Court sentences man for defrauding FIRS
From ROSE EJEMBI, Makurdi
Friday, December 10, 2010


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Photo: Sun News Publishing
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The Federal High Court sitting in Makurdi has sentenced a chartered accountant, Abayomi Sofolahan to three months imprisonment for defrauding the Federal Inland Revenue Service,(FIRS) to the tune of N5million by illegally deceiving the Guardian Press Limited into paying tax revenue into a fake account with Skye Bank.

Justice Abimbola Ogie handed down the judgment after Sofolahan, a tax consultant to Guardian Press Limited pleaded guilty to the charges preferred against him by the Assistant Director (Legal), of the FIRS, James Binang.

She explained that though Sofolahan was to spend not less than 21 years behind bars based on the 12 count charges preferred against him by the FIRS, she had to exercise her discretion to reduce the sentence to 3months because of the plea by the accused person’s counsel.

While each charge attracts three months imprisonment each, Ogie ordered that the jail term should run concurrently just as she further ruled that the accused person should pay N200,000 as fine to the Federal Government. Justice Ogie also declared that the N2.5million already remitted by the accused should be paid as tax in favour of Guardian Press Limited to the FIRS, while the accused was expected to pay the balance of N2.5million upon release from the prison.

As soon as the judgemnet was delivered, Sofolahan, who should be in his mid-forties broke down and wept like a baby and had to be dragged out of court by prison officials. However, his counsel, Jonathan Akeme described the judgment as sound noting that the judge exercised her discretion in delivering the judgment. He pointed out that there was no need for his client (the accused) to appeal the case because he voluntarily made a plea of guilt.

He expressed gratitude to the judge for exercising her discretion in favour of the accused person by reducing his term of imprisonment to three months, which he said the accused person would not appeal.” “Also arraigned in the same court were officials of Skye Bank and Union Bank Plc, who allegedly facilitated the illegal opening of current account for the FIRS upon the presentation of forged letters purportedpurportedly written by Mrs Ifueko Omoigui Okauru, the executive chairman of the FIRS.

“However, Messrs Afolabi Suleiman and Etuk Umo, who participated in the fraud are still at large, with the prosecutor informing the court that the police are closing in on them.