Akinwale Akintunde
Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of an Ikeja Special Offences Court Thursday convicted and sentenced a former Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Clement Illoh, to a five-year imprisonment over his involvement in a N14.1 million Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) fraud. The judge also ordered the convict to remit the sum of N14 million to the federal government’s coffers.
Illoh was convicted of two out of three-count charge bordering on stealing by conversion of property to the tune of N14.1 million preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The convict, who was arraigned on October 16, 2017 by EFCC, was said to have awarded fictitious contracts to himself via his company, Clement and Bob Associate, and friends. EFCC prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo, had during the trial told the court that Illoh, while serving in active capacity, stole the sum of N14.1 million from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), and hereby committed an offense contrary to Section 279(1)(b) and 285 (6) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State No,11, 2011.
Delivering judgement Thursday, Justice Taiwo said the prosecutor has proved its case against the defendant beyond reasonable doubt.
“The defendant is hereby convicted on count one and two of the charges of stealing and conversion of public funds. It is quite unfortunate that a senior officer had found himself in this predicament. A public officer has no right to steal from any public funds. And his action is highly frowned upon by the law.
“I, therefore, sentence the defendant to five years imprisonment with no option of fine. The defendant is also ordered to refund the sum of N3.5 million withdrawn by him to the federal government.
“Also, the sum of N10.5 million recovered by the EFCC should be forfeited to the federal government and deposited to the ‘Consolidated Revenue fund account of the federation’ as stipulated in Section 31 of the EFCC Act.”
“The defendant is hereby ordered to serve his sentence at the Ikoyi Prison,” the judge ruled.
