From Sola Ojo, Abuja
Justice S. M. Mayana of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court, sitting in Apo, Abuja, on Monday, May 5, 2025, convicted and sentenced one Daniel Ameh to imprisonment for fraud.
The convict was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission , EFCC on a one-count charge, bordering on criminal misappropriation to the tune of N35 million which ran contrary to Section 309 of the Penal Code and punishable under the same section and to which he pleaded “not guilty.”
In the course of his trial, prosecution counsel, Ibrahim Buba called three witnesses and tendered relevant documents.
Justice Mayana convicted and sentenced Ameh to two years imprisonment or to pay N1 million fine.
In addition to his jail term, he was ordered to pay the sum of N22 million, in restitution to his victim, one Inalegu Egwa.
Investigation revealed that Ameh in 2021 advised Egwa to register a bureau de change business, which Egwa agreed and engaged the convict to do the registration for him in the Corporate Affairs Commission and to apply for the relevant licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Egwa paid the sum of N36 million through the convict’s bank account for remittance to the CBN.
But in 2022, the apex bank announced the cancellation of BDC registrations and directed all affected applicants to forward their account details for refund of payments they made.
Rather than inform Egwa of the new development for the channeling of the refund accordingly, the convict kept his victim in the dark, received the money in his personal account and converted it to his own use.