A Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced a worker in the probate division of the Lagos State judiciary, Mrs Bukola Adeosun, to a three-year jail term for stealing government money totaling N1,114,000.
Justice Latifa Okunnu yesterday found Mrs. Adeosun guilty of two out of the three counts charge of conspiracy, stealing and alteration preferred against her by the prosecution.
Justice Okunnu held that the convict was guilty of stealing N1,114,000 belonging to the government. The judge, however, absolved her of conspiracy as there was no evidence linking her conduct to anybody as claimed by the prosecution.
Mrs. Adeosun had been accused by the prosecution of diverting revenue collected on behalf of the government from the public to personal use.
She was charged with stealing and conspiracy alongside another probate official, Mrs Funmilayo Kazeem.
They were accused of defrauding the government and the victims, who came for official transactions at the probate division.
The court discharged and acquitted the second defendant for conspiracy and stealing.
The prosecution stated that the convict between June and August 2008 collected various sums of money amounting to N1.114million from people, issuing them original government receipts without reflecting same in the official records of the court’s treasury.
She was accused of issuing receipts bearing big sums of money, contrary to the official directive, which prescribed any transaction above N2,000 to be paid to the bank.
The prosecution said the convict collected various sums of money ranging from N4, 000 to N150,000 from her victims, pretending to help them conduct some probate issues.
Justice Okunnu held that the prosecution proved stealing against the convict, despite the fact that she argued that Mrs. Adeosun’s statements, where she admitted collecting the money, were made under duress.
She also denied ever collecting money from her victims. Besides, she attributed her problems to her co-accused.
Justice Okunnu held that her statements were voluntarily made and that the discrepancies in her statements were undoubted.
The judge said: “The first defendant stole the money belonging to the Lagos State government and she had engaged in unwholesome practices to swindle the government.”
In consideration of the plea made by Mrs. Adeosun’s lawyer, Justice Okunnu held that the punishment for her offence attracted seven years, but sentenced her to three years imprisonment.
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