Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Monday, February 16, 2023, convicted and sentenced one Henry Daniel to one year’s imprisonment for ₦37 million foreign exchange fraud.
The convict was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Lagos Zonal Directorate 1, Ikoyi, on a two-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and stealing.
Count one reads: “That you, Daniel Henry (trading under the name and style of Equigro Financial Services), sometime between January and October 2020, in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of ₦37,000,000 (Thirty-Seven Million Naira) by false pretence from Mr. Eze Onyekachukwu by falsely representing to him that the said sum represented investment in a forex trading business, and thereby committed the offence of obtaining money by false pretence, contrary to Sections 1(3) and 8(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No. 14 of 2006.”
Count two reads: “That you, Daniel Henry (trading under the name and style of Equigro Financial Services), sometime between January and October 2020 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, stole by fraudulently converting to your own use the sum of ₦37,000,000 (Thirty-Seven Million Naira), property of Mr. Eze Onyekachukwu, and thereby committed the offence of stealing contrary to Section 278(1)(a) and (b) and Section 285(1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011.”
The defendant pleaded “not guilty” to the charges, which led to a full trial.
During the trial, the prosecution counsel, Babatunde Sonoiki, presented three witnesses and tendered several documents, which were admitted in evidence by the court.
Delivering judgment, Justice Abike-Fadipe found him guilty and sentenced him to one year’s imprisonment, with an option of a ₦2,000,000 (Two Million Naira) fine.
The court also ordered him to undertake 50 hours of community service and make restitution of ₦15,600,000 to the petitioner.
The convict’s journey to the Correctional Centre began when he was arrested by operatives of the EFCC for obtaining the sum of ₦37,000,000 (Thirty-Seven Million Naira) by false pretence from Mr. Eze Onyekachukwu under the guise of investing the funds in forex trading. He neither invested the funds nor returned the money to the petitioner.
