Businesswoman Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison for N57.69m Fraud
By Trek Africa Newspaper
Justice Ismail Ijelu of the Lagos State High Court, sitting in Ikeja, convicted and sentenced businesswoman Oluremi Phillips to 17 years in prison on December 12, 2024, for defrauding AYM Shafa Limited of N57,690,000 (Fifty-Seven Million, Six Hundred and Ninety Thousand Naira).
Phillips was originally on trial before Justice Sherifat Solebo of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, following her arraignment on January 27, 2022.
However, the trial could not be completed before Justice Solebo’s retirement in November 2022, prompting the case to be reassigned to Justice Ijelu.
On May 22, 2023, Phillips was re-arraigned before Justice Ijelu, along with her company, Omritas Energy Limited. They faced five counts of charges related to theft and the issuance of dud cheques totaling N57,690,000.
Count one states: “Oluremi Ebun Phillips and Omritas Energy Limited, sometime in 2016, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, fraudulently converted and stole the sum of N57,690,000.00, the property of AYM Shafa Limited, which was meant for the supply of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) that was never delivered.”
Count two states: “Oluremi Ebun Phillips and Omritas Energy Limited, on or about April 10, 2017, in Lagos, knowingly issued a cheque from Diamond Bank for the sum of N14,298,075.00 payable to AYM Shafa Limited, which was dishonoured due to insufficient funds in the account.”
The defendant pleaded “not guilty” to all the charges.
During the trial, the prosecution, led by counsel T.J. Banjo, called three witnesses and submitted several documentary pieces of evidence to support their case. The defence also presented three witnesses.
In his judgment, Justice Ijelu determined that the prosecution had proven its case against the defendants beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted them on all five counts.
The judge sentenced Phillips to nine years in prison for count one, with an option of a N2 million fine to be paid within 90 days.
She received two years for each of counts two to five, with the sentences to run concurrently.
The company, Omritas Energy Limited, was fined N250,000 for count one and N100,000 for each of counts two to five.
The court also ordered that restitution of N57,690,000 be paid to the victim within 90 days. If the company fails to fulfil this restitution, it is to be wound up within the same time frame.
The conviction stems from the defendants fraudulently converting and stealing N57,690,000 belonging to AYM Shafa Limited, for the supply of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO).
They neither supplied the products nor returned the money to the victim.
