Court Jails woman in Lagos for obtaining Money Laundering false Pretence

The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday, July 3, 2025, secured the conviction and sentence of one Hannah Okunlola Adesokan before Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.

Adesokan was earlier arraigned on May 23, 2025, alongside six others including: Samuel Ihechukwu, Fabian Chizaram, and Kingsley Kelechi Ejim, who are employees of a first-generation bank  on an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy and obtaining by false pretence to the tune of N8.5 billion (Eight Billion, Five Hundred Million Naira).

The other co-defendants are Hamza Zakariya, Achionu Chukwuka Ubaku, and Sunday Osademe.

Adesokan initially pleaded “not guilty” to the charges preferred against her.

However, during Thursday’s proceedings, she was re-arraigned on an amended charge to which she changed her plea to “guilty.”

The charge reads: “That you, Adesokan Hannah Okunlola, sometime in January 2025, at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, retained control of the sum of N4,500,000.00 (Four Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira), which forms part of the sum of N199,000,000.00 (One Hundred and Ninety-Nine Million Naira) paid into your United Bank for Africa account number 1020676282, Search Light Media Concept, being money fraudulently obtained from illegal cyber-criminal activities, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 17(a) and (b) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004 and punishable under the same Act.”

In view of her plea,  prosecution counsel, Fanen Anum tendered the defendant’s statements, the petition from the bank, and her UBA account statement as exhibits.

He thereafter urged the court to convict the defendant and order the forfeiture of the money recovered from her to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Justice Osiagor convicted her accordingly and sentenced her to six months’ imprisonment, with an option of a fine in the sum of N250,000.00( Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira only)

The judge also ordered the forfeiture of the sum of N4,500,000.00 to the Federal Government of Nigeria in favour of the bank.

The convict was arrested for fraudulently obtaining the sum of N4.5million in her UBA account through internet-related activities.  She was charged to court and jailed.