Court registrar jailed 7 years for N10m rice fraud

An Ilorin high court has sentenced one Fatimoh Olatunji, a registrar at the Kwara State Judiciary, to seven years imprisonment without an option of fine. Justice Ishiaq of the State High Court convicted Olatunji for fraud and apart from the 7-year jail term, the court ordered her to pay N7m compensation to the complainant, an […]

An Ilorin high court has sentenced one Fatimoh Olatunji, a registrar at the Kwara State Judiciary, to seven years imprisonment without an option of fine.

Justice Ishiaq of the State High Court convicted Olatunji for fraud and apart from the 7-year jail term, the court ordered her to pay N7m compensation to the complainant, an Ilorin popular business woman, Sherifat Oloriegbe.

The convict defrauded Oloriegbe by using the name of the Kwara State judges to collect 500 bags of rice amounting to N10m.

It would be recalled that Olatunji pleaded not guilty to the offence of fraud when she was first arraigned at the Upper Area Court in 2017, claiming she had a clean business deal with Oloriegbe.

The convict, in her defence, admitted taking the said rice from Oloriegbe, claiming she was unable to pay back because her business suffered losses.

She also told the court that customs officers seized some of the commodity while she was transporting it to the refugee camp in Niger State.

Until her arraignment, she was the court registrar at Adewole Court, Ilorin.

But counsel to the convict, Barrister Toyin Onaolapo, expressed displeasure over the judgment and promised to appeal it.