- Safiu Kehinde
Jonathan Wallang, the man who defrauded the Cooperative Society of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) of N700 million, has been sentenced to prison after ten years on trial.
The convicted fraudster was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Abuja Zonal Directorate.
As disclosed in a statement issued on Thursday by the anti-graft agency, Wallang was arraigned before Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Maitama Abuja.
He was sentenced to seven years imprisonment after a full trial lasting 10 years upon being arraigned by the EFCC on seven-count charges bordering on obtaining money by false pretence.
Count six of the charges had read, “That you Jonathan Wallang, being the Managing Director of Swift and Hay Limited on or about the 20th October 2011 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja with intent to defraud obtained the sum of N520,000,000 (Five Hundred and Twenty Million Naira) from the NLNG Staff Bonny Cooperative Investment and Credit Society Limited through Dinijocs Nigeria Limited paid into Swift and Hay Limited First Bank Account No:2016419957 under the pretext of selling a plot of land viz: Plot No1 Idu-Sabo District, Cadastral Zone D04, measuring 643398 Hectares covered by File no: MISC 106282 belonging to Larix Company Limited which you had no authority to sell and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud Related Offences Act,02006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act”
Count seven read, “That you Jonathan Wallang being the Managing Director of Swift and Hay Limited on or about the 3rd November 2011 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja with the intent to defraud obtained the sum of N130,000,000 (One Hundred and Thirty Million Naira) only from the NLNG Staff Bonny Cooperative Investment and Credit Society Limited through Dinijocs Nigeria Limited paid into Swift and Hay Limited First Bank Account No:2016419957 under the pretext of selling a plot of land viz: Plot No1 Idu-Sabo District, Cadastral Zone D04, measuring 643398 Hectares covered by File no: MISC 106282 belonging to Larix Company Limited which you had no authority to sell and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act”.
The defendant had however pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to him, paving way for his full trial that lasted 10 years.
In the course of the trial, two other defendants, Julius Peter and Ijeoma Alanza, passed away while the 1st defendant, one Emeka Iloegbunam was discharged and acquitted.
Jonathan Wallang, on the other hand, was found guilty by Justice Muazu who sentenced him to seven years imprisonment without an option of fine after being convicted on counts 6 and 7 bordering on obtaining money by false pretense and sentenced to seven years imprisonment without an option of fine.
He was also convicted on counts 1, 2 and 3 bordering on conspiracy and forgery and sentenced to two years imprisonment but with an option of fine of N200, 000 each.
The judge also ordered that the convict restitute the sum of N580, 000,000 (Five Hundred and Eighty Million Naira) to NLNG Staff Bonny Cooperative Investment and Credit Society Limited.
According to the EFCC, Wallang’s journey to Kuje Correctional Center began in 2015 when Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas NLNG Cooperative Society’s petitioned the EFCC regarding the convict and three others who connived to defraud the Cooperative of the sum of N700 million in the guise of securing landed properties for it in the Federal Capital Territory.