) which you failed to supply.”
Count two reads: “Oluremi Ebun Philips and Omritas Energy Limited, on or about the 10th of April 2017 at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, knowingly issued a Diamond Bank of Nigeria Plc cheque for the sum of N14, 298,075.00 payable to AYM Shafa Limited, which when presented for payment was dishonoured because no sufficient funds were standing to the credit of the account.”
The defendant, again, pleaded “not guilty” to all the counts preferred against her and the matter proceeded to trial.
In the course of the trial, prosecution counsel Banjo James called three witnesses and tendered several documents, while the defence counsel, Akin Olatunji, called three witnesses.
At today’s sitting, Justice Ijelu delivered the judgment and convicted the defendants on counts one to five.
The first defendant was sentenced to nine (9) years imprisonment or the option of an N2,000,000 fine to be paid within 90 days on count one.
Also, she was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment in respect of counts two to five (each) to run concurrently.
However, the second defendant, whose company, is to pay N250,000 on count one. The company is also to pay N100,000 on counts two to five (each).
The convict must pay the sum of N57,690,000.00 within 90 days as restitution, and the second defendant, which is the company, is to be wound up within 90 days upon failure to pay the restitution.
Eighteen-Eleven Media