Hammed Shittu
A Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin has sentenced a 29-year-old ex-convict, Mr. Joshua Ajayi Oluwatobi to 28 years imprisonment for allegedly impersonating the Dean Student Affairs, University of Ilorin and others to scam unsuspecting students seeking to pay school fees and hostel accommodation.
The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had arraigned Oluwatobi on four-count charge bordering on fraud, attempt to defraud and impersonation, to which he pleaded guilty.
Oluwatobi, had sometime in June 2020 been convicted by Justice Sikiru Oyinloye of the State High Court for similar offence.
After spending time at Mandala Correctional Centre, the convict went back to crime, and was again arrested by operatives of the EFCC and brought before the court for justice.
Following the plea of guilt entered by the defendant, counsel to the EFCC, Andrew Akoja, presented a witness, one Musa Muhmmad Sani, an operative of the EFCC, who reviewed the facts of the case and presented documents to establish the culpability of the defendant in the
crime.
Akoja urged the court to consider the uncontroverted evidence of the prosecution before it, the admittance of guilt by the defendant and convict the defendant as charged.
Delivering judgment, Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar said the material evidence placed before the court has shown that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The judge pronounced Joshua guilty of the four counts and sentenced him to seven years imprisonment on each count, to run concurrently.
The court also ordered the convict to restitute his victims.
