Justice O. O. Abike-Fadipe of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos State, on Tuesday, October 27, sentenced a former banker, Christopher Jackson Edeh, to a total of 39 years imprisonment for his involvement in a N2.7 billion fraud.
Edeh was prosecuted by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Edeh, who was first arraigned on March 28, 2024, faced nine counts bordering on fraudulent accounting and unauthorised access to a computer system.
The charges against him stated that he altered the bank account details of several customers and government-related entities.
Some of the victims included the Kano State Government Power Intervention Fund, NNPC Trading Limited, Stallion Vision Ltd, the Lagos State Government Blue Line, the State Contributory Pension Account and Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University.
During his trial that lasted over two years, prosecuting counsel, Z.B. Atiku, called three witnesses and tendered several documents to establish the case against the convict. The defence, on its part, called one witness.
In her judgment on Tuesday, Justice Abike-Fadipe held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and consequently convicted Edeh on the nine counts.
The judge sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment without an option of fine on each of counts one to seven bordering on fraudulent false accounting, and two years’ imprisonment without an option of fine on each of counts eight and nine, relating to unauthorised access to a computer system with intent to facilitate the commission of crimes.
The judge also ordered that all the sentences should run concurrently.
