The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday prayed the Federal High Court in Lagos to impose the maximum punishment prescribed by the law on a former acting Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Calistus Obi, who was convicted of N225m fraud last week.
Obi was convicted alongside Dismal Alu and two firms — Grand Pact Limited and Global Sea Investment — by Justice Mojisola Olatoregun.
The judge had adjourned till Tuesday for sentencing.
At the resumed proceedings, the prosecuting counsel for the EFCC, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, told the judge that Section 15(3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, which Obi and Alu were convicted of violating, prescribed a maximum prison term of 14 years for an offender.
He said though the law permitted the judge to exercise discretion in sentencing, the minimum limit was seven years.
The EFCC lawyer, however, argued that Obi and Alu did not qualify to enjoy the court’s discretion because they allowed the judge to go through “the rigour of full-fledged trial” rather than own up and opt for plea bargain at the start of the case.
Oyedepo said Obi and Alu’s case had presented the judiciary with “an opportunity to send a clear signal to public servants and those entrusted with public offices not to breach the trust reposed in them.”
He said in addition to the 14 years’ imprisonment, the convicts should be made to refund to the Federal Government the public funds they converted to their own.
“The 1st and 2nd defendants have converted to their use a total of N111m. For the 1st, 3rd and 4th defendants, they converted a total of N114, 450,000. My Lord has the power to order the defendants to return this money or compensate the Federal Government for the funds that they have converted to their use.
“I also seek Your Lordship’s order for the forfeiture of the N30m that was recovered from the 1st defendant by the EFCC in the course of investigation.
“In the course of the proceedings, the 1st defendant admitted that he used part of the money converted to build a hotel, Ladiva Hotels and Events Limited, located at Plot 12, Phase IV, Core Area, Asaba, Delta State. We urge Your Lordship to forfeit the property to the Federal Government,” Oyedepo said.
As for the two firms, the prosecutor said the court should, in line with Section 15(4)(a)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, order the withdrawal of their licences, while they should also be fined 100 per cent of the money they aided the other convicts in converting.
But counsel for Obi and the two firms, Mr Mobolaji Kuti, urged Justice Olatoregun to temper justice with mercy on the grounds that his clients were first-time offenders.
While urging the judge not to impose the maximum prison term, Kuti said it was only reserved for serial offenders by virtue of Section 412(2)(d) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.
Kuti said his client was a devoted Christian and had before the NIMASA appointment served as a local government chairman.
He said contrary to the claim by the EFCC, Ladiva Hotels and Event Limited was not acquired with proceeds of crime but was a joint venture between Obi and a friend.
He, therefore, urged the judge not to order its forfeiture to the Federal Government.
Kuti also told the judge that his client preferred to be sent to Kirikiri Prison rather than Ikoyi Prison.
On his own part, Alu’s lawyer, Mr Collins Ogbonna, sought a non-custodial sentence for his client, whom he noted was a junior officer at NIMASA merely running an errand.
Ogbonna, who said his client benefitted nothing from the money, prayed Justice Olatoregun to “give human face to justice.”
After taking submissions from the lawyers, Justice Olatoregun further adjourned till 12pm on June 3 for sentencing.
She ordered that the convicts should be taken back to prison where they had been since their conviction last week.
