Court sentences "wonder bank" operator to 14 yrs in prison for fraud

(Nigeria) Justice Ibrahim Buba of a Federal High Court in Lagos, on Wednesday, sentenced Godwin Nwaichie to 14 years imprisonment after he admitted committing a N14.7 million fraud.

Nwaichie was charged by the Police Special Fraud Unit (SFU), alongside another accused, Fortune Etaba and their company, Establishment House Ltd, in a N9.8 billion fraud case.

The judge sentenced Nwaichie, after he pleaded guilty to an amended three-count charge bordering on the offence.

Buba said: ``The convict, a 23-year-old man at the time of arrest, who ought to be vibrant and hardworking, decided to utilise his intelligence for fraud.

``For such offence, the law provides a maximum of 20 years imprisonment and minimum of seven years. The convict is hereby sentenced to 14 years in prison beginning from Jan. 9, 2010 when he was first arrested.’’

The accused were first re-arraigned on January 21 on the amended charge.

Nwaichie had pleaded guilty to the charge, while the second accused, (Etaba) pleaded not guilty.

Buba, however, did not convict Nwaichie then after a review of the facts of the case due to a conflict on the amount he fraudulently obtained.

The accused, after pleading guilty, had maintained that the amount of money he fraudulently obtained was less than the sum reflected on the charge.

At the resumed hearing of the case on Wednesday, the prosecutor, Mr Effiong Asuquo, informed the court of an amended charge, having regularised it.

In the amended charge, Nwaichie was accused of fraudulently obtaining N14.7 million of the N9.8billion involved in the case.

The accused was, therefore, re-arraigned on the amended charge.

After the re-arraignment, Nwaichie maintained his guilty plea and was thereafter sentenced by the judge.

Meanwhile, the judge admitted the other accused (Etaba) to bail in the sum of N500 million with two sureties in like sum.

Buba also ordered the accused to submit his travelling documents to the court with an undertaking not to travel outside Lagos while the case was ongoing.

He adjourned the case to February 21 for trial of Etaba.

The accused were said to have committed the offence between June and December 2009.

The prosecutor had told the court that the accused obtained various sums of money totaling N9.8 billion from different people, especially businessmen at the Alaba International Market, Ojo, Lagos.

Asuquo said the accused misinformed the individuals that they would get back 50 per cent of their deposits after 21 days.

He stated that the accused could not repay either the deposited funds or the ``multiplied sum’’.

Asuquo said the offence contravened the provisions of Sections 1 (1) (a), 8, and 2 of the Advanced Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2004.