Kingsley Edomwonyi was sentenced to six months in prison by an FCT High Court in Kubwa on Thursday for defrauding the government out of $2,000 in food stamps.
After Edomwonyi entered a guilty plea to the charge of gaining by false pretences, Justice Asmau Akanbi-Yusuf found him guilty and punished him.
She did, however, provide the guilty party the choice to forgo the jail sentence and instead pay a fine of N250,000.
Additionally, Akanbi-Yusuf mandated that the things taken from Edomwonyi be given back to their rightful owners in accordance with the terms of the plea agreement.
The judge gave the convicted person advice on how to stop committing crimes and behave well.
Mrs. Precious Oriaku, the defence attorney, had earlier begged the judge to balance justice with mercy.
“I want God to be merciful in using its discretion. Edomwonyi recognises the seriousness of his offence and is repentant.
Oriaku remarked, “He is a family man whose wife just gave birth.”
Nonetheless, Mrs. Ijeabalum Diribe, the prosecution’s attorney, did not raise any objections to the request for mercy.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Diribe informed the court that a plea agreement dated February 28 had been entered into and signed by Edomwonyi and his defence attorney, and that the agreement had been filed in March.
She asked the judge to convict and sentence Edomwonyi in accordance with the conditions of the entered plea agreement.
A portion of Edomwonyi’s emails, together with his mobile, two laptops, and the money he was given back, were all produced in court, according to the attorney.
Edomwonyi admitted confessed to the charges of cheating brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to Diribe, Edomwonyi applied for and received $2000 in food stamps by using fictitious email addresses and social security numbers belonging to US individuals.
She added that Edomwonyi committed the offence at some point in 2021 and that it was against Section 320 of the Penal Code Act.
