A top political appointee in the Government of Owelle Rochas Okorocha and an Eze Elect of an autonomous community, in Imo State are in trouble over reported plot to cover up a case of forgery where the latter was convicted in far away Sokoto.
The Governor’s aide who is a Senior Special Assistant on issues related to autonomous communities, (names withheld) may be incurring the wrath of security agencies investigating the matter as well as his boss for allegedly aiding the elected traditional ruler in avoiding sanctions for being an ex-convict.
Imo Trumpeta learnt that in the course of investigation by security agencies clearing elected traditional rulers before they are handed over staff of office and other paraphernalia of office, the Eze-Elect from one of the troubled autonomous communities in Ezinihitte Mbaise Local Government, (names withheld) was alleged to be an ex-convict having being found guilty by an Upper Area Court in Sokoto, sitting in Sokoto State on the 3rd of September, 1982.
According to the details of the matter which was also published in the moribund National Concord of Saturday September 18, 1982, titled “female student, 2 others jailed”, the named Eze-Elect was charged to court alongside one Comfort O. Njoku and Napoleon Nwosu for offence of conspiracy, possession of forged records and counterfeiting device or marked used for authenticating documents contrary to Sec 97, 368 and 369 of the Penal Code respectively.
According to the certified True Copy of the court proceedings, Alhaji Usman Gulma, Judge Criminal U.A.C. Sokoto convicted the trio which included the Eze-Elect for the offences as charged. Having found them guilty of the three offences, the Eze Elect and Napoleon Nwosu were sentenced to 3 years imprisonment at Sokoto prisons or to pay N600.00 fine for each of the offences instead of serving 14 years imprisonment under Sec 97, 368 and 369 Penal Code respectively, while Comfort O. Njoku was to spend 2 years at Sokoto prisons or to pay a fine of N200.00 for offence by conspiracy under Section 97 of Penal Code.
The offence was committed when the named Eze Elect was a bursar with one of the famous but phased out Teachers Training School in Owerri. According to reports given to the court, the jailed persons were brains behind a forgery syndicate operating in Imo State as at that moment.
The issue came to the fore recently when security agencies sought clearance of the Eze-Elect and stumbled on the ex-convict saga.
Men of the Nigeria Police, especially operatives of the State Command in Ezinihitte Division unearthed the case which was forwarded to the Commissioner, Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, where the certified true copy of the record of proceedings and eventful conviction from Criminal Upper Area Court, Sokoto State published in Concord Newspaper of September 18, 1982, page 5 and details of police investigation of the matter was attacked.
While the Governor’s aide believed to be covering up for the Eze Elect as it did not further investigate on the matter and merely relied on a letter purportedly written to him by a counsel to the embattled traditional ruler indicating that such court proceeding never took place, a petition has been sent to the Chief of Imo state by the community requesting for the prosecution of the Eze-Elect for unlawfully and fraudulently drawing monthly salaries and allowances from the Imo State Primary Education Board from October 1982 to August 2010 (28 years) alongside pension till date as a retired Assistant Director of Accounts.
Efforts to reach the affected persons proved abortive as their phone numbers were not available as at the time of going to press.
