Prison comptroller jailed 7-yrs over N1.4m fraud

A High Court sitting in Okene yesterday on Friday sentenced a Deputy Comptroller of Prisons, Joseph Idachaba to seven years in prison for fraudulently enriching himself with over N1.4 million belonging to Nigerian Prisons Service, NPS.

Justice Josiah Majebi of Okene High Court handed down the sentence in the case of three-count charge of criminal conspiracy, falsehood and fraud in a case Idachaba was arraigned along with one other staff of the Prisons Service, Ruth Onoja in February, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

The duo were alleged to have violated provisions of the EFCC Act No. 14 of 2006 in the fraudulent transfer of N1,403,114.09 from the accounts of NPS through payment of salaries to a ghost staff, one Opia Mohammed Ugbede.

Prosecution submitted that the unknown Ugbede later paid the amount into Idachaba’s account.

Majebi in his judgement said the prosecution had proved the case of fraud against the accused beyond reasonable doubt and went ahead to convict him of the charge but acquitted him of conspiracy and falsehood.

He said that the convict had initially admitted commission of the crime in his statement but later turned around to deny it. ”The claim of the 1st accused (Idachaba) that he does not know Opia Mohammed Ugbede who was alleged to have paid the money into his account is but an afterthought.

“To believe the story of the 1st accused in the face of the overwhelming evidence adduced by the prosecution is to believe the holiness of a Bishop hanging a talisman on his neck.”

“It is my view and I hold that by the pieces of evidence aforementioned in this judgement, the prosecution has established that the 1st accused knowingly misrepresented Mohammed Ugbede Opia as a member of staff of NPS with the intention to defraud the service.”

Majebi therefore sentenced the accused to seven years in prison in accordance with section 1(3) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other related Offences Act No 14 of 2006. The 2nd accused, Onoja, was however discharged and acquitted as the prosecution could not establish the charge of conspiracy to link her with commission of the crime.

n  Vanguard News