Man gets 10-year-jail term for contract scam

A man, Monday Agha, has been sentenced to ten years in prison for offences bordering on conspiracy, impersonation and obtaining money by false pretence.

Monday Agha was sentenced on Wednesday, January 28 at the Federal High Court Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.

According to a press statement by Wilson Uwujaren, who is the Head, Media and Publicity of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Monday Agha was arraigned on Saturday, July 20, 2013 for allegedly opening several accounts in different banks using fake names with which he conspired with a certain Moses to defraud people.

“That you Agha Monday (a.k.a Nwachukwu Peter Elom), Elder , (at large) (at large) (at large) (at large) (at large) sometime between December 2010 and April 2011 in Ebonyi State, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, Abakaliki with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of five hundred and fifteen thousand naira (N515,000.00) from through Oceanic Bank (now Eco Bank) account number 0190001034503 by false pretence that the said Chinyere Bright has been awarded a contract for the printing and supply of 25,000 pieces of polo shirts by the government of Ebonyi State and the said money is for mobilisation and processing of the said contract, which pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of Advance Fee Fraud and other fraud Related Offences Act,2006 and punishable under Section 1(3)of the same Act,” one of the charges against him read.

After trial, Justice A. Ongetenu convicted Monday Agha on six of the eight count charge preferred against him and sentenced him to 10 years in jail.

Monday Agha was also ordered to pay the sum of N2,7m in restitution to the complainant.

Sunday Agha has also previously been convicted by a Federal High Court, Enugu and sentenced to 7 years in prison for defrauding a University don of N805,000.