Five persons have been convicted and sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment each for their involvement in a N117.7 million fraud case involving Chi Limited.
Justice K.A. Jose of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Tapa, Lagos, handed down the sentences on Thursday, September 3, 2026, following their prosecution by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The convicts are Yinka Salawu, Joshua Oluremi Daramola, Raji Ahmed, Afolabi Israel Olusegun and Muraina Olanrewaju Abdullahi.
They were prosecuted on a six-count charge bordering on conspiracy to obtain money by false pretence, obtaining money by false pretence and forgery.
One of the counts alleged that the defendants, sometime in 2009 in Lagos, obtained N81,359,922 from Chi Limited under the false pretence that the money represented payment for goods and services supplied to the company.
The prosecution said the defendants knew the representation to be false, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
During the trial, the prosecution called 17 witnesses drawn from the EFCC, Nigeria Police Force, banks and Chi Limited. It also tendered several documentary exhibits in evidence.
At the conclusion of the trial, Justice Jose found the first, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh defendants guilty on Counts One, Two and Three and convicted them accordingly.
However, the second, third and eighth defendants were discharged and acquitted.
Following the convictions, prosecution counsel, M.S. Owede, urged the court to invoke Section 11 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act and order the convicts to restitute Chi Limited the sums contained in Counts Two and Three, totalling N117,755,061.
Owede also urged the court to order the sale of properties belonging to the first convict, with the proceeds paid to Chi Limited, or alternatively, have the properties forfeited to the company.
In her judgment, Justice Jose sentenced each of the five convicts to seven years’ imprisonment without an option of fine.
“The convicts will be given credit for the periods they have already spent in custody. All periods spent in prison shall be deducted from the seven-year terms imposed by the court,” the judge ruled.
On restitution, Justice Jose, relying on Section 297 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, ordered the convicts to restitute Chi Limited the sums contained in the charge.
“All monies already paid shall be deducted from the amounts to be restituted,” she added.
The case dates back to 2009 when the convicts were alleged to have obtained N81,359,922 from Chi Limited under the false pretence that the money was payment for goods and services supplied to the company.
According to the prosecution, the goods and services were neither delivered nor was the money refunded to Chi Limited, leading to the investigation and subsequent prosecution by the EFCC.
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