Justice Sodetan Ogunsanya of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, has sentenced an oil marketer, Epebinu Omoniyi, his company, Pure Pack Oil Nigeria Ltd, as well as Adekanbi Adedayo and his company, First Hallmark Energy Ltd to seven years imprisonment for fraud.
Justice Ogunsanya jailed the marketers after she found them guilty of an eight-count charge.
They were arraigned before the court on October 16, 2017 over allegations of conspiracy to obtain money by false pretence, obtaining by false pretence, conspiracy to commit felony and forgery.
They, however, pleaded not guilty of the charges when it was read to them by the court’s registrar.
In the course of the trial, the prosecuting counsel, Samuel Owede, presented four witnesses and tendered 12 exhibits to prove the case of the prosecution against the defendants.
In her judgement, Justice Ogunsanya discharged and acquitted them on count six and held that the prosecution proved the other counts against them beyond reasonable doubt.
The trial judge thereafter found them guilty as charged and sentenced Epebinu Omoniyi and Adekanbi Adedayo to seven years on counts one and two, and three years on counts three, four, five, seven and eight.
The companies were also each fined N100,000 having been found guilty of counts one and two. The sentences are to run concurrently.
