Elvis Okerenyi, a staff of the Federal Ministry of Aviation, has been sentenced to one year in prison for defrauding a job seeker by offering him a position in the Federal Civil Service.
The sentence was imposed by Justice S.C. Oriji of the Federal Capital Territory’s High Court after the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) brought him before the court.
The commission’s investigations found that Okerenyi accepted N1 million from Titus Tavershima under the guise of finding him a job in the Federal Civil Service.
The ICPC stated that the act violates Section 320 and is criminal under Section 322 of the Penal Code, Cap 532, Laws of the Federal Capital Territory, 2006.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the ICPC’s spokesman, Demola Bakare, the defendant’s original seven charges were reduced to a single count after a plea bargain deal with the prosecution.
Okerenyi pleaded guilty to the revised charge at his arraignment before Justice S. C. Oriji of the FCT High Court.
“The defendant pleaded guilty upon his arraignment based on a plea bargain agreement before Justice S. C. Oriji of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory and was convicted pursuant to section 270(10) ACJA on the only charge in the amended charge.
“The court further sentenced the convict to one year of imprisonment or an option of a fine of N200,000.00 and ordered him to restitute the sum of N350,000.00 to Titus Tavershima, the victim of his crime,” the statement partly read.