N214M FRAUD: Court Convicts 8 Suspects Prosecuted By The EFCC

San Francisco March 31, (THEWILL) - A Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja on Wednesday convicted eight suspects arraigned before it by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for forgery and theft of public funds totaling over N214 million.

The suspects were sentenced to sixteen (16) years imprisonment.

Justice Morenike Obadina handed down the jail terms to Alfred Omoreah; Oluwadare Olushola Kashilapo and Lawrence Achibuogwu and five companies belonging to them.

The five companies are: Mack Fred Nigeria Limited; Kashimatrics Ventures; Favour Home Cell Communication Limited; Himishi Hallmark Ventures and LCA International Limited. They were arraigned on a twenty-eight-count charge bordering on advance fee fraud and forgery.

Omoreah is to serve ten years imprisonment; Kahilapo and Achibuogwu are to serve three years imprisonment each and the terms are to run concurrently. A forfeiture order was given by the court on Mack Fred Nigeria Limited. This means that all the assets of the company will be forfeited to the government.

The court also ordered that restitution of seventy million naira (N70, 000,000.00) should be paid by Kashimatrics Ventures; Favour Home Cell Communication Limited, Himishi Hallmark Ventures and LCA International Limited to the government; being the amount illegally and fraudulently obtained as double payments for import duties on purported importation of toilet preparations by the companies.

The convicts were arraigned before the court on October 17th, 2006.