Three jailed for diverting dead person’s stocks

Kasumu Ademola, Salau Mikailu, and Ganiyu Ishola were sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday for defrauding a stock firm of N45.6 million.

They were found guilty of the crime, and Justice Chukwuejekwu Aneke imposed the sentence of imprisonment.

The defendants entered a not guilty plea after being charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission with four counts of conspiracy, unlawful fund conversion, and money laundering.

The convicts, who were initially charged in 2019, had entered a not guilty plea to each of the eight counts and were granted bail under a variety of conditions.

The defendants in 2021, however, informed the court of their intention to withdraw their earlier not-guilty plea and instead entered a guilty plea.

The three convicted individuals were charged with plotting to unlawfully convert 298,550 stocks belonging to Joseph Adeyemi, who had passed away, valued at N34 million.

Additionally, it was claimed that they had illegally held onto N9.481 million in their bank account.

The defendants’ attorneys, O Muyideen and A. Olufemi, pleaded for mercy at the case’s resumed hearing on Wednesday, asking the court to balance justice with mercy when passing judgement on the defendants, taking into account the fact that they have been in detention since their initial arrest in 2018, when the case was last heard.

Justice Aneke handed down the verdict and sentenced the defendants to five years in prison for each of the four counts.