JUSTICE I.M. SAM OF HIGH COURT SITTING IN PORT HARCOURT HAS CONVICTED AND SENTENCED TWO FALSE WHISTLE BLOWERS TO 2 MONTHS IMPRISON FOR CONSPIRACY, MISLEADING AND FALSE INFORMATION TO EFCC.
Written by miebaka ikiriko on March 12, 2021
Justice I.M. Sam of the Federal High court sitting in Port Harcourt Rivers State has convicted and sentenced two false whistle Blowers, Mr. Domini Okem and Chukwunonso Igmeonu to two months imprison each for conspiracy and giving misleading and false information to EFCC .
They were convicted after pleading guilty to two count charges bordering on giving false information following their arraignment by the Port Harcourt zonal office of economic and financial Crimes commission EFCC
One of the charges read said that Dominic Okem and Chukwunonso Igweonu for about the 22nd day of January 2021 within the jurisdiction conspired between themselves gave false information to an officer of EFCC that told a huge fund were found at Enu/Akwu street federal Housing Estate in Calabar Cross Rivers but the information turned out to be untrue, misleading and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 39(2)(6) of EFCC established Act 2004.
Our judicial reporter Festus Wike reports that based on their guilty plea the prosecution counsel F.O. Amama prayed the court to convict and sentence the defendants.
Responding the defence counsel to E. Wanogho however prayed the court not to raise its hammer to hard as the defendants were actually carrying out their civic responsibilities in line with the whistle blowing policy of the federal government
In his judgment Justice Sani found Okem and Igweonu guilty as charged and sentenced them to two months imprison with option of fine of one hundred thousand naira .
The convicts got into trouble when they misinformed the EFCC that they saw a huge sum of money in a House located at Enu/Aqua in cross Rivers State, however when the operatives of EFCC carried out a search warrant on the said property nothing incriminating was found.