- Safiu Kehinde
A former staff of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Olayiwola Oguntade, has been sentenced to five years imprisonment by an Oyo State High Court in Ibadan over N10 million fraud.
The convict was arraigned before Justice Bayo Taiwo by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
As disclosed in a statement issued by the anti-graft agency on Wednesday, Oguntade, was arraigned by the Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the EFCC on October 13, 2020 on a three-count amended charge, bordering on forgery, advance fee fraud and obtaining by false pretence to the tune of N10,000,000 (Ten Million Naira).
Count one of the charge read:“That you, Olayiwola Oguntade sometimes in 2010 at Ibadan within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court with intent to defraud obtained the sum of N10,000,000.00 (Ten Million Naira) only, by false pretence through Kola Al-Amin from Polybadan Microfinance Bank Ltd and thereby committed an offence of obtaining money by false pretence, contrary to Section 1 (i)(b) and 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.”
Count two read: “That you, Olayiwola Oguntade sometimes in 2010 within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court forged an LPO titled: Re: Supply of Internet Services, purported to have been issued by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) dated 15th October, 2010 with Ref No. JAMB/FIN/282/Vol.4/445 and thereby committed an offence of Forgery, contrary to Section 467 of the Criminal Code Law Cap 38, Laws of Oyo State, 2000.”
The defendant pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.
This prompted the prosecution counsel, Oyelakin Oyediran and Lanre Suleiman to call 10 witnesses who tendered several incriminating documents aainst him that were admitted in evidence.
The prosecution counsel urged the court to convict and sentence him accordingly.
In his judgment on January 28, 2025, Justice Taiwo, held that “the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and the court is convinced that the defendant is guilty of the offences filed against him by the EFCC.”
He convicted and sentenced him to five years imprisonment without an option of fine.
According to the EFCC, the convict began his journey to the Nigerian Correctional Center after he forged a Local Purchase Order (LPO)and Letter of Domiciliation and obtained a loan of N10million with them from Polybadan Microfinance Bank under the false pretence of executing a contract, purportedly awarded to him by JAMB for the provision of internet services.
To execute the fraud, he reportedly, gave the forged documents to a friend, K. Ola Al-Amin who is a customer of the Microfinance bank to help him present them to the bank and in his own (Al-Amin’s) name.
Deceived by the convict, Al-Aminsecured the loan with the forged documents and also helped him transfer the sum to three different companies’ bank accounts, namely: Reeden Investment Limited, Danmarg Multiventures Company and Enrich System Nigeria Limited, provided to him by the convict on the pretext that the sums were payments to the companies for equipment and installations for the purported internet services.
However, investigations revealed that the convict had earlier issued forged LPOsto these companies and had to defraud Polybadan Microfinance Bank of the N10million to pay back the loans he also fraudulently obtained from them.