Charcoal dealer jailed three years for N21m fraud

A Federal High Court in Lagos Thursday sentenced a charcoal dealer, Taiyelolu Ibrahim Akeem, to three years imprisonment for N21million fraud.

Vacation judge, Justice Nicholas Oweibo, handed down the sentence without an option of fine.

The judgment followed Akeem’s guilty plea on September 3 to a three-count charge following his arraignment by the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU) Lagos.

But the judge adjourned till Thursday for a review of the facts and sentencing.

Prosecution counsel Daniel Apochi, who reviewed the case, said Akeem fraudulently obtained N21m from one Solomon George, under the pretence of supplying him 20 containers of charcoal.
He obtained the money through his firm, Tkashy Multi-Service.

The court heard that Akeem, alongside accomplices who were on the run, committed the offence in Lagos between February and October 2019.

The offence contravened Section 1(1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and was punished under Section 1(3) of the same Act.

It also offended Section 15(2) (b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, as amended in 2012.