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 officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The duo used a fake court order to try to seize property.
The Lagos Zonal Command of the EFCC re-arraigned Chijioke and Adekunle on five charges, including impersonation, attempting to obtain property, possessing documents with false pretenses, and unlawfully wearing the EFCC uniform.
One of the charges stated, “Ugwu Pascal Chijioke and Ibrahim Sadiq Adekunle, on May 12, 2021, in Lagos, attempted to obtain property from Oriyomi Johnson by falsely claiming that the Chief Magistrate Court in Mushin, Lagos had issued an order to seize and seal a property at New Horizon Estate, Lekki-Ikate, Lagos.”
Another charge accused them of unlawfully wearing jackets with the EFCC official mark to mislead people into thinking they were legitimate EFCC operatives.
Both men pleaded guilty to all charges. Abdulhamid Lamido Tukur, the prosecution counsel, reviewed the case’s facts and urged the court to convict and sentence the defendants.
Justice Abike-Fadipe found Chijioke and Adekunle guilty on all five counts. She sentenced each to seven years in prison for counts one to three, one year for count four, and eight months for count five. The sentences will run concurrently.
The men were arrested in May 2021 during an illegal operation at New Horizon Estate, Lekki, following credible intelligence received by the EFCC. At the time of arrest, authorities recovered fake EFCC identity cards, jackets, and a bogus court order from them.
Initially, the men pleaded not guilty when first arraigned on October 12, 2021, but later changed their pleas to guilty. During the sentencing, the convicted men pleaded for mercy, but the judge imposed the sentences as prescribed by law.