Justice O. O. Abike-Fadipe of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja has sentenced Ugwu Pascal Chijioke and Ibrahim Sadiq Adekunle to 46 years in prison for impersonating operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and executing a fake court order.
The duo was apprehended in May 2021 during an illegal operation at New Horizon Estate, Lekki, Lagos, following credible intelligence received by the EFCC. At the time of their arrest, they were found with fake EFCC identity cards, jackets, and a fraudulent court order purportedly from Mushin Magistrate Court.
The Lagos State Zonal Command of the EFCC re-arraigned Chijioke and Adekunle on October 12, 2021, on an amended five-count charge.
The charges included impersonation, attempting to obtain property, possession of documents containing false pretenses, and unlawfully wearing the uniform of the EFCC.
One of the counts against them stated: “That you, Ugwu Pascal Chijioke and Ibrahim Sadiq Adekunle, on or about the 12th day of May, 2021 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, by false pretense and with intent to defraud, attempted to obtain property from one Oriyomi Johnson under the pretext that the ‘Chief Magistrate Court, Lagos State Judiciary, Mushin, Lagos’ issued an Order to the effect that the property located at New Horizon Estate, Lekki-Ikate, Lagos be seized and the said apartment sealed pending the arrival of the said Oriyomi Johnson, which representation you knew to be false and committed an offence of attempt to obtain property by false pretense contrary to Sections 8(b) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 11(3) of the same Act.”
Another count read: “That you, Ugwu Pascal Chijioke and Ibrahim Sadiq Adekunle, on or about the 12th day of May, 2021 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court not being a person holding any office in or authority of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, wore a jacket bearing the official mark of the Commission, which was calculated to convey the impression that you held such authority and committed an offence of unlawfully wearing the uniform of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission contrary to Section 79(1)(b) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.”
Both Chijioke and Adekunle initially pleaded not guilty but later changed their pleas to guilty. The prosecution counsel, Abdulhamid Lamido Tukur, presented the facts of the case, urging the court to convict and sentence the defendants as charged.
Justice Abike-Fadipe found them guilty on all counts and sentenced them to seven years for each of counts one to three, one year for count four, and eight months for count five. The sentences will run concurrently, amounting to a total of 46 years in prison. Despite their pleas for mercy, the court upheld the sentences, underscoring the severity of their offenses.
