₦1.5b Fraud: Court Sentences Ex NIMASA Boss To 49 Years In Prison

A former Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Executive Director (ED), Captain Ezekiel Bala Agaba, has been Convicted for laundering N1,541,408,666.00(billion).

The presiding judge, Justice Ibrahim Buba, sent Agaba to fourty nine years in prison after finding him guilty of seven counts of conversion and criminal breach of trust filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Buba sentenced Agaba to seven years imprisonment on each of the seven counts, totalling seventy nine years, but the conviction will run concurrenty, meaning he would only spend seven years in prison.

Delivering his judgment, Buba held the EFCC proved beyond reasonable doubt that the convict stole the sum from NIMASA while he was in charge of Maritime, Safety and Shipping.

But the sentences will run concurrently, the judge said, meaning Agaba will spend a maximum of only seven years in jail.

“The sentence runs with effect from today (Wednesday).”

The court refused to grant the prayer of EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo for the forfeiture of property allegedly bought by Agaba from the proceeds of the laundering.

Buba upheld the submission of the Agaba’s counsel Mr E.D. Oyeneke that the property is the subject of another suit at the Federal High Court.

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Oyeneke had also in his allocutus urged the court to order a non-custidial sentencing for Agaba, due to his age being in the vulnerable category for COVID-19 infection in prison.

“In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, counsel should consider approaching the state for pardon for the convict,” Buba added.

The EFCC had in 2015 arraigned Agaba alongside a former NIMASA Managing Director (MD) Dr. Patrick Akpolobokemi, a former NIMASA staff Ekene Nwakuche and the chairman of Ndokwa Local Government Area (LGA) of Delta State, Juan Amechee Governor, for allegedly laundering N2.6 billion.

They pleaded not guilty.

Akpobolokemi filed a no case submission but Buba, on October 16, 2017, dismissed it.

This was overturned by the Court of Appeal in Lagos on June 1, 2016, which unanimously discharged and acquitted Akpobolokemi.

Following the appellate court’s decision, the anti-graft agency on October 10, 2019, withdrew the charges against Governor and Nwakuche.

But the EFCC maintained an amended charge against Agaba.

The Commission told the judge that between December 23, 2013 and March 13, 2014 in Lagos, Agaba converted the N1.5bn in tranches of N437,726,666.60, N66,800,000, N21,802,000 and N402,480, 000.00, N525,000,000, N70,000.000 and N176, 000,000.

The funds were laundered through Seabulk Offshore Operator Ltd, Ace Protehesis Limited, Extreme Vertex Nigeria Limited and Aroward Consulting Limited.

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