Fraudster Bags 7 Years Jail Term for N .8m Scam

Justice M. L. Shuaibu of the Federal High Court Enugu, Enugu State on Friday January 17, 2014 convicted and sentenced one Monday Agha who was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on a four count charge of obtaining money under false pretences to seven years imprisonment.

Justice Shuaibu convicted the accused and sentenced him to seven years imprisonment on counts one, three, and four without option of fine, but discharged on count two.  The sentences are to run concurrently.

 Agha, a serial fraudster who is also facing trial on an 8-count charge of obtaining money under false pretence before a Federal High Court, Abakaliki, Ebonyi state, defrauded one Paul. O. Ezema, a teacher at the University of Nigeria, of about N805, 000 (Eight Hundred and Five thousand Naria) when he claimed to be a dealer in electrical rings used for pipeline protection by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

One of the charges against the accused read, that “You Monday Agha, Engr Chris Ezea, (at large) Nwadike a.k.a papa (at large) and Engr. Benson Banigo (at large) on or about 11^th August 2012 in Enugu within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria with intent to defraud obtained the sum of three hundred and fifty thousand naira (N350, 000.00) from Paul. O. Ezema by false pretence that you were selling to him an electrical ring used by NNPC for pipeline protection which pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 1 (1) (a) of Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under section 1 (3) of the same Act”