Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Ikeja Special Offences Court has convicted and sentenced a man, Tobi Paul-Augustine, to 18 months imprisonment for impersonating an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The judge handed down the verdict following his guilty plea to the charge of impersonation.
Oshodi, in his judgement held, considered the severity of the offence, noting that Augustine’s actions had undermined public confidence in the EFCC, a vital law enforcement agency.
He said: “Section 380 of the Criminal Law prescribes a punishment of three years imprisonment for the offence of impersonation.
“Your actions impersonating an EFCC operative severely undermine public confidence in a crucial law enforcement institution.
“In mitigation, I note that you pleaded guilty at the first opportunity, thereby saving judicial time and you cooperated with law enforcement by providing a confessional statement, and you are a first-time offender.
“Having carefully weighed these factors, I hereby sentence you to 50 per cent of the prescribed sentence: 18 months’ imprisonment.”
The judge said the sentence should begin on August 10, 2024, the date of his remand.
The court further ordered that Exhibits E, F, G, G1, and H (the face caps, jackets, and t-shirts bearing EFCC and Nigerian Army insignia) be destroyed by the anti-graft agency EFCC.
Earlier, in the review of facts, the EFCC counsel, Mr. Fanen Anun, called one witness, Mr. Umar Abdulkariri, through whom several exhibits including the EFCC crested jacket and face cap were tendered before the court.
Abdulkariri, in his testimony, told the court that the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps handed over the convict to the EFCC on August 16, 2024.
“Several items were recovered which include two EFCC jackets, one Nigerian Army Special Force face cap and long-sleeved t-shirt, one EFCC face cap and one Infinix mobile phone,” the witness said.
The prosecution had submitted that the convict committed the offence sometime in August 2024 by presenting himself as an EFCC officer to confer a financial advantage to himself.
According to the commission, the offence committed contravened Section 380 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
Credit: Punch
