Man gets six-year jail term for impersonating ICPC official

An Ilorin Magistrate’s Court, presided over by Mr. J. B Salihu has sentenced one Owolabi Victor Olawale to six years imprisonment, without an option of fine for impersonating an employee of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Olawale, who was arrested by the operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department of the Nigeria Police at the premises of the Kwara State Ministry of Education and Capital Development in Ilorin, pleaded guilty to two-count charge of false personation and fraud.

Investigation conducted by the police revealed that the convict fraudulently represented that he was an officer of ICPC by forging several documents in the name of the commission. Some of the letters recovered from him were addressed to schools and other government establishments in the state, claiming that he had the mandate of ICPC to audit their accounts.

As contained in one of the letters the convict addressed to Queen Elizabeth College, Ilorin, he claimed that his terms of reference were to investigate the causes of examination failure and to audit all payments to the school, including school fees, education levy, WAEC fees, PTA fees, grants, and allocations received by management from 2013- 2016.

Further investigation also led to the recovery of a forged identity card of ICPC in the convict’s name leading him to confess to committing the crime.

On cross-examination by the prosecution counsel, Olawale said: ‘’I understand the nature of the allegation against me. The allegations are true. I am one hundred percent guilty of the offences that were read out and explained to me in this court but I want the court to tamper (sic) justice with mercy.’’

On why he should not be convicted for the alleged offences against him, he said: “I have no cause to show why I should not be convicted by this court for the said offences. I beg for leniency.