A Kano State High Court presided over by Justice Lawal Wada on Monday, convicted and sentenced Augustine Olayinka and Oke Anone to eight years imprisonment with option of N100, 000 fine each.
The duo were arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) last Thursday November 14, 2013 on a six-count charge of forgery.
Also, EFCC arraigned a banker, Chika Tony Odigbo before Justice D. Z. Senchi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja on one count charge bordering on obtaining money under false pretence.
Olayinka and Anone allegedly presented themselves as sureties to suspects under investigation and submitted fake Certificates of Occupancy for landed properties in the Unguwar Dosa area of Kaduna metropolis as bond to the Commission.
One of the charges reads, “that you Augustine Olayinka and Oke Anone sometime in 2012 at Kano within the jurisdiction of the High Court of Kano State with intent to defraud forged a document titled CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY NO. KD4261 issued to plot NO. BT 486c U/Dosa in the name of Dauda Yakubu purported to have been issued and signed by the authority of the Ministry of Lands, Survey and Country Planning Kaduna State and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 362 and punishable under section 364 of the Penal Code.”
The two accused persons pleaded guilty to all the charges and were convicted accordingly.
The complainant in the case involving Odigbo, Ademola Oluwayemi allegedly gave the accused, a staff of Intercontinental Homes Limited (now Access Bank) the sum of N10 million to open a fixed deposit account which the accused told him was a criteria for buying a house from the said bank.
The accused allegedly converted the whole sum to his use.
The count reads, “That you Chika Tony Odigbo, on or about the 15th day of June, 2012 at Abuja in the Abuja Judicial Division of the High court of the Federal Capital Territory, being entrusted with the sum of, N10,000,000.00 (Ten Million Naira Only) by one Mr. Ademola Oluwayemi of shop 16 Omega Centre, Wuse 11, Abuja to open a fixed deposit account for him with the Intercontinental Homes Limited did dishonestly converts to your own use the said sum and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 312 of the Penal Code Act Cap 532, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria ( Abuja) 2004”.
The accused pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to him.
In view of his plea, the prosecuting counsel, Aisha Ibrahim asked the court to fix a date for the commencement of trial. Responding, the defence counsel, Oladimeji Ekengba urged the court to admit his client to bail.
Justice Senchi granted bail to the accused in the sum of Two Million Naira Only (N2, 000, 000.00) and one surety in like sum.
The case has been adjourned to February 3, 2014 for commencement of trial.