Ex-director general, others get 40 years’ jail term

A former Director General of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Prof. Benjamen Ogunmodede, was on Tuesday sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment without an option of fine by a Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, for mismanaging funds meant for the payment of salaries and execution of projects in the school.

Two workers at the account section of the institution, Zacheus Tejumola and Adenekan Clement, were jailed along with Ogunmodede.

The trio had been arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in 2011 on 16 counts bordering on conspiracy, unlawful conversion and stealing of school subvention, among others.

Justice Ayo Emmanuel, who gave the ruling, sentenced the convicts to four years’ imprisonment on each of the counts they were found guilty of.

The judge, however, ordered that they would spend the jail terms concurrently.

Ogunmodede and others were accused of diverting N177m out of a subvention of N600m released by the Federal Government for the school. The sum (N177m) was said to have been spent without due process.

In their defence, the convicts claimed that a huge part of the amount was used to bribe members of House of Representatives and some workers of the Federal Ministry of Finance who facilitated the release of the fund for the research institute.

But Justice Emmanuel ruled that Ogunmodede and others were clearly guilty of the charges preferred against them.

He said bribery and money laundering were illegal and had been prohibited in the country, adding that they were punishable under the law.

The judge said the sentence would serve as a deterrent to public office holders who are contemplating on mismanaging public funds.

“We must have it in our mind that the primary reason for sentencing a guilty person is to serve as a deterrent to those with such similar criminal tendencies and for rehabilitation of the accused. The two reasons are sociological in nature,” he added.

Ogunmodede’s counsel, Tunde Olupona, from the chambers of Rotimi Akeredolu, said the legal team would review the ruling and decide on the next step.

The EFCC lead counsel, Nkereuwem Anana, said the judgment was an indication that the war against corruption was being won.

He added that the judgment would send a message to others who are mismanaging or embezzling public funds that the long arm of the law would catch up with them.

Comments

Billionaire businessman denies funding Obasanjo’s coalition

Billionaire businessman and founder of Aiteo Group, Mr. Benedict Peters, has denied social media reports that he is funding the new coalition reportedly being headed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Peters said this in a statement on Friday night. He said, “For the record, I wish to state, categorically and unequivocally, that I am not a financier of the said organisation or any socio-political partisan association or political party in Nigeria or anywhere else in the world. “As an international businessman of repute, I have deliberately stayed away from politics preferring, instead, to focus and give my all to the development of my business interests across the African continent. “Corporate Social Responsibility contributions has seen the Aiteo Group, which I lead, provide investment support in medicine and medical research dedicated to seeking cures for several ailments which affect the African continent as well as investment in sport and sport as a panacea for the develop...

It's time to 'embrace an android' says Labour's deputy leader

Worried that a robot will one day take your job? Don't fear says a senior politician who is urging people to "embrace an android". If machines can take over routine tasks, deputy Labour leader Tom Watson believes, it will liberate people to focus on areas generating more wealth. If properly regulated, he says the growth of automation could create as many jobs as it will eliminate" "I suppose what I am really saying is - robots can set us free." A report earlier this year suggested 30% of British jobs could be threatened by automation by 2030, compared with 38% in the US and 21% in Japan, with manufacturing and retail at the greatest risk. Corbyn: Let workers control robots Will a robot take your job? But Mr Watson, who is also Labour's culture spokesman, said he was much more optimistic that technological change could be a force for economic and social good. Speaking at the launch of a new report into the future of work in the 21st Century, he ...

World’s first sex shop shuts down, declares bankruptcy

Germany’s pioneering sex shop chain, Beate Uhse, said Friday that it has filed for insolvency, as the empire started by a female World War II pilot fails to rise to the challenge posed by erotic e-commerce. In its hey day, the group sold lingerie, erotic films and sex products. Uhse began her foray into erotic business in 1946, when she put together a pamphlet called “Document X” describing how women could avoid pregnancy. In post-war Germany, her advice was in high demand and she sold thousands of copies of her brochures. The mail order business thrived and the former fighter pilot and member of the Luftwaffe opened in 1962 her first shop in the German town of Flensburg. Named Institute of Marital Hygiene, the store selling lingerie and contraceptives became the world’s first sex shop. Her activities often ran counter to the morality of post-war Germany and she was called before the courts in thousands of legal suits filed against her. Yet she remained frank and unashamed about...

hakdown07

Search This Blog