A Nigerian, Nwachi Chidozie Kingsley, was on Thursday, October 29, sentenced to seven years imprisonment by an Abuja court for obtaining $205,238 from an American, Nicole Kierulff Sayers, under false pretence.
Justice U.P. Kekemeke of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, convicted Kingsley and sentenced him accordingly on each of the two counts without an option of fine.
The sentences are to run concurrently at Kuje Correctional Centre, Abuja.
The court also ordered him to restitute the victim the sum of $205,238.
Kingsley was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a two-count amended charge bordering on possession of a document containing false pretence and obtaining money by false pretence in connection with a purported contract with the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing.
One of the charges accused him of being in possession of a fake notice of intent to award a contract, allegedly issued in his name by the ministry. The second count accused him of obtaining $205,238 from Sayers under the false pretence that the money was required to finance a government contract, knowing that the claim was false.
While testifying before the court, Sayers, an American lawyer based in the state of Oregon, identified Kingsley as the man who contacted her on Facebook on her birthday.
She told the court: “I know the defendant. The defendant messaged me on Facebook on my birthday and he said he was a member of the same spiritual organisation as me.”
According to her, their conversations developed into a romantic relationship which she said made her trust him and believe his claims.
Sayers further told the court that Kingsley subsequently asked her for money to facilitate the award of a contract by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing. He allegedly claimed that some men were threatening his life because he had not provided the money required to secure the contract.
She said Kingsley supplied her with details of the purported contract, including a logo and other information, which she believed because she had developed an emotional attachment to him.
She further testified that Kingsley initially requested for $15,000, promising to repay the money within 45 days. She transferred the money to him through a money transfer application.
According to Sayers, Kingsley subsequently introduced her to ‘members of his family’ through a video call, during which they reportedly thanked her for helping him secure the purported contract.
She told the court that she transferred approximately $40,000 to Kingsley before travelling to Nigeria to meet him in person.
Sayers said she arrived in Abuja in March 2022 and spent two weeks with Kingsley at his rented house in Sun City, Abuja. She claimed that she continued the relationship because she wanted to recover her money.
The witness further alleged that Kingsley subsequently requested additional funds for various purposes, including medical emergencies, surgeries, malaria treatment and supplies for the purported government contract.
She told the court that the requests involved more than 125 transactions and that the total amount she transferred was, by her estimate, over $200,000 within a 12-month period.
Sayers also testified that Kingsley presented her with a document he claimed was proof that he had attempted to transfer $10,000 to her.
According to her, he claimed that the bank had intercepted the transaction because the money was allegedly linked to the misappropriation of government funds, which he said had resulted in his arrest and detention.
She further alleged that Kingsley asked her to provide money for his bail and for bribes connected to the purported criminal case.
