Femi Adesina’s impersonator jailed 28 years for fraud

A Kwara state high court has sentenced one Jamiu Isiaka to 28 years in prison for impersonating Femi Adesina, the presidential spokesman.

The Ilorin zonal command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had on June 14, 2019, arraigned the defendant on a four-count charge to which he pleaded not guilty.

According to the agency, Isiaka had impersonated the presidential spokesman to defraud Keun Sig Kim, a South Korean, of N30 million.

The convict had promised to help Kim secure a marketing form and license certificate from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to buy crude oil.

In the course of interrogation, the defendant claimed that he used the money to conduct sacrifice for his victim. He said part of the money was used to buy vulture, elephant skin, elephant intestine, the skull of a lion, and liver of a gorilla.

During the trial, OB Akinsola, counsel to the EFCC, called two witnesses, including a police detective, Dare Folarin, who narrated how the defendant was arrested and several fraudulent funds traced to his bank accounts.

The prosecutor also tendered evidence showing how the defendant obtained the sum of $88, 521 from his victim.

He said the offence was contrary to section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.

Delivering judgement, Mahmud Abdulgafar, the presiding judge, held that the prosecution had tendered enough evidence to convince the court that the defendant was guilty.

He was therefore found guilty on all four counts and sentenced to seven years in Mandala Correctional Centre on each count. The sentence is to run concurrently.

The judge ordered the forfeiture of some properties recovered from the convict, which were said to be proceeds of unlawful activities.

The court also ordered restitution to the victim of the crime.