Kemisola Oye
JUSTICE Ismail Ijelu of a Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has convicted and sentenced a middle-aged man, Abodurin Gerald Abozo, to a commutative eight years imprisonment.
The judge sentenced Abozo after finding him guilty as charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He was arraigned on 15 October 2023 on a two-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and stealing the sum of two million Naira (N62,000,000.00) only.
He was charged along with S.G.B. & A Property Company Limited for obtaining the said sum sometime in 2013 and dishonestly converted same to his personal use.
He was said to have obtained the said sum from Engineer Samuel Segher under the false pretence that he had two plots of land for sale at Chevy Estate, Ojomu Chieftaincy Family land, Lagos.
He, however, pleaded not guilty to the two-count charges when it was read to him.
Following his not-guilty plea, the prosecution counsel, M. S. Owede, during the trial, called two witnesses while the defendant testified for himself.
The prosecution, however, tenders several documents, including the extra-judicial statement of the defendant, which the court admitted in evidence.
One of the prosecution witnesses told the court that the defendant was arrested following a petition received by the anti-graft commission that Abozo fraudulently obtained the total sum of N62 million under the pretence that he had two plots of land to sell to the petitioner at Chevy-View Estate, Lekki, Lagos.
Engineer Samuel Segher, in his evidence in chief, told the court that the defendant informed him that he was the owner of the said and that after payment, he wanted to take possession, but only to discover that someone else had a building on the land and all efforts to recover his money proved abortive.
While delivering judgment earlier today, Justice Ijelu sentenced the convict to seven years imprisonment without the option of a fine on court one.
The judge also sentenced the convict to one year on count two and ordered him to make restitution to the nominal complainant in the sum of N62 million.
Eighteen-Eleven Media