The Nation Newspaper

Tag: jailed

  • Jailed in Italy

    •We need to know why many Nigerians are there and what can be done to reduce the number

    It is bad news that no fewer than 1,500 Nigerians are in jail for various offences in Italy. Not surprisingly, the Italian Ambassador to Nigeria, Stefanou Pontesilli, who supplied the information in an interview with journalists in Abuja, described the figure as “a big number.”

    Indeed, this high population of Nigerian prisoners in Italy is a cause for concern. Though the envoy didn’t provide details of their offences, it is disturbing that the Nigerian prisoners were judged to have broken the law, which is a sad reflection on their country.

    The Federal Government should seek clarifications about the prisoners and their offences to ensure that none of them is being punished unjustly. In addition, the country’s consular officials in Italy are expected to play mediatory roles, where they can, in cases involving Nigerian citizens.

    Inevitably, the issue of illegal migration came up, and the ambassador was quoted as saying: “Some Nigerians are stuck in Libya because they were never able to cross over to Italy, but all those who went to Italy, no one, not even one was ever sent back. All Nigerians who have reached Italy and are behaving well have no problem.” He added that thousands of Nigerians unable to cross from Libya to Italy were stuck in Libya.

    It is alarming that tens of thousands of Nigerians are reportedly fleeing from unfavourable conditions in their country, and willing to risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean to get to Europe. According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), crossing the Mediterranean to Europe is “by far the world’s deadliest” journey, with at least 33, 761 reported to have died or gone missing between 2000 and 2017.

    It is noteworthy that, according to the Nigerian Immigration Service, no fewer than 10,000 Europe-bound Nigerians died between January and May 2017 while trying to illegally migrate through the Mediterranean Sea and the deserts.

    A  Roundtable on Migration and Human Trafficking organised by the Nigerian Senate in Benin City in February gave further insight into the scale of the problem. Senate President Olusola Saraki, citing UN reports, observed that “Nigeria accounts for the world’s highest number of irregular migrants going through the Agadez Route. Our citizens represent the fifth largest number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea into Europe.”

    Migratory pressures identified by the IMO include: “population growth coupled with limited livelihood opportunities, high unemployment and poor governance and political and economic instability.”

    The Nigerian authorities need to pay greater attention to the identified factors that drive the desperation of the citizens who have lost hope in the country and would do anything to escape. These factors are also relevant in cases of legal migration. The point is that, apart from the illegal migrants, there are those who leave the country by legal means because they see no future at home.

    The Italian envoy drew attention to what needs to be done by the Nigerian authorities, saying, ”We think that without a stable secure country there cannot be development… This to us is the number one priority of the country.”

    This is stating the obvious. It is clear that domestic socioeconomic conditions need to be improved to tackle both legal and illegal migration. Nigeria must make significant progress on poverty reduction and ensure that the majority of its citizens enjoy improved quality of life.  Increased spending on social services as well as increased capacity to deliver public services and more effective utilisation of resources will go a long way towards encouraging Nigerians to seek a better life within their country. In particular, the country must strengthen its capacity to contain the vibrancy of its youths.

    The development efforts needed to change the conditions must not be limited to the Federal Government. The state governments and local government councils also have important roles to play in improving the social conditions. Ultimately, a holistic development approach is the solution.

  • Man jailed five months for car theft

    A Karu Grade 1 Area Court, Abuja, yesterday sentenced a 28-year-old man, Sadiq Aliyu, to five months’ imprisonment for stealing a Toyota Corolla car.

    The convict, of no fixed address, had pleaded guilty to a charge of theft and begged for leniency.

    The judge, Mr. Hassan Ishaq, however, gave the convict N15, 000 option of fine.

  • Two teachers jailed for N3m fraud

    A Chief Magistrates’ Court in Kaduna yesterday sentenced two teachers, Adams Jibril, 28 and Mohammed Yusuf, 27, to combined 24 months’ imprisonment for defrauding a man of N3 million.

    The convicts, of Chechenji Road, Kaduna, were arraigned on a five-count charge of criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, cheating, impersonation and forgery.

    Magistrate Zainab Mohammed said the prosecution proved the charges of conspiracy, cheating, impersonation and forgery against Jibril.

    She sentenced Jibril to 18 months’ imprisonment with an option of N100,000 fine.

    The magistrate sentenced Yusuf to six months’ imprisonment for conspiracy and forgery, with an option of N20,000 fine.

    The convicts pleaded not guilty.

