A Lagos High Court in Ikeja on Thursday sentenced a stockbroker, Ayoola Coker, to 30 years imprisonment for stealing N17.5m belonging to his clients.

In his judgment, Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo, sentenced the 37-year-old man to two years for each of the 15 counts of stealing, issuance of dud cheque, forgery and uttering preferred against him.

However, Coker has only few months to spend behind bars as the judge ordered that the sentences should run concurrently starting from December 1, 2011, since he had been on remand.

The judge convicted Coker after he pleaded guilty to all the charges, which were preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

He noted that Coker had made efforts to restitute the victims, Mr Saheed Gbadamosi and his son, Taiwo.

According to the judge, Coker had transferred the title deed of his landed property at Idimu, Lagos, worth N8m and a car valued N1m to the victims.

Onigbanjo said, "He was arraigned earlier on June 6, 2011 and had pleaded not guilty.

"The voluntary changing of his plea to a guilty plea has demonstrated sufficient remorse as to warrant the leniency of the charge," Onigbanjo said.

The convict, was said to have sometime in 2010, fraudulently sold numerous shares worth N17.5m which were kept in his custody by his clients.

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