Five men who impersonated as the officials of Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) were today convicted and sentenced to 500 hours community service, by a Lagos Federal High Court, for committing forgery.
In addition to the community service, they were also ordered to pay the sum of N100, 000, each, to the Federal Government of Nigeria, for the loss incurred as a result of the forgery
The five men ordered to carryout the 500 hours community service are: Joshua James; Dagunduro Taiwo; Fatade Samuel; Peter Otegbe and Azeez Wasiu
Justice Abimbola Awogboro, ordered the five men to perform the community service and pay the money, after they all pleaded guilty to a count charge of forgery, made against them by the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON).
The convicts, according to the prosecutor, Yusuf Lawan, a Principal State Counsel, from the Federal Ministry of Justice, had on July 7, 2022, at Apapa, Lagos, conspired among themselves and forged SON’s receipt numbered APP/459851 and RRR. 2106-7879-6380 dated July 7, 2022.
Lawan told the court that the convicts intend to used the forged receipt as genuine.
He told the court that the offence committed by each of the defendants, was contrary to Section 465 of the Criminal Code Act, cap C38 laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2010 and punishable under Sections 467 of the same law.
The convicts admitting carrying out the heinous act, and pleaded guilty to the charge.
With their guilty plea, the prosecutor urged the court to convict and sentence them in accordance to the section of the law they were charged.
But the convicts through their different lawyers, pleaded with the court to be lenient with them, while vowed to to engage in the act again.
The counsel also pleaded with the court to consider the timely guilty plea of their clients, as they did not waste the precious time of the court.
Justice Awogboro, after pronouncing the five men guilty of the charge against them, sentenced each of them to five men to five hundred community service.