The Anambra State High Court sitting in Awka, presided over by Justice O.M. Anyachebelu, convicted Engineer Nnaemeka Nwawka, the Managing Director of Orient Petroleum Resources Plc, alongside Jude Anniekwe Cyril and the Registered Trustees of Sage Nebefeife Foundation on charges of stealing, fraudulent conversion and gratification involving N25 billion.
The defendants were found guilty on a 10-count indictment brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following a petition by investor Chief Cletus Ibeto, who alleged he had invested N25 billion in the company but funds were misused.
Evidence showed that between 2012 and 2013 funds were fraudulently moved from Vhelbherg International Limited’s account at Standard Chartered Bank into the Sage Nebefeife Foundation’s account at First Bank, and subsequently used for the personal benefit of the convicts.
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In one count, N82.8 million was transferred and converted; in another, N29.6 million was similarly diverted. The EFCC’s prosecution called four witnesses and tendered documentary exhibits P1-P24, and the trial lasted approximately ten years after the defendants pleaded not guilty at arraignment.
Justice Anyachebelu held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. Each defendant was sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment. In addition to custodial terms, the court ordered Nwawka and the Sage Nebefeife Foundation to refund N140.9 million to Orient Petroleum Resources Plc.
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Defence counsel U.N. Udechukwu, SAN, and E.S.C. Obiora, SAN, had argued that the contracts and transactions were legitimate, but the court dismissed those arguments in concluding its judgment.
Image Credit: Nairametrics
Source : Nairametrics
