Justice Archibong Archibong of the Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo, on Wednesday, August 7, 2019, convicted and sentenced Archibong Effiong Edem to seven years imprisonment over N28, 234, 735 fraud.
The convict was arraigned by the Port Harcourt’s Zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, at a Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt on two-count charge bordering on obtaining by false pretence. The case was later transferred to an Akwa Ibom State High court, Uyo owing to issues of jurisdiction.
Edem’s journey to jail began when a petitioner, Godwin Utumude, alleged that sometime in 2004, in the United States of America, he met the convict who showed him a property in Texas that was up for sale.
According to the petitioner, the prize of the said property was initially $218,000 (Two Hundred and Eighteen Thousand Dollars), but the convict eventually agreed to sell at $200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Dollars) which was an equivalent of N28, 234, 735 (Twenty Eight Million Two Hundred and Thirty Four Thousand Seven Hundred and Thirty Five Naira) at the time, and on September 1, 2004, he paid N20million to the convict who assured him that by December 2004, all documents regarding change of ownership of the said property would be handed over to him.
To ensure that the necessary change of ownership was perfected, the petitioner said the convict further requested the balance payment of N8,234,735 which he made on January 17, 2015.
All efforts by the petitioner to get the said documents proved abortive, hence the petition.
In the course of trial, the Commission called three witnesses: Godwin Utumude, the petitioner (PW1); Michael Adukwu, an operative of the EFCC (PW2) and Chukwuma Ekezie Amadi, Deputy Compliance Officer, Zenith Bank (PW3).
The EFCC also tendered several documents which were all admitted in evidence.