Sunday, February 9, 2025 - A Federal High Court sitting in Calabar, Cross River State, has sentenced a medical doctor, Geraldine Orok Ita, to seven years imprisonment for fraud and diversion of N127 million.
This was disclosed on Saturday, Feb. 8, in
a statement by the prosecuting agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC).
According to the statement, the trial
judge, Rosemary Oghogho-rie, convicted and jailed Ms Ita at the end of a trial
that began in 2019.
Ms Ita faced prosecution on 12 counts,
including forgery of a document dated 11 June 2014, purportedly signed by Rose
Orok ita, a director of a company, Sharpnet Concept Limited.
Another count accused her of knowingly
receiving N45 million proceeds of crime through the bank account of ROK
Projects Limited domiciled in First Bank. According to the charge, the money
was paid into the account by the University of Calabar (UNICAL) for a project
executed by ROK Projects Limited and Sharpnet Concept Limited.
EFCC charged her in 2019, under various
legal provisions including section 1(2) (c) of the Miscellaneous Offences
Cap M17, Law of the Federation and Nigeria 2004, which addresses forgery of
documents, cheques, promissory notes or other negotiable instruments. It
provides 21 years imprisonment without an option of a fine upon
conviction.
The commission also charged her
under section 15(2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011,
which criminalises acts of acquiring or possessing control of any property or
fund with the knowledge that such property or fund is part of the proceeds of
crime. Section 16 of the Act provides that, upon conviction, such a person is
liable to not less than five years in jail or a fine equivalent to five times
the value of the proceeds of the crime.
The medical doctor had pleaded not guilty
to the charges.
During the trial that followed, the
prosecution led by Joshua Abolarin called various witnesses and tendered
documentary exhibits to support the case.
In her judgement, the trial judge ruled
that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, prompting her to
sentence the accused to seven years imprisonment.
According to EFCC’s statement, two
directors of Sharpnet Concept Limited and ROK Project Limited lodged a petition
at the EFCC, against Ms Ita in 2019, setting off the trial.
The petitioners accused her of forging and
fraudulently altering the documents of the companies in favour of herself to
remove two initial directors from the companies’ records and claiming to be the
second wife of Orok Okonkon Ita who died in 2004.
The petitioners further alleged that
besides carrying out the fraudulent alterations, the convict appointed a new
company Secretary on 6 November 2014 and changed the registered address of the
companies at No. 25, Uyo Street, Off Market Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
She also reportedly made re-allotments and return of allotments of
shares.
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