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Man jailed for impersonating Obasanjo’s daughter

By Kayode Ketefe

An Ikeja High Court presided over by Justice Joseph Oyewole, on Tuesday sentenced a man, Benjamin Onuigbe, to 14 years imprisonment for impersonating the daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Mrs. Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello.

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Onuigbe had been arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on a seven-count charge comprising attempt to obtain money by false pretences, impersonation, alteration and forgery.

In the charge, he was accused of fraudulently presenting a cheque to a cashier of an Apapa branch of Equatorial Trust Bank in July, 2007with a view to withdrawing money that did not belong to him.

The bank, which later discovered that the cheque was purportedly issued by Obasanjo-Bello, became suspicious of the genuineness of the transaction and invited the police who arrested Onuigbe.

In a dramatic twist on Tuesday, Onuigbe who had earlier pleaded not guilty to the offences later changed his plea and admitted guilt.

Onuigbe’s lawyer, Mr. Abdul Fatugba, urged the court to be lenient with his client whom he described as a first offender with no criminal record.

Fatugba added that the convict was a family man and a victim of circumstances, stressing that if the court gave the convict another chance in life, he would turn a new leaf.

In his judgment, Oyewole said he had considered the plea of the convict and the time he had spent in jail but added that justice must be done to serve as deterrent to others who might be inclined to the same kind of behaviour.

He therefore sentenced the accused person to two years imprisonment on each of the seven counts, totaling 14 years.