A Lagos State High Court has convicted a man, Kuyoro Michael, for producing a fraudulent letter intended to deceive the Italian High Commission.
Justice Olubusola Okunuga delivered the judgment after Michael was arraigned by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission alongside Samuel Orabela Olakunle on charges of conspiracy to obtain a false document and making false statements to investigators.
During the proceedings, Michael pleaded guilty to the charges and expressed remorse before the court, telling the judge he had “learnt his lesson.”
The prosecution, led by Yvonne William-Mbata, told the court that the convict was approached by Olakunle to produce a fraudulent letter using the letterhead of Ikeja Local Government in an attempt to deceive the Italian diplomatic mission.
According to the prosecution, the defendant later cooperated with investigators and refunded the proceeds of the crime into the ICPC recovery account.
Counsel to the defendant, Grace Adenubi, appealed to the court to temper justice with mercy, noting that the convict is a remorseful breadwinner with four children.
In her ruling, Justice Okunuga said the sentencing must comply with the provisions of the ICPC Act 2000, which prescribes fines of N10,000 or two years imprisonment for one count and N100,000 or two years imprisonment for the second.
However, the judge noted that the penalties under the law are outdated and called for an urgent review to reflect present-day realities.
The court subsequently ordered Michael to pay a total fine of N110,000 for the two counts in lieu of a two-year jail term.
He was also sentenced to three months of community service and directed to sign a bond of good behaviour at the ICPC office.
In addition, his biometric data will be captured and registered in the ICPC offenders’ database.
Written Wahab Akinlade