“Jonathan’s Godson and Two Others Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for N2.9 Billion Fraud”

“A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has sentenced George Turnah, a former Special Adviser to Dan Abia, the former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, along with two others, Ebis Orubebe and Uzorgor Chidebere, to six years in prison. They were found guilty of obtaining money under false pretense, money laundering, conversion of funds, and forgery in violation of Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.

The defendants had been initially arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in May 2017 and re-arraigned on January 25, 2021, on 23 counts related to obtaining money by false pretense, money laundering, and abuse of office, involving N2,894,500,000.

This announcement was made in a statement by Wilson Uwujaren, the EFCC spokesman, on Monday. The statement mentioned that they were convicted and sentenced on Thursday, September 7, 2023, following their guilty verdict on charges brought against them by the Port Harcourt Zonal Command of the EFCC.

According to the statement, the charges included allegations of taking possession of a substantial sum of money under false pretense from the Niger Delta Development Commission, receiving a significant amount of cash exceeding the statutory limit without going through a financial institution, and other related offenses.

They each received a two-year prison sentence starting from the date of their arrest. The 1st defendant was also ordered to pay a fine of N1,000,000, while the 2nd and 3rd defendants were to pay N500,000 each into the Consolidated Revenue Account of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Additionally, certain defendants were ordered to make restitution, including returning various sums to the Niger Delta Development Commission.

George Turnah, the 1st defendant, was known as the political godson of former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.”

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