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Court Jails Ex-Federal Perm Sec. 5 Years For N14m Fraud

By Nigerian Pantagraph

Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Lagos State Special Offences Court Sitting in Ikeja on Thursday convicted and sentenced a former Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Labour & Employment, Clement illoh to 5years imprisonment.

Justice Taiwo handed down the sentence after she convicted illoh on two counts of stealing by conversing the sum of N14.1m, property of the Nigerian Maritime and Safety Agency, NIMASA.

According to PUNCH

The judge however acquitted him of the third count of concealment.

In her sentence on the first two counts, Justice Taiwo ordered the convict to make a restitution of the total sum of money back to the Federal Government, less the N3.5m already recovered from him during investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

The court also ordered that the funds should be paid to the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation.

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The anti-graft had arraigned illoh before the court on October 16, 2017 on a three count charge of stealing by converting property in the sum of N14million belonging to the federal government to personal use.

The defendant allegedly supervised numerous programmes such as the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-P,  awarded fictitious contracts to himself, using his personal company and friends.

Part of the charge reads: ” That you, Clement Illoh, a.k.a Clement & Bob Associate, on or about 28th January, 2015 at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court whilst still a Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, dishonestly converted to your own use the sum of N14,176,000.00(Fourteen Million, One Hundred and Seventy- six Thousand Naira ) from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency(NIMASA), and you hereby committed an offence contrary to Section 279(1)(b) & 285(6) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State No,11,2011.”

19th April 2024
Nigerian Pantagraph
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