First Class undergraduate jailed for 13 years in Ondo

A Federal High Court sitting in Akure, Ondo State capital, on Friday, sentenced a final year student of Achievers University, Owo, Fisayo Adetoro, to 13 years imprisonment and a fine of N1m over impersonation, forgery and money laundering.

Adetoro, a first-class student with the Cumulative Grade Point Aggregate (CGPA), of 4.5 was dragged to court on a six-count charge by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibadan zonal office.

According to the charge sheet, the accused was said to be parading himself as Bawa Mohammed Sanni and defrauding his victims thousands of dollars.

He was also accused to have registered for a Nigerian Driver’s Licence with the fake name, with his photograph, as well as laundering some amount running to millions of naira.

The EFCC prosecutor, represented by Dr Ben Ubi and Sanusi Galadanchi, called five witnesses, including two of the victims, while the accused called three witnesses.

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However, the accused pleaded not guilty to all the charges

The Presiding Judge, Justice Folashade Olubanjo, after evaluating the arguments of the two counsels, found Adetoro guilty in four of the six charges.

Adetoro was sentenced to two years imprisonment for falsification of documents, three years for uttering of official document and was sentenced him to five years imprisonment with a fine of N1m while the jail terms are to run concurrently.

Justice Olubanjo, however, considered the convict for a suspended sentence of six months community service, premising the terms on the health of the accused, academic standing and the fact that he had refunded all the money he fraudulently collected.

The suspended sentence, according to the court, would only stand if he observes the days without breaking while the Judge warned the accused from missing the term for six months or else the original sentence will be fully effected.