Two men, Ugwu Chijioke and Ibrahim Adekunle, have been sentenced to a total of 46 years in prison by the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos State. They were found guilty of impersonating Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operatives and carrying out a fraudulent court order.
The EFCC issued a statement on its Facebook page confirming the sentencing, which occurred following the arrests of the culprits in May 2021 at New Horizon Estate, Lekki, Lagos. The arrests were made based on credible intelligence received by the commission indicating their involvement in illegal activities.
Upon their arrest, fake EFCC identity cards, jackets, and a counterfeit court order from Mushin Magistrate Court were seized from them.
The defendants were brought before Justice O.O. Abike-Fadipe on October 12, 2021, by the EFCC Lagos Command and faced charges including impersonation, attempted property fraud, possession of forged documents, and unauthorized wearing of EFCC uniforms.
During the trial, the prosecution presented evidence of the defendants’ attempted fraudulent activities, which led to the guilty pleas from both individuals.
Justice Abike-Fadipe subsequently convicted them on all counts and imposed varying sentences. Chijioke and Adekunle each received seven years for counts one to three, one year for count four, and eight months for count five, with the sentences to run concurrently.
In a similar incident, the Nasarawa State Police Command apprehended three individuals impersonating EFCC officials in Nasarawa Local Government Area. The suspects were involved in robbery and abduction near the Federal Polytechnic, leading to their arrest after a diligent investigation by law enforcement officers.