A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced businessman, Olumuyiwa Teniola Idowu, to a total of 30 years imprisonment over fraud involving $62,500 and €36,020.
The conviction was disclosed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a statement shared on its verified X account on Monday.
Idowu and his company, Tennyvans Nigeria Limited, were convicted by Justice Ismail Ijelu of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja on a six-count charge bordering on stealing and failure to declare assets.
According to the Commission, the defendant fraudulently converted funds belonging to a foreign client in separate transactions involving the purchase of industrial equipment and vehicles.
One of the counts reads:
Another Count Reads:
The defendant was first arraigned on November 27, 2024, where he pleaded not guilty, leading to a full trial.
During proceedings, prosecution counsel E. S. Okongwu called three witnesses and tendered eleven exhibits, all of which were admitted by the court. The defence counsel, Kehinde Olawumi, called one witness.
In his judgment, Justice Ijelu held that the prosecution proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt and found the defendant guilty on all counts.
The court sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment on counts one to four, to run concurrently. He was also sentenced to five years imprisonment on counts five and six, with an option of a N1 million fine on each count.
The court further ordered the restitution of $62,500 and €36,020 to the victim within six months. Hw was then subsequently remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre.
The EFCC has carried out a series of major operations in tackling financial fraud in Nigeria including making efforts to recover victims’ funds.
Earlier this month, the agency detailed how it returned a total of $225,895 and N62,790,000 to foreign victims of fraud.
On March 19, the commission handed over a total sum of N3.9 billion recovered proceeds of fraud to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).