Lagos Businessman Sentenced To 60 Years In Prison For N184m Fraud

A businessman, Chukwuemeka Ekwunife has been sentenced by the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos to 60 years in prison.

He was sentenced alongside his company, Structured Energy Limited for N184,098,000 fraud.

The trial judge, Justice Sherifat Solebo charged him on counts one to six and sentenced him to 10 years on each count to run concurrently at a correctional facility.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC had arraigned the convict alongside his company on an amended eight-count charge bordering on stealing by fraudulent conversion contrary to sections 278(1)(b), (2)(f) and 285(1) of the Criminal Code Law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011.

One of the counts reads: “Chukwuemeka Ekwunife and Structured Energy Limited, on or about the 4th day of June 2015 in Lagos, within the Lagos Judicial Division, dishonestly converted to your own use, the sum of N85,000,000.00 (Eighty-five Million Naira Only) paid to you by M.R.S. Oil and Gas Company Limited, property of Nepal Oil and Gas Limited.”

Another count reads: “Chukwuemeka Ekwunife and Structured Energy Limited, sometime between October to November 2014 in Lagos, within the Lagos Judicial Division dishonestly converted to your own use, the sum of N39,238,000.00 (Thirty-nine Million Two Hundred and Thirty-eight Thousand Naira Only) paid to you by Globin Oil and Gas Limited, property of Nepal Oil and Gas Limited.”

Delivering judgment, Justice Solebo held that the prosecution proved counts one to six beyond every reasonable doubt and so found him guilty as charged on the counts and sentenced him to 10 years at the Correctional facility on each count to run concurrently.