Distributor bags 3 years’ jail over diversion of mosquito nets
A Gombe State High Court, yesterday, sentenced one Sunday Ogar to three years imprisonment for offences bordering on misappropriation and forgery. The convict was arraigned by the Gombe zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged diversion of 700 pieces of Long Lasting Insecticide Nets placed under his care. According […]
A Gombe State High Court, yesterday, sentenced one Sunday Ogar to three years imprisonment for offences bordering on misappropriation and forgery.
The convict was arraigned by the Gombe zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged diversion of 700 pieces of Long Lasting Insecticide Nets placed under his care.
According to the court documents, the convict was arrested on October 29, 2018 by operatives of the EFCC after he diverted the nets meant to be distributed free to 40 primary healthcare centres in Dukku LGA of the state. The court further heard that the mosquito nets were donated by the Global Fund, through the National Malaria Elimination Programme for free distribution to residents of Gombe State.
The EFCC counsel, Barrister S. E. Okemini, said the nets were intercepted and brought to court as exhibits during the trial. He said further investigation revealed that the convict while committing the offence, made a false documents as delivery note purportedly signed by representatives of the primary health centres.
Barrister Okemini said the offence was contrary to Section 308 and punishable under Section 309 of the Penal Code Law.
The accused person pleaded guilty when he was asked by the court if the two-count charges labeled against him were true.
In his verdict, the presiding judge, Justice Abubakar Jauro, convicted and sentenced Ogar to one year imprisonment for count one and two years’ imprisonment for count two. He is to serve the sentence consecutively.
However, he was given an option of N50,000 and N120,000 for counts one and two respectively.