ABUJA – Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court Abuja jailed two former top staff of the Federal Inland Revenue Services, Mohammed Adamu and Eunice Udokamma to five years imprisonment each without an option of fine.
The duo were sentenced on Wednesday by Justice Ekwo after finding them guilty of forging Income Tax Clearance Certificate with serial number 05027875 and file number ABJ/PIT/07/CAITO/380, for unsuspecting tax payers.
Justice Ekwo in a judgment on the five-count criminal charge levelled by the Federal Government against the two Defendants, found them guilty in all the charges, which carried one year jail term for each of the counts without option of fine.
However, due to plea from their lawyers, Justice Ekwo ordered that the sentence should run concurrently. lmpliedly, the first convict, Mohammed Adamu, will spend one year in prison with effect from April 27, 2022.
The second convict, Eunice Udokamma, a housewife and mother of three children, will spend one year in prison without an option of fine, beginning from April 13, 2010 when she was arrested and made to spend over two and half years in detention.
The court stated the offence committed by the convicts which is contrary to section 49 (1) of the FIRS Act No 13 of 2007 was proved beyond reasonable doubt by the Federal Government lawyer, Mr James Binang, a Deputy Director, Legal Service for the FIRS.
The trial Judge held that the convicts failed woefully to defend themselves in view of the evidence adduced by the six witnesses of the prosecution.
A sum of N120, 000 was collected by the convicts to forge the certificate, signature of one M.D Naanmiap, a Tax Controller with FIRS and presented same as genuine to one Vincent Enoghase for 2004, 2005 and 2006 tax period.(NAN/vitalnews)
