George Turnah Sentenced to Six Years in N2.9bn Fraud Case
A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has sentenced George Turnah, a political godson of former President Goodluck Jonathan, to six years in prison. Turnah, a former Special Adviser to Dan Abia, the erstwhile Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, along with two others, has been found guilty of obtaining money under false pretense.
The Presiding Judge, Justice A.T. Mohammed, also convicted Ebis Orubebe and Uzorgor Chidebere of money laundering, conversion of funds, and forgery, in violation of Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offenses Act, 2006, punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.
The defendants with George Turnah were initially arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in May 2017 and re-arraigned on January 25, 2021, on 23 counts related to obtaining by false pretense, money laundering, and abuse of office, involving N2,894,500,000.
According to a statement issued by EFCC spokesman Wilson Uwujaren, the defendants were sentenced on Thursday, September 7, 2023, following their conviction by the Port Harcourt Zonal Command of the EFCC.
The charges against them included allegations of taking possession of N708,500,000, which they reasonably ought to have known was obtained by false pretense from the Niger Delta Development Commission for the purpose of providing quick win jobs for 300 youths and women groups, an offense contrary to Section 15(2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, as amended.
Additionally, George Turnah was charged with receiving $1,000,000 (One Million United States Dollars) in cash from one Umar Lawal of Hakuri Global Concept in 2014, exceeding the statutory limit without going through a financial institution, an offense contrary to Section 1 (a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011, as amended.
Despite pleading “not guilty” to the charges, the prosecuting counsel, I. Agwu, presented several witnesses and documents that proved the case against the defendants.
Justice Mohammed sentenced them to two years imprisonment each, starting from the date of their arrest. The 1st defendant was ordered to pay N1,000,000 as an option of fine, while the 2nd and 3rd defendants were to pay N500,000 into the Consolidated Revenue Account of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Moreover, the 4th, 6th, and 10th defendants were directed to return the sum of N180,000,000, with other restitutions including N5,000,000, N100,000,000, and N50,000,000 to be forfeited to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
In addition to the above, N46,760,843.61, N494,371.86, N13,000,000, and N23,500,000 are also to be forfeited to the NDDC by the 9th, 4th, 2nd, and 3rd defendants respectively.