    Prosecutor Sunday Baba said the matter was transferred on May 5, 2016 from the Nigeria Defence Academy, Kaduna, to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department.

    He said Yahaya Abdullahi of Kinkinu, Kaduna, in June 2015, reported that the convicts came to his home and defrauded him of N3 million.

    Baba said the convicts deceived the complainant that they would help him get admission for his son, Abdullaziz, at the Nigeria Defence Academy, Kaduna.

    “After the complainant gave the convicts money, they brought the admission letter, which was discovered to be fake.

    “Efforts by the complainant to get his money back failed. The convicts later absconded,” the prosecutor added.

    He said the offences contravened Sections 97, 312, 179, 322 and 364 of the Penal Code of Kaduna State, 2017.

  • Civil servant jailed

    A Wuse Zone 2 Magistrates’ Court, Abuja, has sentenced a 33-year-old civil servant, Aminu Maru, to one year for breach of trust.

    The convict, who lives at Janyan House, opposite Gwagwalada Park, Area 1, Abuja, pleaded guilty to a one-count charge of breach of trust and begged for leniency.

    The Magistrate, Mr. Raphael Egbe, held that the court relied on Section 99 B of the Penal Code to sentence the convict.

    Egbe, who advised the convict to be of good behaviour, however, gave him an option of N100,000 fine.

    The prosecutor, Mr. Jamil Hamisu, told the court that investigations by the State Security Service (SSS) showed that Maru committed the offence between November 15 and 21, 2017.

    He said the convict was an accountant attached to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), but seconded to the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).

    Hamisu said Maru released sensitive documents of NAHCON to Ibrahim Wala, a self-acclaimed human rights activist without authority to do so.

     

  • Estate agent jailed 1,230 years for N28m scam

    A Lagos High Court yesterday sentenced a self-style “site engineer” and estate agent, Babatunde Habeeb, to 1,230 years imprisonment for a N28 million housing scam.

    Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye convicted Habeeb, also known as Babatunde Salaudeen, of 82-counts of conspiracy and obtaining the cash by false pretence from 101 accommodation seekers.

    The judge sentenced Habeeb to 15 years imprisonment for conspiracy and 15 years on each of the 81 counts of obtaining under false pretence.

    The sentences, totalling 1,230 years, will run concurrently, meaning Habeeb will spend 15 years in jail.

    Each sentence, which was without a fine option, will start running from March 12, 2015, when he was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The court held that Habeeb conspired with his older brother, Alhaji Ishola Salaudeen, and obtained the cash under the pretext of renting out 13 apartments to the complainants.

    The 13 apartments are in a building at 59, Oriola Street, Alapere-Ketu, Lagos, owned by Alhaji Salaudeen.

    Justice Ipaye also ordered that a one-storey block of flats be forfeited to the Federal Government.

    The judge directed that the building be sold and the proceeds shared among the complainants.

    According to her, this would send a strong signal to would-be property fraudsters.

    The judgment sparked jubilation among the complainants, who danced and sang outside the courtroom.

    The siblings were arraigned and granted bail by an Ebute-Metta Chief Magistrates’ Court in 2013 but Alhaji Salaudeen jumped bail.

    Alhaji Salaudeen is  facing a similar charge before Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo of an Ikeja High Court.

    Habeeb was  re-arraigned on December 16, 2015 before Justice Ipaye on an 82-count charge.

    He pleaded not guilty and was granted bail.

    But during the trial, he admitted receiving the cash in tranches of N500,000, N450,000, among others.

    The convict, who was arrested at a construction site in Mushin where he was working as a bricklayer after he absconded, testified that he was warned by his elder brother not to tell the victims that the 13 apartments had already been given out.

    Habeeb, however, explained that he was merely working for his brother. He declined knowledge of a ploy to dupe prospective tenants.

    But in her judgment, the judge said his denial of the offences was inconsistent with the weight of evidence tendered by the EFCC.

    On the count of conspiracy, the court observed that the seven prosecution witnesses’ testimonies  identified Habeeb and Alhaji Salaudeen as partners in crime.

    Justice Ipaye held: “The defendant was the point-man in the scam. I am therefore satisfied that the defendant and his brother acted together in the scam.

    The judge noted,  among others,  that Habeeb’s number was the only one displayed on a billboard mounted in front of the house, advertising the then uncompleted building as vacant.

    She observed that although there were only 13 apartments in the building, Habeeb obtained money from more than 101 prospective tenants.

