Justice Mojisola Dada of a Special Offences Court, Ikeja, Lagos, has sentenced an Italian woman, Floriana De-Stefani to three years imprisonment for using false documents and counterfeit seals to acquire property belonging to Waterside Properties Limited.
The judge found De- Stefani guilty as charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). EFCC had alleged that De-Stefani sometime in 2015, dishonestly converted for her own use, property known and situated at No.14A/B Warring Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, a property of Waterside Properties Limited.
The anti-graft, however, arraigned the defendant with six-count charge bordering on theft, forgery, use of false document and counterfeit seals.
However, while delivering the judgment, the judge found her guilty on counts six, bordering the use of false documents and counterfeit seals, which she used in conferring ownership of the property to herself.
But the judge discharged and acquitted her on count one to count five which bordered on stealing and forgery. Justice Dada, however, sentenced her to three years imprisonment with an option of a fine of N50 million, following the allocutus of her defence counsel, Mr. Babatunde Ogungbamila.
The judge also ordered the release of the property to Waterside Properties Limited within three weeks. She was also granted a temporary release due an undertaken by her lawyer for three weeks to pay the fine or serve the jail term.
Earlier, Ogungbamila in his allocutus, prayed the court to temper justice with mercy, pleaded that the convict was a first-time offender, who was apparently misled by her former counsel.
“My lord, the truth in all this is that a man should be very careful in asserting document that he is not sure of. I pray the court to temper justice with mercy and the defendant is advanced in age and also has health issues.
“She is a first time offender and as your lordship noted, it may be the fault of the counsel that advised her and she is not vast with the Nigeria Law. The lesson learnt here is that we should be very careful with document. I was not part of this case from the beginning my lord. We humbly plead for non- custodial sentence.”
The charge was later amended to six-count charged by the EFCC’s counsel, Mr. Ahmed Yerima and the defendant pleaded not guilt to the charge.
During trial, the prosecution presented six witnesses and tendered several documents to prove its case against the defendant. After closing the case of the prosecution, the defendant through her then counsel, filed a no-case submission urging the court to dismiss the charge.
The trial judge in the ruling dismissed the no-case submission and ordered the defendant to open her defence. The defendant, thereafter, engaged the service of Ogungbamila and she called five witnesses.
