Kemisola Oye
A Lagos Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced a man, Tobi Paul-Augustine, to 18 months in prison for impersonating an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justice Rahman Oshodi sentenced Paul-Augustine to an 18-month jail term following his guilty plea to the charge of impersonation.
Justice Oshodi, in his judgment, considered the severity of the offence, noting that Augustine’s actions had undermined public confidence in the EFCC, a vital law enforcement agency.
The judge held: “Section 380 of the Criminal Law prescribes a punishment of three years imprisonment for the offence of impersonation.
“Your actions impersonating an EFCC operative severely undermine public confidence in a crucial law enforcement institution.
“In mitigation, I note that you pleaded guilty at the first opportunity, thereby saving judicial time and you cooperated with law enforcement by providing a confessional statement, and you are a first-time offender.
“Having carefully weighed these factors, I hereby sentence you to 50 per cent of the prescribed sentence: 18 months’ imprisonment.”
The judge said the sentence should commence on 10 August 2024, the date of his remand.
The court further ordered that Exhibits E, F, G, G1, and H (the face caps, jackets, and t-shirts bearing ‘EFCC’ and Nigerian Army insignia) be destroyed by the EFCC.
Earlier, in the review of facts, EFCC counsel, Mr Fanen Anun, called one witness, Mr Umar Abdulkariri, through whom several exhibits including the EFCC crested jacket and face cap were tendered.
Abdulkarim, in his testimony, had told the court that the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) handed over the convict to EFCC on 16 August 2024.
“Several items were recovered which include two EFCC jackets, one Nigerian Army Special Force face cap and a long-sleeved t-shirt, one EFCC face cap and one Infinix mobile phone,” the witness had said.
The prosecution had submitted that the convict committed the offence sometime in August 2024 by presenting himself as an EFCC officer in order to confer financial advantage to himself,
According to the anti-graft agency, the offence contravenes Section 380 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
Eighteen-Eleven Media