    Justice Ipaye held: “I am persuaded by the overwhelming evidence before the court, which has not been discredited…and which I verily believe persuaded the complainants to part with their hard-earned cash totalling N28m.

    “The prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt, counts two to 82 of the charge.

    “I find you Babatunde Habeeb, also known as Babatunde Salaudeen, guilty…of obtaining money by false pretence.”

    Before her judgment, the judge considered an allocutus from the defendant, who pleaded for leniency  as he had, among others,  learnt his lessons in prison custody.

     

  • Convict jailed three months

    A Karmo Grade 1 Area Court, Abuja, has sentenced a 20-year-old man, Sadiq Ahmed, to three months’ imprisonment for stealing books and window frames.

    Ahmed, of Jabi motor park, had pleaded guilty to a count charge of trespass and stealing, punishable under Section 287 of the Penal Code.

    The judge, Abubakar Sadiq, said the punishment would act as a deterrent to others.

    The prosecutor, Mr. Dalhatu Zannah, had told the court that Christopher Moses of Utako, Abuja, reported the matter at Utako Police Station on March 4.

    He said on the same date about 3am, the convict dishonestly trespassed into House 29, Utako to steal the items.

    Zannah said the convict vandalised the complainant’s window and stole his books, but he was apprehended and the items recovered.

    He said during police investigation, Ahmed admitted committing the offence.

  • 20 jailed in Ekiti for sanitation offences

    20 jailed in Ekiti for sanitation offences

    Twenty residents of Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, were sentenced at the weekend for failing to participate in the monthly environmental sanitation.

    The offenders were arrested by the state’s environmental sanitation officers for indiscriminate dumping of refuse and disregard for official restriction of movement during the sanitation period.

    The Magistrate of a mobile court, Mrs. Modupe Afeniforo, who sentenced the convicts to prison terms – ranging from one to two months – gave them options of fine between N3,000 and N500 in lieu of the prison sentences.

    Mrs Afeniforo noted that the sentences would not only serve as punishment but also as a deterrence to people that may be tempted to commit similar offences.

    Reacting to the development, the Commissioner for Environment, Chief Bisi Kolawole, warned the residents that government would continue to prosecute anybody caught flouting environmental and sanitation laws.

    Stressing the need for residents to take care of their environment to prevent flooding and outbreak of epidemic, Kolawole noted that because of the devastating effect of flooding, the people should not allow anybody to indiscriminately dump refuse in the waterways or do anything that would block canals.

    The commissioner called for continued support for the government to make life more meaningful for the residents.

    He urged them to make judicious use of the waste bins the government provided at designated areas to enable the government achieve a healthy environment.

  • Three herdsmen jailed for open grazing in Benue

    Three herdsmen jailed for open grazing in Benue

    Three herdsmen are to spend the next one year in jail after a Makurdi Magistrates’ Court yesterday found them guilty of violating the Benue State Anti-Open Grazing Law, 2017.

    Jailed  are  Iliya Garba, Hassan Abdullahi and Lanshak Lonfalk who were all charged with criminal conspiracy and open nomadic livestock rearing and grazing.

    The offences are punishable under Sections 97 of the Penal Code and 19 (2) of the Open Grazing Prohibition Ranches Establishment Law of Benue, 2017.

    Prosecutor Michael Iorundu told the court that the joint patrol team of “Operation Zenda,” led by Sgt. Edward Shinyi, arrested the herders on February 18.

    He said they were brought to the State Criminal and Investigation Department, Makurdi.

    “The team reported that the three herders and others now at large were openly grazing their cattle along the Yeluwata Road in the Guma Local Government Area of Benue.

    “When the case came up for mention, the herders pleaded guilty to the charge against them, saying that they were not aware that open grazing had been prohibited in Benue State,’’he said.

    The Magistrate, Mrs Lillian Tsumba said the herders were first offenders who were also illiterates and not even aware that open grazing has been prohibited in Benue.

    Tsumba said a law such as open grazing prohibition required massive exposure and education of persons at the grassroots.

    She, however, said law is law and must be obeyed in spite ignorance.

    The magistrate sentenced the herders to a year imprisonment each, with N500,000 option of fine each.

  • Guard jailed 10 years for child defilement

    LAGOS High Court has sentenced a 27-year-old security guard, Daniel Peter, to 10 years imprisonment for child defilement.

    Delivering judgement on the case on Tuesday, Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye found Peter guilty of  defiling the child.

