Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court, Lagos has convicted and sentenced a job scammer, Emeka Anaga, to a total of 404 years imprisonment for fraud.

Justice Aluko gave the verdict via zoom, on Wednesday, while delivering judgment in a separate-charge filed against the convict by the Abakaliki Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The convict was brought before Abakaliki, Ebonyi State Division of the Federal High Court, in 2018 and 2019, where Justice Aluko was formerly sitting on charges marked FHC/AI/8c/2019 and FHC/AI/62c/2018, on a 39 and six-count charges, respectively.

In the charges, the convict and one Barrister Ken, said to be at large, were accused of introducing themselves to their victims as a staff of Etisalat Telecommunications Limited, now 9 Mobile, and that he was capable of securing them contracts to supply fuel to all telecommunication companies.

The convict was accused of fraudulently obtaining various sums, amounting to N37, 805 million, from one Innocent Nwachukwu, Managing Director of IB. Nwachukwu Enterprises, under false pretence of securing a contract for him to install mast and fuel, same at different locations in the country.

He was also accused of forging MTN’s Identity card. In the two charges, the convict was alleged to have defrauded his victims of various sums running into millions of naira.

The prosecutor, Rotimi Ajobiewe, had told the court that the offences committed by the convict, contravened Sections 8(a); 1(c) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act. And Section 2(C) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap M17, 2004 and punishable under the same Section of the Act.

The convict had pleaded not guilty to all the count charges on his arraignment in 2018 and 2019, respectively. And he was admitted to bail in various terms, but unable to perfect the same.

Delivering judgment on the charges, Justice Aluko convicted Anaga in all 39 counts on the charge marked FHC/AI/8c/2019, except on counts one to four, 29 and 34. The judge also convicted him on count one of the charge marked FHC/AI/62c/2018.

Following the judge’s pronouncement on the convict, his counsel, O. Okorie, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy in sentencing his client.

Okorie also appealed to the court to consider the period his client had spent in custody and urged the court remove such from the jail terms.

After listening to the counsel’s submission, Justice Aluko sentenced Anaga to 12 years imprisonment on 33 out 39-count charges without an option of fine.

The judge also held that the period the convict already spent in prison custody should be computed and deducted from the terms of imprisonment, in respect of all the counts.

He said the sentences and terms of imprisonment to be served by the convict in all the counts shall run concurrently and not consecutively.

The judge also ordered the convict to make restitution of N37, 805 million fraudulently obtained from Innocent Nwachukwu, the Managing Director of IB. Nwachukwu. (Daily Sun: Text, excluding headline)

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