Man Bags 10-year Jail Term for Contract Scam

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday recorded its first conviction in 2015 when Justice A. Ongetenu of the Federal High Court Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, convicted and sentenced one Monday Agha to 10 years imprisonment for conspiracy, impersonation and obtaining money by false pretense.

Agha, who was arraigned on July 20, 2013, allegedly fraudulently opened several accounts in different banks using fictitious names with which he conspired with one Moses to defraud some unsuspecting victims.
A statement by the Head, Media & Publicity of EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, said, after diligent prosecution, Justice Ongetenu convicted the accused on six of the eight-count charge preferred against him and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment.
The convict, who was also ordered to pay N2,730,000 in restitution to the complainant, had previously been convicted by a Federal High Court, Enugu and sentenced to seven years in prison for defrauding a don of N805,000.
In a related development, a witness in the ongoing trial of former governor of Kogi state, Prince Abubakar Audu, Irile Fidelis, on Thursday, told an Abuja High Court that he knew nothing about a building called Nitel Quarters that was purportedly constructed for the Kogi State government by his company during the tenure of Abubakar Audu as governor of the state.
Fidelis who was the human resources manager of Bulkon Nigeria Limited, while being led in evidence by counsel to EFCC, Rotimi Jacobs, said, “I didn’t play any role in the construction of the building called NITEL quarters that people rumoured to be Audu’s property.”
When shown exhibits P144-P154 containing agreement between the Kogi State government and Bulkon Nigeria Limited, the witness identified the documents as belonging to his company and duly signed by the accountant.
“I only knew about these documents in 2006 when EFCC came for investigation in my company,” he said.
The documents are alleged to be agreement between Bulkon Nigeria Limited and Kogi State government to build houses for the suspect, one of which is the NITEL quarters.
The first prosecution witness, PW1, Lewechi Terry Ozoemenam, managing director of Leoflench Nigeria Limited, had on Wednesday told the court that, ex-governor Audu conspired with the Director of Directorate of Rural Development, Alfa Ibn Mustapher, to forge his company’s receipt in a bid to inflate contracts.
Prince Audu is being prosecuted, alongside Alfa Ibn Mustapha, by EFCC for offences bordering on criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of public funds to the tune of N10,965,837,040.
Justice Ademola Adeniyi has adjourned further hearing in the matter till March 4, 5 and 6, 2015.


Credt: Nigerian Tribune