CHURCH ACCOUNTANT BAGS 18 YEARS FOR N15.5MILLION FRAUD

The Commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Tony Orilade  said investigations revealed that the money was generated by the church members by offerings, donations and tithe, adding that the convict was entrusted by the church to deposit the church’s revenue into the church’s account with First Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc,  but he ended up diverting same, and forged bank tellers to balance the financial books of the church.

Penpushing further reports that, Orilade said Aku  was assisted to commit the crime by his friend, one Benefit Ishaku who is now at large to whom he gave N500,000,adding that his accomplice assisted him in forging the stamps of the banks, which were also used to perpetrate the fraud.

The statement by the anti-graft explained that Aku  was prosecuted using the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, adding that in the course of the trial he  pleaded “guilty” to the charges, and the prosecuting counsel, S.E. Okemini, thereafter, urged the court to convict him as charged.

Penpushing also reports that the trial judge, Justice Nathan Musa, thus, pronounced him guilty and sentenced him to 18 years in prison – three years on each of the counts, to run concurrently. He was not given an option of fine, and further ordered that he refund the stolen fund to the church, and that proceeds of the crime recovered from him should be sold and the proceeds remitted to the Church.