    The convict, who lives at Pleasure, Iyana-Ipaja, was accused of sexual defilement of a five-year-old girl.

    A statement issued yesterday by Assistant Director, Public Affairs, Kayode Oyekanmi said the  Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP)  arraigned the convict before the court on July 21, 2016.

    During trial, the first prosecution witness, Inspector Enobang Ekareine, of the Juvenile Welfare Section at Oke-Odo Police Station, testified  that the defendant committed the offence when he entered the victim’s home  in her aunt’s absence.

    The defendant initially pleaded not guilty, but later confessed to the crime in the face of overwhelming evidence  by the prosecution, including the documented statement of a doctor,  who also testified.

  • Three Nigerians, four others jailed in UK over fake ID documents for illegal immigrants

    Three Nigerians, four others jailed in UK over fake ID documents for illegal immigrants

    Seven men, three of whom are Nigerians, have been jailed in the United Kingdom for counterfeiting the British passport and allied identity documents to help immigration offenders live illegally in the country.

    The jailed Nigerians are Abdul Azeeza, Alfred Adekoya and Victor Ariyo.

    Abdul Azeeza,58, who claimed to be  an ex-professional footballer  was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment by the Woolwich Crown Court which heard  that “it was at his address” that the factory producing the false documents was found.

    He was found with a false passport in his back pocket, a residency card in his wallet and “all the implements of making them on the kitchen table.”

    Alfred Adekoya of Kingslake Street, London was sentenced to 40 months and two weeks in custody after pleading guilty to conspiracy to manufacture a fake document.

    Adekoya, 47, had been seen frequenting Azeeza’s address and was found with three counterfeit British passports on his arrest.

    Victor Ariyo of Rye Hill Park London, acted as a go-between for gang leader Steven Kanaventi, 39,and Adekoya, the court heard.

    In a police interview Ariyo, 53, said he was a go-between for “a spiritual service and that is why money passed through his account”.

    But he admitted conspiracy to manufacture a fake document and money laundering, and was sentenced to three years in custody.

    Luke Nkanta, who acted as a courier, was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment after pleading guilty to possession of an identity document with improper intention.

    The court heard that in June 2017 Nkanta, 29, met Adekoya outside the Coral bookmakers in Woolwich, east London.

    When Nkanta, of Wordsworth House, Woolwich, was searched shortly afterwards, officers found a counterfeit passport, an order sheet for the passport and a copy of the photograph used in the document. Gang leader Kanaventi was sentenced to 40 months and two weeks in prison.

    An undercover police officer had placed orders with him in June 2016.

    Prosecutor Lisa Hancox told the court: “Steven Kanaventi is the person who was at the coal face of taking orders and money and then the chain ran from there.”

    Kanaventi of Mulliner Street Coventry, supplied the officer with a string of fake documents, including three passports for £800 each, a British residency permit for £600 and a university degree certificate for £200.

    She said that in one conversation with the officer, “Steven Kanaventi said he would offer £100 for each new customer that the undercover officer supplied”.

    But the documents were not foolproof and the gang’s capability to provide false ID was “exaggerated”.

    When a degree from the University of Liverpool was requested, the criminal organisation offered one from the University of London, and eventually supplied a fake certificate from a separate university entirely.

    In sentencing Kanaventi, Judge Brendan Finucane said he “had a very significant role in this enterprise”, as a result of being partly responsible for ordering, supplying and delivering the false documents.

    Kanaventi pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture a fake document, after the investigation led by the Immigration Enforcement Criminal and Financial Investigation (CFI) team unravelled the operation.

    From late 2015 to June 2017, officers unravelled the wide-scale manufacture and distribution of counterfeit documents by a London and Midlands gang who created the fake IDs to help immigration offenders live illegally in the UK.

    Some of the items needed to make fake documents, including specially adapted tools for dismantling passports, threads for stitching, paint thinners and laminate, were found at his home in Missenden, Inville Road, south London.

    Azeeza pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing an identity document with improper intent and possessing equipment with the intention of making fake documents.

    Paul Kanaventi, 37, of Forster Street, Nottingham, pleaded guilty to converting criminal property after he allowed Steven Kanaventi to use his bank account, and set up an email address in his name, and was jailed for nine months.

    He said he did not know that the money going through the bank account was being used for criminal purposes, but admitted suspecting it.

    Madalitso Majawa, 33, of Ombersley Close, Redditch, was sentenced to six months imprisonment after pleading guilty to possession of an identity document with improper intent.