EFCC Impersonators Sentenced to 46 Years for Fraud and Impersonation

Two men, Ugwu Chijioke and Ibrahim Adekunle, have been sentenced to 46 years in prison for impersonating Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operatives and executing a fake court order.

The duo was arrested in May 2021 at New Horizon Estate, Lekki, Lagos, based on credible intelligence received by the commission, according to a statement on X.com on Sunday.

Caught in the act of conducting an illegal operation, they were found with fake EFCC identity cards, jackets, and a court order purportedly from Mushin Magistrate Court.

They were subsequently arraigned on October 12, 2021, by the Lagos Zonal Command of the EFCC on a five-count charge, which included impersonation, attempted property fraud, possession of false documents, and unlawful wearing of the EFCC uniform.

Appearing before Justice O.O. Abike-Fadipe of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, the defendants pleaded guilty to the charges.

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Following their guilty pleas, prosecution counsel Abdulhamid Tukur presented the case facts, demonstrating their guilt, and requested the court to impose the appropriate sentences.

Justice Abike-Fadipe found them guilty on all counts and sentenced them each to seven years on counts one to three, one year on count four, and eight months on count five, with the sentences to run concurrently.

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One of the charges stated: “That you, Ugwu Pascal Chijioke and Ibrahim Sadiq Adekunle, on or about the 12th day of May, 2021 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, by false pretence and with intent to defraud, attempted to obtain property from one Oriyomi Johnson under the pretext that the ‘Chief Magistrate Court, Lagos State Judiciary, Mushin, Lagos’ issued an Order to the effect that the property located at New Horizon Estate, Lekki-Ikate, Lagos be seized and the said apartment sealed pending the arrival of the said Oriyomi Johnson, which representation you knew to be false and committed an offence of attempt to obtain property by false pretense contrary to Sections 8(b) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 11(3) of the same Act.”

Another count stated, “That you, Ugwu Pascal Chijioke and Ibrahim Sadiq Adekunle, on or about the 12th day of May, 2021 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, not being a person holding any office in or authority of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, wore a jacket bearing the official mark of the Commission, which was calculated to convey the impression that you held such authority and committed an offence of unlawfully wearing the uniform of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission contrary to Section 79(1)(b) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.”