Forgery: Fake SON Officials Get 500 Hrs Community Service

Justice Abimbola Awogboro of a Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has sentenced five men who impersonated officials of Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to 500 hours of community service.

Besides, the judge equally directed them to pay a sum to the tune of N100, 000 each, to the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) for the loss incurred as a result of the forgery.

The convicted and sentenced fake SON officials are Joshua James; Dagunduro Taiwo; Fatade Samuel; Peter Otegbe and Azeez Wasiu.

The judge slammed the sentence and the convicted men pleaded guilty to a count charge of forgery as instituted against them by SON. 

According to the prosecutor, Yusuf Lawan, the convicts had on July 7, 2022, at Apapa, Lagos, conspired among themselves and forged SON’s receipt numbered APP/459851 and RRR. 2106-7879-6380, dated July 7, 2022.

Lawan told the court that the convicts intend to use the forged receipt as genuine.

The prosecutor further informed the judge that the offence committed by each of the convicts was contrary to Section 465 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap C38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2010, and punishable under Section 467 of the same law.

Lawan said due to their guilty-plea position, the judge should sentence them in accordance with the section of the law they were charged.

But the convicts, through their lawyers, pleaded with the court to be lenient with them, with a pledge not to get involved in the act again.

The lawyers also pleaded with the court to consider the timely guilty plea of the convicts, as they did not waste the precious time of the court.

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