Justice O.O. Abike-Fadipe of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja has sentenced Ugwu Pascal Chijioke and Ibrahim Sadiq Adekunle to a combined 46 years in prison for impersonating operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and executing a fake court order.
The duo was re-arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Command of the EFCC on an amended five-count charge, including impersonation, attempted property fraud, possession of false documents, and unlawfully wearing EFCC uniforms.
One charge detailed that on May 12, 2021, Chijioke and Adekunle attempted to seize property from Oriyomi Johnson under a false court order from the “Chief Magistrate Court, Lagos State Judiciary, Mushin.” Another charge highlighted their unlawful wearing of EFCC jackets to mislead others into believing they were authorized officers.
Both defendants pleaded guilty to all charges. Prosecution counsel Abdulhamid Lamido Tukur presented the case facts and urged the court to convict and sentence the defendants accordingly.
Justice Abike-Fadipe found them guilty on all counts and sentenced each to seven years for counts one to three, one year for count four, and eight months for count five, with sentences to run concurrently.
The convicts were arrested in May 2021 during an illegal operation at New Horizon Estate, Lekki, Lagos, where fake EFCC IDs, jackets, and a counterfeit court order were recovered.
