An Enugu State High Court, presided over by Justice K.I. Okpe on July
22, 2019 sentenced a pension fraudster, Akpudili Anayo to six years in
prison for a N13million fraud.
The Enugu Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,
EFCC had charged Anayo with forgery, impersonation, conspiracy and
stealing.
He had on April 8, 2019 pleaded “guilty” to the six counts preferred
against him when he was arraigned, and he was convicted, accordingly.
Anayo’s journey to prison started when the Enugu State government
petitioned the EFCC alleging fraudulent transactions traced to him.
The State Executive had on May 3, 2017 directed that the May, June and
July 2017 pension/salaries of the state pensioners and three other
agencies of the state government be paid by cheques after physical
verification.
However, at the end of the verification exercise, it was revealed that
the convict who was an Ad-hoc staff for the verification exercise, in
charge of the system computing the names of the verified civil servants
in the state, conspired and used the bank accounts of three fake
pensioners: Ngene Patrick Somtochukwu, Ani Ifeyinwa and Patience
Christian Chimezie, domiciled in Fidelity, Stanbic IBTC and First banks
respectively to divert funds meant for the pension and salaries of the
civil servants in the 17 local government areas of Enugu State.
One of the counts reads: “That you, Akpudili Christian Anayo sometime in
June 2017, at Enugu State within the jurisdiction of the High Court of
Enugu State stole the sum of N5,034,435 (Five Million Thirty Four
Thousand, Four Hundred And Thirty Five Naira) only, through Christian
Chimezie Patience, Fidelity Bank account, property of the Enugu State
government pension Board and you thereby committed an offence stealing
contrary to Section 342 of the Criminal Code Law of the Enugu State,
Cap. 30, Revised Laws of Enugu State, 2004 and punishable under Section
353 of the same Law”.