IKEJA, LAGOS – A Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja has delivered a landmark judgment, convicting businessman Victor Ogiemwonyi and his firm, Partnership Securities Limited, for the fraudulent diversion of over N953 million and $80,000 belonging to a shareholder.
Presiding Judge, Justice Modupe Nicole-Clay, handed down the verdict on Wednesday, following a rigorous trial initiated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The defendants were found guilty on two counts of stealing, a direct violation of Section 285 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.
The legal battle dates back to October 2016, sparked by a petition from Mr Arnold Onyekwere Ekpe.
The complainant had entrusted Ogiemwonyi and his brokerage firm with the sale of 96,077,872 units of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) shares.
While the shares successfully sold for a staggering N1,296,885,311.02, the prosecution proved that the defendants remitted only N300 million to Mr Ekpe.
The remaining balance of N953,535,861.57 was dishonestly diverted for personal use.
Furthermore, the court established that the convicts stole $80,000, which represented accrued dividends from the same shares.
Led by prosecutor Ola Sesan, the EFCC presented a formidable case, calling five witnesses and tendering 67 exhibits that detailed the flow of the diverted funds.
Despite the defence calling three witnesses, including Ogiemwonyi himself, the court found their testimonies insufficient to contradict the overwhelming evidence.
Justice Nicole-Clay ruled that the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Consequently, she sentenced Ogiemwonyi to a fine of N10 million, while Partnership Securities Limited was slammed with a N20 million fine.
Most significantly for the victim, the court ordered the convicts to provide full restitution, mandating the refund of the entire stolen sums in both Naira and US Dollars to Mr Ekpe.
#Justice #EFCC #FraudConviction #LagosHighCourt #StockMarketFraud #FinancialCrime #NigeriaNews
All rights reserved. The content on this website, including text and other digital materials, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the express written consent of The News Accelerator Network.
For advertising inquiries, news coverage, or press releases, please get in touch with us at
📧 thenewsacceleratornetwork@gmail.com
📞 08051017159, 08173970030
Kindly follow us on: https://www.facebook.com/thenewsaccelerator
You can also subscribe to our YouTube channels here: UCVELRC3WinKZ7tdmhmZaRmQhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/?ub_confirmation=1
Post a Comment