- The men, Ugwu Chijioke and Ibrahim Adekunle,, were convicted and sentenced by an Ikeja Special Offences Court.
In Lagos State, two men have been sentenced to 22 years imprisonment for posing as officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The men, Ugwu Chijioke and Ibrahim Adekunle,, were convicted and sentenced by an Ikeja Special Offences Court.
They were arraigned on five-count charge bordering on impersonation, attempt to obtain property, possession of documents containing false pretence and unlawfully wearing of the EFCC uniform.
The convicts were sentenced by the presiding judge, Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe, following their plea bargain agreement to the five counts.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the judge sentenced them to seven years each on count one to three, one year on count four and eight months on count five.
She, however, ordered that the sentences should run concurrently.
Earlier, the EFCC counsel, Mr Abdulhamid Tukur, in his review of facts, urged the court to convict the defendants as charged and sentenced accordingly.
Tukur averred that the defendants had in their possession false documents to impersonate officials of the EFCC and extort unsuspecting members of the public.
He said the items recovered from the defendants at the point of arrest included fake EFCC identity cards, jackets, and a court order purported to have emanated from Mushin Magistrate Court.
The convicts, in their plea for clemency, urged the court to temper justice with mercy and promised never to go to their vomits again.
“I am very sorry for the crime I pleaded guilty for, having been in the correctional facility for over a year now, have learnt a lot.
“I am very sorry and I beg the EFCC to forgive me and I will never go back to any crime. I plead with the court to temper justice with mercy,” the first defendant had said.
“My lord, am already guilty of this case and I beg this court to temper justice with mercy
“I also beg the EFCC to forgive me,” the second defendant said.
According to the EFCC, the offences contravene Sections 8(b), 11(3) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and Section 79(1) (b) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011