Former prisoner sentenced to three-year term for stealing N12m

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An ex-convict, Oluokun Gabriel Adekola, has been sentenced to three years’ imprisonment by the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, for stealing N12m.

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Justice Rahman Oshodi delivered the judgment on Tuesday after finding Adekola guilty of the charge.

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The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ikoyi, had arraigned the defendant on March 16, 2026, on a one-count amended charge bordering on stealing.

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According to the charge, Adekola, alongside accomplices still at large, conspired in 2025 to conceal and disguise the origin of N12,000,000 paid into his account.

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The prosecution stated that the sum formed part of a larger N3,091,441,849 fraudulently obtained from accounts domiciled with First City Monument Bank through unauthorised access and mobile banking fraud. The funds were subsequently withdrawn and converted to cash through Point of Sale agents.

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Adekola pleaded guilty to the charge upon arraignment.

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Further proceedings revealed that the convict had a prior criminal record. On July 23, 2020, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, Oyo State, sentenced him to 20 years’ imprisonment for defrauding a Taiwanese national of $22,300.

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At the sentencing stage in the present case, prosecution counsel, E. S. Okongwu, tendered a Certified True Copy of the earlier judgment, marked as Exhibit 1, with suit number FHC/IB/32C/2018.

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The prosecution also urged the court to order restitution of N3.5m to the nominal complainant.

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In his allocutus, defence counsel, Fabian Nwaforji, pleaded for leniency, noting that the convict was remorseful and had already spent four years and six months in custody. He urged the court to temper justice with mercy.

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In his judgment, Justice Oshodi described the offence as bordering on money laundering and noted that the defendant was a repeat offender. He, however, considered Adekola’s early guilty plea and willingness to make restitution.

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The court subsequently sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment and ordered him to restitute N3.5m to the First City Monument Bank within three months.

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