N117.7m Fraud: Five Bag Seven-Year Jail Term in Lagos

Five persons have been sentenced to seven years in prison each for their involvement in a N117.7 million fraud case involving Chi Limited.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) disclosed this in a statement on X, saying Justice K.A. Jose of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Tapa, Lagos, convicted the five defendants on Thursday, September 3, 2026.

The convicts are Yinka Salawu, Joshua Oluremi Daramola, Raji Ahmed, Afolabi Israel Olusegun and Muraina Olanrewaju Abdullahi.

They were prosecuted by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the EFCC 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 Salawu and the other defendants, including some who are still at large, obtained N81,359,922 from Chi Limited in 2009 under the false pretence that the money was payment for goods and services supplied to the company.

The charge stated: “that you, Yinka Salawu (aka Mr. Yinka James Christopher), Tinuke Olayinka Salawu (aka Mrs. Yinka James Christopher), Ogbeide Kingsley Stevenson, Joshua Oluremi Daramola, Raji Ahmed, Sule Tijani Adebayo (at large), Afolabi Israel Olusegun, Muraina Olanrewaju Abdullahi, Fred Esumike (at large), and Ismaila Kareem (trading under the name and style of Ismak Ola Nig. Ltd.) (at large), sometime in 2009 at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N81,359,922.00 (Eighty-One Million, Three Hundred and Fifty-Nine Thousand, Nine Hundred and Twenty-Two Naira) from Chi Limited under the false pretence that the money was payment for goods and services you supplied and rendered to Chi Limited, which representation you knew to be false, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.”

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During the trial, the prosecution called 17 witnesses from the EFCC, Nigeria Police Force, banks and Chi Limited, while several documentary exhibits were tendered before the court to establish the allegations against the defendants.

At the end of the proceedings, 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 petitioner, with the sums contained in Counts Two and Three, totalling N117,755,061.

Owede also asked 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 outrightly to the petitioner.

In her ruling, Justice Jose sentenced each of the five convicts to seven years’ imprisonment without an option of a 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, the judge relied on Section 297 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law to order the convicts to repay Chi Limited the sums contained in the charge.

“All monies already paid shall be deducted from the amounts to be restituted,” Justice Jose added.

According to the EFCC, the case began after the convicts were arrested over allegations that they obtained N81,359,922 from Chi Limited under the false pretence that the money was payment for goods and services they had supplied to the company.

The anti-graft commission said the defendants neither delivered the goods and services nor returned the money to Chi Limited, leading to their prosecution and eventual conviction.